A Dreaming For Witches' Night

Seeking the Enchanted Wood

beyond the Gate of Dreams

again another night

naked but for my Silver Key

that heavy antique carved

with undecipherable

arabesque

symbols

stolen from the Messenger

of the Faceless One

hung from a chain around my neck

the Key to the Dreaming

a comfortable weight against my chest

I descend those too-familiar

Seventy Steps of Light Slumber

ancient worn stone cold under my bare feet

climbing down through the dusky emptiness of Pre-Dreaming

one-by-one

until they suddenly end

at Nothing at all

Without hesitation

(I've been here so many many times before)

I take the leap

and step off into emptiness

and enter the hidden Cavern of Flame

In the far corner of that inky darkness I can almost see

the shadowed forms

of Nasht

and Kaman-Thah

the Gatekeepers

whose temple this is

those towering black figures

bare-chested with carved, curved beards

and elaborate head-dress

stand stone-still but all-aware

waiting to judge my worthiness

again

I perform for them

a different routine every night

to demonstrate my power

my understanding

my worthiness to traverse The Dreamlands beyond

Tonight

as most nights

I begin by conjuring myself a robe

a simple black thawb with cleric's collar

hemmed just below the knee

black linen gi pants

in the Thai style

and comfortable black tabi boots for my feet

Now dressed appropriately

I begin the ritual proper

so They may see

my mastery of The Dream

I rise myself up to float in the center of the cavern

in lotus-posture

and expand out from my center

a dodecahedral lattice-work of blue plasma

until it fills the space

and I float serenely in its center

From each pentagonal face of this construct

I then project white-hot jets of flame

offensive defense

effective ward against

the many horrors that await a Dreamer

But here in this realm of un-real

this is but simple hedge-magick

unimpressive

amateurish

They require better of me

I reach out

and project myself

to the far end of the cavern

and instantly I am there

And then again

and then again

teleporting myself around the cavern

disappearing and re-appearing at random points

to demonstrate my control of Self

and reality here

They continue to stare down at me

black and stone-faced

I draw my perception down into the center of my form

and push Out

against my flesh

against my skin

until I feel it begin to tear

down my back

and I keep pushing

Out

and Out

screaming

until it all comes free in one blood-soaked blur of agony

and I am left standing as

naked muscle sinew bone and nerve

From the scraps of my skin I fashion

a new robe to wear

to show them

my immunity to the horrors I will face beyond

Finally

they consent

From the center of the cavern erupts

the Pillar of Flame

floor to ceiling

I step into it

and my flesh-robe self-sacrifice burns away to ash in an instant

the price paid for passage

but I am left unsinged

and after a moment I step free from the flame

with a new skin

and again re-robed, as before

black thawb and gi and tabi

but now also something new

something never experienced before

(every night

something never experienced before)

something not of my own crafting

a blue turban

electric royal blue

adorned with an onyx jewel

I do not understand this gift

or who

or what

might be the giver

but I accept

with gratitude

An open door appears in the cavern wall in front of me

and I step through

and begin my descent

of the Seven Hundred Steps of Deeper Slumber

gleaming black stone staircase

descending into darkness

through an empty night

I know that at the bottom of these stairs lies

the Enchanted Wood

and further beyond the rest of The Dreamlands

Ulthar and Dylath-Leen

Oriab and Celephaïs

Leng and unknown Kadath

and as I descend further and further

and closer to the Dream

I can feel my Self coming apart

as if dissolving into mist

and I try to hold my Self together

and focus on those far-away lands

and their cities of Dreaming

and remember how much I long to see them

how every night I long to see them

and I try

and I try harder

and I take another step

and I am gone

And then I am awake

I will try again tonight

as I try every night

and I will make my way to the Cavern of Flame

and I will perform my tricks for the Gatekeepers

and I will begin my descent of the Seven Hundred Steps of Deeper Slumber

and one night

maybe tonight

I will make it all the way

to the bottom

to the Enchanted Wood

and to the Dream beyond

and I won't ever

have to return

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