Just another dream

Since I was a little kid, I loved going to sleep - sometimes as an emo-escape from RL, but as that phase grew old, it was mostly because of dreaming. The escape from reality that allowed my imagination to run free without conscious limitations still gets me excited at 22 yrs old. And I hope it never stops.

Every now and then I have very vivid dreams, which are sometimes pretty fun to interpret in multiple senses - for a fun time, check out Freudian dream interpretation. So last night, I had an exciting dream where I lived in a time back around the Middle Ages during a warring period between the Red Kingdom and the Black Kingdom. They were both represented by the respectively colored card suits (hearts and diamonds, and spades and clubs), and were dressed extravagantly, with attire depicting each person's class, profession, and rank in the military - women included. I found myself surrounded by some friends and family within the army for the Red side (no, I'm not a communist) as an archer. Most of the dream was spent fleeing a base within a dense forest that was recently taken over by the Black army. They were being quite ruthless in sparing lives, leaving a path of destruction as they marched forward - no mercy for women and children at all. It was pretty violent. By the end of the dream, I had killed 4 people, all in self-defense. The one I recall most accurately involved evactuating a barn-like structure that was being overtaken by the Black army. A gathering of Red women were having trouble running away, so I stayed back to help them along, but not before a small platoon of Black soldiers stormed the room. I remember not wanting to hurt anyone at all, as if I had been forced into a war without my consent. But when it came time to protect those I cared about, it was as if another part of me took over. A Black soldier came over to a lady near me, ready to strike, and I hit him with my left elbow, and drove the sharpened bottom end of my bow right into his chest and gashed it pretty badly. He dropped dead to the floor, and I was able to continue on with the evacuation.

Later, this endless war lapsed into a strange standoff between the two sides that lined up the two armies, single file, along a mountainous path, with each army based on separate sides and converging in the middle. There was some sort of rhythmic beat that we all understood, where at the right time (the downbeat, if you will), the Black and Red soldiers facing each other would perform an action, offensive or defensive, with two signs for each option - something like Rock Paper Scissors. After what seemed like a few hours of this, the whole thing fell apart. Someone broke the order and dishonorably broke the customary fighting style and it went into an all-out brawl. Somehow, the fight changed setting into a cathedral-like restaurant/inn. In the end, I think I died, and later realized it was all a video game/virtual reality scenario - like a war game. I remember coming out of it and instructing my brother on how to most effectively play his 'monk' character, but unfortunately he was overwhelmed and our army lost in the end.

Weird, huh? I woke up pretty excited, but came out with the realization that I'm not a killer at first, but if provoked enough, I think I have a dormant primal instinct ready to protect those I love. Care to offer your own interpretation or thoughts?