nightmare

Part One: Within the Circle of Birth



I opened my eyes, as my vision adjusted to the unusual grey-yellow light, I looked about to find myself standing in a stone circle surrounded by 30 foot high walls and four arched passageways. The sky above was purple and pink with darkened blues at the zenith, light from distant suns filtered through the stone arches creating a latticework of criss-crossed shadows, varying in tones upon the interlocked pavers of the walls and floors.

As I stepped out of the the circle I noticed upon the walls writings and heiroglyphics from every culture in the world, from every time in history, describing every facet of human knowledge from the beginning of the universe itself. I began reading, absorbed in uncovering the knowledge of the ancients, there were words far above I remember thinking if I were bigger I could read those too.

It was then I noticed my bare feet, the echo off the walls as I shifted my weight and crunched the dusty gravel between my toes, I must've been about 5 or 6 years old and my footprints were the only sets left behind in thousands of years. I wore a shirt and shorts of no particular colour, yet of all at different moments. My attention shifted back to the walls, my thirst for knowledge becoming my obsession once again. Suddenly from behind me a rumbling sound of void silence began, I had stepped into the passage of learning and now there was no turning back.

I looked over my shoulder and caught a glimpse of something that has haunted me forever after- it was death carved into a giant glass like ball, as you looked into it the feeling was of losing yourself and watching your past melt into nothingness. The swirling hypnotic smoke within caught your eye in such a manner that you could not look away, your only option was to look and be frozen by it's power, it's commanding presence, it's finality.



Part 2: Into the Labyrinth



With all my strength and a good dose of fear, I pulled my gaze away from the Orb of Death. I knew it was following me the sound of glass on stone eternally grew nearer the slower I progressed, it grew weaker only when I made quick progress. I ran down the passage of learning trying my best to read and understand the information left carved upon the walls of the Labyrinth. Though the knowledge was written in every language used today and many that have been extinct for aeons, I understood every character, every symbol. I scanned each wall; picking out pieces I found of interest, memorizing as I went along, trying to put together the mystery of life. Passages led off in many directions at many angles, some up some down. All the while a different skill or ability could be gained through following the instructions of those who have come before.

I found a stairway up to a great tower, the power to be gained there was immense, it's lessons difficult to follow and nearly impossible to retain. I had thought that because of the small doorway at the base of the spiral stairs the Orb couldn't follow me; I was wrong. It had the ability to change size and roll uphill in an unatural way, free of gravity, and other rules of the universe we all must adhere to. I eventually reached the top of the tower, tired and overwhelmed with learning the art of inner strength I was not quite ready for the view ahead.

Before me was a world constructed completely of walls, stairs and catacombs in a Labyrinthine Abyss stretching out as far as I could see, the curvature of this world faded into the distance. From the look of the place it must have been about the size of Venus or perhaps Mars. Above the sky had turned to night, unrecognizable planets hung in the endless void of space beyond the thin atmosphere of this mysterious world. Thumps came up the staircase behind me the Orb had caught up and I had lingered too long. I searched for an alternate route yet none was available, fear rose up from within as I logically assessed my situation certain death from the Orb, or possible death from the leap of faith.

I leapt from the stone balcony finding I had a caped shirt which I could glide with, trousers and black sports shoes. The shoes were light and comfortable, easy to run in and they could walk up walls if you moved fast enough. I was considerably older now somewhere in my teens. I could see my path to greatness from this height, like drawing your path in the mazes on the sides of franchised kids meals boxes, I drew my path in my minds eyes and memorized the turns, the rises and falls. I landed lightly into a ninja roll and took off at a run, I could read faster now and also read many things simultaneously; I had a sense of being able to see all around me at once. The Labyrinth was beginning to be fun, I understood the rules, I could visualize the goal I wanted to achieve and I knew my path towards that goal.

But all was not as it seemed within the walls of the Labyrinth, there were variables I had not accounted for in my path. Socialising and the opposite sex was a path that led me from my optimum trajectory, the walls showed scenes of parties and sexual positions, drugs and many other sides of youth we all experiment with. This part was a blur and I fell to the pit of the Catacombs. The light had the tinge of blue to it like moonlight but more foreboding, sounds echoed that had no origin, pillars stood creating shadows that moved in unusual ways. Things moved in the darkness that you know cant be human, and may not be alive at all.



Part 3: Escape from the Catacombs



For years I fell about in the darkness trying to read the maddening messages scrawled by desperate hands in ugly quickly written fonts. Hoping that someone had found the way out from this terrible place, made the run along the upside down stairwells that had collected on the roof as if they had fallen upwards in some reverse way. The floors were sticky with blackened blood and as you moved the fatigue would worsen exponentially, I was tiring fast and my clothes were stained when a doorway seemed to appear ahead. I dragged myself toward the dim green light that edged closer to my feet with every step, and I leant against the sill of the door. I remembered the Orb, it symbolized fears of death but also the death of fear. Suddenly the door slid closed from above making me leap forward to the middle of cube shaped room. Green light rained down like water, glowing droplets of green liquid hit the ground and took forms of spiders, snakes, centipedes, worms and a multitude of other creepy crawlies. They crunched under my feet, I searched for a way out but the only way was up. I had no wings nor the ability to fly without them and so I screamed to the tiny square of light far above to release me...



Part 4: When Worlds Collide



I awoke in my bed in Taheke, the bugs and snakes had followed me through the portal between the realm of dreams and the world of my body, I was 10 years old. They crept up the walls, and through the sheets, they covered the floors nearly a foot deep, and they were not normal sized insects. The snakes had heads the size of beach balls and they put holes through the walls where they entered and exited the room. Insects the size of a mans torso crawled over my books and bodies being stripped of flesh continued to be nibbled by hundreds of tiny mandibles. I ran screaming to my parents room the hallucination continued throughout the house and I realized there was no escape. As I pushed open the door shoving it again and again to shift the bugs on the floor, I then noticed the green blood ooze from underneath.

My mother stirred first, "What? What is it? A dream?" she said groggily. I stammered " They followed me back! Back through the portal! I can't escape and the Orb! The Orb is death!!" I looked at my hands, they were abnormal I looked closer, and closer still. "It's in my palm! the Orb has me, its as small as the tiniest grain of sand but its weight equals that of the universe itself and it's getting heavier" I ranted uncontrollably; my eyes were fully dilated and i fell to the floor at the foot of the bed. My mother rose to find me with the back of my right hand on the floor and my left hand clamped around my wrist, I stared at my palm as if a world revolved within it. I spoke silently, my mouth moved but no sound came out. She tried to pick me up but couldn't get my hand up off the ground, my father laughed and got out of bed. He moved to where I was upon the floor and together they tried to pick me up. Surprisingly they couldn't separate me from the floor until finally I fell asleep again.



Part 5 Ascent from the Pits of Despair



I held the Universe in my hand, I had become one with the Orb for a millisecond, I had seen the secret of dreaming. I stood, the Snakes and Insects scuttered and hid along the walls and corners trying desperately to escape the prison they had created to devour me. They squirmed and shrunk as I realized I wore clothes of white that glowed bright as the sun. I looked upward and flew, slowly at first and picked up speed as I gained my confidence back. I burst from the square vent at the top of the shaft that slowly spiralled from the Catacombs below.

I flew to the limit of the atmosphere to gain perspective on the situation and to find the best route to the end of the Labyrinth, I landed in the Great Octagon, flat and wide with amazing carvings upon the floor that were woven together. They had been carved by every culture and blended seamlessly together in a repeating pattern that extended into the distance and up the walls. Sixteen hundred doorways stood around the walls of the Octagon, I searched for the Orb, it could still kill me I knew that much. Then it seemed as if the insects had returned for I could see tiny figures coming from each of the doorways. They weren't insects however they were warriors dressed in outfits in accordance to their cultures, their weapons were drawn and a murderous look in their eyes helped me quickly to understand their intentions.





Part 6: Battle for my Mind



I looked to the centre of the Octagon and found to my delight a sword made of Onyx, black and glassy like the Orb; it sung a song of virtue and belief and upon the hilt was the symbol for infinity. I dashed from the point where I had landed and drew the sword from its resting place within the stone. The ground shuddered and the 160,000 warriors who bore down upon me braced their footing and looked unsurely at one-another, some even fell to the ground scrambling to get up. Seeing how outnumbered I was they laughed and their fear was gone, once again replaced by a murderous vengeance.

I stood alone vastly outnumbered yet unafraid, I had seen the Orb's will when I held it, and somehow I knew these warriors could not kill me. They surrounded me in a circle 20 paces from the centre to the first warrior. It was an Armoured Knight who attacked first, his straight edged two-handed sword cut through the air before me as I had already moved back, parrying his blade deep into the stone floor then, using the momentum from that hit, I twisted over and sliced through the weak spot at the neck of his armour. The clang of metal on stone rang out as they watched his head come to rest at the foot of a Zulu warrior. The Zulu cocked his head to one side and raised his eyebrow slightly; it seemed he was assessing my ability. From behind I sensed the whoosh of an arrow sailing through the air, I ducked and rolled left, the arrow landing in the arm of a Celtic warrior. The Zulu flung his spear at the spot I had rolled to and I bounced the stone tip with the flat of my blade off into an unwary looking Mayan.

I continued like this for an unknown amount of time, willing only to counter-attack those who attacked me. In the distance however, I could see for each that fell another would rise in his place entering through a doorway somewhere within the Great Octagon. I stepped up my game, I closed my eyes and visualised as many different warriors as I could, each with their own specialty, their own strengths and weaknesses. My body phased and shifted, to the warriors around me it seemed as if I was blinking in and out of existence, they stood in awe as multiples of myself split from my centre and began to take form around me.

* The Barbarian, possessing brutal strength, an unstoppable axe and a powerful inner rage stepped onto the stone with a menacing thud. His messy dark blonde hair hid a chiseled and Neanderthal version of my face, his eyes small and violent. He breathed heavily, and looked around for his next opponent.
* The Avenger had a spiked club and wore light armor with a symbol of the Scales on it, his power lay in his ability to judge right from wrong. He used this ability in conjuction with his faith in his reality and himself. He was accurate and severe with his final judgement, unable to be leniant and completely un-bias. He gazed coldly at his opposition.
* The Beast wore only a loincloth, his muscled body was immensely powerful and unnaturally fast. Hair grew upon his body in clumps that followed a natural pattern and his nails were sharp and unbreakable. His senses were honed to a fine point, night vision, an advanced sense of feeling a spider would be jealous of, he could hear an ant fart two hundred metres away while it was underground having a conversation, he could taste pheromones in the air and smell the fear in a man's heart. The beast used his instincts to guide him, he sniffed at the air and snorted in defiance.
* The Archer had many different arrows in his quiver, by nature he was quick-witted and humorous. He was telekinetic and so his arrows never missed their mark. He could disguise himself very well, often using another man's temptations or anger against them to gain his advantage. The Archer gave a mischeivous smile and flipped a gold coin in the air.
* The Assassin, lithe and agile with a small curved blade in each hand and thrown weapons hidden upon his garb. He did not speak, and only his dark black eyes were shown through his outfit of black, he could teleport and used distraction to gut his enemies. He looked left, then right, and suddenly disappeared in a haze of grey smoke.
* The Armoured Assaulter; the biggest of the group stood tall in silver armour delicately enscribed with runes and charms of ancient magic, his weapons- two great sheilds that bore spikes upon them to deliver defensive attacks. He took a heavy step forward and raised his sheilds to the fore and aft.
* The Blademaster wore two samurai swords at his waist and an arrogant grin upon his scarred face at all times. His arms were crossed and his stance balanced, he gracefully destroyed any who opposed him. He did not move but to breathe and his eyes saw all movement without seeing.
* The Berserker had two wicked looking hand axes, and a mad, devil may care look in his eye. He had lost everything therefore had nothing to lose. He was the most dangerous as he cared for no-one; not even himself. He flipped his axes one after the other as if to juggle them, laughing manaically as he did so.
* The Black Magician, withered and old, had used his power to manipulate and control others to his own ends, his face was always in darkness, yet his eyes glowed blood red. From beyond the grave he had returned to enslave the souls of the weak that he may once again study the dark arts in the land of the living. He brought his golden scythe before him and all who gazed upon him trembled in fear and anguish.
* The White Knight stood in his armor that could not be tarnished by dirt or blood, his face beautiful to behold; his smile was of understanding and compassion. His longsword was straight and had a heart-shaped insignia carved upon it. His shield was large and round and the outside was mirrored to reflect the enemies own fears and weaknesses back upon them. The White Knight reached up and closed his visor, showing his enemies none of the beauty he possessed; his visor was pure light and blinding.
* The Sorceror of Light, wise and experienced he is the oldest of them all. Spiritually powerful and in tune with the forces of nature this being was human once but is now energy itself. His Staff was held in his left hand and the butt was upon the stone of the Octagon, his face was old but still my own, his hair white and eyes of glacial blue. He raised his Staff and a bolt of blue-white lightning struck it as the Sorceror said in a thousand voices " Begin!!!"

The bolt bounced from his Staff and leapt through the crowd of confused warriors, nearly a thousand fell in this first attack. The Beast and Berserker were first off the mark leaping ahead into the fray. Clawed faces screamed in agony as the Beast delivered fast blows from hand and foot, not to mention the occasional bitten neck. The Berserker threw his axes one at a time and they returned to him after slitting throats and maiming limbs. The Assassin who had disappeared earlier was teleporting from door to door silently garrotting new entrants to the Octagon, as they thought the battle raged in the centre. The Black Magician tended the wounded, sucking the life from them and storing the energy in blood orbs to use later in the restoration of his allies fatigued and damaged bodies, he was unable to be killed by mortal weapons and used this to his full advantage.

Around the Sorceror of Light the Avenger revolved, protecting him as he summoned powerful magic that erupted from the clear quartz tip of the gnarled wooden staff. Fire and Ice, Wind, Water and Earth cast from the Sorcerors hands and amplified by the staff he had made himself. Energy pealed outward burning or freezing, drowning, crushing and throwing enemies high into the air. As the Avenger clubbed the attackers, those who were not killed ran from battle seeing the error of their ways and urging to change their wasted lives.

The Barbarian and the Armoured Assaulter made wide defensive circles around my true self who sat in the centre meditating. The Barbarian swung his two handed axe powerfully and without equal, even the great Vikings of the North who were of similar stature flew through the air with smashed sheilds from the blows of this behemoth. The Armoured Assaulter was battling Japanese samurai, their fine blades the strongest in the world; but they were no match for this armour of the ancients. No weak spots showed, no scratch impressed upon it, no piece remmovable and always and again the Armoured one pushed forward and those ahead were impaled upon his spiked shields and armour; and below their heads were cracked by his immense weight.

The Archer had taken a triangular position around me evading the giant battling forms of the Barbarian and Assaulter, ever the opportunist he let arrows fly at foes who sought to stab his allies in the back and giggled as he did so. The Black Magician flung the archer a small pouch, which he then tied to an arrow and lit, red smoke was rising from a large fat nasty looking Persian. The smoke signal was from the Assassin for upon the Persians back was an explosive device. The Beast had wandered far from the centre and was now in the blast zone, noticing this, the Sorceror whispered to him " flee to your left! ". As the Beast tore the throat from an unusually dressed Chinese man the Archer let his arrow fly.

The White Knight charged towards the Beast who was lost in some sort of frenzied killing spree and put himself between the Beast and the raging Persian. A switch on the back of the White Knight's shield was triggered and the edges extended slicing into the ground and locking into place. The White Knight braced himself and grabbed the Beast by the scruff of the neck pulling him in behind the shield. Time slowed as the flaming arrow flew past battling foes, narrowly avoiding swung weapons until finally punching a hole through the Persians shoulder and out the other side into the soft sack layer of the explosive backpack.

The explosion killed thousands and those outside the kill zone were knocked from their feet, able to catch their breath my Warriors assessed their injuries, all but the Beast, Beserker and the Blademaster. The Blademaster had killed 30000 hardened warriors alone, choosing the widest circle and moving in a dance of death around it. His blades had found no other in their path, and no shield had slowed their movement; no enemy had wounded him, neither a graze nor scratch. His acrobatic, unpredictable style was ever-changing and custom-built to the weaknesses of his opponents. He spun from heel to toe, using every part of his body as his weapon, and his blades as his exclamatory full stop.

It took one thousand, one hundred and eleven minutes, and eleven seconds for the battle to conclude; the doors no longer exuded enemies of many cultures, and the bodies of the dead decomposed into dust.

Some of my warriors rejoiced, the Beast, the Beserker, the Archer and the Barbarian all caught in the flood of victory. But the thinkers of us knew, this was too easy. It was only the beginning...



Part 7: My Greatest Foe



I traveled from the Great Octagon as a group now, fanned out and reading the walls forever still, when we came to the next open area. The walls were made from what looked like giant noodles of stone moving in waves around the central floor, the waves becoming larger as they wall got higher. There were eye shaped holes that were glassed in a crystalline matter the colour of citrine and you could see through to the walls on the other side. This place I named the Citrine Circle was like the Great Octagon in that it had no writings on the walls merely symbols and tessellated patterns, one main difference was that it was larger by three times at least . Above more time had passed, the constellations in the sky described a battle of opposites. One set of stars was attacking another set, which was it's equal and opposite,one good, one evil.

I turned around to look at my surroundings a little more, a heat haze shimmered as I did so then as if I was looking into a mirror there I was, staring back at me. I chuckled and looked to my doubles who each stood before themselves, having the same some sort of de-ja-vu moment, when without warning a blade sliced for my throat.

I dodged backwards, my hands instinctively hit the ground tips first and my legs came up one after the other as I completed the backflip handstand. I felt as my toe hooked the butt of the blade from my assailants hand and listened as it spun through the air, I came to rest in a sideways stance ready for battle and took the blade from where it spun in the air. Around me all the different versions of myself battled their evil counterparts none able to gain the advantage.

This realization that their strengths were cancelled out by eachother, led naturally to the idea that I must use their opposite to defeat them as the stars had predicted. And so the pairing of opposites began as I worked out in my mind who would best suit victory over another, some were obvious some less so, yet all had a weakness, for without weakness there can be no strength.

Even with the pairing of opposites the battle could never have been won, the fact that these opposites must exist on the same plane was very apparent to me now as time after time no victory had been wrought, and so as a group doubled once more we moved ahead, aware of the other but not in constant conflict with it. As always the great black void still rolled after me, yet around these great challenges it respected my need for respite from it's pressure.



It was at this moment I noticed the demons who attempted to claw their way through the walls of crystal, I could see them now I had seen the dark side of myself, and in the sky far above the pure white wings of angels could be seen circling in figures of eight who took place of the stars I had seen earlier. I listened carefully to the softly spoken words of the Angels through the chaotic ruckus of the demons who ached to breach the walls and swarm around me and my allies to tear flesh from bone and feed on my very soul, I heard their cries for fear, I heard their shouts for pain and anguish, I heard their screams for greed, jealousy and power... I heard but did not listen. I listened to the angels above as if I heard the voice of an old friend who imparts his wisdom before he dies, I listened clearly and heard what only could be described as the answer to the question of life and death, of good god and evil devil. I listened and felt it llike a balm that heals all wounds. I knew at this point the battle of the opposites had been won.



Part 8: Pull Yourself Together



As the wave of victory ebbed I watched how the various versions of myself behaved around one another. Some were working together, others made a point to ignore one-another and a few were at each others throats.Then, from the pits below a rumble began, a noise of dread, despair and a herald of pain. The stone beneath me shuddered and quaked, as the sound of something large came nearer and nearer. The Beast crouched low and had a fearful look in his eye, the Archer stopped rolling his coin from knuckle to knuckle while the Armoured Assaulter stood with his legs wide apart bracing himself for anything that may come. I saw the hand of the blade master move to the hilt of his sword, he was not his usual calm, a worried expression crossed his face momentarily followed quickly by his ice cold demeanor of arrogant determination. The stage was set as the waved walls of the Citrine Circle phased and shifted holographically to scenes of the elements themselves, Fire, Earth, Water and Air spilt equally in four parts.

I looked out into the each of the four distinct corners of the battlefield, and realized they each contained an Elemental Dragon, seated upon a throne. Eight powerful eyes bore down upon me, my crew of Allies were ready for battle but in this instance a different approach would win victory.

I breathed in and drew all my allies and their opposites within, I grew stronger as I understood the different parts that made up my own being and then I breathed out. My clothes had changed, replaced by a Liquid Armour that bent and shited with each movement I made. It could not be pierced, nor burned or rusted, crushed or frozen, it would adapt to whatever situation it was given and repel in a befitting fashion as long as I kept my focus. A Spirit Sword made of Tempered Gold and laced with Titanium materialized in my left hand, then a Soul Sheild that wore the four elements in my right. I felt truly invincible and beckoned the bravest Dragon to approach.

The Dragons of Air and Fire leapt from their perches blasting me with accelerated flame, I dodged the flames licking at my heels, felt the searing heat of the bright blue flames and knew I was far from invincible, these dragons were more powerful than me and when they worked together they were the invincible ones. I battled against steam, fiery earthquakes, ice storms, whirlwinds, fire storms, mudslides, volcanic eruptions and hurricanes. I sheilded and dodged, leapt and ducked constantly looking for the opening, the soft spot to drive home a killing blow, I knew once one fell they all shall fall. I enchanted my sword, and headed straight for the Water Leviathan, flames encompassed my hand and the blade, I flew quickly directly for his centre, having to dodge mid air shards of ice he threw at me. I teleported changed my enchantment to molten earth and slammed my blade down into the unsuspecting spine of the Air Dragon. He stiffenned and around him the other Dragons roared a deafening howl of pain. His great form fell to the ground with a dead thump, and he lay paralyzed upon the floor. I sprinted to his side and with a clean blow removed his head, throwing my shield aside I plunged my arm into the severed spine of the fallen beast and grabbed hold of his brain stem.

I had a strange sensation of our minds melding together and seeing with four eyes at once, luckily I regained my wits before the spiked rocky tail of the Earth Dragon came down upon me. I held up the head of the Air Dragon and let loose a blast of wind that made him rear up to reveal the weak parts beneath the scales of his chest. I threw my blade as hard as I could directly at his heart using my mind to guide it as I did so. It landed true in his heart and once more the remaining dragons roared in anguish and mentally I returned the sword to my left hand. From this dragon I took the tail, with a slice of my Blade formed of air I cleanly removed it. I grabbed the base of his tail with the mouth of the Air Dragon and used it as a whip to catch the Fire Dragon mid-flight. I slammed him against the ground then hurled him into the sea at the feet of the Water Leviathan then dove in after him using the Air Blast from the Dragon's head to propel me and cover my back from the pursuing Leviathan. I cut a slit in his back and entered his body cavity, slipping and sliding past bones and cartilage. I had to leave the head of the dragon out side and my sword was stuck fast in his ribs. I reached out with my right arm feeling the pulse of his heart to be close. The Dragon tensed and flexed basically trying to crush and suffocate me and I was close to death but forced myself forward, pulling on an artery to get ahead. It was then I felt his heart and as burning hot as it was the surrounding water dampened it enough to wrap my hand around it and squeeze. I twisted and ripped it from his chest, around me waves of pain erupted everywhere and after a lot of twitching he was dead. There was one problem though, I was stuck inside this dragon and sinking to the bottom of the ocean. I used Ice magic and began to freeze the tissue around me then smashed my way out retreiving my sword and claiming another head trophy.

The Leviathan caught me by surprise, hitting me from behind at supernatural speed then clamping his jaws around my waist and arms. I dropped the fire Dragons head but held tight to my Spirit Sword, I then peered into his eye that locked with mine and saw the tiniest shimmer of fear. I thought of the electric eel and conducted a lightning bolt through myself into the Leviathan, naturally he tensed and shudder in response to this and a canine peirced my gut but my sword arm was freed. The Dragons eye widened as he saw me draw my arm back and then closed as I thrust it through his eye into his brain. He went limp and let go sinking to the abyss below. Yet the danger was not over, sharks and giant crocodiles came to feed upon the dragons lifeless body and knowing I was wounded it would be a matter of time before they came after me.

I swum as best I could, sword sheathed upon my back. The surface seemed further than I could last, and though I could breathe underwater, I was drowning still from the pressure and depth. I forced the last of my strength into a beam of light that superheated the water making a column of steam swirl upwards and on this flow I rose to the surface. I teleported ashore once I could see it. I lay there breathing heavily, watching the blood drain from the hole in my stomach, knowing it would be a long and painful death.

I faded in and out of consciousness, when I opened my eyes I saw the most beautiful woman I had ever seen, she was healing me, comforting me, she helped me up and I realized she was an Angel, one of those who had sung to me earlier as she flew high above watching my struggle. In a haze of white light she dematerialized and I stood fully myself once more.



Part 9: Death is only the Beginning



I looked down at my hands, they were old and wrinkled I was in my 80's, my Spirit Sword had become a Carved Staff with a Quartz stone that shone white and pure. The walls moved and shifted at my will and lined up like shelves of a bookcase, I did not have to look to read anymore, the knowledge came to me through my minds eye. I plodded ahead a light not far ahead drawing me closer and closer. I moved slowly and heard the Orb of Death behind me gaining ground with every weakening step then I came to the strangest part of the Labyrinth so far. The walls were blank and I knew their purpose, it was my turn to leave my mark upon this place of knowledge. For seven years I moved ahead casting all I had come to know through my youth, my adolescence, adulthood and old age; the tales of my victories and defeats, the full tome of knowledge I had gained in my lifetime. I cast it upon the walls, burned as if by a thousand lasers simultaneously constructing the story of my life, then once all had been said and done I stepped forward into a stone circle surrounded by 30 foot high walls and four arched passageways. The sky above was purple and pink with darkened blues at the zenith, light from distant suns filtered through the stone arches creating a latticework of criss-crossed shadows, varying in tones upon the interlocked pavers of the walls and floors. I was back where I started and had lived my life as well I could have for all that happens, happens for a reason, and ultimately could not have taken place in any other way. I turned to see the Orb of Death rolling towards me yet within the Orb the swirling smoke was no longer foreboding, I held no fear of it, it felt like home. I stood in the centre of the circle and let the Orb absorb me and became part of the Light.



Authors Note: This dream recurred often to me as a child, without it I would not have had the life I chose to this day. It was the base of my philosophy and the base of my knowledge which to this day serves me to become better, harder, faster and stronger than I was the day before. It gave me the abilities I now have developed, many of which cannot be explained through reason or logic and which also drives my significantly different perception of life. I have become aware that this is not normal, but those of you who know me well will understand that I am not, never have and never will be a usual sort of person. I hope that at the least it is entertaining, but know this, if you remember your dreams you are special, chosen to see what others cannot, what others should not and one day you will be called to show this knowledge so that the ones around you may better understand themselves.

Sweet Dreams.....

Dreamt and Written by Anthony Toia

The Original Dreamer of Legend