Insomnia
It had been four days since I slept when the world changed around me. The light of the physical world faded, but many things around me became brighter, illuminated from within. The trees were ablaze with a light that illuminated only themselves, while the rocks at their feet faded into mere shadows. The stars and the sun shared the sky together, and I could look upon the sun's brilliance without wincing. And there were spirits all around me. I know that some of them were real, and others were born of my own mind, and I watched for the signs I had been taught. One of them would be my guide through the Dream - but which one would it be? - narrative describing a T'iselek ritual involving induced insomnia.
Insomnia, or the inability to sleep, is a debilitating condition that can occur in acute or chronic varieties. Acute insomnia is when a person cannot get enough sleep for several nights in a row, but the condition resolves within a short period of time, usually less than a week. This kind of insomnia is often associated with some external stimulus which is interfering with normal sleep, and the removal of the external condition permits normal sleep patterns to resume.
Chronic insomnia, on the other hand, is a long-standing condition where the person is unable to get sufficient sleep for an extended period of time, possibly years or decades. It may be associated with a different medical condition that is preventing sleep, or it could be without any apparent cause. It is more likely to occur as a person ages, and chronic insomnia is far more common in the elderly than in the young.
In the world of the Million Islands, insomnia has some unusual side-effects, due to the intimate connection with the realm of the Dream. While all thinking creatures are participating in The Dream at all times, most people are unaware of this on any conscious level. When a person is actively dreaming, the focus of their attention may drift into The Dream realm itself, and they may find it easier to interact directly with creatures and objects within The Dream, including gods and spirits.
For someone who is suffering from prolonged lack of sleep, this ability to directly participate in The Dream will intrude into their waking life. They will see aspects of The Dream overlaid upon the physical world, which may give them unusual insights. For example, they may see creatures surrounded by auras that indicate their current mental and emotional state, or objects and places could be overlaid with the images of ideas and concepts that are symbolically linked to them in The Dream. The insomniac might experience echoes of past events, glimpses of the true intentions of others, or find it easier to commune with spirits.
Some religions in the islands will try to induce this state of mind through intentional sleep deprivation, or through the use of various drugs. The results are unreliable, although those who use these practices frequently do gain facility with them. However, the other cognitive impairments associated with insomnia make it a difficult state to survive in, and indefinitely prolonging sleeplessness can result in physical and psychological trauma, and is ultimately fatal.
Exceptions to this do exist. Queen Isla of Cait is one person who has managed to avoid the negative consequences of prolonged insomnia through her connection to the cat-goddess Eilidh Oirbheartach, and makes extensive use of the heightened connection to The Dream her sleepless condition provides. Among the Fai Tala, there are secret methods to prolong insomnia while staving off the ill-effects, and they will frequently go for days or weeks without sleep. There is also rumors of a 'Sleep Market' somewhere in the city of Tarshish, where one may purchase the sleep of others for oneself, allowing one person to remain constantly active while another sleeps for them. The exact methods in use for this transfer are mysterious, and the Malikate has explicitly outlawed sleep transfer, but it is said that it still occurs.
Comments