"dreams are powerful."
In which Lord Morpheus gets to meet another powerful being from which he didn't know it belonged to the Endless, his slightly dysfunctional family.
His long lost sibling named Passion.
book two: a dream's crescendo
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LONDON, ENGLAND - 1996
"Mummy, tell me a story!", the little girl begged, already dressed in her sleeping gown.
"But it has to be a good one this time, not with any monsters or witches...you know how I react to that!"
Amber Lynn chuckled, setting down her cup of tea before crawling under the warm sheets of Susies bed.
It wasn't hard to see that her daughter wasn't tired yet, her eyes gleaming with excitement.
Her mother always told her stories, fables about old hags luring you into their homes, about boogeymen frightening you to death or about aliens kidnapping innocent children.
No stories about fairies, unicorns or wise warlocks every kid got told these days.
Susies mother wasn't like the others and her daughter had no problem with that - unless she tried to scare her.
Because of this, the 8 - year old desperately wished for a normal tale she could enjoy listening to without being scared.
And Miss Lynn always granted her daughters' wish...even tonight.
"Have I already told you the story of the Sandman?", Susies mother whispered for which she just received another pair of rolling eyes:
"Mum, you told me about him a thousand times. The Sandman is just a tiny man who visits the children and puts them to sleep with his magic...haven't you got another one?"
"My dear, this story is way different than the ones before!", Amber replied, stroking Susies curly blonde hair.
"Back when you were three, I've only told you the story we all know. But the real story, the secret tale of the Sandman, I've kept hidden from you all the time. And I think the right moment has come to tell you the truth - so, are you ready?"
Susie just nodded, nervously grabbing the bedsheets with her little fingers.
"I am ready, Mum. But promise me - no monsters and no witches!"
Amber looked down at her daughter, smiling:
"I'll try!"
Then, Miss Lynn began to speak, her bold voice giving Susie goosebumps all over.
"Once upon a time, the universe was created out of an exploding nebula. Stars began to manifest, planets were shaped into existence, whole galaxies came to life. But that wasn't the only thing the nebula had created. Out of its vaporising smoke, seven beings came to life, seven powerful gods who would soon be ruling over mankind. These beings, these gods were called The Endless. And it was their duty to serve humanity and protect its course, as they were told of by Father Time and Mother Night themselves."
"The first one was Desire, cunning and full of malice. Her power consisted of fullfilling peoples' desperate wishes and longings, always coming at a high cost. The second was Delirium who would later turn insane, throwing all of humanity into their deepest obsessions - not all of them being good, actually. The third was Despair, leading people slowly into something they can't have and starting to hurt themselves. The fourth one was Death, guiding humanity to the very end of existence. The fifth and sixth were Destiny and Destruction, knowing any next move and luring mankind into a brute force we all just know as war. And the seventh one was Dream, creator of dreams and nightmares alike - Lord Morpheus, the one and only Sandman."
"From all his siblings, he appeared to have the kindest heart, even if you could not see it at first sight. He was a thin, pale man with messy dark hair and deep eyes, wearing a long coat. He lived in a giant palace at a wondrous place called The Dreaming - the very same place you go when closing your eyes. When creating his dreams and nightmares, Lord Morpheus has the duty to watch them remaining in his dimension, not wandering off in the Waking World - our world, Susie. Being the Sandman, he carries three objects which are a manifestation of his power: A leather pouch of Dream Sand, a red ruby which can make dreams come true and a helm. But there's another object he once was gifted with by the humans entering his realm. A violin with the power of creation itself."
Amber Lynn paused, her lips running dry from telling.
After taking another sip of tea, she continued, long lost images flashing in front of her inner eye.
"Whenever I visited Morpheus' kingdom, I could hear him playing such beautiful music I've never heard before in my life. It wasn't hard to see that this violin made his heart flutter, not ever wanting to be taken away from him. But unfortunately, Dream got captured by a human warlock in 1916 who actually wanted his sister Death to bring back his dead son. His possessions were taken, sold to descendants of this magician who later passed away under mysterious circumstances. Even now, the King of Dreams is still missing, his blooming kingdom crumbling and bleeding. I don't know if he ever returns, but if he does, then I'll be prepared...and you should too, Susie."
Susie couldn't find an answer to that, hanging onto her mothers' lips in curiosity.
If she had any questions, she would save them until the end - besides, that story couldn't actually be true, couldn't it?
"Long before Dream was born, a prophecy came to his parents. A prophecy about long lost members of the Endless, three other siblings to be exact. Love, Passion and Solitude. Desire, Despair, Delirium, Destiny and Destruction weren't satisfied with the prophecy, trying to banish those unlikely beings into the void. With Dream being born at last, he took Passion in and started to love her like a brother loves his sister, not judging her origins at all. Eventually, she created the growing desire in him for playing music, inspiring him in a way anyone had never done before."
"And not just him, even humanity would grow attached to several things like painting, writing, sewing or cooking, making it things they could enjoy. With decades passing, Dream and Passion got along really well, never leaving each others side. One day, just after his capture, Passion left Dreams realm to look for her brother in the Waking World - she never was seen again. And with her having left, the violin vanished too."
Amber swallowed hard, tears running down her rosy cheeks.
The story was over.
Susie crawled out of the sheets, hugging her mother as tight as possible.
She really needed that now.
Just minutes after Amber had wiped off the water, her daughter asked her question:
"If Dream really returns one day...why do you say I should be prepared? And do you think Passion is still out there? Here, in the Waking World?"
Miss Lynn shrugged, giving the 8 - year old a kiss on the forehead.
"I don't know, my Dear. But she might be closer than you think - now sleep tight!"
Susie nodded, closing her eyes in satisfaction.
That night, she dreamt of a pale, thin man with jet black hair in a long coat and a raven perched on his right shoulder.
On his left shoulder, a violin sat, with it playing the sweetest melodies of all time.
Oh, what would it be a joy meeting him one day...
Little did she know that Lord Morpheus was sitting in Roderick Burgess' cellar, at this very moment.
His raven dead, his blood splayed on the floor.
Robbed of his clothes and tools, all hope and grief now being replaced by anger and revenge.
