A warm welcome to season two of this fantasy sleep saga,
Where you are the main character.
Throughout this bedtime story series,
You will spend autumn and winter in the rolling hills of your homeland,
Celebrating all of the festivities.
You will also delve into the deep dwarven kingdoms,
Embark on another adventure with the wizard and the ranger,
And visit an enchanted little village that is hidden away from the rest of the world.
Here,
There is magic,
Wonder,
And mystery waiting around every corner.
But first,
Let us take a moment to relax.
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 our fantasy sleep saga,
And enjoy season two,
Episode nine,
The Kingdom of the Dwarves.
You wake up to the soft sound of a silver trumpet in the distance,
Ringing through the night air.
The cart in which you travel has stopped now,
And the land is completely still,
As if anticipating something extraordinary.
You sit up in the cart and gaze ahead of you,
Standing strong and proud is the mountain,
Rooted deep into the earth and towering up into the stars.
Two huge torches hang on each side of the wrought iron door that is lined with shimmering silver gems,
And from the front gate,
It looks as if the entire kingdom has come out to welcome their king on his return.
The Dwarven king stares at his home,
Still in awe of it after all these years,
And seeing you are now awake,
He greets you with a smile,
Telling you it is time.
The canopy of the cart rolls back once more,
And you are met by your trusty wizard offering you a helping hand.
You step down from the cart and are met by five Dwarven workers.
They bow low to you,
And you return the gesture before they head round to the cart and collect all the bags and your belongings.
The soft sound of the trumpet still rings out,
But it is not harsh to the ear.
It is like an ancient song of home that calls out across the land,
And when you hear it,
It fills you with comfort and peace.
Come,
The king says,
Let us head inside,
For a great feast awaits.
You stroll down the paved pathway towards the gate of the mountain with your two companions either side of you.
Small white flowers are thrown in front of your feet,
And there is a great applause as the king greets his subjects.
The wizard casts a spell from his staff,
And little silver sparks start to pepper the air above you,
Illuminating the path in a hypnotic silver light.
As you reach the entrance,
The king waves a hand and the doors open with ease as a burst of golden light floods out from the mountain,
And a new warmth wraps around you.
The company of dwarves follow behind,
And all together you enter the mountain.
What greets you now is not a cold,
Dark,
Murky cave,
But a whole kingdom.
There are endless white-stoned square pillars that stretch high up into the shadows,
All the way to the top of the mountain.
These pillars have huge torches on each side,
And are carved with the symbols of dwarven royalty.
The walls of the mountain are engraved with ancient blue runes that pulse in a steady rhythm,
And their contrast with the fire creates a beautiful blend of gold and sapphire that mingles throughout the entire kingdom.
You can see statues of old heroes made from white marble and standing over a hundred feet tall.
There is a statue of the great poet who,
It is said,
Wooed the dwarven gods with his words,
And in return,
The gods gave him the tools to dig into the mountain and to build a kingdom here.
To your left is a statue of the dwarven sailor,
A maiden of the sea,
Carved in intricate detail.
The wizard explains that it is because of this maiden that the dwarves came to this world at all.
She crossed the nine seas,
Overcoming many dangers to get here,
And gave life to all of her people.
Some even say that she is the very first ancestor of the dwarves.
And finally,
You see the third statue,
A great dwarven warrior with a shield of pure silver.
The king tells you that long ago,
This kingdom was under threat from three dragons of the north,
But harnessing the power of the silver shield,
Another gift from the gods,
The warrior was able to banish the dragons and reclaim the land for our people.
You have never seen craftsmanship like this before.
The scale,
The strength,
And the time needed to do all of this is unbelievable,
And it almost might be if you weren't seeing it with your own eyes.
As you enter the main square,
There are beautiful houses carved from the rock,
Each with their own unique design.
From the windows,
A soft candlelight pulses,
And outside,
You see families greeting you,
And many children are lining the walkway with the same white flowers.
A great hum of gentle music fills the air,
And you feel a wonderful enchantment washing over you.
This is a royal welcome,
Indeed,
And the mountain is beyond your wildest dreams.
You are utterly speechless.
You walk through a winding stone street,
Again lined with gold torches and blue runes,
And you pass by a large apothecary and many market stalls.
There are merchants and masons,
Tinkers,
Tailors,
And toymakers.
And through a large archway to your right,
You see an enormous blacksmith's forge with many smelters the size of houses.
You arrive,
At last,
At a great hall with golden doors,
And as they swing open,
You are met by dwarven chefs cheering and welcoming you all.
The feast is ready,
And it is time to head inside.
The great hall is as tall as an ancient cathedral and as wide as a dozen fields.
Above,
You see banners of emerald,
Sapphire,
And gold embroidered with the crest of the king.
There are rows upon rows of stone tables and cushioned chairs,
One for every single dwarf in the kingdom.
The king leans over to you now and whispers that,
Tonight,
You will enjoy the greatest feast this land has ever seen.
You follow behind the wizard now and take a seat at the main table between him and the king,
Who sits at the head,
Of course.
And then you watch in amazement as endless platters of food and drink are brought out to you.
There is everything you could ever imagine,
Collections of roasted meat and fish cooked over coals.
You see vegetable stews,
Plates of different hot bread,
And tankards of ale or wine.
There are vast cauldrons of soups,
Trays of cheeses you have never even seen before.
You can see and smell different pies fresh from the oven.
There are wild mushrooms that pulse on the platters,
Which the wizard tells you are enchanted.
You catch the scent of mead and honey cider,
And also fresh tea,
Coffee,
And of course,
Hot chocolate.
For dessert,
You spot apple and raspberry crumble with lovely hot custard.
There are brownies,
Biscuits,
And ice cream,
Tarts of lemon,
Blueberry,
And chocolate,
And many cakes that are six tiers high.
It is almost overwhelming,
But the wizard gives you a smile and insists that if you tell him what you would like to try,
He will get it for you.
You place your order for your first serving,
And the wizard casts a quiet spell.
One by one,
Your chosen food lands on your plate,
And your tankard is filled with your preferred drink.
You chuckle with your wonderful wizard now,
And he jokes what on earth you would ever do without him.
You enjoy a slow,
Deep breath,
And take in the details of this incredible spread.
The king was right,
You have never seen anything like this,
And likely never will.
It really is a sight to behold.
The king rises from his chair and asks for the entire kingdom to welcome their new guest tonight.
You stand slowly and try to smile at as many faces across the tables as you can,
And you are met with a round of applause and many cheers.
It is a strange but beautiful moment.
You feel so comforted and so welcome here that the only feeling you can compare it to is,
Well,
Coming back home.
With three taps of his golden goblet,
The king announces that the feast is ready to begin.
And with that,
You dig in,
Making sure to take your time and to try as many different foods as possible,
While also leaving plenty of room for dessert.
You share a smile with the wizard and with a few of the dwarves at your table as the entire hall descends into silence.
Only the enchanted hum of the mountain fills the air now,
Like a soothing symphony only adding to this perfect atmosphere.
Every single bite is utterly incredible,
The flavors,
The warmth,
The comfort,
It is all there.
You can feel this food healing your entire body,
And as it does so,
You notice each muscle relaxing and softening.
You feel your mind clearing as if this magical feast is banishing all thoughts,
Leaving you only with this moment.
There are pockets of conversation dotted around the tables,
And the general hum of noise is a peaceful addition to the banquet.
As you eat and drink,
You realize how lucky you are to be friends with such brilliant folk.
The king,
For all his wealth and glory,
Is as generous as they come,
And you are glad for his companionship.
Your wizard,
You know,
Will always be there for you no matter what,
And even when you embark on different adventures,
There will never not be a reunion.
You take this time to simply enjoy the feast,
To enjoy the hum of the mountain,
The atmosphere of the banquet hall,
And the pure perfection of this adventure.
You feel so blessed to be here,
And you savor every single moment.
As the banquet slowly comes to an end,
And all of the plates are cleared away,
You see two or three dwarves climbing up onto each table across the hall.
The king gives a knowing chuckle and gestures to a group of musicians in the corner who immediately start up a lively jig.
And now the dwarves dance atop the tables,
Singing ancient songs of their people and leaping from one table to the next.
Bit by bit,
More and more dwarves climb up onto the tables to dance.
Some swing their mugs of ale,
And others are spinning around in pairs or threes,
Lifting each other up or linking arms and gulping their drinks.
Then the wizard rises,
Pulling you up from your seat,
And together,
The two of you join in with the entire kingdom.
Even the king himself has leapt up onto your table,
And now you see a completely different side to him.
His stoic,
Calm shell has dissolved,
And you see in his eyes a young dwarven prince reliving his youth and relishing this time with family and friends.
It is a joyous affair,
And the sounds of laughter,
Music,
And stomping footsteps echo through this great hall.
At last,
The musicians bring the dance to a close,
And there is a loud cheer across all the tables.
The banquet of the king beneath the mountain is officially over.
With a satisfied sigh,
You step down from the table,
And all of a sudden,
You let out a huge yawn as a wave of exhaustion runs through your body.
It has been a long journey here,
Spanning many days,
And it feels like an age since you last slept soundly.
The king catches your eye and bids for you to follow him now,
And together with the wizard,
The three of you quietly weave out of the great hall,
Shuffling down a thin corridor of white stone.
Eventually,
You arrive at a small golden door,
And the king stops.
These are your chambers,
He says.
A small fire burns inside,
And a bed fit for royalty awaits you.
You offer him a low bow and your thanks for his wonderful hospitality.
And then,
For the first time since your meeting,
The dwarven king brings you in for a warm embrace.
Thank you,
My friend,
For visiting my home.
You are welcome in the mountain whenever you like,
And you can stay as long as you need to.
The wizard reminds the king that the two of you must head home tomorrow,
For there is a festive celebration in your homeland,
One not to be missed.
But you reassure the king that you will visit again as soon as you are able,
And you tell him how beautiful this kingdom is,
And that his ancestors would be proud of his reign.
The dwarf bows low and bids you a warm goodnight before he shuffles off back down the stone corridor to resume his royal duties as host and king.
Your wizard offers you a smile and bids you goodnight as well.
He insists that tomorrow morning you can lie in as long as you need.
There are a few days yet until the festive celebrations back home,
So you can take your time on the journey.
You open the golden door and shuffle inside your room,
Feeling a wonderful warmth wrap around you like a soft,
Soothing blanket.
The small fire crackles away,
Illuminating the room with a flickering light.
There are your bags in the corner,
And in the middle of the room is a huge bed made of gold with sheets as white as snow.
Without another hesitation,
You slip under the covers and feel the soft duvet on your skin.
You take a nice,
Deep breath,
Relaxing completely with each exhale.
And very,
Very slowly,
You sink even deeper into the mattress and into comfort.
You have had an unforgettable night,
Feasting and dancing with the dwarves,
And you do wish in fact that you could stay longer,
But you know that soon it will be Christmas,
And back home in the land of your people,
A festive celebration awaits.
You give yourself permission to finally surrender,
And you let go of any holding on.
Your muscles become soft and heavy.
Your mind becomes blank,
Filled only with the soft,
Enchanted hum of the mountain,
And your breath becomes easy.
You feel yourself drifting deeper and deeper,
Edging ever closer to a perfect sleep.
The mountain will guard your slumber tonight,
And your dreams will be pure and beautiful.
