Half remembered Dreams

[suave-steve.livejournal.com]

Some more random musings that may form into a background in the future.

A ship cutting its way through the rise and fall of sand dunes, sailing across the desert silhouetted against an alien starscape. Suddenly the bow dips over the crest of a dune and the whole ship tips forward falling several times its own length before landing on the surface of a silver sea, righting itself as the buoyancy returns. The shouts and alarms of the crew clinging to the rigging gradually fading. In the distance they can see other ships sitting atop the silver sea, roped together to form a floating town. Covered in strings of lanterns and fluttering flags in a multitude of colours and shades signifying the owners and purposes of each ship. The sea market awaits them and their prizes and they all know that fortunes will be made and lost again in the coming hours.

A cave floor littered with glittering gems, each one a dream or memory of a mortal. A sailor picks his way across the rocky outcrops pausing occasionally to study a gem before carefully placing it back. Across the cave there echoes the deep bass rumble of something taking deep, restful breathes as it sleeps. The sailor's ears attuned to the rhythm of the echoes eager to keep his foot falls light so as not to wake the slumbering guardian. Finally he spots his prize, a battered old oil lamp resting in the curves of the massive claw of the creature that fills the bulk of the cave at this depth. Slowly the sailor reaches out for the lamp, lifting it deftly from its resting place as he turns and starts to scramble back towards the distant daylight leaping from rock to rock. A stumble, unexpected but no less troublesome sends a pile of gems skittering across the cave floor with the sound of a hail storm as they clatter against each other the noises echoing across the vast chamber amplified with each bounce of sound on rock. The sailor pauses for a moment glancing back over his shoulder. The giant claw twitches and then stretches before a rumbling, low roar fills the chamber and the sailor starts to run now abandoning his preplanned route and bolting for the cave mouth.

A lone minaret stands atop a cliff overlooking the silver sea. Bathed in pale orange moonlight the tiles that adorn the walls glow ethereally casting their light back across the sleeping woman spread across the bed that dominates the only room. Across from the bed stands a large gilded birdcage, decorated with jewels and drapes of silk it is home to a unique songbird. Her plumage resplendent even when she darts into the darken recesses of her cage. A rope drops across the length of one of the windows and hangs there gently swaying, a few moments later a pair of boots then legs and finally the arms, head and body of the sailor descend into view. A swift swing inwards and the sailor lands quietly on the smooth marble floor of the bedchamber. He looks to the cage and places a finger across his lips before he slopes silently across to the bed. He reaches into a pouch as he leans over the woman, fine dust fills his upturned palm before he blows it softly across the face of the woman. After the dust settled across her features the sailor leans down and whispers something into her ear, she stirs for a moment and then turns over as her slumber deepens. With a smile the sailor turns to the cage again, reaching into a different pouch to produce a succulent date which he holds out as he opens the door to the cage calling softly to the songbird within "Time to leave this dream desert singer.".