Dream Maker

Chapter 3
         
Redrawn sat still dreaming of his lost love, he remembered her as she had been.  He remembered her laughs and smiles.  Now, he saw an old woman who still clutched a broom, a woman he could only see once a year, a woman who never smiled, and a woman who somehow he still and always loved.  It had been a week since Arcadia had last been in the dream realm and Galen was thinking about when everything had gone wrong between his wife and him.  He sat thinking about the beginning of the end to Avarion.

Galen called for his ladylove, Serephin to come to his arms after she had sung a song the night before. “Sweet Serephin come from your place of peace into my arms.” He said as always.  This time, the tree bent down, but there was no moon so it glowed golden, and when the light grew she was a golden maiden with a green dress made of leaves.  Every time he called her was a new shock because her being was fused with the Earth, stars, moon, and sun and her appearance varied as often as the world changed.  Her personality was equally volatile, one day she could be sweet and the next day she would be a terror. 
“And what should we do today?” Galen began but soon soldiers surrounded them.
The leader of the guards dropped before Serephin and gave her a humble bow.  “Sweet Serephin, leader of the outer trees the king bids you good-day and wishes for you and your betrothed to travel with us to the inner circle.”
Serephin grew pale, “What does he want of me?”
“He wishes to pardon you for the offense committed when you chose this cat-beast for your husband.” Galen felt the dull anger he always felt when that term was said but he was powerless to do anything to the guards, “You are invited to retake your former position.  What is more, the king has discovered something in the origin of your father that he wishes to discuss with you, Serephin.”
Galen was scared of the king’s guard’s real intentions; he knew that once a person was accused by the king he/she would be punished.  Galen wasn’t thinking of himself, all he desired was to help Serephin. “What if we do not go?”  He asked, ready to have Serephin killed than captured.
The King’s guard smiled to reveal white fangs and talked in a deep bass rumble that seemed sinister in the light of the moon, “That is not allowed.”
“Why must Galen go?”  Serephin asked of the guard, appearing as though she was at ease only Galen could see the way she trembled in fear.  Looking back on it, Galen still wished he had been able to comfort her, somehow, someway but he could never comfort her, he was always too weak.  “Oh Serephin.” He cried in his mind, “Why couldn’t I help you?”
The guard just shrugged and the two were forced to go without an explanation.  Galen had been willing to fight but only if Serephin wanted him to fight.  Serephin did have prestige and power while Galen had none so if they were to live it was up to Galen to follow Serephin’s lead. 
They passed the first three gates easily and stopped at the fourth because the guards wanted to annoy Boshkin.  Boshkin was an ogre of a sour disposition that couldn’t take a joke, so the guards went out of their way to play practical jokes on him and annoy him the best they could.  Boshkin pretended to put up with the jokes easily and let them in gladly because refusal of a guard would have meant his death.  The fourth gate was the land of partners.  These people mined the earth for crystal and precious metals.  They were said to be able to see as clearly in the mines as they were on land.  The tall ones or Ogres were the heavy movers; they moved the rocks so that the mines could be accessed.  The dwarves were then able to go into the mines easily.  The fourth land had other less pleasant names than the land of partners. It was called the land of redemption, the land of tears, and the caging place. 
The people who were arrested were either tortured, or killed, or sent to the fourth gate to work for the land and die there; if you were arrested you were considered guilty and would be punished.  Huge chain gangs stretched to the horizon and both Galen and Serephin heard the songs of the unfortunates; cries of despair that could only be expressed through song that echoed across the dry and arid land.  Galen recognized the hymn of endurance that his people sang every time the full moon rode the sky.  He remembered thinking about his mother singing to him, “Be strong endure, no matter what is in store.”  She had sung that song to him every full moon he had with her, to teach him and distract him from fulfilling instincts that would stop him from being a civilized being.
Galen never liked the cage place because his father had died in the fourth land.  His father had been arrested, although Galen had never known why.  His father had been forced into the land of the fourth gate, and died there, away from his family.  Galen looked at the chained people, wondering if he would die as his father had died.  Galen’s shoulders stiffened, if he was to die, he would make sure that Serephin didn’t suffer and he would bear the pain gladly, as his own father had.  Galen was glad to leave the land behind.  Thinking back, Redrawn remembered seeing himself in chains and hurrying the guards, the fifth gate was reached quickly.  Even the king’s guards disliked the fourth gate; no one could hear the cries of the unfortunates and not feel their pain, the Earth cried in torment, the despair of all the people had turned the sky black.
Tyron, one of the tree people, manned the fifth gate.  He was tall and gnarled.  His hair was tree moss and his skin was brown and wrinkled.  His eyes were utterly black, the hollow that the trees had.  He was one of the king’s guards like all the guardians of the gates but his loyalty was to his people first and the king second.  Tyron did not even try to hide his disgust at the leader of the King’s guard; Tyron had never liked the vampires because he didn’t approve of eating his own kind.  Being a tree person, Tyron could eat from the sun and the land, all of which were given easily.  Vampires couldn’t go out into the sun without a magical charm or enchantment and the feasted on unwilling people.  Tyron supposedly had given his dead limbs to vampire hunters but nobody could prove that was the truth, Tyron always managed to escape trouble.
The fifth land was nature-based, it had trees and flowers of many kinds with pockets of meadows in-between the forest, swamp, and desert land all mingled together without order.  The elves, and fairies lived here but not as they are today.  Back then they did not hide and try to lead travelers to their doom.  Back then, they were magic and part of Avarion they drank the moon and sun, and had no need for other food.  They wore only nature and killed nothing they wore.  These were the gentle people, the artisans of Avarion because they created great works of magic that sold for lots of money.  They could take a person’s aura and weave the colors into a picture.  They painted with the wind and sun and danced with the tree sprites.  Back then, the elves and fairies were in harmony with the world and their place in it, they had no need to go further than the fifth gate.  The people all went under the name of eatmangan or earth spirits.  The trees did not sleep but had spirits that danced with all the creatures of magic.  A human could not have survived this place without going insane. 
The fifth gate was where Serephin had been born.  Her mother saw her surrounded by guards but rushed up to embrace her anyway.  “Child of dale you have returned to me, when I thought I was never to see you again.”
“The soldiers have led me here, mother, I don’t know why.”
The mother looked up for the first time but gave no curtsey to the lords.  To the surprise of Galen, they didn’t mention it and let the woman stare. “You will not take her where she does not wish to be.” The mother told the guards.  “She is my daughter, the queen of the outer woods, and the heir to the throne of the eatmangan and you will show her respect.”  One by one, the guards all bowed to her but said nothing.  The captain of the guards was crossing and uncrossing his arms, obviously nervous and shielding his heart as if he expected the mother to stab it with her long tree branches.  Judging by her old and ancient face Galen judged that they had something to worry about, especially since her daughter was such a mischievous person.  Galen kept watch in shock, “What is going on here?” he asked aloud.
Serephin smiled, “No one messes with the eatmangan or bad luck would befall them. We are of the land and the land punishes those who hurt us.  Is that not correct vampire scum?”  She asked the guard escort.
The guard wisely said nothing, but Galen saw his jaw clench and was afraid of what would come when they left Serephin’s mother’s protection.
“If you were more powerful, you’d be further in the land of Avarion, or at least higher up on the hierarchy.” Galen told her quietly, away from the guards, under his breath, “Don’t bait the guards.” 
Serephin didn’t listen to his warning.  “We need to be with the land to retain our powers; if we were to go further in we would be surrounded by city and no longer part of that which makes us magic.  We are the power and magic of Avarion, no matter if the current king forgets himself. I would hate to be cut off from my power.”  Serephin shivered at the thought; “There are stories about those who left Avarion in search of a new world.  The things across the ocean captured them and put them in steel cages, they died from lack of the Earth, they were Ritters who didn’t have the control the Avarions put on them, quite sensibly.  They are too jealous of magic to ever be in control of it, they would hurt people.” Galen wrapped her in a tight hug to comfort her then turned to her mother.
“Thank you for intervening for the moment.  It is nice to see you as a son in law should see his mother in law.” Galen then knelt before her and put her hand to his face “you are a great honor to the trees, and your daughter will always be loved in my heart.”
The mother then shook Galen’s hand, motioning for him to rise, “It is nice to meet the love of my daughter’s life, and it has been long since I last laid eyes on you.  You are a true honor to my daughter and I know you were meant to be one.  Tomorrow you will go with the guards because I can only protect you for one night but tonight feast and be merry.”
With that the mother took the two children and led them deep within the forest. They sat on an old, fallen tree, covered with moss making a soft seat.  Their table was a mushroom as big as the head of a lion.  Their cups were flowers and there plates bark. 
They ate and drank the sunlight offered, with a chaser of moonlight and were well content. 
Serephin slept curled around her man in the arms of her mother, a stately willow tree.  Their music was the sound of the stars and whispering between the leaves of Serephin’s mother. They married each other in that light, a true joining of love, and flesh because this was the last time they knew they would be safe with one another.
The next day, Serephin and Galen were marched towards the golden city of Terran…

Redrawn startled violently, he couldn’t bare to see the next scene.  He refused to look at what happened next.  In jolting awake he noticed that Arcadia was back and no longer on the path.  She stood beside him, and didn’t appear angry or sad or anything, her eyes were glazed.
“What are you doing here?” Redrawn demanded in shock, remembering that she was a psychic and could see his dreams.
“I saw your memory and it called me off the path.”
“You’ll never be able to get back on it then, your body will die and your soul will be stuck here forever.” He declared passionately. “You deserve to be stuck here forever for seeing my dreams.”
“So be it,” she replied with real heat, “I never want to go back there again.”
“Why”, he asked calming down, “the world is full of much beauty.”
“The pain outweighs the beauty ten-fold.  Here there is no pain.”
“What happened that puts such sorrow on your face?” He asked and touched her face gently. “I am sorry that I was so harsh, I did not mean to yell and I know you can’t help seeing when I dream.  I was thinking of a sad memory that I don’t like to share with too many people.”
“My mother died in a car accident, I saw it before it happened but I couldn’t stop it.  My powers were useless to save her or me.” She whispered huddled into herself, Galen put his arm around her.
“I’m sorry, I lost my mom a long time ago, but I know how it must have hurt you.”
“How did your mom die?”
“She drank blood on the night of the full moon before changing form, it drove her crazy and the village had to kill her.  I was only ten but I watched them light her on fire and leave her carcass for the buzzards.  It was the law of the land that a dawnpa suffering from moon madness and who was not contained in a safe building had to be killed.”
“Why?”
“Because if they weren’t contained they acted violent, very violent.  My mom went crazy that night; she tried to kill my brother, Rama.  I tried to protect Rama but he had put me in the kitchen sink’s cabinet to protect me, then he had barred her way with his own body.  My brother Rama was always looking out for me.  Mom stopped herself from killing Rama at the last instant by forcing her head to smell the villagers. My mom chose death at the villagers’ hands to keep Rama and me safe.”
“And this is the world you want me to live in?”
“That was my world, my home; your world is different from it.  The world of dreams isn’t safe for you because it has nightmares that seem just as real as the waking world; this land is not as beautiful as you think.”
“What in it is so bad?”
Redrawn looked at her then shook his head.  “I will show you what I do, and who is here and maybe then you’ll understand why the dream world is so bad.”
With that he stood up in a smooth motion and went towards a circle of darkness.  He went inside the nightmare world and Arcadia followed.  Inside the circle a man stood naked, clean in the darkness but his eyes glowed with hate, anger, and lust.  The place was black and red with a single light bulb on the wall the flickered on and off creating a strobe light view of what to most people would be hell.  A beautiful woman with golden hair, and deep blue eyes, lay stretched and bound to a table top. The man stood in front of her.  He held a leather whip that whistled in the air as he hit her. Every slash of his whip made blood flow in long red arcs, smelling strongly of copper in the dark place, as Arcadia thought it.  The man’s body was dressed in the blood of his victim.  The lady screamed for God and salvation but no one could answer her call. The man was happy with her imprisonment, and it showed as drool fell from his lips and he silently continued his work, not bothering to talk. 
Arcadia was crying in the darkness, now outside the scene, burying her head into Redrawn’s shoulder. “That man is a serial killer; Arcadia.  He was once in a mental institute but escaped and is hidden in the waking world.  He goes by the name of Harold now and kills in secret.” Redrawn whispered, invisible in the darkness around the dream, except for his eyes, Arcadia’s hand clasped tightly in his, her head buried into his body. 
“Why did you show me that?” Arcadia asked crying.
“I had to show you the dangers of the dream realm; I have to keep you safe.”
“Why would you do that to him?”
“He wants to be here, Arcadia, I didn’t make him want to be here.”
“He wants to be here?”  Arcadia asked.
Redrawn nodded and a strange light came into his eyes.  “Some people, like him, always walk half in the dream realm and half in the waking world.  There are many people whose dark worlds never leave them.  These people would hurt you if they could, if you remained in their dreams you would be part of their fantasies; something to hurt.”
“Why do you allow these dark fantasies?” Arcadia asked in horror, amazed that anyone would like this world.
“I don’t have a choice, if a person wants to dream dark stuff I let them and I take those dark impulses and ideas and give them to artists.  Artists always are open to the dream realm.”
“Why do you do this? You have a choice what job you do.  Why do you remain to give people these dark fantasies?”
Redrawn became angry.  “I do this because I have no choice, the same with Serephin, if I was to go into your world I would die or go insane.”
“What makes you different?” 
“I don’t want to tell you, you’re too little to understand anyway.”
“I still want to know.” Arcadia replied angrily, furious that someone would think she was too little to understand, she hated it when people called her little.
“You know enough about me already.”
“Not enough.”
“Tell me why you are here Arcadia. What part of your psyche makes you long for this world even though it is almost suicide for a mortal to wish to be here?”
“I’ll answer your question if you answer mine.” She answered petulantly; still angry that he thought she was a little girl.
“I’m made of magic. Your world’s magic is hidden and I die without being surrounded with magic, a little more every day.  Your world would slowly drain me of myself.  Too few of the people in your reality can shield their minds.  When I go to your world I pick up your thoughts and ideas, they buzz and hurt me and underneath everything is pain.  You aren’t in tune with the world, you pollute and hurt the world and you can’t hear it scream.  Your world hurts me.” Redrawn yelled, trying to seem scary enough to get Arcadia to stop coming.
Arcadia calmed down, “I like to be here because it isn’t real, I can imagine and create beautiful worlds and I have no pain.  There are nightmares but I wake up from them and know it wasn’t real.”
Redrawn shook his head, still angry with her, “Don’t you get it yet, this world is real, as real as you want it to be.  If you believe in this place enough it is real.  If you were to die with me you would be dead in the real world.  By waking up and seeing the world, it became real and if you get hurt now it will follow you into the waking world.”
“Why does it work only if I know this world is real?"
“The path is here,” with that Redrawn violently dragged Arcadia unto the road, “Don’t come here again unless you want to wander forever mortal, this world is real if you let it be real and it will kill you if you remain.  Don’t ever come back here unless you want to die or wander in other’s dreams for all eternity, or even become insane.”  Redrawn then changed into a formless mass of darkness with red glowing eyes and devil horns, “Stay away, Ritter.” he screamed and disappeared trying to scare her into never coming again.  Arcadia was left on the road staring after him, but not frightened, for some reason she was sure that he would never hurt her and he had told her himself that he had liked to hang out with the Ritters.

Chapter 4

Arcadia was standing on the golden path way after having been left by Redrawn, trying to puzzle out what he had told her.
“He really is an excitable man isn’t he?”  A voice called to the little girl.
Arcadia turned around to see an old lady carrying a broom.  “Are you the Sweeper Woman?” Arcadia asked thinking that her grandma had been right in calling her and old, crazy woman.
“Some people call me that.”
“Are you here to find Redrawn?  He wandered off somewhere but I’m sure you could catch him.”
The woman in question shook her head sadly her humor fading from her face as though it had never been there, “I’m here because I saw you wander off the path.  I watched Redrawn drag you back, so I’m making sure you get home.  Redrawn just doesn’t know common decency sometimes; he’s too in touch with his emotions without being willing to express them.  A sensitive man, who doesn’t want anyone to see he’s sensitive.” Her voice was quiet, but laced with humor as though she found Redrawn fascinating and annoying at the same time.
“My mother used to tell me that you had gone insane, you seem very aware for a crazy person.” Arcadia told her with a smile that proved infectious as the Sweeper Woman smiled right back.
“I’m not really insane; I’m just not completely here because my past is hidden from me by me.  That’s different from a person who sees a different view of reality and is unable to cope with the image.  I don’t remember who I once was so I struggle with how I should be acting, it creates a conflict and some people view this conflict as insanity.”
“What’s so terrible that you would need to erase anything?"
The Sweeper Woman’s face became drawn tight and her eyes drifted away.  “Haven’t you ever wanted to just forget?”
“No because no matter how bad life got I would live through it and I wanted to remember that I survived whatever happened.  Memory is the only way to prove that you experienced life.”
“Fine, then I will tell you everything I remember about my life and why I think I erased it.  I don’t remember everything but maybe you’ll be able to figure out a reason for forgetting.”
“I would be honored if you would do that.”
The Sweeper Woman smiled gently, and began her story.  “I remember that the sixth land of Avarion had to be crossed on boat because it was the land of the Wamangan or water spirits.  This was the land of sirens and mermaids.  The Callans were people who could walk on water; and rode the beasts of the seas.  Where one person would ride a horse, these people would ride a whale, or dolphin, or other water creatures that no longer exist.  The Callans had the job of carrying visitors from the land of the eamanan, the Earth sprits, to the land of the aimangan or spirits of the air.  The Callans had webbed feet and fingers as well as gills on their neck. Their eyes had double eyelids to keep the water out, and their ears had a cap to seal their ears from water as well.  They wore no clothes and had seaweed for hair, they could speak the common tongue but their general language was one of high-pitched squawking, it sounded sort of like a nail being dragged on a chalk board but somehow producing different pitches above the range of normal hearing.  The Callans were the rightful rulers of this land and one of the king’s top advisers was a Callan.  The gatekeeper was named Eiuron and he was the meanest of the guards. 
“For Eiuron, was one of the water people first and a guard second.  He would let anyone who wanted to come in, into the land and then laugh while he made the waves drown that person.  He was a Callan, and he followed the rule of his king first and the king of Avarion second.”
Arcadia interjected, “Sort of like Tyron?”
“Yes, he was exactly like Tyron in his arrogance because the king could not control earth or water without dire consequences.  Eiuron looked at the leader of the guards in arrogance then let him in without fear, knowing that if they tried to cause trouble he could drown them easily.  The water people did not fear the king because the king couldn’t swim.”
“Who is this king I keep hearing about?”  Arcadia asked.
“The king was the ruler of Avarion and the cruelest man I have met.  I’ll talk more about him later but for right now let’s talk about the Callans.” Arcadia nodded to show that was all right with her and the story continued, “The king’s men waited for a Callan to come with a boat.  The boat appeared quickly with a short Callan upon it.  He rode on the waves themselves and called for a boat made of the sea foam.  At his rude talk a vessel was formed and he let the soldiers and Galen seat themselves.  To me he offered his hand and helped me board the ship. 
“‘A pretty lady can always use a little help.’  He told me.
“I smiled to see the kindly man and whispered in his ear, ‘Mark well where I go and tell the tree people what happens, I believe the king is about to forget the might of the forest people.’  I think there was something special about this man, I get the feeling I met him before but I don’t remember how.
“He nodded at me quietly and handed me a seashell, ‘When you put it to you ear you will hear the ocean and when you speak the ocean will hear you.’ He looked at me a long time to see if I caught the hidden meaning; the seashell would serve as a walkie- talkie to the sea people.  Galen just glared at the man who was with his girl but said nothing because he was a lower person than the Callan.  Galen was very class conscious and he never spoke to those of a higher class than himself. It was part of his appeal, I liked a man who knew his place, who was humble, who wasn’t arrogant, and who thought of me in ridiculous hyperbole.
“I asked him, ‘What is your name sweet stranger?’
“‘My name is Wave Maker, Serephin, for I know you well though you know me not. The Earth sings of you and what is to come.’ I remember him saying that but I still have the feeling that somehow I knew him.”  The Sweeper Woman hit her head and started shaking it, “I can’t remember how I knew him.”
“It’s not important,” Arcadia said, “Just tell me what you said to him.”
“‘Hush’ was all I said and the rest of the ride passed in silence.”
“What was he talking about?”  Arcadia asked timidly.
“I was a seer and I saw a bad future for Avarion, I saw something bad for myself but I erased that memory long ago.  I think I may have been royalty as well but again that memory is clouded in fog.”
Arcadia was not satisfied but she knew that she would get no more out of the Sweeper Woman who continued her story, “We arrived at the gate of the aimangan or wind spirits quickly.  The gatekeeper was named aion and he was made of the wind.  All that remained consistent of him were his two blue eyes.  His hair was a dark cloud and his form was the wind itself. 
He let us in easily and with diffidence, the wind people did not have as much power as the Earth and water people.  Their land was home to gargoyles, which were stone by day but beast by night.  The lands of air, fire, Earth, and water were well acquainted with one another and knew of many ways to get past the wall.  These people all knew of each other and usually were in peace.  The lands of air and fire were closer than any of the other gates. The gargoyles were used to working with the dragons of the fire land and the dragons were used to working with the gargoyles of the air.
“The land of air had no land to speak of; it was daylight so the stone gargoyles drifted in the air without ground to ride upon.  I can’t really explain an environment without ground or gravity, for most people it’s impossible to imagine.  It’s like trying to think of the entire world in total darkness, without boundaries, the human mind just can’t deal with the emptiness. Anyway, enough with philosophy, we were riders on the clouds, so we sort of floated to the eighth gate.  The eighth gate led to the land of fire. 
“The gatekeeper here was named Fuegucho.  His hair was fire and his skin was so hot that a single touch would burn whoever dared to come near him.  His eyes were made of smoke so that you could never tell how he truly felt, I think he was chosen as the leader to that realm because the king couldn’t see dislike in his eyes.  He feared the guards because it was well known that the king could become flame.  Fire was the first magic that the king had ever achieved and all feared him for this trick.  I think the king learned about fire first because it can be an element of destruction.  The king loved fires even before he inherited that power; he used to burn infidels because their fat looked pretty in the blue and red light of the flames. 
“The king would become the fire on the candle one lit at night, or the ember of a campfire you sat around; he was a spy for himself and he loved to journey to the land of fire and cause trouble.  It is said that he once learned that a little girl called him a bucket head, that night she was burned alive when she lit a nightlight to keep away the night terrors 
“On entering this land I heard the crying of a dragon far off.  I turned from the guards and asked the gatekeeper, ‘Why does she cry?’
“He answered me almost laughingly, ‘Her child was born on cold sand because the king wished it.’  I started crying for the loss of the baby.
“Galen asked me, ‘What is wrong,’ but I would not answer him and went on.  One of the dragons ran to me and embraced me in his human form.  ‘Sweet Serephin it has been long since I have seen thee.’  The guards were too stupid to notice that a person from a land farther in than the tree people were supposed to go had recognized me.  The leader of the guards just wasn’t that smart.”
“I thought all Vampires were smart.” Arcadia interjected.
“Any thing that is ruled by an insatiable lust for blood can only be smart in the way of battle.  Vampire blood lust destroyed most of the intelligence in the species.”
“Why do you hate vampires so much?”
“I hated how they hurt my friends.”
“Oh, please continue with your story.”
Serephin nodded and smiled. “I replied, ‘It has been long since I have seen you Timothy, may your horns grow long.’
“‘May your branches grow straight.’ He replied then he bowed to me and I curtseyed to him. Galen understood nothing of what we had said or why we said it.  Galen had never been beyond the third gate so he didn’t realize that this was the traditional greeting between our people.  However, he did see me give a letter into Timothy’s keeping, Galen was a lot smarter than the guards were but that’s not saying much. Galen used to be so gentle and sweet and smart, if he had only been born some place other than Avarion he could have been a ruler, or saint, or something else with power. I love him so much.” Serephin shook her head then, “Listen to me going on and you trying to hear the story, let me get on with it.”
Arcadia shook her head in denial, “It’s sweet to see that you still love him.”
“Love was never our problem.”
“So what happened at the ninth gate?” Arcadia asked to change the conversation, it was getting too depressing.
“The ninth gate was the land of hellhounds and prisoners.  The Goblins were the keepers and the land lived in perpetual nightmare.  Goblins were the masters of displaying inner fears before the eyes of their people.  The prisoners had hollowed eyes that saw nothing but their work and it was well known that no one left prison, ever.  The dragons would kill everybody who entered the land of fire by eating them; going backwards wasn’t possible, going forward was suicide because the king would torture you for as long as it was still fun; then kill you.  The prisoners could not escape, and no guard stood to let people in or out because guards surrounded the prisoners and filled them with nightmares.  I think Galen once told me that his father was a prisoner but I doubt his father had ever seen the ninth land.  The ninth land was for the prisoners who were truly dangerous, not the ones who didn’t pay their taxes or the doers of petty crimes like the people in the fourth land.  We passed through the ninth gate quickly and entered the 10th gate.”
“Do you know why Galen’s father was imprisoned?” Arcadia asked eagerly.
“All of the people beyond the second gate knew.  Galen’s father, Stephen, had been taking Ritters and shape shifters and letting them escape.  From what I heard, his wife begged him to stop over and over again because she was terrified of what would happen to their children if the truth came out.  No one could ever prove that Dorrie was responsible for the escape routes or even knew about it.  In fact, the only thing they could prove about Galen’s father was that he had lied about how much money he had, he hadn’t been paying the right amount of taxes.  Most likely, he had more money because prisoners were paying him.”
“Do you think that Dorrie helped her husband?”
“Yeah, I’m pretty sure she did help him from what Galen used to tell me. He told me that both his father and mother would leave the house for long periods of time without telling anyone where they were going.  Galen also described his mother as tough, unable to cry when his father was arrested.”
“So how did his mother escape prison?”
“His mother was a better actress, she never got caught.”
“So what happened in the tenth gate?” Arcadia inquired.
“The guard named Anterior let us all in gladly and toasted the guards.  ‘We shall stay here over night,’ the guard told us.
“‘Please,’ I begged, ‘tell me why you have brought me here.’  The very sound of the hellhounds scared me.  I did not want to stay in this land of nightmares a second longer than I had to.  The stories of the hellhounds had been told to me when I was a little girl and the fear had remained in me, even though I was now an adult.”
“What stories of the hellhounds?”  Arcadia asked eagerly.
“I was told that the hell hounds were humans who had been bitten.  One bite from the hellhound would drive you insane, no longer able to live in the land you grew up in, only feeling hunger, and thirst; an unending hunger to make more people like you.  The hellhounds were slaves, unable to think for themselves, living parodies of what they once had been.”
“I can see why you were so scared.” Arcadia whispered.
“The guard smiled and showed his fangs,” the Sweeper Woman continued, “‘Relax, your blood is that of bark we have no reason to feed off you.  Your husband would be a tasty treat but the king has ordered that no one shall harm either you or your lover,’  The last phrase was spat out with a type of hissing laughter that made me think of a nest of snakes.
“I remember asking; ‘why am I to go to the king?’
“The guard just laughed at me, ‘You know why,’ was all he said and he left the two of us alone in this place of nightmares. 
“‘What did he mean?’  Asked my precious Galen.
“I sat down and started crying, ‘He meant that I am to be the royal whore, he meant that our marriage isn’t important to him, he meant that I am lost.’ I said this and I felt this total loss in my heart, or I should have felt despair but the feeling is hidden from me.” The Sweeper Woman shrugged, “I guess it was too painful for me to remember.”
Without a pause, the Sweeper Woman continued with her story.  “Galen was outraged, ‘But dearest he can’t do that without incurring the vengeance of Avarion, he would never do that. The land would rebel.’
“‘You stupid man, of course he would do that.  The king no longer is willing to believe that anything is more powerful than he is.  He will have me and that will be the end of it.’
“‘I’ll fight them, they won’t touch you.’ Galen declared but I would not be consoled.
“‘No matter how strong you are you can not stand up to the king. If he wishes to have me, he will have me.  I have already told Wave Maker, and given Timothy a note to rouse the entire fifth gate if he does dishonor me; that is all we can do.’”
Arcadia broke in here, “what do you mean by dishonor you?”
“I don’t know anymore, that is one of the memories I erased.  Galen told me that, ‘If you are taken I will fight.’
“I told him to ‘Hush because we know nothing for certain yet.’
“‘What was the point of the dragon laying eggs on cold Earth?’ he asked me to steer away from painful topics.
“‘When a dragon gives birth, the eggs must be laid on warm land or the baby will die.  The king ordered her to lie on cold land and that has killed her baby; the king has killed her child.’  I whispered to him shivering in the night, Galen’s hand went over my arm but he was tense, thinking angry thoughts.
         “‘Will no one ever stand up to him?’
“I told him to, ‘be quiet love, this land has a million spies, we have crossed into the king’s domain so have a care what you say, lest you end up in prison.’
“We spent that night with one asleep, and the other awake to watch for hungry vampires so that neither would be harmed in any way.  The hellhounds bayed around us.  Moon-wraiths prowled the night in their wolf form unable to keep moon madness at bay, slaves of the full moon and the king’s enforcers.  The hellhounds were said to be shape shifters, infected by moon madness, and then bespelled by witches to be slaves that could pass on their disease to everyone they bit.  We lit a fire and stayed awake to keep the hellhounds, Moon-wraiths, and vampire away.  The morning saw us safe and sound and we rose to go to the next land no matter how bad, it had to be better than the tenth. 
“The next day brought us to the eleventh gate.  The weather witch Morgana guarded this gate.  She was the eyes and ears of the king, and although a lesser guard had been appointed to guard the entrance, she was not satisfied unless she was given the ability to guard her ladies.  She had no real loyalty to the king but for her bloodline to continue as the leaders of Avarion; she was willing to kill.  I think that I once knew more about her but that is another memory I erased.  The 10th gate was the land of witches and these people had the power to change into any other creature and have its powers.  They could control the weather and they could read the future.  Not every witch had these powers, and some had more but that was the basis of their abilities; it was from these people that the king was chosen.”
“Were all the witches evil?” Arcadia asked quietly.
“Being a witch did not make them evil, but their power and status usually corrupted them.  The good witches ran away because all of Avarion was corrupt.  You have to understand that when a bunch of people are thrown together, some will act superior and the superior ones will take advantage of the lesser people under them.  A single witch, surrounded by humans is a good person because she’s too weak to be evil.  Hitler was an evil man but he wouldn’t have been able to act that badly unless he was put into power. The witches weren’t evil Arcadia, but their place in society made them act badly.”
“I don’t really understand.” Arcadia replied carefully, ashamed that she had to admit ignorance.
The Sweeper Woman smiled gently, “Most adults, and societies that function like this don’t understand it, people tend to view wealth, power, and privileges as good things they don’t realize how being in power is dangerous to the soul.  If adults can’t understand it what chance does a young child have?”
         “Continue with your story.” Arcadia demanded, the Sweeper Woman didn’t laugh at Arcadia’s impatience because this was where the story became the hardest to remember.
“The king was chosen from the witches, and the most powerful male of the witches became king. This particular hereditary line had been around for more centuries and for whatever reason the king’s family had produced powerful offspring that became the next ruler.  It was always a male child chosen to rule, again I get the feeling that there is more to the story but I can’t remember.” The Sweeper Woman hit her face with her fist but it didn’t do her any good. “I wish I knew why I couldn’t remember certain things, it’s quite annoying.  I didn’t erase all of my memory you know, some of it got erased for a different reason that I can’t remember.” The Sweeper Woman stopped hitting herself and continued with her story, “Anyway, to cross one of the witches was certain death, and it wouldn’t be clean; this was also the land of the priests and quiet a few could be seen blessing or cursing whoever happened to come their way.  The guards said nothing because no one was allowed to speak in the land of the witches or that person would be turned to stone.  So slowly, the company traveled to the last gate on a golden road lined with stone figurines.
“The last gate was guarded with many different guards. The gate was opened cautiously once the head guard was seen and both Galen and I were directed to the king’s throne room in the middle of a forest of spears.
         “Upon seeing the king, Galen dropped to his knee immediately.  I stayed standing defiantly.  ‘Why have you summoned me brother?’ I demanded.  Galen’s eyes opened remarkably wide but my attention was for the king and the king alone.”
         “The king was your brother?”  Arcadia asked in amazement.
         “That’s correct, I was the king’s sister but it didn’t make me queen, there was only one ruler and it was always male, there wasn’t any chance for me to rule.”
         “What did the king tell you?”
“He told me that, ‘I have lusted after you for a long time as I’m sure you know.  When the guard heard you singing he informed me you had the most beautiful voice he ever heard.  I know of what Orin did to you.  My last wife is now dead, your resistance and dislike of me has made you an irresistible quantity.’ The king’s wives were all former revolutionaries who had disagreed with him on something, in the end all their spirits had been broken and then he had them killed.  Actually, he had them kill themselves; he didn’t stop their suicide attempts once their spirit was broken.  He would torture them to the point where life wasn’t worth living then let them kill themselves.”
         “What did Orin do to you?” Arcadia demanded.
         “He broke my legs; I think the memory isn’t clear.  These next memories are all like dreams underwater I remember the words but not why they were important; so stop questioning me because I don’t remember anything else.” Almost too quiet to hear The Sweeper Woman whispered, “It hurts to remember anything else.”
         The Sweeper Woman switched gears quickly and went back to the story, “I said that ‘to marry would be to sin against the island.  The spirits of fire, water, air, and land are not to be toyed with.  Your marriage proposal is not accepted; I am in love and married with another, now let me go.’
         “The king told me, ‘I don’t think so Serephin.’ With that the king’s guards surrounded the entire palace.  ‘You will be mine,’ he declared.
         “I screamed, ‘My people will revolt, they’ll never let this stand.’”
         “He laughed and his voice vibrated with malice, ‘my powers are beyond any spirit now.  I have mastered the four elements, as you have, sister I will have you and nothing will be powerful enough to stop me.’
         “’Why, did you make me bring Galen?’ I demanded.
         “’I can’t marry you until he gives up the right to you.’ He whispered this and came over to me, not touching my hair but looking at my breasts as though his mere gaze could show him how they felt.
         “Galen sprang up in absolute anger.  ‘I would never give her over to you and you know it.’ He stood tall and defiant as my knight and my protector in every way willing, to do anything to save me.
         “The king smiled and said one word, ‘Guards’, bemused by Galen’s defiance. Galen was carried away while I fought to get to him.  The king bashed my head with his huge oak club and I fell unconscious, lying on the floor as my loved one was led to the dungeons.
         “I was treated sweetly, I was given good food, and drink.  My bedroom was done in greens and silvers.  I had chimes draped all over the room so it sounded as if the room was singing, it was supposed to sound like home, but it didn’t somehow the soft bells sounded like prison.  My bed was canopied with rich silks and velvet covers.
“Galen slept on a stone floor but didn’t actually sleep.  The king tortured him. As a healer, any injury that was left alone would heal as long as the king didn’t go too far; Galen could be tortured for centuries and he wouldn’t die.
         “The king’s first act was to cut off his eyelids so he couldn’t stop seeing the truth.  He was put in a room of utter darkness so he couldn’t tell when day or night began.  He could hear and he could smell, in fact he couldn’t stop.  The king had the bathroom sludge poor over Galen constantly and Galen was unable to get ill from any of it.  Galen was beaten, and his bones were broken one by one but Galen would not renounce his claim on me. 
         “The king could not break Galen through brute force after several months.  So the king decided to bring him before me because the king didn’t have the patience to wait Galen out.  I was surrounded by guards and brought into the royal throne room to sit upon a velvet chair.  I was dressed in rich velvet and laid carefully at the king’s feet.  Galen was brought up in chains with the smell of human and non-human excrement over his body. 
         “‘Oh Galen,’ I wept as I ran to my poor love.
         “Galen hadn’t been in sunlight for over several months and he couldn’t shield himself from the sun’s glare.  He was blind from the dazzle of light after being in darkness; his retinas were being destroyed as he tried to see me but he never lowered his eyes from me.
         “The king took me over to a corner and started whispering to me. ‘He will be hurt worse than this you know.’
         “‘Please brother, have mercy, I will renounce all claim he has on me and be your wife just please stop this torture.’
         “‘Such compassion moves my heart but it won’t work, I need him to surrender his claim to you and that is the only thing that will work.’
         “’Give me some privacy and I will talk to him.’ I pleaded; I admit I was begging; I would have done anything to save Galen.
         “’You must give a blood oath that you will truly be my queen.’ He replied, knowing that I was willing to do anything for Galen.
         “’I swear upon all the trees of Avarion.’  I whispered and watched the king nod. The guards were removed from the room and I was left alone with Galen. I knelt before him and took out my handkerchief to wash away his dirt.  ‘Stop,’ he whispered in a voice gone hoarse with screaming. ‘It doesn’t matter how I look you will not convince me to relinquish my claim on you.  I will not let that monster have you.’
         “’They’ll hurt you Galen,’ I told him
         “Galen gave a sad smile; ‘they’ll hurt you and me if I give in.  You are safe if I say nothing.’
         “’I can’t stand the thought of you being tortured, please give me up.’
         “’I can’t stand the thought of your torture, Serephin, I will never give you up.’
         “I straightened up then, ‘You leave me no choice, Galen.’ My eyes started to turn colors and my voice changed.  Galen could never remember the exact spell I used but he did remember giving up his claim in front of the king.  He remembered me putting him on a boat, manned by Wave Maker heading away from Avarion.  He remembered me bending over him and whispering, ‘The king does not know I have these powers, but you shall be safe for them, there is some good out of being born to a royal house.  I’ll love you always, and this way I’ll know you’re safe because you are never allowed to return to Avarion.’ With that, Galen was driven away, off into another world in the arms of Wave Maker.  Again I get the idea that there was something important about Wave Maker, something I can’t remember but there was a reason I sent him to take Galen.
         “I can’t remember why Wave Maker was important but I remember waving goodbye to my love and knowing it was the last time we would ever talk.”
         “I’m sorry,” Arcadia interrupted, “but it did work out you have Galen with you now.”
         The Sweeper Woman shook her head sadly, “Redrawn and I am no longer the same people; we have changed in ways you could never understand.  We have separated and Redrawn still can’t see the chasm between us.”
         “What chasm?”
         “He still thinks I care about Avarion, he doesn’t realize that the magic of this land is better to me than the magic of Avarion.  I have to go do my job; it tires me to talk about the past.”  With that, the Sweeper Woman disappeared and Arcadia went back to the waking world without the promised escort of the Sweeper Woman or Redrawn, but she wasn’t upset.  Something about the Sweeper Woman’s stories touched the core of loneliness Arcadia had deep inside her.  Arcadia thought that Redrawn was more loyal than her own parents, she didn’t think her father would go through torture to save her, she was pretty sure her father would have given her up to stop his own pain. 
         Arcadia saw her father’s grief and turning away from the real world as a protest against her but it wasn’t. Her father hurt from his wife’s death and he wasn’t able to accept the real world yet.  If Arcadia had been in danger he could easily have come out of his depression and done anything to save her.  Her father would never get the chance to prove his love and Arcadia would never understand him.