hypnopomp (epilogue)

life is but a dream

once two suns were born to

nyx goddess of night and hypnos god of sleep

the eldest was morpheus

who lived in the visions of dreamers

rising to his calling

meant someone must abandon all other paths

for the prospect of greatness

thus heroes and kings called morpheus

the destiny bringer

to accept his gift

required impossible risk

and loneliness in the midst of adoration

but to deny him - madness

then

there was phobetor

whom they called the dread crawler

for he dwelled only in nightmares

and fed on the acrid fumes of human fear

a shapeshifter

he appeared as the manifestation of terror

forcing a choice between the path of uncertainty

and the path

of mediocrity

to meet phobetor's gaze required great courage

to look away - shame

only in the grey hour

in the moments of shadow and light

will the balance of power dangle

between the destiny bringer's favor

and the dread crawler's wrath

only there

between waking and sleep

will we recognize

our true path