The First Sorcerer
An emergent dream.
A dreamer is always born in a dream, day or night, asleep or awake. To remember a dream, is to be a dreamer. To awaken to a world of dreams is to be initiated into the Clan of Sorcerers. But to awaken to such a world before the clan arrives, that makes you an initiate without a guide. To stabilize the dream, among so many streams of dreams flowing, is the insurmountable challenge. And for this there are only two paths other than success, forget the dream or risk losing sanity.
A world of dreams where anything goes but nothing is real unless we feel it is, a true test of character and resilience.
Do I slay the dragon or attempt to befriend it? Would I rather have friends in high places? Do I attempt to steal the treasure she seems to guard? Or am I welcome? Perhaps this particular dream stream has little interest for me right now, so I can happily turn away and not be distracted.
Trust is usually the first quest and is a difficult challenge to overcome, the dream world isn’t kind to some. It is a mutual test. The dreamer is testing the dream, and the dream is testing the dreamer. Success, merely a sense of balance and harmony, even when disparate. If the dreamer loses their way, they lose themselves, and this is the test of sanity.
If I am lost in plain sight, then where am I? The ability to return home, always at the core.
The test of honor soon becomes the real challenge, who or what do I value more?
And this is being tested both in the real world and that of dreams. It’s a valuable life skill anyway so for the right kind it needn’t be too problematic. But for those uncertain of their beliefs or what they value, what is most important, or if that changes too drastically, too easily, it can often be more painful. Not always kindest to those most whimsical either, even though they are usually filled with loving intent.
Would I choose to be the emperor and then joyfully hang in the revolt when I’m not pleasing as such?
It can seem like a choose-your-own-adventure, but it doesn’t always feel like we’re writing our own scripts, let alone anyone else’s. Making choices is fair anytime we can and is certainly prized, but then it’s hard to deny responsibility, just as in the real world, and that can be terribly traumatic. And although they are only dreams, sometimes it feels too much as though things are being decided consequently, with far-reaching and unknowable effects.
If the dream takes hold during waking hours, feels more alive than memory, then there’s a need for care and tact. Only the bravest should not want to forget such dreams. The more they anchor into waking life, the harder they can be to supplant. Care should be taken in choosing the dreams we breathe life into, so we don’t get dragged into some fantasy we can’t outrun. The more we act out our dreams in the waking world, the more real our dreams seem to become. Best avoid believing in nightmares.
Once enough streams have been gathered and stabilized, a budding sorcerer can feel rather grounded, and while this is good reason to celebrate, this is but another beginning. A good dream never ends. The quality of the sorcerer determines the outcome as much as the choices they make.
Now go live your dream. Become the first Sorcerer. The seed has been planted.