| The Portal |
After a strenuous climb you near the summit. The climb has been difficult, the cold is biting at this
altitude with the coming of Autumn and the wind is so strong in places that you fear it will blow you from
the path! After a final scramble you emerge upon a wind-swept peak. Standing above the mist you find
an ancient portal dolmen. These dolmens belong to an ancient civilisation and are weathered and
worn, but considering how exposed this dolmen is, it is remarkable that it is still standing after what
must be thousands of years.
As you near the dolmen, the wind and cold diminish, as the dolmen shelters you, or perhaps it has a
certain and mysterious calm about it. Nevertheless the wind can be heard blowing through its chamber,
resonating with hypnotic tones. You feel drawn to the dolmen, after all night is falling and there is little
shelter elsewhere to spend a night on the mountain. Perhaps you ought to feel anxious, possibly
abashed by the recklessness of your climb, for these mountains are dangerous places, as the nights
are harsh here. You could make it half way down and find shelter in a leeward crevice by dark, but you
feel safe here somehow. Perhaps it is the dolmen that drew you here.
altitude with the coming of Autumn and the wind is so strong in places that you fear it will blow you from
the path! After a final scramble you emerge upon a wind-swept peak. Standing above the mist you find
an ancient portal dolmen. These dolmens belong to an ancient civilisation and are weathered and
worn, but considering how exposed this dolmen is, it is remarkable that it is still standing after what
must be thousands of years.
As you near the dolmen, the wind and cold diminish, as the dolmen shelters you, or perhaps it has a
certain and mysterious calm about it. Nevertheless the wind can be heard blowing through its chamber,
resonating with hypnotic tones. You feel drawn to the dolmen, after all night is falling and there is little
shelter elsewhere to spend a night on the mountain. Perhaps you ought to feel anxious, possibly
abashed by the recklessness of your climb, for these mountains are dangerous places, as the nights
are harsh here. You could make it half way down and find shelter in a leeward crevice by dark, but you
feel safe here somehow. Perhaps it is the dolmen that drew you here.
Nobody knows why these portals were built, not for sure. They may have been burial places, as it is
thought that a mound of soil or rocks once covered them, though it is also thought that an opening may
have been maintained through which to make offerings to the dead. Whether used in this way or not,
most authorities consider them symbolic of doorways to the Otherworld. Often their stones contain
mysterious carvings, showing concentric rings, spirals and stars. Nobody knows what these strange
symbols meant, perhaps they were maps of some sort, showing the locations of nearby stones and hill
settlements? We may never know the mysteries of these stones.
As you approach the portal the harsh elements seem to subside and the Dolmen's mighty stones offer
the promise of shelter and tranquility. Inside their embrace you feel peaceful, as the cold wind howls
outside, all you hear is the resonating tone of the chamber as it gently reverberates as the wind blows
eerily through its sanctum. You feel the texture of the stones, they are rough and pitted after centuries
of bombardment by the elements, but at one time they would have been finely cut and polished. Even
now, traces of ancient carvings are visible as spiral arcs. What did this portal mean? Touching the
rearmost stone, you are a little surprised to feel it vibrate in resonance and then it's surface appears to
dissolve, forming a sheet of swirling water which ripples in response to your touch. Your hand is able to
pass right through and upon pulling it out and inspecting it, you find that it is dry. You step close up to
the stone and walk through...
thought that a mound of soil or rocks once covered them, though it is also thought that an opening may
have been maintained through which to make offerings to the dead. Whether used in this way or not,
most authorities consider them symbolic of doorways to the Otherworld. Often their stones contain
mysterious carvings, showing concentric rings, spirals and stars. Nobody knows what these strange
symbols meant, perhaps they were maps of some sort, showing the locations of nearby stones and hill
settlements? We may never know the mysteries of these stones.
As you approach the portal the harsh elements seem to subside and the Dolmen's mighty stones offer
the promise of shelter and tranquility. Inside their embrace you feel peaceful, as the cold wind howls
outside, all you hear is the resonating tone of the chamber as it gently reverberates as the wind blows
eerily through its sanctum. You feel the texture of the stones, they are rough and pitted after centuries
of bombardment by the elements, but at one time they would have been finely cut and polished. Even
now, traces of ancient carvings are visible as spiral arcs. What did this portal mean? Touching the
rearmost stone, you are a little surprised to feel it vibrate in resonance and then it's surface appears to
dissolve, forming a sheet of swirling water which ripples in response to your touch. Your hand is able to
pass right through and upon pulling it out and inspecting it, you find that it is dry. You step close up to
the stone and walk through...
You stand in a void, on what appears to be a path that conveys you without effort through the swirlings
of time...
of time...
Time and Space, and beyond...
The portal opens, but what do those mysterious symbols mean?
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