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I mentioned this dream in a brief way the first week I was on Lyst as part of one of my apologies. I asked then if anyone else had ever dreamt something similiar. So far only Adearis has said yes. I had read somewhere that falling dreams were common, and so thought nothing of them until the day I first played Myst. The beginning chilled me, but as it was only partially like and very brief, I attributed it to the commonness of these sorts of dreams. Then one day, I played Riven. Now I don't know what to think.

Between the ages of seven and twelve, I dreamt repeatedly of a star fissure.
At the core and center of every dream I would see myself as a grown figure flailing through space and stars, screaming into a over-full expanse of cloudy air. There was the sense of rushing wind, of pressure, and of an overly thick atmosphere that was breathable but felt like I could drown in it. "a gentle river?" Well it might have felt that way if I could have relaxed into it.

Some details would change from dream to dream. Sometimes a pretty lady in a dark-flowing dress would speak to me, an intenseness in the lines of her face. She faced me, yet I could not see her well in the deepening twilight. I could only just make out sandy rock rumbling under our feet, the roiling, blackening sky behind her. Her long hair would whip about her where it wasn't tied down. It was dark in that light, which only means it wasn't blonde or light brown. I could never quite hear what she said, for only the tone in which she spoke to me carried over the incredible din that surrounded us. She was adamant about me doing something I didn't want to do...like ...um...jumping off the cliff. Then she would disappear.

More often it was the dark-haired man. He didn't look much like Rand, excluding hair and general build. His facial features, what I could see of them, were different in some way. He would be dressed in a dark outfit and an large robe-like overgarment. I still remember how the edges of it would twist in the increasing wind. He would try to reason with me in an loud but earnest tone, knowing I was afraid. For from the first breath in the dream, I knew where I was. I knew that the fall was coming, and I would be panicking even as I tried to hear his words through the veil of my fear. It seemed to me he also was trying to convince me to trust him enough to jump into the fissure.

I would often look over the side as they spoke to me, peering into the elongated "pool of stars" at the base of the cliff. Then I would panic and take a fresh hold on what I was grabbing (seemed like more rock...but I am no longer sure)

Sometimes in the dreams he would leap and look back at me his expression urging me to follow, and then vanish (I never saw a book in my dreams). Sometimes he would even lose patience and throw me into the starry expanse first. I would fall screaming in fear and howling my sense of betrayal. I knew in some way that this was someone I trusted, that I liked. But I was so very afraid.

I had these dreams over and over again..always ending with me falling, screaming, crying into the star-lit blackness.

Then finally one day I had finally had enough. As the woman spoke to me I yelled back. "OK you want me to die. FINE!!!" and jumped off the cliff, trying to convince myself I would wake up before I hit something. I woke up as I fell, before I even truly "entered the fissure." For there had always been before this feeling of passing through a giant seal of hardened gelatine at high speed. thats as close as I can get to a description. The dream continued to repeat but now it was changing. They were less and less anxious as I became more and more willing to jump. By now I was actually starting to enjoy myself. The last few trips, I even started looking for familiar constellations. It never hurt...I never even hit the bottom.
The last time I dreamed it I no longer hesitated to follow. I smiled at him and jumped almost simultaneously as he did. He vanished before my eyes. Then there came the familiar rapid rush, the pressing through, the passage through stars and then...something new.
I actually landed on my feet. And it was somewhere strange...a giant purple-ish, greyish cool room. Something like stars were dim and undefined unbove me...barely visible in a dark expansive space. There was the man, looking at me. He was smiling. He held out his hand. I started to take it and................





....................it was over.




I never had that dream again. Odd eh? Not exactly like Riven..but close enough.