SONGEREIN

It is the third dreamshift, and when everyone rouses and becomes aware of their situation, they find themselves dressed in Verona, a gothic city where night reigns everlasting and violence lurks around every corner. Not because of crime, but because of the two main families, the Montagues and the Capulets, everlasting feud. Fights break out almost every other minute and peace is hard sought after. However, peace is perhaps on the table, for the Capulets are hosting a grand masquerade in a gesture of truce. But it's difficult when one of Montague's sons is cursed as a Lindworm, one of the key reasons why there is a feud to begin with.

"But that's not really all that important," a voice echoes around them. It's a voice different from the tapirs that they've grown accustomed to, and after another moment it chimes in again. "Up here my fair little dreamwalkers."

And lo, high above in the permanent night sky is a moon so full and bright that it almost feels as if it could swallow them whole. After learning about the Story Eater's actions against Songerein's moon, the appearance of a face would certainly alarm many. But then the face seems to recede before it changes into a full person holding a quill and manuscript.

"Greetings! I am William Shakespeare and you are now within my own dream, a dreamscape I believe you call it. My works can be found in many places and in many worlds. Yet that accursed Story Eater has been devouring my masterpieces! I must now pen them all over again, but one of its minions is invading my mind and altering everything and I refuse to become a brainless puppet like Marlowe. I have isolated it within this place of my own design based off of Romeo and Juliet. However it seems after my reading of the Lindworm King, my visions have been affected a bit, but no matter. A playwright must find inspiration where he can!

But it is now up to you to see this play through completion. Doing so will help those outside draw out the fiend through the accumulated dreamotion energy, and if you could give it a few stabs that will help as well. Not all of you need to partake in my play, and I have already chosen my leading actors and actresses. You should find a brief copy of the script on your person, but you may act however you wish. However, I should warn you—this is a tragedy, so deaths are expected. But fear not, you will leave this dreamscape perhaps a bit tired, but unharmed. It's all a dream after all.

Now that should cover it. I look forward to seeing how everyone's tragic romances will play out. It may give me material for my next masterpiece!"

And just as suddenly as he had appeared, Shakespeare disappears from the moon, leaving it to loom brightly over the otherwise dark city.

✵ TEST DRIVE MEME: JANUARY ✵
IMPORTANT! While anyone is welcome to participate in the TDM, our applications are closed to current players only. Our next public cycle won't be until March. Thus this TDM is an abbreviated version compared to our usual ones.

A reminder that our Test Drive Memes double as an Intro Log and threads can be carried over in-game. They are also required for samples. Refer to the Game Info for general information and feel free to toss any TDM related questions here. Reserves are open and Applications open on January 1st for current players only. Our application cycles are bi-monthly so the next cycle won't be until March.

✵ HALLOWEEN NIGHTMARE: PART I ✵

It comes without warning. A few nights before Halloween, when the moon is supposed to be full and bright, it suddenly blinks out and turns pitch black. Even the stars seem to be covered, casting a strange darkness all over Songerein. While the fae sense something unusual, the newly arrived people—the dreamwalkers—all suddenly fall over asleep as if struck by a curse. Thick, black fog covers the town and one by one their bodies glow bright before converting into dream energy and disappearing into their crystals.

Alarmed, the tapirs investigate, some plunging deep into the realm of dreams to try and find wherever they went. What they discover is something they had never seen before—a massive dreamscape rippling through the dimensions, one full of life, color, and sound. It's as if its own little world, unaware that a giant group has dropped in uninvited. Before the dreamwalkers can be too confused, the tapirs send out a message via their crystals:

Careful, Dreamwalkers! We don't understand what's happening, but you have entered an unusual dreamscape, one where everyone here believes this to be their own world. It feels unstable, to the point where if too much disturbance happens it could turn this entire place into a nightmare! One that could affect Songerein!

Good news is it looks like they're throwing a huge party, so maybe if you just have fun and help out, it will pass quickly and you can return. There's a strange barrier that prevents anyone from coming out of the dream normally...but, we'll figure it out! Just try and have fun, okay?

That might be a tall order for some, but there's little choice. Already everyone has been outfitted in appropriate costumes that serve as "disguises"—some more realistic than others—allowing them to blend in. So long as they follow along and don't cause any disruptions, the locals won't bat an eye. However, the moment someone behaves oddly, such as speaking of other worlds or not behaving in a "frightfully ghoulish" manner when expected, the locals will start eying them with suspicion and small cracks will start to form in various places, most notably the sky where are a large grinning moon watches over everything. Fortunately it will take quite a lot before things get dangerous, but care is needed.

Now, what kind of "dream" have they been pulled into?

✵ GAME OPENING LOG ✵
Normally our TDMs serve as intro logs, but we have prepared a special character intro log for game opening! It is a massive, chaotic feast that can only be found in a dreamworld like Songerein. You can also use this to continue ongoing TDM threads, especially as it nears captcha. Reminder that any thread from the TDM can be carried over. Players are also welcome to make their own logs for things if they would rather skip this part. Be sure to read the Mod Announcement for other information and you can ask any questions regarding the log here.

Songerein—

A dream world born from the clash of three different universes. One world produced emotion energy, a byproduct created when one's emotions manifested into a more tangible force. Another produced dream energy, a byproduct of one's dreams that allowed one to view and traverse through them. Both worlds produced so much excess energy they were diverted into an empty universe and happened to collide, producing a new, strange world made up of a new source, dreamotion energy. It remained a barren wasteland until a tear through the dimensions appeared and the concepts of fairy tales poured through. Magic, creatures, environments—they were all dumped in a central location and life began to form. But were they real? Or just figments of what they used to be? Regardless, this giant clash has created a unique world filled with unlimited possibilities.

But of course, a clash of this size would have some side effects. The dream energy in particular remains volatile and continues to seep out with its innate ability to connect to any dream in any world. If there is a strong enough resonance between the dreamer and dream energy, a version of the dreamer, a dream self, is formed and pulled into Songerein while the original body remains in their world safe, unharmed, and unaware of what's going on. Only after accumulating enough dreamotion energy can the dream self "wake up" and leave Songerein to return to its original body, all its experiences felt like a strange, long dream.

Fortunately, Songerein is relatively...peaceful. It's a brand new world after all with only the fairy tale creatures and the dream selves, or dreamwalkers as they are officially called, pulled from other worlds as its denizens. There may be times the different energies become unstable, but it only creates a slight disturbance that eventually settles. Still, the constant connecting and reconnecting through the dream energy means that different things are randomly pulled in and disappear from the world. Those who have decided to make Songerein their home want to build onto it by using the ability to traverse through dreams to their advantage. By creating dreamshifts, they can create giant dreamscapes based on other worlds that large groups of dreamwalkers can enter and bring back concepts to be used in Songerein. Beginning with fairy tales, dreamwalkers could also form dreamshifts based on their own home worlds to bring in something from there. As a bonus, this uses the excess dreamotion energy within the world, helping stabilize it.

So, what kind of world will Songerein become? Just remember…

Where there are dreams, there are also nightmares.

Songerein is a panfandom game based on the following three former games: Somarium, Empatheias, and Forgotten Tales. At its core it is a worldbuilding game with adventure and character development. Player and character action will be what decides what is brought into Songerein, be it for good or ill. Although it's expected for players to be able to create their own fun and not rely solely on the mods, Songerein is billed to be more of a relaxed game for everyone to have fun in.