Dreamers Of Light Emblem History
History & Symbolism of the Emblem of House Dreamers of Light [ Dreamers of Light Forum ]
Posted by Dr Carl G Jung at isdn-d3-35.wt.net on August 23, 1998 at 05:25:32:
Brothers and Sisters of Light: Some days ago, a respectful and inquisitive member of Sable Moon sought me out at the Front Entrance of House Dreamers of Light, to learn something of our House's history. On the chance that some of you may not have heard the tale of how our House Emblem was created, and what it symbolizes, I reprint my recorded memories for you here:
08:48:50: You Say: Hello Chandra. You needed to see me about something?
08:48:51: >Dr Carl G Jung bows
08:49:17: Chandra: Yes, if you have a little free time, I am in desperate need of stories, histories, and any info you can give me
08:49:31: You Say: Hmm.
08:49:42: >Chandra smiles brightly hoping the Dr can help
08:49:46: You Say: What kind of stories?
08:50:10: Chandra: Anything of any significance to DoL and it's great history
08:50:25: You Say: Do you know the story of the pulsing spike in Corrupted Way, in Threshold Pits?
08:50:46: Chandra: And the IT
08:50:50: >Dr Carl G Jung nods
08:51:05: >Dr Carl G Jung rubs his chin & plumbs his memories
08:51:28: Chandra: Maybe what your emblem means, that would be nice
08:51:59: Chandra: Or how your house policies were formed
08:52:01: You Say: There are a variety of stories about the DoL emblem.
08:52:41: You Say: Not all of them fit together, but I can relate to you the one I personally believe is most likely to be true.
08:52:59: You Say: If you'd like, that is.
08:53:12: Chandra: I would most appreciate that
08:53:17: >Chandra smiles very warmly in thanks
08:54:04: >Dr Carl G Jung turns to gaze at the emblem on the staircase, to renew his memories and inspire his tale-telling skill, such as it is
08:54:49: >Chandra grins merrily and gets comfy on the floor, reading herself for the fine tale ahead
08:54:51: You Say: Chandra, as you view the DoL Emblem, in its full representation (as shown on the staircase), you'll note it basically has two distinct parts.
08:55:02: >Chandra just loves a good story
08:55:13: You Say: The first, deepest image is the oldest.
08:56:05: You Say: And what you'll see there, essentially, is a stylized representation of a head ... two faces in profile, one looking to the left, one to the right.
08:56:23: Chandra: Oh, neat!
08:56:30: You Say: This dates back in time to the founding of the House, during the first debates between the Illuminated faction and the Freesoul faction.
08:56:40: >Chandra had never even notices that before
08:56:41: You Say: And you'll recall from your histories, of course, that this debate long preceded the Great Loss, or the opening of the Rifts.
08:57:00: >Chandra nods solemnly
08:57:13: You Say: Dreamers of Light was the first Illuminated House. It was founded, initially, as a bulwark in the Chaos, where the Illuminated Dreamers could meet, band together.
08:58:41: You Say: I know you'll take no offense as I tell this, Chandra, even though I must be partisan in expressing why the FreeSoul philosophy is negatively portrayed in the Emblem.
08:58:50: You Say: And even though the debate continues to this day, we don't let it interfere with our good relations with our FreeSoul comrades, like those of the Order.
08:59:17: Chandra: Of course not, I deeply appreciate this
08:59:21: You Say: But at the time this first part of the Emblem was created, the happy, smiling face that looks to the left was devised to portray the Illuminated philosophy.
08:59:53: You Say: The smile represents the inner joy, the tranquility, of one who is at peace with himself, one who has accepted responsibility for his actions, for good or evil, in the Dream.
09:00:11: You Say: Because he realizes that the good works we do here, illuminate and glorify our souls.
09:00:24: You Say: And those good works carry over, have effects, in the waking world of Cloudsbreak.
09:00:39: You Say: The face looking to the right, by contrast, is distorted, confused -- at odds with itself.
09:01:13: You Say: It is the face of one who cannot come to grips with the connection between Underlight and Cloudsbreak.
09:01:29: You Say: One who hasn't yet realized that our actions here affect the waking world, and so is troubled, confused.
09:01:41: You Say: And yet --
09:01:56: You Say: Both faces are portrayed in a single image, a sphere (no accident there!)
09:02:36: You Say: Because both the Illuminated and FreeSoul philosophies exist among Dreamers who, at bottom, are brothers and sisters, sharing this Dream as they share Cloudsbreak.
09:03:10: You Say: The newer part of the Emblem, set out in sharper relief from the older background sphere shape and the faces, represents the House's views on saving souls.
09:03:38: You Say: And of course, that philosophy is a newer one, that was developed as the House, along with the rest of the City, tried to cope with the Nightmare Wars, before the Great Loss.
09:04:02: You Say: As the Nightmares first began to attack the City, in force and in great numbers, the debate arose as to how best to fight them.
09:04:11: You Say: Clearly, the key lay not just in battling the mares' avatars.
09:04:19: You Say: But rather, in trying to find out WHY the mares were attacking, where they came from, what they truly represent.
09:04:59: You Say: As the early Master DreamWrights studied and debated that topic -- members of the Order prominent among them, I should add --
09:05:03: You Say: Again, two camps quickly developed.
09:05:39: You Say: (I say two. Actually there are three: Imprisoners, Banishers, and Drainers. But the last category every sensible Dreamer shuns as being barbaric, selfish, and cruel.)
09:06:14: You Say: The scholars-warriors of Dreamers of Light concluded, after studying the question for a time, that there is only one sound explanation for the attacks of the mares.
09:06:21: You Say: They represent Chaos, Evil Incarnate.
09:06:44: You Say: Not evil in a vacuum, but the evil for which there is a potential in all of us.
09:06:44: You Say: Our "dark side," if you will.
09:07:01: >Chandra nods slightly shuddering
09:07:04: You Say: And it is this capacity for evil and chaos in us, which the mares use to trap innocent Dreamer souls that float adrift in the Chaos.
09:07:18: You Say: Those souls have yet to find their way into the Dream.
09:07:44: You Say: They have yet to achieve the level of enlightenment and skill necessary to find their way to the Courtyard of Awakening, and thence to the City.
09:08:29: You Say: And drawing upon the bits of evil within those souls (for every soul has both the capacity for good and for evil), the mares wrap themselves around those innocent souls.
09:08:37: You Say: They entrap them.
09:08:58: You Say: Then they come here, to the City, where -- continuing to draw on the evil portion of the trapped Dreamer soul within them -- they do battle with us here.
09:09:24: You Say: Thus, our fight against the mares is indeed a continuing, never-ending struggle for good and evil.
09:09:26: You Say: When we succeed, temporarily, in each such battle, the forces of good have triumphed.
09:09:48: You Say: The mare avatar is collapsed.
09:09:52: You Say: Its fragmentary "soul," or what passes for a soul in mares, flees back to the chaos.
09:10:10: You Say: And what is left behind is the mare essence, filled with energies of the sort that we Dreamers recognize as our own.
09:10:31: You Say: (That of course is what the barbarians who drain essences are extracting, selfishly, for their own temporary benefit -- those Dreamer soul energies.)
09:10:57: You Say: Our scholars, in conjunction with those of the Order, developed the art of Imprison Mare.
09:11:21: You Say: For different reasons, true, but 'tis the same art.
09:11:23: >Chandra had no idea that it was so entailed but is absolutely enthralled by this story
09:11:27: You Say: And later, each House developed their Prime Artifacts, to expedite the Imprisonment process.
09:11:54: You Say: The Order, of course, continues to "study" the imprisoned mare essences.
09:12:04: You Say: But with all due respect, we believe we know what the mares are, and what happens when we imprison:
09:12:09: You Say: We separate the innocent, trapped dreamer soul from the corrupted residue of the mare avatar that's been collapsed.
09:12:28: You Say: We imprison that mare essence.
09:12:34: You Say: And the innocent, Unawakened Dreamer soul is freed to return to the Chaos.
09:12:44: You Say: There, we hope, it will eventually find its way here to the City --
09:12:57: You Say: To become a productive citizen, to aid us in rebuilding the City, and to help in the struggle of good against evil.
09:13:14: >Chandra smiles deeply
09:13:33: You Say: And this belief -- that Imprisoning mare essences saves Dreamer souls -- is what explains the second part of our House Emblem.
09:13:40: You Say: For what you see there, in those two sharply defined, slashing curves, represents that moment of glory, of triumph, when the mare essence is imprisoned.
09:14:06: You Say: The lower curve, with its opening pointing down, represents the mare essence being imprisoned.
09:14:46: You Say: The upper one, with its open side pointing to the heavens, represents the Dreamer soul being freed.
09:15:25: You Say: And the fact that both are open represents the ongoing, continual nature of this struggle between good and evil.
09:15:39: >Dr Carl G Jung lets out a long breath.
09:15:46: >Chandra nods solemnly
09:15:53: You Say: So I was instructed, and so I believe.
09:16:24: Chandra: Thank you, Dr, that was more than I even hoped to receive, I am in your debt
Yours in the Light, Dr Carl G Jung
