New Dream Adventures of Raven Knight

2018, 01-24

Game of Dreams – The Unfair Prince

I am Sansa now, and I am with Prince Joffrey. I immediately want to punch him in the face. But for the time being, he’s being nice. We are out riding on horses. We ride around the area quite a bit, following some kind of a wildcat, exploring some ruins, it’s actually kind of fun. We have lunch and then ride some more. We hear some noises up ahead, and I want to leave. But Joffrey is being stubborn and wants to check it out. We go and we find my sister Arya and her friend Mycah playing at swords, using sticks as swords. I tell Joffrey it was just a couple of kids playing, there’s no need to interfere. But Joffrey won’t listen. We watch as Mycah disarms Arya, and then when he sees Joffrey, he drops his own stick. Mycah recognizes Joffrey as the prince and bows.

At this time Joffrey starts being an asshole. He gets off his horse and pulls out his sword. He tells Mycah to pick up his sword and show him how good he is. Mycah says they were just playing, there are no swords, just sticks. I tell Joffrey to knock it off. Joffrey points his sword at Mycah. I go to get off my horse, but my foot gets caught in the stirrup and I fall. No one seems to notice that. Arya attacks Joffrey to keep him from hurting Mycah. Joffrey turns around and attacks her back. Mycah runs off into the trees. Arya throws a rock and misses Joffrey, but hits Joffrey’s horse in the bottom and makes him run away. I get up and go over to try to get between Joffrey and Arya, as it looks like he might hurt her. But before I can get to him, my sister’s wolf tackles him, biting his sword arm.

Joffrey drops his sword, and start trying to get the wolf off of him. My sister calls the wolf off. Joffrey‘s arm is bloody and his clothes are ripped where he’s been bit. Arya picks up Joffrey’s sword, and after pausing to hear Joffrey whimper a bit, she throws it out into the river. Arya then runs off into the trees after Mycah. I am thinking if I hadn’t tripped I could’ve kept this incident from happening at all. But I did. So I will erase the evidence. I go over to Joffrey, who is still whimpering and cradling his hurt arm. I focus healing energy on his arm. His arm heals rather quickly. I see a faint blue glow around it. I also focused healing energy on the back of his head where Arya hit him with the stick. That heals as well, leaving no trace that he was attacked. Except for his ripped and bloody clothes, that is. After seeing the healing, Jeffrey freaks out. He called me a witch and runs away. I can’t help but laugh at his stupidity. I wake up.

2017, 08-17

Game of Dreams – Tears Falling

I am having dinner with my family. My dad and sister are there. It is a large table and there's a lot of food on it. My teacher is here. I remember her trying to teach me needlework. It was not very effective. So I'm sitting there and looking at mine, but I'm not really feeling very hungry. My sister is sitting several seats from me and she isn’t paying any attention to me. She is with her friend. I have the feeling that her friend is an asshole. My father says there's going to be a big tournament in his honor. He says he really doesn't want to have anything to do with it. It's just a big expense that the kingdom can't afford. My sister and her friend find the idea of the tournament exciting. She asks father if she will be able to go. Father considers and then says he will get both my sister and me good seats. I think it sounds stupid. I say I don't want to go. My sister says the tournament will be an amazing event, I'm not welcome there. Father is annoyed. He says he is getting sick of my sister and me fighting. He says we are sisters, and we should start acting like it. I'm angry at my sister. But for now I don't show it.

Father announces that he has no appetite, and then gets up and leaves. I look at my food, and it does not look tasty. I decide I have no appetite either. I get up. My teacher asks me where am I going. I realize that maybe I should be polite, so I politely ask if I may be excused. She says no. She tells me to clean my plate. I tell her to clean it herself. I get up to leave. As I go passed my sister, I pause to tell her off. I tell her that we both lost our wolves, but at least she knows hers back home and safe in Winterfell. My wolf is somewhere out in the wilderness and I don't know if she is dead or alive. Talking about that makes me feel like crying. I hurry from the room before my tears fall. I don't want anyone in there to see me cry. I hear my teacher behind me yelling at me to come back. I ignore her. I go running upstairs to my room. I go through the door and slam it behind me. It’s a heavy wooden door with a very satisfying to slam. There is no lock but there is a bar that I can slide down to keep the door from being opened. So I do.

Once I am safe in my room I feel safe to cry. And I do. While I am crying, someone comes up and knocks at my door. It is a hard and angry knock. And it is a not very friendly voice is speaking out there. A woman, my teacher, tells me to come out there in mediately. She says if I don’t come out immediately my lord father will hear about this. I don't care. I tell her to go ahead and tell him whatever she wants. She goes away. I open my clothing chest, and dig through it until I find a sward buried on the bottom. I think the sword out, I remember it is named Needle, and I start practicing with it. I am shit. I am in the middle of practicing with it but I am thinking about other things. I briefly considered going out the window and running away. Maybe I can find my wolf in the wild. I am thinking about that when there is a knock at the door. This time it is a gentler knock. And it is also a gentle voice that speaks. It is my father. He does not sound angry, he just sounds sad. That makes me feel kind of bad about my behavior. Anger I can handle, but disappointment not so much. He says he wants to come in. I raise the bar blocking the door, and open it. He comes in.

My father sees the sword in my hand. I had even thought to try to hide it before he came in. Yes it's me who's short is that, and I just see at night. He asked where I got it, but I don't want to rack out my brother so I say nothing. He says it doesn't really matter. He takes it and is looking at it. I have the feeling I'll never get it back. He wants to talk about things that of been happening lately. He says he doesn't like it when my sister and I are fighting. I tell him I don't really want to fight with her, but then I trail off. We talk about different things and I am close to tears again. And then it just all comes out, I don't even know what I'm about say untill I say it. I am crying as I tell my father that I had to throw rocks at my wolf to make her leave because I knew if she came back with me, they would have killed. The queen and the king. And I couldn't stand the idea of seeing that. I told her to leave and when she wouldn't leave I threw rocks at her. There be plenty of wild game out there for her to eat, and I do even heard other wolves out there, so she might even find a pack. My father seems to agree with my theory that she'll be OK out there. He says she was born to be in the wild, and she will surely adapt to it quickly. And she will certainly be the leader of any pack she joins. I am in my father’s arms still crying but it's stopping. My father asks me about the sword again. He asked if I really want to learn. He says I've got a wild streak, like a lot of others in our family. He says he will ask around and see about someone to train me. And then he hands the sword back to me. That comes as a surprise. He hugs me before leaving the room. And then I wake up.

2017, 08-17

Game of Dreams – A Knife in the Dark

Catelyn: I am in a room that looks like a bedroom in a castle. I am sitting in a chair beside a bed. There is a boy lying unconscious in the bed, I know he is my son, Bran. I am carefully feeding him a mixture of honey and water in a desperate attempt to get some hydration and nutrients into his body in a time long before intravenous drips have been invented. But this is too little I know, and if he doesn't wake up soon he'll... but I don't let myself think the word. I stop the feeding and hold his hand, little more than a skeletal hand now but still warm to the touch, focusing on healing him. I don't know if it's doing anything. A man comes into the room and starts talking finances. I don't care about money. He is also talking about positions that need to be filled because of people who have left town. I don't care about that, either. All I care about is Bran... I tell him to leave.

A boy comes in... this is my older son, Rob. He tells the man he will discuss the finances and positions to be filled tomorrow. After handing my son a piece of paper, the other man leaves. Rob is now talking to me about other responsibilities I'm ignoring. My younger son is crying for me, he's only 3 and he needs me, especially with dad away. He pauses and then says he needs me, too. He says he can’t handle everything all on his own. I want to turn to him and be there for him, but I have the persistent thought that if I let go of Bran's hand he will die. There is a commotion outside. Rob says the library tower is on fire, he will take care of it. He rushes out and takes a guard by the door with him.

Shortly later a man enters the room. I don't recognize him, but he is holding a dagger. He starts towards Bran and then sees me. He says I wasn't supposed to be here. I say that's too bad, because I am. Just what was he intending to do with that dagger? He looks at Bran and says he would be doing the boy a mercy, really. I tell him there's no way he is killing my son! He comes at me with the dagger. I change my right arm into an Alex Mercer blade and block his blow... but then I realize my arm didn't transform! Of course not... Catelyn Stark is not infected with the Mercer Virus! The blade cuts painfully into my arm. I grab his wrist with my left hand and twist it until he lets go and then I push him away, he falls onto his back. I am about to move in when there is a blur and then there's a wolf on top of the man ripping his throat out. Rob comes back and asks what happened. I tell him that the dead man tried to murder Bran with the dagger. Rob sees my arm and says someone should take care of that. I agree to that, starting to notice the pain more with the incident being over. I leave the room with Rob and then I wake.

2017, 08-10

Game of Dreams – Innocence Saved, Innocence Lost

Eddard: I am in what looks like a living area in a castle. I am pacing, worried. My daughter is missing. A man tells me my daughter has been found. I ask where she is then. The man says she is in the throne room seeing the king and queen. This pisses me off. She’s been missing for four days and that’s the first place they take her?! I go out the door, heading for the throne room. I know where to go and I get there to find my daughter surrounded by a bunch of hostile faces, I see them as assholes. The king and the queen are there with the prince. I go over and put my arms around my little girl, asking if she is ok. She says she’s hungry and tired, but not hurt. I am pissed, I demand to know why my daughter wasn’t brought straight to me and been given a chance to rest and have something to eat before being dragged in here. The king, a fat man I know to be named Robert, says he thought it was best to get this business over with.

I am still annoyed, but I let things go on. The Queen claims Arya and her friend attacked Prince Joffrey and then her wolf bit him. Arya and Joffrey both tell different accounts of the event. I ask how serious Joffrey’s injury was. They seem hesitant to discuss the injury. A man comes into the room with Sansa, she claims she doesn’t remember what happened. Arya calls Sansa a liar and attacks her. I hold Arya back and tell her that is not productive. The Queen wants Arya punished, but Robert says sometimes children will fight. He says I should take care of disciplining Arya and he will take care of Joffrey. He gets up to leave, he has clearly had enough of this whole affair.

The Queen isn’t done yet. She says there is still the matter of the wolf. I say I have yet to see any evidence that Nymeria has done anything. The Queen holds up a shirt with a shredded and bloody sleeve. Nymeria chewed Joffrey’s shirt? She said Joffrey’s arm was in it. Joffrey says his arm was almost chewed off but there’s no injury because Sansa is a sorceress and healed it. I ask if I’m seriously expected to entertain that notion. If Sansa has healing powers then we’d better get her back to Winterfell to heal her injured brother! The Queen says she will not have a vicious beast in her castle. I tell her it wouldn’t be right to throw Joffrey out, he’s only 12. She gets red with anger and says she meant the wolf! Robert reminds her that the wolf got away. She said she wants both wolves put down. I tell her no one is going to hurt those wolves. I am thinking to keep protesting until the wolves can stay with Sansa and Arya but then I am thinking the Queen might arrange something to happen to them just out of spite… so I think better of it and say fine, I’ll have Lady, and Nymeria if we can find her, taken back to Winterfell. The Queen says she wants them dead. I tell her that’s not going to happen. I’ll send them back to Winterfell… for their protection, not hers.

I take my daughters from the room before the Queen can protest any further. Once outside Sansa is saying it isn’t fair to have to send Lady away, she didn’t do anything. I tell her I agree, but the only way to keep Lady safe from the Queen is to send her away. If Lady stays, then the Queen could fabricate another attack or just order her guards to get rid of Lady and I might not be in a position to stop her. Sansa looks sad about it but finally agrees. I tell her that Lady will be waiting for her at Winterfell when she comes to visit or if circumstances in Kings Landing changes enough that we can safely bring her back. Arya asks what about Nymeria. I tell her I’ll get some people to look for the wolf, and if we can find her, she will go north with Lady to be safe, too. I tell Sansa we should go say our farewells to Lady and get the wolf beyond the reach of the Queen as soon as we can. Lady is tied up outside and I leave Sansa to have time to say goodbye to her wolf before she is escorted back home.

Some soldiers on horses ride into the area. They have a bloody sack on one of the horses. A man, the name Sandor Clegane, The Hound, comes to mind, comes over and looks pleased with himself. He says they haven’t found Arya but they got her little pet. I think they already killed Nymeria and I am pissed. The Hound dumps the bloody sack on the ground and laughs. He opens the bag and I react quickly, turning Arya away from the horror. It’s not Nymeria, it’s a boy, no doubt Arya’s friend, practically cut in two. I want to kick The Hound’s ass. I ask if he really had to cut down a child?! He smiles and says the kid ran. I ask if he’s trying to tell me he’s so incompetent that he can’t capture an unarmed fleeing child without cutting him in two?! We’d better hope Joffrey never gets distraught and runs away! You’ll come back to the King and Queen saying, “I have good news and bad news, your Graces. The good news is we brought the Prince back. The bad news is he’s in two pieces.” Sandor says no one dares say that to him! I ask him then which is it? Is he too incompetent to capture an unarmed child without cutting him in half, or is he a sick and pathetic fuck who takes pleasure in murdering defenseless children?! I notice Arya is holding on to me and crying. I immediately feel bad about making that scene in front of her, making a painful moment even worse. I put my arms around her and tell her how sorry I am about what happened to her friend. Sansa comes back with Lady, she is also crying. I want someone to pay for making my daughters cry. Sansa wants Lady in her bed with her just one more night. I am walking with them back to our quarters when I wake.

2017, 08-08

Game of Dreams – Of Weddings and Bullies

Daenerys: I am at a wedding, a big outdoor wedding. I realize I am getting married, but that can’t be right… I don’t see Altaïr anywhere. I want to marry Altaïr. The man beside me is a large and strong looking man with black hair down his back in a braid as long as Sephiroth’s hair with small bells hung in it. He is speaking a language I don’t understand, not paying attention to me. And I’m supposed to marry this guy? My brother is sitting below me on a hill and glaring up at my periodically. There is food and drink constantly brought to me and I eat nervously. Some men fight over a woman and one of them dies, everyone accepts this as normal. Then there are lots of gifts. Some slaves (I don’t want slaves!), some cool looking books, three egg shaped stones they say are dragon eggs, and the man I married gives me a beautiful silver horse. He lifts me easily onto the horse and I ride her around a bit. I immediately love that horse. Now it is time to go? My asshole brother grabs my leg too roughly and says I had better please my new husband or I will wake the dragon like never before… I see no dragon! I kick my leg to shake my brother off and tell him he had better stop being an asshole or I’ll shove his face up a dragon’s ass! He looks surprised and asks what has gotten in to me.

I ride my horse after my new husband. We find a spot and I know he wants to have sex… but I don’t even know this guy! I don’t want to have sex with him! I expect he will just start violently having his way with me, but instead he starts caressing me, being gentler than I’d expected from the way he acted at the wedding. But I still don’t want to have sex with him! I’m crying and he pauses to brush the tears from my face and say the word no. No as in don’t cry? No as in don’t be scared? I’m not sure… And I don’t have to do any more because the dream ends.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sansa: I am riding a horse outside under bright blue skies. The skies look bluer than I ever remember seeing them. I am not alone, there is a boy, Prince Joffrey, riding beside me. My first impression is that he is an asshole… but I think better of calling him that. My next thought is he is a prince I am supposed to marry… but I don’t even know him, though I guess I should give him a chance. We ride through a forest, exploring here and there. Joffrey seems like a decent guy, I’m not sure why my first impression was that he’s an asshole. We keep going and soon find a couple of children playing with sticks as if they were swords. This is where Joffrey shows his true colors.

Joffrey gets off his horse and shows me why I thought he was an asshole. Joffrey starts making fun of the boy for beating on a girl. The girl is my sister, Arya. The boy drops his stick and kneels before the prince, but that does no good. Joffrey pokes at him with his sword and tells the boy to pick up his stick and fight like a knight. I tell Joffrey we should just leave these two alone. Joffrey says this boy was beating my sister, we can’t just leave. He pokes the boy’s cheek and draws blood, saying he won’t hurt the boy… much. That’s when chaos breaks loose.

Arya attacks Joffrey with her stick to keep him from hurting the boy. Joffrey turns on her and attacks viciously, breaking her stick with his real sword. The boy runs into the trees with no thought for Arya’s safety. A wolf comes flying from the trees and clamps down on Joffrey’s arm, making him drop his sword. Joffrey cries out and says to call the wolf off, which Arya does. She looks at his mangled arm and says the wolf didn’t hurt Joffrey… much. Arya picks up Joffrey’s dropped sword and throws it unceremoniously into the river nearby before chasing after the boy with her wolf going after her. I go to check on Joffrey’s arm and he gets pissed at me. I tell him it’s his own fault for being a bully. He says he’s going to tell his mother, I resist an urge to slap him. I tell him not to be such a baby, I can fix his arm. I grab his arm and focus healing energy through it. The bite heals completely, much to Joffrey’s amazement. But he doesn’t thank me, he scoots away from me and says I’m a sorceress and then runs off into the trees. What a loser… Everything fades.

2017, 06-29

Off With His Head!

I am in what looks like a medieval city of some kind. The buildings lining the narrow streets are made of stone and wood and they look like something out of a fantasy RPG game. I walk along the street and I notice that everyone seems to be heading in the same direction. I figure that is probably the direction I should also take, so I follow the crowds. We move through the city streets and approach the largest building I can see from where I am. It looks like it might be some kind of church or temple. The crowd is tightly packed here, and it is hard to move forward to see what is going on. Finally I get closer and I see everyone watching has their attention fixed on what is happening on the stairs leading into the temple. There are numerous guards in mail and plate armor at the foot of the stairs to keep anyone from advancing farther, and more people up above. Whatever is about to happen begins.

There is a young boy wearing a crown who somehow seems to be in charge of things there. He stands and begins to speak loudly and with authority. "My mother wishes me to let Lord Eddard join the Knight's Watch... stripped of all titles and powers, he would serve the realm in permanent exile. And my Lady Sansa has begged mercy for her father.” He pauses here and looks over at a girl who is standing off to the side with a woman in a crown and some other guards. He smiles at the girl and she seems visibly relieved. After pausing, the boy continues. “But they have the soft hearts of women... so long as I'm your king, treason shall never go unpunished! Sir Ilyn, bring me his head!"

As one of the guards advances on the prisoner the girl off to the side is in hysterics, screaming unintelligibly, trying to pull away from the guards who are now holding her back. Another guard forces the prisoner to his knees as the guard approaching produces a large sword. I don’t know where the feeling comes from, but I am at once filled with the determination that this should not happen, that man should not die here. But I have to act fast. I get up to where the guards are barring approach to the temple, so I go off to the right and climb the side of a building with more agility than I knew I had. Some people are calling after me to ask what I’m doing, but I ignore them. I feel like I’m playing Assassin’s Creed. I’m almost out of time! I run along the roof and jump down on the other side, surprised I didn’t hurt myself at least a little… I’m not going to make it, so I focus on a force field around the prisoner so when the executioner brings the big sword down he hits an invisible barrier. He is stunned by the force of his own blow and stumbles back.

The boy gets mad when he sees the sword bounce back, saying he wants the man’s head and he wants it now. He’s a little boy having a tantrum. I come forward, and the guards immediately threaten me with their swords, surrounding the boy protectively. I tell them not to worry, I’m not here to harm the boy who wants to pretend he’s a king. That makes the kid even angrier and he starts yelling that he IS the king and now he wants my head on a pike next to the traitor’s. The woman in the crown is glaring at me. She says she knows who I am, I’m that magi that stole her wolf pelt from her before! She asks why I have to keep interfering with her. I tell her I’ll stop interfering when she stops trying to put the innocent to death. The prisoner is looking around, apparently confused as to what is happening. The girl that had been screaming runs over to the man. The guards are distracted by me so they let her get away. My force field lets her through to the man and she hugs him, crying on his shoulder. The boy is calling for all three of our heads now, though no one is paying him any heed. I am wondering what to do with Eddard and Sansa but I don’t get time to think. Everything fades to black and I wake up.

(Q says they are in my inner world, Eddard was in bad shape and is healing now.)