Ruin of the Dreaming

Subject Facts

Full Name: Ruin
Codename: N/A
Age: Ageless
Gender: Male
Archetype: Neutral
Aliases: Ruin of the Dreaming
Marital Status: Single
Affiliation: The Dreaming, Lord Dream

Subject Attributes

Meta-Human Abilities: Nightmare Incarnate - Ruin is a literal embodiment of the concept of nightmares, spun into being by Lord Dream. When he's in the Dreaming - the plane of existence everyone connects to while asleep - he can warp the reality around him in horrific ways. While his physical form is that of a tall young man, those who can see Ruin's true self would see a massive, eldritch horror of snakes and tentacles surrounding a singular eye. He can transform into this creature and back at need, but prefers not to. Ruin can pass freely from the Dreaming to the Waking worlds, enabling him to enter the dreams of any in his vicinity who are asleep or unconscious.

Standard Abilities: Of the Dreaming - As a creature born from the Dreaming, he has a familiarity and inherent understanding of that world, and the subconscious mindscape.

Paraphernalia: None of note.

Subject Weaknesses: Master - Ruin is a subject and creation of Lord Dream. Disobeying his master is difficult and risky, and if ever in Lord Dream's direct vicinity Ruin is completely helpless to his will.

Mistress - When Lord Dream gave Ruin the power to pass freely between the Dreaming and the Waking World, he warned him that to do so would be to enter willingly into the stewardship of Death. That his existence would be finite, and every step after that first one would be a step closer to meet her.

Ruination - His powers seep into his surroundings, no matter what world he's in, sowing discord in ways small and large. Especially this is evident when in the Dreaming, or in specific peoples's dreams, where if he interacts too much he cannot help but warp the Dreaming into a nightmare, and often transforms unwillingly into his chthonic self.

Naivety - Ruin is very new to existence, and has hopes, aspirations and willfulness that every other entity in the Dreaming thinks is misguided at best, and absolute folly at worst.

Newborn - He is still learning the parameters and extent of his powers and influence. Ruin knows the Dreaming more than any mortal, but less than any other prominent native of it.

Vulnerable - The Nightmare may be a personification of the Dreaming, and arguably immortal, but he's not impervious or invulnerable. Sufficient damage still harms him and he's bound by magical laws that transcend realms.

The Boy - Ruin is currently in love (he insists, others suggest it's an infatuation) with a Dreamer whose dream he entered. His love for the man drove him to escape the Dreaming in the hope of finding him.

Subject History

The first thing that he remembers is waking up in a field before the Palace of Dreams was his name. "Ruined," Lord Dream said. "He's just a complete ruin." His waiting servant, Lucien reassured him that his predecessor even made the occasional grave error of judgment. So the first emotion that Ruin recalls feeling is sadness. Knowing that, whatever he was, he was a mistake.

"Go, Ruin, and fulfill your duty as best you can," Lord Dream said, and then Ruin found himself somewhere entirely new. There a member of the heavenly host, Jophiel, explained that he was in a dream - a dream of Joan of Arc's martyrdom. Jophiel went on to say that the Dreamer had a calling that he was there to supervise; that after that dream, the Dreamer would wake and begin a spiritual journey.

It was then that Ruin looked upon the Dreamer - a boy who was perfect in his eyes. Ruin asked why they couldn't give the Dreamer visions as beautiful as he was, and Jophiel explained that Ruin was a Nightmare, and was there to terrify the Dreamer so that he thought about eternity. Ruin disagreed, and tried to transform the dream into something pleasant. He did neither that, nor the job Jophiel instructed him to do. As was his namesake: he ruined it; earning Jophiel exile to the Waking World in the process.

From then on, Ruin couldn't stop thinking of the boy. That, and that he could be something other than what he was created to be; that he could do something good. He drifted from dream to dream, interacting little, because any time he did it would turn into a nightmare, and learned about the Dreaming and, most importantly, how to escape it. Ruin spent his time not on duty in the Box of Nightmares: a pocket of the Dreaming where all his awful brethren were bound, filled with only darkness and despair.

Finally, Ruin managed to devise a way to escape the Box and, through a dream he sneaked into, passed into the Waking World. Following a brief series of escapades, he was finally cornered by Lord Dream. To Ruin's surprise, however, he wasn't sealed away in the Box again. Lord Dream gave him leave to pursue his quest to find the boy, and the power to pass freely between the Waking and Dreaming. And so, Ruin's quest began.

Subject Interview

He walked down the city street with determination and despair warring in his chest. So little time had passed since Lord Dream gave him leave to search for the Dreamer - minutes, maybe? More? Ruin was still trying to get a sense of time in the Waking World. He'd been filled with so much hope and happiness at the proclamation... But now that he was here?

Ruin stopped at a corner, head turning this way and that. The Earth was so vast. He was so small. Faced with the enormity of his task, Ruin floundered in doubt and worry. Was finding the Dreamer really impossible, like so many had told him? Was he foolish for trying? Ruin thought back on the sleeping features of the boy... Foolish or not, he was going to try.

His jaw set. Ruin blinked, though, and turned his azure irises down to a niche in the building next to him's facade. There, huddled beneath a bit of tarp, was a mortal whose odor reminded Ruin of the Box he'd been locked away in in the Dreaming. The wizened man twitched, asleep, and his eyes darted behind their fluttering lids.

Ruin knew a Nightmare when he saw it. He bit his lip, looked around, guilt gnawing at his heart. With a resigned exhalation through his nose, Ruin crouched down. He reached out and his fingertips brushed the mortal's temple... and he vanished.

Author's Notes

Player Alias: Di

Other Characters: Diana Prince/Wonder Woman

How did you find ARFD?: Creator/founder