Fates Entwined

 "We stood against the world together and we won" read the words inscribed on the plaque below the two great statues. The small girl's gaze wandered over the two statues that stood side by side as equals. Their hands on the hilts of their weapons as they gazed over an endless ocean from a bluff high above the great city. A small park sat at the top with a path that weaved up the bluff. The statues stood tall and radiated their strengths like beacons in the night. 

Her look shifted to Ayrlyn first. Headstrong, patience, kindness and unwavering will.Those were her strengths.

 Then to Nicci. Agile, intelligent, compassionate and her heart of pure gold. 

It was said they first met here on this very bluff.

 They had made a pact as they gazed out on the land that they loved.

They dreamed an impossible dream. 

They wanted the world to be a better place.

 Together they would make it happen no matter what.

 From that day on they called themselves the Radical Dreamers.

 The girl knew all the tales by heart.

 The battles the dreamers fought against innumerable foes.

 Against overwhelming odds and momentous foes.

Against the power hungry, the greedy , tyrants, fanatics

 and madmen bent on chaos and destruction.

 The dreamers would fight across the lands far and wide.

 Mountains would be leveled and new ranges risen in their place.

 Oceans would be drained and spring anew. 

Islands would be lifted into the skies only to be brought crashing down again.

Cities would be destroyed and rebuilt.

 Tales of their triumphs and losses were told throughout the lands.

She heard them all.

"Dad" she asked "What happened to them? I've heard all the stories but no one has ever told me what became of them"

Her father looked down at her "You are clever. You knew that was the reason I brought you up here. To tell you the tale of the final battle. I guess I am no good at keeping secrets from you" he grins at her.

 "The story begins not far outside the city.

 Ayrlyn and Nicci faced a terrible foe. It had no name. Not even a form. It was known only as Hatred. It threatened to not only destroy their home but the world itself. 

 Their very right to exist.

The battle raged on for hours and hours. 

They stood their ground as long as they could. They gave it hell. Inch by inch they grudgingly gave ground. They wouldn't surrender and they always fought together because if they were separated they knew they would lose. Finally at the gates of the city.  Amongst the ruins of the housing that was built outside the wall. Fires raging unchecked. Smoke billowed everywhere. Screams could be heard while the buildings came crashing down. 

 Here we draw the line they shouted! We can't give in. Hatred came at them again and again with terrible force. Again and again he was repelled but he knew they would falter. No one had such power. No single being could defeat him The day grew into night and the stars lit the sky. Ayrlyn stumbled as the buildings next to her came crashing down. Nicci was at his side in an instant to steady him. 

 Weary, battered and bleeding both.

They looked into each other's eyes with the truth.

 We are losing. Their eyes said without saying.

 Then without a word because each knew what the other was thinking.

 Ayrlyn looked at Nicci. 

Is there no other way?

 Nicci sadly shook her head.

No

 At that instant they grabbed each others shoulders and pulled themselves together in a close embrace as to shield themselves from the impending doom. Wails of despair shrieked in the chaos. Hatred with glee had thought the battle won. With a horrible swiftness born of pure malice he rushed in. So eager to snuff out their existence. He didn't realize he had erred. The moment he swooped close they both  turned their gaze up at the sky. Hatred sensed this and turned to flee. 

He was too late. He couldn't move he was encased with the dreamers in a perfect natural crystal clear as glass. The trap had been sprung. The spell had worked. He screamed in rage. Immobile in the crystal the dreamers unable to speak thought in unison.

"HEAVENSWARD!" their minds cried out in a singular phrase

 The crystal shook and started to ascend slowly.

 Rapidly gaining speed it became a small streak in the sky before winking out of existence.

  It hurtled over vast distances of time and space 

Eventually It finally came to a stop.

The dreamers could hold on no longer.

The time was now.

 For one brief instance the dreamers were free to look into each other's eyes one last time.

 At that moment they both smiled they had never took the time to think.

What if dreams come true? 

The crystal shuddered violently and started to glow more brightly until it gleamed brighter then one thousand suns.

 Then with a force of a super nova it exploded over a vast distance consuming everything near.

From the planet all could see the new constellation in the night sky.

They sacrificed everything for their dream.

Would they be remembered?"

 The girl sighed sadly "Does that mean they died?"

 Her father shook his head and beckoned her over his finger pointing at the sky "Do you see that constellation? It's called the Phoenix. It was born of the calamity that threatened to destroy us all. The stars in it represent virtues of the dreamers like courage, patience, justice, love and so on."

 She nodded she knew of it. Still gazing up as her father circled around the statue. He continued on "See those two stars where the heart is?" Another nod. " One with a red hue and one with a blue hue? Those are the dreamers watching over us still. It is said that they would rise from the ashes and be born again in a time of need. They would be more then remembered . They would never die"

 The little girl sighed and looked down at the statues once more. A gleam caught her eye. She rushed over eagerly at the base of each statue was a small gem. She snatched them up and looked in awe at their beauty. Her father walked over and said "Ah it seems the dreamers see something great in you as I do. The statues have granted you their tears."

 He hunches over her and gently picks up the gems one at a time out of her palm "The bright red ruby is Nicci's . It represents her inner fire, compassion and her love for others." he places the ruby in his other hand and picks the other gem up "The deep icy blue sapphire is Ayrlyn's. It represents her patience, kindness and unwavering will."

 Gently he places them into her hand  side by side and closes her fist. As to say hold them tightly and never let go. The dreamers didn't for let go for all of us. He glanced at her and said "Come now daughter it is getting late and we have a long path home"

 As they walk down the winding dark path hand in hand. They feared nothing. They were safe thanks to the dreamers heroic deeds. His daughter still clutching the gems to her heart he smiles inwardly. It was just like this when my father did the same for me and his father's father.

 The tears and the legends were passed down the generations. He hopes that as she grows and learns that the dreamers might not rise from the ashes. Instead that she will believe in herself and maybe one day become a legend in her own right.

 He knows eventually that when she is older she might realize the truth as he did when he came of age. Legends are not born they are MADE.

“‎Though nobody can go back and make a new beginning... Anyone can start over and make a new ending.”

"Lullaby"

Hush my love now don't you cry

Everything will be all right

Close your eyes and drift in dream

Rest in peaceful sleep

If there's one thing I hope I showed you 

Hope I showed you

Just give love to all

Oh my love... in my arms tight

Every day you give me life

As I drift off to your world

Rest in peaceful sleep

I know there's one thing that you showed me 

That you showed me

Just give love to all 

Let's give love to al

Radical dreamer

You often see the line don't give up on hopes and dreams. Often you wonder why those two things get lumped together. One is a feeling while the other is product of your imagination while you sleep. Some people hope to win the lottery or some dream of winning. You guess they are one in the same. Hope is basically dreaming while you are awake. Do people not dream and still have hope?  Doesn't make sense.

They just seem to go together. Dreams are your hopes. Hopes are your dreams.

You still dream of being happy with someone. It can't happen and it never will. You've given up on it years ago. You've given up hope a long time ago. Yet you still dreamt of it all these years. The dreams are all you have sometimes and at the least they make you happy. Even if you think you've given up hope your heart never will.

You've realized your dreams are what drives you. You've never given up hope. Your dreams are your strength. Even if you give up on them. They won't give up on you.

So come dream with me
Dare to dream the radical dream, of impossible things
No one or thing can take that away from you. Not even yourself

“There is no perfection, only beautiful versions of brokenness.”

“The stories we share are important. They help to understand ourselves and make sense of the world.”

I'm ready to die in obscurity.

Niddhogg Down!!!

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Let the storm rage on.

What we are in life, echoes in eternity.

 Today while talking to a dear friend of mind she brought up religion. She had told me a friend of hers had been trying to convert her to christianity.  While I won't talk about my views on religion today. It did spark a thought in me. I don't judge here and I know there are many facets of religion. I'm not here to change ideals or make someone question their beliefs.  A big part of any religion is always the theory of the afterlife. Part of the faith is that we fear what happens to us in death. What I say here is my speculation and my beliefs. It's not backed up by anything but my interpretation of of the subject. 

 Death the greatest unknown. Some may say. Hey! Space is the great unknown you got it all wrong. Last I checked no one built a telescope to peer into the vastness of death nor built a ship to plumb its depths. What does happen when we die? When I was young I marvelled at the possibilities and ideas I was bombarded with. An afterlife like purgatory, limbo heaven or hell. Reincarnation as another form of life on earth or even an alien world. Some believe ghosts exist. Maybe they stay bound here or they travel to the great beyond. Maybe there is another plane of existence. We have a soul right?  Who knows if  really any of these are true or none of these are true. None of us really know and I doubt we will. Even those in the distant future may never know.

 As I grew older and more experienced. I started to question these theories. I started to believe in a new one. What if you just die and that is it? Sure you will be remembered through people and physical media but . When it all comes down once everything returns to the dust. Do I cease to exist?  Do I just go into a dreamless sleep that you never wake up from? Still terrifying right? Maybe enough that you might start believing in one of those wonderful afterlifes.

 You can look at it with a depressing aspect almost negative even. I choose to look at it in a positive light. Yes you do die and your thoughts and inner being in all respects are just plain gone. What makes you is still there. Whether your buried or burned to ashes the basic blocks of what made you is still there. You don't just cease to be. Your ashes could be scattered to the oceans. Where eventually they become the water or part of life in the ocean. Your body will eventually become one with the earth and it will be part of the plants that grow. One friend told me that his deceased friend was the wind on his face. I believe he is right You literally become part of the planet and everything on it.

  That would make our ancestors are part of us not just in genealogy. It is basically a circle of life. Everything that came before us is part of us. We to will become part of the planet and future generations even if we don't reproduce in a basic sense. Well you say! Eventually the sun will go supernova and obliterate the plant then we cease to exist right? Again another chemical change in the scientific view. We will become something else that becomes part of other planets or remains with the sun. It may be down to the basic elements but what made us could soar to the end of space and time itself or become part of another galaxy or planet. 

 Our essence in a sense. Will join countless others in a deafening chorus as it travels the vastness of the universe over the eons. We don't know where it will end up and we never will. Seems spiritual doesn't it? Or is it scientific? What makes it either? Our ideals, beliefs, education, great minds or our faith? I can't really tell you that. As always that part is up to you. It doesn't really sound like an end  does it? It sounds like the beginning of and epic journey. Beginning? I'm being presumptuous again. Who has the right to say it is the beginning or the end for all we know. We could be part of a cycle that has been going on for ages. We could be part of countless journeys from everywhere in the universe.

 So instead of wondering what what will happen to you if you die or fearing the great unknown. Open your mind to a new possibility. Go outside at night and look to the stars. Imagine for me or for yourself what you might become! One day on an alien shore something might look up at the sky and imagine the very same thing! Then you will know that part of you will live on for all of time.

but not yet. not yet.....

The stars in the night, they lend me their light
 To bring me closer to heaven with you

When I feel strong I chase the days.

See me now.

Hope can drown lost in thunderous sound

Fear can claim what little faith remains

 But I carry strength from souls now gone

They won't let me give in...

 I will never surrender 

We'll free the Earth and sky

 Crush my heart into embers

And I will reignite... 

I will reignite

 Death will take those who fight alone

 But united we can break a fate once set in stone 

 Just hold the line until the end 

Cause we will give them hell... 

 Heroes are remembered but

legends never die.

It seems that my life follows the moon
At times it's half empty and sometimes it's full
Spinning around through darkness and light
Falling so low and rising so high

He could not take from the forest what was never meant to leave.

What twist of fate has brought us, to tread upon this land?