Mantu

The Mantu are the first and only creation of Toru, tasked with proliferating life throughout every world. They tend to live solitary lives, wandering across worlds learning, dreaming, testing their ability to create life amid newly sprouting fauna that acts as a reflection of their own being.

Culture
Mantu are taught from an early age to cultivate life within their own being so that they might one day birth new species of their own. This is generally taught through a sequence of steps that must be fulfilled before being allowed their own individual journey.

Firstly, Mantu are expected to entirely self sustain their own being, forced at a young age to bind their mouths to prevent the intake of sustenance. Although some view this from afar as a cruel and unnecessary action, Mantu view it as a necessary step in successfully becoming a being capable of creating new life. This act of sealing themselves off from outward energies forces Mantu to form a deep enough connection to the dream that they can cultivate life energy within their own bodies. Most Mantu will agree that creating entirely new life is an insurmountable task without first having mastered the ability to form infinite life within themselves. The second reason for this practice is that serves as a price for their magic, effectively allowing them greater control over the dream by giving something in return.

Secondly, Mantu will sacrifice their senses to gain further alignment with the dream. Although this is more encouraged than required, it is rare that a Mantu will not make this sacrifice at some point in life. It is generally encouraged after a notable period of time, generally not until a Mantu has reached at least a century in age, as the experiences the world has to offer are considered important context to the tasks they will one day take on. Many describe it as a method of attaining better focus, forcing them to understand other lifeforms and even inanimate aspects of the world by reaching out through the dream. Mantu who have lived this way for lengthy periods of time develop the ability to connect with the life force of other beings. Since the source of life is in essence the dream, they can learn to link others' minds to one another and to themselves, in some cases even pulling others forcefully into the dream or causing them to lose their soul amid the vastness of life itself.