On the night of the 17th of Kuthona, instead of the party dreaming Xhamen-Dor‘s dreams, the Inmost Blot dreamed their dreams of a period of transition resembling adolescence:
Grip dreamt of being a wee lad. He was with his brother and they were playing a familiar game where they slapped each other on the face. They took turns, and they laughed and laughed. Each time they traded slaps, however, they got older and older. Finally, as the last slap started, Grip realized too late that he had a volcanic rock in his hand. As the blow connected, an older Grip felt terrible. He thinks he loved his brother and hopes he was forced to do this. He saw a ship’s ladder, and climbed up to the blue sky. The slapping game felt Real to him, but the dream felt True.
Dora dreamt of being “new” (but not literally young): curious and hopeful. Then she reached into the mind of a madman and saw a monster. She ran from it… but the monster returned as Ray fell on the streets of Thrushmoor, and it could no longer be avoided. Dora then realized she was a coward, and that she’ll always have something to lose. She came to recognize a Choice she must make: either give into that fear of loss, or fight it. The weight of it was crushing. She then saw two doors in the floor: an escape hatch she’d hid in before, where she felt safe and had a friend she could hold and stroke his fur. She wanted that feeling of safety again. She wished she didn’t have to be “the adult in the room” any longer. She reached for the handles and then realized… “it’s not a door–it’s a box–and I opened it!” The things that happened in this dream felt Real to Dora, but the rest felt like a warning.
Vik dreamt of being Gull. After the battle with the Tatterman and feeling terrified and useless and weak, Gull was taking the long boat ride across Lake Encarthan. He believed, for a time, that the only way to survive was to harden himself. But when Ray died, that belief was stripped from him. By the end of the boat trip, Gull had become Vik and started to recognize that he was not defined or controlled by the thoughts in his head. What looked like a door opened up, but with a change of perspective the door was revealed to be the lid of a coffin. Vik’s friends stood over him as he laid there, missing him and loving him. Vik couldn’t tell if the dream was Real or True.
Dabwick dreamt of being a pre-adolescent Dabs. They wanted to be seen and heard, but realized that everyone was laughing at them. They were determined to have their voice shared, however, and resolved to never be considered anyone’s pet. They recognized that they were an object of derision because they were small… but since they wouldn’t ever get much taller, they stopped being worried about being laughed at and found their voice. Dabwick saw the door to the local constabulary in Cassomir. They walked through it, content. The dream felt Real and True.
First Reference: Chapter 123
Other Notable References: Chapter 150 (Part 3)