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[hypnagothic]

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[hypnagothic]

It is the world where people go to dream, where they find respite from the Waking World that leaves them wanting and weary. When dreamers sleep and enter my realm, they find freedom and adventure to face their fears and fantasies in the dreams and nightmares that I create. That is my purpose and my function, and I control all within the Dreaming, lest the nightmares and dreams consume and destroy the dreamers.

[100more]

Wow.

[ Hob is left at a loss for words. Dream orchastrates all of that? ]

You create all dreams? The good and the bad? Does that mean you know what everyone's dreamt about? Even me?

[hypnagothic]

Any mind may create dreams of their own, as well, but they are also of my dominion. And yes, the good and the bad, though this is a false dichotomy. Each dream has a purpose for the dreamer, to inspire or to frighten, to provide a reprieve or simply a place to exist uninhibited my their waking thoughts. Some dreams hold no other meaning than to be.

[ there's a hint of a smile then, of faint amusement. ]

As for your own dreams, I admit that I did know of your dreams after our initial meeting, but I then withheld from seeking out your dreaming mind in favor of allowing you to tell of your time when we next met.

[100more]

[ It's a little difficult to understand, but maybe it's because he's not supposed to understand how such things work. Dream makes them but he also does not. They serve a purpose and yet some do not. But it's also right for dreams to be mysterious things just like the one who rules them.

The smile on Dream's face makes Hob's heart beat faster, his face flushing with embarrassment. ]

Which dreams were those, exactly?

[ Dream did leave quite an impression the first time they met. He was both mysterious and beautiful. Later on, though, he became the stuff of Hob's nightmares when Hob thought he might have inadvertently lost his soul. ]

[hypnagothic]

[ the amusement deepens into an actual smirk. ]

Only the ones from before the day we met. Ease your heart, Hob, for I maintained your privacy.

[100more]

I.. appreciate that.

[ An amused smile follows. ]

It must be very tempting, though, to see into other's dreams. I'm not sure I'd have your will power.

[ Hob is far too curious to be the king of any realm. ]

[hypnagothic]

I have seen the dreams of the first things that ever dreamed when the universe was new and everything since. There is much that I have seen, Hob.

[100more]

I have no doubt of that.

[ And if that is the case, Hob's dreams are probably pretty bland by comparison. Most humans probably have the same sort of dreams, anyway. The same fears and desires run through them all. ]

Are people not predictable? Boring, even, to someone like you?

[hypnagothic]

There are occasionally those who surprise. Delightfully so.

[ his head tips towards Hob. ]

[100more]

[ Hob smiles a little behind his lifted cup. It's amazing to think back on how Dream was during their first meetings and how he is now. ]

I have been more surprised by things in the last week than I have in the last century.

[ Not all of them good, but surprises, despite it all. ]

[hypnagothic]

Oh? Your arrival here besides?

[100more]

Well, you and Vanessa, of course.

[ Though Dream probably already surmised that much. ]

And hearing about the City.

[ He doesn't remember the city, so Vanessa was more of a surprise since he met her. ]

[hypnagothic]

But nothing before appearing in this plane? Your life was so uneventful?

[100more]

I mean, things happened of course, but nothing as strange as this. Time passes. The world changes. But all of that is to be expected. Meeting you again at the Inn was the most unexpected thing to happen before all this.

[ But he was pleased with that. Another thought, or rather, a question occurs to him. ]

So, if you are Morpheus, are the old stories about you true? The myths, I mean.

[hypnagothic]

[ he gives a slow, single nod. ]

Largely so, though there are many versions told across the ages. Have you one in mind?

[100more]

Well, it's said you have many siblings. I guess that's true of at least one, but Death is not generally mentioned, so maybe they're not quite so accurate.

Have you any other family?

[hypnagothic]

That is indeed one divergence from the common myth. Many such stories have threads of the Truth, but it is rare that all threads are gathered into one truthful whole.

I have six siblings, seven Endless in our family. Destiny is the oldest of us and my eldest brother, followed by Death. My other siblings are then younger than I. Despair and Desire are younger twins that came before Delirium, our youngest sister.

[ curiously, he seems to have forgotten to mention the seventh ... ]

[100more]

[ Hob doesn't think Dream forgets much. ]

That's five. There are six?

[hypnagothic]

[ the reaction is subtle, but Hob might catch it: his jaw clenches, the muscles bunching at his jaw before relaxing again. ]

Destruction, the Prodigal who abandoned his duties, is my younger and our middle brother. He is much like our elder sister in disposition.

[ his tone remains light, but there's something clipped about it. family drama, perhaps? ]

[100more]

[ Hob can tell it's a sensitive subject. ]

Such a thing is possible? I mean, you can't abandon your duty, can you?

[hypnagothic]

I would not. It is our purpose and our function.

[ that's not precisely what Hob asked though. ]

[100more]

[ Not precisely, no. ]

What happens if one does give up their role?

[hypnagothic]

[ for a moment, he looks like he might actually answer that question, the way his lips part to speak a ready movement. but then something gives him pause, considering for a moment before he shakes his head. ]

It is a family matter, and I have already said more than I perhaps should. But you now know the names of my siblings.

[100more]

Of course. Sorry.

[ Hob already knew it was a delicate subject, so having the door figuratively shut on him isn't a surprise. Personal things seem like they're harder for Dream to talk about, or he's just not willing to. Specific details about his family or Vanessa, for instance, appear to be off limits. ]

[hypnagothic]

You need not apologize, Hob. I invited your questioning.