The World Smith and the Dream Wyrm

Before the time of creation, before even time itself, they sat in halls of silver and of steel: a huge Smith and a Dragon of dreams. Alone in all that vastness and in all that space they dwelled, one singing forever and the other dreaming forever.

The Smith would sing his songs of swords and of armour and the mighty wyrm would dream them up, the Smith hammering on his anvil by the rhythm of the heart.

This cycle progressed for eons until the halls of silver and of steel were full of bountiful things, until finally he grew bored of his labours. So one day he set to work and sang quietly of a new thing, a world, a universe no less. With stars and planets, and though he sang quietly to himself, the ancient Dragon, his companion, had since the beginning heard the worlds and the quickening of the mallet on the anvil.

What the Dragon heard, the Dragon made and the world was no longer a song, but a reality. The Smith looked upon the world from his halls of silver and of steel and was amazed.

Many eons had passed and the Smith started to sing a different song, a song of living things like himself and his companion of old. So he sang a song of dragons and of men and Elves, and so they came to pass.

And in days so long ago, he sang of food and fire, of sleep and the getting of the children, and the world was a peaceful place, full of those who mirrored themselves on their creators. Of plants and animals and finally he created those things, that were more like himself, more than any of the other of his children, and so came the Dwarves to their halls of stone, smithing and mining, making and singing.

The world turned and turned again, and all loved the life given to them, and they worshipped the Worldsmith, for that is what they had named he who created them.

All was bliss, until slowly over many years a shadow came crawling from the void into the halls of silver and of steel. This shadow first crawled to the anvil and in a hissing voice spoke to the Worldsmith.

"Behold, I am that which you have created and yet not created", hissed the shadow, "for in your haste, to fill this vastness you have neglected the shadowlands, the void and I am its embodiment. Greetings, oh father, behold I am your fallen son." And with this, the shadow crawled over to the Dream wyrm.

At first the Worldsmith thought nothing of the shadow and did not let it worry him, until the shadow once more crawled to his forge.

"Oh, father of mine, is it not so that a child learns through watching and mimicing their parents?" the shadow asked.

The ancient Smith could only nod, for if he spoke he would surely stop his song and the world would end as it would if the might Dream wyrm should ever wake.

"Good" hissed the shadow in malicious glee. "Then know, oh father that I have listened to your song these centuries gone and I have seen how the mighty wyrm dreams them into reality.

"Know, oh Father that it is whate'er the wyrm heards that it does dream. Long have I studied you and your blissful creation, that which you saw fit to give, when I went without. And though I have not your voice with which to speak. When you sing of happiness, I shall sing of sadness and when you sing of love, I shall sing of hate and with death, fear and disease shall by my avenging angels. For all that you have done unto them and not to me, I shall mar your every song and deed.

"And lo, your first folly, you have given the children sleep to rest them from their labours and dreams that ease their minds and thusly you have created my dominion. For my first creation will be the dark dreams, the nightmares that will teach all your children fear and in their waking hours shall burn them.

"For in their sleep, this very night, all shall dream of the betrayal of a mate and a friend most dear and upon waking tomorrow death shall come to your world and shall never be undone.

"In their dreams I will teach them of lies, hate, rejection and most of all fear, thus is my Dominion made and thus I name myself Dark Dreams, Father Night, Lord of Nightmares. Here now and for ever more."

That night, before the Shadow called Dark Dreams spoke of his world, the ancient Worldsmith sang a song that robbed the first born, the Elves, of the power to sleep. Once this was done he began a similar song for the Dwarves, men and all his children, but before his song was complete, the shadow spoke and all his hopes were in vain. And as the shadow had predicted, men woke and slew their fellows and their mates, holding suspicions unfounded on anything save the Nightmares given them by the shadow. Thusly came the Dark Gods, death, fear, lies, pride, disease and many more. All to do the Shadow's will and bring woe to the world.

And though the Worldsmith created God allies of his own, the Powers, the Igi, and many others to aid him throughout all of creation, Darkdreams has been there to spread his dominion over all of creation so to seek his terrible revenge for the wrong that has nurtured his hate and given him power.