All DJ Entries

05/16/13

Escape From Jerusalem
I am lying on a blanket in the middle of a green field. I look up at the clouds passing through the blue sky, I see that one of them looks like a cat. I sit up and look around. I am by myself. I remember my dream plans. Healing. I have been making it a habit to do some healing on Nomad's girlfriend Winter to try to get her fibromyalgia under control. Unfortunately it doesn't seem to be helping. But I guess I'm not ready to give up trying. So I open a portal to the healing springs on the moon. Nomad and Winter are already there, so I go through the usual process of healing with the song Voices. It makes me want to fall asleep in the dream, but I remember that there is another plan. To share an Assassin's Creed dream with SJ. As if he already knew what I wanted to do, Q appears and says he will send me to the proper instance of Jerusalem. He snaps his fingers and the scene around me changes. I am now standing in a back road of a city that looks like Jerusalem from Assassin's Creed. I am just missing SJ. I use the song Dream On by Aerosmith to initiate a shared dream. I focus on SJ, and after a bit a woman appears. She is dressed in dark Assassin robes and is looking around at the city but doesn't seem to notice me. I ask if she is SJ, she says yes. Now to find Altaïr. Of course that could be difficult in a place the size of Jerusalem, especially if he doesn't want to be found. I figure Q probably sent me to a place fairly close to Altaïr. SJ and I walk out into what looks like a busy market place.

There are vendors all around selling their wares, people buying, it is very crowded. I see what appears to be the main gate out of the city not far away. There are Templars blocking the way, which is getting quite a few people more than a little pissed off. I look around the area and I spot one of the game hiding places. Five robed scholars approaching the gate. But the middle one isn't quite right. The differences aren't nearly as visible as in the game, his weapons are mostly concealed beneath his robes. I can see the tip of the sword hanging down below the robes, but that is it. If I didn't know what I was looking for… The group of scholars approaches the gate and tries to pass through but the Templars block the way. After briefly arguing about it and then getting threatened with execution the group turns back into the market place. I see a bench nearby, so SJ sits on one end and I sit on the other. As I expected, Altaïr sits right between us and looks over at the gate, watching the Templars closely.

SJ is staring at Altaïr. Maybe he sees her from the corner of his eye or maybe he just senses her watching him, but Altaïr turns and looks at SJ. SJ hesitates briefly, then holds up her left hand with the ring finger bent over to indicate she is an Assassin. I can't see his face, and it is too loud to hear if he is speaking, so I don't know how he responds. But after a short time he turns and looks over at me. I copy SJ's hand gesture to indicate I am also an Assassin. He looks at me closely for a bit, perhaps checking my identity with his eagle vision. He seems satisfied that SJ and I are both Assassins. He says it is important that he get out of Jerusalem as quickly as possible before Robert de Sable meets with Richard. SJ indicates the gate. He asks if we know how many Templars are out there. I say it's not enough. Altaïr says he'd been hoping to avoid a direct confrontation with the Templars but there is no more time to wait. So all three of us go over to the gate. Templars get in the way and say no one enters or leaves. The Templar who spoke eyes us suspiciously. Two more Templars join him when we seem unwilling to leave. There are three of them, three of us… three stabs with three hidden blades, three dead Templars. The others don't seem to immediately realize what has just happened. We are halfway through the gate before some Templar sounds the alarm, pointing at us and yelling that the Assassins are here, don't let them through. So now a fight begins. I look over at SJ and see she has produced a sword from somewhere and knows how to use it. She kills a Templar as I watch. The next thing I know Altaïr yells to look out. I turn just in time to see Altaïr's throwing knife embedded in the neck of a Templar who had been coming at me. I need to pay less attention to SJ and more attention to the Templars! I dodge an incoming attack from a Templar and counter strike with my Witchblade sword, taking out another Templar. We are fighting our way towards the stables. Altaïr is after a horse. So we fight our way to the stables, leaving a trail of dead Templars in our wake. Then Altaïr is on a horse, tearing out of the stable at full speed and running down a couple Templars who had been blocking the gate. SJ and I kill some Templars trying to get to the horses to give chase. I see Altaïr disappear into the distance. There's no way they'll catch him now. I have just killed another Templar when I wake.

05/06/13

Land of Confusion
I am lying on a towel in the middle of a green field. It is a very peaceful setting. I sit up and look around. At first I think I am alone in the field but then I see there is a man there with me. One solitary Templar. He is watching me from a distance. I figure I will ignore him but then I remember the tasks of the month. One of them is to tell a DC that they don't exist. This should be an easy one. I go over to the Templar, who seems unsure of what to expect. He says he is just there to watch, he means no harm. I say it doesn't matter. He isn't even real. He hesitates and then asks what I'm talking about. I tell him he doesn't exist. He pauses again and then says if he doesn't exist then why do I keep killing him and his friends. I ask how I can kill him if he doesn't exist. I can't kill something that doesn't exist. He pauses again. I remember the other part of the task of the month, which is to set myself on fire in front of a DC. I've already confused this Templar, why not go a bit further. I ask him if he'd like to see someone on fire. He backs away, holds his hands up, and says no, don't do that. I tell him I'm not going to set him on fire, I'm not a sociopath. I'll be the fire. I call up a small fireball and set myself on fire. It's warm but not hot. I'm on fire but not burning. The Templar just stares. He is totally speechless. He says I really am insane. I comment that I should've known. If I'm on fire he wouldn't piss on me to put me out. Typical Templar bastard. He doesn't seem to know what to respond. I hear a meow and I look down to see Grumpy Cat roasting a marshmallow on my left foot.

I summon a splash of water to extinguish my fire and then scoop up Grumpy Cat to pet the cat. Grumpy Cat submits to being picked up but looks grumpier than ever, she has a look in her eyes that says she would like to scratch my eyes out but for some reason she doesn't make any move to do so. Grumpy Cat wiggles in my arms so I put her down. She walks away, sticking her tail up as she goes as if she is flipping me the bird with her tail, telling me to fuck off. I am left alone with the confused Templar. I remember that I had been planning on checking on Nomad since I haven't heard from him for a while. I focus on opening a portal to find Nomad, and one opens. I am about to go through the portal when I wake up instead.
 
Captive Rage
After waking up from the previous dream I manage to go back to sleep and go directly back into the same dream. I am in the field of grass, the Templar is still there watching me as if nothing had happened at all. I focus on opening a portal to find Nomad and one opens. This time I am able to go through it without any annoying waking up. On the other side I am in trees, up in a tree. I hear the sounds of quite a few people not far off. I follow the sound, keeping to the trees as I go, jumping from tree to tree. I have the idea if I appeared in the trees that maybe I should stay there for now. I reach the site where I hear people without being spotted. I look down on the scene below. There are lots of Templars, some of them look like human Templars, others look like orcs.

There is an altar with a woman chained down to it, there are strange things crawling all over her. The things look like worms of some kind, and they are burrowing into and out of her flesh as if it was loose soil. I recognize the woman as Winter. There are a couple Templars watching the torture, but most of them are focused on a large humanoid panther that they have chained to a huge stone of some kind. That looks like Nomad, though he doesn't appear lucid. A Templar is right beside him trying to be heard, which is very difficult considering Nomad is yelling some of the loudest expletives I have ever heard. I look back down and see the altar is right below me with two Templars, both men, watching. All of the others are distracted. I form Witchblade into tow hidden blades and jump down on the two observing Templars, air assassinating both of them at the same time. The move is silent and does not get any attention. I am trying to get through the locks to free Winter when I realize Nomad is no longer yelling expletives. I can now hear the Templar telling Nomad that the sooner he cooperates the sooner Winter will get well. He resumes cursing at that Templar. I focus on a healing spell, using Voices to send healing energy through Winter. The healing energy forces the worms out and they burn in white energy. Winter seems to relax, though she is still badly injured. I sneak around the outside of the clearing to approach the rock Nomad is chained to from behind. They are locked, of course. I use the unlock spell from Harry Potter, alohamora, to open the locks and I kick myself for not thinking of the spell when trying to free Winter. As I unlock the chains, an enraged Nomad realizes he is free and grabs the Templar who has been talking to him, practically tearing him in two with his claws. He rips an orc Templar open and heads directly for Winter. One Templar yells to stop him, another one says if the first one wants him stopped to do it himself. Nomad reaches Winter and tears the chains off of her, they are smaller than the ones that had been holding him. He looks at her and is pissed even more, tearing into more Templars with such a rage that the remaining ones scatter. I open a portal to the moon, telling Nomad that Winter needs healing. The first place I think of is the healing springs. Nomad seems to calm down when he sees me and sees the Templars are gone. We go through the portal to the healing springs. Nomad sets Winter in the water, the water around her glows with a bright light as it has its healing effect. Some dirty black stuff washes off of Winter and disperses. I use my healing spell on her again, focusing more healing energy through her. The worms are all gone now, and the wounds they have made heal closed. After the healing she seems to be sleeping peacefully. Nomad is crying now, saying he couldn't stand watching them do that to her… and then he adds that they will pay for what they've done. Everything fades to black as I wake.

I arrive in Haven with the hopes of plotting against the Templars.
Although I have no new ideas on how to approach the situation, Silver might.

He joined us just a few days ago, because I put off asking him until then.
After attempting to make Ifrit join our cause, which failed quite dramatically,
I did not have the confidence to ask Silver.

Silver had done so much already, not to mention his horrible childhood.
He deserves to rest... to enjoy life a little. I shouldn't burden him with my issues.
But I ended up visiting him anyways, because I felt lost completely.
I'm not sure what I was expecting when Yuya and I got to the place he lives at now.
Talking to him again ended up being a little awkward. I wasn't really sure what to talk about.
Right as I managed to muster enough courage to address the topic of the Templars
I saw something that completely threw me off.
A woman entered the house holding a baby. She nodded at us and continued upstairs.
I realized Silver had a family now.
I made up an excuse to leave. I could never ask him to join us,
not after knowing Silver was finally at peace with himself.
But as we left he told us to hold on.
He ran upstairs and shortly after returned with his katana strapped to his back...
It turned out that he had read in my eyes that I needed his help.
I tried to talk him out of it but I failed.

So here he is now, standing in Yuya's garden next to a table, a place where we like to sit down
and discuss tactics. He is talking to Yuya and another person I don't think I have met.
Yuya's expression worries me quite a bit.

"What's wrong?"
"... It's about Vega."

Given the way she said it, something terrible must have happened there.
Vega is a small village which we often visit to go to a Café called Serenity.

It's situated on top of some sort of structure extending over the village.
An amazing place to stargaze whilst under the influence of some kind of psychedelic drug Vega is known for.

"What happened?"
"It's gone."

It is clear to me now that the other person with us is a messenger who informed her about the terrible news.
He tells us that I need to go and see. Yuya draws a portal and we enter it together with Silver.

The remains of Vega are in flames. They are small in numbers, they must have been burning for some time.
A man points towards Café Serenity, which still sits on top of the structure which appears to have withstood the fires.
He doesn't say anything though, he just walks away. Did he live in Vega?
We rush towards the Café, finding both of its owners outside.
Although the building still stands, it is heavily damaged and no longer in a usable state.
The owners tell me not to worry. That it is not my fault.
I enter the Café. Across the walls is written in burned wood:

"For as long as the dragon remains hidden, those that help protect him shall share his fate"

Templars... they've done this. Yuya hugs me in an attempt to console me.
They have killed these people because we are hiding from them. To show that if I do not reveal myself they will kill those that I know.

"They are right you know. This is not your fault..."
"Yet I feel guilty"

I know that she's right. I couldn't know that they were going to do this. And even if I did, what was I supposed to do, sacrifice myself?
The owners of this Café were honest when they told me that they do not consider this my fault.
They know who I am and what I have done. But somehow the fact that they do not consider me guilty makes me feel even worse.

One thing is clear to me now though. The goals of the Templars have indeed changed.
Back in the old days they were attacking other worlds in order to steal something I have long forgotten.
They did not know who I was, and it was me that got in their way because I wanted to protect these worlds.
But this time they are not after the belongings of worlds. They are after me specifically.
This is very odd, considering that Templars have no concept of campanionship.
Yes, I have indeed killed one of them a long time ago, but they would not hunt me in an attempt of vengance.
They know no such thing. They see each-other as assets, not as brothers in arms.
Until now I assumed that they are attempting a pre-emptive strike. So that I can not interfere with their goals again.
But in that case I would be a secondary objective, and I am clearly not.

That is exactly what the voices said...
Recently, when I slept in Haven, I would hear voices during my dreams.
They would whisper things suggesting that "they" were after me only. That it was because of time? And that I cannot surrender.
The messages were rather cryptic, and I didn't pay much attention because until now my dreams whilst in this realm have always been
very abstract and not really meaningful. But now that I think about them I get a feeling that they might help me find a way to deal with the Templars.
...
My hopes lie with abstract and cryptic dreams I had within a dream. That is how desperate I am.
No. It's worse actually. If the Templars were here it means they are on the right track.
Surely they were able to force someone into telling them that we are hiding on Teraluna.
It won't take them long to find that place, even though Haven is heavily shielded and we are masking our auras.

"They will find Teraluna..."

Both Yuya and Silver look at me rather depressed. I am the one who always comes up with the plans. They are relying on me for a strategy to save Teraluna... to beat the Templars once and for all.
And I've got nothing.

"Silver, knowing only the name of the moon, how long would it take you to find Teraluna?"

He's unreasonably good at finding things.
He sighs.

"The location of Teraluna is a rather well kept secret. The library is of great importance, protecting it is easier if its location is not known."
"Unfortunately there are many stories about it, some of which hint at its location."
"If I would try hard enough I'd probably find it in less than a week."

Less than a week? How am I supposed to do anything within that time frame?
And it's not like evacuating Haven and going into hiding somewhere else is a solution without removing the Templar thread.
They would manage to hunt some of the inhabitants down somehow.
Not to mention the library. It is of great importance, and they would burn it to the ground.
And then there are other things... even more crucial things.
Teraluna cannot fall.

The three of us combined aren't able to deal with a single Templar, yet there are 12 of them left.
Even if I had my dragon spirit and the phoenix essence back, it would be utterly hopeless.
And besides Ifrit I don't know anyone remotely as strong as us, yet I would need an army.
Perhaps death is catching up with me.

"Don't you dare even thinking about surrender."
"... I won't."

Silver is looking at me, probably expecting me to reveal some kind of backup plan I had all along.
Something insane enough that it might just work. I've got nothing.
In my desperation I recall the voices I heard in those dreams.
For some reason I reach out with my aura, attempting to locate anything that reminds me of these voices.
As I catch myself doing this I ponder about how ridiculous this is.
That's not how scanning for auras works. You need to at least be able to guess how it would feel like to be
in proximity of a person in order to find someone through aura tracking.
But for some reason that is beyound me, at that very moment, I do find something.
It doesn't feel like a person though, and the feeling is very weak.

If I wasn't hiding from the Templars, I could probably pin the location down near instantly.
But that would involve releasing an amount of energy that cannot be hidden.
The Templars who are actively scanning for my aura would find me immediately.
That goes for all of us. The templars know all of our auras.
But there is someone else I know, who is rather talented in aura tracking.
He might be able to help me find... whatever this is.

"Okay..."
"So I might have..."

Silver and Yuya open their eyes wide in hope.
Oh boy...

"Listen. This is a longshot... no, I wouldn't even call it a longshot."
"I have a lead alright. A lead to maybe find some sort of way to..."

They are euphoric. Are they not listening to my words? I don't have shit.

...
Fuck it. This is all I've got. If it turns out to be nothing then that's it.
They are relying on me.

"I need to visit an old friend to help me track someone down."
"Until I do, I won't be sure on how to approach the situation."
"I assume there will be a grand battle though, so prepare yourselves accordingly."

They both nod.

"I'll be back within less than three days."
"In case I should fail..."
"Bullshit! When you come back you'll have a plan."
"You always have a plan."

No pressure...

"We'll evacuate Haven in case we need to make a last stand."
"Yes."
"And I'll have my mother talk to Ifrit..."

Somehow I doubt that'll help.

"Hyu?"
"Yeah?"
"... Don't you die on me, alright?"

I smile.

"Working on it!"

That extinguishes the last worries in her facial expression.
I summon my phoenix wings.
Time to go annoy the hell out of an old friend of mine. Time to meet a talking bird.
I take off into the fabric of space.

05/03/13

Disturbed
I am at school. I look around and see it is my old high school, though I haven't been there for years. I walk down the halls looking for some sign of where I am supposed to be going. I spot someone I don't want to see. Someone I knew during high school who pretended to be my friend when she really had no interest in being my friend at all. Her name was Jamilia. I see her a bit farther down the hall but she has not yet seen me so I duck around a corner into a restroom to keep her from seeing me. I really don't want to see her. I look around and see there are a couple people I don't know in the bathroom doing their business. The stall walls and doors are only about waist high. That is high enough to conceal what everyone is doing but not high enough to conceal who is in each of the stalls. That seems like a dreadful lack of privacy. I don't want to go back out the way I came in because Jamilia might still be there so I look around and see the bathroom has two exits. I go out the other exit and find I am in the assembly room. I walk into the large room and I hear music playing loudly. I see there is a band there setting up for a concert. The song they are playing is "I'm Alive" by Disturbed. Awesome! Disturbed is going to be playing at the school! I can't wait to hear them. The song doesn't sound quite right and I notice their lead singer isn't there. David Draiman is missing and one of the others is singing instead. It doesn't sound bad, just different. Then I spot movement off to the side and David Draiman arrives, jumping from the upper level of the auditorium on a cheap looking bicycle and landing only a couple feet from me.

I am surprised the bike holds up to the jump, as it looks like it is made of plastic. The bike crumbles as soon as David Draiman gets off of it. He joins the other members of Disturbed and they continue playing "I'm Alive" as if nothing strange had just happened. I stay there and listen to the music since no one has told me I have to leave. I am hoping I can get autographs… I look around for something they might be willing to sign. All I can find is an old notebook, but it seems better than nothing. Maybe I can start an autograph book. I am waiting to see if there is a break during which I could approach one of them when the dream ends.
 
The Memory Remains
I am in a space ship or space station of some kind, I can't tell which or even that it is in space. All I can tell is I am in some kind of control room with computers and monitors all over the place. I have the feeling I am in space, though I am not sure where that feeling comes from. I am the only person in the control room, so I look around a bit. I see some of the monitors are active. One of the monitors is showing what looks like vital signs and a display that indicates the cloning process is complete. Another monitor reports that pertinent memories have been restored, other printing indicates these pertinent memories have to do with skills and fighting technique. It reports all other memories have been successfully blocked. The third screen shows a woman on the screen being equipped with robes and armor and weapons, I recognize her from a video I have seen, she is the Assassin known as Shao Jun. She has a blank look on her face and I wonder if those non-pertinent memories are of who she is. The people equipping Shao Jun with her weapons and armor are Templars. I put together that they have intended to clone an Assassin with all of her skills and use her… but what if she remembers who she is supposed to be? And that the Templars are the enemy? It seems likely that she will recover the blocked memories on her own in time, but why not speed the process on a bit? I see this control room is an observation deck and I am looking down on the room where all of this is taking place. I see Shao Jun in the room below, now standing there by herself, fully equipped for battle.

The door to the control room opens and a Templar scientist enters the room before realizing there is someone in here. He asks who I am and what I am doing there, but there doesn't seem to be much doubt about the answers to those questions since I am in my usual Assassin robes. He is going for an alarm on the wall when I grab hold of him, he immediately goes into wimp mode and starts begging for his life. I need to make sure he doesn't set off an alarm, maybe lock him in a closet? I let go of him just for an instant and he tries to stab me in the back with a mini lightsaber he had tucked into his belt. The blade singes the hair on my neck as I barely avoid it, killing him with my hidden blade before he can try again to kill me. I break the glass of the observation deck and jump down in front of Shao Jun, who seems unsure of whether to attack me or not. She seems a bit disoriented. A Templar comes back into the room and yells at her to kill me. I focus on the song spell "The Memory Remains" by Metallica. As the song plays, Shao Jun does attack… the Templar. Cuts him practically in two with her katana. More Templars come into the room. They may have energy blades, but they aren't getting anywhere near hitting Shao Jun with them. I watch as Shao Jun kicks the asses of every Templar that tries to come through the door. She turns to me and says she can see I'm an Assassin, so let's get out of here… and take out any Templars in the way. I climb back to the observation deck / control room. I set a couple controls and then a mechanical voice announces that the self destruct process has been activated. Time to get out. I teleport both Shao Jun and myself out into space where my Fire Valkyrie is waiting, we appear safely inside.

Shao Jun seems only slightly surprised by the teleportation. I fly away from the space station that is shaped like a giant Templar symbol… and we get out of range just as it explodes. I am thinking I need to take Shao Jun to some place where there will be other Assassins, but I don't get to figure out where to take her before I wake up. Hetfield tells me there is now a Shao Jun in my inner world…

04/19/13

Healing Quest
I am in a wide green field completely surrounded by Templars. This is getting to be an old scenario which I am quickly growing tired of. I decide to completely ignore them this time and I open a portal to the moon. I go through the portal and slam it closed in their faces as some of them try to follow me. On the other side of the portal I find I am at the healing springs on the moon. Nomad is there with me, and Winter is relaxing in the water. I focus healing energy through Winter, and then more through Nomad. I stop and think for a minute… I remember saying I would try to heal a friend on Facebook who said she was getting the flu. That person, who I will refer to as SJ for her privacy, had chatted with me on Facebook and I agreed to help her by trying to heal her flu before it gets too bad. I wonder how I am even going to find her since I have only talked to her a couple times and have never met her. So I focus on the energy I felt when I was chatting with her on Facebook, focusing my natural ability to track and trusting it to find her. A portal takes a little time to open, but finally it does.

I go through the portal into a dark place, though it is just dark because it is night time. There is a woman there who looks familiar, she looks like the photo I have seen on Facebook, she is even dressed in the Assassin costume she has used for her profile picture. She looks at me and smiles, she gives me a hug and thanks me for coming here to help. I tell her it's really no problem, I would like to be able to use dream healing to help more people, one problem seems to be that a lot of people don't accept that it works. Part of it might be my own self doubt… so I focus healing energy through SJ, directing the energy to back up her own immune system in fighting off the flu virus that she has said is trying to make her sick. Golden energy flows through her as she is standing there. I tell her there is a place she might want to see, it also has a very relaxing and healing effect. I take her back through the portal to the healing springs. She looks around the area, seeming to like what she sees. Nomad wants to know who my friend is, he says she looks like a dreamer from our world. He asks if I met her on Dreamviews. I tell him I met her on Facebook. He gets out of the healing pools and says hello to SJ. Winter doesn't respond to our presence, she is still floating peacefully in the water. I slip back into the water, telling SJ it is very relaxing. I close my eyes and relax, letting the healing effects flow through me as I fall asleep in the dream and wake up in my waking life.
 
Wizard Glass
I am in a cave with some other people. I look around to see who is there. Roland is sitting near the mouth of the cave holding a box, there is an orb inside the box that is black and it seems to be glowing with black light.

I go over closer to Roland to see what he is doing. He is just sitting there gazing at an open door. The door appears to be set in nothing but air, and I see a moving picture through it. I see Eddie through the door, and I remember a time when Roland held the box open while Eddie went through the door to take care of some things. I wonder why I might be there, I have the idea things aren't as they were meant to be. I hear voices talking from the back of the cave, they are saying all sorts of negative things. My mother is telling me she is so very disappointed that I am a useless lump in life, saying I shouldn't still be dependent on her at my age… I remember the nature of the voices so I make an effort to tune them out. I go over to the entrance to the cave. I see some people approaching the cave on the path. They are limited as to how many can approach the cave due to the narrow and winding path that approaches, but there are quite a few of them. I think maybe I should have some backup, and the first person I think of related to the Dark Tower is MoSh. So I open a portal to find MoSh and one opens. There is a strange interaction between the portal I have opened and the strange door, lines of force flowing between the two gateways. MoSh comes through the portal. Some invisible force tries to pull him through the door, but as soon as my portal closes the force dissipates. I look back out at the approaching people, they look like Templars to me. I wonder what they are doing there. I figure whatever it is they want it can't be anything good. One of them approaches the cave entrance and sees MoSh and me there. He sees me right away but has not seen MoSh, since MoSh is off to the side and a bit closer to the door. He points a gun at me and says he is here for the orb, so step back while he takes it. MoSh doesn't give him a chance to try to shoot me, he shoots the Templar who has come to steal black 13. The others behind him respond by firing weapons at us, weapons that are far too advanced for the time period the Dark Tower takes place during. Automatic weapons, high caliber fire arms… someone throws a grenade in which I kick back out. It goes over the edge before it explodes. That was apparently not agreed on as I hear a lot of cursing after it explodes, someone calling someone else an idiot and saying that would destroy the thing they were after. So there is a shootout from the cave entrance, MoSh and I are able to pick off the Templar attackers as they approach.

The others take cover around a corner in the path and are out of reach. I look over at Roland, but he appears to be zoned out into another world, I wonder if he has even heard the gunfire. I figure black 13 is responsible for his current condition. MoSh and I make our way out of the cave to intercept the rest of the Templars before they can resume their approach. There is another shootout at the bend in the path, MoSh and I take out more of the Templars as they retreat back down the path, there is a lot of cursing from them. Roland is then near us, he picks off a couple more Templars that are trying to circle around below and shoot at us from there. Eddie is there now, too. The remaining Templars disappear through a portal at the base of the cliff. I wonder what there will be to keep them from returning and stealing the black 13 later when no one is there. Roland has apparently thought of the same thing, he says he would rather not have it that close, but they'll have to take black 13 back with them so they can keep an eye on them. He asks if MoSh and I know who those people were who were after the ball… I tell them they are trouble, and apparently they have decided to put themselves in our road. It is here that I wake up. 

Treasure Hunt
I am on a ship at sea with some other people. I see Nomad not too far away and I see Captain Jack Sparrow standing right beside me. He is pointing out over the ocean to a rocky looking island in the distance, it seems we are heading for the island. Jack says something about the lost treasure being there, in a wrecked ship among treacherous rocks.

Another pirate says only a crazy person would get close enough to attempt to claim the treasure said to be in the ship's hold. He laughs and returns to his duties. As we get closer I am able to see the treacherous rocks and the ship that is wrecked somehow in the middle of them. I wonder why they had been heading there in the first place. We get what seems like dangerously close to the rocks before Jack tells the crew to stop. We'll have to get closer in a smaller boat, which seems a bit dangerous, too. I decide I can swim it better. I jump off the ship before anyone can tell me to stop and dive into the water. I find I can hold my breath for quite a while, and I swim near the bottom side of the ship… which is actually the top of the deck… and I find hatches that lead to the cargo bay. I surface for a breath and go back under to the cargo hatches. It takes a bit of effort to open it but the hatch finally comes open. I swim inside and find there is a pocket of air trapped within the ship. There are crates and things lining the walls, many of them have fallen over and spilled random contents on the floor, which is actually the ceiling. The air smells stale. I see what looks like a loose plank in the side and I see it is a covered window. I open it up and a rush of fresh air flows into the room. I call to the others that I found a way into the cargo bay. Nomad and Jack join me in the ship's cargo hold and we start looking through the containers. I find a chest full of gold coins, that is the first sign of treasure I have found.

I tell the others I have found treasure. Jack looks at the gold but doesn't seem all that interested in it. He says that's not what we're looking for. He says go ahead and take what I can, but what he is looking for is a golden idol, a statue of a monkey that is said to have magical powers. A monkey statue? I start looking through other containers, I am not finding a monkey. We have soon searched all we can get to. I swim underwater to check out a few more containers that I can reach. I find more gold, but still no golden monkey idol. Jack says they must have already gotten it. I ask who. He doesn't seem to be paying any attention to me for the time being. He goes back outside the ship and gets in the boat to go back to the ship that brought us there. The ship, now that I see it from a distance, looks like the Black Pearl. It is a cool ship. We are heading back towards the ship when I wake up.

04/18/13

Ambush I
I am in a green field, I am completely surrounded by Templars. I don't really want to take a lot of time on these Templars. I tell the nearest Templar that I am about to drop an Immortal Fire in case they would prefer to leave before that happens. No one responds by leaving, instead it looks like they are about to attack me. A strange energy seems to be radiating off of them. I use the Immortal Fire spell and create an explosion of fire that expands out from me… Before the fire has even faded I open a portal to the moon, heading for the balancing pools. I go through the portal and into the pool. Nomad is already there with Winter, and he seems to be trying to heal her. I focus healing energy through Winter and also through Nomad, I figure to get rid of the remaining sores on his foot. I am still focused on the healing when a dark shadow passes over the healing springs. I look up and see there are huge winged creatures in the sky over us. They look like giant bats or wraith horses, and each one has a Templar riding it.

They are in the biodome? They dive down and are attacking everything in sight. They are dropping energy bombs. The bombs are exploding and spreading dark energy all over the place. I use another Immortal Fire that creates only light energy, I don't want to cause any more destruction than the Templars are already causing. A blast of light energy extends out from me and incinerates the Templars, along with the dark energy bombs they are dropping. I get on Stardust, a winged unicorn with flaming mane and tail.

I ride into the sky and survey the area around the biodome. There are Templars attacking everywhere. There are Templars attacking over a city down below. The city is around a large temple. Nomad has followed me into the air and immediately attacks the Templars. I use the song Battery and strike a number of Templars with lightning. I fly down over the city and see there are all different races living in the city, all of them being attacked by Templars. I wonder what it is the Templars are after… I activate another Immortal Fire, and create another explosion of light energy. The light energy is destroying all of the wraith Templars it hits. I land in the city down below, feeling a little drained now, maybe too many Immortal Fires at once? I see Nomad blowing on what looks like the Horn of Eld from the Dark Tower series. Shortly after that I notice there are many others in the fight now, many of whom I don't even recognize, but they seem to be fighting against the Templars. The fight is still going on when I am unable to avoid waking up.
 
Undercover
I am with some other people just outside a town. I see some people sneaking into the town. The people disappearing into the town are Templars. The Templars are disguised as civilians. I am there with Nomad and Altaïr, I notice they are disguised as the Templars are. I am in the same disguise. We enter into the town. Q appears and says the Templars are aiming to plant dark energy bombs in various parts of the city, he isn't sure if the goal is to gain control or just to destroy everything, but it has to be stopped. So we split up and head into the city, looking for the Templars or the bombs they have left. Nomad and I are near the castle in the center of the town when we spot a couple of Templars leaving a bomb. We each take out a Templar with our hidden blades. Another Templar says something about a traitor, but doesn't get a chance to sound the alarm before Altaïr silences him. I hear someone calling for help from inside the castle. We all go in and follow some stairways down into a dungeon where there are several Templar wraiths torturing an orc.

We still look like Templars, so they take no notice of us. We easily get close enough to covertly cut the bonds holding the orc back. The orc grabs an axe from a surprised Templar and cuts him down with it. I take out a Templar right beside me using my hidden blade. At first they seem to think there are traitors among them, but it doesn't take them long to realize they have been infiltrated by Assassins. Nomad is throwing Templars through portals, he says something about them respawning if they are killed. I use Through the Never to open a vortex portal to somewhere around Pluto, and it pulls a pair of Templars through it. It will take them a bit of time to get back from Pluto, I figure. I then wonder if they won't just open a portal and come right back… The orc we freed has no ideas of sending Templars anywhere except the grave. He is about to attack me when I transform back to my Assassin form and he stops quickly, realizing I am not an enemy. I return to the surface and scan the area using Eagle Vision to see if I can find the remaining Templar infiltrators. I see the trails they have left, though it is not that easy to follow. I am not sure which way they went in! I follow a path to a bomb, which I send through a portal to a void between worlds where it won't hurt anyone. I get attacked by what looks like a random civilian, but is actually a Templar. I see him coming since he is glowing red, I see him in time to dodge his attack and counter with one of my own, forming Witchblade into a sword which he practically impales himself on. I see other people who look like Assassins searching the area for any more bombs. I wonder how many Templars got into the town. I never have a chance to find out before I wake. 

Ambush II
I am in a hotel room, it looks weird there, sort of like a dream. Maybe it is a dream. I pinch my nose and find I can still breathe, so I know I am dreaming. I hear a lot of cursing from nowhere at all. I recognize the voice of the person cursing as Susanna Dean from the Dark Tower books. I am not sure how I recognize her voice, but there is no doubt in my mind that is who it is. She is getting angry at her alter, Mia, for setting Eddie and Roland up to be killed. I remember the scene in the book that this is referring to. I talk to Susanna telepathically. I tell her that no matter how many hired goons have been set on Eddie and Roland, it won't be enough. Mia asks who the fuck I am, she says she didn't know before and wants to know now. I tell her to be glad I don't want to alter the story enough to kick her sorry ass right out of there, and send her chap along with her. She says I couldn't do it, but she doesn't sound too certain of that. I have to get to Eddie and Roland. I focus on opening a portal to find them, and it opens, so I go through. I am near what looks like a truck stop called the Dixie Pig. As soon as I appear there someone starts shooting at me, so I hit the dirt. As I am there on the ground I see I am not alone. Eddie and Roland are both there, Roland is looking at me strangely and Eddie looks a bit disoriented.

We are being shot at. It is the small army sent by Enrico Balazar to intercept Roland and Eddie. Roland asks where my friend is. I focus on a portal to find MoSh. The portal opens and MoSh comes through, hitting the dirt as he is also being shot at. Eddie seems to be coming around, and we all start returning fire. I shoot a couple hired goons that are closing in on us from beyond several parked cars, behind which the remaining people take cover. Not all of them make it, however, Roland shoots three, Eddie shoots two, and MoSh shoots two. There are at least five more hidden behind the vehicles. I see someone else coming onto the scene. Nomad is riding what looks like a saber tooth tiger and shooting with a couple revolvers. He flushes the five goons behind the car into the open and shoots a couple of them, the others are left open to being shot by Roland, Eddie, MoSh. We make our way to the gas station area of the truck stop as more hired goons close in on us. An 18 wheeler comes barreling out of control and crashes between us and what looks like a couple dozen more hired goons. Roland wants to go out the back, there are three customers in the place that are staring wide eyed at us. Roland tells them all to get down, but only one of them does it. A couple older women get shot and collapse to the ground. Eddie recognizes one of the enemies and refers to him as old double ugly. Double ugly seems to recognize Eddie, and hesitates much long and gets blown away by Eddie. I notice for the first time Eddie has been shot in the leg. Some hired goons are coming around each side of the truck stop, and some are coming through as we get out the back. None of them get very far before we cut them down. John, the customer that is still alive, says he has a way to make an exit but we need a distraction. Roland shoots one of the fuel tanks and starts a leak. John throws a lighter to it and it bursts into flames. We all head down a path behind the truck stop as the gas pumps burst into flames. We haven't gotten far out of the way before there is a huge explosion behind us.

It looks like it must have taken out quite a few of the goons with it, I wonder if any of them managed to get away. We all pile on a boat and head out across a lake to put distance between us and any remaining goons. Roland, Eddie, and John talk a bit but I don't pay a lot of attention. We get to the other side of the lake and enter a boat house. I tell them I can do some healing. Eddie looks a bit confused, Roland looks at his right hand, flexing all five of the fingers there. He tells Eddie I can do it, but hurry. I find the bullet wound in Eddie's leg and focus healing energy through it. The wound begins healing and quickly closes up. I also heal a bullet wound in Eddie's arm and a bump on his head. I look over at Roland, but he says he is fine. I grab his arm anyway and focus healing energy through him, I remember he was having some trouble with arthritis… which I am sure I can't cure, but I think it should help some anyway. And I have even less time than they do, I feel I am about to wake up. As I focus healing energy through Roland everything around me fades and I wake up.

4/17/2013

Dream Journal
WakingNomad AKA Keola Pirata

I leap out of bed with a roar, a black werelion with a necklace of skulls around my neck, wielding an adamantium spear. Templars in the sky riding Pegasi are raining down flaming spears at us. I cast a force field of protection over Winter Fae and I. I fly like a rocket into the center of the Pegasi squadron. “YE THINK YE BE ANGELS, DO YE, MY TEMPLAR BROTHERS? THEN, I WILL SHOW YOU THE FACE OF A DEIMON!” I scream, and demonize. Demon eyes grow and pop open in my forehead. A small black hole appears in my chest. A portal opens, and a bear-boar with six legs, eight eyes, and a snake tail leaps out. I mount my steed, and my spear comes to life. The spear’s head sprouts eyes and a mouth and screams: BLOOOOOOD! Writhing in the air like a sea snake swimming in the depths. Two more small portals open, and a pair of tiny dragons land on my shoulders.
The Templars fly together, and say, “Form of: BAPHOMET” and all together become one giant goat headed woman breasted goat legged disgusting god. Then they say: MASK OF: MICHAEL, and wear a costume to disguise themselves as the archangel , Michael.
“I must admit, fighting Michael the archangel him would be quite the challenge, but not so a foe as you parasites are no match for REX CURSON!”
I roar and clap my hands together, and there is a peal of thunder, then the Baphomet egregore is struck by lightning. The metal in the armor begins to melt and catch fire. The Templars scream in agony. “Zasaz Zasaz Nasatana Zasaz!”
“Hail Satan, Lord of Fire
May your flames rise ever higher!
Hail Pan, God of Nature,
Bless the Beast, Imbue the Creature!
Hail Gawn, Lord of Dreams,
Nothing is, as it seems!”
A portal opens, and Raven flies out, riding a giant raven. Cool! She’s wearing all black, but in her assassin gear.
She throws bolts of dark energy from a staff she has. She tells me the staff is called the Darkstaff, and its sentient like my symbiote. She told me Washu gave it to her.
Interesting. We can probably take these Templars ourselves, but I blow the Conch of Pan because it just feels so good. The blast reverberates through my demon skull, and I grin as portals open from everywhere in the universe, and Gawn, the Dream Warrior Master appears with an army of elite Dream Warriors Corps. They are so varied and strange looking. I wonder what their physical bodies look like. I see centaurs, and octopus like things, and people that look like rocks, and others like blobs. We simultaneously attack the Baphomet egregore. Bolts of energy, bullets, rockets, arrows, and spears fly at the Baphomet. The egregore breaks apart, and becomes a group of Templars riding Pegasi again. “For Michael!” They shout and charge us. Gawn charges the nearest one shouting, “I AM SURE YOU DO NOT SERVE MICHAEL!”
Then he lightly shoulder bumps the Pegasus, and horse and rider go flying back into a portal. He blows the other ones, and they start flying back, back into portals he casts behind them. The battle is suddenly over.
“Why don’t you kill them?” I ask Gawn.
“They’d just respawn, and we’d have to fight them five seconds later.”
“So, you send them into other dimensions alive, instead.”
“Yes, and it disheartens them when they end up in dimensions with no other Templars, so they become weak because of their big egos.”
“Funny. So where did you send them.”
“Hippie communes, mostly. Another one I sent to be a lighthouse keeper. So, you want to come check out the Dream Warrior Planet, now?”
“Yes, Father, but our aid is requested on the Moon. The Templars are attacking the Dreamhackers Moon Base.”
“Those crazy Russian orks. Good Fighters.”
“Right. But, I suspect the Moon orks are being infiltrated by Templar orks.”
“So, you want to infiltrate the infiltrators, while I cause a big ruckus on the outside?”
Raven smiles at the idea. “Yes, Father.” Raven opens a portal to the Moon Orks Castle on the Moon. We are standing on a hill watching a huge battle of Templars on pegasi with swords and lances versus orcs on giant beetles with axes and speas. It’s so epic, we forget our mission for a second. Raven taps my head. “Hey, Nomad, the mission!” Pardon me, I forgot the mission for a second. We morph into Templar Orcs, then put on Moon Ork disguises. We look at each other and giggle. We teleport right outside the castle, then run through a battle near a castle archway. We hear the voice of the Moon Ork King crying for help down below. We run down flights of stairs to a dungeon, and we see the Moon Ork King being tortured by Dark Templar Orks. “Ha! You see, we have him!”
“NO YOU DON’T!” shouts a voice like a thousand bears from above. The Moon Ork King runs down the stairs with a giant axe. The ork being tortured transforms into a Templar ork, his true self. Raven and take off our Moon Ork costumes, and reveal our Templar ork shapes. We take the left and right guard of the Templar Orks running at the Moon Ork King. Right as the Moon Ork King takes his first axe swing, we turn on the Templars, and thrust two sword length hidden blades into them, killing eight or nine. “Traitors!” They shout. We turn into our Assassin forms. “Assassins! We laugh, as we teleport behind them, and assassinate any Templars that the Moon Ork King’s axe misses. Cheering is heard. The remaining Templars make portals and boogie on out.
We throw a huge party with the Moon Orks on the Moon outside their castle. There are trees growing in grey rock. Interesting. I take a sip of wine, and everything fades to black.

04/01/12

Immortal Fire Shield
I am in my room, sitting on my bed. I am surrounded by Templars. There are pulsing energy waves coming off of them, I am under constant attack from the Templars. I look around me at the Templars, thinking I want them to go away from me. I drop an immortal fire spell right there in my room, a wall of fire extended from me and blasted all the Templars in the area. I then formed the energy from the flames into a shield to keep the Templars away.

I wondered how long that might work for, or if it would work at all. I remembered that I had also said I would do the same thing to clear Templars away from Nomad. I focus on opening a portal to find Nomad. The portal opens and I go through. On the other side I find Nomad is surrounded by Templars. I go over to Nomad and drop an immortal fire right there, blasting away more Templars. I formed the energy into a shield around Nomad to keep the Templars away. I looked at the shield, which looked like a sphere of flames. Nomad looks at the shield and seems pleased with it. I tell him we can get on with our normal healings… so we go to the balancing pools on the moon. In the pools I focus on healing Nomad's foot issues. Winter is also there, relaxing in the warm waters. I focus healing energy through her, directed at easing her fibromyalgia. After that is done Nomad opens a portal to go see his friend, where I focus some more healing energy through him. I can feel the effects of using so much healing energy, and it feels good. I am in a very good place as everything around me fades to black and I woke.

03/27/13

Pools of Healing
I am in my room, in bed. Someone is yelling at me. That is all I am aware of at first. Who is it? I open my eyes and see there is a single Templar beside my bed and he seems to be in a bad mood. But I notice he doesn't seem to be sending off the attacks I have come to expect. He is asking questions. He wants to know something. I assume I know what he is talking about, but I assume wrong. I expect he will be wanting to know where I have hidden the thing I stole from them, instead he is asking what I did to someone. The three Templars that went through that portal aren't acting normal at all, what is wrong with them? I am a bit annoyed at this Templar being here yelling at me, my first reaction is to tell him I'll show him what I did to those other three… he falls silent and takes a step back, clearly not liking that idea. My mind clears and I remember that there were three Templars I got pissed at and sent to the Dark Realm. I'm not about to send another one there, but I am glad the idea of it has made him shut up. In fact I remember I had plans to get those three out of the Dark Realm, no one deserves to be left there. But first to the moon. I focus on opening a portal, and it opens right away. The Templar moves away from the portal. I tell him it leads to the balancing pools on the moon, not the Dark Realm… and then I go through the portal. I get to the other side and it is right next to the balancing pools.

Nomad is already in one of the pools and appears to be relaxing. I get into the pool and focus healing energy on his foot where he still has some sores, though the injuries look like they're improving. After doing that I let myself sink through the warm relaxing waters to the bottom of the pool where I am having no difficulty breathing the water. It smells fresh and clean. I am relaxing there as I fall asleep.

Out of the Darkness
I am with Nomad, Link, Altaïr, and Spike. I immediately don't like the place. We are in what looks like an underground hallway, part of a labyrinth perhaps, a long stone corridor that is illuminated only by torches set in the walls. The passage is stiflingly hot, the stone walls are practically too hot to touch. The look of the place isn't what I find worst about it, however. It's the sounds. From seemingly all around come the echoing sounds of people screaming in pain, like someone is being tortured. I wait for a moment for my mind to clear and then I remember I am actually there to get three people out, because this is probably the area of the Dark Realm they have been brought to. I sent them here, I need to get them out. I notice everyone else is wearing black, black versions of the usual Assassin robes, and I realize that is much harder to see against the dark stone than the white ones I have. So I change my white ones to black.

Someone I don't recognize comes down the hall, my first impression is that she is a Templar. But she seems to be helping us… well maybe she would be since the goal is to retrieve three Templars from the Dark Realm. She says she found the way through the labyrinth. There is a torture chamber, she shudders but offers no further description. Another scream of pain echoes through the halls making further description unnecessary. She says there are more than three of them there, she wasn't aware of which ones were the Templars I had sent here and who the others were. I figure it doesn't matter… if they're prisoners here they need to get out. We all follow the woman down some halls to a room of nightmares. I see a sight I am sure I have seen before. A man is naked in a metal cage over a fire, his skin is blistering and cracking as it burns, his face is a mask of pain but he is silent. Nomad says they will see about getting more free before we're discovered, though that probably won't take long. I go over to the man in the cage, he is not even aware of my presence. There is a demon of some kind watching him, completely absorbed by the sight. The demon is not paying any attention to me. The demon looks almost like a human, in fact if I hadn't already known it was a demon I might have thought it was a Templar… but a Templar wouldn't be torturing another Templar, would he? I charge my hidden blade with light energy and sneak up behind the demon, pumping him full of the stuff before he can sound an alarm. I open the cage with the half-dead Templar in it. There were three I sent here… where are the other two? I find the other two near where the first one was. The second one is another man, he is impaled on a pike that is set in fire… burning and impaled… and a demon is watching that. There is a woman in a small pit hogtied and there are bugs all over her, nasty demonic looking things, eating her alive… another demon is observing.

Somewhere around here someone must have gotten some attention, however, as the demons depart their posts and began gathering somewhere. I take that opportunity to get the other two free. I focus healing energy on them, healing up burns, bites, and other injuries, and blocking any pain. I see the others are there, and they have more prisoners with them. They are in an alcove, and I see there are demons searching the place. They seem a bit confused, and not sure where to find the intruders. The rescued prisoners all look like they're still in shock from their experience, they aren't very responsive. Nomad says they need more healing, and opens a portal to the Healing Glen where the crystal golem takes care of those who have been seriously hurt more than just physically. I'm not sure how many prisoners we rescued, though I am sure the three Templars I sent to the Dark Realm are the three I got out. I am thinking there are still more of them back in the prison, more of them that shouldn't be left there… but I'll not be getting them out now, I wake up.

03/26/13

Dark Deeds
I am in my room, I am in bed. I wake up in bed, hoping it is not time to get up yet. I look around and see there are Templars all around me, there is a strange energy pulsing off of them. It makes it hard to see them even when I am looking directly at them. The waves of energy coming off of them is holding me down, I have the idea it is holding me back in more ways than one. I am feeling quite pissed off at them for their constant attacks. I use the song Whiplash by Metallica to send their attack energy back at them. For a brief time I can see them clearly, a pulse of energy from me actually knocks them against the walls of my room. The attacks immediately resume. One of them says it's not going to stop until I return what I stole, return the artifact and they will leave me alone. I don't believe them. Instead I am getting pissed off. I use another Whiplash spell and send the energy back at them again, this time getting out of my bed and phasing through the wall. I remembered chatting with Nomad on Facebook, he had said there were Templars attacking him… so I decide to go help him with his Templar problems. The Templars attacks are making it hard to focus on opening a portal. They are really pissing me off. I use Whiplash again and open a vortex portal, I want to send them away to somewhere they won't like. Maybe then they'll learn to leave me alone. A vortex portal opens and pulls three of the Templars through it right away. Something comes back out of the portal… a wave of dark energy, it seems I have opened a portal somewhere I might have been better off not… The portal then closes, but before it does I see demons on the other side, the portal led to the Dark Realm, I'm not sure I like the idea of sending even Templars to the Dark Realm.

The wave of dark energy slams into me, knocking me back against the bed. My mind is filled with images of the three Templars I sent through the portal getting tortured, demons are laughing, people are screaming. I see images of one of them inside a metal box that is being heated, his skin is cracked and blistered… a second one, a woman, is tied to a bench and is being eaten alive by strange bugs… the third one is actually impaled on a spit and is being roasted alive over a fire… no, I didn't want that, not even for Templars… my anger is gone now, my next thought is I have to get them out of there, but I can't even move enough to get off my bed. Something is draining my energy, that attack that hit me from the Dark Realm? Everything fades to black. I can still hear the Templars crying out in pain and the demons laughing…

Queen of Night
I am on fire. But the fire is not burning me; it isn't that kind of fire. It is a purifying fire, and it is not burning me, rather it seems to be burning something off of me. As the strange substance is burned off of me it feels like I can breathe again, as if it had been suffocating me. I see I am not alone there. Spike and Altaïr are both right there with me, I see Nomad and MoSh not too far away. And I also see enemies. So many enemies. I realize my hands were tied behind me, not sure how that happened, I don't realize it until Altaïr is cutting the bonds with his blade. Spike starts to ask if I am ok, but then he is distracted by enemies. There is a big fight going on around us. The enemies… orcs? Templars? Templar orcs?

They are orcs, but they are dressed in Templar armor, clearly marked as Templars. I think they must be pissed off about me sending three of them to the Dark Realm. I'm not even particularly pleased about that incident. There is a huge fight going on all around me. Is this all about the fact it seems I had been captured? The Templar orcs are attacking my friends, and I start to feel a bit of the anger that led me to send some Templars to the Dark Realm to begin with. I don't want to let that feeling go too far this time, I still want to go get them out of there. No one should be left in the Dark Realm for the demons to be playing their sick games with. I still feel a dark energy inside, but I can keep it stable, so I focus on using it instead of getting rid of it. I transform into the form of a dark sorceress, still on fire… with the black wings of giant raven, somehow seems appropriate.

I use spell songs on the Templar Orcs, Damage Inc. by Metallica to throw balls of fire, Battery by Metallica to call lightning from the sky. The entire place sounds like a Metallica concert with an awesome light show to accompany it. Lyrics from a completely different song are going through my mind, "When the shadows remain in the light of day, on the wings of darkness we retaliate…" I can't think what song these lyrics are from… The entire fight is rather unfocused in my memory, it doesn't really seem to take very long before it is over. Then I am on the ground, I see I am in my white Assassin robes again… the dream is over. But it can't be, I still have to go to the Dark Realm and get those Templars out… I sent them there, it is my responsibility to set it right by getting them out. Nomad is right beside me, I look around and see the other people around are also friends. I tell Nomad I have to go to the Dark Realm and get someone out, he seems to think I need to rest. I try to get up, not having much progress. I tell him I have to go now, they're being tortured, I was wrong to send them there… but something has drained all my energy, things around me are fading to black.

03/24/13

Healing Springs
I am in the biodome on the moon. I am near the koi pond, though I don't immediately realize this since it has been quite a while since I have remembered being here. I see Nomad not far away. I don't have any recall of seeing him in a dream for quite a while, either. I go over and give him a big hug, telling him it's good to see him again. He says he has been seeing me in his dreams, have I not remembered? I tell him no, I haven't. I have had my goals to meet up with him, but my recall has been lacking. We walk over to the healing springs, the hot springs. The balancing pools. A place to go to stabilize all that unstable energy that is created by constant Templar attacks.

I dive into a pool, transforming into a mermaid as I hit the water. Nomad slips into the water. I go under and look for that spot on his left foot that has infected sores on it in the waking world. There are sores there, though they don't look as bad as the pictures of jungle rot I found on Google. I focus healing energy into the sores, gently rubbing the foot, willing the injuries to go away quickly. I swim around for a bit and then back to the surface. Nomad looks quite relaxed. I tell him I am really glad we have been talking online lately… it really helps me not feel so alone. He says I have never been alone. I tell him it is easy to feel alone when there is no one in the waking world I can talk to, at least not about the issues I have been having with the Templars… some people don't seem to want to hear about it, others would want to help and I don't want them to become targets… then there are times I have doubts that any of it is even real. He says that's what they want, is for me to doubt, to stop using my dream skills… don't let them win. I tell him having someone to talk to makes any doubt much less. I tell him I want to find a way to make them stop their attacks, or overcome the attacks… it is really fucking up my life. But I don't feel fucked up right now, I just feel relaxed. I sink back below the water and fall asleep in the dream.

Intruders
I am in my own room, lying in bed. I wake up and see I am not alone in my room. There are people there, several of them. What are those people doing in my room?! I sit up and look at them, they are Templars. There is strange energy radiating off of them, makes them hard to look at, hard to see. I tell them to get the fuck out of my room and leave me alone. One of them looks at me strangely as if he is surprised I can see him at all. The truth is it is hard to see him, hard to focus on him, but I don't let that on. I tell him yeah, I mean him, calling him double stupid since double ugly doesn't really apply… he's actually kind of hot. The energy coming off of the Templars gets briefly stronger, making them almost completely disappear from sight. I focus on the song spell Whiplash by Metallica, sending the energy waves right back at their sources. A pulse of energy radiates out from me like an explosion, knocking all of the Templars into perfect visibility as it knocks them into the walls of my room.

They all look a bit surprised, maybe even a bit dazed. There are more of them than I had thought. I had previously seen four, but there are six of them there, the room is quite crowded. For a bit I can see them all clearly, but the strange energy starts pulsing out from them again as if they were never interrupted. The force of the energy seems to be holding me down in my bed. I can barely breathe. Too much pressure. The Templars are disappearing again, so I use the song spell Whiplash again, sending out another pulse of energy. This time, before they could resume their attacks, I formed Witchblade into a sword and cut five of them down before they had a chance to recover. The sixth one didn't try to get away, he just said killing them would do me no good… return what I stole and the attacks would stop. Things could be a lot easier. I was pissed off, however, not in the mood to listen, and I cut the last Templar down before collapsing back into bed. I felt drained. Like they had been stealing all my energy. I fall asleep in the dream.

Wolf Wraiths
I am with some other people in a vast dead area, there is nothing but dead trees and barren ground for as far as the eye can see. The sky looks a dead gray color. I look at the other people there with me. It is Nomad, MoSh, Roland, Eddie, Susanna, and Jake. Nomad is riding on a large animal that I am not sure if it is canine or feline. I look in the direction they are looking and I see a bunch of cloaked figures on gray horses. My first thought is an army of ring wraiths from Lord of the Rings.

That can't be good. It is clear that the plan is to go down and attack them, I wonder how many of them there are. It looks like way too many. Nomad is aiming what looks like a sniper rifle at the group. He takes out a few on the edge of the group without making a sound. That luck doesn't continue, however, after the fifth one they take notice. Nomad shoots a few more before they realize where the attack is coming from. Now everyone in the group is attacking. I use the spell song Divide by Disturbed to multiply myself into many, I figure that will even up the odds a bit… though we are still seriously outnumbered. A fight ensues. I form Witchblade into a sword as I head into the fray, though guns are being fired and I wonder how I am not getting hit. I am probably moving too fast. I am on a white horse with fiery mane and tail, and the horse is as swift as the wind. I charge into the group, each instance of me on an identical horse, and cut down an enemy who is taking aim to shoot me. I see the enemy has a face… it is the face of a wolf. When he hits the ground, the wolf mask comes off. I don't see anything beneath it. I remember the Dark Tower series… these are the wolves of the Calla. I hear the others around me as I move through the group… each of me has a Witchblade sword and each of me takes down enemies as I go. I get a little disoriented during the fight, but finally I look around and see there are very few of the enemies left, I wonder if they retreated or if they are all dead. Nomad takes out a remaining enemy with what looks like a shotgun. MoSh quickly shoots two of them who are going for Eddie from behind. I see no more enemies approaching. I am about to go join the others but I wake.

Stalkers
I am in a restaurant of some kind, I am looking around for something to eat. I am thinking I should get something healthy so I don't gain a bunch of weight. I notice there are some people that seem to be following me around. I watch them for a while. Templars. I have no doubt in my mind that they are Templars. There is a strange energy radiating off of them, an energy that seems to drain me when it hits me. It also makes them hard to focus on. I wonder if anyone else in the room is noticing the effect. No one seems to be. Either they don't know what is causing the effect or maybe they aren't being affected by it at all. I turn to leave, and it is clear the Templars are going to follow me. I think I shouldn't even be seeing Templars… and I do a reality check. I pinch my nose and I can still breathe. One of the Templars is standing right beside me now. He says he told me killing them would do no good. My mind has wandered away from Templars, however. I am hungry. I look in the display case and I see the best looking chocolate cake I have ever seen.

Chocolate cake with chocolate frosting and frosting flowers all over it. I tell the person behind the counter that I want that cake, the whole thing. He hands me the cake and I throw some money at him, not sure how much, but it must have been enough. I proceed to make a pig of myself, grabbing a knife and fork and digging in. The Templar doesn't seem to know what to say or do… he is staring at me like I'm crazy. So is everyone else in the room. Finally, my face full of chocolate, I think maybe I have gone a bit too far even for a dream. I hand what is left of the cake to the Templar beside me, telling him it is the best cake ever. I want to get away from the Templars… to get away from that strange energy they have been radiating. I notice I am feeling a bit ill. Is it the energy, or too much cake? I head for the door and go outside. The energy hitting me seems to be getting stronger. The Templar is behind me telling me to return what I stole. I tell him to go fuck himself before I wake.

02/18/13

Countdown to Extinction
I am in a tree. I am dressed in my usual Assassin robes. I am not really lucid, though I do remember the goal I had for the dream. The goal is to hunt poachers after reading an article about people poaching elephants for ivory got me pissed off. I look around and see I am in a forested area, standing on a large branch.

I look down from the branch I am standing on, and about 15 feet below me I see there are two men. Both of them are holding rifles and looking up at me. One of them is pointing his rifle at me, the other seems a bit more hesitant. The one pointing his rifle at me is laughing. He says it looks like someone has been playing too much Assassin's Creed and adds his little brat nephew plays video games. The other guy says he doesn't want to shoot a person. The one aiming his gun at me says he's going to bag himself an Assassin. Don't worry… no one will find the body. Just as he pulls the trigger to shoot me I jump out of the tree and land on him hidden blade first, killing him before he can kill me. The other guy takes a startled step backwards, he says he is there to hunt, not to kill any people. I ask what he is hunting. He doesn't answer, but he aims his weapon off to the right. I see what looks like a white tiger over there.

I tell the man he gets only one warning not to do it. He ignores me and cocks his weapon. I grab the rifle out of his hands and hit him with the butt of it. He falls over but gets up again, now pointing a hand gun at me. He asks what the fuck I did that for, he wasn't threatening me, just a dumb animal. His commotion alerts the cat and it disappears into the forest. The man is angry now, and he says that pelt would have fetched him a couple thousand dollars. I tell him to leave the animals alone. He says he sees I'm one of those bleeding heart animal lovers… well I'm about to have a real bleeding heart. He shoots at me. I actually deflect his shot with my hidden blade before burying that hidden blade in the man's chest. I hear a gunshot not far off. More poachers! I follow the sound of the gunshot. I look down off of a small cliff and I see a hunter has a white tiger cornered in a rocky area. I pull out a crossbow and aim at the asshole. Someone behind me tells me not to do it. She says she doesn't know why I am planning on killing that man, but… I interrupt her and say because he is a fucking poacher. I shoot him with my crossbow before looking to see who has told me to stop. There is a Templar standing behind me pointing a gun at me. I don't really care about Templars. I see movement in the trees and I head off after what I believe to be another poacher. He is crouched over an unconscious white tiger and has a knife. He hears there is someone behind him but clearly doesn't realize who. He is telling me that he's not going to ruin a single square inch of that pelt by shooting the cat. Just paralyze them… they'll die when you skin 'em. The Templar has followed me and stops short. Clearly disgusted, she asks if the man really plans on skinning that cat alive… He looks over, surprised to see the Templar and me. He asks who the fuck we are. I comment that he has done what I thought was impossible… he has gotten a Templar and an Assassin to agree on something… that being that he is an asshole. The Templar says asshole is too nice a word for this guy. He moves to cut the paralyzed cat but the Templar aims her gun and puts a bullet between his eyes. The Templar says she hates poachers more than Assassins… Well I hate poachers more than Templars. I wonder if there are any more poachers around, but I wake up before I can look.

02/10/13

Human Vampire
I am flying over the Nile river in Egypt, looking down at the green foliage and sandy beaches. I make note of the fact this is the first time for quite a while that I have been able to enter a dream through this method. I fly off over the desert towards the pyramids. I realize there are people following me on the ground. I identify them as Templars. I don't really want to deal with Templars right now. I remember a task of the month for DV, however, is simply to give a flower to the next DC I see. I fly back to the banks of the Nile and look for a flower. I find a pretty one and I pick it before flying back to where I spotted the Templars.

I scan them from above and select one that looks kind of hot. They are approaching me, but I ignore most of them and land directly in front of the one Templar I have chosen. All of the Templars surround me, there are about ten of them, but I am focused on the one. I walk over to him and tell him that this is all a bit awkward… but I think he's hot. I hand him the flower with a smile. He just looks confused. Another Templar grabs the flower away, throws it on the ground, and stomps on it a few times. He says it was probably poisoned. I tell him he's just jealous because he didn't get one. I figure I have completed the task, so I focus on opening a portal to somewhere I need to be. A portal opens, and I go through it before the Templars can interfere. I close it immediately behind me. I find I am now on a dark street. There are several people there. They are in a fight. One of them looks like Alex O'Laughlin. He's so hot.

There are two other guys there fighting him, and they seem to be kicking his ass. I think that is strange since he looks like he did when he was a vampire in Moonlight, he should be kicking ass. Mick's ex-wife, Coraline, is also there. I wonder if this is the brief period where Mick was human but got in a fight with a couple of vampires. Coraline says she will give them what they want if they just leave Mick alone. Mick has just gotten thrown up against a dumpster, so I get between him and the vampire thugs and tell Coraline not to give them anything, I have a different deal for them… leave Mick alone and I leave them in one piece. One of them, a vampire that has one solid black eye, sniffs the air and tells me to stay out of what I don't understand. I tell them not to underestimate what they don't understand. The vampire says he's a little hungry anyway and grabs me like he thinks it will be easy. I twist his arm around and kick him away from me, which clearly takes him by surprise. I tell them it is their last chance. The vampire with one eye says to kill the fucking bitch. They both come at me. I form Witchblade into a sword and remove both of their heads, both heads have a permanent look of shock on them. Coraline asks how I did that, how could any human do that. I go over to Mick and focus some healing energy into him. I remember he will be a vampire again before too long, but for now he needs healing. I am gazing into Mick St. John's eyes when I wake up.

01/30/13

Secret Rescue
I am flying over the Nile, phasing into a dream. I land on a beach and wait for the dream to stabilize. I realize I am not alone. There are numerous people all over the place. They are all attacking me. I am surrounded by and being attacked by Templars. I focus on opening a portal to a Dark Tower dream. A portal opens, I go through it and close it immediately behind me to block them from following. On the other side I am walking the street of a city I don't recognize. It looks like a city out of Assassin's Creed: Revelations.

I wonder how I ended up here when I was aiming for a Dark Tower dream. I walk down the street when I see someone hidden behind a merchant booth signaling to me. I go over to the woman behind the booth, and she indicates she wants to get farther away from the main thoroughfare. She seems really worried or scared about something. I quickly look around, wondering if she has something to do with the people that attacked me on the banks of the Nile. We appear to be alone. She says she has something to tell me, but I have to promise to hear her out before doing anything. I agree to that. She says she knows I have been looking for the person in the market district that has been reporting Assassin activities to the Templars… she pauses, then says she is that person. She backs away from me and quickly adds that she doesn't want to, but they have her daughter and will kill the girl if she doesn't cooperate. She looks around nervously, she also seems unsure about me. She says she just wants her daughter back safely. I ask if she knows where the girl is being held, she says in the large house at the end of the street… yes, the one surrounded by Templars. She asks if I will get her daughter back. I tell her that's the plan. She says she has to disappear, if a Templar sees she is talking to an Assassin they will surely kill her daughter. She heads the other way quickly and disappears around a corner. I go back to the street and look to the end where there is a home that looks much larger than the other buildings, almost like a small palace. There are Templars guarding it.

I wonder where in there the girl might be. I don't want to be seen until she is safe or they might realize what is going on and either move or kill her. I go down the street but I turn off before getting in direct sight of the Templars. I look along the side of the building, looking for a way in. About halfway up there is an open window. I shoot a tendril of Witchblade out like a grappling hook and use it to climb up the side of the building to the window. I find myself in a bedroom that is currently unoccupied. I wonder where I should start looking for the girl. I peek out into the hall. I see the girl isn't content to wait to be rescued, she is creeping down the hallway. I see the resemblance between her and her mother, she looks like she is about 10 years old. She sneaks by the door I am peeking out of. As she passes the next door, however, it opens. A Templar guard steps out and grabs her from behind. He says he should cut her open right now. She bites his hand to try to make him let go. He gets mad and says no one said the kid couldn't be injured. He has a dagger out now. To get his attention off of her I tell her she shouldn't bite that thing… it's probably diseased. She says he is a disease and stomps on his foot. He shoves the girl down and attacks me with his dagger. He practically impales himself on my hidden blade… I tell the girl I'm there to get her out, her mother sent me. She comes with me back the way I came from, and I use Witchblade to lower us back out the window. We disappear into the city before any other Templars are aware she is gone. I go back to the place where I met with the woman, and she is clearly relieved to see her daughter safe. She says she can tell me a lot about what the Templars have been doing… but I am about to wake up, so I tell her to tell one of the others if she wants, I am unable to stay. I wake.

01/27/13

Dark Tower Fail
I am in the sky flying over the Nile river in Egypt. I land on a beach near the river and wait for the dream to stabilize. I think I would like to go for a Dark Tower dream. So I focus on opening a portal and I go through it. On the other side I don't recognize where I am as a scene from the Dark Tower. I am in some kind of underground temple ruins that look like something out of a Tomb Raider game.

I wonder if this is some variation of the Dark Tower world or if I have ended up somewhere else entirely. I go with the Tomb Raider game, and I do a couple jumps from one pillar to another in order to keep off of the ground. I see there are people on the ground, they seem to be looking for something. I get the idea I'd rather not be seen by those people. I see an exit passage over a door at the far end of the room. A couple jumps get me to the passage, though I succeed in knocking some debris down as I go. Some of the people down below notice that, though they don't actually see me. One of them says they are not alone in here… another says there is an Assassin here… my thought is there is no one here but Lara Croft. I do a final jump to reach the passage over the door, though I almost miss the jump. I scramble up the edge feeling a bit less graceful than Lara Croft right now. I hear the people behind me talking about finding something before the Assassin. Assassin? Maybe I'm not playing Tomb Raider… I follow the passage over the door and drop down on the other side. There is a long hall that looks like a place that would be perfect for a trap. I think maybe I can avoid setting off any traps by not touching anything. I fly down the hall, being careful to touch nothing. The hall ends at a dead end. I think that is a bit strange. I hear an explosion behind me. Whoever is trying to get here first is behaving like a bull in a china shop. I look closer at the dead end and see there is a keyhole of some kind. It looks about the right size for a hidden blade… which I use to open it. A slab of concrete slides to the side. In the next room there is a treasure chest in the middle of the room. I open the chest and find there is a glowing orb inside it.

I wonder what that is. I hear voices behind me, the people from the other room are almost here. I grab the orb and slide it into a pocket on my robes, which are my usually Assassin's Creed style robes. Now to split. I focus on opening a portal to my intended Dark Tower dream. A door forms, standing on its own in the room. I open it just as the people reach the far door and see me. I hear one of them calling to me to stop right there, but I go through the door and slam it in their faces…

Note: I woke up at this point, but actually succeeded in a WBTB lucid dream that continued the same dream…

House of Spiders
I am in a strange house, I have just come through a door. The door closes behind me and then disappears. I wonder where I am, I pause to clear my mind. I know I am dreaming, and I know I had been looking for a Dark Tower dream. I feel the weight of something in one of the pockets of my robes. I look at it and find it is a glowing orb about the size of a baseball. I put it back. I look around the house. It looks like some kind of haunted house, and I soon remember that Jake had to pass through such a house in order to join Roland and the others.

I wonder if in this case he will need help or if I'm just here to make sure it's ok. I remember MoSh. I open one of the doors off of the hall I am in with the intent of finding MoSh. The door opens on a library, and I see MoSh in the other room. He is standing near a book case full of old books, he is paging through one of them. I try to get his attention, but he seems quite distracted by the book he is reading. There is someone behind me. I turn around, certain I will see someone there, but there is no one. I go down the hall and reach a landing that overlooks what must be a living room. There are people down there, they are looking around as if confused. One of them says it doesn't matter where they are, find the fucking Assassin and get the artifact back. I recognize the people as Templars. I think they want the orb in my pocket. I am watching them when a big fat spider drops down on the railing right in front of me. Spiders don't normally bother me, but this is a fat reddish one that is the size of a softball… and I am immediately grossed out.

I take an involuntary step back, issue an involuntary "Gah!" as I trip over my own feet and fall on my ass. The Templars down below hear me and one of them points and announces to the others that the Assassin is upstairs. They head for the stairs, I don't want to bother with Templars right now. I go back to the door where I saw MoSh. I get lost. I wonder how I managed to get lost when the hall had seemed so simple before. It's like the whole place has changed itself. I am in a long hall with doors on both sides. There is a Templar right in front of me, he is demanding that I hand the artifact over. Something drops on my shoulder. I practically freak out, it is one of those spiders! The Templar demands again that I hand it over… so I grab the spider and hand it to him, desperate to have it off of me. The spider feels hairy, wiggly, and gross. The surprised Templar takes the spider, then instantly drops it and steps back with a cry of shock and disgust. I don't have time to view his reaction, there are more spiders. I want out of there. I run down the hall, dodging a couple more spiders as they drop from the ceiling. I see Jake at the end of the next hall, groping at a hole in the ground. There is a door at the end of the hall that seems to be glowing. The walls of the house are moving all around me. I see figures emerging from the walls, and a large face at the end of the hall. The face has sharp teeth and it looks hungry. As if to prove that it devours the Templar in one bite. Jake is freaking out, but he has apparently gotten the key. The door at the far end of the hall opens. I head down the hall as hands reach out of the wall, groping for Jake. I use my Witchblade sword to cut the hands off of the walls as Jake finds a wall of solid dirt behind the door. More hands grope for Jake and me. I cut them off as they reach for us. A door has opened in the end of the hall. A large plaster figure is coming from the end of the hall, reaching with huge hands. Something flies in from the door… something invisible… passes by me in a rush of air and collides with the figure with a loud crash. I give Jake a boost forward (up?) through the door. Roland grasps his hands and pulls him through. He reaches back for me, but I don't make it before I wake up.