Fragile Glass | Morpheus

Chapter 1

"Alex." A hiss of a name met her ears and she saw a small boy run towards a man that was probably his father, yes, she could see the familial connection. Her vision had started to blur at the outskirts and she only just saw the raven fly away from the man. Her vision fully faded as the father met her eyes.

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Rodrick Burgess didn't know what to expect when he started the ceremony, he had hoped to capture death and convince them to return his son, Randall, to him. He did not expect to now have two celestial - or he hoped celestial - beings trapped in his basement. The book hadn't been specific enough, there were two binding circles that could have been used, he couldn't figure out which one to use, so he used both. Now, he has two beings that he doesn't know what to do with.

The doorbell rang.

Alex should have got the door, but he didn't. Instead, Rodrick got up and made his way to the door.

No one was there.

"Good morning, Magus." A voice called from behind him, moving into his home.

"Do I know you?" The man was tall, with blond hair and sunglasses that he didn't take off despite being inside.

"No, but I know all about you, Roderick Burgess and the being you have trapped in your cellar." So the man only knew about one of the beings, he just had to find out which one.

"Blackmail is it then, shakedown?"

"Not at all, I'm here to help." They walked around the mansion as they spoke, "You're gonna need all the help you can get. There are benefits to keeping one of the endless close." The man grinned at the confused magus.

"Endless?" He had never heard the term before, it seemed strange that this random man who turned up on his doorstep knew more about the being in his basement than he did.

"Did you think death was the only one in charge? The Reaper has family , you know? Desire, Destiny, Despair."

"Which one have I got then?" He leaned forward in anticipation, Destiny would be quite useful. He could know all sorts of things, become wealthy beyond imagination.

"Dream." His disappointment was instantaneous.

"What's the good of a god that governs dreams." He didn't want a dream god, he wanted death, he wanted Randall.

"Not a god, more than a god. And are men not governed by their dreams?" He moved around the room as Rodrick contemplated his words.

"You've taken his vestments? The ruby, the pouch and the helm? They can lend you aspects of his power, extend your lifespan, allow you to manipulate others, but you must ensure that he never escapes -"

"- The binding circle is intact." Roderick cut him off smugly.

"The circle will not be enough. You must construct a sphere of glass inside the circle to contain Dream's physical manifestation. No one must be allowed to fall asleep in his presence, no one, or he will escape into your dreams. And you don't want that. There are forced march tablets. Stimulants used to keep trench soldiers awake. See that your guards use them at all times." By this point they had made it back outside.

"Why are you helping me?" Roderick couldn't help but doubt the mysterious stranger who claims to want to help him.

"Well, you could say that he made me what I am today, and if he ever gets free, he could take it all away." So, the man was doing it for his own selfish gain, trapping another to preserve his own livelihood, that, Roderick could understand.

"We're being observed." He through a rock into the trees and a raven - the same one that had flew from Dream when he had been captured. "Well, you'll have to deal with that one. Her name is Jessamy, she belongs to him."