Dreamworld (#JustWriteIt #FreshStart)

Chapter 8

Qian and Bria escorted Ellie down the tunnel. There were other tunnels that branched off from this main one. Some seemed to be connecting with others that came in from the exterior of the mountain, while others sloped up or down, creating ramps to other levels of tunnels. Dragons of all colors and sizes either stopped to watch them pass or watched them from the branching tunnels. Once, Ellie saw miniature dragons watching them from the top of a ramp. Those must be babies, she thought.

After they had walked for quite some time, they emerged into a giant chamber. There was enough room for hundreds of dragons even bigger than Qiandor to fit onto the ledges that lined the walls. The level that they were on had a ledge that ran around the entire chamber like a walkway. From the walkway, the floor dropped off in a vertical cliff to form a pit whose edge mirrored the edge of the chamber. At the bottom was a channel of lava. Rising from the middle of the pit was a spire, and the flat top of it was even with their level. The top was a good hundred feet across. There was a walkway that led from their ledge over to the platform.

Draped over a full half of the spire top was a gigantic sphinx, in all its golden brown, lion-bodied glory. How haven't I reached the point of not being surprised anymore? Ellie questioned herself.

Bria lowered her head to Ellie's level and told her, "You can use the walkway and we'll meet you on the other side." Both dragons leapt into the air and winged their way to the sphinx's side. It looked to Ellie as though the two dragons began a conversation with the mythical creature. Ellie started over, quite aware that she was being analyzed the entire way.

As she came off the walkway and onto the space before the sphinx, Ellie wondered how such a large being came to be here. There was no way it came through the tunnels that they had just come from. Not recently anyway.

Qian and Bria turned to her, ending their conversation with the sphinx, or perhaps including er into it. Qian spoke. "Ellie, this is Sphinx. As in legend, Sphinx is very wise. I do not think that there is a creature here in our world who knows more. I thought it wise to bring you to him, as you presented a riddle that I did not know how to address. I'll leave more of an explanation to Sphinx."

Sphinx regarded her silently for several minutes. It wasn't until she had started fidgeting anxiously that he spoke. "I have been told that you were found near a Gate? I am left to assume that you came to be here by traveling through it from your home."

This last part was spoken as a statement and not a question, but Ellie felt compelled to say, "Yes, we found the Gate, as you called it. Or well, I guess Connor knew it was there, but coming here was sort of an accident."

"To you it might have seemed an accident, but Gates, or their Guardians, don't make mistakes. You were meant to come here. Humans find their way here from time to time, always with a reason, though the last time was quite some time ago. This I will need to ponder. In the meantime, I imagine you have some questions."

Ellie was silent a moment, looking at her feet, not knowing where to begin. Finally, she asked, "Where are we? What is this place, this world?"

"Dreamworld."

Ellie looked up and blinked. "Umm, Dreamworld?" she asked, a hint of confusion and perhaps disbelief in her voice.

Sphinx flashed a small grin, something that looked out of place on its face. "Let me explain. Most humans believe that dreams are figments of their imagination. That their dreams play out in the privacy of their own minds. That is wrong."

Ellie found that she was staring stupidly, open-mouthed and wide-eyed. With a shake of her head, she snapped out of it. I've been doing that too much lately, she thought. Though who could blame me? "Then what is it that really happens?" she asked out loud.

Sphinx scrutinized her. "Ellie, I will tell you the truth, though it might be difficult for you to comprehend. When a person from your world goes to sleep, their mind, their spirit, comes here to Dreamworld. Everything that you humans dream exists here. Dreamworld is populated by every thing or being that has ever been dreamed. Hence the name, Dreamworld."

Ellie's mind was whirling a mile a minute, trying to wrap her mind around this information, trying to work through the logistics of it. A thought occurred to her. Taking a deep breath, she asked Sphinx, "Then how come we don't remember it when someone has a dream with us in it? Wouldn't we experience it like it was our dream too?"

"Very good," Sphinx purred. "I was wondering if you would catch that. Let me ask: have you ever woken in the morning, feeling like your dream didn't match in length to the amount of time you slept?"

"Yes," Ellie answered hesitantly.

"This is because you will only remember your own dreams. The time you are asleep that you don't remember, you are participating in someone else's dream. You might be a main participant, or a background player who they will never remember was there."

"Seriously?" Ellie asked. "That's nuts."

"It might appear so, but I assure you, that is the mechanics of it." Sphinx's gaze rested on Ellie with an intensity that made her uncomfortable.

Suddenly, a thought made her frown. "Sphinx, why are you telling me all this? I mean, you obviously don't tell everyone who comes here the truth."

"No, dear girl, we do not tell everybody. But then again, most everyone visits in their dreams, not in the flesh. As I said before, the Gate chose to be found by you. I have not yet determined why. Since such an occurrence is rare, and always for a reason, I thought it prudent to "fill you in" on the reality of your situation."

Abruptly, Sphinx smiled. "All is well for now. Why don't you go and enjoy your visit here with these two young ones?" It inclined its head towards the dragons. "I'm sure that they will prove to be apt guides. And now that you have been made aware, they can also answer any more questions you might have. Go ahead now. They will meet you on the other side."

"Thank you, Sphinx," Ellie said, and then dipped a clumsy curtsy. Given the creature's regal bearing and obvious importance, she felt it was best to be courteous.

"It was my pleasure, dear girl. Now go. Have fun." After Ellie had said goodbye and begun her trek back across, Sphinx addressed the dragons. "Keep her safe. I'm sure you are aware of Gate lore. I told her the truth in that the Gate chose her for a reason. I opted not to tell her that the Gates have only ever chosen a human when we are in great peril and in need of their help. I know not what form this peril will take, but it is there, if the Gates chose to bring a human here. Also, I do know this. The girl will be instrumental in fixing whatever is wrong."

~

Ok, things have been fixed up to this point, and I am excited to get back to writing new chapters. Let me know what you think so far! I'm more than excited to hear from you, your thoughts on the story and characters, if you like it or not, things you would change, or if you just want to comment on certain parts of the chapter.

If you do like the story, please give me a vote (pressing that little star at the bottom). It's very encouraging to see those. Tells me that you want more! ;-) Well, thank you if you've made it this far into the story, and I look forward to getting going.