Mystic Awakenings Ch1

"Meet the Dreamweaver" first of four progressive stories that make up this entire book

Sarah sat in her pink satin pj’s, gazing out of her second story bedroom window into the velvet blackness of the midnight sky. "What’s out there that I’m missing out on? I wonder what exists beyond Mystic," she asks herself twirling her long, chestnut hair around her index finger. Grinning secretly, she confidently states, "I’ll find out one day..." Sarah then slid down her soft, powder blue cotton sheets, tucking her hands beneath her silky hair. Staring now at the blades of her ceiling fan, she wonders if her dreams tonight would be like the ones she’s had for a week now. "Like flying dream journeys, taking me too far off lands, far away from boring old Mystic."

 

"Wouldn’t it be cool if these places in my dreams were real?" She ponders. She stretches and says aloud, "Oh, am I tired I better get some sleep to be on top of my game for the meet against BHS tomorrow." Suddenly, her eyelids began to flutter, her breathing became shallow and her consciousness faded quickly. She knew it wouldn’t be long before her body and mind would slip into that trance-like slumber and whisk her away . . .

 

Her eyes sprung open. Sarah found herself gliding weightlessly above puffy, white clouds. As she passed the clouds, she saw mountaintops checkered with trees and large bodies of water. Her long hair danced behind her as her night gown slapped against her chilled skin. As she picked up speed, ahead of her, she saw an enormous, ancient stone castle with long, pointed spires adorned with colorful, triangular flags. Encircling the castle was a large, murky green moat, passable only by a large wood and iron drawbridge. She swallowed hard as she began her descent onto the old drawbridge. She winced at the creaking and bending beneath her cold, bare feet. Her attention turned quickly to large gray Gargoyle perched upon the entrance. It watched her with it’s piercing, red eyes as she entered into the massive, dimly lit castle. She looked down and noticed unusual symbols carved into the castle’s stone floor. She stopped abruptly. Her attention was now on the dark figure standing atop the spiral staircase.

 

Her eyes were wide and fixed on the dark figure, as she watched it morph into a human-like form. She became frozen with fear as the dark figure moved closer. Her heart began to pound as she realized, "This is not like the other dreams..."

 

She rubbed her eyes and shook her head in disbelief. "This can’t be happening," she thought to herself. " Her heart raced as the dark figure drew closer. Sarah broke out into a cold sweat. Her voice trembled as she uttered, "Hello . . . I’m Sarah and I mean you no harm." "I know who you are," the dark figure spoke in a tone that simply unnerved Sarah. Sarah’s eyes grew wide as the dark figure moved into the light. "I’ve been waiting for you, Sarah..." Sarah’s hair stood up on the back of her neck, as a chill ran up her spine like someone just walked over her grave.

 

Flowing, raven hair and dark piercing eyes staring back at her with a haunting familiarity. "This creature is a woman!" Sarah screamed inside her head. She stood quivering as she stared at the "woman" standing before her. "She seems so human-like and yet, I saw what she was just a minute ago." Sarah was trying to make sense of this situation. "Something about her eyes, her face . . . she seems so familiar. I know her from somewhere. Where could I possibly know her from?" She began to question her own sanity. "How does she know my name?" Her mind was spinning with curiosity. Sarah then asked the "woman," "Why, am I here? And why have you been waiting for me?" Sarah gathering her thoughts. "I have summonsed you, because I am in need of your assistance..." replied the woman. Just then, they were startled by the thunderous sound of pounding hooves and the eeriest of battle cries ever heard. The cries echoed throughout the castle. The woman grabbed Sarah’s hands and demanded, "This way, quickly!" In a split second they appeared on the upper level floor of the castle. They hid inside a large wooden column with a hidden door.

 

 

Startled and dizzy, Sarah whispered, "How did we get up here?" "I have teleporting abilities. When you hold my hands, you go where I go. You have the same ability Sarah. You just don’t remember." Sarah gave the woman a sideways scowl. "What is she talking about?" Sarah asked herself. "What were those terrible noises?" she asked. "Well, that would be your first clue as to why you are here..." said the woman, tapping her chalky fingers together. " Let us walk and I’ll try to quiet your anxious mind," The woman opened the door to the secret column. She looked around and motioned for Sarah to follow her out.

 

"You see Sarah, the monster you saw on the black horse was Gilliam the Horrid," she continued. "Gilliam the Horrid is an evil, maniacal beast, masquerading as a human being!" They walked quickly down several, well-adorned corridors. Sarah’s bare feet pounding the ancient rugs and stoned floors. The woman continued her story. "He has committed unspeakable acts against the people of this village, this country and many other countries as well" She commanded Sarah’s complete attention and she had it. "He has been at the right hand of almost every dictator and disaster throughout history. For instance, he was present for the Plagues that overtook Rome and the eventual fall of the Roman Empire. Whom did you think was the driving force behind Caesar? And what about the Senate? Whom do you think egged them on?" the woman asked rhetorically.

 

Sarah tried to keep up with the woman. Her head was spinning in total confusion. "The lost city of Atlantis . . . it sank because of those who were in charge. The individuals abused the power the Power Crystals provided for the entire civilization; thus causing massive underwater eruptions that overtook the entire city and forced it to its watery grave. Gilliam himself, was in charge of the Power Crystals, along with some of his goons." The woman continued. "He was Anne Boelyn’s father. He introduced her to King Henry Vlll!" Sarah didn’t utter a single word. "Guess who was at the wheel the night the Titanic hit the iceberg?" The woman looking back at Sarah to make certain she was keeping up. Sarah just kept running behind her, wondering where she was being led to in such a hurry.

 

"He had been in Germany when Hitler came into power.

He, is actually the one to come up with the idea of genocide and then, gave Hitler some advice on how to get out of the embarrassing position he was in..." she continued. "Need I say more?" she asked rhetorically once more. "No! Stop! I get the picture!" Sarah cried out in horror. "Gilliam the Horrid is the reason..." She paused then sighed. "He is the reason I am what I am, Sarah." She stopped. "Now, I must tell you . . . you are the only one who can help me."Sarah’s eyes widened with disbelief. "How am I supposed to help you?" she inquired. "Follow me Sarah, I must show you a great many things," said the mysterious woman. Sarah’s natural curiosity urged her to follow the woman into a dim, candle-lit hallway. Heavy, wooden panels lined the gigantic walls. Shining suits of armor and various ancient, battle weapons adorned those walls. She cringed at the sight of particular weapons, only imagining what they would do to frail, human flesh. She laughed at the others. She had no idea what she found so amusing, she just had the urge to laugh.

 

The woman led her to a pair of heavy wood and iron doors. Unlocking a medieval lock the size of a human head, the woman pushed forward the doors, unveiling a spectacular room with soaring, cathedral ceilings. It was filled with beautiful antiques, machinery, books and magick related artifacts. Sarah eyes were drawn to one book in particular. It sat atop a beautiful black, marble topped podium. From the book’s cover, scintillating jewels emulated rays of dancing lights in a spectrum of spectacular colors. "This is such a beautiful book..." said an awestruck Sarah. "This whole place is amazing!" she exclaimed. "You should find it to your liking, Sarah, it was all yours from a past life. It was bestowed to me upon your death." said the mysterious woman. "Okay . . . " responded Sarah with a tone of disbelief. "I’ve grown fond of the book myself." she stated. "Now, down to business..." she continued. "First and foremost, my name is Sasha." Sarah squinted her eyes with a glimmer of recall. "That name sounds familiar," she thought to herself. Sasha began with, "This is my story . . . "

 

"Many centuries ago, I was a young woman living in a small village much like your Mystic, in the northern mountain highlands of Scotland. My mother Zira, and I were retrieving waters from the river, for cooking and washing. While we laughed and sang, full of life..." She paused. "A normal, average, human life..." Sasha paused a moment by one of the windows and gazed out into the setting sun. She longed for those lost moments with her mother. Sarah was anxiously hanging onto Sasha’s every word, then asked, "What changed that happy life, Sasha?" Sasha then turned slowly and looked at Sarah, with a melancholy tone to her voice and said, "Sarah, my mother and I lived in a ‘special’ kind of village, one very different from the villages that surrounded ours. Our village believed and practiced ‘white magick’, which has come to be known as ‘Wicca’..." She continued, "We gave offerings from our harvested crops and celebrated with food, dance and song. We used holistic remedies to cure our ills. The incantations we recited were for the God and Goddess to bring us rain."

 

Sarah was enthralled by Sasha’s story. "We practiced with deep respect for life and all living things. We did not believe in an evil deity, though Gilliam the Horrid has put that belief into question. We never did anything demonic or evil. We worship Mother Earth and all the gifts she provides us with.

Our coven strongly believed that, ‘if it harms none, let it be done." She paused and walked over to the table at which Sarah was sitting. She put her hands on the table, leaned in toward Sarah and said, "Nevertheless, outsiders had their own thoughts about our Coven." She stood there a moment, staring Sarah dead in the eye, hoping for another glimmer of recall. "They rumored that we were sacrificing babies and virgins, slaughtering animals for sacrifice and whatnot. They were tragically wrong. We had an awful bout of fever related illness strike our village and it struck the very babies, virgins and animals they spoke of. The illness was too strong and beyond what our remedies could cure. If there were ever a doubt about where man made evil began, it began with those outside villagers."

 

Sarah was completely stunned by the sudden flashes of Sasha’s story in her mind. The flashes were so clear, as if she was actually there. Sarah then asked, "So, how did Gilliam the Horrid play into this whole scenario and change your life?" Sasha’s eyes flashed and turned black, as she grabbed Sarah by the shoulders and shook her. Once again, she stared Sarah dead in the eye and with a deeper, more creature like voice she growled, "It was something you did, Sarah! Something I warned you not to do!" Sarah became fearfully confused. As Sarah stared deeper into Sasha’s eyes, she felt as if she were flying backwards, zooming threw the sky and into the night. Without control over her own body, she could only watch as her feet flailed in front of her. The cool and misty night air once again chilled her skin and whipped her hair around her face. Faster and faster she went. With an abrupt stop, she was jolted out of her slumber.

 

Sweaty and breathless, Sarah slammed her right hand down on the snooze button. "Six A.M.," she mumbled as she flung back her sheets and stumbled toward the bathroom. Got to get ready for the meet," she said groggily as she turned the hot water knob to the left. She took a shower and slicked her long, chestnut hair into a ponytail. She put on her uniform and galloped downstairs to the kitchen. She grabbed a quick glass of orange juice and a piece of wheat toast. She kissed her mother on the cheek and told her she would see her later. Her mother yelled, "Good luck" as she watched Sarah speed off on her blue, mountain bike toward the school.

 

Author's Note

did what I could with the formatting :(