II. Night of the Missing Moment & Its Aftermath

Like all gatewalkers, Dr. Ritalsin was present at an aiudara on the night the portals flooded with white light. In his case, this was Lichgate, the elf-gate nearest to Lepidstadt. Like all who walked through, he lost his memory of what transpired during the hours, days, or weeks he was absent. Like all who returned, he bore a mark: an arcane rune upon his throat, the gatewalker’s brand, lifted from the last saumen kar and inscribed by a consciousness too vast and alien to understand the difference between gifting and violating.

Unlike most gatewalkers, however, Ritalsin returned with abilities that went beyond the residual supernatural talents many exhibited. He could enter the dreams of other gatewalkers. Not merely observe, but enter, as one enters a room, with the ability to rearrange the furniture.

His research notes, recovered after his flight, document the systematic invasion of fellow Consortium researchers’ sleeping minds. He catalogued their fears. Their desires. Their hidden knowledge. He learned to plant suggestions and false memories in dreaming minds, weaponizing the dream state itself.

He did not understand, at first, that these abilities marked him as a priority asset rather than a fortunate beneficiary. That understanding came later, delivered by a familiar face wearing unfamiliar intentions.