Lunanti

A crow perched on a branch above the greenhouse. Below, two women were having a serious discussion. One woman was older, dressed all in a light, mousy tan. She had a proud, leonine face; her mink-colored hair was piled high in ringlets on top of her head. The younger woman she spoke to seemed to be an acolyte; she was dressed in a black ceremonial hooded robe. Her blond hair was cropped short.

The two women exited the greenhouse, and walked across the vast compound. They entered the old stone palace which served as the living quarters for the coven. Finally, there was not a person in sight. The time had come.

The crow hopped down onto the greenhouse roof and squeezed through an open pane. It walked across the stone floor, peering around at the different plants growing on the tiered shelves. The black bird came to the center of the greenhouse, stopping in front of a single potted herb. Suddenly, there was no crow; in its place was a woman, crouching on the floor. She had long, dark hair and pale eyes rimmed in black pigment. Just as she reached her hand out to grasp the small potted plant, she noticed a face peeking out from the other side.

A man was reaching for the same plant, at exactly the same moment. He had shaggy, light brown hair and an impressively sized nose. While not quite easy on the eyes, he had a crooked, roguish smile that made him appear charming.

The two, still reaching for the plant, hesitated in surprise. Then, taking advantage of the situation, the woman snatched the little herb and took off running. The man ran after her. He was much faster and caught up quickly, running beside her.

“How did you get in?” she hissed to him, as they approached the corner of the glass building. He did not respond. She watched as his figure dropped to the ground, disappearing into the form of a tiny brown snake. It took her only a moment to follow suite, becoming, plant and all, a little black snake. The two creatures slithered out a crack in the bottom of the glass wall.

On the other side of the glass, two human figures appeared and ran off into the distance.

Out of breath, the two finally stopped at the treeline, far out of sight from the compound. The man hunched over, bracing himself on his knees, trying to catch his breath. The woman sat down on a tree stump, still cradling the precious plant in her arm.

“So what are we going to do now?” the man asked. “You can keep running if you like, but I’ll still catch you.” He smiled wryly.

The woman laughed. It was a deep laugh that seemed to come from her very soul. Then she disappeared in a flurry of feathers.

The crow, however, did not go very far. It circled in the sky above the man.

“Get back down here!” he called after it. “You’re going to get us both caught!” He sighed with relief as it returned to the stump, and the woman reappeared. His face became very serious. “How did you do that? You were a snake back there…” He eyed her suspiciously. “That’s impossible.”

“Not for me.” The woman carefully divided the plant, and handed half to the man. “I have some other things which might be useful to you as well,” she said, and pulled a little leather bag out of the pocket of her scarlet moleskin dress. She picked a few small objects out and placed them carefully in his palm.

“But these are… You really don’t need them?” His eyes were wide with surprise as he turned over one of the seeds. It glistened like an opal. “Thank you,” he added. He tucked the delicate things away somewhere into his shirt. “Who are you?” he asked, with a mixture of awe and disbelief.

“I can’t tell you my name,” she said, “But you can call me Raven.”

“Well, Raven, you can call me Timothy,” he replied. “And it is my name.” He paused, studying her. “I’ve never met a witch like you before.”

“I’m not a witch. I’m a sorceress,” she said. Just then, a wolf howled in the distance. “They’re on to us.”

“We have to get out of here,” he frowned. “I can’t go the way you can.”

“I have an idea,” she said.

The crow soared high above the forest, clutching a small brown snake in its claws. Below, wolves and lions gathered and spread out again as they searched the forest for the thieves. Not one of the beasts looked up to take notice of the little black silhouette overhead.

(There was more to the dream, but I can't remember it very well)

I found myself in a strange land. I was alone, in the middle of a road. The ground had been beaten to dust by the countless feet of men and horses. To my left was forest, and to my right stretched a vast, golden wheat field. Among the wheat, not too far off, had been erected an arch made of crudely-hewn wooden beams. The structure was not very impressive; it stood no higher than my neck. Yet, I knew it had been constructed with an earnestness that told of its sacred duty. It was a tribute to the local god, a god of agriculture. A god of harvest, peace and light. I approached the construction; I stood before it and considered it. “What kind of god do these people devote this to?” I asked. “What kind of god has only wheat and peace to offer? A weak god, surely; a god of farmers and cowards. A useless god.” As I stood before the wooden thing, there appeared a figure beside me. He was clothed in pure white, fair and beautiful. His head was adorned with short, golden curls.

“Who are you, to question me?” he said. “What can you provide? Nothing. You are not fit to judge me, nor my people. I provide light, bread, warmth. I provide all they need. There is no better god to care for a people than me.” He continued to talk in this way, telling of his power and ability, until a second figure appeared. Along the treeline which surrounded the wheat field, there appeared the form of a woman, dark and terrible. Her beauty was that of the raven, or the night itself. She wore all black, and her skin was of such a dense darkness that no light played upon her features. The upper portion of her face was an intense blue, the color of woad. She was fearsome to behold, yet I believed her to be most beautiful. She only showed herself for an instant, and was gone. Yet it was long enough to stop the speech of the god. He had caught sight of her and was rendered silent. I could see he was stricken with fear.

I had gone on my way, down the road. I stopped to sup at an encampment I came to, a small stockade on the countryside. I sat at a wooden table, eating my bread. The land stretched out before me; in the distance I could see the warriors preparing for battle. To my right, a large pen contained all the animals: swine, horses, dogs and cattle. I watched as I ate. Presently, I became aware of a form beside me. The god I met earlier sat close by me. He was angry about the trick played on him. “Without me, there would be no bread for you to eat,” he told me. He wanted to convince me of his power, of his worth. He wished me to believe he was the most powerful and worthy of worship. “What power could you possibly have?” he challenged me. He looked at me, and for an instant my face took on the appearance of the dark goddess. He became startled, but he continued to challenge me, asking what power I had. I decided to show him.

I stood, and made a grasping motion with my hand. All the animals before us began to writhe in pain, wailing and crying out as had never been heard before. They kicked and bit at each other in their agony. The god looked uneasy, but he did not seem impressed. I uttered the word, “die.” Soundlessly, they all collapsed to the ground. They did not stir. The pen was littered with the bodies of the animals. “What good is that?” the god asked me, though he had gone pale. I stretched out my arms, and the dead animals all rose up again. They broke out from the pen and rushed at the warriors, and a battle between man and beast broke out. My body became as a great raven, I flew over the scene and chose the men who fell. The god of light was speechless and horrified.