After the tenth Oneiroi had died, and more than twenty had returned corrupted into wendigos that had to be euthanized, Morpheus had been forced to take action in the shadow of Ark. A breach had obviously occurred and the dreamers seemed virtually overrun by Knightshades. So tormented were the dwellers there that almost no energy had been harvested from the populace in over a month. Of course, the shadow could be abandoned, but it was not Morpheus’ nature to forsake those in his care, not to mention he believed it a poor precedent to set where the Knightshades were concerned. Perceived weakness only fueled their avarice and encouraged their violent natures.
Armies of Oneiroi led by Dream Walkers were sent into the shadow on the eve of the spring solstice, seeking to push back the invaders and cull their numbers. Other Dream Walkers were tasked to find the breach and hopefully seal it. This sort of massive invasion within Oneiroi territory was typically only possible when an individual of great power within the shadow had become corrupted by the Darkness wielded by the Shades. His fastest and most skilled Dream Walkers had been hand picked by Morpheus to locate this individual and attempt to repair whatever damage the Knightshades had done with the hope that doing so would slow the flood of evil that had begun to pollute the subconscious of Ark.
It was amongst this latter group that Morpheus’ daughter’s lot had fallen, and while she seemed determined to see the mission through, Morpheus had his doubts that she was ready for an assignment of this magnitude. For all of Chloe’s amazing abilities, her desire to always see the best in everyone she encountered caused her to fail to react to danger as quickly as Morpheus would have liked…but soon she would be abandoned to the mercies of the Waking World and would have few if any to rely on but herself. As painful as the decision was, he knew that he had to stop coddling her and prepare her for what she would soon face. Perhaps this experience would open her eyes and plant a seed of caution within his daughter’s heart that might just help keep her alive. Even though he knew she would supposedly have at least one guardian on the other side of Sleep, he wasn’t convinced that would be enough to keep his precious little girl safe. She needed to be able to rely on her own gifts and wits if she was to ever return home again…