Having just been tricked by the Prince of Lies himself, the Sandman returns to his kingdom. His steps are heavy, his words few and short, and his mind is languishing for an answer.
“What should I do?”
You see, the Dream King does not want to own the Key of Hell. His kingdom is the Dreaming, a reflection of himself. So Hell is useless to him…but it is useless only to him.
Hell is a powerful place. The Angels call it the infinite twisted reflection of Heaven. It is endless, ruthless and unwelcoming, but it is Hell. The sound of its name alone reverberates through your body, shivering every inch of your skin, then it sinks and settles right beneath your chest as a solid emptiness where only fear resides.
And that is the power of just its name.
Within less than a day the Dream King’s palace fills with guests. Deities from various godly pantheons, and representatives of foundational constructs of the universe. All are there to portend their claim over the land of the damned. This does not excite the Dream King.
But again: one must always respect and see their responsibilities through, until the end. For that is the way of things.
He changes his casual ware into something a bit more formal, and officially welcomes his revered guests. The most notable of which are:
Each has come with his own reasons for desiring Lucifer’s cursed key, and each with his own favours to bargain. But those talks are for later on. Now, the Sandman’s guests are treated with a feast.
Every type of food (and…other things) is served, taken from the dreams of sleeping humans (for all dreams come to and from the Dreaming). The servants and maids are all dreamers, people who fantasize in their sleep about serving the divine beings.
And the gods conversing with each other is always so colourful.
One magic show later, Dream calls the end of the festivities and instructs his guests to follow the servants to their rooms. They will be summoned later to privately discuss the matter of Hell’s ownership.
Cluracan and the Faeries had already sneakily attempted to coerce the Sandman to their side. The Faeries are indebted for eternity to Hell and whoever is ruling it, so it would be in their best interest (and that of their close friends) to have Hell remain under no ruling. The Dream King did not take kindly to Cluracan’s schemish ways, but nevertheless he promised to consider the needs of the Faerie kinship when making his decision.
The night's first proper negotiation is with Odin. The norse gods are always in fear and preparation for the coming of Ragnarok, the end of all things. Since the beginning of time it has been Odin’s obsession to stop Ragnarok, but he had failed…and he failed many times. He desires Hell, for the realm is beyond the power and reach of even the end of days. There his people would be safe.
His offer: Wesley Dodds, a mortal that shares the power of dreams, and a piece of Morpheus’ soul.
Next is JeMMy, oF the sHivERIng BrIgADes oF CHaOs.
Morpheus is not impressed. So she offers him a red balloon. And walks away.
After Chaos comes Order, in the form of Lord Kilderkin.
The Lords of Order want to turn Hell into “a new realm of perfect order”, under their dominion of course. For this, they offer the Dream Essences collected over centuries from the newly dead.
The Lord Shaper feels profoundly insulted by this bribe.
Susano-O-No-Mitoko of the Nippon pantheon offers a clear business transaction. Goods, favours and a mutually beneficial partnership between the Dreaming and the Japanese pantheon. The Dream King assures him that his offer will be given the proper consideration.
The Egyptian gods send Lady Bast to barter for their cause. Her and the Dream King had been lovers in several centuries, but that does not seem to weigh heavily for him. She does not say why they want the realm, but they are offering something which Dream and his family would truly desire: information about their missing brother. Morpheus does not yet accept their offer.
The final party is that of the Demons. Azazel, their new lord and representative demands Hell be returned to them. Hell belongs to the demons and that is the way of things. Morpheus is not moved by the “moral argument” and cuts to the point: what are they offering?
The Daemon have brought 2 gifts: one is the demon Choronzon, who had impudently mocked and challenged the Dream King just 2 years previously.
The other is Nada. She is being held inside of Azazel, within the grip of one of his many sharpened mouths.
Morpheus does not waver in his judgment and sends the demon away. He will give the demon and everyone else his decision in the morning.
Azazel leaves the Dream King's chambers, whispering curses and damnations. Dream now stands alone in his room, running through the pleads and offerings of each of his guests. Fear, survival or greed; reason, bribery or family; gods, demons or fantasies?
"What should I do with this damn key!?"
The sight of it sores even his eyes that are made of stars. He lets the key fall. Maybe it will stop somewhere far.