The Dream Monsters

Dream Monsters /drēm mänstər/ are a race originating from the country of Untergan. It is thought that during ancient times, when gods roamed the planet, the Dark God Mauth unleashed a curse onto those with weak and distressed minds living on Untergan that would change and shift them to resemble more of his image. This curse, called The Dream Monster Curse, The Dream Monster Disease, or simply Mauth's Curse, afflicts those of adult maturity that have been broken and worn down by the world, most notably from some kind of trauma. When the mind is pushed over the edge and the original person reaches a breaking point, the Dream Monster Disease will start forming in the brain. It is theorized that Dream Monsters can only form within hosts that have a soul as it uses the soul as a source of power during formation.

Appearance

Dream Monsters vary in appearance; some are various different species and creatures like humans, animals, and even aliens. The defining traits of Dream Monsters are their unique facial structure, horns, and prominent eye and mouth colors. If the creature the Dream Monster takes over already has a pair of horns, they may slightly change shape or no change will occur at all.

Dream Monsters have glowing eyes and a crooked, jack-o-lantern like mouth with a very long tongue that is fat at the base and gets skinny toward the tip. Their eyes and mouth glow bright during the night and there can be various color combinations as well. The eye shape remains consistent with all Dream Monsters, their eyes appear catlike with a vertical slit pupil that may widen or get thinner according to excitement and other different emotions. They do not appear to possess an iris or any sort of sclera, as the color takes up the entire eyeball.

The colors their eyes, mouth, and horns may have will vary. Some Dream Monsters will have the same color for both eyes and mouth and some will have different colors. It has been noticed that different colored eyes and mouths are a rarer trait in Dream Monsters. Their spit and drool will share the same color as their mouth and will glow as well. Horn shapes and colors vary wildly and can take on any appearance. It has been deduced that the amount of horns that will form can vary, but the most common amount are two.

When a Dream Monster is experiencing an extreme form of a certain emotion like rage, fear, and incredible sadness their facial colors may change. The colors that change during these emotions may be completely different than their original colors. More is to be studied regarding the color changing capabilities of ones eyes and mouth in the future.

Dream Monsters are typically much larger than the average standing human; when one takes over a host, the host may grow up to a foot taller than its original size after transformation.

It has been observed that Dream Monsters have black internal organs, although the color of their blood still mirrors whatever species the body is.

Formation And Life Cycle

Dream Monster formation takes a time period between 2-4 months and will give side effects like nausea, hallucinations, profuse sweating, vomiting, stomach pain, phantom senses and spasms, limbs moving without your control, and the most notable being recurring nightmares. It has been recorded that the forming Dream Monster will appear and take shape in the host's dreams and will gradually become less abstract in nature and more fully put together toward the end of formation. Brain scans have concluded that formation is visible in the brain as a black mass (called the "black core") in the center that gradually grows over time. This mass can be surgically removed, but reemerging of a Dream Monster is still a possibility if the host does not go through treatment after the removal. The removal procedure is still a new and ever-improving process, but common outcomes after removal are frequent migraines and amnesia that may disappear over time. Traumatic memories appear to be erased on removal of the mass during this process as well. This procedure is mostly successful but can fail if the black core is in the process of splitting or other various factors like surgical error and the mass not being fully removed.

Once formation is complete, strenuous transformation will occur between the host and the Dream Monster. During this process, the mind is entirely wiped of information besides basic functions and cognitive tasks like reading and writing. The body will then physically change in size and facial appearance, as well as internal organs darkening and becoming black. The transformation process causes great strain on the body and has a 40% success rate, meaning most people who reach this stage may die during the transformation process. The new body, which is now a combination of the Dream Monster and the host, then lives life completely anew with no recollection of who they once were besides retaining the memory of their first name. Dream Monsters possess an immense amount of strength and immortality.

Within certain circumstances, transformation may not occur. Instead, a phenomenon known as "splitting" may take place. During this process, the Dream Monster mass located in the brain will rapidly expand and detach itself from the brain, moving toward the spinal cord and tearing open the host's back and emerging as a physical form. Once separated from the host's body, the torn wound miraculously closes, only leaving a slight scar on some individuals. The process of splitting has a 5% success rate, making it an extremely rare Dream Monster case. The Dream Monster that emerges through splitting appears small and childlike for the first 5 days of its life until it becomes full size. When split, the Dream Monster does not retain general attributes like speech and the ability to read and must learn these things on its own. The Dream Monster will copy the organs and body structure of the original host as well and will be considered whatever species of creature the original host is and can reproduce. The memories of the host are not erased and partially shared with the Dream Monster during the splitting process. Split Dream Monsters possess a special connection to their original host and will always know where the host is at all times. They will also have unique abilities that they may obtain over time, like fusion with the host and potential flight. These Dream Monsters are invincible in the sense that they cannot die in any way, but will cease to exist when the original host passes away. When severely damaged, split Dream Monsters may be able to retract back into the host's body and recuperate and begin the splitting process again. Things like fusion with the host, retracting into the host's body, and splitting another additional time puts intense strain on the host and may cause death if the body can no longer sustain itself.

Dream Monsters can have children that can have their traits passed on to them. Pure Dream Monster children can be born from two Dream Monster parents, while Dream Monster Hybrids can be born to a Dream Monster and a normal parent. Dream Monster and Hybrid children can have various traits passed on, like their facial structure, horns, and superb strength. In terms of lifespan and growth, it has been observed that all Dream Monster children will grow in size like the average person until reaching 18, being the point they completely stop growth altogether. Dream Monster offspring can also reproduce as well, even Hybrids. However, Hybrid parents that produce children may have fewer traits passed down to the child, and as the generation progresses, fewer and fewer traits may be passed down until no more are present and the children eventually become fully normal. Dream Monster children will be immortal like their parents, while Dream Monster Hybrid children may have lifespans of 100-200 years. Toward a Hybrid's death, they may rapidly deteriorate and the death process will begin to take place as the Hybrid disintegrates into dust.

History

The first recorded Dream Monsters are Traugott and Cheveyo Vanhal, two sons born by the Vanhal Royal Family in Year 76. When their transformation occurred, members of the kingdom were horrified at the sight of their new forms and exiled the two. It is theorized that their transformations were a direct result of Traugott's assassination of their parents Queen Dinnito Vanhal and King Corron Vanhal.

Traugott and Cheveyo split and formed two factions; The Zadok, led by Traugott, and The Anzon, led by Cheveyo. Throughout history, these two factions were at odds with each other about how to assimilate into society with the general populous; Traugott leading his people and wiping out those who reject them, while Cheveyo leads his people and works with political figures and other higher ups in the country to make peace.

Following the events of The Great Dream Monster War finally coming to a close decades since it had been started, Cheveyo had stepped up as the sole leader and made amends with the regular Tortunian people. The Untergan Government bestowed ownership of Zanzon, an island off the coast of Untergan, to claim as the Dream Monster's own to rebuild their society and have their own home country. Dream Monsters roam the planet and come in all shapes and sizes with various origins, and have successfully assimilated into society and are identified as an official race of people.