From alt.pub.dragons-inn Sun Oct 16 11:51:24 1994 Xref: netcom.com alt.pub.dragons-inn:7810 Path: netcom.com!netcomsv!decwrl!koriel!cs.utexas.edu!howland.reston.ans.net!gatech!usenet.ufl.edu!cybernet.cse.fau.edu!motherc From: motherc@cse.fau.edu (Christopher Motherway) Newsgroups: alt.pub.dragons-inn Subject: [DreamQuest] Knight of the lost soul Date: 14 Oct 1994 17:20:30 GMT Organization: Cybernet BBS, Boca Raton, Florida. Lines: 155 Message-ID: <37meku$eqg@cybernet.cse.fau.edu> NNTP-Posting-Host: mercury.cse.fau.edu X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.2 PL0] (When last we left Lance and Blaze, their spirits were floating high above Generica one fateful night...) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - "It...is...beautiful", was all the knight could say. Blaze smiled and said, "It gets better..." Blaze then started to float even higher and towards the north. All Lance could do was hold Blaze's hand tightly and watch as Generica grew smaller and more distant behind him. Ahead of him, the land stretched out almost endlessly. From this height he could easily re-trace the path to Kassandra, or at least as far as the mountains. Suddenly, like a hawk, Blaze took a sudden nose-dive, down to a canyon many miles north-east of Generica. Lance's stomach would have lept to his throat, but, as it was, his stomach (and his throat, for that matter) were still lying in bed in the Dragon's Inn. He did feel a bit frightened as he and his mate swooped through the canyon. They followed the walls of the canyon all the way through, weaving around like the best of seamstresses. Blaze looked over to see Lance's eyes as wide as a child's, taking in every sight in sheer wonderment. Her heart filled with love and satisfaction. Seeing him this happy made her love for him expand. Upon exiting the canyon, Blaze started towards the ocean. "Unbelievable," cried out Lance. "This land is more wonderful than I ever imagined!" Blaze said, ~That is because you are looking at it through your heart, beloved." "Yes. I suppose I am. And you...you look more lovely than ever! I only wish that, when I return to my body, I could always look at you through my heart." "Worry not about that, Lance. Just, as Andrea once put it, enjoy the ride!" Over forests, creeks and open land, Lance did just that: enjoyed the trip and took in the view. He recognized the small forest that he and Blaze rested in just before the Housestorming. He noticed the creek they traveled along with Andrea, Sheryl and the gorup who went to find them. He saw several other cities, including Specifica of Cod. Then, they started flying over the ocean. The couple flew within a few meters of the surface, which reflected the Primus moon's briliance. Lance swore that he had seen a number of fish coming ever so close to his outstretched hand, and he laughed a child's laugh. Blaze was tempted into taking him under the waves. Spirits can do that, and can spend a good while exploring the waters below. She had done it many times herself. But, with Lance's soul in tow, perhaps it was better to stay above-water. The places Lance and Blaze went on their joint-soul-walk would probably take several scrolls to fill. But, the heart of this story begins as the moons started to sink low into the west. Lance felt tired. And, for being his first soul-walk, Blaze was surprised that his strength didn't give out a long time ago. She decided to bring him high above Generica again before bringing his soul back to his body. The two lovers floated high and watched as the sun started to peek above the eastern horizon. They had watched many sunrises and sunsets before, but to see it at such a height was something more wonderous by far. Lance, still having a tight grasp on Blaze's right hand, reached for her other hand and turned her to face him. Lance then leaned over and kissed the archmage. Suddenly, it was as if she was entering his mind. All that he know was being merged with all her knowledge. And Lance was not certain he could handle it. Blaze pushed Lance back with her left hand, bringing Lance back to "reality". Panting, since she had felt the melding as well, Blaze said, "I am sorry. I should have told you; any intimate contact for an extended period of time, and the two souls could become one in the same, inseperable." "I am sorry, too, Blaze. I...did not seem to have the strength to break free..." "You are weak, Lance. We must return to our bodies now. I must warn you that this is the most difficult part. A soul without magic accompaning it would not wish to return to its body. Thus, the soul resists when it is getting closer to the body. To counteract, you must do as you did when your soul left: think serene thoughts and concentrate on those thoughts. So, close your eyes and let not your thoughts vary in the least from that thought." Lance nodded and said, "Thank you, Blaze, for such a wonderful night." He then closed his eyes and let his mind drift to the field he was dreaming of earlier in the night. Blaze concentrated as well. She should not have kept him out this late. His soul was very weak, thus making it a little more challenging to bring it back to its body. She was still rather strong, though. She felt that she could handlee the return as long as Lance concentrated. She started a head-first divee down to Generica. The resistance started almost immediately, subtile at first, but growing ever stringer as the souls drew closer to the city. Blaze showed no sign of fatigue. She was still making progress, slow as it was. She knew that the resistance would ease, slightly, when they get to their bedroom. Lance's thoughts were completely on the dreamscape he had made. He, too, felt the resistance growing upon his body, the strain of his arm being pulled along by Blaze. But, just like when Bevillsca tried an attack on Wolverton a few months after he became a Royal Gaurdsman, he did not think of the odds, just the orders given. The sun was about to start shining over the walls of Generica. Blaze and Lance were directly over the Dragon's Inn. It would not be long now, Blaze thought. Just the upstairs room and then... Lance's concentration intensified. The power of his soul's resistance was nearly unbearable. Had it have been his real arm, it would have been torn from its socket by now. He dared not deviate from the image in his mind. The image of the field, his wooden sword, his father laughing as he played with the soon-to-be knight. His father... He was speaking to him. Not to the young Lance in his dream. To him! "Lance......Lance.....come here, my son.....my knighted son..." "Fa-....Father?" This was all that was needed. The resistance suddenly doubled, pushing Lance's spirit higher above and dragging Blaze's with him. Blaze tried desperately to counteract, grabbing Lance's arm with both hands. But she was weakened by the initial return. All of her strength was centered on trying to pull Lance back down. She could feel her grip slipping away... Lance tried in vain to get the image back in his mind. But the panic created by the break in thought was difficult to ignore. He, also, felt his firm grasp starting to give way... "LAAAAAAANCE!" screamed the mage as her hold on Lance's soul left her. She saw it flying upward, spinning around in mad fashion. She wanted to persue, knowing that the soul might slow down after a while, but she was weak, and she could feel herself returning, instinctively, to her body. Lance could not see anything. He was till trying to recapture the image that left him, in hopes that he could return by his own power. The spinning of his soul, compounded by his already weakened state, was too much for Lance to take. His thoughts turned blank. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Blaze was slow waking up. She was quite weakened by the return. But no sooner had her body and soul rejoined when she thought of Lance. She turned to the body laying beside her. Her Lance, her wonderful knight, was gone. The body still lived, but would not accept nourishment. And, without the soul, it would not awaken. The young mage placed her arms around the body and cried into his chest. She knew his soul was amongst the others in the realm of the dead. She also knew that escaping there was a difficult task indeed. She did not cry long, though. She knew, somehow, that he was with someone he loved. And that that person could help him in returning to his body. Somehow, she just knew it. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - "Lance! Lance, my boy! Get up, Lance!" Lance stirred. The voice was familiar. It was the same voice that held him together between the time that his mother died and when he was knighted. His eyes fluttered open. As his vision cleared, he stared up at a face. A face unchanged since two years before he left Wolverton. In disbelief, he could only mutter one word... "Father?" TO BE CONTINUED - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Chris Wolvie motherc@sunrise.cse.fau.edu Disclaimer: I'm the overturned gas truck on the inforamtion superhighway. ============================================================================== Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton (The Rat's Mouth), Florida ============================================================================== ADMIN: Hey, 'Raelf (of 'Raf or Lex) e-mail me, bud. We have things to discuss.