Dreamer Pt. 1

Dreamer
-Part 1-

By Dan L. Hollifield



Joel leapt back from the sword-slash that would have shortened him by a head. Seeing his enemy off balance from the weight of his sword cleaving the empty air, Joel lunged, struck a clean blow to the side of his enemy's helm. The CLANG of metal meeting metal resounded through the wooded glade like a church-bell calling to Sunday Mass. The enemy stumbled from the force of the blow. Seizing his advantage, Joel moved deftly to one side and struck again, feeling the burn of his muscles as he hefted the unfamiliar weight of his weapon.

"I must defeat him soon- before I tire too much and the battle goes to him," Joel thought. "This has gone on too long, but so far I've been lucky. I can't swing this heavy blade too much longer." Joel's tired legs carry him for one last dodge to the side as he swings the heavy weapon for what may be his last attack. Joel's blade, carried by the strength of his young arm, pierces the enemy's armor. The mighty blow, using the last of Joel's remaining energy, bites deeply into the enemy's side. Joel sees the rush of his foe's blood pouring from the gaping wound. It was a death-blow and Joel stands panting as his enemy collapses to the ground. The joy of battle won rushes through Joel's wiry frame as his enemy gasps out his last breath.

"Well struck, M' Lord," wheezes Joel's enemy. "And now, I die.

"Joel! Supper-time..."

Joel blinks in the afternoon haze and looks around at the empty clearing.

"Coming, Ma!" Joel yells back at the nearby house and reluctantly heads for home. He looks one last time at the rusty oil drum he has just beaten into submission. No longer would the Black Knight terrorize the innocent villagers. "Criminy, " Joel whispers to himself. "I whacked the tar out of it this time." He runs for home, knowing that to delay any longer would risk catching it from his Mother.




"Honestly, young man, I don't know what's going to become of you," Joel's teacher exclaims in a voice that reeks with frustration. "You never seem to hear a word I say."

"Ma'am?" Joel asks puzzledly.

"The problem on the blackboard," says the teacher, as if that would clarify the situation. The rest of the class stifle giggles as Joel tries to drag his attention back to his math class. "I'd like for you to solve the equation."

"Yes, Ma'am"

Math is so dull, Joel thinks as he reluctantly leaves his desk and approaches the blackboard. He grasps the chalk as if it were radioactive and scribbles the answer near the end of the equation.

"X equals 14," he says.

"No Joel," replies the teacher. "I want you to show each step as you factor the equation."

"But that's five steps," says Joel. "You can just look at it and see what will factor out, Ma'am. The answer has to be 14."

"Joel, how do I know that you worked out the problem yourself, instead of looking the answer up in the back of the book, if you don't show each step and how you got the answer?"

From the giggles coming from his classmates, Joel knows that the bullies will be after him as soon as the bell rings for lunch-break. They already hate him for ruining the teacher's grading curve. He knows that without his high grades on each test the teacher would be able to fudge the grades of the rest of the class so that more of them would pass. They singled him out for practical jokes and the occasional beating just because he could see the answers and usually managed to ace the tests. Joel erased his answer and began filling in the rest of the equation, showing each step, just the way the teacher wanted.

"All right class, there will be a test tomorrow," said the teacher when Joel had finished explaining each step. Groans filled the air and a spitball hit Joel in the back of the head as he sat back in his desk. He knew that they blamed him for the test. They couldn't very well blame the teacher, she was a grown-up. "I want you to review everything in chapter twenty and be prepared to start chapter twenty-one. Also, for your homework, do all of the problems at the end of chapter twenty."

The bell rang. As Joel gathered up his notebooks he could hear the bullies grumbling. He shouldered his knapsack and left the classroom, preparing to endure whatever torture awaited him at the hands of the others.




This time, there were only four of them. They shoved Joel against the lockers and shouted at him. Usually there were more bullies, some of them must have gotten sent to the Principal's office. They always teamed up on Joel, even though he was smaller than them. One got bold and punched him in the stomach while the others laughed and called out encouragements. Joel tried to fight back, but was helpless against them. Like savages, they huddled around him for the kill. Through a haze of pain, Joel saw a blur and cringed, expecting another blow. There was the sound of a meaty SMACK and the biggest bully went flying across the hallway. Two others were knocked reeling as the blur resolved itself into a recognizable shape.

"Anyone else want some?" came a voice. It was Tommy, the new kid that had just transferred from one of the big city schools. "Think you're pretty tough, 'eh? Four on one, you'd think y'all were scared of Joel."

The fourth bully turned and ran as the other three stumbled to their feet. Tommy balled up his fists and stood between the bullies and Joel. They took one look at what was shaping up to be a fair fight and ran off as well.

"Cowards!" yelled Tommy. "Come on back and fight, you chickens!"

"Thanks," gasped Joel as soon as he had his breath back. "But you'll just be making trouble for yourself. They'll gang up on you as soon as you turn your back."

"I don't think so," replied Tommy. "They ain't got the guts to stand up to someone who ain't afraid of them. Those buzzards are all alike. You gonna be OK? "

"Yeah, I think so. I just got the wind knocked out of me."

"OK," said Tommy. "I think we ride the same bus. Come on and I'll help you to a seat."

"Thanks again, but why did you wanna help me out?"

"Oh, I just hate to see somebody get ganged up on. 'Sides, I just came from the Library and your name was in every book I wanted to check out. I thought we might have something in common. Anybody that reads all them King Arthur books is OK by me."

Somehow, Joel summoned up the strength to laugh. Things were starting to look up.




By the end of the school year, Tommy and Joel were an inseparable team. They read the same books, watched the same movies, and stood beside one another against the same bullies. The bullies soon learned to look elsewhere for their sport, for Tommy had taught Joel a few lessons in the art of self-defence. Joel, in return, had introduced Tommy to the joys of battling oil drums and trees into submission with an old broomhandle. Joel's favorite clearing in the woods behind his house soon became their little Camelot. The boys built themselves a make-shift fort and treehouse in the branches of a friendly Sweetgum tree. When they discovered a textbook on fencing in the local public Library, they lost no time in marking off a space in their clearing to practice lunges, feints, and parries with their broomhandles. As the summer vacation drew towards it's end they found themselves dreading their first year of High School. Junior High had been easier since they had become friends, but they wondered if they were going to be able to spend their time together in the new school.

"I don't care if we don't have our classes all together," said Tommy. "We'll still be able to get together after school."

"Yeah," agreed Joel. "We weren't in the same classes that often last year. I don't see that it'll make much difference. We'll always be able to meet here at the fort."

As they talked, the boys were washed by the shade-cooled breeze that rustled the leaves of the tree. The gentle hiss of the wind was punctuated by birdcalls and the chattering of the nearby squirrels. Gradually, they became aware of the sound of approaching footsteps from deeper in the woods. Someone was coming, if the crunching of the dead leaves in the woods was any indication.

"I bet it's that goofy old woman who bought the old Harkness place," said Joel.

"No way! Somebody moved into the haunted house?" asked Tommy.

"Yeah, bet she don't stay there long!"

"What makes you think that it might be her?"

"I overheard Mrs. Thacker gossiping about the old lady when Mom and I went to the grocery store last week," replied Joel. "Ol' fussbudget Thacker said she must be some kind of Gypsy. Dressed like one, anyway."

"Oh," said Tommy. "What else did Motor-mouth have to say?"

"Just that she seemed to spend a lot of time out in the woods- picking mushrooms, collecting some kind of weeds, digging up some old roots. Stuff like that. Thacker said that it was disgraceful that a woman her age would carry on like that."

"Sounds like one of Dad's old girlfriends," said Tommy after some thought. "She was into all that 'Back to Nature' stuff. Glad Dad didn't marry her after all, we'd of probably gone off to live in some Macro-biotic commune or something."

"Sounds weird," replied Joel. "Ever since my Dad died, I've been worried that Mom would fall for some guy I couldn't stand"

"I know how you feel," Tommy said quietly. "Dad's been a little weird about girlfriends since he and Mom got divorced. 'Course, Mom running off with that surfer-dude and moving to California kind of tore him up. Never understood what Mom saw in that moron, anyway. It took more than a year before Dad even went out on a date. He still mopes around the house when their wedding anniversary comes around. But at least he's got it together enough to keep on dating women."

"Yeah," said Joel. "Mom has a couple of guys that she goes out with once in a while, but nothing special. I mean, neither of them have ever spent the night or anything."

"You know," began Tommy hesitantly, "maybe we oughta try to get my Dad and your Mom together sometime. Who knows? They might just like one another."

"Shhh..." Joel hissed. "Whoever it is ought to be here any minute now. Let's see how long it takes them to catch on that we're up here in the tree."

The boys could hear that the crunch of footsteps had gotten louder. Their visitor would be stepping into the clearing any time now. Joel and Tommy both sat very still, waiting for the first glimpse of whoever it was that approached their private kingdom.

"Hey," Tommy whispered. "How old is this Gypsy lady, anyway?"

"Ancient," Joel whispered back. "She's got to be forty-five if she's a day, leastways that's what Mrs. Thacker said."

The leaf-crunching rustle of the footsteps slowed and the boys caught their first glimpse of their visitor. They saw an old man with a snow-white beard, wearing a hooded cloak and walking with the aid of a tall staff. He entered their clearing, stopped, and looked around at the area of hard- packed ground that the boys had swept free of leaves for their playground. This was definitely not the Gypsy woman that they had been expecting. The stranger smiled as he viewed the clearing.

"What a green and pleasant land is this," said the stranger. "It shows much love and care. Obviously, this the realm of a kind and noble people." His voice was touched by an accent that was vaguely British. The stranger looked up and stared straight at the two boys hidden by the leaves around their treehouse. He smiled even wider, his eyes twinkling as he spoke again.

"Greetings M' Lords. 'Tis a pleasant day for a merry meeting. Come, descend from yon arbor and have speech with me, for I have traveled many leagues to grant your request. Come, two noble warriors such as yourselves have naught to fear from an old man. Not one as weary from walking as myself."

"Who are you?" asked Joel in astonishment.

"Indeed," replied the stranger. "You claim to know me not? Do you not recognize me? I am he that thou hast summoned with thy studies and thy love of the olden days."

"We haven't called anyone," said Tommy defensively. "We've been real quiet so folks would leave us alone."

"Exactly! That is how I was able to locate you so easily," said the stranger. "If you had been a pair of wild hellions I would not have felt the need to respond to your summons. Come, there is much to discuss and I fear my neck will suffer a crick if I am perforce to gaze up into yon tree all day."

"If you're some kind of pre-vert," said Joel. "We'll scream 'til the cops come and lock you up!"

The stranger chuckled as if the thought of being arrested were somehow ludicrous. He looked more like a kindly Uncle than some child-molester, but Joel and Tommy were still cautious. Looks can be deceiving.

"I have come to answer to your need," the stranger said calmly. "You both have expressed the same desires; to learn, to grow, to be whole again. You have demonstrated the love of valor and the purity of heart necessary to call me here. And so I have come in answer to your summons. To teach, to guide, and to heal your familial wounds. Such is not to be spurned lightly, for I do not grant this boon more than twice in a century."

"What are you talking about?" asked Joel.

"Who are you? Tell us your name," said Tommy. "Or we can't even begin to trust you."

"Caution... that is good," replied the stranger. "At least I won't have to teach you that. Nor swordplay either, I gather. That surely must be out of vogue in this age. Very well, my name, though you should both have recognized me by this time. I am Merlin Ambrosius, late of Camelot and the court of Arthur Pendragon."

"Either he's nuts," said Joel to Tommy, "or we are!"


"Tommy, Joel," said Merlin. "I can reassure you of my identity time and again, but you will have no reason to believe me until I can offer you proof."

"You got that right," said Tommy. Joel nodded solemnly.

"Very well," said Merlin. He gestured dramatically and a copper bowl appeared in his hand. "I'll need to fill this with water."

"Woah! I bet you won't find that trick at a magic show!"

"Yeah Tommy, That thing didn't come out of his sleeve. Um... there's a creek right over here, Mister Merlin."

"Thank you. Now, after I fill this perhaps I can show you something that will support my claims." Merlin walked over to the stream and descended the bank. While he was busy, Joel and Tommy had time to talk privately.

"What'd you think, Joel?"

"I dunno, that bowl sorta convinced me that he's not just some crazy in weird clothes."

"What's he gonna do with a bowl of water?"

"Guess we have to wait and see, Tommy. Shhh, here he comes back."

"Well, did you decide to watch with an open mind?" asked Merlin. "Now, let us see what we can see." Merlin stood his staff upright, muttered "Stay." The staff remained standing by itself. He then held the bowl between his hands and began whispering. The copper bowl was almost a foot across and half that deep. It's surface was polished to a high gleam and the water sparkled as Merlin held it level with his waist. The boys both gasped as Merlin took his hands away and left the bowl floating in mid-air! "Look into the water," he said. Tommy could see that the water was getting cloudy. Joel thought that he saw swirling shapes begin to twirl about in the bowl.

"Hey," Joel blurted out, "It's a picture!"

"Yes," smiled Merlin. "What do you see Tommy?"

"Uh- a castle," Tommy began.

"Camelot?" asked Joel breathlessly.

"No," Merlin replied. "But it is a castle in Avalon that is near Camelot. Camelot has been sealed away since the last battle. It awaits Arthur's return. Camelot may wait forever before England needs Arthur again."

"Just like in the stories?" asked Joel.

"Yes," Merlin replied sadly. "Those days are long gone, sometimes I miss them. Then again, hot and cold running water and indoor plumbing do have their own attractions."

"Wait a minute," Tommy said suddenly. "What happened to your accent? You were talking like a storybook when you first walked up, now you sound like everyone else does nowadays!"

"Ah, well... I have had a long time to adjust to modern life," Merlin began.

"Oh..."

"I did have to fit in somehow over the years. After all, there would be some considerable outcry if I retained my accent from the middle ages. But sometimes it comes back when I'm in a more formal mood."

"Oh, I see... I guess."

"Come on, give him a chance. What's the matter Joel, don't you see that bowl floating there? I don't see any wires, do you? This is real!"

"Come on Tommy, this is just too weird!"

"So what are you saying? We're dreaming?"

"Boys, we don't have time for this," Merlin said gravely. "I only have a limited time. I'll show you why I'm here. Look into the water again."

"What's that?" asked Tommy when he looked into the bowl.

"It looks like a war- knights in armor, riding horses," added Joel.

"This is a land called Arcadia," Merlin said. "It is near to Avalon, but separated from it by many years. The two major kingdoms of Arcadia have been tricked into a bloody conflict that threatens to destroy the entire land. Only the safe return of two members of royalty, one to each kingdom, will avert the catastrophe that looms over both kingdoms. Without those two Princes, the evil mastermind will be able to bring down both royal houses and forge a kingdom of darkness for himself to rule over."

In the waterbowl there were scenes of great battlefields, strewn with the dead and dying. Families weeping over the loss of their fathers, brothers, and sons. Women being run down by hunched, twisted things that looked only vaguely like men on horseback, captured for torture- or worse. The pictures went on and on.

A third army hid in the darkness of the forests, striking first at one kingdom and then the other. Grim, misshapen figures emerged from the forests to confuse and misdirect the loyal armies of the two kingdoms. Both thought the other was responsible for the terrible deeds.

"Let me guess," said Joel. "You want us to go there with you and play 'Prince and the Pauper'!"

"No way!" Tommy gasped. "I don't believe it."

"I'll bet we just happen to look like these two missing Princes and Merlin wants us to impersonate them long enough to stop the war," Joel continued in a rush.

"Actually you don't look anything like them," Merlin said. "But that wouldn't matter because no one has seen them since they were infants. Otherwise, I'm afraid that you're right. I would like to ask you for your help. Not to impersonate the two Princes, but to help convince their families to stop the war, join forces against the real enemy, and give me time to locate the missing heirs. It will be more of a 'Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court' than 'Prince and the Pauper' for these people need an influx of modern ideas to help combat the dark power that threatens them."

"But what about our families? We don't have time to go anywhere!"

"Yeah Merlin, how could we disappear from home and not get our folks worried sick about us?"

"No matter how much time you spend in Arcadia, you will return here to the same instant that you leave. Magic does have it's uses, you know."

"I still don't believe it," said Joel. "That's gotta violate a whole bookfull of physical laws!"

"Not really," said Merlin as he smiled. "It can be expressed in terms of traveling through Einstein- Rosen wormholes in spacetime into a parallel universe, but that would take all the romance out of the magic... Plus make me look like a physicist instead of a sorcerer. I enjoy the accomplishments of science as much as anyone alive today, but I prefer the beauty and romance of magic."

"Joel," whispered Tommy. "We always wanted to do more than just play knights-in-armor, this is our big chance!"

"Tommy, you're already ready to just drop everything and take off. Doesn't any of this frighten you? It does me! We could get killed somewhere and our folks would never know! Those guys are fighting with real swords, that's real blood on the ground, and those are real goblins hiding in the shadows!"

"Come on Joel, Merlin is real. He's really here!"

"That's half of what scares me, Tommy!"

"Boys, I won't lie to you. There is danger. The threats are real, the monsters are real, but the people are real too and they need your help. You two are special, the spells I cast to get here brought me to you for a reason. In all the world, you are the right people to help Arcadia in it hour of need. The only two people to give them the help that they urgently need right now. It's not a matter of killing goblins, or curing some disease, or leading a band of warriors on a quest. The magic chose you because you have the gifts that are needed. Somewhere inside yourselves lies the salvation of Arcadia and you are the only ones that can make the difference. My time grows shorter, but I do have time to offer you some sort of proof of what I say."

"How?" asked Joel.

"By letting you visit another world, letting you spend as much time there as you wish, and bringing you back to this moment in time here in your own world. Will you accept that as proof that I can do what I say?"

"Well," mused Joel. "I suppose so."

"Good," smiled Merlin. He waved his hands again and a small globe of crystal appeared. It rapidly grew larger until it was almost as tall as Merlin and rested on the ground like a giant soap-bubble. Colors swirled and danced in it's interior and the boys could hear faint music float in the air. "Here is your gateway. I will bring you back when you believe. You may also find something there that could help Arcadia, I'm not sure. When I prepared for this meeting I knew that I would have to send you to another realm before you would consent to go to Arcadia, but I cannot determine why this is the place for you to go. I only know that you have to go here first. The magic will not work in any other manner. There is something in this world that you will need before you can go to the next. Perhaps it is some magical device, then again, it may only be self-confidence."

"Did you look into our future?"

"No Tommy, I looked into Arcadia's future. That is how I know that you and Joel are the ones needed to save it. The time is now. You must either step into the sphere or turn and walk away."
"Where will we go?"

"Into wonders beyond your imaginings, Joel. Into your destiny, one of your possible destinies in any case. Choose now. To go or not to go. I cannot force you to do anything except choose." Tommy and Joel looked at one another, then back at Merlin. They looked at the copper waterbowl floating in mid-air and at Merlin's staff standing upright by itself. Taking a deep breath, without another word they both walked through the wall of the sphere as if it were simply a patch of fog. Merlin smiled grimly.

"It has begun..." he whispered.




Tommy and Joel stood still and looked around them in wonder. They had walked through the bubble and into a party. Joel looked back to see the bubble, but saw only a wall covered with rich tapestries showing scenes of hunting. Tommy looked ahead at the people having the party. They were tall, beautiful people dressed in flowing robes of bright colors. Each boy felt as if he had just stepped into a medieval feast. They looked at one another as one of the figures waved to them. Across the room one of the people stood and beckoned to them. As if in a dream they approach the figure who had summoned them. He had returned to his seat as the boys crossed the feast hall. His seat was a throne, seemingly carved from a single huge gemstone of sparkling blue. His hair was blonde and fell about his shoulders loosely. He wore a crown of silver and brocaded robes of some scarlet cloth.

"Welcome to Ky-eir," he said as the crowd hushed. "I am Do-em-nair, Regent for the Princess Sill- eve-kor. I perceive from your clothing that you are travelers from a far land. May I ask how you came to be here? I saw you walk through the far wall and knew that some magic was at work this night."

"Merlin sent us," said Joel.

"Ah, " replied Do-em-nair with a laugh. "The Sage never visits us often enough. Be doubly welcome then, for Merlin is revered here and his friends are always treated well. Chamberlain, set two more places at my table. Bring food and drink for our new guests."

"Thank you sir," said Tommy.

"What is this place," added Joel. "Merlin wouldn't even tell us where we were going."

"Only that you needed to come here?" asked Do-em-nair.

"Yes, how did you know?"

"This is Ky-eir, Land of the Blessed. Only those who have need of us are able to find their way here through the World-Walls. A magic older than time itself protects us from all others. Come, sit and eat your fill. Young men are always hungry. It would please us all for you to tell us of your world." Joel and Tommy looked at the heaping platters of food that had been placed on the table before them. "Thank you sir," they said in unison as they sat down. In between bites, Joel and Tommy spoke of their homelife and what little history of their world as a pair of teenager boys would find important: In other words, very little of politics and wars, but quite a lot of television, cars, airplanes, school, and (of course) girls. Do-em-nair smiled even wider as this last topic arose. He then quietly ordered the Chamberlain to water the wine being served to the two boys as they obviously were younger than he'd first assumed. Merlin would not be amused to have drunkards returned to him in place of the two fine lads he'd sent to visit Ky-eir. As the boys continued their tale far enough to speak of their encounter with Merlin and what they had been asked to do, Do-em-nair realized why the visit to Ky- eir had been necessary. These two young lads would be placing themselves in grave danger while Merlin searched the cosmos for the two missing heirs to Arcadia's kingdoms. They were raw, untutored youths who would be called upon to take risks they could never imagine. Merlin obviously wanted them taught some basic survival skills, not to mention lessons in the arts of combat. But how to teach them without frightening them into giving up their duties? The more The Regent thought upon the problem the fewer options became. Finally, only one course of action made sense. The die was cast, the decision was made. Do-em-nair knew what the Sage would wish him to do.

"Joel, Tommy..." Do-em-nair spoke with a light voice in order to hide the danger of what he was to propose. "I wish to honor this visit that you are making to our fair realm of Ky-eir. We must declare a Hunt to begin tomorrow. You will accompany myself and the Nobles of the Court as we engage in our most sacred sport. Come the dawn we will begin the hunt for the sacred beast of Ky-eir. Tomorrow we hunt the Ma-tera-kondu. Chamberlain, prepare quarters for our guests. Huntmaster, you will make ready all that they will need."

"What's a Ma-tera-con... Kondu?" asked Joel.

"A large, flightless bird," answered Do-em-nair gently. "One that is native to our world." One that has been known to catch and eat it's hunters. He thought to himself.




To be continued...


Copyright 1997 by Dan L. Hollifield



Dan Hollifield (I'm Aphelion's Editor, by the way) was born in 1957 at almost the same minute that Sputnik II was launched. This seems to have warped his point of view in the fact that he has always been rather a nut on the subject of spaceflight. He lives in Athens, Ga. USA. More biographical info can be found at The Mare Inebrium website- if you need that sort of thing.

If you like this story and you wish to tell me so you can e-mail me by clicking here. And thanks for visiting Aphelion!

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