Storm Over Warlock · Chapter
XIII: He Who Dreams… explained
Shann and Thorvald, lost in the mist, attempt to use a bone coin as a guide, which instead glows and flies off.
What happens
Shann and Thorvald, lost in the mist, attempt to use a bone coin as a guide, which instead glows and flies off. They pursue it through a tunnel of fog. Shann encounters a hallucination of Logally, a bully from his past, and overcomes it by recognizing it as a false dream. He then faces a painful vision of his dying wolverine Trav, which he must also let go. Finally, he finds Thorvald, who is delirious and mistakes Shann for his brother Garth before attacking him.
Themes in this chapter
Dreams and Shared Consciousness
The mist creates shared and individual hallucinations, blurring reality and dream, as Shann and Thorvald each confront personal visions.
The Outsider and Self-Worth
Shann's past as a Dump orphan and his struggle against Logally's bullying highlight his outsider status and quest for self-worth.
Characters to notice
- Shann Lantee
Navigates the mist, confronts hallucinations of Logally and Trav, and finds Thorvald.
- Ragnar Thorvald
Delirious and chanting, mistakes Shann for his brother Garth, then attacks him.
- Trav
Appears as a painful hallucination of Shann's beloved wolverine, which Shann must release.
- Logally
Hallucination of the bully from Shann's past, overcome by Shann's realization it is a false dream.
Key passages
“Then I met you." Thorvald understood. "Yes, but this could be a dream meeting. How can we tell?"”
Thorvald acknowledges the possibility that their encounter might be a hallucination.
Highlights the theme of uncertain reality in the mist.
“Logally was dead, Shann's mind screamed, fighting frantically against the evidence of his eyes, of that pain in his chest and shoulder.”
Shann struggles to accept that the vision of Logally is not real, since Logally is dead.
Shann overcomes a fear-based hallucination by recognizing its falsehood.
“To see a nightmare flicker out after facing squarely up to its terror, that was no great task. To give up a dream which was part of a lost heaven, that cut cruelly deep.”
Letting go of a pleasant hallucination is harder than dispelling a frightening one.
Shann's painful decision to release the vision of Trav.
“Thorvald!" Shann skidded in the sand, went down on his knees. The manner of their last parting was forgotten as he took in the officer's condition.”
Shann rushes to help Thorvald, setting aside their earlier conflict.
Shann's compassion overrides past grievances.