literature

Crystal of Dreams

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    I enter the little shop, and it catches my eye immediately. That crystal, so square in its pointedness, so blue in its paleness, I know that crystal, I am sure of it, for I have seen it many times before. I can still remember when first I saw it, in fact.

    I was lazing one day by the riverside, under a large green leaf for shade, when I heard the sound of something approaching, like a boat paddling up the river. What I saw though, glimpsed through the twisted vines, was no boat though. It was some sort of serpent, or large eel, with grey leathery skin, with it's neck stretched upward and its head towering over the tall jungle trees. It was moving quickly, unnaturally so for something of such a size, splashing me with a great torrent of water as it passed by, so that I only saw for a moment that a solitary figure, human probably, sat atop its head, and that it was being followed by some sort of black flock, or swarm, though those horrible things could be called neither insects nor birds. I was intrigued, naturally- who was riding this strange creature, and what was chasing him or her, and why?It wasn't too much trouble to find my pack- the splashing waters had had only pushed it a few feet away, but a bush had stopped it. I checked inside- my few meager possessions had been protected from the water. And so I set off on foot, following the river, winding my way around trees and over rocks, not knowing to where it would lead. After about an hour, though, following the river became a bit problematic. The river came out of a large metal pipe, slightly rusted, and this pipe came out of a high stone wall, and the wall surrounded a city, a city that I never even knew existed, having never traveled so far north. Curious as ever, I made my way along the wall. Perhaps I could find a way to enter the city, and come out on the other side, or maybe the city wasn't as big as it had appeared. I did find a gate eventually, but it was guarded by two men, wearing strange suits of red and blue vertical stripes that covered their entire bodies. I asked them if they could enter the city- they remained silent, crossing their spears before the open gate. I asked them who they were- they remained silent. I asked them if they could speak- they nodded, but remained silent. This was getting annoying. But then, fortunately, a strange fellow came along, walking along the cobbled road toward the city. This fellow was no man, but a clock, a red cloak, with arms and legs and eyes and a mouth, and he strolled right up to me.

    "Silly boy, the guards won't talk to you. You're just a human, nothing more. But tell me, what brings a human to this place?"

    "I was following someone, a person riding on a grey eel, and chased by black things, I don't know what they were but they were made of night, if that makes sense."

    "Ah, that must have been the Queen. Yes, I don't suppose they would have let her in either, even if she was being chased. Not a metalwalker, you see. Not like me and these two stripeys here. And she probably couldn't make it back to the river, no that wouldn't work. I suppose she must have taken the bridge then, yes, that would be the clever thing to do."

    "Where is this bridge?"

    "Well, if you follow the path I just came down, and take the first right, then keep heading north, you'll be sure to find it. I don't see that it matters, though. No human can cross the bridge."

    "Thank you, sir," I bowed to the metalwalker before running off.

    He said that no human could cross the bridge, but I had already come this far, and I didn't suppose there would be any harm in trying. His instructions were easy enough to follow, and I soon found myself outside of the jungle, instead of the think luscious colors to which I was accustomed, the trees here were scraggly, green, and flowerless, ugly things. The trees came to an end, though, at a vast gorge, deeper and darker than any could fathom, and standing before the gorge was a stone pedestal, with the gleaming torso of a metal man, head and arms and hands and all, sticking up from it. Coming closer, I could see a complex series of concentric circles and strange symbols on the face of the pedestal, but before I could examine it further, the face of the metal man came to life.

    "You there, human, what are you doing here?"

    "I'm here to cross the bridge. Where is it?"

    "I am the keeper of the bridge, this pedestal is what allows the bridge to form. I'd advise that you keep away, though, no human can operate the control panel, and you might damage it if you tried."

    "And what if I did damage it?"

    "Then it would be damaged. Nobody could use the bridge."

    "But isn't it true that nobody can use the bridge already?"

    The bridge-keeper was silent.

    "I'm going to try, then. Any objections?"

    The bridge-keeper still stood silent as I put my hand on the panel, pressing symbols and spinning circles with no rhyme or reason. It took a few minutes to find the right combination, and when I did a large beam of light shot from the back of the pedestal, hitting a pedestal on the other side. I tried to reach my hand into the light, but my hand stopped against it's surface. The light was solid, it was the bridge.

    "Bridge-keeper, before I cross I have a question. Did the Queen try to cross this bridge?"

    "Yes, but I wouldn't let her touch the control panel. Her mount stretched her across the chasm with its long neck, but it had to stay behind, and the Dark Ones got it."

    Climbing on top of the beam of light, balancing miles above the chasm's floor, I made my way cautiously across. On the other side, I found myself at the base of a dirt road, leading back to the river, near the source. And oh, what a glorious source it was. There was a castle in the sky, entirely of light, like the bridge but on a massive scale. An entire castle, a palace, with thick walls and high towers, and water coming from its base. Yet even with all that light, there was still darkness, the black creatures I had seen before, swarming all around it, pressing against it with all their might. And I could see that even though they had not yet made their way inside, that the walls of light would not keep them out forever. Still, I approached, not knowing what I would do when I reached it.

    The Dark Ones immediately took notice of my presence. What, they thought, was a mere human doing here? Had the Queen summoned him? Was he some secret weapon? The Dark Ones approached, surrounding me, whispering amongst themselves as they dared to see who would come closest to this strange human. Finally, they chose to spoke in resounding unison:

    "Who are you?"

    Unafraid, I answered them:

    "I am a traveler."

    "But who are you?"

    "No more than a traveler."

    "And why are you here?"

    "To see the Queen."

    "You are a little too late then, for soon there will be no palace, and no Queen."

    "You are wrong."

    "And why is that?"

    "Because I will stop you."

    The Dark Ones were astounded. For the first time in their long lives, they had encountered something unknown to them, for no creature had ever challenged them with such confidence. Maybe this human was some sort of secret weapon, they thought, summoned by the Queen. Whispering again amongst themselves, they crafted a clever plan. Soon they would destroy the palace, so why not let the human enter? When the palace of light shattered, the human would fall, and surely die. And so they flew off, perching in the trees.

    "You shall enter, traveler."

    I made my way to the luminous stairs and into the palace, which was not really very palace-like on the inside. Save for a single walkway, the entire palace was hollow, and the water of the river seemed to flow from every wall, as if the walls themselves were crying. At the end of the walkway, leading to the palace's very center, the queen knelt, indescribable in beauty. Before her floated a vast blue crystal, towering above her to fill most of the massive palace. It appeared that she had been praying to it, but as she heard my footsteps she turned around.

    "Who are you, and what brings you here?"

    "I am just a traveler. I saw you by the river, and followed you here. I wanted to help you escape the Dark Ones."

    "Well, it is too late now, but I suppose that I could at least reward your courage for coming here, and perhaps my legacy will live on through you. Standing, she put her hand to the crystal before her, tearing a piece away. This piece shifted and changed, forming the shape of the larger crystal from whence it came. Threading a string through it, she placed it around my neck.

    "You shall be my last knight, and this crystal shall be both your shield and blade. Wield it with honor, and wield it for good."

    As she finished speaking, the entire palace began to shake and shatter, and I soon found myself falling. But then, I woke up. As I went about my boring "real" life, the crystal remained, and continued to fall. It splashed into the river, and was propelled by the tidal wave created by the falling light. It ended up in a far-off swamp, where it was found by a vampire, who took it home and his it away in a wardrobe, planning to give it as a birthday gift to his eldest child. And so it was that when next I dreamt, I found myself in a vampire's wardrobe, still wearing the crystal around my neck. It was always this way, whenever I woke up the crystal would remain, being passed along to some strange new place where I would then find myself, lost and confused upon falling asleep. I ended up at many terrifying and fantastic places, like the Junk Carnival, a circus constructed entirely from garbage that a pair of rogue metalwalkers used to lure children in and eat them, the Kingdom of Midd, a strange land plagued by ghosts, the Crystal Globe, where the people never ceased dancing, and so many more. Still, this transportation was not the crystal's only power, and I need never fear. For one thing, the crystal cloaked me in a barrier of light, protecting me almost completely from all who would wish me harm. For another thing, in times of distress, the crystal would grant me access to powerful magic, which I could then use at any times afterward by speaking the word I was thinking of when first I used that power. For example, when I was trapped on a sinking boat, I thought "I wish I could fly like Tails (the Sonic character)", and so I began to fly, and could fly at any time afterwards by simply saying "Tails". That crystal and I went on many adventures for many years, fighting the forces of evil, but then, and I can't remember exactly when, they suddenly stopped. In fact, at that time, my dreams stopped entirely.

    But then, I entered that shop, and after so long I saw that crystal again. It was that exact crystal, the one from my dreams. I was sure of it, and gladly bought it, despite my mom's complaints about me wasting my money on such a useless thing. And now the crystal hangs by my bed, and I can dream again, this time steering my own path. And although the crystal no longer protects me in my dreams, I am more than capable of fending for myself thanks to all that I learned through my many adventures. And in the real world, I need not fear, for crazy as it may seem, I can always feel that crystal watching over me.
A true story that will probably make me seem insane, if I do not seem so already
© 2014 - 2024 Dragonic-Paradox
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nosirrah123's avatar
This was simply amazing.

The only two criticisms I could possibly give are that the reference to Tails seems oddly out of place, and that this isn't going to be a series.

You're amazing at creating these fantastical worlds that just suck the reader in. You're a fantastic writer, and I plan to continue reading your work as long as you write it.

You're also improving exponentially with everything you right.