The dream takes place in a postapocolypic-like world where small populations of people often battle each other over limited resources. Technology has been reduced to horse-drawn carriages and flint-lock pistols. There is a man who lives away from the fighting and he works in a forge underneath a damaged bridge by a wide river. The Swordmaster, as he is called, made swords (duh!) and armour. He had a reputation of being a ruthless fighter and a loner, and had no known friends or relatives. He sold his creations to whomever could pay, choosing not to take sides in the frequent battles.
The dream starts with a young girl (about eight years old?), with black hair and green eyes, wandering into his forge (I think her name was Jeyna, or something like that). The Swordmaster tries to scare her away, but she seems unafraid of him and interested in the swords that are on display. I cannot recall the conversation they had, but the Swordmaster eventually bribes her into leaving by giving her a delicately crafted knife for free. The dream takes on a kind of montage effect and shows Jeyna returning in secret several times to watch the swordmaker at work with great fascination.
The dream skips a few years. Jeyna flees to the forge because her hometown has been destroyed and with nowhere else to go, she begs the Swordmaster to take her in and teach her how to make swords. He challenges her to a deal and though she is able to deflect a few blows, Jeyna is utterly outmatched by the Swordmaster. However, he is impressed with her skill and determination and agrees to take her on as an apprentice, but warns of his sudden moods and ill temper. Between teaching her how to use the forge, the Swordmaster also teaches Jeyna some swordfighting skills.
The dream skips a few more years to when Jeyna is a young woman. Despite his cold, emotionless demenor, the Swordmaster has grown quite attatched to Jeyna and become very protective of her, though he tries not to show it. While working in the forge one day, and while the Swordmaster is out, the forge is raided by bandits looking for supplies. Jeyna tries to defend the place but the bandits are armed with long-range weapons like bows and spears and she is captured. The bandits are about to kill Jeyna when a group of soldiers on horseback and wielding flintlock guns and rifles show up and chase the bandits away. The captain of the soldiers tries to recruit Jeyna, telling her of how much of the population has come together to live in peace, but says that she can only join if she can use a gun. The soldiers then ride off in pursuit of the bandits.
After the soldiers leave and the Swordmaster returns and Jeyna has filled him in on what happened, the Swordmaster gives his apprentice directions to a trustworthy and neutral gunsmith that lives a few kilometres south of the forge. Before she leaves, the Swordmaster gives to Jeyna his strongest and most cherished sword. It is a rapier with a white and gold handle and the Swordmaster says that the sword is the best made in the world. Though curious as to why he is passing on the sword to her, Jeyna takes it without question and sets out across no-man's land alone.
The Gunsmith's shop is unmarked and located right between two colonies of people that often fight each other and Jeyna has to find it without being seen or caught. When she does find the place, the Gunsmith, a fat, bald man with a thick curling mustach, scoffs at her request for a gun. He claims that she cannot afford his creations and that he only shares his weaponry with soldiers, not children. Jeyna tries everything from threatening him to begging and the Gunsmith just gruffly laughs at all of her attempts. Finally, Jeyna gives up and goes outside, loudly cursing the Swordmaster under her breath. As she starts to walk away, the Gunsmith runs (or waddles, being fat) outside and chides her for not mentioning the Swordmaster before, as they are old friends. The Gunsmith gives Jeyna his best weapon for free and tells her that she is welcome back anytime to learn how to use the weapon. He also says that she and the Swordmaster to come and visit some time.
When Jeyna returns to the forge, the hour is very late and the Swordmaster is no where to be found. It is only after a couple of days that Jeyna becomes worried, though she is afraid to leave to forge unguarded. Jeyna continues to work the forge until she runs out of resources, which the Swordmaster had always provided before. Only when all of the goods had been sold and there was nothing left of value in the forge or shop, did Jeyna contemplate leaving. She was torn between searching for the Swordmaster, or trying to find the group of soldiers who had tried to recruit her. The Gunsmith suddenly shows up for a visit and while he can provide her with the location of the soldiers, he has no idea where the Swordmaster would be.
The dream gets fuzzy here. There is something about Jeyna searching along the riverbank and running into some of the bandits who raided the forge before. They are unarmed and with their children, bathing and washing their clothes at the water's egde. There is a lengthy conversation about something before Jeyna leaves and returns to the forge. As she is going back she sees two people fighing in the wasteland in the distance and when she gets closer it turns out to be the Swordmaster and the Gunsmith. They are in hand to hand combat and both are battered and bruised. Jeyna runs between the two and tries to seperate them, but the Swordmaster pulls her sword from it's scabbard and violently cuts down the Gunsmith. Jeyna stands in shocked silence while the Swordmaster wipes the sword clean and walks away from the bloody scene. He does not return to the forge and disappears again.
Jeyna does not return to the forge and goes to join the soldiers instead. The dream becomes too fuzzy for me to remember any more.
And just for fun, here's a simplified arial map of the land in which the dream takes place. It is not that great but it helps me remember, so there. Perhaps the river should not be so wide, but whatever.
LEGEND:
BLUE indicates side notes and personal thoughts written after the fact
BLACK indicates a normal dream
RED indicates a lucid dream