AN: Hello everybody! I don't know if you have noticed or not, but I have deleted Finding Love because I felt my writing quality didn't meet what I felt I should write like. So, if enough of you guys want me to rewrite it, I might. But, I'm writing this one for now and I'm trying a new writing style. Tell me if you like it. Enjoy! :)
DISCLAIMER: The rights of PJO belong to Rick Riordan.
You all remember Morpheus as the traitor in the Second Titan War. But what exactly happened in his story? Right after the Giant War, delve into the time of the Dreamweaver. Children had bedtime tales all about him. He was loved everywhere. He was known as the Dreamweaver.
Contrary to popular belief, you dreams aren't made of your own thoughts. Instead, they are made of the intricate workings of one specific, powerful person. The Dreamweaver. Every night, he sends these dreams to the receiver. He spends all day working carefully, making sure the dream is perfectly fit for anyone, from mortals to gods.
There used to be no such thing as a nightmare. The Dreamweaver was born through kindness from his mother, Pasithea, the goddess of relaxation, and peace from his father, Hypnos, the god of sleep.
The Dreamweaver used these positive attributes through his work, carefully and painstakingly putting together the dream. Everyone knew him, but this was many eons ago. Everyone loved him, but this was many eons ago. But now, barely anyone even heard of him. And those who did, despised him.
The story started with the Dreamweaver being the highlight of many people's lives. Their only escape from reality was the utopian society the Dreamweaver created.
A young girl, at the age of 7, was bullied at her school. She was outstandingly smart and excelled at her studies, therefore, people envied her. They taunted her, even saying she cheated in every test, every homework assignment, every piece of work.
A first grader cannot handle the pain of no friends. The pain of isolation. The pain of hatred. These mental insults drove her crazy. Slowly, day by day, her mind went insane. No one noticed because they couldn't care less. But her teachers did. Her grades dropped from A's to F's. She got a steady amount of 0's.
Her parents weren't kind to her. Even when she had straight 100's, her parents grounded her from any games the other children played. She wasn't allowed to go outside. She stayed home studying, even though she already knew the material.
But when her mind went insane, her parents hit her for the first time. Her dad took off his belt and slapped her. Right across the face. Her eyes burned with tears, her cheek red. Her dad hardened his gaze and continued hitting her. Her cheeks were safe because anyone would've noticed what is happening at home.
Her dad targeted her ribs, back, sides, and stomach. They were filled with scratches, where anyone would flinch looking at it. Even when they were swollen red, her dad kept going. The little girl cried and cried, but her parents ignored her. You may wonder what turned out for this girl, but she just thought to escape. Instead of shutting her down, the beatings woke her up from insanity.
Just when she was planning her escape, sleep overcame her, exhaustion shown in her beautiful facial features. Her bright blue eyes which used to be filled with hope were now dull and painful. But, when she fell asleep, she fell into the realm of the Dreamweaver.
The Dreamweaver noticed, so he quickly set to work, creating the perfect utopian society for the young girl. He learned the girl's name was Lily, a sweet name.
Lily's perfect world was where her parents cared for her. They never beat her, but instead, they comforted her, hugged her, and gave her love. She lived peacefully and it was here that she calmed down. The last remains of insanity were wiped from her mind. For the first time in a really long period of time, she smiled. Lily smiled.
But this sweet world was over as soon as it came. The Dreamweaver had to be careful about dreams because if a person was in a dream for more than 16 hours, they would be stuck forever. The Dreamweaver grew angry, as many more children had fates similar to Lily's.
Evil parents were everywhere, not giving their child a hint of love. The Dreamweaver had a scheme. He told himself, he must get revenge. He had anger boiling in him for centuries, but Lily was the final straw.
The Dreamweaver wasn't going to work hard for an evil society. He grew furious, and one night, he made a scheme. And it was at this time, the first nightmare was made.
This nightmare was sent directly to Lily's dad. The very first dystopian society, weaved by Morpheus. He let his anger control him, and spent hours forming the perfect revenge for Lily. It may have been by a good heart, but when controlled by anger, it can become dangerous.
Lily's dad, Gabe, was tossing and turning in the bed. Delving into his dystopian society, you'll see horrors that no one would wish to experience. Gabe watched as a line of other parents that was the cause of child abuse run through cactus, screams echoing throughout the whole room.
Soon enough, it was Gabe's turn. Metal arms stretched toward him, slowly, as if taunting him. Gabe tried running in the other direction, but two more metal arms chased after. He was caught between the metal arms and they closed in one him. They ripped off his shirt and dropped him into the cactus maze.
His shrieks seemed to be able to be heard throughout the world. But even louder was Morpheus's evil laugh, enjoying Gabe's shrieks of pain.
And this is where Morpheus realized his love for nightmares. The other parents who committed child abuse were put through this same course.
You may think Gabe is finished with his punishment, but it is far from over. Looking beyond the cactus mazes, there were salt water pools, needle beds, lava pools, ice cabinets, and much much more. Morpheus savored the screams of torture and continued his quest for revenge.
Gabe and the other parents will never wake up the same. But you may wonder what caused Morpheus to not go by the Dreamweaver anymore. Well, he never made peaceful dreams anymore, so he claimed his power over nightmares under the name of Morpheus, god of nightmares, not dreams.
Then, you may wonder if Morpheus ever made nice dreams for Lily. Unfortunately, he let his thirst for pain and torture rule his mind, and Morpheus himself will never be the same. The love of the Dreamweaver. Is. Over.
**TIME SKIP 500 YEARS**
"Perseus! How's your training?"
The son of Poseidon was expected from his parents to master archery, and to even keep up with the goddess Artemis. His dad, Poseidon, bet with Artemis that Perseus could tie with Artemis is an archery competition.
Euryale, his mother, was the Princess of Crete, so was not able to spend time with him at all. Perseus often felt lonely, as a 12 year old always loves to play around with friends.
Perseus lived by himself, in the woods. He was very rarely visited by his father, who liked checking on his archery. Poseidon gave up hope training his son himself, but it appears he doesn't need to.
Perseus was a very unique son of Poseidon. He had the skill of archery, where most other half siblings were embarrassed by the fact they couldn't even hit the target. Perseus on the other hand could hit bulls-eye and split arrow after arrow.
"Hey dad! I've managed to split 128 arrows this time!"
Poseidon chuckled," You must get your skill from your mother. I couldn't even hit the target!"
Suddenly, the smile dropped from Perseus's face, "Father, today, I ran across a trap."
Poseidon raised an eyebrow," Have you never seen one before?"
Perseus lowered his head," Yes, but not one that belonged to the Hunters of Artemis."
Poseidon's eyes widened. Ever since he had made that bet, Artemis had been keen on watching young Perseus's skill and training. Finding one of their traps meant they're nearby. It could never mean a good thing.
An angelic laughter echoed through the clearing," You're right, boy. And you should be worried. As if a boy could even manage to beat my youngest hunter, let alone me."
Perseus smirked. He wondered why Artemis always seemed to appreciate bragging in front of him, since she never did to anyone else. It was usually: You're a boy. You must turn into a jackalope.
Artemis glared at him, probably reading his mind.
"If you think I'm just bragging, let's have the competition right now."
Artemis smiled evilly, as if planning what Poseidon must pay for the bet.
Perseus lined up two targets, 200 meters away. Artemis called out," You're such a weak boy. Move it farther! 200 meters is too close!"
Perseus glared at her, not caring that she was an Olympian. He moved the targets to 500 meters away. He stopped when he saw Artemis smiling satisfactory.
Perseus reached toward his necklace, which had a little trident, sword, and bow. He tugged on the bow charm and a gorgeous, sea green bow appeared in his hands.
He got into shooting position and declared," Artemis, still think it's too close? This seems too easy."
Artemis glared and snarled," No matter if you move the target or not, I'm still going to beat you, boy."
Both raised their bows, stocked with 100 arrows. They shot arrow after arrow, to where a mortal wouldn't be able to even see the arrows. Artemis was furious that the boy could keep up with her in speed. Oh well, she'll still beat him in the number of bulls-eye shots.
Half a minute later, all the arrows were on the board. Every single arrow on Artemis's target was right on the black center. She smirked proudly. She even split all but one. She wouldn't admit it if anyone asked her, but she had hesitated when she glanced at Perseus.
He had raven hair, messy to a point where it can be unbearable. But in a good way. To where you want to just mess it up even further with your bare hands. His eyes seemed to be black holes, threatening to pull you in.
They were sea green, a deep ethereal sea green. You could practically see any emotion he is feeling. Even though he is smiling brightly, Artemis could see the loneliness he felt everyday.
His cheekbones were well refined, showing off his handsome facial features. His lips were shaped into a smile, one that could make any normal girl melt. But Artemis wasn't a normal girl. She may have the tiniest spark within her heart, but she wouldn't admit it, even to herself.
Artemis was interrupted from her thoughts when Perseus cleared his throat. He was looking mischievous, so Artemis looked over at his target.
To her utter surprise, Perseus had split every single arrow. Which means. She. Lost. The. Bet.
Poseidon stood nearby, laughing heartily," And would you listen to Artemis brag. Well niece, what should I force you to do?"
Artemis scowled," Just hurry and say it."
Poseidon had an evil glint in his eye," Why, niece, I know the perfect punishment for your bragging. You have to let Perseus here stay in your hunt after you tell your hunters about your loss. Now, I have installed an empathy link between him and my personal satyr. Don't make me punish your hunters."
Perseus shrieked," Dad! Why are you making me stay with the hunters? They'll kill me in my sleep!"
Artemis glared at him," Uncle, neither of us want him to join the hunt. Why would you even suggest that?"
Poseidon glared back," Because I want to see your pride lowered a notch. I'm tired of your constant bragging. In fact, you hide Apollo's talent by insulting him every second of our lives!"
Artemis was boiling mad," Fine then! But don't expect us to talk to him! And he'll be doing all of our chores!"
Poseidon smirked," Empathy link, remember? He better be treated nicely, and the real reason I want him there is because he needs to work on his knife combatting. He mastered the bow and sword already."
Artemis narrowed her eyes," But he has to teach us sword fighting then."
Perseus spoke up," Don't I get a say in this? Father, I can teach them, as long as they promise to listen to what I say during training."
Both Olympians looked at Perseus, then sighed," Alright."
Unknown to the males, Artemis had a spark of happiness deep within her heart at the thought of Perseus staying with the hunt.
Perseus just hoped the hunters won't torture him because Morpheus may use that to his advantage. Perseus didn't need any nightmares at this time.
Perseus sighed. Poseidon had the old Nereus give him immortality, but Perseus wasn't a god. He'd need Zeus's permission.
Perseus had lived long enough to know he tales of the Dreamweaver and sighed. Why couldn't he have sweet, pleasant dreams?
AN: 5 pages, you guys! You should feel proud! One of the longest chapters I've ever written, and especially since this is only the prologue. Hope you enjoyed this!