The Empty World | The Empty World Sequence [complete | rewriting]

Deleted Scenes: One (Draft 2.7)

Morpheus woke in Sleep. Having been spoken into being, he existed.

Created knowing, he had memories passed to him by his creators.

Morpheus had a mother. Her name was Opium. He knew places she had lived: Dream, Bóinne, Sleep, Los Angeles, and Limbo. Two of those were in The Empty World.  Her mother, Morpheus' grandmother, had been born there.

Morpheus didn't know his grandmother's name.

It seemed natural that Morpheus call his second parent Father. He did more or less prefer masculine pronouns. His father had many names, but the easiest for Morpheus to say was Sleep.

The language that would be American was his mother tongue.

Morpheus shared that and his parents with his sister.

Maya had been spoken into being alongside him. They were twins. Newly created and still half delirious, Morpheus gazed at her. Her dark eyes passed over him, scanning the room.

Morpheus noticed for the first time that the dim bed chamber was filled with people. Angels and Half-angels. Radiant yet dark as night, a few bright in color, and others pale like cave fauna, but with few exceptions cloaked in black.

Family.

"Morpheus." His father's voice was soft, like one who wouldn't wake a soul.

Sleep beckoned Morpheus onto his couch.

At the center of the chamber was the couch that served as Sleep's bed and throne: an ebony base covered by cushions made of silk extruded by small creatures and trimmed in black plumes that glinted green and violet.

Morpheus felt his Mother's hands along his arm, guiding him onto the couch.

They seated Maya beside him. Morpheus reached for her long black hair; the skin of his arm was white while her skin was blue.

There was blue in his hair. Morpheus knew without viewing himself, in the same way he knew they both had their mother's eyes.

When Morpheus concentrated on Maya's appearance, his own appearance changed. His black wings shifted into an extra pair of arms. The hair on his head darkened and lengthened. His flesh shifted to mimic her form, down to each piece of silver jewelry.

Once he stopped concentrating on their similarity, Morpheus shifted back to his native form.

"So many," Maya said.

"It's OK," Mother said, her voice higher than the others. "They're here to meet you."

The most highly ranked Angels came forward first. Morpheus nearly swooned from their presence and reached for Maya's closest hand to hold it.

They presented gifts and gave their preferred names, but Morpheus could barely keep track of them all: tall Angels with elaborate wings, others the medium-sized and colorful, smaller pale ones.

There was a break in the procession as Sleep spoke quietly from behind Morpheus to thank these high-ranking Princes and Archons for their visit.

Afterward came a procession of Angels and Half-angels cloaked in black: the Children of Night. Cousins, aunts, uncles, and more distant relations were all descendants of Leliel, Angel of Night and Arch Regent of the Night Regions in which they dwelt.

Grandfather Leliel himself was absent.

The last of this family group were Sleep's sons, half-brothers to Morpheus and Maya. Morpheus flinched at the one carrying a snake. There were ninety-eight....