I dream of worlds that are somehow different, where metal does not gleam and plastics do not exist. A world where technology is different, where magic is common place and supernatural beings inhabit the world as real as I am. To be rid of this technology is something I dream of everyday. How dull I find it. How mundane and ordinary my life is here upon this orbiting space station.

And somewhere across the vastness of space in a world torn asunder by war and famon there is demon of the underworld who sits upon a throne of skulls and blood - the trophies of his victims and enemies and wishes he were elsewhere. Anywhere but here in a world accursed, where demon battles demon and elves and humans seek sanctuary from the ravening horde. He dreams of a world where ships fly through space and technology is his to control. And he thinks how mundane his life is. Yet for him, there is no release. This he knows and he returns to plotting his next military campaign with a sigh....

'I shall endure. I shall endure. There is no option to fail.'

My people have learnt a secret of the human mind. It is a secret that has cost the lives of countless men and women over generations but it is surely a worthwhile sacrifice. My people have learnt through ritual and ceremony how to seperate mind and body.

So it is then that my body lies motionless and dead below me while I soar through the ether of the world . At first it was hard. The silver cord that binds my soul to my body was tight and I could barely manage to float just a few feet away. I would look down on my body from above and think how fragile and weak it looked. But time and the herbs we imbibe have strengthened the cord and now I fly free. I glide upon the ether like a bird and go where my minds eye would take me.

I see below me the great city of Dul-Raya. I glide silently across the plains to see armies marching this way and that. I see two great hosts marching towards one another and know that death will soon fill those fields south of the razor peaks. I fly north and spot a raiding party of renegades and cutthroats pillaging some small pathetic settlement.

I fly to my home village but instantly spot that something is wrong. The defensive wall is breached. There are people all around me screaming. My body! Is my body safe? There is no time to initiate the melding ritual. I must risk death to bring mind and body together in an instant. I have no choice. I feel the snap of the cord and the fleshly feel of my body hits me like a thunderbolt. I am back. I hear the screams. I open my eyes but too late. There is a flash of steel and a pain in my chest like fire. A foul demon imbred beast grins down and I know I am going to die...