Chapter 12: Dreams

Transcript taken from the writings of Sage, Empire VII, Volume XI, Section CLII,

"Where does strength come from? Does one draw his power from within? What drives someone onward? How does the will to continue take root? As we said in E IV, V XI, S LLXXXVII, '... it takes drive to accomplish anything. A desire to find answers will lead humanity to its greatness.' Long have I watched humanity, defending from the shadows against those that hunt in darkness. The true power of humanity, their great gift is not their ability to disbelieve. It is their potential for great knowledge. With the right guidance humanity could become a dominant species. They could rule the world and manage.

From the shadows I have seen disturbing things though. Humans have a strange pension toward inter-tribal war. They believe too strongly and cannot accept external views. Too many times have I seen one man kill another for his god. Every time I think humanity is on the verge of greatness, I see an act of senseless mayhem the like of which some demons have wet dreams about. Humanity doesn't need demons hiding in dark corners; they already have enough of their own monsters.

A human can find the will to act and perform miracles for the betterment of the future. A demon will act for a direct ending result. We want, and we desire, it is rare for us to hope. Why do we feel this emptiness? Were we created with a hole within us? We have long claimed superiority over all other creatures, but are we even complete? We take what we want, when we want it, and the only thing we ever have to worry about are ourselves. Humanity has the ability to build up on the future. Why don't they?

It is important to know where you are at all times. A simple message as equally as important in a physical sense as a metaphysical. Tim choked in sand and coughed, his eyes fluttering open. Laying face down, Tim had a close encounter with some very massive, very invasive sand. Close as in "burrowed in sand" not "happy sandbox sand" — thin and gritty, liquid you can't swallow. It filled his nostrils. A thick layer of grim coated his throat. He felt invaded by every single grain.

When Tim was sick he would have exactly the same nightmare. He was drowning in quicksand. His head was below the surface. He struggled. He cried out. The more he moved the deeper he sunk. The more he cried the more sand he swallowed.

While awake he had entered this dream place. He had to be awake since he was capable of the belief that it might be a dream. Never before had he been able to think of anything other than the liquid sand. The thought of drowning in sand caused him to lose all sense of rationality, here he was thinking of his nightmares from the past.

Tim rolled to his side, his retching not subsiding. Liquid vomit came from somewhere and a few piles of mud found their way to the sand beside him. He was not drowning in quick sand. He merely had consumed far too much of a sandbox.

Waking up in a strange place is always an unsettling experience. Tim was unsettled physically and mentally. He had a muddy coating of sweaty sand and in trying to rub grit out of his eyes succeeding in only smearing it deeper into his vision. His eyes closed shut quickly, trying to tear it out. He held his eyes closed and looked around a little, trying to get his eyes clear. The light and shadows played across his closed eyelids.

After a few minutes Tim felt his eyes were clear enough to open. He glanced around, blinking from the harsh light. The only thing Tim could see were miles and miles of red sand. The terrain was curved with sand dunes. Two suns were shining and another was beginning to rise. Dust clouds reflected red light coating everything visible with a rusty tinge.

Tim was not a woodsman. He was not a camper. He hadn't spent a day or night outside of a major city. Yet what unsettled him the most was the fact that he didn't know how he had arrived in this place. I remember going home. I was with Crystal, and Susanne, and... and Violet. What the hell happened? I was going to enter Violet's mind, I was going to make her understand. How did I get here? Where is here? How do I get out of here? "HELLO! Can anyone hear me? HELLO!" What am I supposed to do now? Do I go looking for a way to survive? I guess I will need food and water. Wait... what do I need water for? I am a vampire aren't I? What has my life come to? What have I become?

The ground began to shake. A high pitched screech echoed across the dunes and was answered. Tim jumped to his feet at the sound. Below him a mound began to rise. The sand flowing to the side as something big tunneled from beneath. Tim could feel the pressure coming up and looked down just in time to see a mound, three feet wide and growing quickly.

Tim turned and took a step to the side so he would no longer be standing on the mound. At the rate it was growing he was still standing on the elevated ground. The shacking of the ground increased. Tim began to backpedal. Sand exploded into the air and Tim was thrown into the air, landing harshly several feet away.

One of the suns was blocked out. Thirty feet of snake cast a pillar of shade upon Tim, more of it laid buried in the sand. He scrambled to his feet. Small scales reminiscent of plates or armor lined the body of the monster. An outline of a cobras head was framed by the sunlight. Staring up at its head, Tim noticed two sets of massive arms. Fear flowed from the monster in waves. He did the only logical thing to him, he turned and ran.

A screech filled the air again, as the monster loomed over him. The beast struck quickly. Much as any snake would strike at its prey, a vicious set of teeth launched at Tim. Tim was moving too fast and only took the strike in the leg. A sharp pain ripped through Tim. He jerked as something held his leg for an instant, then stumbled forward as the pressure released. On his next step Tim fell to the ground, his leg not there to stand on.

Lying on the ground Tim tried to focus his mind. He knew what he needed to do to regenerate his leg. The words of the crazy vampire, Sinbad, echoed in his head. "All you need to do now is imagine what your eyes look like, what they should be, and focus the power." Tim imagined what his leg looked like. He focused on the details of the muscles. He recalled various scars, remembering how he had earned them. He felt warm energy flowing down to the stub. The pain eased and Tim watched as the flesh grew.

In his reverie Tim failed to remember the cause of his pain. A giant hand dug up the mound of sand he was laying on, grasping him in a fist larger than he was. The naga brought him up to its face. It stared down at him with hypnotic eyes causing him to feel such fear that he was immobilized. The giant mouth opened, revealing two sets of elongated fangs, and much smaller teeth like those of a shark. A long tongue stretched out. It wrapped around Tim coating him in a sticky slime. Still unable to move, Tim watched as the cavernous mouth came closer. The smell of rotting meat burst forth with every breath the monster took. Tim was pulled in, and darkness shrouded him, the mouth closing behind him.

No longer under the gaze of the naga, Tim began to feel his limbs again. Pressure came from all sides as he was slowly sucked down the digestive track of the monster. Energy flowed out of Tim, being absorbed. He was growing weaker by the second.

Tim focused on the energy he had carried with him since he had drunk from Sarah. That warm, sweet blood had so much life within it. He drew on it, and could feel the snake trying to take it from him. He imagined a case around it — a box deep within him that prevented anything from taking it. At once he felt such a barrier form. The drain on him slackened.

Wriggling to get his arms just right, Tim placed one hand on either side of him. He gathered his strength and pushed. His muscles strained. Tim felt the walls of his prison bend beneath his strength. The muscles of the naga stretched until Tim's arms were completely spread. The monster didn't even seem to care.

Tim's strength was quickly leaving him. He strained under the tension he had to keep on the walls. Tim fought off nausea caused by the stale rotting air. He focused his mind using the listening exercise Sinbad had taught him. "Block off anything other than your heart," Sinbad had told him. "When'a only thing you's hear be your heart beat'n you'll center you'self deep within. From tha' point you can do anything you've strength for. You can even do somethin's ya don't have the strength to do. Be careful when tryin' somethin' like this, power has to come from somewhere."

The beating of Tim's heart brought him to his center. He followed the sound to his core. Sitting deep within him lay a fire of power — warming glow ready to be stirred into a bonfire. Tim reached into the fire and breathed upon it. He fanned the fire attempting to draw it out.

The fire exploded forcing Tim back out. He was ejected from his body, viewing it from above as he was being swallowed by the naga. He swelled with power his link to his body surging. He was pulled back within himself. The walls of the elongated stomach squeezed down on him. He replanted his arms, reapplying his strength.

The fire surged within him, his strength rising. The nails on his fingers lengthened and formed into claws. His fangs enlarged fill his mouth. His eyes burned a piercing red. He outstretched his arms, holding the walls of the snake to either side, as wide as his arms-breadth. Like a rubber band stretched wide but not tight, the walls were stretched, but no where near breaking.

Tim attacked with a fury of bloodlust. His claws took chunks of organ out of the monster. The naga screeched in pain writhing back and forth. It slammed back onto the sand attempting to dislodge the vermin causing it so much discomfort.

The naga was a demon. Like all living things it stayed alive by consuming life. The vampire it had just eaten however was resisting it. It attempted to drain the life out of the vampire, the vampire had other ideas. Tim had resisted the drain on his life — not a small feat today. After being swallowed it is expected to fight for a moment before giving up and dying. This vampire would not give up.

A will to survive is one of the strongest things a swallowed man can posses. Tim fought with tooth and nail. He carved and bit, resolved to get out. Panic welled up inside him as he gasped for breath. With every chunk he took from the insides of the monster he felt the energy around him waiver. Every piece of meat he swallowed he felt a closer understanding to the demon.

He was beginning to feel the life of the snake. It was not a pure life. It was a mixture of multiple life threads. The snake had one main thread, its own; it was veined and surrounded with many distinct strands. Tim could see the threads of the monster wound together. He felt the knots tying the demons lifeline together.

Is this all I need to do? It is so easy. Tim stopped struggling physically, he reached out with his mind's arm, the extension he had used before on his family and Crystal, and grasped the line.

As soon as he connected to the monsters lifeline he became connected to the monster. He could feel its pain, he could see through its eyes. The demon within him knew what it was to do. He started to draw life from the naga. He was demon too. He too fed on the life of others. He siphoned off strength with no care for its future. He didn't hold back. He sought only one thing, freedom.

Power filled him, recharging his reserves and overflowing. He burned with excess. The naga was a monstrous creature, its size requiring a lot of energy to move. The amount of energy it had amassed was far more energy than he knew what to do with. The monster couldn't have done the amazing feats other demons with such power performed. Some demons are able to do miracle seeming acts using a piece of their life, others mere cantrips. Some however, are not able to use their life force in any way except for living. They cannot focus their power in that way. Many of these demons though require massive amounts of energy to stay alive, such as the naga.

Power continued flowing out of the naga and into Tim. It filled him and before he realized it. He was unable to break his link. The control he had over his mind's arm froze. He could not find where he ended and the power flowing into him began. His body screamed from holding so much. He burned down to his core. The life pattern of the naga changing as it entered him, altering to match his own. His inner fire burst out of its containment. His body physically began to smoke. Trails of blue fire began to lick up his arms. The fire grew and he was soon completely covered.

The naga could feel its strength being drained from within. It knew the cause too. Mouth gaping open, the monster went through the mocking motions of coughing out disagreeable food. It jerked back and forth trying to dislodge Tim. The vampire however kept his hold firmly, not realizing the snake's purpose behind its movements.

Tim burned with energy and it kept filling him. His instincts told him that he would not be able to hold much more. He was already filled; everything coming in now was running out of his pores. He had to do something with the power. Tim forced energy to both of his hands. He imagined twin balls of energy at his palms. The power leaped to his command. The flesh of the snake around him sizzled and smoked. The orbs burned brighter as he put more and more energy into them. At his command twin beams shot from him. The orbs shooting out from him left a streak of blue in their wake.

The naga shrieked in pain and started tumbling to the ground. As it fell more and more energy filled Tim. The demon lost the ability to hold on to its own life force and the power fled, finding host in Tim. Already filled with power, the sudden influx was terrifying to Tim. His flesh burned. His eyes cooked. Every muscle was locked tight. Survival dictated that the offending energy be discharged. Tim tried to let it go. He tried to force the power from him as he would a bowel movement. The fires kept hold of him. The power kept building and growing until it finally exploded from him, or with him.

The naga exploded. Light shining from the first holes punched in it was the only sign of warning before the great beast split. The top ten feet of the naga blew into the air, disintegrating from the neck to where the head began. The rest of it collapsed burning to the sand sending up waves of sand in all directions. Floating in the air where the explosion came from, a blue star could be seen. It hovered in the air, a blue spike traveling all the way to the sand.

The smell of burning flesh filled the air. Ash floated to the ground for miles in every direction. The light in the sky dimmed until only its memory remained. A few seconds after the light winked out a crack echoed through the desert. The afternoon's suns continued to dry the sand.

Tim was kneeling in Sarah's room. Susanne and Crystal were kneeling beside him trying to see what was wrong. Violet lay blankly on the bed. He hadn't finished with her before he had passed out. It was time to get around to his work.

"I am fine, let go of me."

Both girls let him go and he stood to his feet. "Leave us here. I will call you when I want you to come back." Not even waiting for the girls to leave the room, Tim straightened up stepped closer to the bed. He looked directly into Violet's blank eyes and leaped inside. He looked again upon her soul's image, he saw the angelic warrior she could become. He saw who she was and it sickened him.

He reached out and grasped her life thread. YOU ARE MY SLAVE. With a simple command Tim stripped everything from Violet. He removed her will, replacing only his own. He crushed her personality replacing it with a desire to serve only him. Tim burned the command deep into her subconscious. He ripped through her desires, hopes, dreams, and her memories, leaving her only with what was needed to serve, and placing within her images of sultry slave dancers, exotic women, and a need to perfect her art. He finally striped her of a name, she wouldn't need one. He then left her mind and returned to his body.

"Wake up and stand slave."

Sensually the girl stood up, every move she made crying out for sex.

"Strip."

Eager to please the new slave stripped as quickly as she could, taking a moment whenever a garment was removed to flaunt the newly displayed flesh.

"Not bad... but you could use some improvements." Tim had his slave turn in a circle as he took not of her attributes. "First your breasts are far too small." Reaching out with his mind's extension he willed her breasts to grow. He felt the consensus attempting to restrain him and he casually brushed it aside. He stroked them with his mind and they grew. When they were sitting at a DD cup, he stopped.

"You also could lose a few pounds," she already was thin, but after the vampire's alteration she looked unnatural, perhaps fifteen inches around. While he was at it, he also increased the size of her hips a couple of inches. "Humph... you will do."

Tim looked at the sex slave he had just crafted. She looked like a live action Barbie doll created for the sole purpose of sex. She would give any succubus a challenge in a sexual desire competition. She would certainly do nicely.

"Bend over the bed and grab your ankles." The slave looked ridiculous in the position he had placed her in. her breasts were being crushed between her arms and where her stomach should be. She knew to keep her legs apart; more that she didn't know to close them. Both her holes were wide open for him. "Beg me for it."

"Please master, take your slave. She needs it. Please fuck her. Your slave needs you to feel good."

"I have waited far too long for this," he said. He unzipped his pants and lowered them with his boxers and pulled his dick out. One thrust later he was buried deeply within his cunt.

The vampire stroked in and out for several minutes, the whole time his slave becoming hotter and wetter. He started slapping her ass as he pulled out of her. Under his onslaught she had been forced against the bed, her back hitting the edge with every slap or stroke. Her juices flowed down her legs wetting the floor. She craved the pain he dealt to her, she loved every needle of it that shot through her body, but she was unable to reach any pinnacle. It didn't matter to her that she could not reach her orgasm, what mattered is that if she hadn't reached hers, he had not reached his.

Tim pulled her ass roughly against his cock and took a step back. He grabbed her hair and using it has a handle, pulled her up. He shoved her forward pressing her legs against the bed. Leaning down over her, pulling her head back, he locked his mouth to her neck. The vampire's teeth extended and pierced her skin. Drinking her blood, feeling her life flow out of her and into him was the final step he needed. He shot his seed into her and drank.