New Dream Adventures of Raven Knight

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, 05-19

Search for Asuka

I am in an amusement park with my mom and my brother John. We are waiting in line for a ride, it seems we have been waiting forever. We finally get up to be next and one of the cars pulls up to the platform. There are three seats there, perfect for the three of us. John gets on, then my mom, but when I was going to get on a bear comes from behind me, walking upright like a human, and takes my seat on the ride. My mom says I’ll just have to catch the next one. I’m annoyed that there is a bear taking my seat. The ride leaves and I walk away from it, passing two more bears who are next in line. I wander through the amusement park for a bit to find a ride I will go on by myself. I find a hall of mirrors and I decide to go in there.

As I am walking into the hall of mirrors I see a man waiting at the entrance for me. I immediately recognize the man as MoSh. He asks if I think she is somewhere inside this maze. I ask who. He says Asuka, of course. Isn’t that why we’re here? So we go into the hall of mirrors and start looking around. The first thing I notice is the mirrors don’t reflect either MoSh or me. But they reflect each other in an infinity of mirrors which is quite disoriented. It’s hard to see where the paths are, so we make our way through it like blind people, groping our way with our hands. After making our way through the hall of mirrors for a while we find an exit. The exit leads to a large garden, a beautiful garden. There are many colorful flowers and green bushes and I hear water flowing somewhere nearby. I look around and MoSh wanders off a bit, then he says he sees her. I look in the direction MoSh is looking and I see a Japanese woman in a kimono. It’s Asuka.

MoSh and I head over to see Asuka, there doesn’t appear to be anything wrong with her. But as we are passing a hedge the thing attacks us! I see MoSh has a sword and he cuts the vines reaching for us. I use an Alex Mercer blade arm to cut more vines reaching for me. After a bit of pruning we get to where Asuka is. MoSh asks her where she’s been, she says she’s been here in the garden. MoSh says this isn’t her garden, though. Asuka seems disoriented as if she was on drugs or something. I look at some flowers that Asuka had been tending and getting too close to them makes me feel a bit light headed. Those must be there to keep Asuka drugged so she doesn’t try to leave. I tell Asuka she’ll feel better once she’s back in her own garden. She looks puzzled, but says ok. I focus on Through the Never and on getting to MoSh’s inner world. The portal opens and all three of us go through. Asuka says she feels sleepy and would like to rest. I figure the drug needs to wear off. MoSh takes her to a bedroom to rest, everything around me fades and I wake up.

2017, 05-19

Fish Volcano

I am out with my friend Alicia and we are at a mall. We are walking around and shopping as we usually do at a mall. Alicia wants to go see the pets in the pet store so we go there and go in. We look around for a while, there are puppies up for adoption from a local shelter and hamsters and guinea pigs… and fish. For some reason I am drawn to the fish. I see one real pretty fish that is in a small bowl. I look at the fish and think that would be a cool fish to have. A pet store employee says this is a different form of beta fish, and doesn’t need a lot of room to swim but does need to be able to get to the surface because it partly breathes the air. I look at the fish and bowl price for the package and it’s almost $50 just for a small bowl, some rocks to put in the bottom, a fake plant, some food, and the fish. That seems like a lot, but as Alicia points out, I have a job so I buy it.

I go out to the car and it was Alicia who drove to the mall so I get in the passenger seat. We drive towards her place, but somewhere along the way Alicia turned into my grandmother and we started heading to my place. I didn’t notice the change. We are turning off of the freeway onto the street that leads to my house when I see there is lava pouring down the street. The volcano is erupting! I tell my grandmother that there’s no way we’ll get past to the house, we have to turn back. We turn around and go a short ways before the tires of the car melt and we have to get out and run. My grandmother is doing quite well at running… I am trying to flag down a ride, but no one will stop. We barely make it to a place where there is a trench cut in the ground with a metal grid bridge over it meant to let people cross but lava will flow through the holes and into the trench. My grandmother and I get across before they close it off, so we’re safe. I look at what I’m carrying and see I brought my fish with me, the fish is just swimming in the small bowl, oblivious to everything. I am thinking I should call home to make sure my mom is ok but I wake up.

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

Eye of the Tiger

I am in my bedroom at home. I am sitting on the bed, and I get up to walk out to the other room. My mom is out there petting a cat… a BIG cat. She isn’t petting a house cat, she is petting a full grown tiger! I am about to ask her what is going on when there is a commotion outside. My mom looks out the window and then tells me I need to hide the cats before they are taken away from us. Hide the cats? She says they never check bedrooms or bathrooms, so I should hide them there. But don’t crowd them too much or they’ll fight! Still confused, I lead the tiger my mom has been petting into my bathroom. It’s small, but the tiger sees the bath tub as a box and lies down in it like house cats will do in a sink. I shut the bathroom door and see another tiger coming from my mom’s room. I lead that tiger to my bedroom and shut the door. The tiger is on my bed… so much for my waterbed mattress. I leave the bedroom and find another tiger. I think to put the cat in my game room but my house cats are in there. The front door is opening so I can’t take time, I duck with the tiger into the bathroom. The other tiger is sleeping in the bath tub, and the one I just brought wants attention. It is rubbing its head on me and purring so loud that it wakes me up… it was Princess purring in my ear!

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, 05-16

Blacklist Escape

I am in an amusement park of some kind. It looks a little familiar, but I can’t quite place it. I look around and I spot Raymond Reddington (Red) from the television series Blacklist as he is passing near a roller coaster. He is moving quickly, clearly he has somewhere he needs to be. I see there are men in black suits following him from behind and I figure he is trying to lose them. I see there are more men in black suits positioned up ahead, ready to intercept Red. What seems odd to me is that Red doesn’t seem to have noticed the men up ahead of him, he is too focused behind him. If he keeps moving the direction he is heading he will walk right into the men waiting up in front of him. I decide to try to keep that from happening, I intercept Red right near the roller coaster boarding platform. I get near Red and try to tell him that the people following him from behind have also gotten in front of him. He gives me a suspicious look and then more carefully scans the area, this time spotting the men up ahead.

The two groups of pursuers are closing in around the roller coaster and not leaving room for escape. The attendant running the roller coaster is telling Red and me to get on the roller coaster or get out of the loading area, I see there is a train waiting. With nowhere else to go, Red and I both get on the roller coaster. We ride the roller coaster together, and while we are on the ride, the men below can only watch. Red wants to know who I am and what I know about the people following him, I just tell him my name, Raven Knight, and that it will be easier to discuss things after we’re somewhere safe. The train stops briefly before the platform to wait for the platform to clear, then slowly advances in. I spot a red maintenance door a bit too late to get to it. The train pulls up to the deboarding platform, but Red and I just stay put. The train moves to the boarding platform, but none of the attendants seem to be paying attention as the people in line for our seats drop some nasty expletives as the train pulls out and we are still on it. On our second ride around I point out the door to Red and we both get off and disappear through the door, while some trees and structures are hiding us from the men who were following Red.

Now Red and I are in the maintenance halls for the roller coaster and there are also passages to get to the other rides through underground corridors. Red looks at a map on the wall to help employees find their way and says his people should be waiting at one specific exit, that’s where he was going before those thugs cut him off. He says I should come along, too. So then we follow a series of passages, Red seems to know his way quite well for having seen the map only once. I follow along with Red for a while but then I feel I am waking up. I manage to tell Red he’s on his own now before I wake up.

2017, 05-15

A Real Gamble

I am in a casino that I recognize as having been here before. (I have actually dreamed about this same casino many times in the past.) I walk through the halls, as there are numerous rooms all filled with various slot machines and other gaming equipment. I know exactly where I need to go. I reach into my pocket and find I have several dollars in dimes, which is exactly what I need. I go to a specific slot machine that takes dimes and plunk a dime in. I pull the arm and the images spin and then stop, about five dimes fall into the winnings tray. I decide I will use up all the dimes I had in my pocket and then whatever is in the winnings tray is what I’ll leave with. So I plunk another dime in, I get nothing. I plunk another dime and get quite a few dimes into the winnings tray this time. After about 8 dimes I hit a jackpot and the winnings tray fills up with dimes. They may only be dimes, but I’m sure there must be a good amount of cash in there. I keep going until I run out of the dimes from my pocket and I don’t win any more. I look around and find a bucket that is meant to hold coins from winnings or for further playing and I put all of the dimes into the bucket. Now I want to leave and go home so I can count my winnings. But I also kind of want to do a little more since I have been lucky so far… I walk towards the exit, reminding myself I won’t stay a winner forever if I don’t quit while I’m ahead. I am almost to the exit when a security guard stops me. I think he will question my winnings, but he is saying I have to leave the bucket. I am trying to put all the dimes in my pants pockets when I wake.

2017, 05-13

Realm of Dragons

I am in a place I don't recognize. It is someone's house, someone I know and am friends with, but my mind is fuzzy and I can't think clearly. I enter into a living room with a big flat screen television. There is a woman sitting on the couch with a man. She has her arm around the man. The names that come to mind are MoSh for the man and Asuka for the woman. I am thinking Data from Star Trek should also be here somewhere. I ask MoSh and Asuka where Data is. MoSh says he'll help me look. Asuka says there are fresh cookies in the kitchen, I should help myself. I go into the kitchen and I see a plate full of large cookies on the counter. I take a cookie and start looking for Data. MoSh comes with me. He says he knows where Data might be, so as he leaves the room I follow MoSh.

I follow MoSh out of the kitchen as I eat my cookie. It is a delicious and fresh and warm cookie. It must have been made recently. MoSh leads me down a long hallway to some stairs at the end that lead up. We go up the stairs and into what looks like a control room out of a Star Trek space ship. Data is in the room at the far side, working on one of the control consoles. I go over to Data and ask where he's been recently. He says he has been here most of the time, maintaining the defense systems. MoSh looks at some of the controls and says this place keeps getting invaded by that night stalker. Data says he's adapting the defenses to keep that guy out while still allowing for friends like me to pass through. He says that's harder than one might think.

MoSh and I go over to Data. MoSh asks where the dragons are, the ones we brought back from the other dimension. Data types a few things and brings up a picture on a monitor of a tall mountain that has a cave near the top. He says the dragons are in there and points at the cave. I say if the dragons have been there the whole time, why haven't they responded to the recent attacks? Shouldn't that night stalker be getting greeted upon entry by two annoyed dragons? Data pauses as if thinking and then types a few more things and brings a map up on the monitor. There is a map of the area around this house and then a separate area with the mountain and the dragons. I ask how the dragons are supposed to see and respond to an attack from a separate area? Data doesn't answer for a bit and then says that's not how it's supposed to be... he'll have to fix that. He goes back to work on the console.

MoSh goes back down stairs to a door that leads outside. We are behind the house, in a beautiful garden. I am looking at all of the flowers and the stream flowing through the garden. MoSh looks off into the distance where there's something strange happening. The area is looking like a scene in an Assassin's Creed game where a new area is being constructed and made ready for exploration. MoSh and I watch that for a while and I see that the scene forming is the one of the tall mountain with the cave near the top. It's the dragons' mountain that I saw on the monitor. Finally the formation phase is complete and it now looks like the mountain has always been there.

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, 05-10

Party Time

I am on a normal looking neighborhood street, on a cul-de-sac. There are homes around the cul-de-sac, and one home in particular has a lot of lights on inside. I hear music coming from the house and I am thinking there is definitely a party going on inside. I wonder if I could crash… I walk towards the house and find the front door is open. There is an Asian woman inside and she smiles when she sees me, inviting me inside. I go inside the house and I see a lot of people at the party. The woman says this is a dream, she is Asuka, and MoSh is inside. I am about to do a reality check when I recognize the song playing as Army of Me by Bjork. I look around the room and see Bjork herself is in the room singing. I am wondering how MoSh managed to get Bjork to perform at his house party. I start looking through the house to see if I can find MoSh. There are so many people I am having problems finding MoSh. I run into one man who is smoking a joint and offers me a drag. I tell him I just want to find MoSh. He says MoSh is in the bedroom, but don’t worry, there’s no sleeping going on in there. I am thinking anything MoSh might be doing in the bedroom should remain private… As if the man reads my mind, he adds that MoSh is in there hanging out, not making out. I think I will go in there and say hi to MoSh. I head in the direction the man pointed, though I can’t see any sign of a bedroom or even of a wall. I find I’m going up a flight of stairs to get to another room full of people partying. I look around and spot MoSh on a couch. I head towards him but I don’t quite make it, my alarm goes off and I wake up.

2017, 05-10

Night Stalker

I am in a place I don’t recognize at all, it looks like a normal neighborhood street. It is night time out and all of the houses are dark, it looks like no one is home or everyone is in bed. I walk down the street in the dark because this neighborhood lacks streetlights of any kind. I can only see where I’m going by the light of the full moon in the sky. As I am walking down the street I see there is someone standing in the middle of the street. It looks like the silhouette of a man, I can’t see any details of his person. I approach the man and I sense a dark aura around him. He seems to be watching me in the dark. He says he can lay waste to everything I know. I say I have dealt with people like him before, his mysterious and dark façade are not impressive to me. I go over closer to him and I am thinking I’ll use a healing song on him in case that might be of help. I focus on the song Touch My Heart from the Devil Hunter Yohko soundtrack. A pillar of light energy erupts around the man and all falls back in on him, flowing through him. The song finishes and the man just stands there staring at me for a bit longer and then he disappears. I continue walking down the street to see if there is something else to be found here. A dog runs out from a yard and comes over to me barking, but then sits down and wags its tail. I pet the dog on the head just as I wake up.