The Kingdom of Dreams is the seventh volume of The Spectral Chronicles.
The year is 2152. Ten years have passed since Astaroth and his demons attacked the Stone Cutters, and in that time, there has been a great peace around the world. After all the victories over the demons and The Illuminati by the Stone Cutters, the Champions of the Light and the Red Knights, the people of the Earth pretty much don’t even have much reason to have bad dreams anymore. However, a terrible demon lord, Mhithl’ithoth, the ruler of nightmares, seeks to undo all of this and plunge the world into darkness and fear, paving the way for his Dark Emperor. He invades the palace of Esheia, the goddess of dreams, previously thought impenetrable thanks to the good thoughts of the Earth’s peoples the heroes’ efforts inspired. With her gone, the Dream World becomes horrifyingly corrupted, and thus nightmares start feeling more real than they should and waking up from them, while a relief, brings physical as well as spiritual pain. Some people are even trapped in sleep because of Mhithl’ithoth and his minions. And thanks to his machinations, some nightmare visions even spill over into the real world. Can the heroes defeat the demons in light and in sleep, or will both worlds fall to the unholy empire of Pandemonium?
Tropes:
- Alien Kudzu: More like Demonic Kudzu. Black vines armed with razor sharp thorns start growing all over the Dream World and then the real world, choking out all other life as they do so, as Mhithl'ithoth and his demons continue to grow stronger.
- Almighty Mom: Heather tries this when she and Demetrios confront Rhagosct in his true demonic form. She definitely gets credit for trying, but it ends up not working no thanks to the Superior Species mindset a lot of demons have. So when Heather told him off, Rhaghosct laughed it off.Heather: How’s this for a sappy speech? You demons are not going to mess with my family again!
Rhagosct: What is this? The Last Prince of Atlantis and the great General of the Stone Cutters is having his mother fight alongside him? Oh, this is too rich. Lord Satan and the rest of demonkind shall be laughing about this for eons. Not that we don’t already. - Amazon Brigade: Esheia has an army of fire elemental Amazons to protect her palace should it be attacked by Mhithl'ithoth and his demons.
- Anchovies Are Abhorrent: Even with how tired he is from the lack of sleep and fighting with an ultra-powerful demon lord, Zephorius makes this joke while running to the portal back to the real world: "Last one in has to get the anchovy pizza!" To which Soecaia laughs and says "Hey, not before me!"
- As the Good Book Says...: During the battle with the Dark Stone Cutters in the corrupted Dream World, Frederick rebukes their blasphemous insults with a quotation from Psalms:Dark Stone Cutter: Even your precious God will fear us!
Frederick: Never! The Lord is my protector; He is my strong fortress. My God is my protection, and with Him I am safe. - Author Appeal: During the tree-planting on Arbor Day, Heather recalls Demetrios liking Arbor Day more than Earth Day when they were mortal.
- Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other: Even though Alex likes to argue with her sisters about their opposite approaches to life and world views, she really does love them.
- Bears Are Bad News: Two different ones. Maebh has a nightmare about nearly being killed by a demonic bear. Her familiar Tioveius, on the other hand, is only bad news to his enemies.
- Big Creepy-Crawlies: Some of the hornets in Max's nightmare, Elizabeth turning into a giant demonic butterfly, and in Julian's last nightmare, he fights a giant monster that's a combination of a maggot and a leech.
- Big Good: Esheia, the goddess of good dreams.
- Borrowed Catch Phrase: When Aislin sees the dragon terrorizing Caoimhe in her nightmare for herself, she says aloud "As Demetrios would say, that’s just prime."
- Breaking the Fourth Wall: Max does it after killing one of the giant hornets from his nightmare in a spectacularly gruesome manner.
- Casual Danger Dialog: When Max and his friends arrive to help out the werewolves, he looks around the battlefield and smiles while saying "Well, looks like the party started without us." After Will kills one of the demons, he says in return "I'd say you and your friends are right on time."
- Central Theme:
- Hope Springs Eternal: As Lily says, hope is stronger than evil.
- You Are Not Alone: It happens when Queen Seldanna turns the tide of the demons invading her city, and later when Demetrios and Lily fight the demons of their nightmares.
- Comfort Food: Anne-Marie gives Tharelaer a big bowl of chocolate mousse to cheer her up after her nightmare.
- Contain the Kaboom: Combined with a Mama Bear moment; Anne-Marie casts a Slow Time spell on the dying dark omen Tharelaer just killed to protect her from the demon's deadly explosion.
- Cool Versus Awesome: Aislin confronts the dragon from Caoimhe's nightmare by transforming into a platinum-colored Tyrannosaurus rex.
- Cuteness Proximity: Related to "Bears are Bad News" above. Even though he saved their lives, Maebh and Caoimhe are a bit intimated by Tioveius at first as he greets them while still in his fearsome short-faced bear form. When he tries again by reverting to his panda cub form, on the other hand, they happily fawn over him.
- Death Glare: Mhithl’ithoth terrifies Maebh with a particularly well-known one after using a dream to trick her into thinking that the war was over.
- The Dreaded: Mhithl’ithoth easily causes this, up to and including King Zasedis and Queen Sastiana. As a matter of fact, Zasedis describes him as so powerful that not even his old friend and mentor, the Archangel Michael, has ever defeated him (though he did come close a lot of times).
- Dreams vs. Nightmares: The Champions of the Light and the Red Knights fight both to protect each other and Esheia, the noble and kindhearted goddess of good dreams, from being conquered and destroyed by Mhithl’ithoth, the demonic ruler of nightmares.
- Eldritch Abomination: Mhithl’ithoth and Rhagosct easily qualify. Mhithl’ithoth’s true form is said to be so horrifying that to glance at it is to risk death.
- Evil-Detecting Dog: Caoimhe's pet skunk Plume becomes visibly upset before Mhithl'ithoth's global Gray Rain of Depression storm starts, and later on, shortly before the plague of nightmares begins, Michael and Kayla's dog Brandy growls defensively at something outside their house, although at first glance it looks like there isn't anything to worry about.
- Fantastic Racism: The demons' disdain for the races they conquer shows more strongly in this volume. They mockingly emphasize the word "high" in "high elf," and Mhithl'ithoth calls Anne-Marie and Lynessa's son Julian a "mistake of creation." Earlier, Amare and Tirzennoth have this exchange:Amare: That's enough out of you, you freak!
Tirzennoth: You dare to call me a freak? That's rich! - Fisher King: When Esheia rules the Dream World, it is a supernaturally beautiful forest. When Mhithl’ithoth rules it, it turns into a soul-crushingly depressing and dying wasteland.
- Four Is Death: The nightmares start up in the fourth chapter, and the human historians refer to the Infernomachy as "World War IV."
- Gray Rain of Depression: Mhithl’ithoth has caused this all across planet Earth, seeking to wear down people’s moods and energy so that they’ll sleep more often and thus become more vulnerable to his nightmare powers.
- Groin Attack: Thankfully one doesn't happen, but Cecil does very sinisterly allude to it:Hmm, I think I’ll start with that part of your body you defiled Lily with
- Healthy in Heaven: Demetrios refers to this when he confronts the mysterious man in the lion costume.Oh yeah? And what are you going to do? Trigger the allergies I no longer have since I became a ghost?
- Hypocritical Humor: Elizabeth gets mad when Maebh calls her a "bug," even though she proudly described her demonic butterfly form to Michelle.
- Irony: A rather sad example. Shortly after Anne-Marie and Michelle cheer somebody up when they had bad dreams (Tharelaer and a terrified little vampire girl respectively), they have bad dreams of their own shortly thereafter.
- It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time: Although she believes in Anne-Marie’s magic lessons, Tharelaer tries to summon a familiar of her own beforehand. However, because of Mhithl’ithoth’s machinations, a band of demons interfere with the ritual and appear from the portal instead. Luckily, Tharelaer’s familiar, Soecaia, still comes through.
- Kid Hero: Mikey, Tharelaer, Julian, Maebh, Alex, and Caoimhe are eager and willing to join in the fight against the demons despite their young ages.
- Kill It with Water: Averted. When Maebh and Caoimhe encounter the Blood Knight in the Dream World, Maebh tries casting a large stream of water on him in the style of Elsa... but because she's mostly been using her magic for fun instead of combat (she is only eight, after all), the spell doesn't harm the Blood Knight at all. To which he laughs and says with arrogant sarcasm "Ah, that was refreshing, thank you."
- Mama Bear & Papa Wolf: Anne-Marie, Lynessa, Frederick, Jayden, and Aislin eagerly rush to their children’s defense when Mhithl’ithoth and his demons threaten them. Anne-Marie is even just as protective of Jayden and Aislin’s daughters as they themselves are.If anything happens to them, I’ll be the first to end your miserable life.
- The Night That Never Ends: Mhithl’ithoth’s storm causes eerie unending darkness; only rarely does the sky turn dull blue or grey.
- Older Hero vs. Younger Villain: Michelle, a ladylike 26-year-old woman, vs. Elizabeth, a 16-year-old delinquent-turned vengeful supervillain.
- One-Winged Angel: Cecil and Elizabeth have them when they return. Elizabeth turns into a giant demonic butterfly (which Michelle makes fun of: “Honestly, what is it with you and insects?”) and Cecil turns into a demonic scorpion, which ties into his Stalker with a Crush persona towards Lily; a scorpion’s mating ritual is said to resemble a waltz. Demetrios says this when he sees Cecil in his scorpion form:Now hold on a minute; that’s Cecil? Whoa, talk about the outside matching the inside.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Demetrios immediately knows something is wrong when he hears Michael panicking while he speaks to him during the investigations in New York and Lemuria.
- Pensieve Flashback: Tharelaer has a dream about the night the Illuminati attacked her village in The Heralds of False Light, but she can't interact with the other villagers, causing her to feel Alone in a Crowd.
- Questioning Title?: Chapter 13 has the title "Breaking of the Storm?"
- Real Dreams are Weirder: The dream that Demetrios has as a sign that Mhithl'ithoth is starting his attack starts out more unusual before it becomes terrifying. He wakes up to find himself on a cold and rocky beach, and the only other person there is a mysterious man wearing a lion costume, who takes no notice of him (it's actually Mhithl'ithoth's herald Rhagosct). Only when the stranger makes his speech does the dream become a nightmare.
- Red and Black and Evil All Over: Inverted. Clara, having pulled a Heel–Face Turn, chooses black and red for her wedding dress instead of white, as she is a warlock.
- Rule of Symbolism:
- Just like how birds are descended from carnivorous dinosaurs, Anne-Marie's daughter Tharelaer gains a bird-themed familiar (Soecaia) to complement her dinosaur-themed one (Zephorius).
- When Michelle delivers her coup de grace, Elizabeth can hear a dragon roaring, as if Michelle's god himself is punishing Elizabeth for her crimes against vampires.
- Shut Up, Hannibal!: From an 11-year-old girl, no less.Mhithl'ithoth: Sael haerdh gae esaeu k’or qae miksq s’oq esaeu yorraeq xaoq? Esaeun gaon saeda oth gnaoz lizz moga oth gia oz ya hiksq mirozzes gizoddaon oth gontrazz mozz udaer esaeun laengh, bued hita esaeun doyaqiy hima!note
Tharelaer: You know, that language is starting to get on my nerves. - Smelly Skunk: Averted. Caoimhe has a pet skunk
named Plume who is not smelly, as well as a nod to how the Disney Princesses that Caoimhe admires, most notably Snow White and Aurora, make friends with woodland critters. - Strange Minds Think Alike: During their first confrontation, Elizabeth uses the same insult on Michelle that Lilith said to Lily in Battle for the Ages; she derisively refers to her as a “nauseatingly cute princess.”
- Tears of Fear: A lot of them, thanks to Mhithl'ithoth's nightmares. Even the cool and confident Anne-Marie and Michael are pushed to tears.
- The Unpronounceable: Mhithl’ithoth. Clara pokes fun at it by asking "Quite a mouthful. What do his friends call him?" and Max says he can’t even say it when he’s sober.
- Weaker in the Real World: Esheia must remain in the Dream World because not only does she create good dreams, she is powered and enlivened by them. If she stays in the real world for too long, she'll turn to stone.
- Wham Line: Related to “O.O.C. is Serious Business” above:Michael (informing Demetrios about the battalion of demons that suddenly appeared): I hate to spoil your picnic, but we’ve got big demon problems!
Demetrios: I hear ya, Michael. I’m looking at them (while seeing a battalion of demons charging into Lemuria at the same time) - "What Do They Fear?" Episode: Mhithl’ithoth has this as a power, as he forces the characters to witness their worst fears and nightmares.
- Demetrios: Being separated from his family and friends.
- Princess Lily: Having another encounter with Cecil.
- Max: Hornets, both the dangerous ordinary ones in real life and the nightmarishly oversized ones from fiction.
- Michael: His father’s drunken rages and that he kills Kayla while under the control of the Illuminati.
- Anne-Marie: Since she is a fashion model who likes beauty and sexiness, her nightmares involve the Body Horror-having Painful Transformation scenes from movies, especially the ones that were supposed to be fun family movies.
- Ruby: Being made to witness the night the incubus killed her mother.
- Michelle: Having another encounter with Elizabeth and her fanatical desire to turn vampires into evil monsters.
- King Zasedis and Kalegar: An unstoppable attack from The Legions of Hell (which they have nightmares about on the same night).
- Jason: The Illuminati, especially when Ercole would beat him mercilessly and call him “Dorpha.”
- Carter: He has a nightmare about being dragged into hell instead of being saved by the bronze dragon.
- Michelangelo: The Dark Stone Cutters and their vicious attack on Kingsport.
- Tharelaer: The night the Illuminati attacked and destroyed her home village.
- Julian: Maggots.
- Maebh and Caoimhe: The (in)famously scary moments in the Disney movies, with the two of them having a different nightmare.
- Alexandra: Being unable to save her sisters from being killed by the demons.
- When Dimensions Collide: When Mhithl’ithoth powers become strong enough as he continues to ruin the Dream World, people’s nightmares begin to spill over into the real world, and the demons launch a full-scale invasion.
- Working Through the Cold: The Champions of the Light and the Red Knights continue to fight against The Legions of Hell despite suffering from severe sleep-deprived exhaustion no thanks to Mhithl'ithoth's nightmare powers. Some of them are understandably Asleep for Days when the war is finally over.
- Would Hurt a Child: Mhithl’ithoth has no compunction against terrifying and harming children as well as adults, and neither do the demons under his command. When Maebh and Caoimhe are found by one of the Blood Knights, he tells them he’ll make their deaths as painful as he can. Later on, Elizabeth announces that Maebh and Caoimhe will be the first to be made into her monstrous vampires, and even says she'll outright kill Alex.You’ll make a fine corpse.
- You Monster!: Of a sorts. Tioveius says so to the demonic bear in Maebh’s nightmare:How dare you call yourself a bear!
