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rowynI woke up from a dream, and now I can't get back to sleep. So I figured I'd try writing the dream down while I wait for the pain meds to kick in.
I was a male warrior, and a commander of a city's defenses. I had some occult powers.
There was a schism between myself and another one of the city's military leaders. He was carrying on some kind of vendetta against me that involved pitting his troops against mine. I wanted him to leave the rest of the military out of it -- "You've got a grudge against me, take on me" -- but his forces were backing him up, so mine were backing me up.
I was trying to find a way to resolve a temporary impasse between myself and him. I remember trying to convince him how stupid his grudge was, and why most of the military was on my side and not his. But I didn't want to kill anyone, not even him. I knew the civilian leadership would be angry with me if anyone got hurt over this.
More than anything, I wanted to get back to my stronghold and my wife, so that I could protect her if my enemy tried to go after her directly.
Something happened -- I can't remember what -- but three people died. I needed to rescue their souls; I'm think this was so that I could resurrect them..
I used my occult powers to find out what had happened to the lost souls. One of them had been intercepted by Death and I needed to do something to get the soul back from him.
I did something else, trying to raise any ghosts in the area. One of my subordinates (a familiar?) found the ghost of a long-dead woman and reported to me that she was caught in a deadlock. She was in a spiritual struggle with her dead husband, and she wasn't able to perceive anything but him and what he wanted. My subordinate wasn't sure if I'd be able to get through to her or not. I decided to try; I knew that if I could free her from her deadlock, then she'd be able to help me.
I had a distinct sense that the deadlock wasn't "the ghost fighting with another ghost" but "the ghost wrestling with her own unresolved issues, made manifest in the form of her husband". I wasn't certain that was the case, however. I tried summoning the ghost of the woman, and I got her alone, without the manifestation of her struggle.
She was a tall black woman with short hair. She wasn't free of the deadlock; I'd just temporarily wrested her away from it. If she was to help me, I had to first help her to break free permanently of the struggle. I talked to her a bit, asking her what her husband wanted of her. He had abused her while they were alive, keeping her isolated from other people, being jealous of any other contacts she'd had. he was very selfish. She said that her perception of the struggle was: "He's lonely and mad at me; he says he's had nothing to do for 140 years except wait for me to finish this letter I've been working on to send him. It's a very boring existence for him."
I said wryly, "One might say the same of working on the same letter for 140 years." I knew she'd been able to do nothing else.
She gave a little startled laugh, and agreed. I talked to her a little more, trying to persuade her that she didn't need to be bound by what her husband wanted of her any more. She agreed with my point, at least in theory, though she wasn't sure she'd be able to stand up to him. I got her to the point where she was willing to try confronting him again. I told her I'd do a ritual which would bring us to the room where she'd been deadlocked with her husband. She would see him there again. I cautioned her that she needed to focus on remaining aware of the rest of her surroundings; I would be right there to help her, any way I could.
I did the ritual, but the deadlock didn't resume. This could mean that the ghost's issue had already been resolved, but not necessarily. I tried working the spell that I needed the ghost's help for, but it didn't work because her deadlock was only at a standstill, not actually gone.
Patiently, I cycled through the other ritual, trying to restart the confrontation so that she could resolve it permanently. I was still trying when I woke up.
I was a male warrior, and a commander of a city's defenses. I had some occult powers.
There was a schism between myself and another one of the city's military leaders. He was carrying on some kind of vendetta against me that involved pitting his troops against mine. I wanted him to leave the rest of the military out of it -- "You've got a grudge against me, take on me" -- but his forces were backing him up, so mine were backing me up.
I was trying to find a way to resolve a temporary impasse between myself and him. I remember trying to convince him how stupid his grudge was, and why most of the military was on my side and not his. But I didn't want to kill anyone, not even him. I knew the civilian leadership would be angry with me if anyone got hurt over this.
More than anything, I wanted to get back to my stronghold and my wife, so that I could protect her if my enemy tried to go after her directly.
Something happened -- I can't remember what -- but three people died. I needed to rescue their souls; I'm think this was so that I could resurrect them..
I used my occult powers to find out what had happened to the lost souls. One of them had been intercepted by Death and I needed to do something to get the soul back from him.
I did something else, trying to raise any ghosts in the area. One of my subordinates (a familiar?) found the ghost of a long-dead woman and reported to me that she was caught in a deadlock. She was in a spiritual struggle with her dead husband, and she wasn't able to perceive anything but him and what he wanted. My subordinate wasn't sure if I'd be able to get through to her or not. I decided to try; I knew that if I could free her from her deadlock, then she'd be able to help me.
I had a distinct sense that the deadlock wasn't "the ghost fighting with another ghost" but "the ghost wrestling with her own unresolved issues, made manifest in the form of her husband". I wasn't certain that was the case, however. I tried summoning the ghost of the woman, and I got her alone, without the manifestation of her struggle.
She was a tall black woman with short hair. She wasn't free of the deadlock; I'd just temporarily wrested her away from it. If she was to help me, I had to first help her to break free permanently of the struggle. I talked to her a bit, asking her what her husband wanted of her. He had abused her while they were alive, keeping her isolated from other people, being jealous of any other contacts she'd had. he was very selfish. She said that her perception of the struggle was: "He's lonely and mad at me; he says he's had nothing to do for 140 years except wait for me to finish this letter I've been working on to send him. It's a very boring existence for him."
I said wryly, "One might say the same of working on the same letter for 140 years." I knew she'd been able to do nothing else.
She gave a little startled laugh, and agreed. I talked to her a little more, trying to persuade her that she didn't need to be bound by what her husband wanted of her any more. She agreed with my point, at least in theory, though she wasn't sure she'd be able to stand up to him. I got her to the point where she was willing to try confronting him again. I told her I'd do a ritual which would bring us to the room where she'd been deadlocked with her husband. She would see him there again. I cautioned her that she needed to focus on remaining aware of the rest of her surroundings; I would be right there to help her, any way I could.
I did the ritual, but the deadlock didn't resume. This could mean that the ghost's issue had already been resolved, but not necessarily. I tried working the spell that I needed the ghost's help for, but it didn't work because her deadlock was only at a standstill, not actually gone.
Patiently, I cycled through the other ritual, trying to restart the confrontation so that she could resolve it permanently. I was still trying when I woke up.
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no subject
Date: 2003-10-29 07:33 am (UTC)(The thing is, for my Akoma campaign, I'm hoping to steer the plot AWAY from involving ghosts and spirits left and right, so that some of the more mundane party members can have something to do. ;) So perhaps I'd best resist the temptation.)
no subject
Date: 2003-10-29 12:13 pm (UTC)I do have a vivid mental image of a scene of my wife & home: she is a beautiful woman in full black plate armor, and my steed -- a dragon -- is with her in a large stone room. My own armor is on a stand near her, similarly ornate. (The image reminds me of the style of a Nene Thomas print, in retrospect.) I get the sense of this being almost power armor, or full battle armor. It's not something I'd wear everyday so I don't have it on me, but I'm longing for it, and her, and the walls of my stronghold. But I have to survive this first.
One of the things I liked best about the dream was the sense that I really cared about everything and everyone around me. I wasn't *just* trying to help the ghost because I needed her, but because I wanted to help her. I knew that I wasn't necessarily going to solve her problem, and that she wasn't necessarily going to be able to help me even if I could. There was a great urgency about my mission, and I wanted to help the people who'd been killed for their own sakes', too. But I was methodical and patient; I'd do one thing at a time and keep trying for as long as it took.
Anyway, not sure what you could get for adventure material out of this, but you're welcome to salvage whatever you can. :)
no subject
Date: 2003-10-29 02:01 pm (UTC)dreams...
Date: 2003-10-29 01:23 pm (UTC)My wife is a BIG dreamer to. I always tell her she dreams "movies" because her dreams have complex plots and everything as opposed to a lot of people who just dream random craziness(like me). Only drawback is that unlike you, she is not very big into writing - so all of that good content usually goes to waste. I love to write, but I rarely have dreams with plots like that. Perhaps one day when there's time and my wife has one of those plotful(?) dreams she can tell me and I'll post it. =)
Would you mind if I added you to my friends list?
Re: dreams...
Date: 2003-10-30 04:33 am (UTC)I don't often have dreams with this much plot, either. I try to write 'em down when I do have them. This was one of the best I've had in quite a while; I wish I could remember more of the details, though I'm pretty sure there wasn't a complete story in it to begin with.
What is in that name?
Date: 2003-10-30 07:21 am (UTC)Rowin' is a singularly unfulfilling line of work. You generally do this work while not facing in the direction you are traveling; you repeat the same labor endlessly with no real opportunity for advancement. While it is true that you build muscles in the exercise, there are far more pleasant exercises that would broaden your range of strengths. Every day you are rowin' is a day that you are not moving forward, and are trapped in an old hull and laboring your life away. There is a certain nobility to doing this well, but it is not generally a voluntary occupation. Those that do this for pleasure have other pursuits to offset it.
But Rowan is a tall tree, reaching high above its neighbors. It is clear-grained, and lends itself to fine workmanship. This tree is considered to be of great strength and integrity, and able to weather then mightiest of storms. It makes the very best kind of mast for a sailing ship, particularly one with some occult powers. The Rowan mast thus provides a clear vantage point, enabling vision far over the horizon, and the strength and beauty of this work of nature is enjoyed by all.
This last one suits you better, I think.
Best wishes, my friend.
===|==============/ Level Head