I've been toying with this idea for awhile now. Seemed like two settings that fit remarkably well together. The plot isn't exactly mind blowing but solid I believe. The story itself is just to get me back into the habit of writing.

I've typed the first couple chapters but only have the first one really ironed out. I'd like to get another pair of eyes on it before I drop it all on the boards. If anybody is game send me a pm. I'm still getting Dresden's character nailed down but I think its coming along nicely.

The story takes place between White Night and Small Favor in the Dresdenverse. It will be written from Harry's point of view with cameos from Sandman characters to introduce key plot points and antagonists. The Sandman timeline is to where Daniel Hall is the current incarnation of Dream.

Obviously constructive criticism is the goal. I've been an avid Dresden Files fan for quiet sometime (but I could probably use a series reread before the next book) and I just picked up the Sandman graphic novels a month or so ago so my knowledge of it is a little weaker.

If anybody has an hour or so to spare I'd love to have a Beta reader. I'd like to get at least one other set of eyes on it before I put it up. Thanks.

 

I'll take a look if you don't mind some feedback re:Sandman, which I know quite well.

 

Well, I love the Sandman and the Dresden Files and have read everything on both, but suppose the main question is what exactly Harry's involvement does to the Sandman setting. I mean, no offense to Harry, but these are guys that are hilariously beyond Harry and everyone and thing he's ever met combined, with the possible exception of Uriel. And unlike Uriel, the Endless can fuck around as they wish with no real worries.

(Also, Lucifer is free and walking the Earth...or maybe not. In which case God may be dead and may have been replaced by a young girl, while Micheal is just dead.)

 

Like I said, it takes place mostly within Dresden's perview. The plot takes the power level down of Harry's real threat. I agree- all the Endless are all increadbly beyond anything Harry's dealt with. I'd postulate that the Summer and Winter queens and the Elking might be comparable. But still, it is made pretty clear that the Endless are greater even than gods. Honestly I'm using the Sandman series as a supplement to fuel a Dresden story. I might try to write more into how the Endless are reacting to all this but that would be a big jump in skill for something I was just kind of doing to get back into writing. I'm still working on how Dresden sounds in my head when I write him.

 

People don't have to directly go against the Endless though. It can be about interaction and so forth. Shakespeare. Orpheus. The previously human/mortal baby becoming Dream. Emperor Andrew Joshua Norton.

The seers, prophets and oracles that apparently come through Destiny's garden and glance at his book before forgetting the entire experience except for their vision or foretelling.

... And even then, there was that time when Dream was summoned and bound by mortals, and lost his tools. So they're not exactly un-affectable.

And while it seems the Endless are more free to act... You still have Destiny being inscrutable, mysterious, and probably completely bound up in doing his stuff. You have Death being dutiful about the psychopomp-ness of her job. Dream was fairly serious and focused.

What Destruction did reminds me of what was said about the Dragons in the Dresden Files; how these Asiatic divine beings oversaw parts of the world, and that eventually were sort of upstaged by humanity.


When the Endless mess around, they don't necessarily do it by fucking with their own domain. (Exceptions exist of course, but usually if pandemonium occurs its because something interfered with the Endless, rather than the Endless deciding to make everybody not-die, or unable to dream, or unable to want anything, etc.)

When they meddle, they take a more personal hand in things. Which would probably play out kinda like Uriel or Mab going around to do things; they don't just smash things willy-nilly.

But... the Endless ARE less bound than Uriel or Mab. Mab can't harm those not of Faerie or who have nothing to do with the Nevernever... Uriel can't even act outside his role and thus any manipulating or interacting he does, is done strictly as part of his duties.

The Endless can go out and do things other than what their domain involves. They can "take the first step," so to speak -- in that they can be the ones to start something. Those are a big, important differences I imagine.

 

Dresden Dragons (capital D) were a mite more powerful than beings who only counted parts of Earth as their domain.

 

Good things the Endless aren't like that. They're the embodiment of Universal concepts. Death is literally death, for everyone and everything, and not just conventional beings. Same with Dream and the others. There was a story in Endless Nights (I think) set a few billion years in which it was discussed how the Endless held sway over other personifications: Despair was responsible for the Destruction of Krypton, the Earth's Sun went to Dream to plead with him for the planets surrounding it to awake from their dreams and gain life, the Stars gave thanks to Destruction, whose responsible for their existence, Death showed up to a party of every personification in the Universe, shrugged once, and left, because she didn't really care what they all decided--all things came to her in time. She's also be canonically stated to be the last thing around at the end, because the Death of the Universe is another of her jobs.

On that note:

No. They really aren't. Neither are the Dragon's, honestly, since they're only a bit stronger then the Queens and were apparently dethroned by Humanity with Humanity even knowing or trying.

 

I agree with the Endless being stronger. The queens and elking powers are restricted. I just mean they sit pretty much at the same table. The Endless would obviously be feared and respected, but they are known.

 

We only have about 10,00 stories about humanity beating humans, we (vanilla) obviously have no idea that we dethroned them.

 

I'd call the Mothers as their peers, since they seem to be basically all powerful within their respective domains. Jim has compared their orders to gravity; you don't obey because you want to, you just do.

 

Chapter One: Deja Vu Daydreaming

Tweeking it some more, thought I'd get a bit more mass imput after a few targeted reads. Hopefully I can get the next chapter up shortly which will fill in the plot a tad more. Right now there are just a lot of questions and threats.

~~~~~~​

I could hear the clicking of talons on the walls and ceilings through the building. It was dark but I knew the Red Court had finally caught up with me- no, with us. Murphy, Thomas, Molly, Susan and even Mouse were trapped in the room as well.

Some fool I was that I managed to start an entire war with a ruling faction of the vampires and the White Council. Harry Dresden, regular wizard P.I. based out of Chicago, and I wasn’t sure how we could make it out of this mess.

Hideous screeches and feral growls were coming from just past the door; fear seemed to inflate inside of my stomach as they moved closer. Actions needed to be taken. Standing to my full height I turned towards the door. There was a brief second of dooming silence before the door buckled and snapped free of its frame, exploding inward-

-and I bolted awake, sitting straight up in bed. Breathing in rapid, shallow pants I pushed the brief flash of terror and adrenaline aside. Looking around my basement apartment it was still dark, probably three or four in the morning, but I could still hear the muffled sound of sirens fading into the night. Chicago was always making noise.

It took me a full three seconds to notice something was odd. There was too much pressure in the room. Not a physical thing, but a push on the spiritual level. So much that even my not so fine tuned spidey-wizard senses were buzzing. It was a heavy sensation that comes with a certain amount of presence. My eyes, still sluggish from sleep, racked focus to the foot of the bed, where I picked out two pin points of light, almost like a pair of the brightest stars plucked straight from the night sky. The more I concentrated the more defined the shape in front of me became. It was a tall figure, as tall as myself. It was cloaked in a deeper darkness than the rest of the room, supernatural power radiated from the intruder.

Quickly I scrambled away from the stranger, hitting the floor and turning to face it. Flinging sleep from my mind, adrenaline pulsed through my body and with haste bordering on panic I flung up a passable shield, light leaking lazily from the bracelet that served as my focus.

With a little light permeating the darkness the stranger standing in my bedroom grew even weirder. A pale man, with sharp and gaunt features stared back at me. A cloak the color of pitch fell from his shoulders in a solid wall that gathered on the floor and seemed to churn in a seething mass of flame. The flames glowed only dimly and flickered between shapes of screaming faces twisted in agony and silently laughing skulls.

Before I could ask the flurry of questions buzzing through my mind or utter the incantation that was already on the tip of my tongue, the supernatural presences spoke.

“You seem surprised to see me again, Roderick. But after what you did to me and in turn the world, you could not have thought you had seen the last of me. I have come to offer you a deal.”

Dark and Empty. Not only did it seem some impressively powerful dark entity had somehow snuck past my wards and into my bedroom but it had me confused for someone else, holding some kind of grudge I’m reasonably certain I didn’t deserve. I never did have the best luck for this crap. Trying to be as intimidating as possible while still in pajamas, I had to somehow diffuse the situation, “I don’t know who you are or who this Roderick is but this has nothing to do with me.”

“Do not trifle with me further, wizard. You are in my realm now and you will do as I say or suffer nightmares for as long as your feeble heart will continue to pump blood through your veins.”

The creature slowly started creeping towards Harry around the bed, trailing flames behind him. On he spoke, “I am no longer inside that weak chalk construction but am free to roam your sleeping mind. You should not take the Lord of Dreams so lightly.”

I had just about had enough and was about to start in with a few choice threats of my own before opening a can of whoop ass on this wanna-be goth headcase. This was my bedroom and if somebody was going to make threats it was going to be the half naked wizard who lived there, not some lost demonic tourist.

Putting a bit more juice into my ward, even more light came from the shield bracelet. The shield itself was noticeable now, and this so called ‘Lord of Dreams’ was about to run straight into it. Raising my right hand, I closed my fist and focused energies into it. The dark figure stopped just short of my ward, which was continuing to gain strength, and tilted his head to one side.

A smile crept on to my face. It’s nice to see hard work pay off these days. Clearly this guy didn’t know who he had so rudely woken up. Taking advantage of the silence I made an attempt at a threat, hoping the thing scared easier than its bravado would imply.

“Now leave before I start sending parts of you back to whatever hell you came from.”

The pale looking man paused for a second and I was hopeful that he might just take me up on the offter. However the stranger just smiled and his eyes twinkled all the more. Puckering his lips, the shadow puffed out a short breath, just enough to put out a candle… and my shield collapsed, the will I was forcing on the energy to maintain the wall just fell apart, refusing to be put back together.

The figure started gliding even closer and this time I didn’t hesitate to put a blast of pure force through the intruder’s face. Extending my right hand, I released the gathered magic in a bolt. But the energy just faded away into the air.

“Enough, Roderick. This silly magic-making will get you nowhere now. You will help me in this endeavor whether you want to or not. And you will succeed or be stuck in those nightmares you fight so hard to wake from every night, but indefinitely.”

Thoughts were running back and forth in my head. Clearly whatever this thing was I was outmatched here. Time. I needed to buy time to better understand what I was dealing with and how it could be put down, or somehow slow it down enough to get clear and regroup. Per usual, my mouth started running, attempting to give my mind time to put a plan together.

“Hold on. I am Harry Dresden, Warden of the White Council and I get threats all the time, but usually they know who I am. Who are you and what do you want?”

The pale face sneered and his eyes flashed to bright red points. “I am the Lord of Dreams, one of the Seven, Morpheus, Oneiros and other names forgotten. You have taken my tools from me and I will have them returned. Retrieve them for me and after we will consult our relationship again. Maybe you will escape with your sanity.”

Screams filled the room and I started to fall.

Suddenly, I was sitting straight up in my bed again. My room was empty. Just the usual boring bedroom pieces. Another nightmare. They were coming more and more frequently. But that was the first time a completely new monster was giving me sleepless nights. Usually I had plenty of supernatural threats to fill my dreams without having to invent new ones.

Turning on the light it was clear the room was empty. Sirens were once again fading into the background of the early morning. Well, no sense in trying for more sleep. I doubt I would get any if I tried. Shuffling for my bathroom I mentally prepared for the cold shower that always greeted me. Perk of being a wizard I suppose.

After the refreshing wash and shave I pulled on some comfortable jeans for the day ahead. It was probably still dark out. I turned to fetch a shirt from my closest.

And was greeted once again by a supernatural entity standing at the foot of my bed. This thing was very similar to that which had visited me in my dream. It was tall, with sharp features and a long cloak, a shaggy head of hair and those same eyes. Eyes that were like points of light far off in the distance that you knew were so very bright if you got closer. However as similar as it seemed, it was also starkly different. Where the thing in my dream was dark, black and horrifying, this was bright, white and warm.

I wasn’t going to be lulled into a false sense of security just because this intruder wasn’t as overtly scary. If anything it put me more on edge. Already focusing the energy necessary for a fight, I thought I would get the ball rolling. “Alright. Weirdest sense of Déjà vu. Now, who are you?”

The tall, white stranger smiled. “Harry Dresden, you look tired. Not sleeping well lately?”

This guy was already irritating. “No, not particularly, but that’s not new. And you haven’t answered my question and seeing as you are in my home I will have my questions answered.” I really was starting to get angry. The lack of sleep had left me with a short fuse. And when beings not from this world, which reek of power, swing by for a house call it pays to not blow up on them.

The stranger chuckled. “Yes. I shall answer your questions. A great deal of this is my problem, but it seems you will be taking part regardless. Therefore I will be as courteous and helpful as possible. Please make yourself comfortable. There is a story involved and I will try and make it concise but as informative as possible.”

Dark and empty, I hated getting drug into supernatural struggles that really did not concern me. A groan of displeasure almost slipped out before I could stop it. I really could use some time off. I leaned against my bathroom door frame. “Go ahead. But let’s start with introductions. You already know me, so I’d like to know just who you are.”

“Of course. I am Daniel. But that is merely a name. You really wish to know who I am. I am Dream, one of the Seven Endless.”

That title seemed ominous. “Hello, Daniel. I’d say it’s nice to meet you, but I really don’t have it in me. Why are you here?”

“You know Harry, you really are far less grumpy when you’re getting a good amount of sleep.”

I snorted. “Yes, I probably am, but I keep getting wake up calls from people claiming to be Dream.”

That raised one of Daniel’s eyebrows. “I am not the first Dream to come calling on you?”

I nodded, still not feeling particularly talkative.

“My apologies, Harry. I meant to get here before it did. Time is running short then. You must listen to me. You are in grave danger, along with this fine city of yours. If you don’t succeed in the tasks I give you, you will surely lose what little sanity you have maintained over these long years and Chicago’s citizens will alternate between years of insomnia or months of pure nightmare, where dreams walk in reality and waking up will not provide escape.”

This really was perfect. Only I would wake up to this. “Fine. Lay it on the table. Explain what is so vital to my continued sanity and Chicago itself.”

Daniel barely paused to gather his thoughts. “We Endless are immortal you see. But that does not mean we don’t suffer… changes. Not long ago I took on a new persona, shedding the old Dream and becoming a new incarnation of the Endless. Morpheus, my predecessor, did not go into the void as quietly as some. He has clawed back into the material plane. I’m sure you are familiar with ghosts, in fact I know you are. But to call this apparition a ghost… well that would be a mistake. Humans can create malign spirits. Some have power. Even demons have spiritually resonated into the physical world causing much grief. But Morpheus was no human. Nor was he a demon. He was more. Mountains erode, civilizations crumble and even gods are forgotten. But we Endless are the forces that drive and thrive on sentience. Our power is not determined by whim or fancy. This shade is more dangerous than any other this world has ever seen. And this is why I need your help, Harry.”

Daniel quieted. Thankfully. I was already having trouble wrapping my head around this but it didn’t seem like he was close to being done. Abruptly, Daniel turned and stared at the far corner of my bedroom.

“Time is shorter than I feared. You must find three items.”

Holding up his right hand, Daniel focused on his palm. “First, a ruby of great power and beauty.” A blood red ruby appeared in his hand. “I think it will help to know that the last time this was lost a madman had taken it to pursue his own devices.” Daniel closed his hand, the ruby disappeared and sand leaked from his clenched fist. Turning, he strode to my bedroom door.

“Wait!” I was losing my mind. Obviously this guy meant business but how could I tell any of this was legitimate.

Glancing over his shoulder, he looked at me again with those eyes that so resembled stars from the night sky. “Good luck, Harry. We will be in contact soon. A day or three. Remember, there is great risk involved for everybody in your quest. But also great reward should you succeed.”

With that he opened my bedroom door. But he did not step into my living room, but past the threshold was pure darkness. Disappearing into the impenetrable gloom, Daniel closed the door behind him with such force that the bang startled me-

And I woke up drooling on my pillow and staring at my alarm clock. As I rolled over, an audible groan welled up inside me.

"Mother fu-"

The cacophony of my alarm bell filled the room. Sometimes I really hated my job.

~~~~~~​

So I've still got to work on my Harry characterization. I'm a wiseass in person but I always feel weird writing somebody elses character, especially such a well defined and comical one. I've got the plot rolling really nicely in my head, but if something doesn't make sense please let me know. There's a chance it's not suppose to be clear right now and will be touched on later, but it's also likely I've completely wiffed on something and I'm being a dumbass.

Edit: and I'll move this to the Dresden Work By next chapter I guess.​

 

According to the DF verse, dream can be sometimes accessed via the never never, a world with in a world.
So something useful, an ability to walk dreams, to be able to make things sleep. sort of how lea made susan's vampire half slumber. i totally see harry making people sleep, either the clueless humans as he investigates, or the bad guys as he messes with them
So I bet the items are the ruby, a helm and a bag of sand. the stone warps reality, the sand causes sleep, releases dreams, while helm offers magical protection.

 

Mmmm...no. This really doesn't sound like Morpheus at all. Besides the fact that he went to his grave peacefully and willingly (something which had been built up and executed beautifully over the course of the series), he's really not one for melodrama like this. Or sneering. Or such blatant shows of power.

 

I'll consider toning it down but the point to be made is that this Morpheus isn't really the Morpheus from the series but a shade/ghost that's just cycling through scenes from his life. Honestly, he's not even a ghost in how I imagine it. It's more like the idea or concept of so much power, like Morpheus, would leave residual imprints in reality, almost like memories. And in Dresden, memories are what fuel a ghost. And with these memories feeding off of Dream (an entity we all agree is an extreme heavy weight in terms of power) these remarkable few or even weak memories are impacting reality (specifically Chicago and its magical population) in dangerous and real ways.

Thinking on it though he could do a lot better with Morpheus-like tendencies. I could keep writing a little confused and off so he still appears as calm and less erratic and overtly chaotic in some ways. I was also trying to pick up on the nightmare setting off it all.

As for the blatant magic, it's just got to be there. This is a much more Dresden centric flick so Butchers material is going to influence Gaimans usual atmosphere. That's what makes crossovers so good.

 

Hrm. Well, it could be that, when the old Morpheus was changing for the better... obviously a change involves some things being lost, or traded in, or removed...

So maybe what you have here, are some of the "discarded" parts. The pieces that the old Morpheus had shucked off; the ones he felt were not worth keeping, that his new incarnation would be better off without.

So the spectre would be made of... basically whatever faults, weaknesses, or qualities Morpheus had considered undesireable and had resolved to correct or change.

But now they've somehow, kindof kludged together an existence. Could be they did it on their own. Could be somebody else is making am ambitous play -- or it could just be Desire messing around again, thinking it'd be funny to animate the remnants and see what they end up wanting to do.

 

The problem is, there was never any point in Morpheus life where he was like this. As I said before, he doesn't showboat or threaten or sneer or anything like that, ever. We've seen him angry, we've seen him threatened, we've seen him afraid, but he was never like this.

Um, no they aren't? Ghosts are fueled by the emotion of the person who died and the magic released by their death, which haunt something, generally focusing on whatever killed them, though they don't have to.

Which...does nothing to explain why Daniel--or better yet, Death--wouldn't pimpslap it in a million of a nanosecond once it started tarnishing Dream's legacy and memory.

Even if it made any sense for it to act this way, considering the circumstances and Dream's death (and, hell, Death's personal involvement).

Which it doesn't.

Not...really. At all. Even in Dresden, the big dogs really don't feel any need for blatant showboating or anything, because they know they're hardcore and so does everyone else. That's the thing with Dream--he doesn't need to rip the nightmares out of your mind and set them after you in the real world or lock you forever in a dream hell or put you in a bottle forever to amuse himself.

He can, of course, effortlessly, but he doesn't need to. Because he's one of the baddest motherfuckers around and the only person around who can talk down to him is Lucifer, literally the second strongest being in existence (tied with Michael and maybe Death) and only because God is in first place. He's the scary as hell and everyone knows it--or they should know it, and if they're stupid enough not too, that their fault, not his.

If for some reason, this was Dream's 'ghost' and he was acting like this for some inexplicable, incomprehensible reason, and he did go to Dresden for some equal mysterious reason, then there would be a polite exchange in which Dream would likely offer a reasonable (or perhaps even extremely large, because what is money to the Dream King? Every greedy man's dream there ever was fills his coffers and he can make it real easily enough).

If he was turned down, then he'd probably either: A) shrug and walk away or B) cause a brief display of power that makes it clear who he is and why you should shut the hell up and listen to him, which would likely last only a few seconds, which would nonetheless probably the worst few seconds of Harry's life, because Dream can be ridiculously cruel, when he wants to be, though still equally calm.

But honestly, it would probably never come to that.

(Also, why would 'ghost' Dream go to Rodrick of all people if he was doing something like this. Rodrick was a powerless man of very advanced age back in the...70's? He was probably dead before Dream was and is useless in an investigation besides. Even if Dream somehow mistook Harry for the guy, why go to him about this. He should just go to Constantine if he needs some help finding shit. Or hell, he could ask his sister for help, like she scolded him for not doing last time. Or a million other things besides.)

 

You aren't understanding me, I don't think. He isn't really a ghost at all. It isn't Morpheus' soul walking around terrozing people because he thinks he is alive. The power behind the event that took Dream hostage way back when, the consequences to the Dreamworld, Earth and Morpheus caused a sort of imprint in reality. This imprint is acting like a memory. It isn't host to person or demon or whatever. It is like the memory of history itself. An event of such magnitude that it literally kidnaps one of the seven essential aspects of the universe and this event has left a heavy mark in the world.

I would wager and say something like this has happened before. Some big bad super powerful event between powerful entities leaves a trace. However there isn't anything to them because they have no power, no emotion, nothing to go on and continue to affect the world. But this specific sequence has a power source. It is still teniously connected to the power that is Dream. Which, as you have been so kind to point out, is nearly limitless when we compare it to the power levels we commonly see in Dresden. Now because of this, Daniel can't really do much about it. Just as Morpheus was helpless against Doc Dee in Preludes. And Death can't just destroy a piece of Dream. That would completely ruin the balance of the universe. It must be bargained with and controlled in a way that isn't direct confrontation.

Please go read Ghost Story again. Memoriesplay a bigger role in Ghost lore than you are giving credit. Memories contain emotions surrounding that event. Which lay the ground work for this pseudo-ghost of Morpheus.

Are you saying a puff of breath to put out a shield from pseudo-Morpheus and Daniel making the illusion of a ruby is too much magic? Maybe a tad too much flair but not even that much.

Really I think the sneer from the fake Morpheus put you in the wrong mood for the story. I'm more than willing to go through and re-write Morpheus, because I agree with you that he could use a few more of his traits through the story, but you're going to have a little cross over in genre. We'll just have to disagree on how much affect each set material has on each other. Like I said, it is going to be much more Dresden heavy through the fic.