Visionary

I told you once that I have visions. Sometimes they appear as dreams, while I slumber. Other times, they hit me while I'm awake. Blindside me, more like.

We've been on the road, my companions & I, ever since memories of Father Wolfsbane came into my mind.

Today started out like so many others have as of late...early to rise, after a night of uneasy sleep taken in shifts. Road dust on my tongue & sleep heavy in my eyes. Tired feet & restless companions.

They think I'm leading them the wrong way, but don't seem to have a better alternative. Except Tony, who thinks I'm going to save his soul. Yeah--right after I save myself....

We trek onward, & without warning--the road ahead of me is gone. I rub at my eyes, but it doesn't help--I know what's happening.

Candlight flickers & dances in the dimness of a small, dank room. I can smell burning wax & leaves, among other, more subtle things.

I see aged, weathered hands...wrinkled skin, soft like paper. I can't see his face, only an old man's hands....He stirs a pot, & the aroma wafting from it is slightly ...metallic.

The man settles down, & lights another candle; it's already been half burned, & white wax has caked around the sides in uneven ripples. His hands begin to lay cards down on the table before him...cards of fortune.

He lays three cards before him, face down. The back sides feature a rounded, twisted symbol, with three dragons entwined through it. Slowly, the hands flip over the first card. It features a pale blue dragon, dancing beneath a full moon.

The elderly hands pause for a moment, & then turn the next card. Two dark dragons, war at the base of a crumbling tower. The sky behind them is fractured by lightning & blackened by smoke & storm clouds. I hear a gasp, & the hands begin to shake.

The man turns the last card face up. It depicts a white dragon, shedding blackened skin...& screaming. Roaring. Crawling from the ashes.

"Death..." A voice whispers in my mind. "Transformation..."

The candles flicker & burn out. & my eyes are forced to acclimate to the sunlight & the ashy, dusty road before us.

Strong hands pull me to my feet. Justin. Justin has questions in his eyes.

-"We're on the right path." I tell him.

-"What about him, Tor? Is he on the right path too?" Justin asks me.

He gestures to Tony, who is shaking.

-"Did you see him, too? It's okay--we're on the right path." I tell him. "I think it's just Father Wolfsbane. We're supposed to find him."

-"I didn't see Father Wolfsbane, Torrent." He opens his hands to me, palms gouged & torn from jagged fingernails. Crimson blood trickles down his outstretched fingers.

-"I didn't see Father Wolfsbane. Torrent, I don't wanna see anymore. Make me not see anymore..."

Invasion

I am the one you whisper about under your breathe. You burn candles to keep the shadows at bay--but you cannot evade me. You can't keep me out.

Not for long.

There is always a way in, a way to touch you.

You're frail. Weak-willed. I twist your dreams. Now I invade your airwaves.

"The Bandaged Man" you call me. How creative.

I am so much more than what you imagine. & I've such plans for you. For all of you.

I am the harbinger of death. Your deaths.

I am Death incarnate. I am your worst Nightmare. I am Chaos.

I am salty blood & sweet pain.

& I know your name. I know all of your names.

I have seen your fate.

I can change your destinies. If you come to me.

Don't make me find you--come to me, my sweets.

Kneel before my Red Gates. Bleed for me. & know what true freedom really is.

The time for cowardice is through.

You cannot hide from me--I see all.

Apologies...

To Anyone Who Reads This:

I appreciate your support & encouragement. I'm sorry I've been gone for so long; the holidays got the better of me. I promise to try to be more prompt in the future.

Thanks for reading.

~Missi

You Can Never Go Home Again

They say you can never go home again; there's alot of truth to that I suppose.

It's been quite some time since I've set foot in the Ciudad de Monstruos. I've been lost in your world. It can be quite seductive. & there's so many wonderful places to hide...

Nothing is as I remember it. Imagine, if you will, the wildest party you've ever been privy to? & the strangest place you've ever traveled to or explored? Someplace full of mysteries & wonder? Think about walking through a flea market or a bazaar--all the unusual people you meet...Think about the old men who tell you war stories at the pub, & a trip to the circus...

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to dance intoxicated through the streets of New Orleans? Just let the sounds of the city--the music of the night --entrance you?

I implore you--try --if only for a moment. You'll almost have an idea of what the Ciudad de Monstruos once was....In all it's glory.

The streets were once full of music. Throbbing, pulsing music. Creatures pounding handcrafted drums & strumming stringed instruments that require more than two arms to make them sing.

Torches that never burnt out lined the cobblestone streets--but they burn no more.

The music is silent.

No one is dancing--the streets are empty.

......


We crossed the threshold--we four--into the Monster City. There was no one there to greet us--not even the Enforcer Behemoths. No one. Where has everyone gone?

Monsters, by nature, are proud. We fight--we don't vanish. What could have scared them all so?

The streets are coated in a soft dusting of ash. Half of the buildings have burned to the ground --the other half lie abandoned.

There are no answers here. Only more questions.

But once there was a man who had all the answers. & if he didn't have them--he knew how to get them.

We called him Father Wolfsbane.

....


-"Justin, do you remember Father Wolfsbane?"

-"The crazy old bastard who fancied himself a wizard? Talked to spirits & saw the future in cards & tea leaves?"

-"He wasn't crazy. He saw things. Like me."

-"Not like you--Torrent. No one's like you"

-"I think we should find him...."

-"What makes you think he's even still here, Tor? Seems like everyone's vacated..."

-"Well, do you have a better idea?" I ask him, with a scowl. Tony & Gabriel wait on the sidelines, awaiting our cue as to where we're headed.

As Justin has no better plan, we decide to head for the outskirts of the city...toward the Olde Oak Glade. Amongst a copse of trees that reach to the heavens, Father Wolfsbane once resided in a small, hidden shack.

At least--that's where he was last I'd checked. & the Olde Ones are nothing if not creatures of habit.

Hopefully, my memories serve me well...

Come Through the Rabbit Hole With Me...

It's been some time, but I've pulled us all together... Justin, Gabriel, Myself, & the boy...Tony. My rag-tag band of misfits...

I want to cross over, back into the Ciudad de Monstruos. Justin says it's suicide. That they'll smell me coming a thousand miles away. That the Behemoths will be waiting for me.

I gave him a crooked grin; "I can take 'em." I told him.

Justin remains unconvinced, but I'll do what I want to. I always have before.

Everyone is looking to me for answers--isn't it about time I get some?

Isn't it all about doing the unexpected?

Either way--I haven't had much luck here in "The Real World". Time for something new...

.....

Justin may have his doubts about me, & I about him for that matter...we have our own history. That itself, is a tale for another time. Gabriel would follow me into the flames of Hell itself...& he just might be. But the boy, Tony...he's something else entirely.

He looks at me with stars in his eyes...hope. As though he's just been pulled into "The Never Ending Story", & I'm going to make all his dreams come true. I wish he'd stop....Lets just hope that I don't get him killed....

Tony & I have become fast friends however. He has this way of laughing in the face of danger that I just can't shrug off or discount. & there's something very special about him, that I just cannot pin down.

His mind is open--like a beacon. In this bout of down time--I've been trying to teach him a few things. How to shield his mind from unwelcome visitors & invading nightmares. How to communicate wordlessly with me. We've formed a link between us; there is now almost an endless string of telepathic banter at any given time. Tony has proved to be an adept student; he learns lightning fast...

& he can open doorways--though he's unsure as to how he does it.

I've a sneaking suspicion that I do. But there's no proof of that, so I'll bite my tongue.

.....

It is dusk...well, in November, full dark falls early.

The four of us venture out into the night, & end up at a forest preserve where all is quiet. No humans wandering about to stumble upon something they should not see on a night so cold...

Only the trees surround us, reaching bare branches up to the night sky. The autumn leaves crunch beneath our feet. but they won't tell a soul...

-"Try to open it--try to see the doorway." I say to Tony.

-"Torrent--you should not be encouraging this." Justin is scowling at all of us. But he's still here, which speaks volumes about his character.

-"I think I can..." Tony sort of mumbles to himself, squinting his eyes in concentration.

-"That's not the point." Justin says, but then he falls silent.

-"Try."

Tony reaches his hands before him, & seems to be pulling the world apart. "Entre aqui y no te estas perdido..." he whispers. & the space before him begins to shiver.

-"Why does he do that?" Justin asks me. I just smirk at him.

There's no need for "magick words" to enter the Ciudad, or to open a doorway for that matter--but words can be a focus for power. This seems to be how Tony concentrates.

The door opens. I take Tony's hand in mine, & we walk through it....

Unprepared...

Have you ever built something up in your mind so much, that when it actually happens, you are left feeling completely unprepared?

I've been laying low the last couple days, nursing my wounds. Getting my head straight. Trying to figure out my plan of action.

In the mean time, Gabriel watches over me.

I've been reaching out to Justin. & to the boy who calls himself "Ch1M3Ra". I sent him a dream--I showed him how to find me....

However, I was still surprised to find the young man huddled in the doorway of the abandoned tenement building I've claimed as my hide-out. Temporarily anyways....

I awoke, & padded outside to see if Gabriel was still...frozen, & there he was.

Ch1M3Ra--no more than a boy --at least that's how I see him. A young twenty-something, curled up like a child in the doorway. Battered & broken. Shaggy blonde hair masking bruises & puffy, tired eyes. Plagued by nightmares--he was dreaming when I found him. Waiting for me...

He screamed when I touched him. Now--what ever will I do with him?

.....

His name is Anthony. & he's mine now.

We're linked somehow--he & I. The question is why?

Anthony is remarkably "in tune" with us--me & my kind. Not only is he an open receiver in the Dream Realm--but he slipped through a crack. He shattered reality as you know it--if only for a moment--& slipped into the Ciudad de Monstruos. My world.

How did he do that? I asked him--drilled him is more like it. I assaulted the poor boy with questions until he was exhausted. But I got no answers. He doesn't have them.

Right now--Anthony sleeps. I'm shielding him--so he can get a few hours of much needed rest. But it's hard--there's something about him. He's more than he seems...much more. It's taking all of my concentration to hold the barriers in place. Something wants him--badly. The Bandaged Man? Perhaps. My shields are taking one hell of a beating--but still they remain in tact...

When Anthony awakes--we're going through. I'm going home --not in the Dream Realm--but for "real" this time. & I'm taking him through the crack with me...

Entre Aqui...

Dear Torrent:

So you think of me? No worries--I'm coming to you. I hope. Help me come to you.

I found a way in. You told me it was impossible...but either you lied to me, or things have changed alot since you last set foot in the Ciudad. I hope you aren't telling me lies--please don't lie to me.

Do the words "Entre aqui, y te no estas perdido..." mean anything to you?

I dreamed them. Over & over, the Bandaged Man whispers them to me in my ears.

The other day, I was walking...past this huge old Elm tree, & I saw the world shiver. Just a twitch, like reality was taking a deep breathe. & I heard those words whispering in my mind.

"Entre aqui, y te no estas perdido."

I mumbled them under my breathe, & pressed my hands against the tree, just to steady myself...& it was like I fell through. To somewhere else.

I was standing in a city of burning grey ash. Something was watching me. A creature that looked feline in nature, with orchid fur & deep purple quills was staring at me. Her eyes were golden, & she had an old soul. My Grandmother used to say that about people--they "have old souls". But this creature did, have an old soul. She looked like she knew things. & She dared me to follow her.

But as I started to move my feet, the world twitched again, & I was back where I started. But it happened--I know that it did. I slipped through the crack.

I shouldn't be able to do that--should I Torrent?

You've been moving--I've lost track of you. But you mentioned once that you can speak to people in their dreams? That's why they fear you?

You don't want to post a location--to announce our presence to those that hunt you. Hunt us now, I suppose. I'm sorry about that--I'm a fucking moron.

Send me a dream--show me where to go. I feel like a fucking open receiver anyways. Send me something that feels like hope...

Otherwise, I fear my time grows short.

~Ch1M3Ra