“No idea. Some’ow we just know, almost like we’re drawn to the realities like magnets. Then again, since I got pulled into the physical world who knows what’ll happen. I can still sense the dreamplane but I don’t know if I would have any control there. We sort o’ worked like the reverse of dreamwalkers. We picked up on things about to become physical reality an’ removed ‘em to the Arbiter’s plane or to the alternate realities for disposal.”
Amy’s mother took back over the conversation.
“Arbiters and their workers are the force of balance in the universe, or even all universes if that is how one perceives reality. They have the ultimate understanding of the connection between dreams and the physical world and as such, are the ideal teachers for dreamwalkers, when teaching is in the best interest of balance.”
“So, are there other dreamwalkers all over the world? Surely I can’t be the only one?”
Amy almost felt comforted by the hope that she was not alone in her position. This was starting to sound like an incredible responsibility. Her mother only responded after a long pause.
“No,” came the initial response, “at least, none that have undergone proper training with the Arbiters. I imagine there are rare cases of people on earth who possess a strong ability but they are of little concern to the Arbiters and would wisely keep their knowledge to themselves. Whether others remain elsewhere, I cannot know. You see Amy, to understand where dreamwalkers come from you must first understand who you are. This probably won’t be easy to take in either.”
Amy didn’t quite know what to think of this odd warning. Half of her was afraid that she was about to hear something dreadful, the other half of her was overflowing with excitement, sensing that something amazing was about to happen to her.
“You were not born here Amy. Your father and I brought you here simply to protect you, but your true home is a long, long way away.”
Amy was nonplussed. This was hardly a revelation.
“Well, that’s not hard to take in. I know you and dad have travelled a lot. Were you living somewhere dangerous when I was born or something?”
“No Amy, I do not mean we brought you to Hungary. I mean we brought you to earth.”
This time the information was indeed a revelation and Amy was absolutely stunned. For a fleeting moment before, she had thought maybe her parents were about to tell her that she was adopted and she wondered how adopted children must feel when their world is turned upside down by the knowledge when it was finally imparted upon them. By comparison, her mother’s news was far more extreme.
“Brought me to earth... You mean… we’re… what, from space somewhere? So… are we even human? I mean, we look human and everything. If this is a joke it isn’t funny by the way!”
Silence filled the room for a while and it couldn’t have been more laden with expectation. Martay in particular was waiting with baited breath for one of Amy’s parents to respond. This was like somehow stumbling into some kind of crazy movie.
Amy’s mother looked at her, weighing up whether or not she was ready to handle the truth. The more she thought about it, the more she knew that she couldn’t avoid telling Amy the whole truth. If Amy could cope with the knowledge that she came from a different world then she would have to cope with this.
“You are half human, Amy. Half human on your father’s side. Laszlo is one hundred percent human.”
Amy proceeded to ask the obviously anticipated question, though she knew her mother probably would have continued anyway.
“So, what are you then?”
“I am an elf, and as such, you are half elven, the first in history that we know of.”
It took a moment for this statement to sink in before Amy let out a nervous laugh, looking between her mother and her father who remained deadly serious of face.
“You’re… you’re joking right? An elf? You mean, full on, lord of the rings style elf? That’s impossible, they only exist in fantasy books.”
Laszlo took Amy’s hands in his own and continued.
“And why do you think elves exist in books? Where do you think the very idea of elves came from? Various forms of elf like beings exist in many cultures. Sometimes as elves, or angelic humans, heroes with infeasible strength and agility, Valkyries, we see their theme repeated throughout history despite having no factual reality. You see, the very idea and image of elves has been echoed through earth since it first came into existence. Elves are one of a number of beings which pervade the dream plane, and humans who are particularly perceptible to the reverberations of the dream plane become aware of them. It’s only natural that they feel a strong inclination to try and remember, describe and recreate them. You asked if your mother was an elf like in Lord of the Rings? She is very close to this personification of elves indeed, because Tolkien was exceptionally creative and sensed, perhaps the most truly of any human, the form of those beings and other worlds which cast their image upon the dreams of those on earth.
We belong to the world where these images were formed. Have you never wondered at our strange habits, the odd languages we speak, or our mysterious origins? We are not from this world. Nor are you. We belong to a world called Otthon.”
At this point Martay sprang to life. “That’s the Hungarian word for home!” he exclaimed.
“Yes indeed. That is no coincidence. In elvish Otthon refers to the world, but with specific recognition of it as being their home. Something odd happened when earth was created, you see, and somehow the elvish language seeped into parts of human language. Specifically, it became the fundamental basis of Hungarian. It was probably a misunderstanding but the word ‘Otthon’ came to mean ‘home’ because of the strong association the elvish word has with their sense of belonging.”
“But that doesn’t make any sense,” said Martay, “you’re saying that elvish affected Hungarian when earth was created, but human language couldn’t have existed back when the earth was created, let alone Hungarian, so how could it have been something that happened when earth first existed?”
“That’s a good point dad,” Amy chimed in, “how can that even be possible?”
For the first time in the conversation, Snipping spoke up over Laszlo.
“Are ya sure that ya want to explain this?” he asked earnestly, “If you’ve kept ya history secret to protect her, surely this shouldn’t be revealed?”
“It was certainly not safe to do so earlier and would have caused unforetold problems for Amy in her childhood. Nevertheless, we always knew that one day she would find out, and we agreed that we would tell her when her abilities started to manifest themselves. We would take that as I sign that she was ready and that she would be able to understand.”
“Understand what exactly?” Amy was looking accusingly at her parents. All teenagers hated it when parents had kept something from them, using the excuse that they were not old enough. Amy was no different.
“Reckon we should send the boy away before explainin’” asked Snipping? “It might not be wise for ‘im to be privy to this information.”
Martay had barely opened his mouth to protest when Amy’s mother shook her head and said calmly, “No. If Amy has trusted him with her secrets thus far, we shall show him the same courtesy. Now that Martay knows so much, ignorance of history could be more dangerous than having the knowledge itself. Perhaps you would like to impart this master Ratchet? You have perhaps the best understanding of what happened and how this story unfolded.”
Snipping nodded at her in understanding before turning back to Amy and Martay who were waiting expectantly.
“It’s pretty bloody clear that ya never knew this but standin’ in front of ya are two legends, legends to people like me, and I’m what you’d call a myth. Very few people understand or can conceive o’ the miracles they achieved. Anyway, I’m getting’ ahead o’ myself. That’s the end o’ a long story.” Snipping’s words had a powerful effect. Amy and Martay's eyes were wide and their breath was baited as they waited for hi
m to continue.
“I suppose I should explain from the very beginnin’ yeah? For better or worse, our reality today ‘as been shaped by the existence o’ a terrible power. Many thousands o’ years ago a young arbiter called Gorhoth began to challenge ‘is own order. He believed it was the Arbiters’ right to rule creation as they saw fit and not simply to manage it.”
Amy and Martay exchanged confused looks but didn’t dare to interrupt Snipping with questions.
“When ‘is arguments fell on uninterested ears ‘e sought ‘is own way to try and bring creation under ‘is control. The problem, ya see, is that Arbiters can’t create things like dreamwalkers can. They can only manipulate that which exists but manipulation in all its manifestations was Gorhoth’s greatest talent. ‘e managed to snare dreamwalkers and control ‘em, makin’ ‘em create things o’ ‘is own design.
When the order discovered what ‘e was doin’, ‘e was cast out and banished to a physically chained existence. It was the ultimate punishment for an Arbiter, especially one as power ‘ungry as Gorhoth. He brooded over ‘is punishment for so long that eventually there was nothin’ left but the burnin’ flames o’ lust, lust for revenge on the order who cast him out. ‘is rise was subtle, yet ‘orrible. Ya see, Arbiter’s can see the world laid bare, understand the intricate rules that bind physical existence together. This knowledge was not lost when Gorhoth was banished and ‘e quickly developed incredible control over magic in Otthon. ‘e never waged open war. ‘e was too clever for that. ‘e sought out and dominated as many Dreamwalkers as ‘e possibly could in an attempt to gain control over the dream plane. From there, ‘e knew ‘e would be able to launch an attack on ‘is old brethren.
That’s where your family comes in Amy. The elves had long fought the shadowy battle against Gorhoth, resisting ‘is evil for as long as they lived. Sadly, it was a losin’ battle. Over time they were pushed into direct confrontation and the elves decided to make a final, desperate attempt to destroy Gorhoth forever. It was ya grandmother who sacrificed ‘erself to overpower ‘im. ‘is power was checked and the captive dreamwalkers were freed from ‘is control but at a terrible cost. The elven race was shattered by the events and in their wisdom, decided to depart Otthon forever. Ya see, they recognised that Gorhoth needed dreamwalkers to fulfil ‘is plans and elves were the most powerful dreamwalkers. The elves believed that if they departed, ‘e could never again seek to challenge the arbiters. Only three elves remained behind to watch over the beloved ‘ome the elves ‘ad cultivated in Otthon, and to watch over its innocent inhabitants. The three elves consisted of the ‘ead o’ the White Mages, Teldenar, ‘is guardian Arnorial and Teldenar’s daughter Amriel, who sits before ya now.
For a long time there was peace but Gorhoth’s shadow began to spread again. Teldenar noticed it first. ‘e came to a terrible realisation. Gorhoth was usin’ ‘umans and their creativity in place o’ the elves. It was a very difficult method to use because whilst ‘umans ‘ave incredible creative power, they struggle terribly to control it. ‘is plan was not only more difficult but significantly more dangerous to the world around ‘im. Power without control is always a threat and this is the very purpose o’ the Arbiters. They stop dangerous creation enterin’ the world. ‘owever, Gorhoth was using his abilities to ‘ide the creations ‘e pressed from ‘is ‘uman subjects so that the Arbiters couldn’t identify and control the creations before it was too late.
The ‘umans were just as ‘orrified by Gorhoth’s actions as Teldenar, though they didn’t understand exactly what ‘e was doing. They tried to form some kind o’ resistance against him but they recognised that fighting ‘im openly would have been hopeless. ‘e’d found a way to rip a human’s soul from their body and store it for ‘is dark purposes, a fate far worse than death. Their kingdom was in peril of fallin’ when by chance a human stumbled across Teldenar who was searching for information in their realm. Seein’ that the elves might be the only chance of bringin’ Gorhoth’s reign to an end, the ‘uman pledged himself to aid the elves and joined the three of them as they set out on a perilous journey. Ultimately, they fought alone against Gorhoth ‘imself. According to the history of the ‘umans on Otthon the four companions possessed some kind o’ new weapon they had found. Whether this is true or not, I can’t say. Although, I daresay that ya parents could enlighten us. They were, after all, two o’ the four companions. What is known is that it was Teldenar who ultimately dealt the final blow. It was a competition o’ magical prowess the like o’ which Otthon ‘adn’t seen since the elder days and it’s believed that in the end, magic was forced to bring itself into balance by destroying both Teldenar and Gorhoth. Neither o’ them was to be found after the massive explosion brought Gorhoth’s fortress and everythin’ ‘round it to dust. Arnorial ‘ad managed to protect Amriel and Laszlo from the blast and afterwards they searched everywhere for the combatants. The search was in vain, and while the three companions mourned the second greatest elvish loss in the ‘istory o’ the war, the world rejoiced cos Gorhoth seemed, finally to ‘ave been destroyed. The three remainin’ companions weren’t convinced o’ this and returned ‘ome to quiet watchfulness again.
Then somethin’ happened which until now, nobody could explain. Laszlo and Amriel nearly ripped the dream plane asunder as they brought into being an entire new world. Earth. The arbiters themselves were in awe of the staggerin’ achievement. It ‘ad been tried many times in the past and ‘ad always failed. The complexities that ‘eld worlds together seemed simply impossible to recreate. The worlds that were made, usually by unwittin’ ‘umans, nearly instantly collapsed in reality and ‘ad to be removed to empty pockets o’ the universe by the arbiters where they could burn out without causing any further damage. Earth ‘owever appears to ‘ave been made with a complete and sustainable balance. It was unprecedented.
What’s more, the whole planet came with a history built in. It was necessary for the world to make any kind of sense. From the perspective of the Arbiters, the world came into being in the early nineties, by your measure of time. But it had simultaneously also been there for all of your known history. It was unbelievable! The creation had managed to span across time. We still don’t know how it was done.
Amriel and Laszlo ‘owever, were nowhere to be found after Earth’s creation. There was no trace o’ them left in Otthon or in the dream plane. The arbiters kept their eyes open as they began tendin’ to the needs of the new world and its new and expandin’ dream plane and by pure luck they found Laszlo and Amriel again. It was small wonder they ‘ad seemin’ly disappeared. They ‘ad recreated themselves in the new world and removed themselves from the old one.
They swore the arbiters to secrecy regardin’ their new home because, as they explained, they ‘ad left themselves defenceless in order to create the new world. Ya see, the control that ya mother possessed was stripped from ‘er when she allowed ‘erself to become mortal. Neither she nor Lazslo ‘ad ever learnt ‘ow ‘umans gained control o’ their dreamwalking abilities. It was an unfathomable sacrifice to make but now I finally understand the purpose o’ their actions.”
“And what purpose was that?” Amy asked in disbelief, looking incredulously at her parents. If it wasn’t for all the crazy things that had happened to her in the past few weeks she never would have believed any of this.
“We created earth to hide and protect you Amy.” Her mother said this in a very matter of fact way. “We suspected that Gorhoth would one day return and we wanted you to be safe. You see, if he does return, he will want revenge on both of us, and you are a perfect target for that. By creating a world filled solely with humans, we had built a whole new dream plane in which your mind could be hidden and which was built with magic, which gives Gorhoth so much of his power. Should he ever seek to find you here, he would be at a great disadvantage.”
There was silence for a long time while Amy took everything in. It was indeed an exorbitant amount of information. She didn’t know what to do or say. She was dumbs
truck. Eventually, her father broke the silence with a very formal and business-like tone.
“I believe that is quite enough history. Now master Ratchet, I think the most pressing question is how exactly you came to be here.” The remark was directed at Snipping but he was looking intently at Amy. “And we should go through this properly so that we understand the whole situation. We wouldn’t want to miss anything important. Amy?”
Amy gave a start and looked up at her father, wide eyed.
“Would you care to tell us about your dreamwalking so far?” her father asked, “From the start would be best.”
She looked over at Martay with hesitation but Martay gave her an encouraging look. It was abundantly clear to him that they already knew most of what had been going on. Amy was worried that she might get in big trouble for keeping everything secret.
In the end she let everything out, every last detail of what she had seen, felt and done. She described every dream and every creation in minute detail. It felt good to finally be open about her abilities with her parents. She offered to get the book or some of the shoes she had created for inspection but her parents shook their heads with a smile. Amy was about to start describing the dream in which she had created Snipping but her mother spoke before she had a chance to start.
“We believe you darling and there is nothing more we can learn from seeing these items. They are simple copies of existing reality which is what we expected from you at this point. It is the easiest form of creation for a dreamwalker. The tree that you created on the other hand, this we should inspect. Can you take us to it please?”
There was a sudden outbreak of activity in the room as everyone got up. The tea was cleared away and boots and coats were grabbed before they all headed down to the park. Snipping was the only one who managed to be disgruntled, though in fairness he did look quite absurd. To hide him from wandering eyes, they had clothed him in a full-length winter jacket, some of Amy’s old hiking boots, a scarf and a very thick beanie into which he had to cram his large ears.
Bridge Between the Worlds (Dreamwalker Book 1) Page 9
