"wake up, my darling."
In which Lord Morpheus receives a mysterious message from the Waking World, forcing him to embark on a dangerous journey to retrieve what's rightfully his own.
And maybe meeting some familiar faces along the way who don't hav...
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THE KINGDOM OF DREAMS
Morpheus dreams.
Something he has never done before, as for him being the embodiment of all humanity.
It isn't in his nature to dream, nor to sleep, ever.
And yet, he does.
For the very first time in existence, the Sandman himself does sleep.
Having Dreams of his very own, just like Azzazel has predicted.
Whether they are beautiful or scary, he doesn't know.
Instead, Morpheus closes his eyes, enjoying every moment of this.
Every moment of this mere beauty a little hour of rest can hold.
"Play with me, Father!", Orpheus begs, his deep brown eyes full of excitement.
Morpheus' son is a beautiful boy at the age of 12, gifted with the ancient ability of song through magic.
A bard, as you might say.
His mother Calliope is one of the Muses, the most beautiful woman there ever was and blessed with the power to inspire.
In her name, all of mankind dedicate poems, books and plays to her, not ever thinking about that this being is as real as their minds.
And of course, there is Dream.
Dream of the Endless, the Sandman or Oneiros.
That's how he is called by Calliope, his beloved wife.
He is one of seven powerful gods, each of them having to serve humanity to the very end.
Destruction.
Despair.
Death.
Delirium.
Destiny.
Desire.
And Dream himself, maybe the most powerful of them all, creator of humanitys' Dreams and Nightmares.
That's what he does and he does it for nearly 3000 years now, never growing tired of it.
That's what he is.
Sometimes, he creates a Dream for Orpheus, wishing to be a successful musician in the future and making people happy.
But there are also fears he must face, fears about losing his loved ones, the fear of nearly any child or adult.
Fears no one ever can endure, no one ever can face alone.
Nor bard, nor human, nor any other creature.
So, Morpheus is always with his son when facing his fears, the everlasting Nightmare all of humanity has to go through at least once.
Sometimes, he sings to him, lullabies about long forgotten worlds, realms crumbled to ashes a long time ago.
And sometimes, Morpheus plays his violin, along with Orpheus playing the lyre.
An ancient instrument you may only know as harp.
Some might say the violins' melodies are much more beautiful when played alongside the lyre.
Or played alongside the piano.
Morpheus really enjoyed playing the violin, but he enjoyed it much more when being with his son.
Then, Calliope would watch the two of them, how they made music to the Dreaming and to the Waking World alike.
Making all of humanity dream about beautiful melodies flowing through the air, craving to be heard.
For over a thousand years, Morpheus' realm would grow and bloom, only through the ancient power of song Orpheus and him provided.
For over a thousand years, humanity felt safe to dream, not being woken up by the terrors of war and death.
And for over a thousand years, the Sandman himself was feeling quite happy to have a family of his very own - not just his siblings, but a wife and son.
But then, something happened.
Something even I cannot understand why nor how nor even when.
I only know one thing.
And that thing includes a broken heart, a shrouded soul and a furious mind.
