Moonlit Hearts

Chapter 1: The Forbidden Encounter

This was written for my friend who loves WangXian as much as I do. It's a story combining mythology and Wangxian, both are things I love a lot! It was inspired by a book called "The sandman" in french.

It is my very 1st true chaptered work in english, I hope to improve my writting skills with this! 

It is currently getting corrected and it might take a while for the whole work to be done. Hope you still enjoy it ;)

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"Every story begins somewhere, children," said the old man in a gentle, measured voice. "But how does one begin the tale of a man both feared and revered: the Sandman? His name is whispered in shadow and in dreams: a figure of dread, mystery, and wonder. In the realm where imagination weaves its magic, he reigns supreme. Yet behind the legend lies a solitary soul."

Lan Wangji leaned against the frost-laced window, listening as the old man told his story to the children, snug and warm in their beds. The Sandman, his name, his title, always struck him as strange when spoken by mortals. Yet the truth remained: each night, he crossed the fragile boundary between reality and dreams, bestowing the gift of peaceful sleep upon weary souls. When he left the village that evening, his thoughts lingered on the name humans had given him.

Lan Wangji, son of the Goddess of Snow and the God of Wind, possessed the rare power to summon sleep and weave magnificent dreams. His elder brother, Lan Xichen, held a different yet equally precious gift: the ability to awaken beings from any slumber, whether magical, artificial, or even coma-like, through the melodic notes of his flute. Together, they lived atop Mount Gusu, in their ethereal sanctuary aptly named the Cloud Recesses.

Lan Wangji cherished his palace nestled among the clouds. The temperature there was perpetually perfect for one of his nature, neither too cold nor too warm. The ethereal realm, shrouded in mist and at times adorned with snow for his mother's delight, had once been a place of happiness. Yet since her death, snowfall had become a rarity, and each falling flake was tinged with melancholy. Raised under the stern gaze of his uncle, the God of the Stars, Wangji had grown into a figure of flawless discipline and precision. His uncle's firm, celestial nature had shaped him to embody order and restraint.

This rigor had set him apart from others, especially the children, who kept their distance out of respect and... a little fear. Wangji found comfort in this avoidance. He had never sought friendship, nor desired their company. The nickname "Sandman" had been given to him during an incident in his childhood, when he had refused to share his belongings with another child. A quarrel had followed, and in the heat of the moment, his powers had accidentally sent the other child into a deep sleep. The next day, whispers of the "Sandman" spread, his name inspired by the snow-like powder he used to bring dreams. Though he had initially been annoyed that his luminous dust—symbol of his dreams—was compared to ordinary sand, he quickly made the name his own. If it inspired fear and kept people at a distance, all the better.

Over time, Wangji learned to wield his powers with gentleness, his mere presence bringing profound serenity and soothing peace. Yet despite this benevolence, the isolation that hung over him did not dissipate. Outside the rare visits of his elder brother, Lan Xichen, his days and nights remained steeped in solitude.

Though he lived to guide mortals in their dreams, direct contact with them was strictly forbidden. It was a rule he followed without question, for the balance between the divine and mortal realms was fragile. This distance was necessary or at least, that was what he told himself. Yet the rumors and mysterious stories surrounding his name made the separation feel even heavier. While they ensured the world stayed at a distance, they also reminded him of the vast boundary he could never cross.