Almost two centuries ago a mysterious meteor crashed down to earth. It wasn’t large enough to cause any panic, and most people considered it a rather mundane astronomical event. Well, that was before the vast majority of people on the planet vanished. The ensuing chaos destroyed the majority of what remained of society as survivors panicked, planes and other vehicles crashed, unattended appliances caught fire, etc. The apocalyptic event was thought by many to be the Rapture, but it seemed to pick its victims without any obvious criteria. Saints, sinners, and anything in between…Humanity was essentially wiped from the majority of the planet all at once. In reality the meteor, a massive crystalline structure, had absorbed those billions of lives and incorporated them into a permanent dream-like state. Once it hit the earth, much of it shattered and scattered to the winds along with the souls that had been sucked into it.
Centuries later, still slowly picking up the pieces in the new and terrifying world, many humans have stumbled upon shards of that strange meteor from forever ago. Those that make contact with the shards find them fusing to their flesh before eventually vanishing altogether. These humans go through a harrowing process as the souls, still in their unending dream, begin to use them as a host. This horrific process is not wholly without its benefits though, as the hosts gain abnormal powers tied to the specific shared dream of the souls they hold. Many of those unaffected by these shards call these hosts possessed, demons, monsters, or any other manner of insult. By themselves and the more open minded, however, they are called Dreamers.
These Dreamers, depending on the number of souls within them, often feel a pull towards somewhere distant. Rumor is, their shards are trying to drag them towards the master crystal. What would happen if they made it there is anyone’s guess, but it’s spawned quite a few stories. Promises of powers untold, maybe the ability to ask for a wish, or perhaps free the billions trapped within it. People talk, rumors are passed around as if they were fact or just passed up as baseless stories. The fact remains that every dreamer can occasionally feel that tug. Though, naturally the closer they venture to the Master Crystal the more dangerous things are. As a result many Dreamers have settled down as far as they feel comfortable venturing, creating settlements and camps.
Of course, as usual with humanity, civilization has begun to re-emerge. The Nova Republic has founded multiple new cities and slowly expanded along the fringes. To maintain order they have fully disallowed all Dreamers, aside from those that are government sanctioned and trained to keep the peace. The Republic doesn’t hunt Dreamers down, but they do keep an open bounty system for Shards.
Naturally the Republic isn’t the only game in town, but they are certainly the largest and most recognized. Other settlements, especially due to the Republic’s intolerance of ‘unlicensed Dreamers’, crop up often. Of course, due to infighting and the instability of the powers of some Dreamers these settlements deal with their share of hard times.
Purplish objects of varying shape and size that house anywhere between one and a few million unconscious souls. Each shard contains a unique dream as it’s splintered from the whole. These days it’s quite rare to find one that hasn’t been claimed by a person or…something else. One can be traded at any Republic outpost for a pretty generous amount of supplies. So long as one doesn’t make direct skin contact, it cannot assimilate to their being. As a result, whole groups of Shardhunters have cropped up throughout the lands to support themselves.
Wielders of the souls found within the Old World Shards, Dreamers run the gauntlet between godlike power and perhaps being able to manifest a rubber duck. These abilities all depend on the souls within them as well as their own willpower and creativity. At minimum, each Dreamer has enhanced durability and strength, able to take blows that would kill normal humans and shake them off with some minor bruising. Of course this isn’t without its drawbacks as every Dreamer runs the risk of losing themselves to the Dream within and becoming a horrific abomination known as a Nightmare.
Each dream is unique and unending. One may contain a thousand souls dreaming about rubber ducks, or a hundred about nuclear armageddon. Each of them is essentially an entire realm that, with proper preparation, a Dreamer may explore while they sleep. Take caution though, if a Dreamer were to lose control of the collective unconscious they could very well become a Nightmare.
Each Host can take aspects of their Dream and manifest it into reality within their own predetermined range. Of course, it’s rather hard to steer a dream of that size to specifically give you exactly what you want. As a result, many Dreamers just kind of ask for something and try to make due with what they get…Though thankfully, Dreams can be a bit repetitive so they often get the same thing each time and eventually just learn to work with it. Of course one can go deeper and take the reigns to manifest something more specific or coherent, but if that’s done recklessly it will most certainly end in disaster.
Horrible abominations that are created once Dreamers lose control. The shared consciousness leaks into the world and transforms the host into a warped manifestation of their dream. They tend to be powerful chaotic beings with unpredictable powers and temperaments. More often than not they are hostile and are drawn to the Master Crystal as well as places that used to be densely populated.
These horrific monstrosities are why non dreamers are so afraid of Dreamers and typically oust them from society due to them almost constantly being at risk of transforming into these beasts. Depending on the original dream they can vary from being feral predators to sadistic monsters. Very, very few have been passive as most fight amongst themselves and anyone else for territory. And unfortunately they don’t seem to pass from age so unless they are actively killed the stronger ones will last for quite awhile and pose major threats.
There are very few cases of a Dreamer regaining control once they become a Nightmare and there is no known guaranteed method of doing so. And it is almost entirely unheard of for someone to gain control of this transformation since the very nature of becoming one breaks one’s sanity and individuality.
An entity which could only be described as a cobbled-together form of government, consisting of descendants of survivors of the calamity (the "old guard") and some new faces that emerged after other politicians disappeared to fill the power vacuum. The so-called old guard tends to harbor hostile attitudes toward dreamers, believing them to pose a threat to their power and legacy, while the newer members seek to use dreamers to their advantage. Neither party is particularly benevolent or trustworthy, and even the extremely anti-dreamer church considers them to be collectively fragile and unreliable, describing them as "iron mixed with clay" and other such derisive scriptural references. While Nova does allow some dreamers to live within their established territories, requirements for these dreamers are stringent, and those whose powers are not useful for any kind of labor or are "too dangerous" are unlikely to ever earn their stamp of approval, unless they are easily controlled or could manipulate the public perception in their favor. It's sadly not uncommon for dreamers to be granted citizenship as children only to be quietly ushered out of the country once they become a bit too capable for Nova's liking.
While it may be a bit of a low bar, the Nova Republic is also the apex of current technology. It's essentially all salvage from the world before things ended, but they have also made adaptations to defend themselves from Dreamers and Nightmares. On the whim of one of their top scientists they began crushing up gemstones like moonstone and mixing them into the metal used for bullets, cuffs, and cell bars. This alloy, nicknamed insomulite, suppresses and harms Dreamers and Nightmares. Just coming into contact with it makes all but the most powerful dreamers powerless and causes severe headaches.
"The third angel blew his trumpet, and a great star fell from heaven, blazing like a torch, and it fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water. The name of the star is Wormwood. A third of the waters became wormwood, and many died from the water, because it was made bitter." Rev. 8:10-11 Believing themselves to be living in the end times, Nova's URC cites the above references as proof, claiming that a multitude of peoples and nations are often symbolically represented by "waters." Indeed, the process of absorbing crystals and attempting to become a dreamer often results in the death of many, when dreamers mutate into corrupt nightmares and slaughter innocents in their rampage. Those who survive are left in an altered mental state that the religious may describe as a "Great Delusion," which is also referenced in the increasingly popular Book of Revelation. Naturally, the church believes dreamers and their powers to be demonic in nature. Aside from those sanctified by the church of course. A few believe it is the church's duty to capture and attempt exorcisms on dreamers, but such activities are hidden from the public and most have given them up for damned. Different groups within the church debate about the great disappearing, some saying it was the Rapture, others saying it was the gathering of the wicked to be burned. Overall, however, the church is more united than in the past, as the name would suggest.
Government officials seeking to exploit the potential for cheap and effective enforcers of Nova's will are more than willing to exploit the sympathies of open-minded citizens to gain support for their agenda. As in every group, there are both true believers and grifters seeking undeserved trust and favors from dreamers simply trying to fit into "normal" society, making the organization as a whole unreliable. Experienced dreamers quickly learn to avoid this group if they really need help from a human within the Republic. True supporters are underground, unorganized, and unequipped to do much.
The Perimeter is more or less an imaginary border marked by outposts and a force of specially trained peacekeepers. This border is maintained for the sake of containing the more powerful Nightmares and Dreamers that lurk within as well as to deter Dreamers from seeking the Crystal. Of course, despite having one within their ranks, they allow Oneir to come and go as they please.
Most of dreamer society remains scattered into various small settlements outside Nova's reach. Might makes right in many of these places, and the names of rulers and their factions are quickly forgotten as blood is spilled and heads roll one after another. The Nova Republic is known to do what they can behind the scenes to keep these conflicts going and maintain the disorganized status quo, as a united nation of dreamers could easily topple the outwardly impressive but equally fragile human government. Because of these efforts, many dreamers are wary of non-dreamers, and they even more commonly treat Nova's dreamers like traitors. While there are some moves toward unity among dreamers, they necessarily take place underground, as those who support it too loudly tend to disappear, dying even younger than most, or, as some rumors suggest, being quietly ‘recruited’ by Nova.
While there do exist dreamers who seek salvation from their current state, a new spiritual movement has emerged and gained some appeal outside the Nova Republic. They see the meteor event as part of a new Turning, and dreamers as the next stage in human evolution. To them, it is only logical that the living would one day reconnect with the dead, and from there, both will someday connect to the gods. While not all of dreamer society spiritualizes the concept to the same degree, the fact remains that their ideas have gained traction, and DNA's recruitment efforts are often responsible for the creation of new dreamers. Those unfortunate dreamers who become nightmares are seen as unprepared or unworthy to ascend toward enlightenment and treated as unclean, rejected by the gods—perhaps for coveting too much power, as the transformation is often a result of absorbing too many crystals, and failing to adjust to the psychological chaos created by conflicting dreams. DNA's ultimate stated goal is to locate the original master crystal and return the shards. They see non-dreamers not as enemies, but baggage to be left behind. However, dreamers who seek shards for Nova are treated as thieves and fools that need reeducation.
A word that’s essentially lost its original meaning over the years, often shortened to Oneir, it is used to describe legendarily strong Dreamers. They aren’t unified, in fact plenty of them are naturally at odds with each other or have never crossed paths. Some of the most well known are the Nova Republic’s self proclaimed superhero Skeleton Man, and a woman codenamed Starweaver, her space Dream leaving destruction and misfortune in her wake.
Appearance: Pallyx is fairly petite at first glance, standing at just 5'4" and weighing around 125lbs. Her clavicle-length, phthalo-green hair is most often left to its own devices, as she doesn't care at all to style it, and frames her heart-shaped face loosely, often brushing in front of it or wherever it wants to go. Her equally-green, expressive eyebrows rest thin over her rose-ish-colored eyes, which are similarly quite expressive, unbeknownst to her. Aside from facial details, Pallyx possesses fair, clear skin and is just mostly unassuming in-all. She is pretty slim, and seems mostly soft in physique, but does have some definition to her muscles, most notably in her thighs and biceps.
Personality: For someone who grew up in the aftereffects of the literal apocalypse, Pallyx is a pretty good-humored individual. She's a rather casual person, but in an odd contrast, seems to keep people at an arm's length - never really allowing anyone to get close to her, but remaining no-less amicable. She usually gives off a partly carefree air, and seems pretty buoyant overall - often one to make fun of a situation first among her peers. She is known for possessing a sharp tongue, and a penchant for back-talking.
She is not entirely one-dimensionally joyous, however. Though she may seem carefree, she is a capable thinker by nature. Her eyes can often be caught scanning things that a person otherwise blithe as herself wouldn't find of any interest - which can be hard for her to hide, considering their expressive nature. While she is fun-loving in the presence of others, she doesn't really have.. friends. Nobody has managed to acquire an understanding of her person past just the surface - something that she has managed purposefully, but also regrets, sometimes.
All-in-all, Pallyx is clever, watchful, and overall just quick-witted. It's hard to catch her off-guard and keep her there.
Dream:
The Prison
Pallyx's dream is, in culmination, a prison. An ethereal, ever-shifting and ever-growing prison which one could only imagine the contents of. In general, The Prison is rather.. safe.. you could say - at least in comparison to other dreams. While the inmates within The Prison consist of some of the most heinous people, creatures, and.. things.. one could imagine, the saving grace of it all is that Pallyx stands before The Prison as The Warden, and not a prisoner. Being the warden of such a place is a stressful, secluded endeavor with which she can share the burden no-one. But, it does have some quirks to it -- occasionally.
As The Warden, Pallyx is able to 'detain' dream-borne phenomena in a stasis on which she must focus. This stasis does know some limits, but is rather strong - making her able to detain most phenomena, at least for some time. Though the aforementioned usage is the most important, there are other applications of this detainment. With enough willpower and effort, Pallyx can manage to detain Dreamers with her abilities, or even shunt dream-things into the prison itself, but these are far more taxing endeavors, and the former cannot be imposed for very long at all.
There are more side effects to Pallyx's position as The Warden. That being, her exposure to some inmates. Although The Prison is maximum security, inmates do manage to slip through the cracks, meaning Pallyx is occasionally visited by inmates, who can remain with her for anywhere from a few hours to a few days - and can appear at the most random times, whether they be good or bad. Luckily, a few prisoners in particular possesses the most influence over these visits, and they are rather benevolent - but the danger is ever-so there, nonetheless.
Below are the profiles of the inmates who have visited Pallyx so far.
Rennfield "Y'know, I used to think it was weird to make-nice with the inmates, but.. they've shown me that, really, they're.. just like me. Just as human - I don't care if it makes sense, that's just how it is. And Rennfield has really shown me that. He's saved my ass more times than I can count, and he's.. I guess you could say the closest thing to a parental figure I've ever known. But he's my friend, too! He's nowhere old enough to be a parent of mine. Anyway, he's a chill dude, and fun to talk to. He's got this dope ethereal, mysteriousness goin' on that's pretty cool. And, I've never been able to place it, but.. there's also something so.. captivating about them.. I-I- mean- they're weird-lookin', alright?!"
Rennfield was the first inmate to visit Pallyx and, alongside Brody, holds the most control over the visits. Rennfield possesses an innate ability to alter his body into inky-black shapes of his desire, and can harden these shapes into weapons or armor.
Brody "Brody and I are kindred spirits. We both like fun, violence, and great jokes! He's kinda like the brother I never had! And he's got this sick accent - but don't tell him I said that. He's great at party tricks, too!"
Pallyx has known Brody the second-longest after Rennfield. He shares most of the visitation-control with Rennfield as well. Brody is capable of launching beams of raw energy from his digits that grow more potent the further they travel, and he is an exceptional marksman with them.
Allo "Allo is.. well, to put it nicely, a bit of a freak. She, um, well- she's apparently my identical twin I never had. And she's completely bipolar. Like, supernaturally so - she's like a different person every time she visits me. Now, the joyous version is kinda infectious, that one's fun - but some of the others, well.. there's anger, which is pretty destructive. And then there's.. well, I'm sure you'll see when she comes. Or hopefully not.."
Allo seemingly possesses no special abilities.
Meph "Meph is an asshole. And I mean that in the most sincere way possible. He's dangerous. In my experience, he's just plain evil - I swear. He don't feel remorse for hurtin' nobody, and goes out of his way to do it! He even hurts me, the bastard! He won't kill me, of course, 'cause he needs me to live, but he's shown he doesn't care 'bout anybody. And he can't be negotiated with - trust me, I've tried. If he shows up, I gotta try my best to shunt him away, or anyone nearby is in danger."
Meph is capable of conjuring flames, and small-to-medium-sized explosions.
"There've been other inmates who've visited me - but not many were humans like those I mentioned before. The ones I didn't already talk about were.. monsters and beasts. Luckily, I've managed to avoid getting hurt too bad when they do come around, and fortunately I can shunt away the ones that aren't too strong - but my own summons are harder to disperse than other dreamers' - at least for me. I've managed to come out on top so far, but my luck will run out, sooner or later.."
Bio: Being born into a world razed by misfortune and cataclysm, raised by the rough equivalent of what would be a foster parent, Pallyx is probably one of the more fortunate, if wayward, souls in the galaxy. She grew up in relative safety with her foster 'mother' amidst one of The Nova Republic's smaller cities. Her mother was a rather aloof, uncaring woman who rarely gave Pallyx the time of day. She managed only to feed and shelter her, and little more. Which, naturally, led Pallyx to grow interested in things further and further away from the unnurturing woman.
It was early in her life that she began to acquire knowledge of the ways of the world and how to survive the elements and the dangers of the planet around her. Similarly disadvantaged youths were quick to provide aide to their fellow socially-impoverished adolescents. By her early teen years, she had grown to become a pretty skilled thief, scrapper, and evader-of-law-enforcement. Some would say she had become quite the miscreant.
But, the ways of a childish outlaw weren't all there was to the world, and Pallyx knew that, one way or another. She was often one to explore the outskirts of civilization and maybe wonder a bit too far for her own good. It was during one of these dinky little adventures that Pallyx would make a mistake that would change her life forever.
While out exploring, she discovered an opportunity to steal from a traveling merchant. And the thing she stole was something she had never discovered before. A.. shard. What happened next, well.. you know.
After being infected by whatever it was that she had stolen, she was terrified to return to what home she had. She was young enough to be a fool enough to touch such a shard, but old enough to know that Dreamers were feared. Ousted. And by some, hunted. And so, she ran. She didn't really know where, but she did. After gathering what she could to try and keep herself alive, she fled from the only city she had ever known and put what skills she had learned to use, barely keeping herself alive.
And she continued skirting by for years, alone, on the outskirts of civilization. As time went on, though, she grew bolder as a person. She would "infiltrate" cities or towns and hide amongst the citizens as a normal person. After all, nobody could possibly know she was a dreamer, right? This growth worked in her favor - as it turned out, being able to work with others was a good way of keeping oneself alive. She started to do various oddjobs and participate in mercenary-esque work. Stealing and fighting for hire. And, eventually, she discovered a particular line of work that was one of the most lucrative and adventurous of the bunch - shardhunting.
Shardhunters could be of.. dubious ethical cleanliness, but Pallyx was among the more benevolent - or at least she assumed she was. She mainly made her work going after dreamers who had become a problem for cities, towns, whathaveyou - though occasionally she did hunt shardbearers of just dubious morality. She did sometimes feel bad about her work, but.. there were far less humane ways of making a living in a post-apocalyptic Earth. And of course, she had to do all this alone - as her main method for defeating fellow dreamers were her own dream-powers, and she didn't exactly trust anyone.
Over the years, she has grown accustomed to her dream, and some of the quirks with which it comes. Though, with its nature and how it's more than capable of killing her, she can never really get used to it, fully. But, in a world like this, who can really afford to grow comfortable?
Here is my current WIP character, I'm going to end up finishing him up tomorrow. Let me know of anything to change!
Name: Echo Trivalis Fairiday
Gender: Male
Age: 24
Appearance: Echo is a rather young and short man, standing at about 5'4, his short and choppy hair is a dark ashen gray and messy, as if he hadn't even touched a comb in a year or two. He has bright sky-blue eyes that seem to contain intricate weavings and webs almost intersecting within his irises… He is a rather pale individual, having a few small scars here and there on his small hands and on his thin and reasonably long fingers, seemingly from a needle of some kind. He wears a pair of glasses and often keeps spares, that are black in frame and circular in shape, there is beauty in simplicity after all.
Personality: Echo is a generally serious, yet humorous character, and is always one to make a witty remark or bad pun. While often finding himself in less-than-ideal circumstances, he has a knack for finding even the smallest of things a joke to share with the group. He likes to refer to himself as "a serious joker".
Dream: The Weaving, or alternatively, The Spider.
A glowing effervescent web of light, an intricate pattern almost made of sunbeams… A weaving of hope and emotion, and a delicate tapestry to maintain.
Echo’s Dream is a sprawling web of patterns that he can manifest parts of into the tangible world, sometimes as strands of ethereal energy, sometimes as a quilt to keep him or a friend warm. An obsession with patterns, a tapestry that weaves itself to match his own mental state, and the significance of the esoteric which he finds fascinating. A cryptic yet compelling image of what the world is to him.
Bio: Echo is an only child, his father is a retired Shardhunter, and his mother is a practicing doctor. (The rest is a WIP)
Okay I just found this and it sounds interesting as hell.
Here's an idea: It's believed that regaining control after you become a nightmare is next to impossible, and effectively unheard of. Suppose someone did come back as that through some means? In the depths of their dream they found a foothold and slowly rebuilt themselves up, taking back control of their body but becoming physically fucked up in the process. You can just tell they're a dreamer.
Psychologically they're like a broken mirror made whole again. It's one object and the cracks are filled, not removed.
She stands at a meek 5'2, with bright red wavy hair that falls almost to her waist. Her ocean blue eyes hold a bit of mystery to them. Mickie likes to wear outfits that show off her body, usually wearing crop tops and tight leggings. She is thin, but not frail. Her body is slim and athletic.
Personality: Mickie is a straight up bitch. She doesn't care about anybody but herself and loves being the boss of anything and everything.
Or so she wishes to be. In truth, her outer personality is kind, caring, and acceptive. But that isn't who she really wants to be. Mickie wants her voice to be heard, but she feels invisible and that stirs the pot of anger deep within her.
Dream: Swash-buckling pirates. In this dream, Mickie finds herself able to manifest a ship that she has dubbed the Sea Queen. Over time she has been able to summon a pirate crew of four burly men who call their captain Bloodthirsty Mick. When they manifest, her outfit always changes into a hat, boots, corset top and tight britches.
Bio: Not much is known about Mickie's background. As far as she remembers, she was left on someone's front steps when she was just a baby. Ever since then, she was continually passed off to whoever wanted to care for her. That created a lot of resentment in her as a child as she felt nobody truly wanted or cared for her. It continued to happen until she was sixteen and she had had enough.
Running out on her latest foster family, Mickie has been on her own ever since. She found work in a local shop dealing with herbs and medicinal items as the cashier when she was eighteen. It was at that time that she found a shining bright crystal in their garden one day, seemingly something left by a vendor. Not knowing anything about shards, she reached down and wrapped her bare hand around the item.
Her appearance changes depending on which sin she is tapping into. But her just everyday normal appearance is long wavy white hair with short but pronounced horns. She stands at 5'6" with an athletic build.
Will be revealed through the RP
Personality
For most, Syn comes across as quiet, cold, and calculating. She seems indifferent to most things, her only drive appearing to be money. But in truth, all of that is just the barrier she has built around herself in order to protect herself. There is more deep down within her but it would take people willing to break down her shell for anyone to see her truth.
Dream
Her dream is one that starts as a void with a single curved wall in the middle of it. The wall has 7 doors that represent each of the sins. The doors lead to different large areas that represent each sin. These rooms hidden behind the doors, give her access to different abilities that are derived from the sin itself. Some rooms have small areas within them that are a mix of the main sin with some of the other sins. It is why she can sometimes mix the abilities she has between the two sins.
Envy: Copy - variations include -copy a skill: watch and learn a fighting style of another (not stored forever, more of a learn the other persons fight style to use it in a fight) -copy a voice: basically mimic anothers voice -copy appearance: temporary shapeshifting/illusion (harder to do)
Greed: Temporarily siphon souls from a target's dream, decreasing their dream's power level and increasing your own
Gluttony: energy absorption - absorb energy from others or occasionally blows (kinetic energy) and store it to be used in some form of attack
Sloth: Apathy - all feeling, emotion, and sensation becomes non existent. Mainly only useable on self but can project the apathy onto another for short periods
Pride: illusion - believe they are the best at everything so make others see and think they are via illusions
Lust: hypnosis - through manipulation others can be put into a trance. If user knows weaknesses within the mind of the target it makes it harder to break the hypnosis. Rarely can be used hand in hand with prides illusions to put a target into a trance of which their desires live within
Wrath: Berserker - all physical abilities sharply increase and fighting skill improve, pain becomes dulled to a point
Bio
For the most part Syn lived a normal childhood. Her family of three, her and her parents, may have been slightly below the poverty line but they didn't let it impact their happiness. Three major events heavily impacted her life starting at the age of 7.
At 7, her mother fell ill. Her treatment was expensive but Syn's father took up multiple jobs to help pay for the treatment and to keep their family fed. Unfortunately the family had to move into what was essentially the slums to be able to make all ends meet.
At 10, Syn was out dumpster diving when 2 men pushed past her seemingly running and hiding from someone after them based off the shouts she heard. One dropped a bag when he tripped and Syn being a petty thief took the bag and ran off elsewhere. When she was alone and hidden, she opened the bag, a purple object oddly shaped like a 7 point star sitting within the bag. Her curiosity and naivety inevitably leading to her trying to pull the object out to get a closer look. As most who have experienced touching a shard, the shard was absorbed upon touch. Syn went from being an impoverished child to a Dreamer.
At 11, Syn's father died from a workplace accident. Shortly after Syn's Dreamer capabilities were discovered and due to her mother aiding in hiding what Syn was, she was banished from the city they lived within right along with Syn.
Not long after being banished, her mother's health declined rapidly. The sadness, stress, and lack of medicine taking a toll. Desperate to help her mother, Syn searched for anyone who could help her. Eventually she heard of a group who may be able to help and so she sought them out. When she found them, the group made her an offer. They help her mother if she helps and works for them.
Without hesitation, Syn agreed.
The group took them in, giving them a place to live and beginning to take over her mother's treatment. As she was still young, they started her out with small jobs like cleaning and gardening. As she grew older she was tasked with training with some of their dreamers to grow her abilities. It was when her training started she received the codename Syn, a persona she adapted to as she grew older.
At 16 she was taken on her first shard hunt. At 18 she helped face a nightmare to retrieve the shard it possessed. By 20 she was flying solo, taking jobs for the group no matter what it required of her. Assassinating a Dreamer for their shard, taking out nightmares, simply hunting and retrieving unclaimed shards. What the job was didn't matter at the end of the day to her. Her mom is all that mattered, and with her illness worsening the older she got, the more it cost to treat her. Thus meaning the need for more money which she got from her jobs.
Now at 24 Syn has become one of the top shard hunters for the group that offered her aide all those years ago. Her loyalty blind and unwavering as they continue to take care of her mom.