A warm welcome to this fantasy sleep saga,
Where you are the main character.
Throughout this bedtime story series,
You will be guided on an epic adventure,
All the while accompanied by soft,
Soothing music,
Helping you to sink into an effortless sleep.
Here there is magic,
Wonder and mystery waiting round every corner.
Before we begin,
We will do a short guided breathing pattern called 3-4-5,
This will allow you to slow down and relax,
Preparing your body and your mind for a wonderful,
Peaceful rest.
When you are ready,
Breathe in through the nose for three,
Hold for four,
And breathe out for five.
Let all of it go now.
Again,
That's in for three,
Hold for four,
And release,
Blowing away the thoughts of yesterday,
Today and tomorrow.
Again,
In for three,
And let it go.
Continue to breathe in this way in your own time,
And with each breath out,
Allow your body to sink just that bit deeper.
And,
Gradually,
Allow the breath to fall back into a natural rhythm.
Enjoy this new peace flowing through your body.
And now,
Let us continue your fantasy sleep saga,
And enjoy episode four,
The Last Homely House.
As you reach the end of the white corridor,
The world opens up in front of you once again.
But now,
What lies before you is a golden valley and a hidden elven sanctuary.
There are beautiful white buildings nestled in the valley,
With pointed roofs that are held up by twirling pillars of pure white.
And in between the buildings are patches of emerald green trees,
With flowers in all the colors of the rainbow.
Tall,
Delicate towers of silvery white stand above the rest,
Keeping watch over this sacred land.
The elven palace of white sits in the middle of the mountain valley,
Halfway up the rock face,
And through the middle runs a crystal blue waterfall,
Which forks down the rest of the valley.
All of this is surrounded by steep cliffs that are filled with thick trees and smaller waterfalls.
Down a short path in front of you,
There is an arched stone bridge that leads to the heart of the last homely house of the elves.
The sunlight beams across in a perfect spotlight on the small kingdom,
As if this place was made to harness all of nature's beauty.
A place of wonder and heavenly purity,
Where no evil has ever been nor will ever be.
A land of peace,
Of light,
And of hope.
You have left the cart now,
And two tall elves with kind angelic faces take the wizard's horse off to their stable,
Where you can be sure it will receive the kindest treatment and the tastiest food a horse could wish for.
The wizard leads you over the stone bridge,
And as you look to your left,
You see another waterfall in the distance,
Nestled between two green hills,
And backed by a golden sunlight.
At the entrance to this land,
Underneath the silvery-white archway,
Stands the elven lord,
With a thin crown upon his head and a long ruby robe that sits effortlessly on his shoulders and stops just above the ground.
Next to him is his daughter,
Who is the lady of the land,
And has the warmest smile of all the elves.
A white headpiece weaves through her thick black hair that is almost the length of her glowing silver dress,
Which the wizard tells you is made from fallen stardust.
Of course,
You have been here before,
And you are a most welcome friend.
The lord takes your hand in his,
And you each give a short bow as he welcomes you to his home.
The lady of the land gives an infectious laugh,
Showing her delight at seeing you again.
She holds out her arms to you,
And you sink into her warm embrace.
She is a very dear friend to you,
And gives you the feeling of being protected,
Like an eternal guardian who will always be there for you.
You arrive first at a small garden where the grass is almost gold and warm under your feet.
There are thin,
White trees with colorful fruit hanging freely.
The lady tells you this is the sacred fruit of her people,
And can only be eaten on the elven new year.
There is a small fountain of carved stone,
Filled with silvery blue water.
The lord takes out a small chalice,
Dips it in the water,
And hands it to you.
The healing waters of his people,
He tells you,
Will cleanse your mind of any troubling thoughts.
As you drink the enchanted water,
You feel your mind becoming clear,
As all of your worries are washed away from you.
They fade out of sight,
And can no longer be seen.
It is a mesmerizing garden,
Full of powerful enchantments that allow you to feel completely safe.
For this land knows no evil,
And the light of the elves is eternal and strong.
You are guided up large stone steps by the lord and lady,
And they tell you that you are free to explore to your heart's content as they head off to speak with the wizard.
But the lady reminds you that there will be a banquet later on,
Which you are not to miss.
You arrive at large but delicate doors,
With beautiful carvings as old as the first age of this world.
You come to a beautiful hall of silver and white.
Large windows cover the ceiling,
And it almost feels like you are still outside,
As the natural light of the world beams down,
And you see the tops of the trees swaying above you.
A single torch stands proudly in the middle.
The flames flicker in varying colors of red,
Blue and orange,
And provides a gentle warmth for the entire room.
There are perfectly curved archways that line the walls,
And nestled inside are many alcoves.
Some are filled with beautiful and mysterious plants of blue,
Yellow or purple,
And others are filled with displays of the finest elven armor.
Gold-plated,
Strong but delicate,
Cloaks of blue,
Red or green hang from the shoulders,
And a beautifully carved helmet rests on top.
You pass one or two tall,
Enchanting elves,
Some of whom recognize you and give you a warm smile and a low bow.
You see in front of you a large semicircle of white bookshelves,
Illuminated by beams of sunlight,
Where specks of dust dance in the gold.
As you delicately remove one of the books,
You blow the thin layer of dust from the cover.
The writing is a language you do not recognize,
But as you flick carefully through the old parchment,
You see enchanting runes and symbols that were written and created by a race of elves long departed from this world.
There are even drawings of old maps,
Which date back over 4,
000 years.
You hold a magical and sacred history in the palm of your hand.
You place the book back on the shelf and move on through a small wooden door that leads to a courtyard outside.
The courtyard is lined with gray stone and white columns.
Vines with flowers spiral around the columns next to you and spread up onto the open canopy of the courtyard.
There are small trees in large pots that contain tiny purple fruit and give off a wonderful smell.
The courtyard feels older than other parts of this house and full of memory.
You wander up a few stone steps where there seems to be a platform at the top.
And as you get closer,
You realize it is something else entirely.
It is a statue of a cloaked elven priest holding a shield across both of his arms with a gray cloth laid over it.
And on the shield,
There is a sword that has been broken into many fragments.
The hilt is on the right,
And the shattered blade is placed in neat formation across the shield.
Behind you is a huge tapestry depicting the king of men slaying the mightiest of foes,
And freeing the world from its evil.
The king holds in his hand the same sword that now rests upon the shield.
The sword is too precious to risk touching,
And you wander back through the courtyard and up a thin spiral staircase with decorative carvings on the wall.
Pictures of the elves awakening the trees of old and singing to the stars.
You arrive at the top of the stairs and head through an open stone archway onto a small balcony.
There is a cream-colored floor of warm stones,
And the railing is pure white.
In front of you is the most breathtaking sight of all.
Illuminated by the early sunset,
Two golden and red waterfalls flow seamlessly through the emerald green valley and into the huge lake below,
Topped by the snow-capped mountains in the distance.
The wizard appears on your right as if by magic,
And he joins you as you both lean on the railing and gaze out over the enchanting kingdom of white gold.
The trees are grouped together with multicolored leaves of green,
Brown,
Orange,
And yellow.
The evening birds glide across the valley,
A silhouette of freedom.
You are witnessing the unlimited beauty of this world,
And as you take a deep breath of this magical elven air,
You remind yourself that there will always be good on this earth,
And there will always be hope.
As you enjoy this perfect palace of peace nestled in the evergreen mountains and forests,
You turn to the wizard and thank him for bringing you back here.
He looks at you with a twinkle in his eye and reminds you that you deserve this time of rest.
You watch in amazement as the wizard,
Still puffing on his pipe,
Begins to blow peculiar and magical clouds of smoke.
First,
There is a series of dark gray rings,
Each one smaller than the last,
And they pass through each other like waves of silk.
The wizard then blows the shape of a magical horse galloping through the rings.
Next comes a mighty dragon of smoke,
Which almost glows red on its belly as it circles above you,
Although it is no bigger than your hand.
And finally,
The wizard blows a delicate sailing boat that seems to be perfectly on top of the lake,
And you watch it sail away into the golden red horizon,
Where the bottom of the valleys meet in the middle.
