Costas Komborozos

The Artificer's Dream Costas Komborozos

Aristos finds himself trying to escape a dream created by Daedalus, one which which arose as a result of his endeavor to escape the labyrinth. Now, the dream has become a labyrinth, and Aristos and Aristos have become part of it. Daedalus tells Aristos that the only way he can escape this labyrinth is making the dream his own. He tells Aristos that the only way that he and Ariadne can escape it is by making Daedalus's dream their own. "A man runs across a rugged surface, plodding through deep desert sand. A large bird-like shadow flies over the distance he runs across. He looks up and looks to see if there are any birds, but there are no birds. His shadow becomes detached from him as it slithers across the landscape seemingly of its own will. He does not know if it is leading him to a new destination or one that he has already been to in the past. In his mind, he cannot tell if he is rapidly drifting towards the object or the reflection of the object. The shadow continues its tenuous trek across a large expanse that reeks of the unknown, or a part of the unknown that is being only partially reflected in his mind. He holds his blade as though ready for an imminent attack. He feels as though the scene before him is an invisible enemy who is ready to unleash a sudden fury upon him. He looks ahead of him and feels as though the horizon is merely a mirror of what is behind him. As he makes progress, he sees a mirror shining brightly in the sun. He instantly runs towards it, as though a beautiful oasis has suddenly come into his view. His shadow remains stagnant for a moment as he makes his way towards the mirror. But then the shadow speedily resumes its course, which involves the mirror that seems to fade as it wavers between form and formlessness. The shadow slithers across the mirror, making the mirror look darker. The sunrays appear unable to penetrate the shadowy surface of the mirror. He goes to look into the mirror, but sees nothing. His reflection does not appear. Then he thrusts the blade into the mirror, causing it to shatter. But then the mirror seems to restore itself, causing shattered pieces to fuse themselves together. The mirror reflects a word. This word reflects a world. The meaning of this word and the world behind it reflects a character, one who journeys from the shadow of an object to the object itself. And then a book opens and pages flip over each other, heaping themselves upon the end of the book in order to gradually reveal its beginning. The pages rotate steadily, like the motion of an hourglass, or a wave that rises powerfully, a motion that consumes all motion. Then the pages become a solid block, at the other side of which the very first page of the book appears. Now the man becomes a new word, a new meaning, a new man. A light shines in the mirror, but he can hardly see himself in it. Measure, proportion, and mass dimly reflect in it. He walks across an empty horizon, watching his faint reflection across the clear distance of boundaries. The mirror seems to recede from his view, and he finds himself still on the very first page of a story that seems without end.