A GUIDE TO PROPHETIC ABILITIES.
visions as memory / dreams.
the majority of sabina’s visions appear to her as prophetic dreams. these are the most clear and least cryptic. often shown as lengthy scenes of conversations, battles, and other turning points. these cannot be controlled or prompted, but are often the most significant and happening nightly. they rarely need interpretation, but may lack overall context for them to be immediately useful. almost all of these visions are contained in journals until they become relevant.
her visions can also be memories that are triggered by sights, sounds, or smells. these are seen in the way that any memory is recalled, but requires sabina to notice that it is not hers. a skill that has taken many years to learn how to do. there are many memories, particularly from when she was a child, that she is not sure belong to her. this ability has become most destructive to her sense of self and degraded the ability to know what is true and what is not. any deciphered or questioned memories are also contained in journals, essentially as a guide to help determine what is truly hers.
besides her passive ways of seeing visions as dreams and memories, sabina has the ability to conjure them at will. this is generally done by touch, preferably of the specific person, but she can conjure less clear images from personal objects. there is no way to guarantee what she will see, but do tend to be of the future. small glimpses of conversations or scenes of the life they’re living in the future. however, these visions are much less clear and require some degree of interpretation. depending on who she is speaking with, she may make her own assumptions or even exaggerate what she is seeing. this is mainly to protect herself against the powerful or people who may otherwise try to shoot the messenger.
this ability is why she is called a fortune teller. something that sabina does not consider herself, nor does she particularly like. this is also the main reason why elites seek her out in any verse. unfortunately, this ability is also the most taxing on her body and the easiest to trigger the consequences of overuse.
there are times when sabina’s abilities take over her consciousness and she loses the ability to control her own body. this can happen both awake and in dreams.
in her main verse, because she is a somniari, she has the ability to enter the fade at will. it is very rare for her to choose to enter the fade. it frightens her. she is fearful of becoming lost with no escape or running afoul of a demon. it is only under the most dire circumstances would she willingly choose to enter the fade and even then, there would be extreme reluctance. because she avoids the ability and has very little training, she will occasionally find herself conscious in the fade as she sleeps.
further, she has taken steps to make it appear as though this ability is simply rumor. that she was first thought to be a somniari, but that it was found to be false. she is extremely fearful of what would happen if it was known that she possessed the ability, especially by magisters. realistically, the only people who know is the current archon and her family
in non-dragon age verses, she is a dreamwalker. possessing the ability to enter and see other people’s dreams and possibly control them.
through a particularly strong trigger of a memory or through conjuring, sabina has completely dissociated from her body and become lost in the vision. internally, she is seeing the images as they usually appear, but physically her body is either locked into stillness or speaking aloud the conversations she is hearing. this is rare with no known warnings or means of prevention.
the main side effect of regular use is headaches, eye pain, and fatigue. her daily headaches range from minor to mild, but are very constant, especially at the end of the day. this is usually accompanied by throbbing pain behind both of her eyes. the only consistent way to relieve these are by either closing her eyes or sitting in darkness. she has also found that keeping any lights in her main living or working area low helps manage the pain. these pains are unavoidable and can only be managed but not prevented.
she finds fatigue the hardest to manage of her daily side effects. her sleep is rarely restful and oftentimes she wakes up sore, like she had been moving throughout the night. conjuring visions, even without overuse, is tiring. and if she is required to attend events and read fortunes, she will usually disappear for days afterwards to recover. mainly by sleeping as much as possible and being in dark, silent rooms.
overuse, generally through the continual conjuring of visions gives her severe, chronic nosebleeds and blinding migraines. these nosebleeds range from slight dripping as a warning to overwhelming bleeding that is hard to stop. accompanying the nosebleeds are severe migraines. they are usually blinding and very sensitive to light and sound. they tend to last several hours, but have occasionally lasted several days. both the nosebleeds and migraine are her body’s warning that she is overextending herself and needs to stop.
the most severe side effects are seizures. sabina has experienced these less than a handful of times in her life. these fits generally last less than a minute, but violently wrack her body. only happening if she has stretched her ability past its limits.
