The Lords of Dream: Weavers of Fate
The Ancient Powers That Rival the Gods
The Emerald Dream is not an empty expanse of potential—it is a realm shaped by forces older than history, older than the gods themselves. These entities, known to some as the Lords of the Dream, are not deities in the conventional sense. They do not seek worship, nor do they grant spells to clerics or paladins. Instead, they are architects of reality, shapers of the great tapestry of existence, forces of creation and dissolution that govern the flow of fate itself.
Long before the first gods wove the planes into being, before Faerûn had its name, before even the primordials warred against the divine, the Lords of the Dream spun the threads of what would one day become the world. Where gods create through divine will, these beings shape through lawless, primal artistry, forming the weave of reality itself before stepping aside and letting the world take its course.
Though they rival the gods in power, their nature is fundamentally different. The gods demand faith, for faith grants them strength and purpose. The Lords of the Dream have no such need. They do not desire temples, prayers, or followers. They do not answer summons nor heed mortal desires. Their power is absolute and inherent, tied to the very essence of creation itself. They are the ones who spin, measure, and cut the threads of fate—forces as immutable as time itself, as uncaring as the tide.
Some myths suggest that even the gods tread carefully in the Dream, for to interfere too greatly risks attracting the attention of these ancient entities. There are whispers of divine attempts to rewrite destiny, only for the Lords of the Dream to unravel their work, reminding them that even divinity must abide by the loom of fate.
The Lords as Forces of Creation, Destruction, and Unmaking
The Lords of the Dream are not mere arbiters of fate; they are the forces that shape all of existence. Each embodies a fundamental aspect of creation and dissolution, governing not just what is, but what might be and what will never be. Their influence is subtle but absolute, woven into the very nature of reality itself.
- Clotho, the Spinner of Threads – She who spins the raw material of reality, pulling forth the formless potential of the Emerald Dream and shaping it into existence. She is the force of birth, inspiration, and the beginning of all things. Every soul, every idea, every possibility is drawn from her endless spool, waiting to be measured and given form. It is said that when something new is created—a song never sung before, a species never seen before, an idea never thought before—it is Clotho who has spun it into being.
- Lachesis, the Measurer of Threads – She who determines the length and course of each thread, ensuring that all things move forward in accordance with the unseen patterns of fate. She is the force of growth, destiny, and the inexorable march of time. It is through her that lives are shaped, that events unfold, that the grand design of the universe takes form. She does not dictate choices, but she measures the consequences of them, ensuring that every action, every decision, every moment is woven into the tapestry in its proper place.
- Atropos, the Cutter of Threads – She who wields the silver shears, severing the threads when their time has come. She is the force of endings, death, and dissolution. Not an agent of cruelty, nor of mercy, but of necessity. When a life ends, when a city crumbles, when an age fades into history, it is Atropos who cuts the thread, unmaking what was so that new threads may take their place. Some say her work extends beyond mere mortality—that she also severs failed destinies, unraveling futures that were never meant to be.
Together, they maintain the balance of existence. Without Clotho, there would be no new beginnings. Without Lachesis, chaos would reign. Without Atropos, the world would stagnate, choked by the weight of things that refuse to end. They are not separate beings, but aspects of the same eternal force—three hands upon the loom of fate, each playing their role in the endless cycle of creation.
Why They Do Not Seek Worship—Only Power and Dominion
Unlike the gods, who thrive upon devotion, the Lords of the Dream have no use for prayer. They do not demand offerings, nor do they grant favor in exchange for faith. They are not moral beings, nor do they reward or punish based on virtue or sin. They are forces—inevitable, eternal, and beyond the reach of mortal understanding.
Yet this does not mean they are indifferent. The Lords of the Dream seek not worship, but dominion—not over mortals, but over the very fabric of reality itself. Their goal is not conquest in the way a god or an emperor might desire it, but rather the absolute control over the weaving of fate itself. If a god seeks to alter destiny, the Lords must decide whether to allow it. If a mortal hero seeks to defy prophecy, it is they who determine whether the thread is severed or rewoven.
This is why they are feared even by deities. No matter how powerful a god may be, they are still bound by the weave of fate. Even divine plans must be measured by Lachesis. Even godly creations must be spun by Clotho. Even the immortality of the gods themselves may one day be severed by Atropos.
There are whispered legends of those who have tried to bargain with them—wizards who wished to rewrite destiny, warlords who sought to undo their own deaths, seers who longed to glimpse the entirety of the tapestry. Most who seek them are never heard from again. Those who return often do so irrevocably changed, their minds shattered by the enormity of what they have seen. The Lords do not negotiate, for their work is not a matter of choice. It is simply what must be.
Known Weavers of Dream
While Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos are the greatest of the Dream’s sovereigns, there are others—lesser entities that weave and unweave the threads of reality in ways more subtle, more insidious, or more unpredictable. Some are known by name, though their true nature remains unknowable.
- The Unraveled One – A being of discord and contradiction, who does not weave but unweaves, seeking to pull apart the fabric of reality and undo the fates of those who seek to escape them. Some claim this entity is the remnant of a severed thread, something that should not exist, yet refuses to be cut.
- The Loomkeeper – Said to be the only mortal who ever glimpsed the entirety of the Emerald Dream’s pattern and survived. Now bound eternally to the loom, they weave endlessly, neither dead nor alive, their body long forgotten but their hands still moving.
- The Silent Seamstress – An entity said to stitch together the mistakes of fate, correcting frayed threads before they unravel completely. Some claim she has altered destinies in secret, ensuring that those who were never meant to die live, while those who should never have been born vanish without a trace.
Though few understand their purpose, these beings are feared by those who know of them, for they are not allies nor enemies—they are inevitabilities, forces that act in accordance with a pattern that only they can see.
The Lords of the Dream do not rule as kings. They do not command as generals. They do not seek to be worshiped as gods. They are the weavers of all that is, the keepers of all that might be, and the arbiters of all that must end.
To defy them is to defy the loom of fate itself. And no one—not mortal, not god, not even time—can escape the shears of Atropos.
