The Dreamwalkers

    Over the first month or so that the party is in Manaed, Jake struggles with his sharpening senses and his new urges. Keeping this hidden he struggles alone. This is not all bad, however, as his new abilities save the group from danger on occasion. Still, he agonizes while training to maintain his composure. One day he follows Lily to a pond where she is bathing. He spies on her from the reeds along the shore, his urges growing stronger and stronger. His lust and hunger almost overwhelming. His vision red rimmed he watches and wants and craves. In a last desperate attempt to control and deny those urges he tears himself away from the tempting vision and runs away into the woods alone. The party searches for him, of course, but he is nowhere to be found. Duncan has suspicions about what was going on but keeps the grim news to himself. The party's search is interrupted by a group of Moaab scouts and they are forced to flee, leaving Jake to his fate. It will be more than six m...

  Some say this really all began 400 years ago, on a snowy winter day, with a mysterious meeting between Dane's father and an old sage. One man trudges through the snow towards a small cabin deep in the woods. Another man sits patiently, knowingly, waiting for a knock on the door.

After meeting at the age of 12 while their fathers attended an academic conference in Washington DC, Lily and Illyana became fast friends. This friendship grew as the two maintained contact via email and photos. In those four years they even each visited the other in their own country. When they were sixteen they finally convinced Illyana’s parents to allow her to attend Lily’s preparatory school in Wichita. They lived together with Lily’s father in an apartment during the week but left for Heaven on the weekends.  Those two years, the summer of their junior year through October of their senior, they were inseparable. Illyana’s engaging flirty demeanor drew Lily out of the reserved shell she was in since her mother’s death. And Lily’s even temper and thoughtfulness curbed Illyana’s zealous lack of caution.  In Manaed will their friendship be tested, as both realize that the other has a special attachment to Duncan? Though for different reasons, each realizes their need for him...

Journal Entry- Anders 10.2 First night away in nine months, fifteen if you count the time I was in the hospital. And of course I don't remember any times before that. It is both exhilarating and daunting, not that I've forgotten how to drive a car or check into a hotel, but whether I have ever done either before is up to debate. And the thank me and say my name, the name I've been told for nine months is mine. Nothing new for the doctor there. My mission is pretty straight forward. Find the professor who's been missing for twelve years. The professor who became a recluse after the death of his daughter and some of her high school classmates in a bizarre chemical explosion in 2003. His wife had previously died when the daughter was five. He retired from teaching North American history at Wichita State University and was subsequently rarely seen.  The Clinic has procured the police reports and other relevant documents. Very thorough that organization. I intend to review t...

 The phone buzzed. He glanced at it. It was a Clinic number. It was always a clinic number. Dr. Goldman. "Hello, Oscar." He said. "Anders, I hope I am not interrupting anything." The doctor's voice was friendly and casual. Seemingly casual, Anders thought, friendly yes, but the casual nature of his conversation belied what Anders had come to know as a very considered and intentional approach. Occasionally he seemed more an interrogator than a psychiatrist.  "No," He replied, "I was entering my journal, but I've just finished." "I'm glad you are keeping up with it so well. I know these past nine months haven't been easy for you but I have good news." Anders sat up straight. " You passed your most recent evaluation and have been cleared for L3 duty, and your first assignment has come down." Anders felt a surge of excitement and simultaneously a great sense of relief. He made it! The doctor continued, "It has...

 The silent assassin. She has never been known to speak or to remove her creepy doll face mask. She is as deadly as she is mysterious. The Shadow’s closest underling she is sent out to do it’s bidding when normal assassins are inadequate. The few that know of her believe she is the prime suspect in the death of Queen Lilac. Will her services be called into use against Lily? Only the shadow knows…

 The Queens are descended from the line of Dayne, the warrior king of Alban. The mantle does not pass from mother to daughter but rather when one Queen passes another rises from the bloodline.  For 400 years this progression was uninterrupted but with the unthinkable and impossible murder of Queen Lilac at the hands of agents of The Shadow the title passed to Lily, who was yet too young and whose great grandparents were long lost in the physical world. The Queens serve as protectors of the Mana of Manaed, wise counselors, and peacemakers. Mana flows from them and they bring balance and light to the land much like the Mana Springs used to do.  The powers of the Queens is myriad and it is said they even have the ability to  manifest physical objects from the Mana itself. These powers are always used for the benefit of the land and others, and never for selfish, cruel, or evil acts. The Queens are always bringers of light and hope. There have been 9 Queens so far, with ...

The Dreamwalkers   Book One: The Time of the Shadow Chapter 1     They jump into inky blackness. There is falling. Then for a moment floating in an indigo sky filled with twinkling golden stars, both near and far. The stars begin to move, faster and faster until they are gold streaks flashing by. Like hyperspace, Robert has time to think.     Then there is bright light and a jarring thump, but the ground is soft and springy. They squint against the light. For a moment they all lie still, stunned and uncomprehending.  Lily is lying on her back. She sees a clear blue sky and a bright yellow sun. Grass, Robert thinks. We must have been thrown clear of the building, but... It is warm Illyana thinks, feeling the warmth on her skin. Jake curses and sits up. Slowly they look around and at each other. Mr. Duncan is already standing, a few feet away, peering at the horizon. He looks at them, and seeing that no one appears injured says,  "Come. There are still a...

 General Moaab’s armies sweep across the land eastward, seemingly unstoppable. He has reached Alban and now looks towards the Eastern Kingdoms. Some call him a merciless tyrant, others say he’s a fair and just lord. In any event, lands keep falling before his advance, joining in his cause or facing his wrath. There is no denying his magnetic charisma or the loyalty of his troops, but none yet know his dark secret. 

The Wichita Beagle Sunday, November 9, 2003 Halloween Horror at Fertilizer Plant: Several Now Believed Dead By Phil McCracken Heaven KS- At 11:45 PM Friday, October 31st police and fire in Heaven, a small community of around 20,000 just south of Wichita, responded to a fire and apparent explosion at the Lee Agricultural Chemicals plant outside of town. Residents up to five miles away reported hearing the explosion. Responder found a roaring blaze with debris scattered up to 200 yards away. Fire fighters battled the chemical blaze until after 4 AM. Authorities have said that the cause of the explosion and subsequent fire are yet unknown, but that it appears to have been an accident. The fire department promised a full investigation.  At first no one was thought to have been inside the building at the time of the incident, but this would not be a true tale of Halloween horror until the full extent of the devastation hit the town in the coming days. Seemingly unrelated at first, call...

 Dr G R Endel, ceo and cmo of the Raven’s Pointe Psychiatric Clinic, commonly referred to as The Clinic. For all appearances, The Clinic has a stellar reputation for being able to effectively treat the most difficult cases. But some believe they are involved with the government, undertaking experiments in mind control and psychic enhancement. There are a hidden few who claim that The Clinic experiments in dreams and keep their true goals hidden from even the government. All controlled completely by one man. 

 In the years since the death of Queen Iris many shadows have crept into Manaed. The Enemy grows bold with no Queen to keep it in check and many seemingly innocent things have become twisted and corrupt. Evil lurks around every corner. The good folk of the land are fearful. Much like our world, corruption and madness have taken strong root. Can the five travelers overcome the darkness. Will Lily take her place as the next Queen and end this long period of darkness? Coming soon- the story begins…

 Jake comes along on the journey seemingly by chance, but finds that he has a destiny in the lands of Manaed. A rebel and a troublemaker, Jake is difficult to get along with at first and soon finds himself separated from the others for a time. When he eventually rejoins the group he has a new attitude and sense of purpose, as well as fantastical new abilities. 

 Despite the shadow of war that has crept over the land in advance of General Moaab’s ravaging armies there are still places of beauty and respite. Places where the sun is warm, the sky is blue, and a gentle wind rustles the grasses and wafts the sweet scent of cooling pies. 

  The main gate and council hall in Illiard, a township in Raganask. It is situated near the entrance to Bear Gap, the Spirit guarded pass to the northernmost lands. It is in the land surrounding Illiard that Fadrig endures the great tragedy and finds his destiny. From which follows the House of Dane and the Queens of Manaed. 

 Morgana the sorceress, mistress of the chaos of dreamstuff. Perhaps as old as Duncan, Morgana’s appetite for the carnal is legendary. Morgana seeks to understand and manipulate the dreamstuff to ever greater degrees and in this she has come to associate herself with The Enemy

 Lily the future Queen of Manaed in the Halloween costume wearing which she begins her story in. Lily is a studious, focused young woman, who has goals in life that are about to be abruptly ended. As a Queen Lily is one of the few who can read the story stones scattered across the lands. 

 Illyana is a friend of Lily’s. She is a foreign exchange student who is staying with her friend in Heaven KS for her senior year if high school. Intelligent and athletic she is very flirty and quite the tease, using her charms to get her way. But she is actually good hearted and a bit innocent. Her abilities are telepathy and being able to create psychic “knives” she can use as weapons. 

 Robert is a friend of Lily’s who gets caught up in the story almost by chance. Smart, studious, and smitten, Robert’s power changes the course of history in Manaed

 Duncan is the Knight Protector to the Queen. He has been at this duty for a few hundred years now, accompanying all the queens since the first, granted immortality by the Owl Spirit to accomplish this task. He is serious minded but personable and completely dedicated to each Queen