Pulled this one from another site:
vivid Dreams...
by
Roose Hurro » 09 Mar 2006 12:27
I've had dreams even more vivid than real life... so intense and detailed, they've made "real life" feel like a dream. Funny thing is, most of these dreams have been pure fantasy....
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The one I remember most (from many years ago) involved an Empire, protected by a magic Hedge that kept all enemies out... and I vaguely remember being a refugee... being very young, and carried in my mother's arms... fleeing one of these nations Beyond the Hedge, with both of my parents. We were let through a guarded Hedge Gate... my mother and father having asked for, and received, asylum... but we were not welcomed by the people of this Empire... because we were not human. Rejected... having given all they had to my survival... my parents, a few years later, died (I can't remember how)... and like Aladdin, I became a "street rat"... somewhat appropriate for a bestial creature, though I possessed the physical attributes of mammal, reptile and bird... looked nothing like a rat. I remember growing up... I had still been very young when my parents died... but time passed, and I remember going through puberty... surviving by my wits, and with the help of those few who showed me kindness. I spent a great deal of time living in the wilderness, teaching myself woodcraft... learning what was good to eat, how to make shelter, how to patch my clothing... maintaining my health and wellbeing, despite circumstances (healthy as the proverbial horse, strong as the proverbial ox)... and retaining the courtesy and fairness my parents had taught me, before they died....
I was very smart... very resourceful... and, through the years, I traveled around the Empire... visited... and was kicked out of... every village and town... knew how to reach anyplace in the Empire from any other place... knew the Hedge well, having traveled the roads running next to it... all the way around. I learned to recognize faces and names... and I remember this one man (this dream is from so long ago, I can no longer remember the man's name), a leader in one of the biggest towns... and I remember returning to this town, after spending two years circling the Empire, again... the last time, I had met a family, living in a rural area outside of this town, who had sheltered me... during a thunderstorm, I believe... but I had to pass through the town in order to reach their farm, given the direction I'd come from... and I met this same man, and I believe around four or five others... who stepped in my way, and made it quite clear... while glaring at me... that I was not welcomed again, and that I should turn and leave the way I had come... I made no mention of my desire to visit my friends, since I did not wish them to get into trouble for having sheltered me two years ago... and so, I turned to leave, planning to skirt the town, even though that meant a longer trip... but a man on horseback had just ridden up, and heard the last of the "conversation"... I believe he asked me my name, and I gave it... and realized, as the lead man and his cronies did... looking at the horse, and the man astride it... who this was. The man on horseback was the Emperor's Heir.
I seem to remember the Emperor's Heir (again, time has removed his name from my memory) briefly chiding the men for their mistreatment of me... but he focused his attention my way, and asked several concise, intent questions... which I answered honestly, truthfully... and with fairness and forgiveness. And... to mine and the townsmen's amazement, the Heir reached down, offering both a ride, and a position at the palace... to me, a lonely young nonhuman street rat and wanderer. I was so dumbstruck, the only answer I could give was to take the offered hand, careful not to do injury with my claws... and allow myself to be pulled up, and set on horseback behind him....
I don't remember much of that horseback ride, but I remember the palace... the time I spent learning there... how quickly I was accepted, not just because the Emperor's son was liked and highly respected... but because I proved myself worthy of this man's trust... and of his judgment of my worth. And then... the day came... when the Heir became Emperor, years later (I believe it was around ten years since I had been pulled from the streets)... I was no longer a teenager, but a mature adult, familiar with court life and procedure... and when the Heir became Emperor, I became his Right Hand... his most trusted advisor.
One of my responsibilities, as the Emperor's Right Hand, was to arbitrate disputes that could not be settled, by local magistrates, in the towns and villages of the Empire. And I remember being informed of a dispute... in that same town I had been in, on that fateful day. So, I returned... no longer the teenaged street rat, dressed in patched-together rags, but a member of the court... dressed in the robes of my office. Turns out the dispute involved the same town leader who had tried, with his cronies, to throw me out... all those years ago. Only this time, fear replaced the look of hate on his face... as the Emperor's Right Hand, I had the power to speak Law... the authority to make this man pay for how he had treated me. I knew it... he knew it. But I felt no desire for revenge... I lived by the ethics my parents had taught me... a code that had served me my entire life in this land. And I would not break the Emperor's trust by abusing my authority in such a base manner. Instead, I listened to all sides of the dispute... and by listening, and watching the others as they spoke, coupled with my sharp mind and observations... I made a judgment that was fair to all. And I remember the look of surprise, relief... and... a note of respect... pass across the town leader's face, as I graciously bowed... and made leave of the town, to return to the palace... though I do believe I made a short stop at the farm of that family who had helped me... and gave them my thanks in person.
Then, more time passed... I became well known, and respected for my fairness. I remember the day I received a report of a breach in the Hedge... I believe, on our southern border. And so, I arrived at the place, and met with the man who had discovered the breach. He showed me the breach... I examined it, very concerned... never in the history of the Empire had the Hedge ever been penetrated by hostile forces... but, in this one spot, the Hedge's perfection had clearly been disturbed. I hurried back to the palace, with confirmation of the report... and the knowledge we were headed for war with an enemy powerful enough to Breach the Hedge.
Further confirmation came not very many days later, when I woke in the night... to find a cloaked assassin, standing in the dark... off the end of my bed. But I was neither weak, nor afraid... only startled, and glad my nonhuman senses had woken me in time. The assassin pulled a blade, but I was first to attack... though I had no weapons, other than what nature had given me... and realized I wasn't wearing anything more than what nature had given me! But, my moment of embarrassment was very brief... I struggled with the assassin... took control of the blade... broke it... and the assassin ran. In the dark, and wrapped in that loose black cloak, I was never able to identify the nature of my attacker... who... or what... they were... but I now knew what had breached the Hedge... and why. I threw on a robe, one that had been draped over the footboard the night before... concerned, as I left my chambers... that I had not been the first one visited. I shouted for the guards... found the Emperor alive and well... but a search turned up nothing. The assassin was gone....
But, I remember going over my struggle with the assassin, in a meeting a short time later... and realized that I had been the main target... and that the assassin had most likely been instructed to flee if unable to complete its mission... so that its true nature could not be found by examination of its body. I know, if the assassin hadn't fled so rapidly, I would have killed it... knife or no, I had turned out to be the better and stronger fighter. So... all we had was the knife, snapped in two by my own hands. And so... from this incident, we prepared for war....
More time passed... several weeks of gathering and preparing a great army... I remember the Emperor, astride his horse... examining the troops... remembered the respect and loyalty of those men... knew them all (having been responsible for gathering and organizing them), and that not all of them would be coming back... but that they would die willingly for their Emperor... and I remember being worried, because the Emperor... my friend... the man who had raised me up off the streets... because he was leading this army... I feared for his safety. But... he would do no less than put himself at risk, rather than hide... rather than let others take a risk he was unwilling to take (he was NOT unwilling!)... to give his own life for his people, as the men under his command would give of their own, in return... if that was what it took.
And then... the Emperor, armored for battle, rode up to me... I wish I could still remember what he said, but I know it made me feel humble... and then... then he presented me with the badge of his Position... the Amulet worn around his neck... Symbol of the Empire... I was overwhelmed by the honor of what I had been given... gave thanks, and swore my oath of trust... and wished him victory, and a swift return....
I placed the Amulet's chain around my neck, and watched as my Emperor led his army off to war... unsure of what the future held, but praying for his safe return....
Then, the dream faded... and I woke up....