The Distant Lands -- Initiation

Preface -- I wrote a series of short stories that were based on a number of dreams I had experienced. It's pretty simple actually; please tell me what you think below! :D
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February 5th, 2011

Dream world

WILD METHOD

My dream begins,

As I walked from the darkness of my subconscious into the forming dream, the air below me turned to grainy sediment. Warm sand and moist air blasted my face before revealing a shimmer of light at the end of a tunnel. It appeared I had come straight into a cave, as dark gray rock dominated the majority of my view. With little care for the tedious act of spelunking a nonexistent cave, I began to jog towards the light. The earth below me began to incline, and I pressed forward through the darkness and coming to the end of the long tunnel. The silent air shifted in my ears; I walked slowly to the mouth of the cave. Gladly, I became aware of my surroundings. A long beach stood before me, coated in a dark, clouded sky.

The beach was completely still; the subtle movement of the wind assured me that I am in no nightmare. Further, on in the distance, a patch of verdant green forest tugged my curiosity. I aptly choose to press on towards the bastion of life. The pitter-patter of my feet in the wet sands became hypnotic in the repetitive beat. Time continued on, and my destination did not appear to be coming closer. Annoyance grew inside of me, as my temper quickly became unsettled, and I came to a much-needed stop.

“What the hell is going on?” My fury started to build inside of me like bile. Usually I have complete control of my dream world, but some force was withholding my abilities. I heard the shuffle of feet behind me. Perhaps the nightmare had just begun.

“You cannot reach the land. No man may reach the land,” stated the voice behind me. I could clearly understand that this came from a male voice, but it sounded inhuman in its coarseness. My body turned to greet my new focus. I was surprised to see that the voice came from a beast, a bipedal fox-like being. It stood at the same height of a human, but a pelt of black fur covered the skin. A small diamond adorned the center of his ribs. His paws, which sat in the place of both hands and feet, were adorned with claws that resembled fingers. They were as flexible as the fleshy digits that I possessed, yet glistened like a sharpened razor. His legs were bent in, as of lupine descent; silver shackles encased his wrists. His hair was similar to a mane— brown in color, nearly touching the ground.


“Then tell me, oh strange creature, what purpose do you serve here and how shall I address you? I see no one else in this world! Why should I bend to your will?” His face showed no sign of fear or anger; in fact, he was about as motionless as the bleak sky.

“I am the protector of nature, and my purpose is to guard the land before you. As for a name, I am known by you as ‘Valor’,” Though true, he was preventing me from my only goal, I was entranced by his unbending focus. His eyes stared into my spirit as though I were transparent. I was being judged by a reflection of my own mind. An odd situation, if there ever was one.

“You don’t exist in my world. Be gone!” I closed my eyes and cleared my thoughts. A full obliteration would suffice, and as such, I imagined the world fading away. When my eyes opened, the same drab beach stared at me, along with two new pairs of eyes.

Two new creatures appeared on either side of Valor. The one on my left was smaller, and livelier. They had no different body shape than the first, yet I quickly ascertained that she was female based on her posture and expression; her purple eyes shined even in the dark day. She bounced on the balls of her feet and seemed to be lighthearted in nature. Her fur was not of a dark gray but of a cadet blue (my favorite color as a child), with her hair bound by a purple ribbon.

The beast on the right was much more difficult to read. The white fur and black hair came to show a depressing sight, but with further inspection, I found its body language to exude a vastly different feeling. Its eyes displayed a calm, rather than energy. Similarly, to the other new animal, it was smaller and clearly female, but its disposition was very different. It held its claws behind its bad and stood with formal posture, as though it knew me like an old friend. She had hazel eyes.

“Why are you stopping me? I mean no harm to you!” I felt surrounded by these forces inside of me. They simply sat and stared, waiting for me to move. In order to gauge their goals, I took a step backwards. What I thought was sand was black tar. It engulfed the entirety of my left leg before I was able to retaliate, but it was hopeless. My body sank backwards like a punctured ship, while the trio stood still and watched the darkness overcome me. Fighting was hopeless, and I was being absorbed at speeds that were too quick to contest. Just before the murky sky faded from my vision, a blazing red gem fell from the sky and dug into my sternum, which was sunken just below.

The light vanished, and I was alone in the darkness; my only company was the shaking of my body. Forces unknown were pulling at me as though it were magic. My numb body felt itself breaking and bending against its will. My legs extended, breaking inward to mimic that of a canine, while my feet and hands molded into strengthened pads. My torso collapsed in on itself, tightening its hold on my innards (believe me, it felt worse than it sounds), while my face was pulled outward to a snout. Once the main body structure was solidified, my hands and feet finally felt their bones being extended outwards, tearing through the flesh and forming into razor sharp talons. My screams were muffled by the sleep paralysis.

My mind slipped into a haze, a sign my dream was ending soon. Hoping to make the most of it, I compressed my remaining strength into a powerful, desperate leap upwards. The force was shattering, as my new body powered through yards of sludge and tar; I reached upwards in a last ditch effort to escape. A clawed paw grabbed me and pulled me into the moist air that I had tasted in the beginning. As the tar cleared from my face, my skin began to tingle. The tar, which coated my skin, hardened into a pelt, slowly unclenched itself into new fur; meanwhile, my dripping hair extended into a burning red color. I cleared my eyes and stood in amazement, as Valor yanked at the sludge that hung from my shoulder. He greeted me with eyes I that shake me even as I describe them now. The other two creatures were outside of the cave, as I could see their silhouettes at the mouth of the cave.

Valor walked me to the exit, introducing me to both of his companions. The lively blue being was named “Mip”; she spoke with excitement and energy, which was somewhat comforting as it created a buffer against Valor’s seriousness. The white-furred being was quiet, using a clear and steady voice only when needed; otherwise, she was quiet and firm. I watched as she analyzed me with her still eyes. After a short period of judgment, she introduced herself as “Hope”. At once, they all walked out into the light of the day and called for me to follow them. As I walked into the portal, I saw that we were in the green jungle that sat at the end of the beach. I had a good five seconds of analysis before I was hit by a gust of cold wind.

I was ripped from the dream by the constant, incessant beeping of my Verizon phone. Cold sweat ran down my face.