1977 - Part II Dream--01/26/77
We are in Sorceror's House: Don, Jody and myself. Arthur and Breane have gone back to our world, with Morgana and Victoria in tow. We three have decided to breach the mirror. Don is cooly assessing the situation. He says that it involves an entirely different magickal universe, perhaps the same universe that Hellmann is attempting to conquer, but that this universe is based on a kind of illogic coming out of the elements. We're sitting in fromt of a crystal bowl and the room is bathed in reddish light. Jody is dressed in pure black, her hair is long and her hands are gloved in black. Don is in silver and black, and I am in blue, black and silver. Don is explaining that the magickal world that we'll be entering is of a higher octave than our own -- we have to be careful or else vibrations of our magick could severely disrupt the entire flow of that universe. Our magick, then, is less pure. The three of us enter the mirror and find ourselves falling, very slowly, in space. Don asks us to form creatures as vehicles. He chooses a serpent with the legs of a cat. Jody chooses a bird-like blue creature with a beak and the face of a lion. I create a black horse with red wings. The entire effect is overwhelming our minds, because we've not had ocassion to encounter such a place. Don gasps and says to the two of us to help him transform the reality to a more "realistic" phase. We do so and are standing in a huge hallway next to our creatures. The hall has patterns like a chessboard on the floor and mirrored ceilings and walls. There is a doorway at the far end. Jody's birdlion growls and the doorway opens, but there is nothing there. We walk through it, but a sense of nausea comes over us. I see Don and Jody collapse and quickly transfer to the opposite end. As I do so, I see Don and Jody and our mounts vanish -- and the dream ends
Dream--01/27/77
I am in an auditorium in the house where we were before. There is a ledge above the gallery and I am crouched on it, looking down on an empty stage. Suddenly there are voices and beings begin to enter the theater. They are all dressed in bright colors and they are not of only earth. There is a silver man with green hair and he has four arms; each of the arms are of different lengths. Sitting next to him is a being of indeterminate sex wearing a long golden robe cinched at the waist with a black cross. There is a set of triplets, women, with slanted eyes and an eye in the center of their chest; these women are bald and their hands have only three fingers. And there are others, some odd-looking creatures, some more humanoid. It is apparent some sort of ceremony is about to begin. I am just above the line of lights near the ceiling so that I cannot be seen. Hellmann suddenly appears on stage like some bizarre MC. He is dressed in black and white and a black cape. He begins talking in some odd tongue and the lights dim. The entire crowd seems to be responding -- like the old RC masses -- to certain of his phrases, but it is all preset. Suddenly the curtains on the stage part and there in cages are Don, Jody and their creatures. I wonder where my winged stallion is and as I do so, it speaks in my mind, telling me its location. Below, Hellmann is almost lecturing, pointing first briefly to Jody, then lingering for quite a time on Don. He laughs. Don and Jody appear to be lethargic, doped perhaps, and Hellmann widely spreads his hands and brings them together sharply and their creatures vanish. And I know that they are dead. I slip along the ledge to a window opening into a hall. I jump out and see several brightly dressed beings walking toward the entrance. The one at the end I hold by a binding spell and take his place. Inside, Hellmann is more or less boasting to the "audience." Suddenly Don is in my mind, "Your creature is free; can you aid us?" I respond, "How?" and he flashes a picture of their prison, an electromagnetic field of energy that shorts out their powers. I agree, and suddenly, as Hellmann is about to raise his arms again, I stand and loose a bolt of solid energy at the stage. At the same time, I invisibly send a sphere of magnetic force at the prison. Hellmann easily stops the first bolt but the prisonfield is disrupted. I send a call to my steed and leap aboard, flying above the crowd. Don and Jody have transferred aboard and we are working on a way out through the confusion. Don suddenly stops and looks at his hands: they are glowing with a total white brilliance. He says, "We've altered the flow." Below us all the gathered mages are loosing their magick upon us. He quickly tells Jody to bind, freeze their bolts -- time halts -- he flashes to me "When she releases their energy we'll be riding the bow wave of their magick - as well as the waters of time - whatever you do, do not stop for any purpose." He motions and Jody lets it go. And suddenly it is like a river rapids of magick and time. We are, barely, maintaining a balance astride of the energy of time and ahead of magickal destruction. Suddenly the stallion falters, Don yells, "Now," and grasping hands, we leap into the sphere of Don's spell -- and the dream ends.
Dream--01/30/77
We are in a bubble of light green texture surrounded, utterly, by blackness. Jody is hiccoughing for some reason and I am crouched. Don stands guiding the bubble. He has a puzzled look on his face. He says that it has been very complicated, too complicated. As he guides us into a state of calm and darkens the sphere even more, he begins softly chanting to himself, then growing louder: "Let the Dragon appear and show us beginnings." Before us, around us (as though we were in a 3-D movie) is a scene we've lived before, in New Orleans, at Hellmann's original sanctuary. It is the scene of Carol's death and Danielle's energy is taking her life, Hellmann is laughing - and seen in split/angle are the rest of us in various degrees of shock. Suddenly the scene goes infra-red and as Carol's body slumps to the ground, a circle of stars floats above her. In the hallway Hellmann laughs and I "destroy" him. Again is a strange infra-red effect above his body and a shape which suddenly squares sharply into a pyramid shape. Suddenly the scene is kaleidoscopic, showing first the five-sided mirror of destiny, then the rest of Sorcerors' House, then Don's altering of our reality into the chessboard hallway. Finally, it stops, the last picture being the Temple of the Phoenix - and then blackness. Jody is questioning Don. He seems a little confused and I am completely bewildered. Jody says, "The structure of all this is familiar, but I don't know what it is..." Suddenly the bubble weaves, like a ripple through water, and a form in darkness stands. It is Danielle, and she is as we first met her. She gazes at me and there is a laugh in her eyes. "You know what this means, don't you?" I ask. She nods, a smile. "Will you tell us?" She nods. "It means that Hellmann is going to use your own magickal world to devolve you, and to destroy you." "Look!" she commands, and the scene shows Hellmann's sanctuary. Two figures, Art and Breane, are materializing in the courtyard as the dream ends.
Dream--11/25/77
There is a maze around us -- mirrored--Don & Jody and I are just arriving--tumbling from out of a limbo area, we flare into the maze. We land roughly, bowling up against the heavy mirror plates. The maze's floor is carpeted in a pattern of blue and red birds. I sit up. Don's color is pale--a small stream of blood falls onto the floor from his left hand. Jody is unconscious. Somehow, we cast no reflections. I stand and am immediately aware that I too am wounded, bleeding from a gash on my leg. "No, its all wrong!" Don's voice comes from behind me. I turn. "Why?" Don is very agitated. "We should not, can not be here!" He stands and pokes, probes Jody. She is unharmed but yet unconscious. He touches the glimmering mirrors on the walls. "We've blended" his voice, defeated. "Hellmann has won." I ask the meaning of that--he points at the walls. "We're inside the fabric of the mirror--whatever way we get out now cannot, because of the properties governing the mirror, be the same as our entrance--our world is gone." He stands and draws the outline of a book in the air-- it answers his call, appearing in his hand; old and dogeared, the title reads in French "Les Lumieres Noires." He sits cross-legged and murmurs--the book is suspended in mid-air--it opens and the writing glows. Jody mutters, awakens. She sees what Don is attempting and motions--she stands and seems far more regal than before and says, "Let luring spells now fall away, hide the truth no more; by virtue cast and unbridled love, let magick thunder as before!" Don is astonded by her words, then neither of us have time for shock. The mirrors all glow from within, and dimly I realize that the magick from the past is being compressed in this maze and Jody is doing it. Don, in front of me, is yelling at her , but she stands, hair being whipped by the forces, her gown brightening, glowing, brilliant. She turns to Don--super-imposed above her head and face are the features of a huge, shifting, mystical face. It is feminine, both Don and I are totally aware of that on a subliminal level--there is a noise, a sound of old Greek choruses chanting. The face moves to join with Jody's--in the glow, we can see her face shift slightly to accompany this face. Don yells, "Wait!" I stand impassive, noting, observing, computing. Jody turns and raises her hand. "No, you must go to Hellmann!" He shakes his head violently--her face blurs, the strange entity takes a brief command. "Yes, go NOW or all things end!" The face flows back into Jody's features and she places her hand on Don's cheek. "Now, my love, now we will see if a sorceress can best a goddess," and she vanishes. The maze dissolves around us--smoke billows and we are wrenched back into the room in Sanctuary. Don stares at the mirror, I pace and then speak. "Where is she?" "She knew the three of us could not return to this reality--she--sacraficed herself in the equation so that everything is as before, in out frame--except for her--she counts on us to free her." He produces the book--as he does so a black cape appears and drapes itself over his shoulders as the dream ends
Dream--12/08/77
In the air hangs half a heart and a sculling craft moving toward it. The craft is a hand - Don's hand moving through space - a light glows to our left. A creature shrieks and shrieks again. Butterflies are to our right. A shield as on a coat of arms appears out of the blackness before us. It shows a warrior on a battleground strewn with dead bodies. In the background is a mountain. Droplets of blood fall from the warrior, who is in black and blue armor. As they strike the ground, flowers spring from it. "The World Cries" is printed on the base of the shield. I am standing behind Don, projecting a shield before him as he works. He is searching for the eye, a window, to guide us through. The walkway we're on is stone; it is about 10 feet wide and a foot thick. There is night around us, above us. We are trying to ascertain if we are in "our" world or a duplicate or parallel. If we cannot find the window, the marker by which our laws, natural-magickal, operate then our journey ends here - in this nether-limbo of darkness. We try to keep any trace of our prior knowledge away - the darkness is a "blank page" - our memories would draw in a world but it would be false, not true. The sounds and sights are unconscious memories. Don is in his Roderick aspect, black velvet with silver trim, around his neck is a silver chain. His hands are bubbles of power and he is obviously carving the blackness. I am Shardow, but on my wrists are bracelets, wolf'shead bracelets of ruby and ivory. Suddenly Don halts; he kneels and his hands surge with effort. In the darkness a pinprick of light appears. When we left Sanctuary, all else was dark. We move toward that light. Don has not spoken; his face is almost gray with tension - but I can sense a fear, a reluctance in his manner. There is a sun, then two, three filling our space, shedding no light. A blimp passes above us; natives scream and fling fire at us - and then Stars revolving about us, constellations spinning. The Lendorik Watcher, the Well-Dipper's Lantern - constellations I know are not in Earth's sky. The revolving sensation ceases. We stand, like a diorama figure, out- "This is our reality." Don's first words. To our left rise the sails of the Falcon Dancer. We flash aboard and the quietude is noticeable. We are the only two on board - until we enter the morning room, where we used to have leisure. There is a pungent smell in the air, incense. Sitting crosslegged on the cushion is Breane. Silently she addresses us in our minds. We respond, or I do anyway. Don, morose, sits and stares into the brazier. I telepath a flood of information to Breane. So half of us live and half preserved," she speaks in my mind. She refers to Gina, to Art, to Jody and to the three of us. Don stands then, and from the book he quotes, "Vacuum contains storm and the storm contains vacuum; what is forshadows what is not; what dreams we have forge our Truth; what truth there is shapes our dreams." He pauses. "And that area barred to all is called the Lost Confusion." He turns to me. "Jody is in a vacuum - and Hellmann can control that vacuum, if he comes aware of it. This time we must defeat him, and learn that control. Jody holds back the vacuum from destroying our world, our lives. Hellmann believes we are dead, that our own magick destroyed us; to his awareness, we do not exist." I grasp his meaning - surprise is our ally, discovery our nemesis. I nod and Breane communicates an affirmative as the dream ends.
Dream--12/11/77
It is raining on Srourain. This is a realm of mystics, not magicians. We have come here for a weapon, a very special weapon. It is a poison, a magickal poison that grows only in things crystal. On Srourain is a special natural wonder, a waterfall made of crystal - all the movement of the falls is within the crystal structure, and an extract of the crystal falls is the base of this poison. Don is dressed in browns and I am all in blues. Breane is with us, dressed as a serving girl in leggings and a madras shirt. We are magickally disguised, our skins are olive with a tough leathery qualitiy to the flesh. The twin suns seem to cause that. Don says, "The crystal falls are guarded by a man known as Squire; he'll not be easy to defeat. The shrubs are overgrown and the terrain hilly as we approach the falls. There is a stone turret with slits in it standing about 80 feet into the air. Suddenly we are engaged - small, flashing woodslivers dart at us. Breane gives an odd muffled sound - shocking fright. I realize that the things are alive. Don casts a net into the air - it is mesh and is black. I recognize the spell; normally, Jody binds with Don on it and her presence gives a silver glow to the net. The mesh is effective but slow - as tho Jody's absence weakens Don's power. Finally, the rain of creatures ceases; he turns to me, "You saw?" I nod. "Come-" I walk to Don. "Let your soul reach out - the spirit-" I do so and can feel the magnet touch of his mind. "We've not tried this - add your spell to my spell." I do so, the net effect appears again, only a sparkling rich gray in colour. I know that my power now infuses the net; whereas Jody's strength added a binding element to Don's abilities, my strength adds a volatile element. Breane telepaths, but I am oblivious as the dream ends.
Dream--12/15/77
We have entered the glen near the crystal falls - rows and rows of triangular plants kneehigh surround us; our feet tangle every now and then. Breane and I are telepathing and Don is being still. We reach a clearing where there is another turret towering. Breane hisses. There is someone inside. He (it?) has seen us and moves away from the window slit. Don is in trance, trying to adjudge the element that we need from the number of elements contained in the crystal falls. A shadow - then looming above us is a man dressed in blue and white. He says, "I am Deliqui Abel - who're you?" Don is still in trance. I respond "We are craftsmen of space." There's a sensation of time twisting back on us. "You lie!" I nod. Don, awakened by the timeshift, stands; Delaqui Abel recognizes him. "Roderick" escapes his lips. Delaqui Abel is some 10 feet tall, his eyes are a soft blue, his hair light. Don produces a mirror from midair and catches the beams from the twin suns in it; instantly he transforms the light into a shield that renders all four of us invisible to other observers. Delaqui Abel lays aside his staff, and kneels on one knee. I am a little bewildered. Breane telepaths to Don a question. He responds in words, "Delaqui Abel serves the Squire of the crystal falls - just as he served Roderick on the coast years ago." Suddenly a woman with golden hair appears to our right; she is young and smallish. As she finishes appearing, a dark blur in the air appears; when the blur fades, there stands a young man with black hair and black in his eyes. I ask what it means, who are they, to Don. "You of all, should recognize them - you saved their lives in another place. They are my children - and they control the crystal falls." The dream ends.