【 Lore 】

Where It all Began

LUCID Inc. was born off of the backbone of a young girl with a big dream- one she had all intents and purposes of bringing to life.

It all started with the dystopian society that had once plagued our Cloud, Nimbus a hundred years ago. Once a vibrant and bustling locale, the Cloud had become riddled with a growing cult, known as The Harbingers of Sleep, tasked with the lofty goal of reviving their anointed God, Somnus. Desiring to establish a new world order where Nimbus could be the epicenter of his dark dealings, he urged his disciples to harness the energy and power of dreams, wishing to use their power to strengthen his physical form and give him a vessel worthy of his immense and growing power. His disciples began their mission, siphoning and collecting the pleasant dreams of Nimbus' people and offering them to Somnus, who in return granted them the power to create night terrors and severe bouts of sleep paralysis.

These night terrors, due to the sheer power Somnus created them with, were uncontrollable and difficult to manage, even by the stronger followers of the Harbingers. Their chaotic, untameable, and unpredictable nature soon got too out of hand, wreaking havoc amongst the people of Nimbus and making them terrified of falling asleep. Despite the Harbingers' concern and worry, Somnus was thrilled, his plan finally in place to grow his ranks and force the people to fall at his feet. It didn't take long for Nimbus' people to become crazed and desperate- streets were vacant and unkept, storefronts ransacked, and pleasant dreams were far and few, causing many to become chronic insomniacs in fear of the unconscious. Lack of sleep lead to insanity, and if one was lucky enough to still have their head, they turned to Somnus for mercy. It wasn't long until his number of followers increased, scattering from Nimbus to other Clouds, his influence spreading like wildfire.

In the midst of all was a little girl named Kashmir, born to two common Nimbus residents looking to make ends meet. She lived her early developmental years in peace and happiness until the Harbingers destroyed the once safe haven the family had known. Her parents had already fallen into the hands of insomnia and began to fear the worst, not wanting their daughter to suffer at the hands of the Harbingers as they were. However, they were shocked beyond belief when the young girl slept peacefully through each night, seemingly without a care in the world. It seemed as if the girl was immune to the night terrors and bouts of sleep paralysis the Harbingers inflicted upon the masses, but in fact, she wasn't. Instead of fearing the demons that festered in her nightmares, Kashmir befriended them- one in particular who made all the difference.

Continued

It started with a question- during a bout of sleep paralysis, the young girl felt as if she was peering over her sleeping form to see a shadowy figure in her doorway, the hypnagogic illusion rumbling deep and indecipherable incantations in an attempt to terrify and incapacitate her. His rumblings continued until her little voice had interrupted, a question the illusion had never expected to ever hear fall from her lips.

"Can I name you?"

That question sparked many a night of the demon attempting to terrify Kashmir to no avail, the little girl asking the same question over and over again much to his frustration. He had finally relented after months of attempts, to which the girl happily called him "Durge".

Kashmir and Durge's relationship was dysfunctional at best, the demon doing everything he possibly could to terrorize the girl but getting himself nowhere in the process, the girl too stubborn and naive to realize that her antics were irritating him. He found himself subjected to a barrage of annoying questions about his favorite flowers and his personal life- and despite the pestiferous nature of the little girl, he couldn't help the growing soft spot in his shadowy heart for her. It wasn't long before he found himself wrapped around her pinky finger, surrendering himself to tea parties and dress-ups in the lucid dreamscape of her unconscious. As Kashmir grew, Durge grew with her, becoming a source of comfort and stability for her in the web of uncertainty that was Nimbus. It wasn't long before her parents. like many others, relinquished their autonomy to Somnus in exchange for peaceful sleep. Angered by Somnus' cruelty and insatiable hunger for power and suffering, Kashmir made it her mission to save her family and those around her.

Upon expressing her desire to defeat Somnus, Durge was hesitant, the sleep paralysis demon a direct amalgamation of what Kashmir sought to destroy. Despite his pushback, her hold on him was too strong to release himself from, and with much deliberation, he agreed to turn his back on his maker and fight for the good of Nimbus' people. Well-versed and skilled in the inner workings and machinations of lucid dreaming, Kashmir planned to destroy Somnus by having Durge enter his dreams, plaguing him with the same horrors and atrocities that he pawned off on others. It took years of planning and dialogue before they set their plan into motion, Durge successfully rendering Somnus incapable of waking up from his torment, causing his physical form to weaken and his power to wane and become dormant.

The people of Nimbus celebrated, and Somnus' more devout followers were either captured and detained or fled into hiding. Now that Durge had completed the first part of their plan, it was Kashmir's turn to fulfill her end, gaining the repute and loyalty of the people by assisting with the rebuilding process. This gave her enough brownie points to become involved with the President of Nimbus, granting her permission to create a resource to spread dreams far and wide to the people of Nimbus and beyond if she so wished, and hence, LUCID Inc. was born. Alongside LUCID, multiple Bureaus and Criminal Investigation programs have now developed and seek to find any outstanding members of the Harbingers and continue to do so at present, following any leads and tips on night terrors when they are reported.

Throughout the years and even after the end of Kashmir's life, LUCID has become a pillar of opportunity for aspiring dream walkers and dream weavers alike, looking to perfect their crafts and bring dreams to Nimbus for the masses to enjoy as they fall asleep. Its many specialized departments offer a variety of dream types and growth for anyone looking to get into the field, and the company only hopes to continue bringing dreams for centuries to come.

【 Characters 】

CEO

Department Directors

【 Departments 】

---

---

---

---

---

---

---