Everyone in the village had heard the stories. Where there was Dream, the beloved and kindhearted Guardian, there was another.

Nightmare - the quiet and reserved skeleton of the two - so elusive that one wouldn't be faulted for believing he was a myth. Many stories of callous nature surrounded the Guardian of Negativity, and many saw it fit to avoid him entirely.

That's how Nightmare preferred it. The only time anyone ever came around was to bring him harm, all while Dream was none the wiser. He basked in one of his only comforts - a novel he'd been nose-deep into for many days now. It made everything much simpler, drowning the rest of the world out as he indulged in his favored genres of literature.