copyright 2003 by Linda "Sweetwind" Tam
Contents:There are quite a few intoxicating substances in the Elfquest universe, just as there are on Earth. Some of these mind-altering substances are the same as those found right here on Earth, such as alcohol, but some are unique to Abode. First and foremost of these is the dreamberry. Perhaps the signature plant of the World of Two Moons to us Elfquest readers, their effects are as familiar to us as they are to the Wolfriders. A pleasant buzz, the release of memory from long-forgotten corners of a sort of elfin "collective unconscious," and a special ability to vividly, communally relive the storytellers' tales.
The Wolfriders' primary use of dreamberries occurs at howls, when dreamberries are passed around for all to consume, the better to enhance the memories/images/emotions accompanying the stories. Samael Dreamkeeper, way back near the time of the Firstcomers, was the first of the of many "howlkeepers." These elves watch over the dreamberries, providing the tribe with appropriate stories for each howl and guiding the gathered folk in their perception of the tales. Pike holds the status of storyteller in Cutter's time, and begins teaching the art to Dewshine (see Hidden Years #22, reprinted in the Reader's Collection Book 11: Legacy) in Ember's tribe.
Dreamberries are also used "just for fun," to get high with friends. A good example of this is in the story "Starfall, Starrise" (Hidden Years #5, reprinted in the Hidden Years hardcover), when Skywise takes his lovemate Foxfur to a dreamberry patch that only he knows about, so they can enjoy it together.
Another way the Wolfriders use dreamberries is to search for spiritual guidance. In Hidden Years #24 (reprinted in the Reader's Collection Book 11a: Huntress), Ember, new chief of the Wolfrider clan at Howling Rock, is trying to figure out how to be a good leader. Pike gives her some dreamberries, and she meditates under their influence. The long-deceased Huntress Skyfire appears to Ember in a vision and gives Ember advice about The Way and her role in it. On a similar note, in the "Dreamtime" story (see EQII #4, reprinted in the Reader's Collection Book 8a: Dreamtime), Pike gave dreamberry wine to Redlance to relax him enough to recall his disturbing dream. In Kahvi #2 (reprinted in the Reader's Collection Book 9c: Kahvi), Aurek (Egg) makes Kahvi breathe the smoke from some burning berries to release the memories of her long-forgotten past. I would guess they're dreamberries - they certainly share the same effects - although it's not explicitly stated.
An origin of dreamberries is given in the story "In Memory Green," from the prose short story collection Dark Hours. Almeck, one of the Firstcomers (a High One who survived the fall of the Palace) retained, like Timmain, more of his magic than did the other survivors. Almeck found his powers flowed most strongly with green growing things. As the Firstcomers began to adapt to life on the savage planet, and bore children who knew no other life, Almeck observed that they were losing the ability to communicate their memories and dreams to one another. Inspired by the sight of a bobcat rolling in catnip and entering a euphoric state, Almeck turned his plantshaping powers on a berry bush. Dreamberries were the result, larger than their progenitors and containing essences capable of uniting elfin minds in shared memories and tales.
Animals, at least some of them, seem to enjoy dreamberries; witness the goats eating them from Pike's hand in Port Bane ("Wild Hunt" part 3 in EQII #2, reprinted in the Reader's Collection Book 11b: Wild Hunt). But to humans, who sometimes call them "bearberries," dreamberries are poisonous. Pike and Yun spiked Angrif Djun's soldiers' wine with dreamberries and sickened them in EQII #25 (reprinted in the Reader's Collection Book 11c: Shadowstalker). Of dreamberries' effects, the human hunter Lehrigen states: "guaranteed you'll die by morning, or wish you had!" The fact that Johdano, proprietor of the bar "The Bucket" on Two Moons Station, serves a distinctive "dreamberry brew" to his human clientele (Jink #2, reprinted in the Reader's Collection Book 14: Jink!) has not been explained. Perhaps Johdano does some special kind of processing to render the dreamberries suitable for human consumption. After all, in those future times, humans recognize the medicinal value of the dreamberry: when Chandra Davenkee of the Rebels is sedated and medicated aboard the Dauntless in the "FutureQuest" episode in EQII #14, Greener Lokan tells her "You're not supposed to eat them but if they're prepared just right they have a beneficial effect on the human nervous system." Indeed, they seem to enhance Chandra's latent psychic powers.
Which leads to an issue that's been glossed over thus far in Elfquest: just how are latent human telepaths "tweaked" or "jacked up" to a higher level of psionic power? The "Jink" introduction in The Essential Elfquest says merely that "the Skyward - Abode's own spaceguardian force - has experimented to create its own psionic force." It is implied in Jink #1 (reprinted in the Reader's Collection Book 14: Jink!) that the process is purely electronic and mechanical: "The computers were able to 'jack up' Jerrod to where he's among the best," laments Kullyn Kenn. The vagueness of these descriptions leaves open almost every aspect of the psionic-enhancement process. Based on Chandra's experience, I'll bet you a bag of dreamberries that dreamberries themselves turn out to be involved, somehow. This might also explain how Torlon Graaf, an otherwise run-of-the-mill rogue who hung out at The Bucket (quaffing "dreamberry brew," no doubt), had developed enough psionic ability on his own to intrigue Jink. Perhaps this could even explain why Jink frequents The Bucket - she cannot resist cute psionics, so if Johdano's special brew is awakening powers in humans, then The Bucket is the place for Jink to be.
Of course, this is just sheer speculation on my part. (I do so enjoy speculating.) A very good counter-argument would be that Chandra's powers actually began to increase before she receives the medication in the Dauntless' sick bay. But, then again, she was seen raising a glass at The Bucket at the end of The Rebels #6 (last page of the Reader's Collection Book 13: The Rebels), and perhaps her glass was filled with the specialty of the house! Prior to that, the most we had seen her accomplish was to pick up an image (Cosmo's thinking about a drooling zwoot in The Rebels #1, reprinted in the Reader's Collection Book 13: The Rebels). After visiting The Bucket in #6, she picks up her first verbal psionic impression from the terrorist G'Kahrii S'Ha in The Rebels #12 (reprinted in the Reader's Collection Book 13a: Skyward Shadow). The next psionic activity is the burst that comes upon seeing Rosie in the stasis sphere on the Dauntless, shortly before she is dosed with the medication. After awakening from the medication, Chandra has much more sensitivity and control of her power than ever before.
Again, there's a good counter-argument. It's possible that Chandra's psionic awakening is due to her continuing contact with the Little Palace, and that the sudden increase in her powers on board the Dauntless is due to the simultaneous return of the Palace itself to the Abodean system. A very nice story, I reply, but it tells us nothing about what the Skyward are doing to tweak their own psychics. The Skyward don't have access to the Palace or its scion.
Ah-ha! (My imaginary opponent retorts!) The Skyward might just have gotten their hands on a shard of the shattered Palace left over from the time of the Citadel war. There was at least one such missing shard floating around, strapped onto Rayek's staff in the "Rogue's Curse" storyline (see the Reader's Collection Book 9: Rogue's Curse, or, e.g., EQII #28).
So, what's the Skyward's secret? A special dreamberry potion, a shard from the Palace, or something as yet unguessed? We'll just have to wait and see if future publications ever give us more details about the Skyward psionic-enhancement process. In the meantime, please forgive my straying somewhat from my main topic. I promise to return to a discussion of Abode's mind-altering substances next issue, including the "firejaws" from Hidden Years #18, plus more!
© 2003
linda_tam@alumni.hmc.edu
Last updated on December 12, 2004
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