The Azaru
The Consumed; The Lost Souls of the Nightmare
Abstract
Creatures of the nightmare realm exclusively tied to Risthal, Planetar of Nightmares, the Azaru are souls that have lost their way inside a terrifying experience which forced their mind to meld reality and the dream into one. Crafted into shades of their material bodies by Oerniosk, the Great Spider, the Azaru walk the dreamscape alongside Risthal, mindlessly doing her bidding. They are souls of the living, forced to wreck havoc upon the dreams they unwittingly enter where they relive their own personal torment ad infinitum. Sometimes referred to as
those that have lost their way by Reveries and
the consumed by the Twisted, the Azaru are unaware of their manipulative abilities and are hardly identifiable in dreams, as they are being tormented alongside the dreamer with every forced revelation of their pain.
Physical Appearance
An Azaru, while rare for many to see, have been described by the Twisted who are privileged enough to walk Risthal’s plane of Nightmares as translucent shades that move throughout the realm through a crawling gait but maintain a human shape. Many have donned the more horrid visions present throughout the realm they are forced to call home, such as overgrown nails, sickly pale skin, broken bones, or bleeding gashes. Their appearance largely depends on the dream in which they were lost: a man whose fear is of dying by hanging will take the form of an Azaru with a noose around his deformed neck, while someone who fully believes in the reality of their nightmare of becoming lost in the woods may appear sickly and covered in dirt with torn clothes.
Normally maintaining the height of their material bodies, each Azaru is unique in body shape and height, with little common features except their shade-like appearance. Most maintain their appearances throughout their stay within the Nightmare Plane, because remembering anything else will likely draw the creature back to its comatose body on the material world.
Organization and Life Cycle
The Azaru are solitary creatures that occasionally roam the dreamscape in packs. They do not necessarily intend to do so and are often times unaware of the presence of fellow Azaru due to their mindless states, but the amount of Azaru in a particular area or dream is random except in the case of an order from Risthal herself. Because the Planetar of Nightmares is keenly aware of the dreams all Azaru have become lost in, her will can be imposed on specific Azaru to enter a targeted dream. This can range from one particular Azaru’s nightmare to the collection of all Azaru with a common theme among their nightmares.
There is no structure in an Azaru’s life except the mindless servitude that is imposed upon them when they become lost within their own nightmares. Every Azaru answers directly to Risthal, though may unwittingly assist her followers – the Twisted – unintentionally. It is impossible for anyone but Risthal to give them orders, which she does by a mental imposing of her will upon them. The Azaru are not invulnerable and may be harmed or killed if identified by the keen eye of one of Kaimelea’s followers.
An Azaru is born when the “consummation” ritual is preformed upon a dreamer who has become terribly lost within their own nightmare. In a typical consummation, the nightmare has become so believable that the dreamer’s own mind has begun to run away with the idea and will perpetuate the nightmare independently from Risthal or her followers, driving the dreamer slowly mad. Despite the ample opportunities for the subconscious to realize that their nightmare is, in fact, a nightmare, an Azaru is a soul that failed to awaken. They have willingly followed one of Risthal’s servants out of their nightmare and into her realm – usually though a painfully obvious door under false pretenses of aid. Once in the nightmare realm, the emotions that initially drove their mind to its self proclaimed insanity are utilized by Oerniosk to create a body for them just as he weaves the plane itself together.
The body on the material plane is commonly referred to as “comatose”, and while it will experience less need for food and drink, may eventually die due to lack of susitence if the Azaru wanders for too long without remembering.
Though the Azaru do not have a natural end to their life, there are a few ways that they can be removed from their perpetually lost state. An obvious manner of removal is the destruction of an Azaru by the keen eye of a follower of Kaimelea. Should they be able to identify the creature when it is tampering with a dream, it is fully possible for them to remove and destroy it. A dreamer alone may also destroy an Azaru, unwittingly, if their mind is strong enough to resist the nightmare. This normally happens when someone is so adamantly opposed to it that they attempt to reverse the outcome continually or fight against it subconsciously. If a dreamer regains control of their dream while an Azaru is tampering with it, their nightmare is resolved – but they are still lost – and so the soul is sent on to the afterlife.
The last, and most positive outcome for the end of an Azaru is the return to their material, comatose bodies. This is achieved when the Azaru enters the dream of a person who, in the material realm, knows them by name. When an Azaru enters the mind of an acquaintance, relative, or friend, the subconscious of the dreamer calls out to the lost soul earnestly attempting to make the connection that has been severed whole again. Because the Azaru are souls who have lost themselves, the sound of a familiar voice calling out their name is enough to throw them through the dreamscape and back into their own nightmare. The force of this reconnection is enough to hurl the Azaru out of their nightmare, and consequently, back into the material world where they will awaken from their coma. Reawakening is only possible if the corresponding comatose body has not died in the material realm.
Diet
The Azaru do not require normal sustenance as their comatose bodies do. Instead, they feed on the nightmarish fears of others who fall victim to the revelation of an Azaru’s pain. Much in the same manner as Risthal herself, these creatures are drawn to the fear produced by nightmares in an attempt to find their way back to where they were lost.
Combat and Defense
Azaru have limited abilities to manipulate nightmares into what is commonly referred to as an “Intense Nightmare”. Their very presence, once they enter a sleeping person’s dreams, evokes a nightmare that is not necessarily personal and may not contain faces or people the sleeper would normally recognize. The Azaru’s personal nightmare comes from the experience in which they were lost, and may replay to the sleeper completely intact. If the Azaru has been separated for an extended period of time, the dream may alter slightly to have more personal touches, such as familiar scenery or names that the sleeper’s mind will recognize.
A pack of Azaru may assault a dreamer at random or through orders from Risthal, and consequently alter the nightmare with their own personal portions of fear and torment. This is the true explanation for illogical dreams upon awakening for many people, though few are aware of the Azaru’s involvement or even what they are.
Defensively, Azaru have very little resistance to interference from Kaimelea’s followers and are almost wholly wiped out by the mere presence of the Planetar of Dreams herself. Commonly mistaken as intentionally harmful, the Azaru are often unaware of the torment they are evoking on others and thus their wanderings often end with well-meaning intentions of saving the dreamer who is being attacked. However, they are partially resistant to a dreamer’s attempts to regain control of their nightmare – a strong subconscious is required to overpower them.
Inherent Weaknesses
Azaru are weak against strong Kaimelea followers, the Planetar of Dreams herself, and find difficulty entering the mind of those who are aware of their existence or who are touched by Kaimelea. They also find strong deterrence around the minds of sleeping Mystics or those who are versed in Meditation. Occasionally, those experienced with inter-planar travel or who have previously had an out of body experience will find resisting the Azaru’s nightmares easier than the average sleeper.
The Azaru never enter the material plane, as to do so would be to return to their comatose bodies. They are unable to possess others who are in a coma, and are not able to leave the Nightmare Plane intact through any means currently known.
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