Genre: - no genre classified, depends on co-writers and their sub-stories

Story Title: - Castle of Dreams - COD  

Author(s): - Kiyana for the COD-prologue, Glance for COD-Realm of Immortality (lead Author Glance now)

Style:  -  single sub stories can be in 1st/limited 3rd person view. If the sub stories are combined ONLY 3rd person. Past tense for all variations.

Goal:  - developing parallel story/world threads that may join if the appropriate sub-authors agree in advance. The Castle of Dreams is a frame for many sub stories. Each participant can enter a room and write down her/his adventure. Some rooms have connecting doors to another one, so protagonists can join and leave the story of another writer ( like a visit). By this method, no story will be blocked if one writer doesn't want to continue. So, if writer B stops writing, writer A goes back to his/her room and can write on - or writer A writes B out of her/his own story to continue. It might be interesting, if a Sci-Fi char meets a medieval one, or a Western hero enters the modern world. What would happen, if a non-humanoid meets an intelligent animal?

Rating: - depends on how the sub stories are intended and their genre

Language: - American English

How to join: - read the prologue and from then on continue in your own thread, naming it COD-sub world title. There are various possibilites to enter the COD worlds, use your imagination. You don't have to enter as Kithia or Thanatos did

How to join:  - you start your own thread, but call it COD, followed by your sub story title, in this case => COD - Realm Of Immortality. When parallel threads are joined, they will be named COD - Realm Of Immortality/XXX. Mods/admins may then move the stories together upon request. As there is no time edit limit, you can create really long story posts, by simply adding your new part - or writing underneath (if you start a new chapter e.g.)

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[center]Prologue[/center]

Have you ever been up to that castle high up on the mountains? Getting up to it is not easy – the road is narrow and steep, it had been forgotten to tend for and no larger town or smaller village shows a road sign to it. And still… every now and then a car, a weary traveler finds this path.

There it looms up in front of you: high towers made out of flagstone, a dark brown oaken door forms the entrance – and as it might be evening by now, you can see a few friendly lanterns inviting you to knock on it. You enter the hallway, your steps echo on the stone floor. All doors are closed, save one and you can see an old desk with a book on it. You know at once that book is very special: gold and red letters form a title, its pages seems to whisper as a small breeze from the open window rustles its leafs. You take it into your hand to have a closer look:

[center][font=Comic Sans MS]The Castle of Dreams – a guide for adventurers[/font][/center]

“Oh, there you are? I’ve been waiting for you, what kept you so long?”

You whirl around and see a tiny old woman looking at you – a very energetic one as her face tells – one you should obey or at least listen to, if you know what’s good for you.

“Leave the book on the desk, please. You have not lived your story… yet. Therefore the pages are empty. Follow me, everything is prepared – but you have to choose.”

Both of you cross the hallway and mount the stairs leading up to the next floor.

“Here we are… One of the rooms behind these doors is yours. You can take whatever room you wish, but…” she pauses and gives you a queer look. “Beware, these rooms are not empty. As soon as you open a door, your adventure begins and the pages in the book will start to fill up. I’ll leave you now, have a nice stay, and… I’m the World Keeper of the Dream Castle, so I take care that the main rule is kept. Don’t worry, I’ll explain everything tomorrow. Have a nice journey.” She turns and leaves, leaving you back.

And here you stand… at the start of a seemingly endless corridor, oaken doors to the left and right. You start to walk over to the one that seems the most friendly one, you turn the polished bronze knob slowly….

Genre: Mytho-logical Fiction
Story Title: Castle of Dreams - Realm of Immortality
Author(s): Glance A'Lot
Style:  limited 3rd person, past tense
Goal:  Another room in the CoD, parallel story, potential connection to previously occupied room(s)
Rating: none
Language: American English
How to join: see CoD Main Header


[center]Realm Of Immortality[/center]


It was just after sunset when the man entered the castle hall.  It was empty.  No one around?  No, he heard some fading footsteps from the stairways leading up to the upper floor.  
He saw an old book displayed on a stand.  Softly he caressed the hard leather in which the book is bound, but he did not open it.  "A guest book," he presumed.  

"HELLO?" he shouted, the sound echoed through the hall, but no response - even the footsteps had subsided.

Eager to find somebody, and driven by an urge of curiosity, he opened the door to the adjacent room.  It was a great hall with a long table and chairs in the middle.  It seemed empty - and so he entered.

A weariness befell him and, since his feet were sore from wandering through the mountains, he grabbed one of the chairs and sat down.

Looking around he saw that the hall was decorated with sculptures of ancient gods, placed in niches along the walls.  Some were withered almost beyond recognition, but some were surprisingly well preserved.  Aphrodite for example, a beautiful statue in rose marble; or a wonderful set of three, in white marble, displaying the Fates.  His gaze came to rest on an impressive statue made of shiny black obsidian.

He had to concentrate to distinguish details, as the niche was clad in black stone also so that the statue blended into its background.  A cursory look would make the niche appear as a portal, only upon looking closely the statue revealed itself.  A man, slim to the point of being haggard, the face almost skeletal and ageless, a bony hand stretched out to the spectator.

"Thanatos," the man whispered to himself.  Now who would be so weird as to display a statue of death in his main hall?  

A drowsiness fell upon him, and he leaned back in his chair, closing his eyes for a moment.  Suddenly the picture of the statue  came to life, and his mind whirled...

*****

"A board meeting?" Thanatos gave the man in front of him a puzzled look.  Hermes had adopted the expressions of the business world of the mortals to an extent, which always irritated him.  "You mean another of these endless and fruitless debates in which the gods deplore the loss of believers among the mortals?"

"I don't know," answered Hermes, "but it's the Fates who call - not the old thunderbolt thrower - and even you don't want to get in the way of the Fates, I am sure."  

Thanatos silently conceded that - the Fates controlled the destiny of mortals AND immortals, and it was indeed not wise to aggravate them.   Even he would have to follow their will, should they decide to cut the thread of any of the deities, and separate the immortal soul from its incarnation.  He had once thought to defy them, thinking that you cannot kill Death, but  they had ways  to make life extremely miserable for an immortal - an experience he did not care to repeat.

Hermes waited respectfully.  While Thanatos was not conspicuously high in the hierarchy of the realms of immortality, he was one of the eldest incarnations.  And while the power of many declined due to the lack of believers among the mortals, some, as War and Lust, retained it as irrespective of their various incarnations in differing cultures, their immanent presence was acknowledged.  And no one, in any culture, not even in the modern "single almighty entity" societies doubted the existence of Death.

"I'll be there," he sighed in agreement, upon which Hermes vanished from sight.

Moments later Thanatos materialized in the convention hall and looked around.   The old man was sitting on his throne, he greeted him with a short nod, to the Fates sitting next to him he even bowed in reverence.  When Thanatos' eyes met a young looking man clad in a blue cloak his mouth twitched - as close to a smile his face ever got - one would not have thought that Hypnos, the god of sleep, was his twin brother.  Gaia,  was there, healthy as ever - Mother Nature got her powers from the planet itself; Ares was standing next to her with a face as if he were about to cut someone up; on a sofa lay Aphrodite, displaying herself as pure temptation, as usual.

Suddenly a pitch black darkness filled the hall, all light was extinguished and those, who had been talking to each other fell silent - only the old man was muttering a curse in his beard.  Nobody spoke up until finally Hypnos said quietly "Please mother - let us see who we're talking to."  A chuckle spread through the hall and the darkness concentrated into a vaguely female form without though showing any distinguishable features.  Nyx, the Night, did not care for any bodily incarnation.

"Ah Hypnos, my boy - as ever you are putting the minds at rest," came a soft voice out of the black form, "Be greeted Thanatos!"  She simply ignored the others.

Thanatos was bewildered.  Nyx almost never showed up here.  She was one of the oldest of them all, and rarely mingled in the fate of either gods or mortals, since she conceded the day to the sun  (Except for eclipsing it every now and then, just to show that she could do it).  He really started to wonder what the meeting was to be  about.

"Can we start now?" Ares grumbled, "I've have some unfinished wars that need my attention."

"Oh Ares, dearest," Aphrodite smiled and adjusted her robe for more effect - attracting Ares' eyes quite successfully, "You want me to make them love each other so that you can have a rest?"

"I told you not to mingle in my..." Ares started to object, but Clotho, the youngest of the Fates interrupted him by bursting out "The Book Of Dreams was opened again!"

Hypnos looked up quizzically.  He knew that - obviously, since dreams were within his fief - but what interest did the Fates have in that?

Lachesis, the middle-aged of the Fates put a hand on Clotho's arm to silence her, but it was Atropos, the oldest, who started to speak.  "A new world has opened up, a world in which the threads of life are invisible to us - something very peculiar and unheard of, so far.  There are beings full of passion," A sharp look towards Aphrodite, "belligerent races," another one to Ares, who beamed at the thought, "but to us they are - un-destined."

The gods were looking at each other - except maybe for Nyx, as nobody could tell if and where she was looking - so the Fates had a problem, but what did that have to do with any of them?

"We think," Atropos continued, "that someone is trying to create a new resource of power - independent from us.  With what intentions, we do not know - nothing is known of this world's beliefs as yet.  We cannot interfere ourselves, as the threads of destiny are clouded from our view.  But if someone takes the trouble to hide the individual destinies, he or she must have divine powers and might not have friendly intentions towards us.  Nyx, Gaia, as you are omnipresent in the worlds, have you seen anything unusual?"

"Nature is in balance there," Gaia said after a short contemplation.

"Some there are very adept in using the darkness as their ally," a soft voice resounded from the black nothingness, "but that's not unusual in any world."

Thanatos looked around.  The other ones shook their heads - nobody seemed to have noticed anything out of the ordinary.  The Fates must have some tie on any of them to trust them with their problem, he reflected.  Except his mother, but the Fates were as old as she and they probably were old allies.  If someone was about to overturn the old order - should he care?  Would it affect him at all?  Or any he cared for?  His curiosity was awakened - it had been a millennium or two since anything out of his routine happened in the realms of immortality.


He looked quizzically at  his twin brother, who acquiesced with an almost imperceptible nod.  Since the Castle of Dreams, and the worlds created  or entered through there, more likely than not fell in Hypnos' responsibility, they both were aware that, whoever fiddled around with the Fates there, would be careful to watch Hypnos' reaction before all others.

Looking at the others it became quickly apparent to Thanatos, that there would be no volunteers.  And when his eyes met Atropos' gaze, it occurred to him, that he was earmarked as the obvious choice.

"Oh well," he thought, "Why not?"  And loudly he said, "I can see one, who is marked for death - even though you say there is no destiny woven by you".  He looked at the Fates, who shook their heads in unison - he continued looking at them, raising an eyebrow, upon which they nodded, agreeing that they had not woven any destiny there.

"In which case", Thanatos continued, "I'll go there and watch her - I am curious to see what will happen".

His figure seemed to dissolve in the air, and in a heartbeat, he faded from sight.