A million dreams - OTA

[sell_tickets]

Who: Khary and anyone who wanders into his dreams
What/When/where: Breach event
Warnings: potentially CW all. Also spoilers for Black Jewels like whoa.


(Posting a generic dream here, will make top levels for specific people. Feel free to make a top level requesting anything from this post.)


The first dream started like so many of Khary's dreams. Mirroring his reality. With the exception of a few bad years, his life had been pretty good. Especially since he was in the habit of seeing the fun in most things. So his dreams rarely needed to take him anywhere new or exciting. Life in the Dark Court was always new and exciting. But this time when he started having the familiar dream it was a dream of home. A home he could no longer reach. That made the mundane special.

He was out in a clearing in the woods. A well worn path to one side of him, a stream to the other. He was checking the reins on the horse he was about to ride. No saddle. Nighthawk was with Daffodil in the others in insisting that riding gear include reins though. They claimed that humans riding them needed something to hold on to. Khary, a born horseman, didn't. But he appreciated the thought and respected their wishes. He stroked his old friend along the nose. "A quick ride out, then we'll head back home, alright?" he asked.

Nighthawk's large head nodded in agreement, forelocks shifting to show the Grey Jewel that rested on his head before the hair settled back down, covering it once more. Nighthawk was Kindred. And if Khary had once sat down in the road and had hysterics when he found out how many of his horses were actually brothers and sisters to the human Blood, he had moved past that. Formed a deeper bond because of their sentience and Craft.

Sensing someone approaching, Khary turned to face them, blue eyes twinkling. He looked happy and comfortable and ready to make a little trouble. Of course... he nearly always looked like that, especially when he wasn't comfortable or happy at all. He was always hard to read, even for his friends...

Comments

For Nita (going to presume he got her name in the other log if that is okay.)

[sell_tickets]

Khary stood in the doorway of a rather massive library. The area he was in looked smaller, though, and more cozy. The effect came from a wall made of freestanding bookcases. The opening to the rest of the rooms was at the far end.

There was a sense of Darkness here. But not evil, not malevolence. More like the dark of a cloudy night. There was a sense of someone more than those she could see watching. Something strong and ancient.

Of the two people she could see, strong applied to both. But ancient didn't apply to Kary. It applied to the man Khary was talking to. The man looked like a handsome man just a little past his prime. His black hair was accented by a sweep of silver from each temple. His skin was a deep golden brown, his gold eyes seemed weary but amused. He wore a perfectly tailored black suit with a crisp white shirt under it. Over the silk of the shirt he wore a necklace much like Khary's, but the Jewel in his was a glittering Black to Khary's Sapphire.

"Generally, I prefer it if you inform me you are bringing guests," the older man said, in a smooth voice edged with wry humor.

Khary glanced at Nita then grinned. "Didn't realize I was, High Lord." His blue eyes twinkled. "Uncle Saetan, meet Lady Nita. Lady Nita, this is Saetan Daemon SaDiablo, High Lord of ****."

The man slammed down the ancient looking books he had been carrying. "I really don't think the full title is quite necessary," he rumbled, his voice now like thunder.

Khary actually winced.

Yup! That works.

[unfavorableinstigation]

For Nita, the world had gone dark. But that was alright.

She'd been a seer, once; a sacrifice, once. And that was alright too.

But right here, right now, she was just witnessing a conversation. Between two brothers, maybe - the colors were familiar, and for a brief flaring second they were more than brothers, Beings larger than life-

But no, she'd been wrong; black for the uncle, blue for the nephew. And that was alright too.

She bows. "May I call you Uncle Saetan, then?" The thunder swept past her like sharks; came near, but not intended to hurt her.

Re: Yup! That works.

[sell_tickets]

The older man quirked an eyebrow at her, his question seeming to amuse him.

Khary laughed. "Wow, and it took us a whole day before you knew we were doomed," he said brightly.

The man rubbed his face. "If I said yes would the two of you go elsewhere to terrorize someone else for a while?" he asked, wearily.

[unfavorableinstigation]

Khary's remark meant nothing to Nita, but it was funny anyhow, and she grinned brightly.

('We're always doomed, the world always needs saving', a part of her chants, songlike.)

"No problem. It was nice meeting you, though, Uncle Saetan."

She winked.

[sell_tickets]

He sighed and waved a hand at them.

Khary grinned. "Welcome to the family, Lady Nita," he teased, tweaking her nose. Shall we see what Geoffry is up to?"

[unfavorableinstigation]

"Well, if we're family, I guess that means I should give you this," Nita replied, ignoring the nose tweak as best she was able.

What came up with her hand was a pen whose tip glittered oddly in the not-light - only for it to twist and become a rubber chicken.

Ah, well.

"Let's go see Geoffry, then."

[sell_tickets]

"And what is that, exactly...?" he asked with a laugh.

[unfavorableinstigation]

"It is- was," she corrected, "A gift from my own Uncle Mike. And Fred," she added, remembering the ghost of light on her fingers.

"But it's all past, now. You're part of the future," she said, winking.

[sell_tickets]

"Alright then," he said, amused at the sheer absurdity. He held his hand out for the chicken-pen.

Top level for Curufin

[sell_tickets]

The Hall wasn't usually this quiet. This Empty. Khary walked along from room to room, remembering. As he did, ghosts of his memory filled each room. A group of teens sitting on the floor with sketch pads and charcoal sticks listening to a rather large and intimidating looking man explaining to them, in a rumbling voice, how to use the fruit bowl before them as a model, but to not try and draw it, but their own fruit bowl from it.

An other room had one of the girls from that first scene, blond hair and blue eyes and pale skin laughing with delight as she spun around. Her laugh was like velvet and echoed. Above her head various balls and other items were floating in an intricate dance around her. "Remember when I couldn't even call in my shoes?" she asked him, dancing and laughing, hands above her head happily.

There was a courtyard that many of the rooms had balconies towards. A large fountain in the middle had a woman half out of the water, joy on her face. An older version of the girl from the last room. Facing her was a larger than life statue of a creature as much beast as man, claws out on the extended hand/paw, eyes glittering with rage. At the beast's feet was the prone form of a woman, either asleep or unconscious. She lay more under him than anything else, one of her hands reaching towards the foreleg that was still on the ground. Her eyes were closed. The courtyard was otherwise peaceful. It was also huge. He walked to a small more natural looking fountain that had lily pads and small flowers floating in the water. He sat for a time on the lip of the fountain, unaware he had company.

And then back up through one of the balconies into and through a bedroom. Then down the hallways to a rather impressive door deep in the mansion. He grinned and turned, noticing Curufin for the first time, but also with dream logic, as though he had known he was there the whole time. "You wanted to meet Mrs. Beale?" he asked, eyes twinkling with mischief.

[so_dark_a_road]

Curufin had been quietly observing for a little while, finding himself in an unfamiliar environment through which Khardeen was roaming. He was particularly interested in the courtyard with its swim-able fountain and its strange beastly stature, and with the second fountain with its water lilies. He was tempted to speak to Khary while he was sitting on the edge of the fountain, but he looked so contemplative that Curufin didn't want to interrupt him.

He felt so invisible that he wondered if he had reverted to spirit-form? He looked for a shadow at his feet, and there was a faint one, so he concluded that he must be a physical presence here.

He followed again when Khardeen got up went wandering again. In front of the impressive door, Khardeen turned and spoke to Curufin. Curufin returned the grin. He was no stranger to dream logic.

"Who is this Mrs. Beale?" he asked, his own eyes sparkling.

[sell_tickets]

"The cook that works at the Hall," he said mischievously. "Feel free to ask to try a pickleberry tart."

[so_dark_a_road]

"Oh, you're talking about food? Would you like to lead the way to the dining room or kitchen, whichever you prefer?" He grinned at Khardeen. He could never resist that mischievous look. "I'll certainly ask about the tarts. But what on earth is a pickleberry? A cross between a cucumber and a raspberry?"

[sell_tickets]

"It is a fruit that grows only on the Fyreborne Isles. And well, this is the kitchen, but we could go to the dining room or parlor, if you prefer. But then you won't get to meet her, herself. She rarely leaves the kitchen when there are guests in the Hall." He was smirking.

[so_dark_a_road]

"Oh, I see, pickleberris are a rarity, and a rare treat in your world. Say, the kitchen would be just fine! Especially if staying here would make it possible for you to introduce me to this estimable lady." He grins back at Khardeen again.

[sell_tickets]

"Oh no no, you're going in there. I'm going to stay out here and sell tickets." He grinned.

[so_dark_a_road]

"Oh, I see. I'm going to walk point, be the advance guard!" He laughed. "Don't worry, I've done that many a time in my life, against enemies of dreadful power. I'll be all right. Say, who are you going to sell the tickets to?"

Tossing a grin over his shoulder, he walked through the doorway.

[so_dark_a_road]

Curufin gave Lady Karla a grin as wicked as hers was, and then he stood up and bowed again, and said, "Pleased to meet you, Queen Karla."

His face softened as he greeted Gabriella, despite her unnerving smile. "Lady Gabriella, Khardeen has spoken to me of the Dea Al Mon. Apparently your people and mine are equivalents in our separate worlds. I am very pleased to meet you." He nodded pleasantly when she addressed him as Prince. It was true he was a prince of the Noldor, though she could not have known that. But maybe she could see or sense it for herself.

"Lady Jaenelle, former Queen of the Dark Court, and present Queen of Hallaway," he said, acknowledging the next woman that Khardeen presented. He could feel that aura of power. That was a thing that any Elf as old and powerful as he was could easily sense. He looked closely at her, but without seeming to stare rudely. Those deep sapphire eyes drew him strongly, and that was both on her own account and because she reminded him of someone. . . himself, in the last years of his life in his own world. The terrible emptiness inside, the awful loneliness of never being able to speak of it. He felt instant sympathy for her, and his face probably showed this. His dark gray eyes shone and telegraphed a knowing, and that message was for her.

[sell_tickets]

Those eyes lingered on his a moment longer, and spoke in a voice of midnight and dark silk on velvet. "Second Circle." And then she fluffed her hair and her eyes were simply blue once more. "Welcome to Kaleer, Prince Curufin."

Relief flooded Khary as he grinned and clapped him on the shoulder. "Welcome to the Dark Court." The look in his eyes made what should have been a warm and intense moment into something a little more... lighthearted. And there might be a sense that Khary thinks that Curufin might come to regret this, and that he plans to find that regret amusing.

[so_dark_a_road]

He smiled at Queen Jaenelle and dipped his head in polite deference. "Thank you," he said. "I am pleased to be in Kaleer."

Then he grinned back at Khardeen, his own eyes warm. "Thank you, Khardeen, I am pleased as well to be welcomed to the Dark Court." Whatever that meant, exactly! And he actually appreciated Khary for his facility with turning moments of all sorts lighthearted. It was a gift.

He did pick up something of that sense of Khary's thought, that there might be a downside to this warm welcome to the Dark Court. Ha! Khardeen was as capable of being amused by someone else's regret as Curufin was. And this was despite the fact that Khardeen was a good person. As was Curufin, since his death in his own world and the beginning of his travels through the multiverse.

Still, he lifted an eyebrow quizzically and a bit humorously, just to alert his friend to the fact that he sensed a little bit of a discontinuity here.

[sell_tickets]

He squeezed that hand on his shoulder a bit. "Being a brother of the Court, you will, of course, help us deal with the ladies."

"Deal with?" Karla said sharply, eyes glinting menace, like she was considering hitting him with one of her canes.

"Oh don't worry, Karla," another male voice drawled, "We'll teach him all about the important things."

"Like fussing," another make added, amused.

And all the girls suddenly looked like cats that someone had dumped water on, that quiet furious dignity that was both scary and amusing all at once.

Khary laughed. "Oh, especially fussing. It is a male's right, anyway."

"And it is our right to dent your stubborn heads," Gabrielle growled.

"If we can find anything hard enough to get through their hard skulls," another woman muttered.

Khary grinned, as if all this female temper was comfortable. This... was home. "Shall I finish the introductions?"

[so_dark_a_road]

Curufin grinned at Khardeen when his shoulder was squeezed. "Of course I will. That is one of the jobs of a courtier, is it not?"

He shifted his eyes to Karla's face as soon as she spoke. He knew exactly what she meant, even if she was about to sock Khardeen with her cane. He tried to make his face friendly and neutral, just in case there was any cane-wielding about to happen!

And he listened to the other males.

"Guys, guys!" he cautioned, with a little bit of a smile. "Women don't like being condescended to. Especially not women who regard themselves as competent human beings and competent rulers." His eyes telegraphed to the men that fussing might be okay, but a male who didn't want his head dented should not boast about it.

"Yes," he answered Khary. "You should finish the introductions, before your head gets knocked." Grin.

let me know if I need to clarify who is saying what.

[sell_tickets]

Khary laughed. "They don't need defending, not from us," he assure Khary. And we're not condescending to them. We're exercising our right to be as big of a pain in their ****es as they are to us."

"Morghan," Karla said with venomous sweetness, "I am going to throttle your husband."

Another woman, clearly the one who had been addressed bounced the baby she was holding lightly. "You are welcome to do so, but I've never found that cutting off blood to a male's brain actually has any noticeable effect."

Khary grinned and leaned down to kiss his wife, but paused just before he did, and he clearly said something mentally to her because she BLUSHED. And squeaked at the kiss. A number of the others, of both genders, laughed.

Jaenelle chuckled and addressed Curufin. "Perhaps our ways seem odd to you, seeing them from the outside, but there is love in our teasing. Not a one of us thinks for even a moment that the males look down upon us in any way.'

A male with the same silvery hair and pointed ears as Gabrielle gave a small low chuckle. "Oh no, we are quite aware that females are the deadlier and more dangerous gender, cousin."

Suddenly there was a man in the room that hadn't been there before. His presence was strong and he seemed almost as dark, and almost as powerful as Jaenelle. He was a handsome man, just past his prime. Golden sun kissed skin, gold eyes, and jet black hair silvered to a triangle at either temple. He held an exquisite Blackwood staff topped in gold, and a Black Jewel shone from both his ring and his necklace. He wore an impeccable silk suit with a white shirt and black jacket and pants. When he spoke his voice rolled like thunder, filling the room.

"The Blood have always survived on a delicate balance. Between Caste and social standing and Jewel Rank, Blood society has always been an elegant dance where the lead and partners are always changing. What is always at the center, however, is a Queen. Which Queen it is might change, and does from Court to Court, century to century. But at the end of the day, Queens rule, and we serve. Every woman in this room is a Queen, and beyond that, a Territory Queen. By tradition and law a Territory Queen answers to no one, save perhaps the council, and even their power is limited. Every Territory Queen in Kaleer however does serve. They serve the same Queen that I have always served, even long before her web was woven."

Jaenelle huffed a bit, and fluffed her hair. "Former Queen," she reminded them all.

A man walked in, he looked cast from the same mold as the first. Same skin, same eyes. There was no silver in his thick black hair though, and he was more beautiful than handsome. But at a quick look the two men could easily be mistaken for each other. They even stood and moved the same way, had the same sense of power rolling off of them. This younger version walked over to Jaenelle and stood behind the sofa where she sat, leaning down to kiss the back of her neck, arms going possessively around her. "We dance to the glory of Witch," he said, picking up the story with a similar voice. "We protect and revere the witches in our lives, especially the Queens."

"We never forget that they can kick our ***," the male with the silvery hair and pointed ears said.

Khary chuckled. "And we've all learned never to play chess with them."

Noises of protest from all the women, amusement from the males, some small spot arguments quickly hushed.

"But some of us have lived in places where those who serve feared those who ruled," the man behind Jaenelle said simply. "That fear permeates the walls, the stench of it clings to everyone and everything. None of us in Kaleer want any home here to be like that."

"We tease," Karla said.

"And flirt," Gabrielle added.

"Knowing that we are safe to do so," Jaenelle said in a soft midnight voice. "Any Queen here could easily destroy most of the males in this room. No one mistakes that or hides from that fact. But on the days we are vulnerable, any male here could easily kill any of us." A tightening of male tempers as she said that, even a few growls. Jaenelle laid a hand on the face of the male holding her, and he calmed some. "Male overprotectiveness could be stifling, even suffocating. Wanting to protect us or kill us, they could do a great deal of damage either way. Just as we could to them. But we trust, Prince," she said to Curufin, eyes of the abyss upon him. "We trust. Karla can say that she wants to dent Khary's skull, but she would not actually do him any lasting harm. No more than Lucivar dumping any of us in the trough when we are late for practice does any lasting harm to us. We share a trust, and a love. We never want to share a fear of each other. So we find the ways we can to ease that fear. Remind ourselves of our own strengths."

"It is part of why Protocol is so important," the older man said, in a teacher tone. "Because there are words and phrases that can be easily used by any of us to indicate that the teasing or joking is going too far. We are a dangerous people, Prince, and it serves no one to hide or ignore that. However. We are also protective and loving."

Another woman slipped into the room. She had the golden tan skin of the two men, but she had over large green-gold eyes and pointed ears. "Trust me, sugar, this place takes some getting used to. Especially if you're from some place like where Daemon and I grew up. But... it's worth it, in the end."

[so_dark_a_road]

Curufin listened to the joking and the laughter and smiled.

"Well, that is only fair," he said to Khardeen. "There should always be reciprocity between males and females, as regards being a pain in the ***."

To Karla and Morghan: "You're right. Our male brains are notably dead anyway, so if you throttle one of us, you probably won't notice the difference!"

To Jaenelle, he said, "Your ways seem less odd to me than you might think. My former wife, the mother of my son, would cheerfully join in on this loving, teasing discussion, if she were here." He grinned.

When the eloquently-dressed man with the black and silver hair, golden eyes, Blackwood staff, and thunderous voice came in and spoke up, he listened, still smiling. "I see," he said. "Your society is structured in a matriarchal manner, in the end. Males serve the Queens, and for all your joking, that is the core of your people's ways. I understand. Tease, flirt, kick ass if you're a woman, and don't expect to win at chess if you're a male!" He laughed.

And he listened to Jaenelle's further explanation, as she told them that the Queens, no matter how powerful, could sometimes be vulnerable. "I see. The love and the trust are there underneath all of this joking, and the joking actually underlines and shores up the love and the trust. I understand." And he did, just as he understood those eyes of the abyss.

"You remind me in some ways of my own people," he said to the older man. "We too are a dangerous people, though we have different ways of dealing with that fact when we are interacting with each other. Your way makes much more use of humor, and much better use, as far as I can see."

He smiled at the woman who had come into the room last. "My lady, I trust that what you say is true, that a newcomer must get used to this place. I feel that you are right, that it would be well worth the effort." And he smiled yet again and bowed to the whole room with grace, and that was meant especially for the women.

[sell_tickets]

All the males, except for the two who looked alike, sputtered and protested when he said that the women would win at chess.

"Now see here," one of them said, huffily. "We do just fine at chess, we don't play with the women because they are suicidal."

"We are not suicidal," one of the other girls snapped. "It isn't our fault that you males can't be bothered to utilize the most powerful piece in the game!"

"UTILIZE?" one of the other boyos yelped. "The game ends if the Queen is taken! Protecting her is common sense!"

"The Queen," Karla snarled, "is the most powerful piece on the board. It is only right that she helps to defend her side."

"ENOUGH!" the older man's voice roared and rumbled through the Hall, shaking the walls slightly. "This argument is one that ends only with couples angry at each other and then a dozen games of Cradle. I am old enough to prefer that we get on with the introductions," he added in his more normal voice.

Khary chuckled. "Prince Curufin, may I introduce Prince Saetan SaDiablo, the High Lord of *****, Librarian of the Keep, High Priest of the Hourglass."