For the record, I don’t typically remember my dreams. Certainly wish I did; would make great fuel for more stories! But while I slept in that space viking’s chamber, bright lights filled my view, and a small audience of shadows encircled me. It was all quite blurry as for the visuals, but the audio was loud and clear…

“72 hours already? When are we going to use the “C word?” the one shadow remarked.

“We can’t just start by saying it’s a coma before we run any tests. Let’s get at least 1 scan on the books, alright?” dictated another. “You gonna watch the game tonight?”

I was face up on an OR table. No doubt about that. And the general consensus was that I was still a mystery when it came to my getting there. I watched through my foggy frame as smudges of doctors and nurses shuffled about, and tracked that I was moving from room to room by the panning ceiling tiles. The gurney wheels were squeaky like mice.

What did they want from me? Have I woken slightly from my story realm to find I’ve had some kind of accident? But just as I was getting convinced, things got too strange to be true. One shade’s voice was recognizable, and it was a caring one who was determined to stick around and get to the bottom of the issue. My father.

“He’s my son. You can’t tell me that you’ve never seen something like this! Can’t you just cut it out of his brain?” he begged.

It was now becoming clear that the issue was a brain tumor, and things weren’t looking good. At this point, my father’s displays of emotion became too sincere to believe, and I woke up with a start. I was sad that it wasn’t actually a return to “reality,” even if it seemed a gloomy re-entry.

I headed out the bedroom to find myself in a maze of hallways. All stone and only torchlit, my concept of day and night was starting to fade, and it was very difficult to fully wake up. I also realized I had no clue how long I’d slept. Could have been 1 hour or 15! I wasn’t even fully sure the prior ‘day’ even happened; truly: where was I? Finally I thought I’d reached the throne room door, but per the norm in this place, things here aren’t often what the seem…

I frantically wrestled my sunglasses out of my pocket. Blinding sunlight hit me unexpectedly as again a normal looking door opened vertically like on a spaceship. Somewhat shielded, I squinted and suddenly was awash with emotion. Stretching an incredible distance, a shining city of Crimson streets and silvery towers stood before me; the door exited the lab atop a lush outlook knoll. A landscape I’d only seen in my mind was standing before me, with every minute detail I’d spent months crafting. The city of Vastendom in all its splendor. This was just too much.

King Stuart arrived behind me and rested a large hand in my shoulder, letting only one phrase break the silence:

“You’re home, m’lord.”