New Dream Adventures of Raven Knight

2017, 05-19

The Destruction of the Ring

I am in a strange place but I don’t really have time to look around and see where I am because I am under attack. I am surrounded by a large battle, there are orcs and humans fighting all around. I was being attacked by orcs, so I formed my right arm into an Alex Mercer blade and started cutting them down as they came at me. There were also other enemies attacking, evil looking humans, trolls, Uruk Hai, and I could see large bat-like things flying in the sky, those were no doubt the Nazgul. I also see there are numerous people that seem to be fighting against the orcs, though things are happening too quickly for me to recognize anyone. So I just keep fighting, dodging aside when a troll tries to nail me with a huge club. I jump up onto the club and go right up to the troll and use my Alex Mercer blade to remove its head. I look around and see there are so many enemies coming from all directions that I don’t see how we can possibly win. I then think that the only way these enemies are going to fall is if the One Ring is destroyed. Which Frodo is trying to do… but in the book he needed help… But how do I get to Mount Doom in time? I look up and I see someone using energy attacks on a Ring Wraith, it’s MoSh up there kicking Ring Wraith butt! I watch that for a bit but then I’m being attacked by an orc that needs to have its head removed.

I start running towards the huge gate of Mordor, though I know there isn’t a chance I can run all of the way to Mount Doom. As I am running and cutting my way through enemies I see a small shape on the ground running with me. I look down and see Pikachu keeping pace with me. He is right under me when he transforms into the Blue Eyes White Dragon, and now I am sitting on the back of a dragon and streaking towards Mount Doom, Pikachu wipes out some enemies with a blast of lightning as we go. And then we are soaring over Mordor, I can see Mount Doom smoking and I can see the red eye at the top of the tower that Sauron uses to survey everything, but not everything all at once, he is watching the battle I just left. Pikachu carries me directly to Mount Doom and I get off on a path that leads to a cave. I follow that and see I have gotten there just in time. Frodo is standing at the edge of a drop into lava, and he is right now announcing the ring is his. He disappears from sight.

Sam is calling to Frodo, I call to him as well. I use my Penticon chip to switch to infrared vision so I can see Frodo even though he is invisible. I tell Sam to stay calm, I can see Frodo. The ground is shaking as if Frodo’s proclamation has shaken the foundations of Mordor. I approach Frodo, he says to stay away, the ring is his. I say of course it is, I sure don’t want it, but he’s been hurt, and I want to heal him. I can tell he doesn’t believe me, so I focus on the song Touch My Heart right now to send light energy through Frodo. After the energy flows through him Frodo looks disoriented. He looks around but doesn’t stop me when I reach him and pull the ring from his finger. He grabs it from me and says he will do what he came to do, and he throws the ring into the fire. Now it definitely seems this volcano is about to blow its top. All three of us get quickly out of the chamber in the volcano and make our way down the slope a short ways. Frodo says this looks like the end, Sam says I seem to come and go whenever I want, why can’t I just take them with me? I say there is no need… they’ve got a ride on the way. They both look puzzled, and I point into the sky where three small specks are approaching. Those are eagles, and they’re on their way to take you to safety. The eagles fly closer and now Frodo and Sam see them, and they have clearly spotted us. But as they are diving in to pick us up everything fades and I wake up.

2017, 05-19

The Healing of Sméagol

I am on a rocky path at the top of a very steep stairway, almost like a ladder. I see Frodo and Sméagol off to the side whispering about something while Sam is trying to pull himself up the last few steps to flat ground. I reach down and give Sam a hand, helping him up the last couple steps. Frodo and Sam both want a break, Sméagol wants to keep going. I ask Sméagol if he wouldn’t like some food first. He says he is starving, but can’t eat nasty food from the elves. I tell him I can give him a nice, big, juicy fish… Sméagol drools a bit so I have my Penticon computer function as a Star Trek replicator and I replicate a large fresh trout. I hand Sméagol the fish and he seems as happy as a dog with a bone and tears into the fish raw, much to Sam’s disgust.

I ask what Sam wants. He sarcastically answers, saying he wants a big bowl of beef stew with lots of fresh vegetables and potatoes and a big hunk of fresh bread with butter and an apple tart for dessert and a pint of good ale to wash it all down. I can tell he is not really expecting it, so I welcome him to the only five star inn of Mordor, The Flying Raven. I have my Penticon replicate exactly what he asked for on a small table for easier eating. I ask what Frodo wants, he just says he can’t remember the taste of good food any longer. I hesitate, then replicate the same thing for him as Sam asked for. Sam stares in shock for a bit and then starts eating. Frodo eats as well, and says he is grateful, but doesn’t seem to get any enjoyment out of the meal like Sam clearly does. After they’re done eating I ask how much water they have. Sam says not much, can I create that, too? Yes. I take their water skins and use the Harry Potter spell Aguamenti to fill them both with fresh cool water. Sam says he’s never even seen Gandalf create food and drink like that! We continue on our way and finally come to a tunnel. In there is where I will have to heal Sméagol, I’ll do it in there so it will be less likely to be seen by enemies.

I follow everyone into the tunnel, which smells like all of the worst things I have ever smelled all rolled into one. The passages are dark, but I can see with my night vision. I follow until there is a fork in the tunnel and neither Frodo nor Sam know which way to go. Frodo calls out to Sméagol but there is no answer. Then the thing starts coming out of the dark passage. A huge spider, coming straight for the two hobbits. It’s Shelob. I go right up to the big ugly spider and, in a commanding tone, tell her that under no circumstances is she to lay fang or stinger or web on either of those two hobbits. No go back to your lair and you can feed later. Shelob stops, seems to consider briefly or maybe resist obeying, but then disappears quickly back down the passage. I tell the hobbits to go ahead, and when they reach the wall of web to cut it with Sting, I have to go find Sméagol. Sam says he wants to pay Gollum back for his treachery, I tell him that’s not the idea at all and head off down a different passage to find Sméagol.

I leave the hobbits and go deeper into the caves, just trusting my instinct to lead me to Sméagol. The smell is getting so bad that I want to vomit, I wonder how Sméagol can stand it. I find him near an exit to the outside, looking out through a passage. I approach him, and he says I’m nasty and I’m ruining everything before retreating back into the caves. I follow him and catch up with him in a larger chamber. I focus on the song Touch My Heart from the Devil Hunter Yohko soundtrack. Light energy fills the chamber and flows through Sméagol. After it’s done he looks disoriented, but not harmed. I follow that up by using Of Wolf and Man by Metallica. “I feel a change, back to a better day. Shape shift, hair stands on the back of my neck! Shape shift, in wildness is the preservation of the world, so seek the wolf in thyself!” The energy again surrounds Sméagol, this time his physical form changes into a form that could only be a hobbit. He looks very surprised and confused. He asks what has happened. I feel like I am about to wake up. I tell Sméagol not to worry, I’m going to disappear but I will be back as fast as I can. Everything fades as I wake.

2017, 05-18

Distracting the Eye of Sauron

I am in a place I don’t recognize, standing on the top of a hill with numerous warriors all decked out in battle armor with swords and spears ready for action. I look around and see a few familiar faces, I see Gandalf, Aragorn, and Boromir around me. Several people step forward and call out the Dark Lord for crimes against Gondor, I go with them. An ugly man comes out through the cracked gate on an even uglier horse. He calls himself the mouth of Sauron and basically starts talking shit about everyone there. I can’t help it… I say he sounds more like the ass of Sauron with all the shit he’s spewing. He looks at me but is silent for a bit as if not sure what to say. He then sees Gandalf and starts talking shit again, presenting Gandalf with Frodo’s gear taken when he was temporarily captured. Pippin jumps out and looks afraid, so I quickly whisper to him that no, the enemy doesn’t have Frodo or Sam, I can’t prove it now, but I know it to be true. He remains silent as Gandalf rejects some very unreasonable demands for the release of the alleged prisoner and takes Frodo’s things, supposedly to remember him by.

The ugly mouth / ass of Sauron turns and rides quickly back to the large black gates as they swing open wide, and hordes of enemies start flooding through the gate and from the surrounding mountains both from in front of and behind us. Our forces are completely surrounded. I quick tell Gandalf that I’m going to drop an Immortal Fire right in the middle of our warriors to force the enemies back, but our people needn’t worry, the fire won’t burn any but those with black hearts. I then make my way to the center of the group, figuring to give our people some breathing room. “And suddenly the unreal silence is broken by a lament... a lament coming up from the deepest, darkest abyss. And from the seven gates of the dark fortress the dead come back to life to face them! This is hell...” Light energy erupts all around me now, getting the attention of those nearest me. Aragorn is telling them my fire won’t burn them, only those with dark hearts. “Immortal fire now rise, light my heart, light my way through the darkness, a guardian of space and time!” The energy explodes out from my position, not touching any of the warriors of Gondor and Rohan, but blasting away at the enemies with the force of an atomic bomb. I put all the energy into it that I can, take out all the enemies I can and definitely attract the attention of the giant red eye of Sauron.

After the Immortal Fire finishes I see there are no longer any enemies very close to our people. There are still plenty of enemies out there, but at least for the moment they seem to be keeping their distance. I am wondering what may be next when I see large shapes flying in the sky, coming our way. Everyone seems to be a bit freaked out as they see there are three dragons heading our way. But our people have nothing to worry about, two of the dragons, a blue one and a red one, attack the enemy armies, and the third dragon, a Blue Eyes White Dragon, swoops down and plucks me up and pikas at me as he sets me on his back. I see the other dragons from up here, and I see one of them has a man on its back, that’s MoSh! I wonder how he came to be here. As if I’d asked the question aloud, Q speaks in my mind and says he went and brought MoSh back since I wasn’t lucid enough to pick him up on the way. By now the enemies are attacking again, and MoSh and I are diving in on dragons to attack them. Then I see the Nazgul on their winged monsters and engage one of them in a dogfight type maneuver in the sky, me on my Blue Eyes White Dragon against him on his ugly demon steed. We dodge past the dark energy attacks he uses and nail him with light energy lightning. I turn in time to see MoSh is facing off against two Nazgul, the dragon he is on blasts one of them to dust and the other dragon, who is riderless, blasts the other one. I am about to engage another Nazgul, but I don’t get a chance before I wake up.

2017, 05-18

The Battle for Minas Tirith

I am in a place I don’t recognize, on a ridge overlooking a wide open valley on the other side of which is the city of Minas Tirith. The open valley is crammed full of enemy troops including orcs, evil humans, trolls, Uruk Hai, Worgs, and every other manner of evil thing you can imagine. Several Ring Wraiths are soaring over the armies on their demonic steeds. The enemy army looks like it’s thousands or even tens of thousands strong. I’m not alone on the ridge, however. I am standing among another formidable army. King Theoden is off to my left on a beautiful white horse, Snowmane, so that must mean I am with the riders of Rohan, and I see they are preparing to charge down into the fray. Horns are blowing to signal their arrival, and on Theoden’s signal everyone charges down to battle.

I am being passed by people on horses charging into battle so I form my right arm into an Alex Mercer blade and charge down into the battle as well. There are plenty of enemies out there, and I don’t hesitate to cut into some orcs and a big troll, jumping up on a Uruk Hai’s back to gain enough altitude to cut the troll’s throat. I continue fighting and I lose count of how many enemies I take down when I see a dark shadow over the area. I turn to look and I see Theoden’s horse rear up as one of the Nazgul swoops down on him. It’s the Wraith King! I see the thing push Theoden’s horse over on top of him and then perch on top of it. As it is about to finish off Theoden, another warrior comes in when most everyone else, allies and enemies alike, have been retreating away from the monster. The Wraith King taunts the warrior, saying no one should dare come between a Nazgul and his prey, and no living man can kill him. The warrior announces she is not a man, she is a woman and removes the head of the Wraith King’s hideous steed. The Wraith King is enraged and advances on Eowyn, for surely that is Eowyn. Then a small warrior, no doubt Merry, strikes the Wraith King in the leg which distracts him enough for Eowyn to bury her blade in his head.

The Wraith King falls, now just a pile of empty robes. I see Eowyn and Merry have also collapsed. I go over to Theoden and find he’s alive, Snowmane has rolled off of him. Snowmane is also alive, but barely… which is enough. I focus healing energy on Theoden and on Snowmane, and they are revived. Eomer has come over to see what has happened, he sees Eowyn on the ground. Once healed, Theoden wants to continue fighting. Healing the damage done by the Wraith King would take too long to do in battle, so some men carry Eowyn towards Minas Tirith. I point out Merry also needs help, and guard them as they are taken to the city. I barely get to the city and see them through the gates before everything fades and I wake up.

2017, 05-16

The Madness of Denethor

I am walking on the streets of a city straight out of a fantasy game. The roads are long and curving, running between buildings of stone. There is a lot of commotion going on around me, and no one seems to be paying any attention to the fact I’m there. I walk along the road for a bit to try to find out what is going on here. I hear the sounds of a battle from the outside of the walls and I am thinking I should go there and do whatever I can to help out. I am about to go when someone comes up calling my name. It’s a hobbit, it’s Pippin! He says he’s looking for Gandalf, but maybe I can help… he says the Lord Denethor has taken leave of his senses and plans to burn himself and Faramir in the houses of the dead! I say I will help him, but as we go I ask what this is about Faramir, because last time I saw Faramir he was fine. Pippin says Faramir went out to battle but was brought back because he’d been struck down with a poison arrow, but he’s not dead yet and maybe can still be saved if Denethor would listen to reason. He says Denethor is somehow convinced Boromir has fallen in battle, and when Faramir was brought back wounded he seemed to lose it!

As Pippin and I make our way to the top of Minas Tirith and to the houses of the dead I see a lot of people look like giving up. I focus on the song Not Gonna Die by Skillet to try to give them positive energy and hope. “No, not gonna die tonight! We're gonna stand and fight forever! Don’t close your eyes… No, not gonna die tonight! We're gonna fight for us together! No, we’re not gonna die tonight!” We get to the door to the Steward House and find Beregond holding the door against other soldiers who seek to pass with torches. Pippen looks disheartened. He says he should have gotten Gandalf, no offense to me, but they won’t listen to just anyone. I don’t heed that, I just go over to the group. One of the soldiers trying to get in says they must do Denethor’s bidding. I comment that I thought they were supposed to protect the Lord Denethor… he immediately says they are! I tell him now the Lord Denethor is sick, and he needs to be protected from himself most of all. But I have the cure, just let me pass. Beregond steps aside and lets me in.

Inside I find Denethor and Faramir lying on a stone table with wood stacked around them. He looks up when he hears someone enter. I tell him this will stop now. He says no, Boromir is dead, he has seen it, Faramir is dying and already burning, all will burn… why wait? He stands and says he must do everything himself and walks towards the door. I block his path, using the song Not Gonna Die by Skillet. “Don’t you give up on me! You’re everything they need! This is how it feels when you take your life back, this is how it feels when you fight back!” A pillar of light energy erupts around Denethor, shining around and through him. “No, not gonna die tonight! We’re gonna stand and fight forever! Don’t close your eyes… No, not gonna die tonight! We're gonna fight for us together! No, we’re not gonna die tonight! Not gonna die! (Denethor: Not gonna die…) Not gonna die! (Denethor: Not gonna die!) Not gonna die tonight!” Shining with light energy Denethor says he’s not going to die, he’s going to fight! He tells the guards bringing torches that he now bids them follow him into battle and to victory! I go over to check on Faramir and find he is burning up with fever but definitely still alive. He should be in the Houses of Healing, not of the dead. I see Denethor is still there, he hasn’t gone off to battle just yet. He says he can’t leave his son… I tell him his son needs rest in the Houses of Healing, there’s nothing more Denethor can do for him right now. The men who had brought torches to Denethor now help carry the unconscious Faramir back to the Houses of Healing. Denethor is definitely ready to go fight now, he leads the others off to the battle. I think I should also go help, but everything fades to black and I wake up.

2017, 05-12

Return to Minas Tirith

I am in a place I don’t recognize, I look around and see a man, is demanding to know who I am and how I got up here. He says only his personal guards and those he has admitted are permitted here. I wonder who he is, then I see another man there is Gandalf from Lord of the Rings. Gandalf says he knows me, I have traveled with their company at a couple different times. More important now is that Denethor get a rescue force together or Faramir and his men have no chance of reaching the city alive. I ask what has happened. Gandalf goes to the edge of the outcropping that overlooks Minas Tirith and the surrounding lands and he points out at a rock formation that is surrounded by many orcs. He says Faramir and his men have taken refuge there, but they can’t hold off the attacks forever, which is why Denethor needs to send out a rescue sortie. Denethor says there is no way a sortie would be successful, he would just be sending more men out to die. Gandalf is frustrated and says Denethor’s son is out there as if Denethor wasn’t already aware that Faramir was out there and cornered. Denethor says it is the hardest decisions that fall to him, but there is no hope for success. I tell him to just stay up here and watch if he thinks the situation is impossible.

Denethor is asking me what I think I can do about this but I ignore him and run right at the edge of the outcropping. I jump up and out into the open air much to both Denethor’s and Gandalf’s surprise. I fly out over the city and then out over the fields beyond. The enemies are filling the fields beyond, they are doing double takes at me flying but then they start firing arrows at me. I dodge them and dive down to a place among the enemies, about halfway between the rock formation and the gates of Minas Tirith. This is a good spot for Dark Power of Abyss by Rhapsody, it’s time to drop an Immortal Fire! “And suddenly the unreal silence is broken by a lament... a lament coming up from the deepest darkest abyss. And from the seven gates of the dark fortress, the dead come back to life to face them... this is hell!” As I do the next part a circle of light energy erupts around me. “Immortal fire, now rise, light my heart, light my way through the darkness, the guardian of space and time!” A circle of light energy explodes out from my position, blasting enemies out of the way all of the way from the rock formation where Faramir and his men are hiding to the gates of Minas Tirith.

In the aftermath of that massive blast the fields are left bare, enemies that were on the edge of the affected area are all fleeing in terror of a force they have never witnessed the like of. The way to the rock formation where Faramir and his men are is clear, I go over there to see if everyone is able to move towards Minas Tirith. I see Faramir come around the edge of the formation, with another familiar person right behind him. Altaïr is there with Faramir, his sword is drawn and covered in the blood of orcs. Altaïr says the enemies won’t stay afraid to approach for long, they’re too dumb to know their own peril. I ask if anyone needs healing before they can be moved to the city. There are a couple that are on the edge of death with serious wounds, so I quickly heal them and then we start heading for the gates of the city. Most of the enemies are keeping their distance, but not the Nazgul, five of them are swooping in towards us as we are making for the gates. From the gates of Minas Tirith now comes a man on a white horse, they are blazing with light energy. It’s Gandalf, the White Rider charging out to meet us, shining a bright ray of light energy at the approaching Nazgul. The wraiths veer aside and break off their attack, retreating into the night. We reach the gates and get inside, Gandalf following us in as the gates are swung closed with a heavy clang. The people in the city are all cheering us and the return of Faramir and his men, happy to see their safe return. I now have the time to heal the rest of the wounded, whether their wounds be small or great. Shortly after I finish healing the last wound everything around me fades to black and I wake.

2017, 05-12

The Battle at Osgiliath

I am in what appears to be a meeting hall, I am near the back of the room. I look around and see it is filled with warriors that appear to be of high rank. I hear someone talking at the front of the room, he is talking about not giving up the outer defenses. I hear mention of the outpost at Osgiliath, and that more soldiers need to go there to defend. A man says they will not be able to hold it long even with reinforcements. I get a bit closer and I recognize one of the men speaking as Faramir, captain of Gondor. I assume that the man he is talking with must be the steward of the lane, Denethor, Faramir’s father. Denethor says Boromir can’t do everything, he is away on an urgent errand, but if any captain remains who will do his lord’s bidding… Faramir says he will go to Osgiliath if Denethor orders it, and Denethor immediately says he does order it.

Faramir leaves the hall and I follow him out, I don’t think Denethor even noticed me. Gandalf is out with Faramir now telling him not to throw his life away needlessly, he says Denethor loves Faramir and will remember that before the end. I go over to Faramir and ask if he could use a little extra help, I will offer my skills as a healer and a warrior. He seems hesitant, probably because I am a woman, but finally says he will take any who are willing to come, for they will need all the help they can get at Osgiliath. I follow Faramir out where he gets on a horse, and some other soldiers are also on horses. A Rapidash I recognize as my own Rapidash named Stardust trots over to me. The people around are staring in amazement at Stardust’s flaming mane and tail. I climb up on Stardust and we are ready to go. I tell Faramir that if I go ahead and use a healing spell on the attackers I am sure at least some will break off the attack. He asks if that’s why the company moving through Ithilien was so small, I say yes, many of them turned back. He says to go ahead, then. An enemy who turns away from the fight is worth two who have to be defeated in battle.

I ride with Faramir and the others for the trip to Osgiliath because the enemy still hasn’t shown themselves. The waiting when we get to Osgiliath is the hardest, and I am afraid I will wake up before the action even starts. Soon there are armies approaching from the other side of the Anduin River. That’s my signal so I ride right towards the middle of the group while focusing on the song Full Moonlight from the Devil Hunter Yohko soundtrack. The song plays, I am surrounded by light energy that spreads out over the area as I am spinning around, forming into an orb in the sky that looks like a moon shining bright. Light energy is spreading out from that orb, bathing all of the attacking forces in its light. Indeed, some of the enemies start turning back the way they came, but they don’t get far. The Nazgul are following up the attack and immediately strike down anyone who is trying to retreat. This really pisses me off because they are killing all of the enemies I have managed to heal. I focus a blast of light energy from my moon orb right at the Nazgul who are attacking, and it creates an opening for at least some of those who have changed their minds to escape.

There are still plenty of enemies attacking, however. And the Nazgul are attacking rather than following after the enemies who have decided to retreat. I leave the moon orb to cast light energy over the battle areas in hope that it might counter the fear effect of the Nazgul. I form my right arm into an Alex Mercer blade and start cutting up the enemies who I was not able to heal. The battle rages on for a while, I have killed many orcs and healed several injured soldiers of Gondor. But there are just so many enemies that before long they are slipping past and our group has to fall back towards Minas Tirith to keep from being surrounded. There are also more soldiers of Gondor injured than I can keep up with healing, so I break off and help escort some of the injured to a place sheltered by large rock formations where I can heal them without being attacked. I heal them but then I am feeling the dream slipping. Faramir has arrived with more injured men and I tell him I’m about to disappear, no time to explain, but I will come back as soon as I can. Everything around me fades to black and I wake up.

2017, 05-11

The White Rider

I am in a city that looks like it came straight out of a fantasy game. I look around and see a lot of people moving about, some of them stop to look at me as if they have never seen the like of me. I notice most of the people I am seeing are men that are decked out in armor as if ready for war. I’m not sure where I should be going, but I get the idea I should be going somewhere… I walk for a while and soon one of the men passing by asks what I am doing here. He says he doesn’t mean any offense, but he thought all of the women went to the shelter in the mountains. I’m not really sure what to tell him when I hear another voice call me by name, someone clearly recognizes me! I look and see Pippin from Lord of the Rings. Pippin says he was wondering when he would see me again. The man who questioned me says he thought all the women had left, Pippin says I’ve traveled with their company at times and I fight as well as a company of men. He says if I help protect Minas Tirith then the enemy will surely fail! I see Pippin is with another man, the first man continues on with his duties. Pippin introduces me to his friend who turns out to be Beregond, one of the soldiers of Minas Tirith. Pippin says they were just going up on the wall to see what they can see, maybe I should come. Beregond seems a little hesitant, but Pippin says he knows me well enough to vouch for me.

I follow Beregond and Pippin up some stairs and soon we are at the top of a wall overlooking the lands surrounding the city. I look out over the lands as Beregond and Pippin are talking about what is out there and what they know to be coming. I hear a faint noise out there that sounds demonic, and both Beregond and Pippin shiver as if a chill has run through them. Pippin looks over the wall and points to a place where three flying shapes can be seen swooping and turning in the sky. I look out and see it, too, and there are also shapes on the ground that appear to be people on horses. The flying shapes are firing blasts of dark energy at the people and horses, and I hear a horn blast from them. Beregond says that’s Faramir. Pippin is saying Faramir and his riders will never make it, won’t someone go help them? It looks like Beregond might be about to head out to help them but I have seen now why I am here. Much to Beregond’s amazement I jump right off of the wall to head out and help.

I see it is a lot farther than I had realized and I need a ride… I need a horse! As if called by my thoughts, I hear the sound of hooves behind me. I look back and I see a Rapidash quickly catching up with me. Rapidash slows down a bit beside me so I can jump onto her back and then she speeds towards the approaching riders as they are being bombed by the flying Nazgul yet again. Rapidash is fast, and in just an instant I am among them, using the song Battery by Metallica to call down bolts of white lightning on the attacking Nazgul. It doesn’t take much to make them back down, they immediately break off their attacks and soar back to the east, back to Mordor. I see flashes of white in the sky from off to the North, and two more Nazgul retreat from up there. Shortly after they retreat I see a white horse come into view with a white rider, Gandalf has come, but apparently the Nazgul had split up in order to keep him away from Faramir and the fleeing riders so they could not make it to Minas Tirith. Gandalf arrives and asks if everyone is ok, he says we need to get into Minas Tirith in case they return. All of the riders get their scared horses back under control and everyone rides for Minas Tirith. But I never get there because on the way I wake up.

2017, 05-03

Forbidden Pool

I wake up in a bed that is not my own. It doesn’t feel right at all, so I roll over and look around to see if I can figure out where I am and what I’m doing here. It is dark in the room, but my eyes are well adjusted to the dark and I can make out a bit of the area. There are two other beds and I see a man standing over one of the beds, and I hear him whispering to the person in the bed. The person gets up and I see he is small, about hobbit sized. I get the idea that must be Frodo, and I am also thinking I should follow him. I get up at about the same time as the other hobbit, Sam, gets up, and we both follow the man and Frodo. They disappear from the room and we follow them down a path, up some stairs, and out onto a ledge overlooking a waterfall. Sam seems to want to stay back from the edge, but I am not afraid so I go out with them. Sam says something about it being too cold to be out here just to look at the moon. The man, Faramir, says Sam can go back to bed if he desires, the only one he meant to bring was Frodo, although he has no problem with Sam and me coming along as well.

I go over beside Faramir and Frodo as Faramir is asking Frodo what exactly they are looking at. Could it be a black squirrel from Mirkwood? If it is, it is awfully large and it has no tail. Maybe it is a kingfisher? If it is, then it is a black one… A man that was already on the ledge says it is no bird, it dives and swims like a human and does quite well at it. Faramir asks Frodo if his archers should shoot it. I look down and I see Gollum climb out of the pool with a shiny fish in his hands. Even though he can’t see what we’re looking at, Sam must have figured it out, so he says, “Yes!” and I say, “No!” at the exact same time. Faramir looks at Sam, then at me, and says everyone who was not asked has answered, but he is still waiting for Frodo’s answer. Sam tells me if I knew more about Gollum then I wouldn’t say ‘no’ to shooting him. I tell Sam that I say ‘no’ BECAUSE I know a lot more about SMEAGOL than he does, but I am not angry at his saying ‘yes’ because I know he just wants to protect Frodo. Faramir asks Frodo again if his archers should shoot it. I tell Faramir that Smeagol really has no idea that this hidden place exists, he is only after fish, thus is not a threat because even if he took the information straight to the enemy, he could tell nothing more than, “There is a nice pool there with tasty fish,” which would not interest the enemy in the slightest. Faramir says that merely gazing upon the pool carries a penalty of death, then he turns back to Frodo, who has gotten a bit distracted. The idea of killing someone for just looking on a pool of water seems so absurd to me that it is making me angry, and I say, “You’ve got to be kidding…” a bit too loud.

Faramir either doesn’t hear my comment or chooses not to respond as Frodo finally answers the question originally meant only for him. He says no, he does not want Faramir’s archers to shoot Smeagol. Sam looks disappointed, but not surprised. Faramir says he can’t just let that creature go free, but how are they to capture the slippery thing with anything other than a well-aimed arrow? Frodo says he will go down and bring Smeagol back. Frodo quietly follows one of the archers down to the level of the pool, then he starts talking to Smeagol and saying he needs Smeagol to go with him. I am thinking if this goes on it will look like a betrayal and make healing Smeagol harder, so I will just have to keep the people here from being a bunch of assholes. I focus on creating a shield around Smeagol so they can escort him back to the hideout but can’t actually touch or harm him. The archer that led Frodo down there looms up over Smeagle as if to grab him, but finds he can get no closer. He instead looks rather goofy as if he was just trying to intimidate Smeagol with his larger size. The man looks perplexed, and two other men who try to grab Smeagol have the same results. So Frodo just leads Smeagol the rest of the way back up to the ledge. A couple other men try to approach Smeagol and also can’t get close. Since all the men keep their distance, Smeagol seems to be beginning to believe that they mean him no harm.

The man who led Frodo down to the pool goes over to Faramir and tells him of the strange thing that wouldn’t let him get close to the creature Frodo calls Smeagol. Faramir hesitates, then looks over at me. He says it would seem I am a sorceress after all then. He asks what I have done to his archers. I say I did nothing to them, just a shield of protection around Smeagol in case they were thinking to use excessive force on someone who is already coming along willingly. He gives me a dirty look but says no more, and we all go inside. Once inside, Faramir says that he has decided on his own doom, Frodo can go free along with whatever companions he chooses. He asks if Frodo takes Smeagol under his protection, and Frodo say he does. Faramir gives me a dirty look again and says they don’t think too highly of sorceresses around here. I blurt out that I don’t think too highly of people who would murder someone who is no threat to them simply for fishing in the wrong pool, so that makes us even there. I return his dirty look. Faramir looks at Sam, then at Smeagol. Smeagol has resumed eating his fish.

After Faramir talks to Frodo for a bit more, counsels Frodo not to take the path Smeagol has planned but can’t offer a better idea. Faramir says he has added food to Sam’s and Frodo’s packs to help them out in spite of the company they choose to keep. I am thinking I can use the Penticon computer chip to replicate more food for them if they are in need. Frodo says they were also companions with Gandalf, he’s a wizard, so how am I so different? I tell Frodo, it’s ok if Faramir doesn’t like me, there will always be plenty of people who don’t. As long as he isn’t holding it against Frodo, I’m ok with it. Faramir says he and his people will have to be moving out, so Frodo and the rest of us also have to move out. We walk out of the hidden cave, and I again give no objection to being blindfolded. Faramir mutters that I can probably see anyways… We get to a place a ways away from the hidden cave and they take the blindfolds off. Then our paths part. Frodo thanks Faramir for his assistance, and Sam does as well, then we part ways. We haven’t gone far down our separate path before everything fades to black and I wake up.

2017, 05-03

Faramir's Secret

I am walking in a forest, and it is really quite beautiful. It is also a perfect day for taking a walk in the forest, the sun is shining, there is a gentle breeze blowing, and I hear the sound of a flowing stream nearby. The only thing odd is that I don’t hear any birds. I wonder why there wouldn’t be birds singing in the trees. I keep going and soon I hear voices. I follow the sound of the voices and peek through some trees to see a man and two hobbits walking together through the trees. I hear the man talking about Boromir, saying Boromir was his brother but he fears that his brother is dead. When one of the hobbits, Frodo, asks why he thinks that, the man, Faramir, says Boromir’s horn was found in the river, cloven in two pieces. He says there is only one way that would have happened. I remember that Boromir is not dead, I remember healing him, and I think it would be cruel to let Faramir go on thinking his brother is dead. So I step out into the open.

When I step into the open, Faramir stops short and does a double take. He raises his bow with an arrow already fit to it and asks who I am and how I managed to appear out of nowhere like that. Frodo answers before I do, telling Faramir that he won’t need his bow, I am a friend who sometimes comes by to help on their quest. He says he doesn’t know how I manage to get around so. I tell Faramir my name is Raven Knight, and I give a bow of courtesy. I tell him I wasn’t meaning to spy, but I overheard that he believes his brother is dead. He asks what I know of Boromir. I tell him I hope to put his fears to rest, Boromir is alive and well, I know this because when Boromir was injured I was his healer. Boromir did indeed get injured when he was fighting valiantly against many orcs, and his horn was cloven, but Boromir was still alive when I reached him and he was not beyond saving. Frodo wants to know about the other people in their company. I tell him I don’t have details, but I can assure him that they were all alive when I last saw them. Faramir says he certainly hopes I speak true, but now I must accompany my companions and him back to their hidden place, he would decide what must be done then. I don’t bother mentioning that I could take out him and all of his people all by myself, instead I cooperate and say I will be glad to cooperate.

I follow Faramir along with Frodo and Sam for a while, just enjoying the walk in the forest. Faramir and Frodo chat a bit more, Faramir asks if I have any more details on what happened to Boromir. I skip over the part about Boromir trying to steal the ring from Frodo, and go to the part where Boromir was bravely defending the other two hobbits from many orcs, and indeed he slew many orcs before it became too much. But the orcs believed Boromir was dead and they moved on, they were wrong. I’d been responding to the sound of Boromir’s horn and when I got there he was gravely wounded, but not lost, so I was able to heal him with the light energy. He asks if I’m some kind of sorceress. I tell him not exactly, I just channeled the healing light to restore Boromir to health. He says that if I speak true then he is in my debt for saving his brother. I say no, I just did what was right. He stops and says he will have to do all three of us a discourtesy right now, it is their law that anyone visiting be blindfolded when approaching the secret place. Frodo says it's no problem, even the elves do so when strangers need to enter Lothlorien. I tell him to go ahead, I will offer no objection. A couple more men come from the trees and tie scarves around Frodo’s, Sam’s, and my eyes. I find it strange, but I can still see where we’re going, as if I am seeing right through the blindfold. I say nothing about that, however, and I let one of the men who came lead me carefully through the trees. After several twists and turns that are no doubt meant to disorient us, they take the blindfolds off and we are now looking at a beautiful waterfall.

We go inside some caves and Faramir says he will get us some food and drink and they decide what is to be done in the morning after we’re all rested. He gives us food and drink in the form of dried fruits and salted meats with some kind of wine. Soon the hobbits and Faramir are chatting away, and I’m not paying much attention. Frodo is telling about what has happened on their journey across Middle Earth, then they are talking about elves, then Sam is saying Boromir took his own peril into Lothlorien and it was then he knew Boromir wanted the enemy’s ring… Then there is a brief period of time where Sam and Frodo seem to think Faramir will try to take the ring by force, but I am sure he is not going to try anything, and he doesn’t. He says he wouldn’t take it if he found it by the side of the road. He then says we should all get some rest, then shows Frodo, Sam, and me to three beds. Frodo falls asleep almost instantly, Sam takes a bit longer. I sit down on the bed and everything fades to black as I wake up.

2017, 04-28

Full Moonlight

I am in a place I don’t recognize. It’s a rather beautiful place, a forested area near a running stream. The sun is shining high in the sky and it is very pleasant now. I walk along the stream for a while, just enjoying the scenery. As I make my way up the river I see someone on the banks, it looks like he is washing something in the river. I get closer and he stands up, I see he is a hobbit. He looks over and sees me, and I clearly gave him a bit of a startle. He jumps back a bit and then stares at me for a bit longer before finally saying my name. “Raven? How did you get here?” He says he never thought anyone would find them way out here, have I been following them the whole time? I tell him no, I just show up when I’m needed. I look up from the stream and spot a stream of smoke rising. I remember from the book that the smoke was from Sam’s cooking fire, but I pretend I know nothing. I point at the smoke and tell Sam that some fool has started a fire out here, it’ll draw every orc in the vicinity if we don’t put it out. Sam looks at the smoke and drops an expletive before running up the hill towards the fire.

I follow Sam up the hill but I stop when I hear a whistle from a different direction. It sounds like a person imitating a bird, but I can’t tell for sure. I go farther up the hill but I stop when I hear voices up ahead. I peek past some concealing trees and see several men standing around Frodo and Sam. Apparently, they have met up with Faramir. I watch them from a hidden place, my Assassin’s robes lend themselves to keeping me concealed. I watch them for a bit and then Faramir is telling Frodo and Sam that they have to intercept an army of humans that have come to join the ranks of the Dark Lord. I wonder if those people are truly evil or if maybe Sauron has done something to corrupt them, maybe I should try to heal them before the battle between them and Faramir’s people starts and then a lot of people will get killed perhaps needlessly. I want to reach the enemy forces before they engage in battle with Faramir’s people, so I quietly move away from my current location, continuing up until I come to the road that Frodo and Sam have been following. Since the enemies were coming from the south, that is where I need to head in order to intercept them, so I head along the road to the south.

I haven’t gone far along the road before I see the enemy approaching me. They don’t seem to notice me until they are virtually on top of me. One of the men towards the front gives off a laugh and says I’m walking on the wrong road. He laughs more, but I ignore him completely and run directly into the middle of their ranks. Since that was the last thing they were expecting, no one stops me. I focus on the song Full Moonlight from the Devil Hunter Yohko anime soundtrack. (Link to YouTube song: ) The song plays through, an orb of light energy forms in the air over my head, it looks like a moon spinning around, throwing off waves of light energy. I am spinning and dancing underneath the orb, sending off more light energy, and all of the warriors around me are standing and staring in stunned silence, they don’t seem to know what to do. I see that some of the people in the enemy forces are on the backs of massive elephants. I continue the song, wanting to make sure and get some of the healing energy to the people on the elephants, and the elephants as well if they have also been corrupted. Soon the entire area is flowing with the golden energy coming out of the moon-like orb, and the people look rather disoriented. I am hearing people questioning what they’re doing here, and saying they don’t really want to go to war for someone who has never done anything for them or their families. One of them says they have to go on or there will be retribution. I tell one man who seems to be a leader that if they’re worried about Sauron attacking them to get revenge, there would be no need. Sauron will never get the chance to hurt anyone else. He seems to believe me, maybe the energy filling the area helped convince him.

I see there are some people seeking to continue, but most are turning back now. I figure Faramir’s people can handle the few that continue. Except… a few of the people on elephants are continuing, but I don’t want the elephants to get hurt, so I form an Alex Mercer blade of my right arm and cut their riding howdahs right off the backs of the elephants by cutting through the straps holding them in place. The huge structures fall from the elephants and crash to the ground. Now riderless, the elephants also turn around and head back towards the south, towards their homes. I disappear into the trees again, not sure if anyone saw me go or not. I slowly make my way back to where I saw Frodo and Sam with Faramir and some of his people only to find they are gone. I wonder where they have gone off to. I wonder if they saw any part of my little light show, maybe they took off. I try to think of what happens next in the book but right now my mind is getting a bit fuzzy, it is hard to focus on any one idea for long. As I am still trying to make my mind focus on one thing everything around me starts fading. Everything around me fades to black and I wake up.

2017, 04-25

The Wise and the Lost

I am on what looks like a road from a fantasy game. The road leads across green fields and rolling hills. Not too far off I can see what looks like a wall around a city. I have the idea that is where I am going so I head in that direction. The road leads past a pillar with a white hand statue on it, the hand is pointing farther along the road and the fingernails are painted a red that looks like blood. I continue past that and soon come to a place that used to be blocked off by a heavy gate, but the gates have been literally torn to pieces and cast aside. I am about to go through the destroyed gate when I hear a couple different people calling out to me. One of the voices calls me by name, “Raven!” while the other voice demands to know who I am and what my business here is. The person addressing me by name is Legolas from the Lord of the Rings books, and the person who wants to know my business is a tree… or rather an Ent. The Ent seems to consider it good enough that Legolas knows me and he returns to his guard post near the destroyed gate where he becomes virtually invisible, which is why I hadn’t seen him on approach.

Legolas comes over with Merry, Pippin, Gimli, and Aragorn. I do a double take and before I even realize I’m going to speak I ask where Boromir has gone. Aragorn says not to worry, my healing work did its job well, but Boromir went directly on to Minas Tirith, as was his original intent. He says I will never believe who came back to them when they needed him most… Gandalf! Well there he is right now, with Treebeard and King Theoden and the others. He heads off in their direction and everyone follows him. We meet up not far from the tower of Orthanc, Gandalf doesn’t look surprised to see me. He motions to the tower of Orthanc and says he was just about to go have a word with Saruman. I say I think I may yet be able to heal Saruman’s heart from the darkness that has taken up residence there. Gandalf says he would not tell me to not try, but he has a feeling Saruman won’t be likely to listen to reason. I say he merely has to listen to my song.

When we get to the tower, Gandalf calls Saruman out. After a brief pause I see Saruman standing on a small balcony up above us, about a third of the way up the tower. Saruman leans out and surveys the people here, I quickly duck out of the way closer to the tower so he doesn’t see me. Saruman is now saying how he has little hope that Gandalf is here for his council, but King Theoden has been his friend for so long… he then sets off on trying to win King Theoden over with his charismatic voice. I look back and see that Theoden seems hesitant to give any answer to Saruman’s request that he come up and they talk together and make peace between Saruman and the people of Rohan. Saruman is acting like he is the one who has been wronged rather than King Theoden and the people of Rohan, even though it was Saruman who started the attacks, not the people of Rohan. I ignore what Saruman is continuing to say and I go to the door into Orthanc. It is, of course, locked. I use the Harry Potter spell Alohamora to unlock the door and it swings open silently and I enter, taking care to be completely silent.

The interior of the tower of Orthanc is dark at first, but my eyes quickly adjust. I find stairs that head upward. I wonder how many levels up Saruman is, it only looked like a few, which is less than I’d pictured it when reading the books. I climb up a few levels, following the sound of Saruman’s voice. Suddenly he sounds angry for a bit before going back to his soft and soothing voice. Someone down there is getting him annoyed. I get to the level where he is and quietly open the door. I see across the room to where the balcony connects to the room, Saruman is outside and completely unaware of me. Now Saruman is telling Gandalf to come up, let the two of them take council together and speak reasonably as only the wise can. There is a pause, then Saruman gets pissed again. He spits out a few curses that weren’t mentioned in the Lord of the Rings books and then turns away from the balcony and comes inside. He stops short when he sees me and asks who I am to barge into his tower unannounced and uninvited. I tell him I have only done what he bid, for someone to come up and be reasonable and hear his council. I figure he might be more agreeable if he thinks I’m on his side. He says he doesn’t have any interest in taking council with the likes of me. I feign disappointment and say then I will have to settle for giving my help to him even if it is unasked for.

He starts to say there is nothing I could possibly have to say that would interest Saruman the Wise, but I ignore him and begin the song Liberate by Disturbed. Saruman needs to have his mind set free from Sauron the Dark Lord, who controls him through the Palantir. “Bold motherfucker won’t you liberate your mind?” Saruman does a double take at the music that starts playing, the sound of Disturbed… “Bold motherfucker, won’t you liberate your mind? Can't you see that the messages have fallen behind? All the hate in your heart will be leaving you blind, so bold motherfucker won’t you liberate your mind this time!” The room fills with a golden energy that flows around and through Saruman. When the song is done he looks disoriented, confused. He asks what has happened, what has he done? I say he has done only what his puppet master has commanded him to do, but now the strings have been broken and he is free to act on his own again. I look around the room and I see the source of his problems, there is the palantir sitting on a pedestal in the middle of the room. I go over to it and carefully pick it up without looking into it. I say to Saruman that the palantir is what the enemy has been using to control him, but no more will he be shown those twisted and backwards versions of what is happening in the world. Now he will make his own mind instead.

Saruman looks confused still as I walk from the room. I go down the stairs and past a confused looking Wormtongue, who does nothing to get in my way. I figure he can stay loyal to Saruman, because now that will not put him on the side of evil. I have a feeling Saruman is going to be very angry at the Dark Lord for being used as a pawn. I notice that he looks rather sickly, but I figure Saruman can help him if he is ill. I exit the tower of Orthanc and find Gandalf and the others still there. Gandalf asks what happened in there, he said he heard what sounded like music from another world (I get the idea he didn’t particularly like it) and then nothing. I carefully hand Gandalf the palantir and say the enemy has controlled Sauron using that, but now the strings are broken and Saruman is a puppet no more. Gandalf takes the palantir, also making sure not to look into it, and wraps it in a cloth he pulls from inside his robes. Aragorn asks what about Wormtongue. I say he’s been doing evil under Saruman’s orders, so now if he continues following Saruman, he won’t be doing evil. I say if Wormtongue needs more healing of heart, I will return, but now I can’t stay. Everything is fading even as I say that, and then I wake up.

2017, 04-24

Dragon Warriors

I am on top of what looks like a mountain, standing near the peak on a ledge that overlooks the valley below. It is dark out, but I can see the light of dawn beginning in the west. I look around, not sure where I am or why I might be here. Q from Star Trek is here, he says he will be right back. He disappears in a flash of light and then after only a short time he appears again with a man and two dragons! One of the dragons look like the Red Eyes Darkness Dragon from YuGiOh, and the other one looks the same but is a white dragon with blue markings. Q tells me not to worry, he won’t let me make Pikachu jealous. He sets a cute Pikachu on the ground near my feet. He says we’d better get going now before it’s too late. He says he can’t wait to see how those stupid orcs react when they see three dragons diving from the sky at them! Q laughs and then disappears in a flash of light.

The black dragon picks the man, MoSh, up and sets him on its back. The white dragon looks at me expectantly, but Pikachu gets directly between my legs and then transforms into the Blue Eyes White Dragon from YuGiOh. When he has finished transforming I am perched on Pikachu’s back and he is a dragon. MoSh takes flight on his dragon, then he calls to me and asks if I know where we’re going. I say I believe we’re heading for Helm’s Deep, they’re probably under attack right now. Pikachu takes flight and we lead the way down into the valley as the light in the west slowly brightens. The white form of the Red Eyes Darkness Dragon takes flight and follows as MoSh follows me down into the valley. We soar over the lands below, I never get tired of riding on the back of a dragon, it is so exhilarating that I have to be careful not to let it wake me up. We fly down lower to the ground and over Helm’s Deep to where the area beyond is packed with orcs and humans in the service of the enemy. The light in the west is growing, but that doesn’t seem to bother the orcs attacking, they’re the Uruk Hai, human-orc hybrid monsters created by Saruman. There is only one thing that will make them stop, and that is when they’re dead.

There are orcs gathering around outside the outer walls of Helm’s Deep, and everyone on both sides stops what they’re doing to stare in wonder and amazement at the three dragons diving down over them. The black dragon shoots a black fire at the orc hoards, the white dragon fires a white flame. When the two mix together it creates a massive wall of fire that incinerates all the orcs in its path. Pikachu adds his power in the form of a lightning storm crashing down all around the orc hoards, who are now in a panic and running blindly in the other direction. In the increasing light I can now see there is a forest in their path, and the orcs are rushing to take cover in the forest. They seem to think that will save them, but as I am remembering it, that is a forest of ents and they will never escape there. All three of us circle around for another pass, and now I can see Helm’s Deep clearly below with the defenders on the wall still watching us, seeming unsure of what to do about the arrival of three dragons. Another pass and another attack destroys another wave of orcs. Now they are all either dead or have disappeared into the forest of ents. I look back and I see the people on the wall of Helm’s Deep still watching us, some of them pointing, they’re probably waiting to determine if these dragons will attack them next. Since some of them know me, I fly down on Pikachu and get close enough that they can see me on his back. Legolas is the first one to realize who I am and he looks completely stunned. It takes a bit of time before Aragorn can get anything out of him. I wave to them and then head back into the sky. MoSh seems to be enjoying flying high over the ground on the black dragon. I start to follow him over the land, but it is too late for that. Everything around me fades to black and I wake up.

2017, 04-24

The Horn of Boromir

I am in a forest walking along a path. It’s a very nice day for being out on a walk, though I don’t know where I am and I can’t remember how I came to be here. I start to think that is strange and maybe I should do a reality check. I stop and I am about to do a reality check by pinching my nose, but I am distracted by voices calling out in the distance. I listen more closely to the voices and I can hear that they are calling out for Frodo over and over in voices loud enough to signal not only Frodo, but every enemy close enough to hear as well. I start following the sound of the calls, thinking I had better find out what is going on and what the problem is. I come through some trees and I see a man heading up a hill and a hobbit is falling behind, but trying to keep up. He finally stops and looks around, seeing me. He calls me by name and asks if I’ve seen Frodo anywhere. He says Frodo went off to think for a while, but that was far more than the hour he said he needed, and no one can find him. He says Aragorn went ahead to look but he couldn’t keep up…

I go to follow Aragorn up a hill as he is searching for Frodo. I have almost caught up with Aragorn when I hear the sound of a horn blowing from the other direction. I turn and look in that direction, it no doubt means someone is in trouble. I decide I’d better follow the sound of the horn, someone might need help now. I change direction and head in the direction of the horn. It seems to take me forever to get there, it must have been farther off than I realized. I enter into a small clearing just in time to see a man with several arrows protruding from his body fall to the ground. There is an orc standing over him about to finish him off with a sword. I call out to distract the orc from killing the man before I can act, “HEY, DOUBLE UGLY!” is all I can think of to say. The orc pauses and looks over at me, but this is enough of a delay for me to form my arm into an Alex Mercer blade and remove his head from his shoulders. The head of the orc rolls away and the body collapses.

I run over to the man, who I now remember is Boromir. He has been badly hurt, but he is still alive. I tell him to hang on, I can heal him. He says it’s too late for him, he’s too badly injured. He grabs my Assassin robes with surprising strength and pulls me close to him. He says he has to tell someone, he can’t take this secret to the grave. He says he tried to take the ring from Frodo, and that’s why he ran off, but he might be in danger. He says orcs took the other two hobbits, he tried to stop them… I tell him to stop trying to explain, he wasn’t himself when he tried to take the ring, and now he needs healing before we can go after the hobbits taken prisoner. Aragorn comes running into the clearing and looks alarmed at Boromir’s condition. He asks if Boromir is alive, and I say yes, I am going to heal him. Boromir goes limp, he passed out, which will make the next part much easier. I pull the arrows out, which would have hurt if he was conscious, and then I focus healing energy through him which seals up the wounds. Boromir’s breathing becomes more steady, no longer labored. I tell Aragorn that Boromir should be ok now. Aragorn says he’s never even seen Gandalf do healing like that… who am I? I have a feeling I am about to wake up, so I tell him that would be a rather long story to tell and I don’t think I have time. I say there are reasons beyond my control that sometimes limit how long I can stay around there. I pull a crystal necklace out and hand it to Aragorn. I tell him it contains light energy, and it should relieve any lingering effects that may be present. Boromir stirs like he is about to wake up. I tell Aragorn to give him the necklace and he will be fine. Aragorn is asking another question, but I don’t hear it before everything fades to black and I wake.

2017, 04-07

Enter Lothlorien

I am in a place I don’t recognize. I look around, trying to figure out where I am. I see I am very close to the foot of some tall mountains, I am in a rocky area at the foothills of the mountains. Not sure where to go, I follow the sound of a flowing river or stream. I go a little way before I find the source of the sound. The river is little more than a creek here, bubbling out of the rocks and flowing and cascading away down the foothills. I start following the stream to see where it leads. I make note of how nice a day it is for taking a walk outside. I kick myself for not bringing my phone alone, I could be getting distance on my Pokemon Go app even if there aren’t any pokemon in such a remote area.

I have not gone far before there is a flash of white light in front of me. I stop and do a double take because there are now two men standing where there was no one just seconds before. I recognize both of them right away. One of them is MoSh, and the other one is Q from Star Trek. I am surprised to see either of them here, since MoSh lives in a different country than I do and Q doesn’t exist in our world at all. When I think about that I realize this area doesn’t look like any place around my home, which is in the middle of a desert. Q smiles and even chuckles a bit. He says it’s amazing how slow the mind tends to conclude that it is dreaming. He tells me to do a reality check. I hesitate, my mind really is working rather slowly though I’m not sure why that might be. Finally I pinch my nose to do a reality check and I find I can breathe just fine even with my nose pinched. So I become lucid and then I announce to Q that I am dreaming. Q says he knows that, he’s the one who told me to do a reality check. He says the rest of the fellowship should arrive momentarily, and he was going to disappear. He then tells both MoSh and me to make sure and remember that we’re dreaming. MoSh gets down on the ground and is looking at his hand strangely. I ask what he’s doing and he says time dilation. I’m really not sure what he is talking about. I am thinking about asking Q about time dilation but when I look back I see Q has vanished.

I look over at MoSh and see he is still focused on his hand. I wait for a bit and soon a group of people come along. I recognize them from the Lord of the Rings books / movies. Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, Boromir, Merry, Pippin, Sam, Frodo. It appears Aragorn is leading them. He does a double take when he sees me and says he thought I’d disappeared again. He says we have to hurry on our way because there will be orcs swarming from that mountain after us once it gets dark. He asks who my friend is, pointing at MoSh. I give him a name that must satisfy him, but I can’t remember what name I gave. Aragorn hurries past and tells us we had better keep up. MoSh gets up and watches Aragorn and the others pass by. I notice Frodo is hanging back a bit. I ask if he is ok. He looks like he is in pain. He says he is ok, just got the wind knocked out of him by an orc spear back there. I tell him I can help, and I focus some healing energy through him. He seems to feel better and continues at a quicker pace.

We have continued quite a while when we come to a river. Legolas is saying the river is the Nimrodel and can wash away weariness when one bathes their feet in the water. He says we will have to wade across it because there are no bridges, but it is shallow. So everyone wades across the river. It is starting to get dark out, even now dusk is settling into night. Legolas is singing a song about the Nimrodel now, but I don’t pay much attention to the words, the melody is nice. Legolas says we’d best sleep in the trees and jumps for a branch. Someone is in the tree, however, and gives him a command in a different language. I somehow understand the language, the tree dweller commanded Legolas to drop back to the ground and wait there… Legolas tells everyone else to stay still and not move. I wait for a bit and finally some elves drop from the trees. They do not seem hostile, however, just cautious.

Even as Legolas and the other elves are discussing whether or not our group can pass into Lothlorien there is a lot of noise around us and we are under attack. Aragorn expresses surprise that the orcs could have caught up so quickly, and draws his sword to fight. Legolas fires arrows and drops a few orcs before they even reach us. It suddenly occurs to me that I was going to make sure MoSh has a Witchblade. I don’t see one on his wrist so I reach into an inner pocket of my Assassin’s robes and I find a Witchblade there. I take it out and toss it to MoSh after getting his attention. He catches it and puts it on. It forms into armor and a sword as the attacking orcs get closer. The orcs are now close enough to engage in melee combat. I form my right arm into an Alex Mercer blade and then I engage the orcs in battle. My Alex Mercer blade carves through attacking orcs as fast as they can come on and attack. I’m being attacked from all directions so I use a spin attack like Link from Legend of Zelda, slicing several orcs open across the middle. I look around just in time to see MoSh remove the head of an attacking orc. Before long all of the attacking orcs have been destroyed.

After the battle is over I see some of the elves set about disposing of the orc bodies. One of the elves is over talking to Legolas, from what I can tell they are discussing whether we will be allowed to enter into Lothlorien. They finally decide that we can enter, but will have to be blindfolded. I look over and I see MoSh looking up at the trees and wandering around a bit. He says this place is beautiful and then takes off flying, much to the amazement of the fellowship and the elves. One of the elves asks me where MoSh is going. I tell the elf not to worry about where MoSh is going, he won’t cause any harm. The elf says that’s not for me to decide. I tell him that if fighting by their side to defeat the orcs isn’t proof of friendship, what is? He looks like he will say something else but then he doesn’t. I realize I still have my blade arm active and I shift it back to my normal arm. The elf says we’d best get into the trees to rest for the night, they have platforms prepared for just such use. The people in the fellowship start climbing up rope ladders that are hanging down from the trees. The elf asks if MoSh will be returning. I tell him I don’t know for sure, but I rather doubt it. And I don’t think I’ll be around for much longer, either. He asks where I would go when there are surely more orcs out there on the hunt. I tell him I can only be there in a dream, so I might be waking up at any time. He says no, that while Lothlorien may look like a place only to be found in dreams, it is most definitely real. Before I can clarify what I mean, however, everything fades to black and I wake up.