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.
_________
Netflix "The Sandman" - 2022
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THE WAKING WORLD _
BERLIN, GERMANY
Here in the Darkness.
The incantation sucked on him like a vacuum, filling Morpheus' head with a thousand unknown voices.
He fell to his knees, trying to cut out the noise, but it was no use.
He couldn't feel anything, couldn't see anything, couldn't even breathe.
His eyes watering from the mighty spell, he reached out to his tools, clutching them like a precious newborn in his hands.
Here in the Darkness.
The chanting grew louder and louder, making it unable to concentrate on something else.
But his tools - his tools were safe and that was important.
No one would ever lay his hands on them, he would make sure.
And if someone did, he would make him pay...
Here in the Darkness.
Morpheus felt his vision getting blurry, still trying to hold on.
A few seconds later, he was swallowed by the incantation, being transported to his unknown fate.
Just at that moment, the Corinthian came down the alleyway, looking rather puzzled:
"Well, that was unexpected..."
THE KINGDOM OF DREAMS
The more she waited for her brother to return, the more impatient Passion was growing.
Altough she had tried to read some of the new arrivals in the library, she hadn't found much rest in those utterly stunning tales.
A while later, she found herself pacing up and down inside the Throne Room, slightly annoying Merv Pumpkinhead who was just cleaning the castles' marble floor.
"Could you please stop that?", the janitor growled, shaking his head at the mere sight of Passions mud stained slippers - she had gone for a walk outside half an hour before.
"I am pretty sure your brother is doing well, so don't panic. But that doesn't mean he won't get into trouble...just like last time when he visited that child which wouldn't go to sleep right away. He then tried the sand on him and guess what that naughty boy did? He had to sneeze really hard, blowing all the sand in Morpheus' face - oh my, after that he never visited a single kid again. Must have been a trauma for him, well - I still laugh about that. Can you imagine?"
Passion couldn't help herself, but grin at this mere thought.
She always had imagined her brother being cheerful about his duty, just like the Sandman was depicted in all those folktales.
Just like his palace, this whole kingdom of his depicted.
Instead, Morpheus was a rather dark and troubled entity, many people thinking of him as evil and frightening.
She had heard about those stories from her visits to the Waking World, stories depicting her brother in the most horrible ways imaginable.
What had happened to all those stories about the Sandman being friendly, kind?
Who visited the children, putting them to sleep every night, watching over Dreams and Nightmares?
Who was ruler to a magical kingdom full of adventures, fantasy and fate?
What had happened to the people who once had seen in him a higher power, a kind and powerful God?
What had happened to the children who now would stay hidden under their beds, comparing the Sandman to the Boogeyman?
But most of all - what had happened to Morpheus himself, making him become so...gloomy?
"No one knows really, your Highness!", Lucienne walked towards her, once again reading Passions mind.
"There was a time when Lord Morpheus really did want to visit children, even reading them bedtime stories. He loved his job, even more than his other siblings do, bringing joy and compassion to the whole Waking World. He even had a son, you know. A little boy called Orpheus, brought up with the Muse Calliope with whom he had fallen in love. He would play music with him, laugh and cry with him, create Dreams and Nightmares only for his wellbeing. I've never seen him so happy in all my life. And I think you neither."
The librarian sighed, Passion watching her in complete silence.
"But one day, everything changed. Your brother did not talk to anyone after that, slowly growing cold and bitter. He went into hiding for almost two centuries, not wanting any companion by his side to help him go through it. He still played the violin, but now its tunes weren't as beautiful as I could remember. When creating his Dreams and Nightmares, he always felt drained, tired. And even if Morpheus doesn't sleep at all, I knew right away that something was terribly wrong. And I was right about that."
Passion stayed silent, thinking about it.
Why he had never told her of him having a son?
Why he had never shared his feelings towards her?
Why he had never told her what was wrong, what had made him become like this?
Did he even know about the humans fearing him and not welcoming him as they used to do?
Did he even know that they were scared of closing their eyes, of going to sleep and entering his realm?
Did he even know that children didn't believe in him anymore?
Had he ever known about all that?
And if he had known, why he hadn't mentioned it to his own sister - the one he could trust the most?
Just as Passion wanted to answer, Jessamy came flying through the wide windows of the Throne Room.
Morpheus' sister looked around in curiosity, expecting to see him proudly following his raven - but Dream was nowhere to be seen.
"Where's Morpheus, Jessamy?", Passion asked, helping her brothers' companion on her shoulder.
Normally, he never left Jessamy alone.
Something had happened, something that maybe had to do with the Corinthian - and she would find out immediately.
