#Lord of the Dreaming | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

mylifeisactuallyamess · 2 years

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A/N: So the Sandman has me in a chokehold. And I make no apologies. I have so many WIP glaring at me and I’m like “but this new blorbo…”. Hate me if you will but I follow the dopamine. If you would like to be tagged in any further Morpheus shenanigans please send me an ask or reply to this 🥰

Warnings: Do not tag Neil Gaiman in any of my work or he will block me and I do enjoy his page. This fic is an 18+ sloooow burn. I am taking huge artistic license with the world because I am going by the TV series alone. If you don’t like it, don’t read it. Tags will be updated per chapter but if you know how the series goes then you know where the tags are heading. This shit is unbeta’d. Reader is femme and I will always be respectful of characters pronouns throughout the fic. If I do slip up please feel free to message me and it shall be corrected.

Pairing: Morpheus x F!Reader/OC insert

Chapter 1: The Waking Realm

Summary: Brought to life by the power of the Dreaming, you were tasked with a single purpose. Find Lord Morpheus. However, once your purpose is completed will he find it in his heart to keep you around or was your purpose the only reason you were brought into being. Multichapter fuckery.

Word Count: 1.5k

Tagging: @a-bang-for-your-bucky

Prelude: Creation

To be created, you must first exist.

It was unfathomable. A darkness so encompassing you felt it possess every crack and crevice or your soul. You tried to take a deep breath, to ease the oppressive feel of the silence clawing at your mind, but you had no lungs. No body, nothing to see, touch and taste with.

You should feel panicked but emotions didn’t exist in such a void. It was empty, enduring, suffocating.

Timeless.

A nothing so deep the only thing you could perceive was it had no beginning, no middle and no end…

“Wake up.” The voice was soft, almost recognisable. “You need to wake up.” Your eyes opened. A soft breeze rippled across your back, the rich rustle of feathers filled your ears. Light struck the back of your eyes making you inhale sharply from the sting. Your fingers curled for the first time, sinking into the black sand with which you were upon. Watching with fascination as it devoured your hand, only to willingly release you, dripping down like fine black rain.

“We have a need of you.” A figure blocked out the weak light, curled pointy ears and round glasses drew into focus as you pushed yourself up. Drawing your knees under you, splaying your hands out to get a good look at them. Brushing the black sand delicately off your skin, marvelling in the way your fingertips felt the fabric of your dress. It hugged your body, flowing out from all sides. The silver was metallic, a splash of brightness against all the dark. Flexing your shoulders you sighed, tipping your head back and glimpsing the deep, inky wings that spread either side of you.

The light was muted, almost grey as it reflected on the shine of the feathers. Your hands quivered, stretching to feel them with the tip of your middle finger. Watching them jostle, feeling the pull on your muscles. They were your wings.

“I am Lucienne.”

“I don’t have a name.” Your hand reached up and your eyes widened. The words came from you, vibrating in your throat, the thin skin of your neck warm to touch. Lucienne smiled slightly, her hand suspended in the space between you.

“Come. I’ll tell you what you need to do.” Her grip was sturdy. A support you needed as you stood on your feet for the first time, your wings flaring to stop you from falling. Looking up you could see you were in some sort of hole. A crater, where sand had exploded outwards in all directions.

“Wh-what happened?” Your tongue tied over the familiar but strange words.

“You, my dear.” One hand held tightly onto Lucienne and the other lifted the tendrils of your dress. Your toes dug into the sand as you both made your way up and out of the crater. Immediately before you were a pair of colossal gates. Intricately carved with all sorts of depictions; it would have taken months to see them all and your wings spread slightly as though you were going to fly up to the top. They were so tall your spine curved as you tilted your head up to get a good look at them.

“What is this place?” Your voice was still so new, the words scratching slightly on their way out.

“The gates of horn and ivory. The King of Dreams carved them himself.” The sound of them opening rendered the air. Creaks and moans of hinges not used in an age until they came to an abrupt stop and you stepped through the gap with Lucienne at your side.

The landscape seemed to stretch from your toes out into the distance as far as the eye could see. Mountains stood tall and squat, but nothing grabbed your gaze as much as the decaying palace before you. You could tell it had once been a castle of great stature. A creation that would have stolen your breath with its beauty and intricacy, now lay in crumbled ruins.

“It’s not much, anymore,” Lucienne told you dryly. A lake, grey and lifeless covered the ground to the right, what was once a bridge now broken and shattered, clouds heavy and angry roiled in the sky but your companion just sighed and began to walk towards it all. The palace was falling down, even now as you approached parts broke away to tumble to the ground. Grass and weeds covered the debris and a sense of immense sadness gathered in your chest.

“It shouldn’t be like this,” you whispered. Wrongness twisted in your swirling depths as you looked around. “Why is it dying?”

“In his absence I can only do so much to keep the realm together.”

“Whose absence?”

“You are in the Dreaming,” Lucienne said with undisguised pride. Frowning you crouched beside a chunk of the palace, putting your hand on the worn stone as you tried to grasp streams of information that seemed just out of reach.

“Where is the King of Dreams?” You asked, not fully understanding the question yourself.

“Ah. I see He has gifted you with some knowledge then. Let me see if I can fill in the gaps.” She strode off leaving you no choice but to pick your way after her down the broken path.

Debris was everywhere. Littering the floor of what was once a huge chamber, covered in dust and dead leaves. A tall staircase wound up to a platform but steps were missing. What was once a grand throne still stands proud in front of the empty windows but even that was damaged seemingly beyond repair. Cracks filtered through the whole place, some deep fissures that you had to almost jump over. Your gaze was captivated by the shards of coloured glass strewn beneath your feet. Colours that were once whole and vibrant were now jaded and shattered. Your wings flared as you bent down to pick up a piece of green glass, marvelling at how it tried to capture the essence of light that was strong enough to filter into the chamber.

“I did try to keep it tidy. But I gave up quite a few years ago. It’s like the palace wants to be in this state and no matter what I do, it has no effect.” Breathing in, your chest expanded rapidly. The air in the Realm was heavy, settling inside you as an extra burden. You wanted to fix this, to stop this place from feeling so erroneous. Something was missing, the very fabric of this Realm was tearing apart, drifting in the unseen winds of the Endless.

“Why did he leave?” Your voice carried more than you expected in the large space.

“He left to retrieve a rogue nightmare but then, he didn’t come back.” You never thought weariness could affect a being in such a magical place, but Lucienne’s eyes were coloured with it. “Something has happened to him and that is why you are here.”

“What can I do?”

“You can find him. Help him. I haven’t heard from Jessamy in years and I can’t…leave the Realm unattended.” She peered at you over the top of her glasses. “But you can.”

“What could possibly be keeping the Lord of all this in the waking realm?”

“I have no idea,” she answered mournfully. “But first we must turn you into a raven. Mortals will not take kindly to you just walking in their realm with these.” Lucienne’s gaze drifted purposely to your wings making you drag them into yourself, the soft rustle echoing against the destroyed stone. “And I’m fairly sure Lord Morpheus won’t accept help from you in this form.”

“Tell me what I must do.” She approached, held within her hand was a necklace. At first glance it didn’t look like much, a simple silver chain dangled from her fingers but what hung on it was an amulet depicting a raven's head. As black as the night sky but it shimmered with an otherworldliness that had you reaching out for a closer look.

“Usually a raven is not chosen this way. They enter the Dreaming in the form but you are something quite different.” Your brow furrowed a little, eyes searching hers for answers but all Lucienne did was subtly cock an eyebrow at your unspoken question.

“What am I?”

“I did what Lord Morpheus cannot. I asked for help and I was gifted, you. True, you’re not what I expected…” she explained, slowly walking round you to get a good look at you. “And I think you’re more than what I bargained for but we don’t question the Creator here. You’re certainly not like the others.”

“Others?”

“Never mind. Now. This amulet will help you find him, it is part of the Dreaming and it will seek him out so trust it. You must bring him home.”

“Ok,” you breathed out. The raven's head settled just below your clavicle, an unusual weight against your skin making you reach for it automatically.

Nothing happened. Your feet were still firmly planted on the broken floor of the palace and you threw a worried look at Lucienne.

“You need to go to the waking realm. It will take you, you just have to let go.” Closing your eyes you blocked out everything around you. A pinprick of light glowed in your mind's eye so you headed towards it, thoughts filled of the waking realm and a being named Morpheus…