BC dream, 9/8/2018

Before I woke up, I had a pretty crazy dream.  Now as I drink my coffee and wake up, as a writing exercise, I think I will tell you all about it.

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I had a dream.

In my dream, I was a Xianxia style new immortal, ignorant of the magical world.

I walked the streets of Ohio, where large portions of a city had been given to nature to be a new park.  Trees grew through the asphalt in places, and vines overran everything.

The land was covered in a hush, and the solemnity of death added to it.

Areas of the Reclaimed Wilds had been turned into cemeteries, allowing the dead to rest in nature, and ensuring that nobody could ever try turning the area into part of the city again.

I was traveling for a shortcut, and being curious, began to inspect my surroundings.  After happening upon an ornate mausoleum, I opened the door and took one step in side before a chill as deep as darkest Winter washed over my body like a freezing wave of the sea.

GET OUT

Every fiber of my being screamed that this was not a place for me, not the land where the living were welcomed.

I carefully backed up, bowed, and slowly shut the door.  Hatred remained on my skin, but I had taken the correct action and had escaped with my life...and my soul.

It was time to escape.  

Further up the street, I suddenly spotted a little boy.  "Little boy, are you lost?" I said.  "This is the land of the dead in Ohio.  The living should not be here."

"Where are my parents?" asked the boy.  He held out his hand.  "Will you lead me?"

"Yes," I said, and took his hand.  A feeling of death ran up my arm, and my  heart stopped.  I noticed the the emptiness in the boys eyes was small, but there, too late.  He was a revanant, a powerful spirit.

"Where do we go, mister?" he said.  Control of my body was gone.  I couldn't move a muscle.  The spirit held my soul in his little hands.

"I am sorry," I managed to say.  "You must stay here.  I cannot help you."

"You lied!"

"No, I was mistaken.  Please accept my apology."

The spirit's teeth pulled back, showing sharp, black teeth, and I felt the fear of impending soul death, but my conscience was clear.  Trickery would have won me nothing, so I had been  honest.

The boy-spirit leaned forward, as if to devour me, but suddenly his features reverted back to human and he started to cry.  "You are a nice mister.  Thank you for trying, mister."  With that, he released control over my body and soul, and ran away.

I blinked, not sure what had happened.  Ultimately, I could only assume that the boy was a brand new spirit, and had not yet been consumed with the anger and spite of his kind, the living dead.

In time, I left behind the Nature Santuary and the dead, but upon reaching my destination and asking the Ohio Witch for help, she gave me a medallion and sent me back into the Nature Sanctuary to fetch something for her in order to earn her help.

My family's medallion rested on top of the life-saving medallion the witch had given me, a charm to protect me while in the land of the dead.

Upon my travels down the silent, empty streets, I met a new spirit, a woman.  I had been in the Nature Sanctuary for too long, night was falling, and the world was taking on a dream-like haze.  The woman had dark hair and wore a hazy red dress.  She said, "Traveler, be careful to keep your charm, or the dead might eat you!"

I absently nodded, and my mind muddled, I touched my medallions, moving my protection charm above my family medallion.  It was no longer in contract with my skin.

Night deepened, and I became more confused.  My thoughts slowed, and I began to hear the whispers of the dead more strongly in my ears.  The spirit from before, the woman appeared at my side, speaking softly to me.

She gave me instructions, and I followed them, cutting my finger and feeding her a drop of my blood.

Suddenly, she screamed and fell back, her hair writhing and her skull visible through her skin, like she'd been struck by lightning.  "What did you do!" she cried.

Clarity hit me like a medicinal pill in the heart of spring, and I stared coldly at the twisting spirit.  "You tried to steal my immortal soul," I stated as fact.

"There is no way I should have failed!" wailed the spirit.  "The only way to avoid being possessed without the protection of a charm touching the skin is to have already been possessed within a day, but that is not impossible!  You would no longer have your soul!"

I briefly thought about the little boy and smiled, thanking the gods for my good fortune.  "What happened, spirit," I said.

"My possession spell reversed."  Her hate-filled eyes bore into me from the ground, but they had no power anymore.

"So you must answer me honestly?"

"Yes."

"And you belong to me?  You are my slave?"

"Yes."  The spirit bared her teeth at me, all past attempts of seductive behavior had been abandoned, but now that she was powerless, I was not afraid.

I thought back to my task from the Ohio Witch.  "Do you know where nightsblossom rose blooms nearby?"

"Yes."

"You will take me there."

"I must obey," grated the spirit.

Suddenly, another thought occurred to me and a sly smile crossed my face.  "Spirit, what is your name?"

"In death, I am known as Corner Spider."

"What were you known in life?"

"I do not know."

"Fine," I said.  "I am going to call you Mary."

"Do what you will," sad the spirit, her empty eyes flat.  She strained in place, but could not move, bound to my will by her own power.

I didn't dare hope, but I asked the question that had crossed my mind.  "Is there any treasure hidden nearby that the living do not know of?"

"Yes, but the dead are forbidden from telling the living.  It is one of our natural orders, the pact of the Nature Sanctuary."

My eyes glowed and even as night fell, the wails and screams of the dead coming louder and more often around me, I grinned.  "You will take me there, Mary.  Lead me to the treasure, protect me, and warn me of any harm, this I command you."

The spirit fell to the ground, writhing, fighting against my control, but she had fashioned the spell too well, binding herself completely.  She stood shakily, her hair blowing with wind that I could not feel and she grated, "Yes, Master."





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I just wrote this with no editing.  This is a dream I really just had, point for point, including the world building.

My brain is weird.