*Major spoilers ahead so you can skip since this all explained as you continue the book*
[Alteria: third plane]
A supercontinent found in the Third plane, also known as Alteria is the home of humans and essence beasts. Humans inhabit only a fifth of the Continent. The other places are unexplored as the continent has very different weather patterns and phenomenons than normal would suggest. The reason is because the planet has an energy called dream essence that is born from the hopes, aspirations and ambition of every living thing. For example, a human being has all three resulting in them producing very good quality dream essence but an essence beasts doesn't so theirs tend to be of low quality. Despite this they have a natural greater ambition for survival than modern humans, so they produce a more larger amount of it than normal humans. As long as something has a soul, it should be able to dream.
[Essence beasts]
Essence beasts are like earth animals but if they adapted to optimize an inherent energy inside of them to survive. This energy can be used for a variety of means depending on the type of beast like combat, flight, stealth and ect. Every living thing has essence cores of course that produce the energy and manipulate it however beasts are different because they unlike humans don't have complicated dreams and aspirations thus causing most of them to use this essence to manipulate basic elements.
[Human kingdoms]
In classic human fashion, we learned how to manipulate our essence a thousand years ago and obviously made it everyone's problem. If not for how dangerous the continent and it's beasts were, we would have likely been wiped ourselves out. Instead however we banded together to form great kingdoms for our own safety and even then most of the original one's were eradicated. There are currently only three kingdoms that are confidently leading humanities efforts for survival. These are EverHeart, GrandState and Alduin. The world isn't much different from our own in these kingdoms with modern technology and relative safety. The kingdoms do however specialise in three distinct areas. Grandstate is warfare, EverHeart is technology and Alduin is trade. Located at the south of the continent where most of the human population is, they each respectively have their own landscapes that they use for advantages in their survival. Grandstate is found in the center of the Southern continent making them essentially the front lines against the rest of the continent but still the most fortified. Everheart is found in the middle of Lake Heartstone, the largest lake in the south. The last one is Alduin found in the mountains near the cost, allowing them to dominate any form of trade between these three nations and smaller coastal nations.
[Dreamknights]
People a thousand years ago somehow managed to learn how to manipulate dream essence. With this power, humanity gained people with supernatural abilities and these people were called dreamknights. They gain their abilities from something called The Dreamers way. Dreamknights essentially are people who have an ability that stems from traits their soul shows when born at birth. These traits are often very similar to the character of that person but not always. In this world there are no absolutes. Unfortunately where dreams thrive, nightmares are never far behind.
[Dreamknight Rankings]
Novice DreamKnight------Stage 1
Baron DreamKnight------Stage 2
Viscount DreamKnight------Stage 3
Marquess DreamKnight------Stage 4
Earl DreamKnight------Stage 5
Duke DreamKnight------Stage 6
Knight King ------Stage 7
????------Stage 8
????------Stage 9
Unknown------Stage 10
[Nightmares]
If Dreamers are powered by hopes and dreams, Nightmares are powered by fear and death. Anything can become a nightmare creature. If ones soul is consumed and replaced with one of despair, they are forced to become a nightmare. Once a creature becomes a nightmare, it will become feral and grow stronger the more it kills and invokes fear as it's essence core becomes more dark and twisted.
[Nightmare Ranks]
Spawn ------Stage 1
Crawler ------Stage 2
Harbinger ------Stage 3
Reaper ------Stage 4
Terror ------Stage 5
Horror ------Stage 6
Abysmal ------Stage 7
????------Stage 8
???? ------Stage 9
Unknown ------Stage 10