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Episode 20 of Dimension 20 LIVE, proceed at your own risk. |
For this deity's current incarnation, see Cassandra.
The Nightmare King is a mysterious extraplanar being who first appeared around 850 years ago during the Last Great Sylvan War, at the time when the forest of Sylvaire was cursed, and became the Forest of the Nightmare King.
Quick Answers
What is the significance of the title 'Rí Aisling Olc' given to The Nightmare King?
What role did The Nightmare King play in the Last Great Sylvan War?
How is The Nightmare King perceived by different beings such as the undead, fae, and elves?
What is the connection between The Nightmare King and the Forest of Sylvaire?
Featured Episodes[]
Description[]
Background[]
The Legend of the Nightmare King[]
The Nightmare King was regarded as fae by the undead, and regarded as undead by the fae and the elves, although he was given the fae title of “Rí Aisling Olc”, which translates to “King of Evil Dreams”. Devils thought he was a demon as that is whose side he fought on within the Blood War. He was said to work with a lot of divination, illusion, and enchantment magic. Meaning it is more than likely he is not a necromantic being as the undead see no use and do not experiment in the illusory arts.
The Nightmare King was anchored to the mortal plane by his crown, which allowed him to disguise himself as a native being, and prevented him from being banished. Some brave souls managed to get it off him and dispel the magic on it, likely banishing him back to the plane he was from. This did not end the curse on Sylvaire Forest, however, so a group of infernal warlocks created a boundary around the Forest of the Nightmare King to attempt to stop the spread of the curse, keeping anything from entering or leaving the forest without the permission of a high-ranking devil.
The Nightmare King was returned to Spyre by Kalvaxus, Emperor of the Red Wastes, and in trade the Nightmare King served as his lieutenant. However he was more of a consigliere, he solved problems related to spellcasting along with breaking wards on highly protected places, in place of rallying troops, soldiers, and armies. According to Sophomores Start, he created horror more than terror; making a village's children disappear, destroying monasteries, having people trapped inside dreams. A contrast to Kalvaxus's "burn towns; get money" approach.
The Nightmare King was also said to have given Kalvaxus a gift of a single gold coin for his hoard during their alliance, the transubstantiation of the Unnamed Goddess' spellbook and the cause of the Dragon Madness curse.
History[]
The Crown of the Nightmare King was held in Arthur Aguefort's office until it was stolen during the events of Prompocalypse. As their sophomore year project, the Bad Kids set out to retrieve it.
Due to the Dragon Madness curse, the Nightmare King was able to enter the dreams of the Bad Kids when they were not protected by Tracker's Moon Haven or Kristen's Hallow. Through this he was able to possess them. Most times they were able to either protect themselves or dispel this possession, but he caused Fig to attempt to sacrifice Riz after the first night they were afflicted with the curse, and Fabian to kill the Hangman after his fight with James Whitclaw meant the Moon Haven could not protect them for a full Long Rest in the Gold Gardens.
In Sylvaire, the Nightmare King was restored in a ritual by Arianwen Abernant and his crown was restored to him. He appeared as an 800 foot tall shadowy skeleton wearing a crown, emerging from the storm clouds.
Kristen saw an image of herself in the Unnamed Goddess' spell book, in front of a face which was half the Nightmare King and half the Unnamed Goddess. In a leap of faith in the belief that the Unnamed Goddess had become the Nightmare King, she flew into the storm clouds, offering praise to the goddess and was taken inside of the clouds. She met the new form of the Goddess of Mystery, which she had created, who told her that when their name was destroyed they had been turned into the nightmare king and everyone had assumed the skeleton was a male and given it the name of "The Nightmare King". Kristen gave the new being the name "Cassandra", and devoted herself to them, saying that they were extremely important and had a lot to offer the world.
Trivia[]
- The Nightmare King is first mentioned in the first episode of Fantasy High, as Fig Faeth attempts to (somewhat jokingly) guess who her real father is.
- The Irish language is used to represent the in-game Fae language for the title “Rí Aisling Olc" (The King of Evil Dreams), although this does not make grammatical sense in Irish.