Psychic

A psychic is a dreamer with a rift into the Deep Dreaming inside their mind. They acquire magic far faster than other dreamers, while requiring far more care in their practice to avoid dire consequences.

The Impact of Deep Dreaming
Direct access to the Deep Dreaming change the way psychics must approach their magic. Psychics can learn magic much faster than other dreamers, since they theoretically have access to all knowledge. They can also alter their spells in a number of ways, and draw from the raw thought-stuff that makes up Deep Dreaming. However, using such a boundless source of knowledge requires care. If improperly practiced, a psychic's mind can be altered, even completly overwhelmed by the realm of all thought. Additionally, the rift into Deep Dreaming is unfailingly integrated into a psychic's dreamscape.

How Psychics Come About
Rifts into the Deep Dreaming are sometimes random, but are far more often created, intentionally or not. There are only a few well-documented ways in which psychics gain these rifts, though even these are riddled with inconsistency.

In the modern day, forcibly creating psychics is rare.

Elder Dragons
The raw mental power of dragons is so strong that they can bend the elements to their will. However, they lack the finesse required to have dreamscapes of their own.

It is thought that the Elder Dragons would create psychics to serve their own more subtle magical purposes, by using their mental power to forcibly shatter a mind, creating a rift to Deep Dreaming. These rifts persist through generations, or are still created through secretive methods.

Fool's Errands
Sometimes, people attempt to create psychics by exposing themselves - or others - to the full extent of Deep Dreaming. This is almost always unsuccesful, and damages or completely destroys the mind.

In the few times where it succeeds, the dreamer's magic is almost completely unstable. The threat of damage or destruction is ever-present. Random, contradictory thoughts are constantly invasive. It's a difficult existence, and one that's thankfully rare.

Lightning
Occasionally, when people are struck by lightning, whether from a spell or the natural world, their minds crack into Deep Dreaming. The reasons for this are not agreed-upon. All that is undeniable are the results.

It is generally agreed upon that deliberately trying to get struck by lightning to get magic powers is a bad idea.

Higher Beings and Godhorrors
Historically, Higher Beings would occasionally create psychics through their mental influence because they wanted some goal to be achieved. However, since the role of Higher Beings has vastly diminished since the Cascade, psychics that serve gods are incredibly rare.

Having said this, many psychics risk being influenced by Godhorrors due to their connection to Deep Dreaming.

Opinions on Psychics
Magical institutions usually regard psychics as volitile, requiring proper training in order to avoid total mind loss. However, this is also motivated by the fact that psychics have the highest chance of becoming Dream Eaters out of any kind of caster. Minimising the number of Dream Eaters, or even controlling ones that do emerge, is a common motivation of these institutions.