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Tweak says, "Sanity is but a state of mind."

Dream of the Endless (endless_dream) wrote in pandemansion,
@ 2008-03-29 23:03:00

Entry tags:

acheron parthenopaeus, arriving, dream

April 3rd, Arrival of Dream
Who?: Dream and Ash
What?: Dream's arrival.
When?: Late afternoon.
Where?: Not far from the gazebo.
Rating?: PG
Status?: ~~In progress~~ Finished

It was not until the loose white sand beneath his feet changed into hard gravel that Dream realized something was wrong. Looking around he saw that the scenery had changed from a barren desert into a rocky shoreline; a set of stairs had been carved into the side of the cliff face that loomed in front of him. His gaze followed their path up the cliff, past a white gazebo that had been built into the side of the steep hill, and came to rest on a the large mansion that seemed to be the center of this place. None of it seemed remotely familiar. Somewhere during his walk through the Soft Places at the edges of the Dreaming, he had gone astray.

And indeed, he was no longer in the Soft Places. Had that been the case then leaving would have been a simple matter, requiring no more effort than a thought. But whoever or whatever ruled this place did not want him to leave, and had probably been what led him here, so skillfully that he had not even realized it. Dream of the Endless had never been one to panic, but as he stood alone on the beach, the reality of the situation sinking in, he was as close as he had ever come to doing exactly that. This was not some magician's spell; it was something much more subtle and more powerful, to have brought him here like this.

Whatever it was, and whatever their reason for bringing him here, they could not have chosen a worse time to do it. The Dreaming was not quite in the state it had been after the Kindly Ones had completed their vengeful rampage, but it was far from being fully restored. If Dream remained here for too long there was no telling how much further off that would become, or how much of what had been done would be undone. A memory that was not hs own tugged at the corner of his mind, a memory of returning to his kingdom and finding that is had been reduced to ruins and was slowly crumbling into dust... he could not let that happen again.

I suppose, he thought, that it would be useful to know where I am, at least. He approached the stairs, and slowly made his way up toward the mansion.

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endless_dream
2008-03-30 03:18 pm UTC (link)

This Acheron Parthenopaeus did not know what a difficult question he was posing.

The simple answer would have been the he was Dream of the Endless, king of the Realm of Dream and Nightmare... but to say this out loud would have felt wrong, almost like a lie. Dream of the Endless was older than the gods, older than the universe, and nearly as old as time itself. He was far from perfect, but he was powerful, sometimes terrible, he commanded respect... and he knew exactly who and what he was. He did not allow himself to feel weak or intimidated, he did not nervously fidget with the folds of his robe, and if Acheron Parthenopaeus had asked him the question "What are you?", he would not have hesitated.

But that aspect of the Dream King was dead and gone, and the new one - the youthful white-haired man who until recently had been an ordinary human child, and who did have an occasional tendancy towards nervous fidgeting - was not feeling particularly regal at the moment. Instead he felt inept, awkward, and a bit foolish. But regardless of how strange or wrong it might have felt to say it, he knew that it was the truth, and that he would eventually have to get used to the idea.

"I am Dream of the Endless." He lifted his chin slightly, his starry-black eyes looking into the other man's strange silver ones. "If I may ask you a question, Acheron... what is this place, and why was I brought here? I have obligations elsewhere, which require my attention, and if I am kept away from them it would be... inconvenient." There was no reason to go into details... and what was more, Dream hoped to return soon enough that his absence would not become more than an inconvenience.

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trexash
2008-03-31 07:02 pm UTC (link)

Dream's eyes reminded Ash of his Dark-Hunter comrades eyes. Unlike him all of their eyes were as black as night. Ash, however, had been the first. An experiment of Artemis' so his eyes had never changed from the silver he'd been marked with. He didn't mind though, although he wished he had grabbed his sunglasses.

He slid his ever changing eyes back to the sky, letting out a long breath. Well that certainly helped him understand just what Dream was. He lifted a shoulder, "This place is a mansion. As to why you were brought here, that I cannot answer because I don't know the answer. You'll serve some purpose here though, I'm sure." He looked back at the other, giving him a wry smirk. "Welcome to the club." He murmured, eyes raking over the other pausing briefly on the emerald around his neck before going back to his dark gaze.

"The mansion pulls people, beings to itself. Why? For the sick amusement of gods and goddesses with far too much time on their hands." He once again lifted a broad shoulder. "We're in their turf, playing by their rules, which I do not particularly care for." His face darkened a degree before he continued. "Believe me if their powers weren't combined and holding me here I'd be long gone. Like yourself I have obligations that require my attention, and the longer I'm gone I fear the worse things will get." If he ever once felt the powers of the gods wane he'd be gone in a heartbeat. They seemed intent though on keeping him there. Why, he wasn't sure of that but it was starting to grate on his last nerve. "The mansion provides everything. A key and map are sitting ready for you on the desk." He nodded his head towards it, "Food is in the kitchen, ready made. If you eat that is." Ash personally didn't eat, he had no need for food.

"Any other questions that I can possibly answer for you?" He asked, raising a brow and canting his head gently to the side.

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endless_dream
2008-04-04 06:00 pm UTC (link)

The mansion did this? Some group of deities had created this empty mansion, which summoned all manner of entities to itself... and for their own amusement, as if we were their playthings? It almost sounded like the sort of thing that Desire would enjoy, though he was not sure if Desire was capable of doing such a thing, or if it would even be allowed. But everything Desire did seemed to follow another set of rules entirely, and he suspected that this was why the first Dream had not been fond of their younger sister-brother.

"Not at the moment, no," he answered, now looking through the doorway and into the mansion itself. A vast foyer stood before him, lit from above through a glass ceiling and framed by a pair of sweeping spiral staricases. At the center was a fountain; its shape was that of a pair of imposing gates, and it dwarfed everything else in the room, including the small desk near the front door. He found it quite easy to step across the threshold; the mansion seemed to invite, to beckon one to come inside. Dream wondered which deities had built this place, and whether they had intended to give it a will of its own, for it felt almost as if it had one.

He approached the desk, and saw the key and map that Acheron had spoken of. He picked it up and turned it about in his hand, examining the shine of the brass, running his thumb over the letters "D-R-E-A-M" engraved into one side and the number "321" on the other, and finally holding it in his closed fist at his side. At least the house knows who I am. The map seemed at first glance to be nothing more than an ink drawing on parchment, but it was redrawing itself. Some of the ink lines curled up into themselves and dissappeared, others extended and branched themselves over and over until the map showed a room that hadn't been there a moment before. The mansion was growing, adding onto itself... making room for more guests.

"Thank you, Acheron." Dream lifted his head, looking back at the blond man. "I'll be taking my leave now, if you don't mind."

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trexash
2008-04-05 04:14 pm UTC (link)

Ash watched the other carefully, wondering what was going through his mind. He wouldn't pry, it wasn't in his nature. Shifting a little on his feet, he looked back at the sky as the other contemplated things that Ash did not know. However, something about Dream felt, seemed familiar, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. Even though Dream did remind Ash of the Oneroi, it was something else. Something else entirely that set bells off in Acheron's head.

He looked over to the other as he spoke, and pushed his thoughts to the back of his mind. He watched as Dream enter the mansion and slowly follwed in after him, closing the doors with a thought.

Ash inclined his head to Dream. "You are quite welcome. If you find that you need anything, don't hesitate to ask." He nodded his head slowly, "And enjoy your stay as much as you can while here." He smiled slightly, and then vanished without a trace.

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