Dreaming (ability)

Dreaming is the process of imagining things on a normal level. During sleep, or sleeplike activites, dreaming is usually the normal activity of the mind.

In Schism lore, dreaming holds much more power. It is the process of mentally creating new things. According to the Silschism, the original dreamer was Nothing. Nothing dreamed of Something, and Something became the Schism. The Schism dreamed, then, and those dreams became Ketic. The Schism, embarrassed at its dreams, attempted to destroy them, but the dreams had become souls, and those souls dreamed up and escaped to Virioz, the physical world.

History
Dreaming has always been a very important part of Zariphexian culture. It is considered the base of all fiction and creativity, and is almost universal among species. If you believe the Schists, it is even the direct origin of all existence.

Dreaming used to be one of the few properties which defined a sentient, living species, though this changed with the discovery of the Quistics, who do not currently have the capacity for dreaming, and so must borrow the dreams of others.

Significance of Dreaming
Dreaming has been observed to have some properties beyond simply entertaining the mind or nurturing creativity, though these exact properties are hard to pinpoint. Some claim to be able to control the flow of fire or water with very focused dreams. The Quistics use dreams as the blueprints for their bodily forms.

Many Schists believe that extremely powerful dreams can directly alter Virioz. The most powerful dreamers were considered to be the Zariphexen, who supposedly could perform incredible, supernatural feats such as carving a mountain into a specific shape without touching it, levitation, or similar abilities. Schist monks attempt to reach this level of dreaming, meditating for years in the hopes of controlling their dreams more easily and raising the effects of those dreams on Virioz.