Demon Dreaming
Posted by Meg
This entry comes from Glen who reminds us that even in dreams, we are not safe.
I have not written anything for a while and this was all done on my phone. I just tried to tidy it up a bit on the PC. Hope it gets some smiles.
DhrAugh Demon
Arlen woke.
Silence. Arlen did not wake for no reason. All the years of pushing the boundary and living on the fine line between life and death made sure of that. Arlen knew he was not alone. In one smooth movement, he kicked himself out of the bed and swung his right leg towards his left shoulder in a perfect arc and caught the Wood Demon square in the face. The Wood Demon went crashing into the bedside table. Before Arlen even had time to get back to his feet, he saw the Flame Demon projectiling a stream of liquid death in his direction. Flipping himself to his feet, Arlen was already headed for the door of the small wooden cabin by the time the fire hit where he had been. In a practiced and drilled routine, he kicked the door open and dove outside, rolling into a defensive stance.
Then Arlen woke up, standing outside with a menagerie of demons slowly advancing on the only meal they had ever slightly feared. It only took a second for him to realise that it had not been real. Cursing under his breath, Arlen berated himself for forgetting. DhrAugh Demon. So rare were these Corelings that they were almost forgotten, free to roam as they pleased.
DhrAugh (old language for dream/deceive) Demons were unable to solidify like their kin. Instead, theirs was an altogether more terrifying ability. These deceitful creatures enter one’s dreams, as they eat souls, life force. Call it what you will. Many strong young men had been left either as drooling husks, forever lost, or simply a corpse, life simply yanked away. If they did not succeed, they would receive unearthly pleasure from making their prey believe they were running away from danger, only to wake from a dream walking state outside the safety of their wards, next on the list to be brutalised by the other Corelings. Arlen saw it out the corner of his eye, an inky, black oil slick in his peripherals. The only thing to define it from the darkness was its flaming eyes and mouth. It would have made no difference if it was standing right in front of him. Such was the nature of these demons. They never took form, in fact it was almost impossible to focus on them. The only way to describe them was like looking at a living shadow through the shimmer caused by the heat of a raging fire.
DhrAugh Demon’s main strength was their ability to get into your dreams and feed unhindered. Their weakness, well, they could not consolidate. The stories are few and far between. Not much is known about habitat other than there does not seem to be a set type of location. The only stories Arlen had ever found on them pointed to The Deliverer having struck a great fear into them. Was this the reason for their scarcity?
Arlen decided then what the coming weeks would contain. DhrAugh Demon wards would need to be found.
Looks like you need to find some skin, Arlen thought to himself. With that thought, and an array of different demons approaching from all sides, Arlen strengthened his stance and smiled.
Let
them
come….
Thank you to Glen for sending us that story! I love the idea of a Dream Demon; they remind me a lot of the Mind Demons in The Desert Spear. Perhaps they are related?
The deadline is close! Send your demons in no later than 11:59pm on May 18th, 2012. Check out the guidelines and fantastic prizes here.