| Guardian of the Dream | |
 | |
| Title | Guardian of the Dream |
| Romaji Title | Yume no Moribito |
| Kanji Title | 夢の守り人 |
| Author | Nahoko Uehashi |
| Illustrator | Makiko Futaki Miho Satake |
| Publication Order | |
| Preceded by Moribito II: Guardian of the Darkness |
Followed by Traveler of the Void |
| Japanese | |
| Publisher | Kaisei-sha (hardcover) Shinchosha (paperback) |
| Publication date |
May 2000 |
| ISBN | |
| English | |
| Translator | |
Guardian of the Dream (夢の守り人, Yume no Moribito) is the third novel in the Moribito series written by Nahoko Uehashi.
Plot Introduction[]
People start becoming trapped in their dreams. Tanda's niece, Chagum, and the First Queen all dream of a flower with ties to Torogai's past. Only a man with a supernatural singing voice can save them.
Summary[]
Balsa rescues a man named Yuguno, who is on the run from slavers. Despite his young appearance, he is actually fifty-two years old, having been blessed with long-lasting youth by spirits called Ri-To-Ruen, which flock to the sound of human singing and magically extend the life of those who hear the song. Yuguno is a travelling singer, and those who hear the song fall into a dream after hearing it, where their dreams become the seeds of the flower spirit that was Yuguno's spiritual father. Those who do not wish to wake up can become trapped, and if the flower drops its seeds before they wake, they will die.
Tanda's niece, Kaya, has been betrothed to a man she does not love. She falls into a deep sleep and will not wake, so Tanda performs a soul call (against Torogai's advice) in an attempt to guide her back. Instead, he falls victim to the flower, which tricks him and possesses his body, turning him into a monkey-like monster while his soul remains in the dream world. The monster - the Guardian of the Flower - chases down Yuguno, and once again Balsa saves Yuguno's life.
Meanwhile, both Chagum and the First Queen (Sagum's mother) have also become trapped in the dream world, where Chagum dreams of the time he spent in the Hunting Cave with Balsa and Tanda. Shuga, who has been meeting in secret with Torogai above Toya and Saya's shop, looks to her expertise to rescue the prince. Tanda, in the dream world, tells Chagum how to rescue him from the demon that has stolen his body. Chagum, convinced by Tanda that life is worth living, wakes and convinces his father to put Shuga and three of the Hunters (Jin, Zen, and Yun) at his disposal. While Jin fights the Guardian of the Flower, buying the others some time, Balsa takes Yuguno to meet up with Torogai at a mountain lake where they must go to enter the dream and save Tanda from the demon. There they are met by Chagum, Shuga, Zen, and Yun. While Balsa and the Hunters fight the demon, Torogai ventures into the dream world to wake the dreamers and save Tanda. Torogai is able to convince Kaya to wake, revealing how she endured a loveless marriage and that she had three children who all died in infancy, before she fled her marriage to become a reclusive shaman. Torogai dreamed that she became the lover of a handsome youth, calling himself the Flower's Guardian, and gave birth to a son, whose soul left the dream and became Yuguno, making Torogai his spiritual mother.
Ultimately, Tanda is badly injured while in demon form, but Torogai succeeds in freeing him and all those trapped in the dream world. Tanda returns to his body and must then recover. Chagum and the rest return to the palace, while Balsa sticks around Tanda's hut to take care of him.
Image Gallery[]
