Nightmare Dimension
by Kit NavarroHere's my take on the Nightmare Dimension...
I based it on the "creation myths" described in PC1 Tales of the Wee Folk.
A long time ago, even before the present Immortals remember, Chaos was the nature of the universe. Chaos was the predominant force in the cosmos, and it influenced the other Spheres of Time, Matter, Energy and Thought. These Chaotic versions of the 4 Spheres are very different from how we understand them now, very chaotic, very negative, and very fearsome... the stuff NIGHTMARES are made of (at least, from the point of view of this present Age of Order)
The opposing force at the time was the Sphere of Life, sometimes called the Sphere of Integration or, as Sharon put it, the Sphere of Stasis. Life/Integration/Stasis sought to tame the chaotic natures of the other 4 Spheres, and put order and law into the universe.
Now, despite all attempts of Chaos and the 4 Chaotic/Negative Spheres to prevent or thwart these changes, it did come to pass. Order and Life won over the 4 Chaotic/Negative Spheres to its side, transformed them into the 4 (Positive) Spheres as we know them now, and became the predominant force in the universe. These events did not necessarily happen in that sequence, but they all did happen. The end result was that Chaos was confined to a single Sphere of Entropy/Death/Chaos. Thus, ending the Age of Chaos, and beginning of the Age of Order.
In the present state of the cosmos, things are reversed. Entropy seeks to bring chaos to the universe, and the 4 Spheres which are now aligned with Life/Integration/Order, oppose it and fear it.
Fear is the key. Fear of change, fear of the new order (or "new chaos", as the case may be), fear that feeds our NIGHTMARES. So what is the Nightmare Dimension? I propose that the ND are remnants of the old Age of Chaos, when Entropy reigned and the 4 Spheres belonged to Chaos. And Blackflame? It comes from the Chaotic/Negative Sphere of Energy, or at least the remnants of it.
Now how does this connect with the Hin and the Sphere of Thought? I propose the remnants of the 4 Chaotic/Negative Spheres, the Seeds of Chaos (like the single black dot in the white half, and vice versa, of the Taoist symbol of Yin and Yang), lie not in their respective (Positive) Spheres, but in a different sphere which has a natural bias to towards it, thus effectively sheltering, controlling and concealing this Seed of Chaos (i.e. from Immortal meddling). Hence, the Chaotic Seed of the Negative Sphere of Energy is hidden in the Sphere of Thought.
Taking from Sharon's idea, some Immortal from the Sphere of Thought (not anymore a ND Immortal) stumbled upon the Chaotic Seed of the Negative Sphere of Energy, and got the idea of sharing this to the Hin, who have affinity for the Sphere of Thought. The Immortal might not have been fully aware of the true nature of the Chaotic Seed, and only saw Blackflame as a direct opposition of Energy, and therefore, helpful to the objectives of Thought. (Perhaps this is how the Sphere of Life/Integration/Stasis first brought down the Age of Chaos, using the natural bias and opposition of the 4 Spheres against each other...)
And the future of Blackflame? The
discovery of the Blackflame might be a portent or an ushering of
another Age of Chaos. Not even the Immortals know this. Perhaps
only the Old Ones do... or the Faeries who have memories of the
previous age.