I dream in recycled movie plots, apparently

Last night's dream was an epic. There was a family who lived in a ramshackle two-story house on the edge of a chasm high in the mountains, with no yard but just rocks up to the sheer drop down hundreds of feet to certain doom. They were a close, loving family, and the father had chosen at some point to turn himself into a ghost, as he had a magical sword that could return him to the living at any time, and the abilities he gained as a spirit were useful. They had one servant, a girl from a high-class family who had fallen on hard times and was forced to work for people she considered lowly and worthless.

They got on Hera's (the queen of the Greek gods') bad side. That was their first mistake. I'm not sure what they did but she sent her army of minions to kill the entire family, led by a warrior woman under her command. The minions wiped out the whole family, even the father-- they managed to destroy his spirit and send that to the underworld so he could never return to his body. Only one son escaped, because he had surprised the warrior woman in charge by jumping out from behind a curtain and stabbing her with a knife, and accidentally hitting an artery. She died, but miraculously, the blood vanished form the carpet as she lay.

The son ran down a narrow tunnel through the mountain to the village, where the servant girl was talking with his best friend, a boy who worked in one of the shops. He told them what happened and they all agreed that he needed to run, as did the servant, because she was so closely tied to the family. His best friend also agreed to go with them, because he might be linked to their disappearance.

They went into flight, and were chased all across the earth by Hera's replacement for the original warrior woman (another woman), and several thug types. The woman in command has several magical abilities in her power, including the ability to call up rainbows for transportation, like the Greek goddess Iris-- except Iris' rainbows weren't made of candied fruit and Skittles in different colors. There were several close calls, including one time when they took refuge in a young woman's house, and then she chose to go with them because a) they left rather abruptly in the middle of the night, under attack, and she was afraid she'd be captured and tortured by the hunters, and b) she fell in love with the family's last son.

Meanwhile the best friend and the servant girl fall in love and are having a side-story relationship, but at some point, they have to leave her behind or she vanishes, and they assume she's dead. The best friend is heartbroken.

They reached a run-down old Colosseum-style arena, long since out of use, and planned to spend the night there. As the love interest and the best friend set up to sleep under the stone bleachers, the son wandered, and he entered the gladiatorial arena. Suddenly the once-empty bleachers started to fill with Greek gods, including their king Zeus, who sat in the old emperor's box. He declared, "I've taken pity on you, boy, and I'm ending this silly chase. You and my wife will compete in one-on-one combat, with her in a human form. If you defeat the human form, I will make her stop chasing you, and you and your friends can return home and bury your family and live in peace." The son wasn't given a chance to say anything, but was instantly attacked by the warrior woman who's been chasing him-- who, he realized, is Hera in human form.

Hera quickly gained the upper hand, as she still had godly strength even in human form. Just as the son was about to loose, she whispered a taunt in his ear, reminding him of his family and his failure at this chance for revenge so he'll suffer more. The exact opposite happened-- the remark spurred him, so he gained a burst of adrenaline-driven superhuman strength and strangled her human form.

Hera, naturally, reappeared sulkily next to her husband, but the son was declared the winner, and all the gods vanished. Triumphant, the son told his companions what had transpired, and they all happily headed back to the mountain village. The best friend was already plotting a quest of his own, taking the father's magical sword and finding the body of his love, the servant girl, and returning her to life.

Before returning to the family's house, they visited the villagers, telling of their adventures and why they were gone so long. The best friend is all prepared to offer up excuses to his boss, but the boss silenced him, saying he doesn't need to explain, and while he's been replaced, the boss will personally make sure he gets another job in the village. "Who is my replacement?" the best friend asked, and out walked the old servant girl who he loved and who had been released from Hera's control months ago. He immediately ran to her, joyous and ready to kiss her, but she stopped him with her hand, and pulled out from the back room another man, a former co-worker of the best friend. "I'm sorry," she said, "but I thought you were dead, and it's been a long time." She leaned her head on the new beau's chest and he wrapped his arm around her.

The best friend was sad, but he understood, as he'd mostly gotten over thinking she was dead anyway, and knowing that she was alive and happy was enough for him. The love interest, best friend, and the son headed happily back to the family's house, ready to start the rather unpleasant cleaning and burial process, considering that it had been years since the family had died and no one had wanted to risk offending Hera by burying them before then.

Then I woke up. Yes, that all happened in last night's dream. It was like a whole movie going on there. Kinda cool though.