Castle of Dreams – Short Story

Her mother told her about this place. It was meant to contain the dreams of the Shamuk and their brethren. Long ago the castle stood as a monument of the Shamuk Empire and its might. During the Verdon period the Varians invaded and destroyed most of what remained of the empire, tossing their scriptures and enchanted tomes to the wind. As Talia stood there, in front of the four pillars that represented the seasons, she contemplated how the empire came to ruin.

Her mother would have disapproved of her coming here on her 16th birthday to rid herself of the nightmares that kept her from sleep. She would have preferred that Talia be a good peasant girl and go to the Lawdian mosque near the town square, which to Talia were a bunch of pagan forest worshippers. How could they help her against the evil demons that haunted her? They only knew how to pasteurize farmlands and would often obsess over nature. This time though she would finally rid herself of the demons for good, for the Castle of Shamuk was said to be a gateway between the living world and the world beyond.

The castle gateway, which sat beyond a lowered drawbridge, was designed after the legendary Shamukian Puergo, the master of dreams, and his sacred black jaguar Kethai. As she stood there with her mouth open stone jaguars guarded the gateway and filled Talia with a sense of wonder.

Inside the castle grounds there wasn’t to be impressed by. Abandoned carts and torn flags lay about the place. She would have to travel to the dungeon if she wanted to rid herself of the nightmares. She clutched the talisman she found in the well. The ancient green jaguar figure was likely discarded there decades ago but she found it comforting. It was her mother who taught her about the practices of Shamuk, that they carried these talismans to connect to the dreamscape. Except for the figure she only had her intuition, a feeling that told her she must proceed further.

The main castle chamber was even emptier than the courtyard. Dark stone hallways with no furniture or decoration. No lamps to guide her, only her instinct and fear compelling her on. This place didn’t seem like a place of dreams but she couldn’t give up now. Her eyelids were already starting to become heavy. Any energy she had was sapped by a lack of sleep and dread of even trying to sleep. She came this far to rid herself of her demons. She has to further, deeper into the castle if she wanted to be free.

A circular stairwell led her to another dark hall. She related to these empty, barren and gray walls. Coming to an intersection she felt the walls and heard a faint echo, a growl perhaps, which was less dreadful than the demons that kept her awake at night. They crawl in her mind especially in this blackness, their fingers reaching out…
In those shadowy halls she saw a shape, a silhouette of a four-legged animal. It ran down the adjacent hall and she gave chase, eager to discover what it could be. She ran and ran, huffing as she went. A chamber opened up in the endless dungeon as she breathed a sigh of relief. The animal that she saw was sitting at an altar. It disappeared suddenly like a vanishing shadow. Gone.

The altar was a raised dais with steps leading up to it. Talia cautiously stepped forward and saw that a small statue stood atop the dais. This had to be the dream master. But that animal…could it have been?

Her eyes adjusted and she could see a faint outline in the room. And the faint shimmer of fur huddled in the corner. “Who goes there?” She was struck with the deep base of the voice.

“My name is Talia. I am a mere peasant girl.” She kept her cool. “I am haunted by horrible nightmares.”

“And you came seeking respite. A deep sleep with nothing but blackness.” The fury creature stood, appearing more jaguar like. Kethai.

“Yes.” She pleaded. “My demons haunt me.”

The jaguar stepped closer with shimmering eyes. “I can show you a sleep without dreams but take heed. Without dreams you can never discover what you could become.”

She considered this for a moment and decided that she could survive this petty existence without the nuisance of the things that kept her up at night. “I am not afraid to sacrifice the one thing that limits my potential.”

“Oh no, dear child. I’m not sure you understand. You will forget your childhood. First you must decide if you wish to be banned from the dreamscape.”

The jaguar’s eyes glowed unnaturally and became opaque orbs. White. She pulled them closer. They were pearls and she was suddenly no longer in the dark. She was pulling her hands out of sand as she sat on a warm beach. The loose pearls were probably quite valuable. But this could only be a dream. The pearls weren’t real.

Little holes appeared around her. She reared back and fell. Little creatures, man shaped but with fur, crawled from the little holes and charged at her. Gremlins! What did they want? Their little tunics flapped as she grasped at her. She flung them off but they kept coming. “Get off!” She shouted but began chuckling when their hands tickled her. There were too many to fight but she realized they were trying to pick her up. They carried her quickly across the beach. The gremlins were too fast to wrestle against as she was carried closer to the water. They were chanting “amplectere te pueritia” over and over like a chorus of children. The sun was warm at least. The water was likely cold but she couldn’t wiggle her way free.

But it wasn’t as cold as she thought, not enough to wake her from this dream. They flung her into the ocean with little guffaws and chants. Her eyes blurred with sea foam and blue. When she was finally able to focus, she saw the emptiness of outer space around her. Blue turned to blackness as she gazed, weightless, at the cosmos of twinkling stars. She was above the spherical Amura and saw the massive continents and oceans within its impressive circumference, much like a pearl. Of course, it was a magnificent sight but she couldn’t help turn back around towards the darkness. Dark things had been her life. She had let it consume her and even now, when given the option, she could not look away from it.

Hopeless and alone she floated there, trying to make sense of the great expanse and the stars that might have formed shapes. And then she was falling, as if falling from a great height. Falling, falling towards Amura. The clouds in the upper sky brushed by her and she could see creatures soaring around her. Some were celestial dragons with their tails twisting and twirling around their sparkling bodies. Others were make-believe birds, like the phoenix and harpies with human bodies. This would all have been magical but she couldn’t help remember that this was all a dream.

Falling even faster she could see the continent Talia called home and the towns pockmarking the landscape. Mountains and rivers spread out as far as she could see, bending through the countryside. She could never had imagined seeing the land from so high up and for once in her short life she managed to smile and accept the exhilaration of this fanciful diversion, a fantasy of magical elements given to her by the Shamuk jaguar. What a gift, she thought.

The castle appeared just below. She desperately wanted to catch another glimpse of the phoenix but she was flung too hastily into the walls of the castle and plummeted into darkness, back into her body. Oh! And she awoke, a heartbeat later and her eyes opened. What a small journey but filled with wonderful visions that warmed her heart. And yet now she was back here. In this emptiness. Such a short time. Whereas before there was the horizon of infinity. The sun, gone. The sky, gone. All that color, gone. Blackness remained.

Out of it crept Kethai. “Did you see what you needed to see?”

“I…I can’t see anything anymore. All that brightness. All this darkness. I don’t think I have vision…at all.”

“You say that because you lack creativity, to make your dreams come alive? Or is it a lack of something else? Perhaps it is sadness. Perhaps a sadness that can be cured with jubilation. A celebration of the land of dreams.”

“Color. Only color can save me. How do I find it?” Talia’s eyes adjusted and she could see faint outlines again but she pined for more.

“Oh dear girl. It was always here. You just have to open your eyes and accept that you can’t always control what you see. Only how you see it.”

Yes, she decided. She would learn how to see the world with color again and face whatever comes her way. Even if it’s dark and scary. If she wanted a rainbow, she would have to suffer the rain.