Arch-Inquisitor Melchizedek evidently wasted no time in finding a couple of Dream Mages to come visit Envoy at the School of Earth. Already, they've set up a magic circle to one side of the pool, with Envoy in its center, and they've been working on the ritual for some untold amount of time now.

For her part, Envoy rests her hands in her lap and meditates on a remembered view of the Beacon Tower on Morpheus. She also spares a bit of attention for any tingling in her horn, lest it react somehow to the magic.

Under the influence of the magic, Envoy's perceptions of the physical world grow dim … replaced by more vivid memories of the Beacon Tower, with that solitary, red, pulsing light…

In Envoy's mind, pillars of glittering crystal rise up from the silty ground where she hovers. An expanse of steadily-glowing stars stretches across the canopy of the sky, and from this height, the gentle curvature of the surface of the planet is evident.

"Mists" of blown silt puff and collapse in waves gently drifting across the gray land below.

Fascinated, the Aeolun stands up (or imagines she does) and looks around. "I don't think this is someone else's dream castle," she says to the air.

More columns rise, and more blocks. They slowly drift together, forming cylinders stacked upon each other … a tower – a tower with a flier's landing on top.

The mists begin to swirl unbidden by the gentle winds, twisting and curling up in what looks like a miniature tornado. The top of the tornado begins to slowly shrink and two misty tendrils begin to emerge from the whirlwind's sides.

Envoy smiles dreamily, and watches the process unfold,impressed as always with the malleability of dream worlds.

A pair of ebon black wings emerge from the dust-devil and begin fluttering madly, causing the whirlwind to disperse, leaving only a tall Khatta-Eeee creature hovering in the air in front of the Aeolun. He twirls around to face her, and for a moment his glowing eyes reflect only anger and annoyance… but the look quickly fades into realization as he recognizes Envoy.

A tinkling of softly-ringing chimes rings in the distance, on a chance shift of the "wind", and then quietly fades away again.

Envoy blinks a bit at the change, and says, "Hello, Morpheus! Has somebody been bothering you?"

"Madame Envoy. It has been so long that I did not expect to see you again," Morpheus purrs, hovering down to ground-level. His eyes flash at her question. "There has been a great deal of dream activity as of late. I assume that more and more people are becoming aware of me. It is no matter. They all leave just as they came."

"Oh my," the Aeolun says. "I told a Dream Apprentice friend that I'd try to introduce you to him, but if you'd rather be left alone, I can spread the word. I'm studying magic myself now, thanks in part, I suspect, to a possible ancestor of yours."

Morpheus bows to the Aeolun. "I do enjoy my solitude, although the occasional visitor is tolerable." One of his glowing eyes widens at Envoy's comment while the other narrows a tad. "I was not aware that I had relatives."

Envoy smiles and nods, then points out towards the stars. "I've been to Fortunatis, and made contact with a Sifran artifact there. It seems to be less aware than you are now, but much more powerful. It even showed me how you are connected to this world's network of crystal."

The Khatta-Eeee's eyes narrow suspiciously. "Is it a threat to me?"

Envoy blinks in surprise. "No, it didn't seem to care about you at all, in fact. Has anybody been threatening you? I thought you might be able to talk to this other entity, if you knew about it. It regulates probability and magic, apparently, for this entire system. Sort of like a gigantic version of yourself, to serve the First Ones. I think."

"I think it mistook me for a Sifran even," Envoy grins, "because of my ansible." She taps her horn.

"In my previous incarnation, there are many who wished to possess me because of my powers. That is the reason why I do not allow anyone physically on my world until I know their intentions. I do not wish to become a tool for people's minds and then accused of being the monster simply because I granted the wishes I was asked." Morpheus' eyes flash as he studies Envoy's horn. "Regulating probability and magic you say? I believe that is somewhat similar to my old purpose."

Envoy nods. "But it's not portable. I don't think anyone could control you now, though. The diagram I saw showed your crystal body fused into the planetary network. That's probably why you can influence this whole world."

The Khatta-Eee shrugs. "I would not wish to put such a thing to the test. My methods are desirable such as they are now and have not failed me."

"I was wondering if you could help with an important task, Morpheus," Envoy asks. "You're the only one that might be able to answer my questions."

Morpheus widens an eye again. His stunted looking wings rustle.

Worried by the sudden agitation, Envoy says, "Or not. I don't want to impose on you, Morpheus. It's just that a lot of people could die, and I was hoping to prevent it. I just wanted to know if you could… feel… where Exile artifacts are on your world, or if they were invisible to your senses."

The Khatta-Eeee's expression relaxes. "Do not mistake my curiosity for anger, Madame Envoy. I am eager to interact with you ever since you allowed me to alter your mind slightly. I found the experience rather refreshing." His wings rustle again. "I can feel dreams here, and some of the permanent buildings. But as I am not sure if there are any Exile artifacts here or not, I am not sure if I have the capacity to detect them."

Envoy hmms. "The Beacon Tower near the Gateway, that would count as an Exile artifact. You see, some people on Sinai have gotten hold of an Exile weapon, the same kind that translocated a chunk of Sinai with a piece of Abaddon, and I need to know where they have it, so it can be neutralized somehow, or surrounded by Sifran crystal so it can't cause any damage. I guess I'm rambling. It's easy when you're a dream, since you don't have to take breaths."

"Perhaps you should be a bit more specific with your question perhaps? Sinai is no longer my domain. I do not even know if I could exist there physically." Morpheus extends a hand and idly twirls a section of the mists between his fingers as though it were a smoky ribbon.

Envoy takes a deep, metaphorical breath. "Okay. You're a part of the Sifran crystal network of this world. I figured that if you could detect Exile artifacts on the surface of Morpheus, then the crystal networks on Sinai could be used to do the same thing. This boomer doesn't affect Sifran crystals, you see."

"And I thought you might be concerned about this weapon being used again," the Exile continues, "since it might cause another piece of Sinai to be swapped with a piece of your world next."

"The difficulty is that I do not see myself as a crystal, nor do I see myself as a planet." His furred tail swishes idly. "Although having a section of my planet removed and replaced with another would harm the ecosystem to no end. I would not like that, as they are very difficult to manage properly."

Envoy blinks. "Not to mention having the survivors running around. Do you know if the crystal can be grown? I hadn't considered that you wouldn't be aware of your current physical processes."

"I am less than a year old," Morpheus replies. "As for being grown, I do not know. Although, if the process were a simple thing, there would probably be more artifacts around Sinai like the one I was born from. Why do you wish to grow more of these crystals?"

"It would make it possible to encase the boomer in a material it couldn't affect," Envoy says. "But no current forms of magic on Sinai have affected the crystals either. Perhaps we can explore that in the future, when you're ready. One shouldn't rush into these things, or you might miss something important to your development along the way."

The Khatta-Eeee smirks slightly, flashing a glowing tooth or two that shine with the same color and intensity as his eyes, amidst the black shadow that comprises the rest of Morpheus' face. "I appreciate your concern. Could you describe this matter to me in a bit more detail? I am able to create things to a certain extent on my world. Perhaps I can manufacture the material you desire."

Envoy blinks, and looks thoughtfully at Morpheus. "It would be the same material you were first made out of, I imagine. I don't know how much would be needed though, or if there were any other special aspects to it. I've never seen a boomer myself. Although… ," the Exile taps her chin a few times, then says, "You've mentioned that there has been a lot of dream activity lately. I guess that means magical dream activity, right? Have any of the Dreamers been Nagas?"

"The material I was made from was programmed with the purpose of managing the ecosystem regulation to a pleasing level. When I was removed, my purpose shifted to managing the environment of whomever possessed me to a level that pleased them." Morpheus' wings fold across his back. "I perhaps could make a similar material if it is the same you speak of… but leave out the programming. I do not wish to makea clone of myself, after all." He jerks his head up as if distracted. "The visitors? No, they were not Nagai; they were the winged ones like my pattern-mother."

Envoy hmms. "There was a large-scale magical attack against the mages of Rephidim recently. Eeee and Nagai mages were the attackers. But I don't think the Nagas would have let an Eeee see their boomer. I don't suppose you've seen anyone dreaming of something that they felt was… menacing or dangerous? Maybe something they were afraid of disturbing, like a sleeping dragon?"

"I have felt probed a great deal as of late. Even now I can feel tingles of their presence. They have kept their distance, but I have not had much of a feeling of privacy." Morpheus frowns. "I enjoy my privacy."

"Is that why you created this place?" Envoy gestures to the crystal tower around them. "To get away from them?"

Morpheus shrugs. "It creates itself. This place is built on dreams. I do build here from time to time, but I believe that this particular structure was manufactured by your dreams."

Envoy blinks. "Oh, that would explain it. It's like a place from my past, where I first became aware." She pauses a moment, then says, "You can keep it if you like. It's isolated from the visitors on the surface. You might want to go ahead and try your hand at creating blank crystal too, since I think it will be useful to you later when you're ready to start creating physical beings to extend your awareness."

"I am capable of creating offshoots of myself already." Morpheus' tone is a bit distracted and he glances over his shoulder at the mists beyond.

"Really?" Envoy asks, perking up. "You can probably attach them to dreamers then, so you can follow them into their waking world for a time. But if anyone asks about it, please don't tell them I suggested it to you."

The Khatta-Eeee frowns. "I have no desire for such things. Maybe after I have started to grow bored of this world and the dreams I observe here."

"Oh, okay," the Aeolun says. "But if you get curious, just let me know. You've already put a piece of yourself in my mind, sort of, so when you're ready to try creating a remote like that, I'd probably be the best person to help you. Normal people wouldn't really understand."

A "wind" tousles the mists a bit, and the sounds of ringing chimes pick up once more.

Morpheus' wings unfurl. "Something does not taste right in the air. Are you doing anything I should be made aware of, Madame Envoy?"

Envoy looks around. "I can't do Dream Magic. There are two Dream Mages working to let me visit you. Is someone trying to… eavesdrop?"

A chorus of voices whisper, "Morpheus … Morpheus!" Some of them are high-pitched, some of them deep. "Morpheus… "

"Someone… is coming," the Khatta-Eeee replies.

Eyes getting wider, Envoy turns every which way. "How? Through the Gateway? How could they find you?"

The beating of many wings can be heard … coming from all directions. "Morpheus," the chorus whispers again.

"The Gateway is trapped. None can enter through that way without my knowledge." The Lord of Dreams looks around, seemingly unsure of what to make of this. "Did Fortunatis follow you? Perhaps it is the one that calls me."

Wispy apparitions form from the silty mists, rising on rapidly beating wings, each one of them no larger than one of Envoy's hands. Each one looks like an Eeee of impish proportions, with a too-small body and a too-large head, ears and eyes. "… Morpheus … " With each movement, their bodies distort as if viewed through warped glass, or in the reflection of a funhouse mirror.

"You!" Envoy declares, pointing to one of the imps. "The Babelites had an artifact that let them send a magical spy to follow me; are you more of the same?"

No, they are not Eeee after all, for they have cat-like features. Little impish versions of Morpheus himself chatter his name and flutter toward him. Some of them whip around Envoy, buffeting her with whispers of air. "… Morpheus … "

One of them turns to look at Envoy with glowing white eyes. It takes a deep breath, filling up its cheeks … then blows at Envoy. A whisper of air, carrying Morpheus' name on it again, turns into a mighty gust of wind that buffets against Envoy, forcing her backward.

Envoy spreads her wings to keep her balance, and tries to grab at the blowhard imp.

Morpheus shrinks back, his form starting to become hazy amidst the cloud of copies.

The imp disappears in a puff of mist at Envoy's touch, though the wind still blasts at her in irregular gusts.

Many more imps replace the one that vanished … all converging on Morpheus and obscuring his form from Envoy's sight.

Envoy fights against the wind, chanting to herself, "There is no wind, there is no wind, there is no wind," as she tries to reach Morpheus.

"No! I don't want to be a monster again!" Morpheus shrieks from the could of imps, louder than Envoy has ever heard him cry, before his voice trails off into a ragged whimper that grows lost in the sound of the winds.

"Leave him alone!!" Envoy screams, and tries to brush aside the imps with her wings.

The imps burst into puffs of mist one by one, or even in whole groups at Envoy's touch … but even before she can reach them all, the rest disperse as well … and there is no sign of Morpheus to be found.

"Morpheus!" the Aeolun calls out. "Please, show me that you're all right!"

As Envoy calls out, though, she feels her own throat making the noise, and as her eyes snap open, she finds herself back in her room.

Envoy jumps up, wobbling, and turns to the nearest of the Dream Mages, "Quick… the Gateway Tower… I think someone is going to go through to Morpheus. The way may not be blocked now!"