Realm of Dreams

Part I

1

The world that she stood in was blurry, a disorientation that the human girl had never felt before. She didn’t know where she was, or how she had gotten to this out-of-place unknown. The sky, at least how she perceived it, was raven black. Thousands, if not millions of stars dotted the sky. There was no noise, except the calm thundering of the distant river.

The giant river seemed as if it was glowing, a clear blue that deepened the serenity of this environment. The river gave off a smell of purity, free of any pollution or disease or anything that might note any impurities. The girl was barefooted, and her sensitive skin felt the grass underneath her. To her surprise, the feeling of the grass and the smell of the river felt real.

Across the river, which seemed a world away, was a giant horse-like creature. The river seemed like miles wide, yet the girl could unmistakably see this equine animal as if it were only a few meters away. The animal stood as large as any war horse, yet it moved with grace, almost like it was not touching the grass. In fact, the animal wasn’t touching the grass. Its head was like that of the great eastern dragons of Japanese or Chinese mythology. Yet its body and legs were very horse-like, and green scales protected the animal’s entire body. A long flexible tail with feathering on its end was the key feature of the animal, probably 2 or 3 times the length of the human girl’s height. A shaggy orange mane ran along its scaly neck, flowing in the mild winds.

The blood red eyes of the dragon horse were easily visible, another thing that stupefied the human girl. Those blood red eyes met with her dull brown ones, matching to see who would not blink the longest. The creature’s beauty was imminent, almost too beautiful to lay uncommon eyes upon. The dragon horse gave a long snort, showing that it must have been very intelligent. The girl did not know whether the creature was male or female, or even if it was either one of those.

I’ll be waiting here.

The sound of language startled the human girl, not knowing where it was coming from. Then she noticed the dragon horse staring back at her still, knowing that it was probably that creature who communicated with her telepathically. She did not even respond, but “listened” to the voice in her head.

You will cross the River, sometime.

With a powerful kick of the dragon horse’s back legs, it went speeding off into the lush forest that lye across the river. As it ran, or floated the human girl noted, an aurora streamed from the creature’s haunches. The aurora was a distorted beam of light, mixed with purples, greens, whites, and blues. The human girl put her hand out in front of her, as if trying to grab the aurora.

The feeling of disorientation began to diminish in the girl’s mind. The next thing she noticed was that she felt like she was floating. As she was floating high above the environment, and over the river, the world below grew smaller and smaller. Soon she felt like she was alive again. A bright light brought her back to her senses.

2

“I’ve been having the same dream almost every night since April started.” Fifteen year old Claire Jacobs hadn’t slept nicely in a long time, troubled by her dreams that plagued her every night. She always had the same dream, standing across a river and looking to the other side to see the dragon horse which she knew next to nothing about. Her friend, Daniella, was just as perplexed as Claire had ever been.

“I don’t think anything is wrong with you,” Daniella replied one day while sitting at Claire’s kitchen table, munching on some cookies and milk that Claire had offered her. “You could have insomnia, or sleep paralysis. You think your dreams are real Claire, that’s what sleep paralysis does to you. My brother had it when he was younger and would wake up in mysterious pain or sudden screaming. A lot of people have the same dreams, but are you positive that you’ve been having the exact same dream every night?” Claire nodded, knowing every detail and every truth of this odd dream.

“It can’t be sleep paralysis,” Claire countered. “I would get sleep paralysis occasionally when I was younger, but it was nothing like this dream. I felt like I was standing on a field of grass, wet grass. I wasn’t wearing any shoes as far as I know, because I could feel the soggy water under my feet. Yet when I “woke” up, nothing was wrong with me. My feet weren’t wet as far as I could tell. I still don’t know what the animal thing was either. I already explained it to you Daniella; it looked like a cross between a horse and an oriental dragon.”

Daniella stared long and hard at her best friend, knowing that Claire was deeply concerned about the creature who had visited in her dreams. Daniella had no clue as to what the creature could be. She knew that the dragon horse had to be some type of mythological animal, since a lot of animal hybrids were found throughout human mythology. Daniella merely shrugged as her thoughts got no where.

“I think you should do some research into the animal,” advised Daniella. “That’s my best advice, if you want to learn more about it and know what it could be. But as for you standing in the grass or hearing the river, I can’t really help you there. I already told you that you could have a combination of noctambulism, sleep paralysis, and insomnia. Otherwise, nothing seems wrong with you. You just have to get used to having these conditions, since they don’t always come out and give you their identities. Well, I have to go now Claire. I’ll see you at school tomorrow. I have to go and study for a history test.”

Like a bolt of lightning, Daniella gathered her things and left Claire’s house without another word. Claire continued to sit at her kitchen table long after Daniella left. After boredom claimed her, Claire decided to take a trip to the library.

3

Claire flipped through the library books like a madwoman, scanning through the text and the helpful pictures. To her surprise, there were only two books in the entire library that dealt with mythological animals or the roles of animals in human mythology. She flipped through many interesting animals, such as the chimera, wyvern, behemoth, and griffin. However, none of these fit the description of her dragon horse, although she thought that the animal could be a type of chimera, a creature that her imagination simply made up.

She stopped flipping the pages as soon as a picture caught her eye. On one page there was a picture of a stout horse, yet its head was like that of a dragon. She also noted the scales on the equine body, though they weren’t all over the entire body as the scales on her dragon horse had been. Even though the animal on the page wasn’t quite like Claire’s creature, she knew immediately what it had to be. She read the short little excerpt that was to the right of the picture:

Qilin(also spelled as Kirin or Kilin): A creature of Chinese or Japanese

mythology that is associated with nature. A qilin is often pictured as a

combination of many different animals, including the horse, the eastern

dragon, and sometimes with fish, deer, or a lion. A qilin does not eat meat

of any kind, and it is generally a peaceful creature that does not crush any

type of living creature or plant life. It is often reputed to be a wise and

strong creature, but can turn violent if one sins in any shape or form.

Claire read over the excerpt many times, knowing that this was the creature in her dreams. One thing that wasn’t said though was about the qilin’s ability to leave a colored aurora behind wherever it went. Claire closed the book, satisfied that she had found out what she had come to look for.

Hours later, Claire was getting ready to go to sleep. She had a strange feeling in her stomach, a feeling that something would go wrong. But she dismissed that feeling, and slowly closed her eyes. She tried to relax as calmly as possible, afraid to even sleep.

4

Claire once again found herself in a smooth field of grass, this time her feet not just being wet but also muddy. She was still in a dream-like state, trying to snap out of it. To no avail though, she still felt slow and inactive. Her eyes were always drawn across the pure river. This time, the qilin did not show up. This certainly was a new change in her dream, since the qilin had always shown up on the other side to say the exact same thing.

Dull brown eyes scanned the other side of the river, paying attention to the heavily forested environment. Once again, thousands of stars traced the dark black cosmos, showering the river environment with little light. Claire breathed in deeply, noting that the air was of the freshest scent. This had to be real, the girl thought. This couldn’t be a trick of dreams.

It seemed like hours before the qilin made its appearance, prancing in an honorable way. As always, it seemed like the river had shrank, and it was almost like the qilin was standing right next to her. The careful creature blinked a few times, locking its eyes with those of Claire’s.

Now is your time to cross the river, the qilin stated telepathically. Do it now, or never try. This is your only chance now, since you have faltered in the past. I have given more than enough time to let you cross. I am merely a messenger in need of delivering my news.

That was the first time the dream had changed at all. Claire found her legs obeying the qilin’s command, stepping forward slowly, trusting the creature’s words. The qilin stood patiently, watching the human girl’s every move. Now the river seemed like it was a mile wide, that it was beginning to constantly flow faster and faster. Claire felt her fear rise greatly, her heart pumping ever faster. In the blink of an eye, Claire was already in the water waist-deep. She struggled against the current, knowing that if she lost her footing she would drown. The qilin began to pace back in forth, not in a nervous manner.

“Show no fear,” the qilin shouted, its voice echoing throughout the entire area. This time he did so verbally, knowing that the human girl wouldn’t be able to concentrate if it contacted with her telepathically. “Be one with the River, human child. Be positive in what you do. Do not let the River grow. Do not let it sweep you away. To believe and think negative is to die for something not with dying over.”

Claire understood little of the qilin’s words. As her fear grew, the river continued to widen and widen. Soon she was swimming forcefully, her feet no longer touching the bottom of the river. The river was no longer serene and clear, but became a raging torrent, murky and aphotic. She felt something grabbing at her feet under the water, trying to carry her down to her death. Claire held her screams, trying to think positive, to balance out her fear and bravery. She couldn’t really calm her breathing, but she calmed her ever growing horror. The river continued to grow a strong current, but it also began to shrink consistently. Whatever was previously grabbing at her feet gave up. The river became so small and shallow that it was only a few meters across, though the current continued to thunder along with its speed.

Claire touched shore, breathing heavily, her pajamas soaking wet and shivering. She couldn’t even say anything, or begin to understand where she was. The qilin approached her, staring at her once more with blood red eyes. Those blood red eyes pierced her soul, not in an evil way, but in a gentle way. This creature surely wasn’t violent, at least it didn’t show it. He towered over Claire with his war-like body.

“My name is Evgenikos.”

End of Part I