Dreams of fire, of other bright things, and of things burning or exploding.
A dream about something expensive happening
You dream that you brought a candle into a dark room….
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A dream about something expensive happening
You dream that you brought a candle into a dark room. When you raise it to see the room better, you accidentally touch it to the spine of a book. In an instant the book is aflame. Fire leaps from one book to the next, from one shelf to the next, and you realise you're standing in a burning library. Pages flutter around you like charred leaves.
Nightmares increase
having Recurring Dreams: The Fire Sermon increase
A dream about fireworks
You dream that you're standing, holding a candle…
Auto-fire
Unlocked with having Recurring Dreams: The Fire Sermon 1
A dream about fireworks
You dream that you're standing, holding a candle, in a classroom filled with cheerfully shouting children. You touch the candle to their heads, one by one. Each time you do, they go up in a cheerfully shouting shower of green sparks, which spreads across the ceiling until the rafters catch fire. When the roof falls in, you wake up.
Nightmares increase
having Recurring Dreams: The Fire Sermon increase
A dream about fireworks
You dream that you're standing, holding a candle….
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Unlocked with Troubled by Vermin 1
A dream about fireworks
You dream that you're standing, holding a candle, in a classroom filled with cheerfully shouting children. You touch the candle to their heads, one by one. Each time you do, their skin crisps away to reveal a child-sized mass of rats. They flood towards you hungrily and you wake up.
Nightmares increase
A dream about a burning river
You dream that you're flinging books happily on to the Stolen River…
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Unlocked with having Recurring Dreams: The Fire Sermon 2
A dream about a burning river
You dream that you're flinging books happily on to the Stolen River, the one they used to call the Thames. The river is on fire! Flames leap higher than the houses on either side. Every time you throw another book on, there is a flare of coloured light, like a firework, and a puff of sweet-scented smoke. You look down and realise with horror that you've run out of books: you are flinging your clothes on to the fire. When your clothes are gone, you begin peeling off skin and throwing that. You wake before it goes very much further.
Nightmares increase
having Recurring Dreams: The Fire Sermon increase
A dream about a burning river
You dream that you're flinging books happily on to the Stolen River…
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Unlocked with having Recurring Dreams: The Fire Sermon 4, Nightmares 6
A dream about a burning river
You dream that you're flinging books happily on to the Stolen River, the one they used to call the Thames. Quite abruptly you wake. Er, you're crouching over your fireplace, smearing your hands and face feverishly with ashes. You pause there in the dark. Perhaps you need a little holiday.
Nightmares increase
A dream about a peaceful garden
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Unlocked with having Recurring Dreams: The Fire Sermon 3
A dream about a peaceful garden
You dream of walking in a sunlit garden. The air is sweet, cool and heavy. It reminds you of a honey-dream you once had. Blue mountains smudge the horizon.
The air grows warmer as you walk. You're on a path lined with blue-flowering shrubs. As you pass, they begin to crackle and smoke; soon, they are bursting into flames. You catch a glimpse of movement ahead, as if a tall figure had stepped from one shadow to the next. But when you reach the spot, there is no one there.
Nightmares increase
having Recurring Dreams: The Fire Sermon increase
A dream about a lake
You dream of standing on a jetty. A great lake stretches away to the horizon. It is almost dusk. Gradually, you realise the lake is quietly on fire. The flames are green and blue. The flames call to you. It is difficult not to imagine their delicious, tickling touch on your skin.
Unlocked with having Recurring Dreams: The Fire Sermon 4
Dive in
Your desire is too strong. Take the plunge through the flames.
A New World
You dive into deliciously cool water. You find yourself swimming like a fish, over beds of pink coral and the waving fronds of anemones. In the distance, plumes of bubbles twist towards the surface. You realise that the water is becoming warmer and warmer…
Nightmares increase
having Recurring Dreams: The Fire Sermon increase
Stay still
Fight the temptation. It's a lake of fire, for heaven's sake!
Splash!
A voice whispers, 'Hesitation'. There is someone behind you! and an unseen hand pushes you into the lake. You are engulfed in green, scalding water. You feel your flesh boiling off your bones. It takes much too long to wake up.
Nightmares increase
having Recurring Dreams: The Fire Sermon increase
Get into a boat
There's one under the jetty. (unlocked with having Recurring Dreams: Death by Water 6; A matter of luck: it could go either way.)
A dream about a bright fountain
You dream that you are back in the garden, the one that feels like a honey-dream. Suddenly, it is night. You have returned to the fountain, and now it is pouring forth streams of coruscating sparks. They fly into the air and are carried away by the breeze. Flames lap at the fountain's base, like a pool of fire in a stone bowl. The effect is extraordinary. How do you feel?
Unlocked with having Recurring Dreams: The Fire Sermon 5
This does not feel right
Flames should not behave like that. Turn away.
You try to walk away…
…but the more you try, the harder it becomes. Each step is a greater effort: like tar, like treacle, like the bonds of old age. The heat at your back grows more fierce. Your presence is required here. You are not to leave just yet. Not just yet.
Nightmares increase
having Recurring Dreams: The Fire Sermon increase
This is fascinating
Draw closer. Closer. Closer…
You are mesmerised
Your cannot move from the burning fountain. It looks glorious. You feel its warmth caressing your skin. Even when you close your eyes, but you can still see the flames just as clearly. Someone approves of you: approves very strongly. Gradually, the burning grows to fill your entire world.
Nightmares increase
having Recurring Dreams: The Fire Sermon increase
Mesmerising
You can't move from the burning fountain. It looks glorious. Its warmth caresses your skin. Even when you close your eyes, you see the flames clearly. Someone approves of you: approves very strongly. Gradually, the burning grows to fill your entire world.
Nightmares decrease
having Recurring Dreams: The Fire Sermon increase
Collect a handful of sparks
They move as if they were alive. Perhaps they are.
To unlock, you need having Recurring Dreams: The Burial of the Dead 10
A dream about a bridge
You dream that you are standing on a bridge at night….
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Unlocked with having Recurring Dreams: The Fire Sermon 6
You dream that you are standing on a bridge at night. Dark shadows surround you. Occasionally, you catch movement out of the corner of your eye. Black water slips below the bridge.
Gradually, the water begins to eddy and bubble. Points of reflected light on the water spark into oily flames, which spread across the river's surface. You are fascinated by the sight, and as you gaze down into the water, you have a growing sensation that someone is watching you from the other side of the bridge. Something - fear? caution? obstinacy? - prevents you from turning to face them. Two points of fire coalesce on the water below: something below is watching you, too. You are trapped in the middle.
Nightmares increase
having Recurring Dreams: The Fire Sermon increase
A dream about a city
You dream that you are standing on a bridge. Your back is to the parapet this time…
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Unlocked with having Recurring Dreams: The Fire Sermon 7
A dream about a city
You dream that you are standing on a bridge. Your back is to the parapet this time, and you are looking up towards a city on the hill. Lightning forks across the night sky as you watch. Eery pale-green fire hangs and flickers at the tops of the city's spires. A glow begins to spread through the streets.
Spikes of jabbing lightning bring the scene to life for brief, confusing moments. The bolts tap tower after tower deliberately now, like a finger choosing cakes from a tray. Flames spread through the city. Then the water under the bridge grows choppy, and suddenly it is raining so heavily it feels as though the sky is collapsing. Someone is furious.
Nightmares increase
having Recurring Dreams: The Fire Sermon increase
A dream about a burning city
You dream about a walled city on a hill at night. The city is burning. Timbers crack and sparks fly into the sky, carried along by the breeze.
Unlocked with having Recurring Dreams: The Fire Sermon 7
Try to help
Rush in, dreaming of rescuing children from smoke-filled rooms.
Just watch
Join a bucket chain? What for? It's not your city.
A dream about a ship
You dream you are standing on the deck of a ship at night….
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Unlocked with having Recurring Dreams: The Fire Sermon 8
A dream about a ship
You dream you are standing on the deck of a ship at night. You are looking upwards, not down at the water, because you know the water would make you feel uneasy. A corona of strange fire shimmers and flickers around the tops of the masts. Luminous violet and deep blue dance around each other, and you can feel the energy in the air.
You become aware that the ship is pitching. The waves grow taller, fingers of foamy water reach into the air: as if they were trying to snuff out the masts like candles. You wait, calmly, to see if they succeed.
Nightmares increase
having Recurring Dreams: The Fire Sermon increase
A dream about a will o'the wisp
You dream that you are wandering in the marshes. It is very dark, now. You have been waiting for the will o'the wisp this time. When it appears, its glow is as comforting as guiding starlight.
Unlocked with having Recurring Dreams: The Fire Sermon 9
B——r the thing! You're not going to follow it!
Stay where you are. It can find someone else to lure into the mud. Admittedly this is your dream, so its options may be limited.
A departing light
The wisp fades and is gone. The only light is a wretched purply phosphorescence from floating marsh scum. You mooch wretchedly around the place for a while and then topple head-first into a dream about an army of savage ice-tongs. There are no more fiery dreams that night.
Recurring Dreams: The Fire Sermon decrease
Faery treasure!
Did you really say 'faery'? Oh dear. But then, this is a dream. Follow the light and see what it marks.
(A matter of luck: it could go either way.)
A dream about a walk in the marshes
You dream of wandering in a lonely place. It is past dusk and there is a damp chill in the air. You can feel mud squelching underfoot. The ground is tussocky, and it is getting harder to see where you are going without tripping.
Over there. A ball of pale green flame rises up from behind a clump of fungus. It hangs in the air, flickering gently. You approach it, and it begins to float, erratically, away.
Unlocked with having Recurring Dreams: The Fire Sermon 9
It's a corpse-candle! Leave it alone
You know the old stories. You will not be lured into a trap. Turn away from it. Stay where you are.
It grows darker
The will o'the wisp drifts away. You are standing in the middle of a marsh, with treacherous ground a step in every direction. Suddenly, you miss that little glowing light.
Nightmares increase
having Recurring Dreams: The Fire Sermon increase
It's a natural phenomenon. Ignore it
Ignis fatuus. Foolish fire indeed. Keep walking and pay it no mind.
It's fascinating. Watch it.
It won't hurt to linger just a little longer.
A dream about a garden
You dream that you are standing at a gate….
Auto-Fire
Unlocked with having Recurring Dreams: The Fire Sermon 10
A dream about a garden
You dream that you are standing at a gate. The gateway leads into an old, walled garden. It is irresistible. You walk slowly along its paths, stopping sometimes to breathe the scent of jasmine or dip your fingers into the stream.
Twilight gathers. All around the flower-beds, tiny lights pop into existence. Green glow-worms wriggle on the earth. Their parents, the fireflies, dance in the air above them like little stars. You are captivated.
The stream swells at your side. It bursts free of its channel, and rushes across the ground, swamping the glow-worms and extinguishing their little lights. The fireflies, powerless to save their children, turn and flee in a soft green cloud.
Nightmares increase
having Recurring Dreams: The Fire Sermon increase
A dream about stars
You dream that you are standing on a hill. Cold stars are strewn across the sky. This is a dream, so there is no need to wonder why they are there. Some begin to fall from the sky
Unlocked with having Recurring Dreams: The Fire Sermon 10
Stay where you are
You're quite comfortable on the cold hillside. Comfortable-ish.
The light fades
Somewhere close by, there is an exasperated growl. You put out your hand, and it rips the darkness as if it were charred paper. The moonish light of the Neath filters in. You are still abed, but it's getting to the point where you can no longer pretend you're asleep.
Nightmares decrease
having Recurring Dreams: The Fire Sermon decrease
Follow the shooting stars
They must be trying to lead you somewhere.
(Watchful challenge; straightforward < 82)
A dream about lightning
You dream that you are standing on a hillside…
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Unlocked with having Recurring Dreams: The Fire Sermon 10
A dream about lightning
You dream that you are standing on a hillside, looking towards the sea. It is a dark and stormy night, and you spare a moment to wonder why you are outside. But your attention is caught by a solid shape, rocking on the water. A ship. You shiver.
Gusts of wind throw handfuls of rain in your face. But you cannot hear anything. For a few seconds, the sky is illuminated by a sheet of dirty yellow lightning. You see the silhouette of the ship, riding on the crest of a wave. Its sails are tightly furled against the silent storm and blue flames dance around the mast-tops. You are suddenly certain that there is no one aboard that ship.
Nightmares increase
Recurring Dreams: The Fire Sermon increase
A dream about a burning river
You dream that you are standing on a bridge at the centre of the city. Dawn is breaking. A fiery orange sun rises; blinding light bounces from the water. Look down. The river is on fire, flaming palely in the sun. You need to drop something into it. But what?
Drop in a love letter
Just knowing that it exists makes you uncomfortable.
Unlocked with having Recurring Dreams: The Fire Sermon 11
Cast a handful of pins into the water
They glitter so prettily in the sunlight.
Unlocked with having Recurring Dreams: The Fire Sermon 11
You feel your heart lightening
Magnanimous increase
Admired increase
Nightmares increase
having Recurring Dreams: The Fire Sermon increase
Throw in a lit candle
It feels like an appropriate thing to do, somehow
Unlocked with having Recurring Dreams: The Fire Sermon 11, Watchful 25
Drop in a flowering branch
You are holding a black branch, heavy with pink blossoms. Throw it in.
Unlocked with having Recurring Dreams: The Fire Sermon 11
A dream about a map
You dream that you are in the castle, planning battle strategies…
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Unlocked with having Recurring Dreams: The Fire Sermon 11
A dream about a map
You dream that you are in the castle, planning battle strategies with the Beleaguered King. You push models around on a relief map - the plain is spread out in miniature before you. You take great pleasure in arranging and rearranging the multi-coloured horses and little tin men. It is easy to forget that these toys represent real people. 'Not real for much longer,' says the King. 'Soon they'll all be deader even than you.' You notice that the model plain has developed its own little campfires.
Just sparks at first - but soon the whole thing is aflame, and thick smoke spreads throughout the room. You search for a cup of water, but there is none to be had anywhere in the kingdom.
Nightmares increase
Recurring Dreams: The Fire Sermon increase
A dream about a hearth
You dream that you are sitting by the fire….
Auto-Fire
Unlocked with having Recurring Dreams: The Fire Sermon 11
A dream about a hearth
You dream that you are sitting by the fire. It is the end of a long, peaceful evening, and the fire has died down to embers. The warm glow is comforting and soporific. You are so cosy in your chair; you are drifting off to sleep.
A chill in the air. You awake. You are no longer sure where you are. The walls of the room have faded into darkness. You see with relief that there are still a few coals glowing. No. As you come to your senses, you realise that those points of red light are floating above you. And there are two pairs. In opposite corners. If indeed there are corners any more. The cold is biting now, so there may well not be. Fortunately, you sense that you are the spectator here - wherever here is. Those points of light are not focused on you.
Nightmares increase
Recurring Dreams: The Fire Sermon increase
A dream about an earthquake
You dream that you are standing on a beach. You look out across the water. On the horizon stands a mountain, its shoulders sloping, its peak scooped like a giant's bite. The ground begins to shake. The ocean heaves.
Unlocked with having Recurring Dreams: The Fire Sermon 12
Warn the city
Somehow, you know you can raise the alarm, if you try hard enough.
(Persuasive challenge; straightforward < 87)
Save yourself
It is too late for everyone else.
(Dangerous challenge; straightforward < 47)
A dream about ice and fire
You dream that you are watching a volcano erupt into the sea….
Auto-Fire
Unlocked with having Recurring Dreams: The Fire Sermon 13
A dream about ice and fire
You dream that you are watching a volcano erupt into the sea. You have been here before. Blindingly hot streams of lava pour into the water, creating a boiling, hissing cauldron of steam. It's a spectacular sight.
But as you watch, the balance shifts. A layer of ice is spreading across the sea, towards the mountain. The waves solidify before your eyes, turning to thick green ice in a few heartbeats. The lava streams become glaciers, flowing upwards. Your breath freezes in your lungs. Worse, though, is the sense that there is a battle here: there is a terrible awareness in the fire, and its match and peer in the ice…
Nightmares increase
Recurring Dreams: The Fire Sermon increase
A dream about an angry mountain
You dream that you are sitting in a boat….
Auto-Fire
Unlocked with having Recurring Dreams: The Fire Sermon 13
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having Recurring Dreams: Death by Water increase
You were fortunate!
having Recurring Dreams: The Burial of the Dead increase
Heartless increase
Forceful increase
Melancholy increase
Subtle increase
Ruthless
Seeing through the Eyes of Icarus increase
Approaching the Gates of the Garden increase
