Oneiroi, or the Oneiros, are a rare, supernatural species thought not to exist that made its debut on the ninth episode of Template:Legacies. The Oneiros, the only one known to exist, was released from Malivore to steal the second key, the anubian urn. It was killed by Hope Mikaelson when the creature came to the Salvatore Boarding School after initially presenting itself as a Night Hag. It remains unknown if other oneiroi were consumed by Malivore.
History
Very little is known about the history of Oneiroi, but according to Alaric they are, in Greek mythology, black-winged shapeshifting dream demons. The context of "demon" remains unknown.
Throughout Legacies Series
Season One
In What Was Hope Doing In Your Dreams?, it first appears as a Night Hag in Pedro's dream, scaring him awake. Alaric, MG and Rafael are its next sleeping victims. Rafael, however, had a more direct contact with the creature and allowed Alaric to identify it based off his description. With the students preparing for their exams and forcing themselves to stay awake, he was able to plague MG and Landon as they nodded off throughout the day. Landon's experience with the creature pushed him to do more research about the creature, reading books such as Path of Darkness A Mythological Exploration of the Underworld. Landon comes to the conclusion that their not dealing with a Night Hag, but an Oneiroi, a being with similar powers. As they prepare to fight the oneiroi, Alaric prematurally falls asleep and becomes ensnared by the Oneiroi's powers. MG, Kaleb, Rafael, and Landon soon follow suit and fall asleep with Hope standing guard over them for someone to pull the oneiros from the dream plane and into the mortal plane. They quickly fall into the oneiros' power and they each try to grab the creature in its Night Hag form, but it disappears in a black cloud of smoke. It confronts Landon as the Night Hag, and tells him he knows what it wants, and Landon tells it to show its true self, which it does. After showing itself, Landon tells it he knows where the urn is and grabs the creature as he wakes in the mortal plane. The creature stalks the halls of the boarding school and heads to the location that Landon previously believed where the urn was, however the creature took the bait and became angry when the urn wasn't where it should have been. The oneiros then battles against Hope and she stabs it in the eyes with an arrow, killing it, and making it disappear in a black cloud of smoke.
Psychological Characteristics
They are dream demons that invade people's dreams and can control them without caring at all. The oneiros had no qualms scaring the students, even the younger ones, into getting what it wants. It was capable of speech and showed hostility when it didn't get what it came for.
Physiology
While humanoid in appearance, the unnamed oneiros had an extremely muscled body and dark bat-like wings. It had black eyes, sharp elongated ears, sharp teeth, a multitude of protruding horns and sharp claws.
Powers and Abilities
- Dream Manipulation: Oneiroi have the ability to enter and control dreams, so much so they can manipulate what is seen and felt by those under its trawl. Depending on the dream, the Oneiros can manifest physical symptoms and injuries on the person whose dream they inhabit or by the dreamer themselves. While occupying the dreamer's consciousness, Oneiroi can learn a wide range of information about the dreamer or of knowledge they possess, such as a dreamer's worse fears to turn the dream into a nightmare, or to learn the location of a specific object.
- Shapeshifting: Oneiroi have the ability to shapeshift, though the degree to which they can change their form remains unknown. Specifically, the unnamed Oneiros took on the disguise of a Night Hag. Despite this, the appearance was only within the dreams of its victims and only shed its disguise once it had been confronted.
- Super Strength: Oneiroi possess strength far beyond the average human and are capable of breaking open a small safe with ease.
- Wings: Oneiroi possess wings that likely give them the ability to fly. Despite this, the only known Oneiros did not use them once it was pulled from the dream plane.
Weaknesses
- Mortal Plane: Despite their mystical attributes, Oneiroi become vulnerable when pulled from the dream plane and into the mortal plane. Specifically, the creature was killed when Hope stabbed it in the eyes with an arrow; upon its death, it disappeared in a black cloud of smoke.
Known Oneiroi
| Oneiroi | Description | Status |
|---|---|---|
 |
The unnamed Oneiros came to the Salvatore Boarding School in search of the second key to Malivore, an Anubian urn. Upon its arrival, it disguised itself as a Night Hag, going from dream to dream seeking the key. Unlike other creatures, the Oneiros was intelligent enough to reason that it could prolong its search if its true form remained unknown. It was later defeated by Hope when it was pulled from the dream plane by Landon. | Deceased |
Related Species
A Night Hag, is a rare, supernatural species that is described as a malevolent spirit trapped on the astral plane and can only interact with humans and supernaturals through dreams and nightmares. Lore dictates that they cannot physically interact with or affect reality. The unnamed Oneiros specifically disguised itself as a Night Hag in order to hide its identity so it couldn't easily be stopped, likely due in part to their similar abilities. Though only shown as a disguise, the Oneiros taking its form likely confirms that they too exist. It remains unknown if they've been consumed by Malivore given that they are trapped on the astral plane and cannot physically affect the mortal plane.
| Night Hag | Description | Status |
|---|---|---|
 |
Much of the information surround the Night Hag remains unknown but they are spirits that live in the astral plane. | Deceased |
Trivia
- In Greek mythology, dreams were sometimes personified as Oneiros (Dream) or Oneiroi (Dreams). In the Iliad of Homer, Zeus sends Oneiros to appear to Agamemnon in a dream. In Hesiod's Theogony, the Oneiroi are the sons of Nyx (Night) and brother of Hypnos (Sleep).[1]
Gallery
