lucid

2017, 06-24

Nerimeno?

I am in a wide open green field. I look around to try to figure out where I am. I have no idea how I came to be here and I find that strange. I am thinking about doing a reality check when someone calls my name. I turn and see a man there with me, he looks Mexican and he also looks annoyed. He asks what I’m doing here. Without waiting for an answer, he says I’m not invited here, so I’d better get out before he gets really mad. I don’t find his threat very concerning so I just look at him. He seems to have an aura of dark energy, it looks like he is using dark energy. But what about his inner flame? I am seeing unstable dark energy that needs to be stable so I think I should use a song to help restore his inner flame and stabilize his energy. He asks what I’m looking at, then says my time is up. He’s going to kick my ass and he doesn’t care if I’m lucid!

He attacks me with a dark energy blade that he forms out of nowhere, moving as fast as lightning. I form my right arm into an Alex Mercer blade and block the attack. I am thinking I had better get his dark energy stabilized before someone gets hurt. I focus on the song Iron by Within Temptation to try to stabilize his dark energy by giving him a dark inner flame. “You can't live without the fire, it's the heat that makes you strong! 'Cause you're born to live and fight it all the way! You can't hide what lies inside you, it's the only thing you've known, you'll embrace it now and never walk away, don't walk away!” A circle of purple flames surrounds the man, burning up high all around him. The fire is absorbed into the man and is gone. I am wondering if that did any good.

I am approaching the man to check closer when a portal opens in the sky. A creature comes through the portal, it looks like a humanoid dragon, or a man with dragon wings… I see that the creature is bigger than any human I have ever seen, and it looks pissed. It flies out of the portal and speaks in a growling demonic sounding voice, its eyes glowing a demonic red color. The dragon snarls that Hukif belongs to him and he won’t have some fool like me coming in and interfering. I ask who the fuck he is and he says he is the one who will destroy me for my interference. The song by Within Temptation is still going on, and I direct the next part at the dragon. “You need not fear me, unless you are a dark heart… A vile one who preys on the innocent. I promise, you can't hide forever in the empty darkness, for I will hunt you down like the monster you are and pull you into the very bowels of hell!” The dragon comes at me, attacking pretty straight forward. It is clear to me that he doesn’t consider me a threat at all. I focus on the song Enter Sandman by Metallica and hit him with alternating dark and light energy that explodes like a mixture of matter and antimatter. He shouldn’t have underestimated me!

After the explosion clears I don’t see the dragon any more. I’m sure I didn’t vaporize the dragon, I could tell he was more powerful than that. Apparently I took him by surprise, however, and he has taken off to reconsider his plan of attacking me. The man there with me, the dragon had called him Hukif, is still more pissed at me. He says I need to butt out of other people’s business. He says he has never needed my help in dealing with Nerimeno, and he doesn’t need or want my help now! He tells me to go home and mind my own business. I tell him that as long as he minds his own business, I will do the same. But that means leaving MoSh and his inner world and everyone who lives there alone, too. He scoffs as if he would have no interest in such things but then says fine, if I will go away. I say that’s all I needed to hear. Everything around me fades to black and I wake up.

2017, 06-22

Healing Rain

I am in a beautiful garden. The sun is shining and it is a beautiful day out. I briefly think it was expected to be so very hot, but it’s not. I conclude that the garden with the trees and flowers and flowing stream is keeping the area cool somehow. Without giving that any more consideration I begin wandering through the garden. I see there is a woman in the garden with me. She is a pretty Japanese woman wearing a kimono and she is tending to some of the flowers. She looks over at me and acts surprised to see me. She says she wasn’t expecting company and doesn’t have any cookies. When I give her a puzzled look she says she is Asuka and this is a dream, I should do a reality check if I don’t believe her. So I pinch my nose and find I can still breathe… this is a dream!

Once I’m lucid Asuka says she doesn’t know where MoSh is. I tell her my goal was to come here and heal her anyhow whether MoSh is around or not. She looks a bit puzzled and says she feels fine, but healing energy never causes any harm so go ahead. I focus on the song Voices from the Macross Plus soundtrack and light energy surrounds and flows through Asuka. I am wishing there was some way to keep her from getting infected with any unstable energy, and then I feel rather stupid for not thinking of it sooner. I reach into my white Assassin robes and pull out a Witchblade bracelet. I hand it to Asuka and tell her to keep it on, it will protect her. She takes it and slips it on her left wrist. She says it’s pretty. I say I can’t believe we hadn’t thought to give it to her sooner.

Asuka goes towards the house and says I can meet up with MoSh when he gets into the dream. I look around outside the house but I don’t see MoSh. I go through the house and out in front and look around. I see MoSh outside on the sidewalk petting a dog. I call his name but he doesn’t seem to hear me. I head over towards him and tell him this is a dream. The dog is holding something that MoSh seems to be trying to get hold of. I can’t see what it is. I go over closer to MoSh and I hear him talking to the dog, telling the dog to drop it. The dog gets up and trots down the street. I am about to call to MoSh again but he heads down the street following the dog. I am about to follow him but I wake up before I get more than a few steps down the street.

2017, 06-14

A Song of Healing

I am at a mall with my mother. It’s similar to a mall in my local area, but not exact. I know I have been to this mall before, however, in previous dreams. No thought that I might be dreaming occurs to me now. My mom and I are going into a clothing store and looking for some new clothes for me for work. I look around but I can’t find anything I like that will actually fit me. So we leave and head for the theater at the mall where there is a live performance of Harry Potter, and the author J.K. Rowling is even going to be in attendance for this presentation. We go to the theater and wait in line to go inside. Once inside I see J.K. Rowling surrounded by people asking for her autograph. I also see someone I don’t want to see… so instead of waiting to try to get J.K. Rowling’s autograph I pull my mom into the theater to get a good seat, or that’s the reason I give her for my hurry.

In the theater there are already quite a few people seated so my mom and I pick a spot. I look around and see quite a few people with popcorn and I think that would be good, but the person after me knows my mom and might see her if she goes for popcorn so I say I don’t want any when she asks. People keep coming into the theater and I watch carefully to see if the man outside is coming in. I don’t see him. I look to the front of the theater and I see a different man looking at me. He clearly recognizes me. And somehow I know he works for the man who is looking for me. I look to my mom but she is gone. Another man comes over and says to remain calm. He says he’s a friend and will make sure I get out of here safely. He gives a dirty look at the man up front who is watching me.

The man beside me looks under my seat and finds poison darts. He asks the man watching us what the poison would do to me. He says it would land me in the emergency room. I say it would be lethal if I drank all four of them. The man beside me says no, don’t talk like that. Another man, a fat man in an oversized t-shirt, comes over and takes one of the darts from the man beside me. He says he hasn’t tried this yet, and breaks the cartridge open and drinks some of the fluid inside. He looks like he’s getting high off of it. I look back at the man beside me and then I hear a woman a couple rows back let out a cry. I look just in time to see J.K. Rowling collapse in shock. I look to see what she saw and I see the man who drank the poison now has no nose, it looks like it melted off his face, but he looks higher than ever.

The man beside me urges me to get out of here. I head out of the theater but on the way I lose track of him, and then I am in the hall of the mall alone. I head down the hall, looking for a bathroom. I open a door and find myself in someone’s house. A woman is there and she looks pissed at me. I think she is pissed because I just walked into her house, so I turn to leave but the door to the mall is gone. The woman starts yelling at me and demanding to know if I’m sleeping with him. I ask who. She says MoSh, of course! She says I’ve been fucking him, haven’t I?! I tell her MoSh wouldn’t want to get involved with me, I’m too old for him. Then I realize what is happening… this must be Asuka, I was going to heal her! I focus on the song Voices from the Macross Plus soundtrack. Light energy flows through Asuka and she calms down. She says she doesn’t know why she said what she did. I tell her it was unstable negative energies. I am about to say more but everything fades to black and I wake up.

2017, 06-05

An Innocent Child, An Innocent Cub

I am in a place I don’t recognize. I look around and I see that there are wide open grasslands all around me with some patches of trees that break up the monotony. I have no idea where I am. I walk for a little ways as I try to get oriented and figure out where I am. I am thinking maybe I should do a reality check when I hear something behind me. I turn around and see a child come running out of one of the patches of trees, heading straight for me. He is being chased! Not far behind the child I see three men on horses, they look like knights, riding after the child. I wonder why they are chasing the child. The child has almost reached me, he is calling for help. Then I see the knight riding in the lead take out his sword like he is going to just ride the child down and cut him without even getting off of his horse! He catches up with the boy as the child is passing me, and I act quickly without really thinking. My right arm forms into an Alex Mercer blade and I dive between the knight and the child, intercepting the strike meant for the boy and blocking it with my blade.

The transformation makes the knight do a double take, and spooks his horse. The horse rears up and the knight falls on his ass, the horse takes off running. The knight is scrambling backwards to get away from me, asking what manner of creature I am. I am angry. I say forget that, why the fuck was he riding a child down on horseback with clear intent to murder?! The knight stammers and then says the boy ran. I say no shit, he ran! If he hadn’t run he’d have been skewered a lot sooner! Now why is he trying to murder a child?! The boy said he didn’t do anything! I ask the boy where his parents are, he says he’ll show me if I protect him. I say I will. I tell the knight, his two friends are with him now, that I’m escorting the boy home safely, don’t interfere. I change my blade back to an arm. The boy leads me to a castle with many tents set up around it, as well as many wagons and horses and more knights. The boy leads me to the blacksmith’s wagon. The man there is relieved to see his son and calls him Mikah. Mikah is saying something, but I briefly wake up…

I do a DEILD (Dream End Induced Lucid Dream) and try to go back to the same place, but I somehow miss the mark. When I become aware of the dream again I am in a long hall with a few people and numerous guards. At one end is a very fat man with a crown seated next to a woman with a crown, they must be king and queen. A young girl and a man are in the middle of the room alone, from the way the man treats the girl I think he must be her father. The queen immediately earns my dislike when she says she wants an animal’s hide. The king says that will be impossible since they have no wolf. The queen says they have a wolf and gives an evil smirk. The girl in the middle of the room gets immediately upset and says Lady didn’t do anything, she’s innocent. The queen says this wolf shall die in the place of the one who bit her son. I feel I was already mad, and this pisses me off. I blurt out that she can’t be serious about knowingly murdering an innocent animal when she knows perfectly well the animal has committed no crime! She asks who I am, then says she wants me arrested. I tell her I won’t let her kill an innocent animal, and I’d like to see her arrest me. Some knights close in around me and I form a force field to keep them at a distance without harming them. They are baffled by the invisible barrier.

I go outside, my force field forcing knights and guards out of the way as I go. I don’t know where I am going, but I want to find the wolf that the queen wants murdered. The little girl comes running out of the large tent I was just in, I now see it is a large tent, and she’s crying. My force field lets her pass. She grabs my arm and asks if I can protect Lady. She says she loves Lady, but will accept that she can never see her again if only she knows Lady is safe. I can’t let them kill Lady! I tell her yes, I will protect Lady, assuming that is the name of the wolf. She points in the direction to where there is a wolf chained to a heavy pole. The girl says please keep Lady safe…

People come from the tent and tell the girl to get away from me, I’m dangerous. I keep moving within my force field, which lets the girl out, and I reach the wolf called Lady. The wolf is sitting very quietly and looks like she wouldn’t hurt a fly. I reach for the chain carefully, speaking calmingly to the wolf the whole time, calling her by her name. I use my enhanced strength to break the chain as if it was cardboard. Lady looks back at the girl, who is on her knees crying. Knights and guards are surrounding me. The queen says there is no way for me to escape. I tell her that’s what she thinks, and there I wake up, effectively disappearing from sight as far as the people of that world can see. Note: Q has informed me that the wolf Lady is actually a young direwolf, still really a cub, and she is now living safely in my inner world.

2017, 06-05

Healer in the Night

I am walking outside at night in a place I don’t recognize. I look around and see I am on a path near some trees. Something about the whole situation feels strange, and that leads me to do a reality check. I pinch my nose and find I can still breathe, so I know I’m dreaming. The first thing I do is try to fly and I succeed. I fly up over the land that is mostly dark except for what the moon illuminates. I also see the occasional light down below that looks like it comes from a fire. It is a bit chilly, but I ignore that. I keep flying and I feel like I could fly forever. I soon spot a structure that the moonlight reveals to be a castle. That looks like an interesting place to check out, so I fly straight towards it. I briefly think I might freak some people out if I show up flying, but I don’t really care so I keep going.

I fly in over the castle and then fly lower. I look down and there aren’t many people out because it is the middle of the night, but I do see some guards on patrol. None of them are bothering to look up, however. Then I am inexplicably drawn to one of the towers. I go with the flow and fly over near the tower. There is a window near the top that stands open. I fly to the window and I feel compelled to go inside. I silently land inside a bed chamber where I wait for my eyes to adjust to the dim light from a couple oil lamps. There is a boy in the bed apparently asleep. But somehow I know he is not asleep, he is unconscious, maybe in a coma, due to injuries. Injuries that the people in this realm may have no way to heal. I know I must heal the child. I take a quiet step towards the bed, but I stop when I find I’m being growled at. There is a large dog or a small wolf standing protectively over the child. I speak to the animal in a calming voice, using telepathy to try to convey the idea I am here only to help, I bring only healing. After a bit the animal calms down and just watches me as I approach the child.

I focus healing energy on the boy lying in the bed, focusing on the song Voices from the Macross Plus soundtrack for the healing task. Light energy forms all around the boy and then flows into him as the song plays softly in the room. It is a bit disconcerting when I hear strange cracking noises from under the covers, sounds that sound disturbingly like bones breaking… or setting properly perhaps so they can fully heal. I am thankful that the unconscious boy isn’t awake to feel any pain. As I am finishing up a man enters the room and does a double take. He demands to know who I am, and I realize he was supposed to guard the child. I tell him I’m a healer, and the child should awaken soon. And he is lucky that the boy’s dog is more on guard than he is. He says that is no dog, it is a direwolf. I say then the boy’s direwolf is a better protector. I figure if it is a direwolf then it must be still a cub. The guard again demands to know who I am, and I see the boy in the bed stir slightly. He is waking up. The direwolf cub goes over and starts licking the boy’s face. Everything fades to black as I wake up.

2017, 06-04

The Dark Mirror

I am in a place I don’t recognize. It is a cave of some kind. I hear the sound of the ocean from one direction so I follow that sound. There is light getting into the cave from various places where cracks have penetrated through to the outside. I follow the sound of the ocean and emerge on a ledge that is high up over the ocean below. And I’m not alone there. MoSh is there with me. He says we have to find the mirror. At first that doesn’t make any sense, but then I remember something about a mirror in someone’s inner world that was allowing Templars to attack. I pinch my nose and I find I can still breathe, I’m dreaming. I tell MoSh that he’s dreaming and he says he already knows that. We search around on the ledge and connecting caves until we find a place where there is an outcropping of rock reaching over the sea. On the outcropping is what appears to be a mirror, but the mirror is totally black with no reflection. MoSh says that’s it, and he wants to go kick some Templar ass. I go to the mirror and plant a couple timed explosives on it. We both go through, then the explosives detonate behind us and shatter the mirror, destroying the portal behind us.

On the other side of the mirror we are in another strange place. There are Templars all around, and it seems to be a wide-open area outside, I really don’t get a very good look at the surroundings because it’s dark and MoSh and I get attacked right away. MoSh tells them to leave Bjork alone, though at that point I couldn’t think who Bjork was. No matter, they shouldn’t be harassing anyone, so now they would all pay. As we are attacked I focus on using Battery by Metallica to call down bolts of lightning on the enemies. In spite of there being so many of them, the Templars seem to die pathetically easily. When they die they disappear from the dream. I focus on the song Damage, Inc. by Metallica and throw fireballs at many of the Templars. I then transform my right arm into an Alex Mercer blade and start cutting Templars down in large numbers as they attack. The Templars are attacking using an assortment of blasters and also melee weapons such as swords and battle axes, though none of the weapons seem particularly effective. I focus on the song Phantom Lord by Metallica and create an expanding wall of fire that incinerates many Templars. Soon it looks like any Templars left are retreating, and MoSh tells them they’d better not come back!

After the fight is over MoSh is saying we need to make sure the mirror is gone from Bjork’s inner world so they can’t use her any more. My mind still isn’t remembering who Bjork is, but I say that’s fine, I’ll try to get back to where we saw the mirror. I focus on Through the Never by Metallica and both MoSh and I go through the resultant portal. On the other side we are once again on the rocky outcropping that reaches out from tall cliffs over a deep blue ocean. It is a quite beautiful sight. There is a pile of rubble on the rocky outcropping where I know there used to be a mirror. I point to the rubble and tell MoSh that the mirror is history. Just to make sure I drop a fireball on the rubble and turn it all to ash. MoSh says he hopes that takes care of things. Everything fades to black as I wake up.

2017, 06-03

Wraiths in the Dark

I am in a dark forest, and the first thing I was notice is that I'm a bit chilly. I look around to see where I am but I don't recognize anything. The trees are tall and dark, there are patches of snow on the ground. I hear the sound of someone moving in the darkness. I even hear soft voices from that direction so I know there are people over there. I quietly follow the sound of the voices until I peer through the trees and see three men on horses making their way through the trees. One of them seems to be trying to convince the others that someone they're looking for, someone they refer to as Wildlings, are dead. One of them says he saw the bodies. They keep debating that as they continue, and I'm sure if there are any live Wildlings they will have already heard these idiots.

The three men stop and dismount. Two continue on, one stays with the horses. The two that advance start making more effort to be quiet. I follow them a bit farther and they stop to look down into a clearing. One of them laughs and says the dead bodies got up and moved out. Or maybe they weren't dead is more likely. One of them climbs a tree for a better look at the area. I look down below and see an abandoned camp. The strangest thing is what looks like a good quality battle axe lying abandoned in the camp. Surely no one would leave that behind. I notice that it seems to be getting colder. I see movement in the trees, and I see something move. A strange creature, humanoid, bug glowing with a dim light, a pale green. It's eyes are glowing with a cold white light. I watch as the man on the ground draws a long sword and challenges the strange creature. The man looks like more of a boy, but is standing up like a man. The creature has a sword that looks like it's made of crystal or glass. They fight, though the man is clearly outmatched. The creature's sword shatters the man's sword, and he falls to his knees, unarmed. It's time for this to stop.

I come out of the trees and tell the creature if it plans on killing this man unarmed then it will have to go through me first. A hollow laugh comes from the creature, a wave of cold hits me. I form my right arm into an Alex Mercer blade. The man gets off his knees and tries to get clear but there are more of the creatures behind him. So I get beside the man. The ones behind us look like they won't interfere with the one on one fight. The creature and I fight. It is skilled with the blade, and blocks my attacks. This looks like a creature of evil, so I charge my Alex Mercer blade with light energy. The next time our blades clash the creature's blade shatters, creating an opening for me to drive my blade into its chest and pump it full of light energy. The thing glows brightly then is burned away by the light.

Now the ones behind us move in, there are five of them. I push the man to my other side and step into the middle of the group, unleashing a Legend of Zelda style spin attack, cutting each of them with light energy. They fall back, not seeming to know what to do. I call to the man in the tree to come down, they're getting out of here. He drops and the three of us return to the one watching the horses. I tell them they'd better ride for it, there could be more. The young man asks who I am. I say Raven Knight, but there's no time to chat, run! They all mount and disappear quickly into the dark forest. I hope they'll be ok. Everything fades and I wake.

2017, 05-26

Dark Parasites

I am in a garden area that is very beautiful, more beautiful than any I have ever seen in waking life. I walk around, thinking how beautiful it is, but not giving any though to the idea I might be dreaming. I wonder how this place could have existed right near where I live for so long and yet I haven’t found it. I can tell it’s not new, all of the plants are too well developed to have been recently planted. I wander through the garden for a bit before I see three people not far off. I head in their direction. There seems to be a dark cloud around two of them, it looks pretty unpleasant. The two people surrounded by a dark cloud are MoSh and a woman I don’t know. The third person is Asuka, and Asuka comes over to me.

Asuka is upset and saying that Bjork is doing something to MoSh, and I have to stop her. I head over to the two people standing in a thickening cloud of darkness. It looks to me like both of them could use some help. I focus on the song Touch My Heart from the Devil Hunter Yohko soundtrack to remove the darkness. A pillar of light energy forms around both of them, sucking the dark cloud away and burning it off in the blinding light. After the song is over I see something strange on the ground between MoSh and Bjork. It is a black thing with many tentacles that is squirming around on the ground, first reaching for MoSh, then reaching for Bjork, as if it can’t choose which one it wants to try to attach itself to. I look at the thing and all I can sense in it is dark energy, not a sign of a spark, either dark or light. So it is a thing wholly of darkness. I focus on the song Battery by Metallica to call down a bolt of lightning that strikes the black thing between MoSh and Bjork and turns it to a pile of ashes that blows away in the wind and is gone. MoSh is looking at Bjork, who just looks disoriented. I focus on the song Voices from the Macross Plus soundtrack to bring some more healing energy into the area. The area fills with light energy. Bjork says she will try to stay out of MoSh’s dreams. Asuka looks quite pissed off at her and says she had better or there will be trouble! I wonder why Asuka is so angry, since it looked like the parasite had been attacking both MoSh and Bjork

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, 05-19

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, 05-18

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, 05-13

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.