“There is a Shadow World, like our own but different, existing alongside ours but never touching. Some people call it the world of dreams, but it is as real as anything else...”

Important Note: Neither you nor your character has to know or have any interest in the metaplot. Participation in it is largely optional, aside from game-changing events. This post has been put up strictly to aid the players who are actively pursuing the metaplot. Reading this before apping is completely optional.

Dagaz
It began with the device: The Grasp. Engineered and built by the royal valet, a sniveling, unpleasant man named Skokan, it was activated to seek out the perfect mate for Prince Tristan. Reaching out into all of the Known Worlds, it drew in the first batch of candidates. They were assembled in a dormitory, known as the Waiting Room, where they were put in the care of two mortal women, a Hylian dancer named Adriana and a human alchemist named Casey. Although it became clear, early on, that the two mortals were not happy with their assignment, they dutifully began to help the candidates adjust. They also warned the candidates about a Nysgod criminal, Quinn, who was reportedly out to sabotage the entire operation.

Life in the Waiting Room was monotonous and dull. The candidates were given little to do and only a tasteless nutritional paste to eat. They were brought some comforts, however, from a friendly Nysgod man named Jaan. Although it was clear that he did not get along well with Skokan, he befriended all the candidates easily, as did two of his comrades, Edwin, who ran the Seers Guild, the Nysgod army, and Edwin's mate, Blake, who owned a tavern in the capital city of Dagaz. The candidates were told that they would meet Prince Tristan at a ball. If they were not selected as his mate, they would be sent home. Soon after the announcement, the candidates woke up one night to lights being off in the Waiting Room and weapons by their bedsides. A few of them found out an intruder was in the Waiting Room, but no one was actually seen. After a few hours, the lights came back on and weapons were confiscated. Adriana remained very hush about the whole thing and Casey was nowhere to be seen for a few days. Investigating her room, a few candidates discovered a silver rose. Research told them that the rose was a spell, granting permission to whoever cast the spell to touch anything that the rose touched.

The candidates began to have nightmares. They grew progressively worse over the course of a couple of days until, one day, the candidates felt compelled to enter a game room in the Waiting Room. There, they found a plain, white box. Inside were cardboard pieces of a dollhouse. After assembling the dollhouse, candidates made little pawns of themselves and put them inside. They were directed to draw pictures of their worst nightmares. And one by one, each candidate fell asleep. They woke up inside of the house, broken up into three groups. Each group was greeted by Quinn, who snidely told them that the only way they could survive was by running to the attic of the dollhouse. As the candidates made their way, they faced each other's nightmares. Surprisingly, after a lot of fighting and struggling, Quinn reappeared to each group, his behavior completely different. He opened up portals for each group to escape, sending them all tumbling out, scattered across Dagaz.

To apologize for the dollhouse incident, the Head Carver of the Nysgods, Uri offered to bring the candidates some comforts from home. They also learned more about the Nysgod race, particularly, their method of reproduction, which involves a Nysgod male imprinting on a mortal. Nysgods can only fall in love once. Hoping to speed along the process for the candidates, Queen Thea moved up the ball. A tailor named Arion designed clothing for them. All of the candidates were then paraded before Tristan, but the sulky, petulant prince didn't seem to fall in love with any of them. As promised, the candidates who wanted to leave were escorted back to the Grasp by Skokan. Unfortunately, the machine was malfunctioning, and anyone who was sent home was immediately brought back. The candidates were sent back to the Waiting Room but to keep them from getting stir crazy, they were granted permission to venture out into the city of Dagaz during the day. They were allowed to find jobs and participate in activities.

Not long after this shift, Dagaz was hit by a terrifying meteor shower. The meteors caused strange and magical things to happen to many of the candidates. When it abated, King Mithos addressed the public, as though the meteor shower were some kind of attack. He wouldn't answer any questions about who was attacking or why, but he assured everyone that the situation was under control. As candidates continued to arrive, some mysteriously vanished. Those that disappeared were often "replaced" by toys. This was blamed on Quinn, who had a penchant for games.

One day, Skokan put a call on the network, claiming that a wild beast had managed to come through the Grasp. He asked for a few volunteers from the candidates to retrieve it. Those selected were taken to an enormous greenhouse. After a series of mishaps, they discovered a feral woman named Insa. She was a Daruc, an island race that Skokan abhorred for some reason. Insa was brought back to the Waiting Room where it was revealed that she was a friend of Adriana and Casey.


Thurisaz
A second meteor shower, even more savage than the first, nearly destroyed Dagaz. This time, a name was given to the responsible party. They were called the "Polarians," but nothing more was revealed about them. For their safety, the candidates were sent out of Dagaz, to a city called Thurisaz. Thurisaz was everything Dagaz was not: disorganized, chaotic, noisy, and filled with mortals. The leader of the free-thinking citizens of Thurisaz was a Carver named Hesiod. Hesiod and his people, among them Jaan, were opposed to the rule of King Mithos and were eager for a change in the laws which ruled that a Nysgod could only fall in love once. The figurehead of their protests was a Nysgod named Robin who lost his only love and committed suicide for fear of living the rest of eternity alone.

The candidates were given their own house and the run of the town. Many found jobs or idled away the hours, indulging in the many vices the city had to offer. Casey proposed that they try to build their own version of the Grasp, in an attempt to escape. The candidates put together what they could, but when the device was activated, instead of behaving like the original Grasp, it behaved in the opposite manner. It drew in monstrous creatures who could never be mates for Tristan. They ravaged the city and one of them, a dragon, carried off Casey. Insa led several candidates on a mission to rescue Casey.

Hesiod started to show a nasty streak when he locked up a Nysgod woman, in front of everyone, announcing that he planned to execute her. The candidates didn't like this one bit and they staged a massive rescue. The woman was grateful and quickly fled the city. Meanwhile, the candidates continued to grow frustrated as people disappeared, replaced by toys. Skokan firmly believed that Quinn was responsible and suggested that the best way to get information on where Quinn was hiding these people was to get to him through his friend, Jaan.

He sent several candidates on an astral projection journey, telling them to seek out Jaan's contact in a mortal city. The candidates instead met Esme, Jaan's mate, who insisted that neither Jaan nor Quinn had been kidnapping anyone. It seemed, however, that Skokan, a longtime rival of Jaan, had simply been after the name of his mate. A few days later, Jaan made a public announcement, renouncing Hesiod and his revolutionary ideas. This, combined with the rescue of the Nysgod woman, was the final straw. Riots began to break out in Thurisaz, the candidates being targeted for violence. After two days, the Nysgod woman the candidates saved, who was Anastasia, the wife of Uri and a high priestess, offered an escape from Thurisaz. It also became known that the Nysgod realm was also known as "Niflheim."


Othala
The candidates were taken to a temple, high above the ground, known as "Othala." There, Anastasia informed them that there was more to their arrival than simply meeting Tristan. A prophecy foretold that a group of mortals would someday control the fate of Niflheim. It was more than just the one who would be chosen as Tristan's mate. They would all play a hand. She further confessed that the Nysgods had watched many of the candidates for years before the Grasp was constructed. She offered them the opportunity to train and hone their skills, hoping to curry favor for the side of Mithos, over the side of Hesiod.

The candidates continued to seek answers about Quinn and Tristan, turning to both Jaan and Insa. The two of them were silenced by the Nysgods, but one night, not long after, all of the candidates who slept in their communication devices had unusual dreams, all featuring the same woman. The night that the dreams occurred, several candidates also saw Casey walking through the hallways with the silver rose, dragging it along the wall. Behind her was the tailor, Arion. They spoke in whispers, then disappeared. A few days later, however, Casey encouraged the candidates to meet together to try to discuss their dreams.

Not too long after, sheets of paper appeared all over the temple and in everyone's room. The sheets told a cruel bedtime story, revealing the secrets of many of the candidates. The moral of the story was "Don't go looking into things that are none of your business, children." The candidates were all enraged, as were the Nysgods. Skokan named Quinn the responsible party and an investigation was launched. Many of the candidates didn't trust the investigation to Skokan, particularly after some of them caught him questioning Esme. Although he released Esme eventually, she passed along a name to the candidates: Mia. Unfortunately, she didn't have time to tell them who Mia was. The candidates, meanwhile, began to question Skokan about the silver rose. Skokan was puzzled, explaining that a silver rose was an ancient Nysgod enchantment, known as a "permission spell." Any Nysgod who created such a spell would be granted permission to touch anything the rose touched. This also meant that the rose would allow such a Nysgod to access the temple. He suggested there might be a traitor among the candidates.

The candidates, tired of sitting around, decided to try hacking into the communications network. They were partially successful and happened to intercept several communications revealing that Tristan, in fact, had already found his mate and that she had died. Her name was Mia. Before all of this could be processed, however, the hacking backfired, causing the candidates to walk through one another's mindscapes.


Gebo
Enraged by the behavior of the candidates, Skokan decided to have them relocated to another city, for the safety of the royal family. They were sent to the underwater village of Gebo. Originally settled by Nysgods who mated with mermaids, sirens, and sea nymphs, Gebo was the manufacturing capital of Niflheim. The candidates were put to work, helping with the design and construction of luxury goods. They were put into barracks with assigned rooms and asked to wear uniforms. Many of the candidates did not care for the way they were treated. Jaan returned to offer some support to the candidates, but admitted that there wasn't much he could do, since Skokan had leverage over him and Esme.

Some of the candidates continued to investigate the mysterious toys being left behind when people disappeared. Eventually, they turned to Tristan for answers. Tristan told them that, while he hadn't followed up on the disappearances of all the candidates, a few of the ones he had turned up back in their home universes, with no memory of Niflheim. This led to some confusion, since other candidates, who were replaced by toys, returned to Niflheim with memories of being knocked unconscious and held in a crystal room. Was Quinn the responsible party? Was there more than one?

Desperate to escape the monotony of life in Gebo, the candidates turned to different coping mechanisms. A handful attempted to hijack a shuttle and escape to the surface. The shuttles, being short-range vehicles, didn't have enough fuel. Stranded in the middle of the ocean, the candidates contacted Casey for help. She agreed to assist them, but only if they followed her exact instructions: Turn off all the lights, don't move, and don't speak a word about it to anyone. The candidates agreed and did as she asked. Much to their surprise, the royal tailor, Arion, appeared in the shuttle, slipping them out one-by-one and dropping them back in the barracks. Although they asked some questions, Arion never said a word.

Other candidates decided to stage a protest. They refused to go to their assigned jobs and stopped earning rent, setting up a camp in one of the local parks. Some even went on hunger strikes. The natives of Gebo did not understand their actions. They did not align with the Gebo worldview that there's no such thing as not enjoying work. Finally, the candidates reached out to Skokan. He agreed to speak to the royal family about relocating them, but only if he was delivered a sincere apology for hacking the network. Some candidates seemed more willing to go along with this than others.

Before Skokan could visit however, six candidates experienced intense nightmares. In the days following these nightmares, parts of the dreams became reality, attacking Gebo. The natives and candidates struggled to stem the damage, but a lot of people were hurt. The natives blamed Quinn, Hesiod, the Polarians. No real culprit was found. The whole disaster was enough to make some candidates reevaluate the apology and, eventually, over three fourths signed a letter. In return, Skokan spoke to the royal family on behalf of the candidates and obtained an empty patch of land, to let them settle for themselves. Five days later, the candidates were packed up and ready to move.


The Wyld
Skokan planned to escort the candidates to an open plane where they could set up a village. Unfortunately, their trip was hijacked by a furious Hesiod. He trapped them in a world between shadows, known as "the Wyld." There, he madly admitted that he'd caused the nightmares, in the hopes of turning the candidates against the royal family. Instead, he was enraged to see them signing the apology, a document he took to be a treaty with the royal family, aligning the candidates with them in the Nysgod civil war. Skokan attempted to protest, explaining that the apology was no such thing, but Hesiod wouldn't listen. He Carved Out Skokan, in front of the candidates, and abandoned them in the Wyld, alone and without anyone aware of where they were.

The Wyld proved to be a volatile place, but the candidates got to work setting up a homestead, with the help of Insa, who as it turned out, was a survivalist. As people got to know Insa a little better, they also learned more about her history with the Nysgods. Namely, they discovered that she and Tristan were once lovers. It was after Tristan had already met Mia, so he could never truly love her. Nor could Insa love Tristan, who she blamed for the death of her husband.

The candidates weathered several storms as the fabric of reality brushed up against the Wyld. Then they had to deal with a migrating pack of demons who came to the Wyld to mate. The candidates managed to befriend one of the demons, however, named Ariadne. As it turned out, she knew of the Nysgods and had a friend among them. She even offered to help rescue the candidates when she learned of their plight. Additionally, she delivered a book to one of the candidates, detailing a great war, in which Casey, Adriana, Tristan, and one other Nysgod took part. It was unclear who this Nysgod was, but there were references to a high priestess named Egime that held some kind of power over him.

Unwilling to bide their time quietly, the candidates attempted several escapes. They tried to blast their way through the filament of the sky, causing the Wyld to retaliate by forcing them to suffer each other's nightmares. They tried using a bell found among Casey's possessions, which resulted in lightning storms, spelling out cryptic messages in Morse code. And finally, they attempted to make a psychic connection with the Wyld. They learned that Grasp, a device of incredible amounts of energy, was slowly killing the Wyld. It wanted to be rid of the horrible machine.

It was during another lightning storm that the sky itself opened. This time, it dropped a strange, alien vessel on the Wyld. Painted on the side of the vessel was a single word: Egime. At first, the ship was a lifeless hull. A strange, erratic message from Casey revealed that its fuel had been destroyed by the effort of breaking through the walls of reality. It was also clear, from her message, that something was very wrong with Casey. Her behavior was unpredictable and she was screaming for no apparent reason until Adriana put an end to the message. Just before she did, however, Arion the tailor entered the frame.

After some plotting and planning, the candidates managed to fashion an engine, using the Grasp as a source of energy. The Egime came to life, fusing with the Grasp and pulling all of the candidates on board. They were unable to get into the cockpit, but there was evidently someone there, who sent them a message to pack their things and prepare to leave. The next day, the Egime departed from the Wyld, the candidates with it, whether they wanted to go or not. The Grasp, it seemed, had tethered them to the ship.


The Egime
Whoever was piloting the Egime decided to take the candidates along for a joyride through the multiverse. On occasion, the ship would dock in some strange, exotic port, remain there long enough to gather supplies and have some excitement, then take off again. On such port was the city of An-Teng where Jaan lived with Esme. From Jaan, the candidates learned that the Nysgod government had no idea what happened between Skokan and Hesiod and no idea that the candidates had been trapped in the Wyld. Several candidates implored him not to tell and he agreed. He did, however, warn them that the Nysgods would come looking for them eventually.

As the journey continued, Casey would occasionally appear in the hallways. She seemed disoriented and lost, chasing after a puppy that continually ran away from her. Candidates who ran into her quickly realized that she had suddenly developed the ability to read thoughts and that she had a strange marking on her back. They eventually deduced that she had somehow become a Nysgod. Most of them blamed Hesiod, although a few blamed Quinn. Casey, unfortunately, was not in the right frame of mind to explain what happened to her, constantly slipping away through the shadows. The candidates who were kind to her, however, woke to find gifts in the form of puppies. Evidently, someone was watching.

The top three decks of the Egime were closed off to the candidates, but a gas leak led the mysterious pilot to allow them access to the lowest one. It proved to be a paradise, completely with lush green fields and a carousel. Everything about it seemed designed to soothe and relax an individual. Some candidates figured that it was meant to contain Casey and help her control her moods.

The Egime docked for awhile in Casey's homeland, a kingdom called Shaldani. The Queen, her aunt, hosted a festival and all of the candidates attended. Several, however, were detained by local law enforcement, who explained that Casey was a princess and had been missing for quite some time. The Captain of the guard, a woman named Ishka, suggested that they were blaming a Nysgod for her disappearance, although she privately indicated that she thought Casey was better off with the Nysgods than with her own family.

A few candidates almost met up with Ariadne in Shaldani. She revealed to them that her Nysgod friend was Quinn, who first came to Shaldani when he imprinted on Casey. Casey, who was married, did not return his affections, which led to him creating a dollhouse, just like the one the candidates encountered in Dagaz, to capture her. Casey and her friends managed to escape, sealing Quinn inside for a few months. After the incident, Quinn made several more attempts to steal Casey away, all of them proving unsuccessful. Eventually, Ariadne admitted, he stopped trying to kidnap her and simply joined the war efforts until Shaldani was liberated. After that, he disappeared.

As the ship moved on, several candidates who had disappeared in the prior months reappeared, with memories of bizarre conversations between Casey and Jaan and a third party. Evidently, there was something bigger going on.