Corven's dreams were bizarre.
First, he found himself before a giant red volcano, spewing hot red, molten lava into an ashy sky, the smoke being used as a smokescreen to haze out a pair of gigantic, yellow, serpentine-like eyes that glowed through the haze of smoke an ash, each the size of an entire city, which only served to highlight just how big the creature they belonged to were and just how big this volcano was.
Corven couldn't see what this creature really was, nor could he get his bearings other than the field of fire and lava below the volcano he stood upon, but he could sense the chaotic maliciousness of this creature even from the spot he stood. He'd reckon he'd be able to sense its wicked, chaotic aura from hundreds of thousands of miles away. He was certain that wherever he was, he was no longer on earth — Wherever this realm was, it was not one that he's intending to go to anytime soon.
Corven looked at himself. He was a like a dark purple and black apparition. See through and transparent, like a ghost, his dream self reminded him of a spirit he'd read about in all his novels and webnovels he'd read about ghosts and whatnot. It was an intriguing notion, though he tried to focus on the giant pair of eyes before him. He wasn't sure how, but all his instincts were screaming at him to leave this creature, and he'd do it to, if he knew how.
The eyes seemed to study Corven, as if assessing him and measuring his worth — it reminded Corven of a hungry beast with an inability to sate its insatiable appetite. Everything about this being was both wrong and unnatural, both chaotic and twisted, both malicious and downright devious. If there were ever a such thing as chaos personified, this creature checked all the boxes Corven would've had for it. It was an existence of unfathomable power, of this, Corven was certain.
Then it spoke.
"So… the Great Darkness has a child," it chidded, chuckling amusingly at Corven. "An Umbrovante, if I ever smelled one. Endless Nightmother must be so proud… Through you, I'm sure she hopes to create a new race of powerful primordials, but what if I swallow you before her plans come to fruition?"
It's voice somehow didn't melt Corven's face off, but the heat it produced sure did stir the volcano before them. Corven knew he was only a dream ghost, but something about this creature just made him want to vanish from his surroundings before something unexpected happened. He wasn't sure why, nor how, but he knew probability wasn't on his side when standing before this creature. He knew that if he wasn't his dream self, but his physical self, just its voice would've burned him, cooked him tenderly from existence. The agitated lava below was a pro,e example of its power — Just its voice shook and agitated the environment around them, and Corven wasn't enthusiastic about finding out what it'd do to him physically if he were here.
"My children will com for you, boy!" it's voice shook the landscape, as it continued. "They will feed on your flesh! Your father will know grief and pain like no other before when learns of—."
"Bullshit," Corven said, interrupting the giant creature shamelessly.
"WHAT!" it sounded, enraged by Corven's audacity.
"I call bullshit," Corven cross his transparent arms, definitely. "If I'm gonna die, I'm not dying to a bunch of monsters. The fuck I look like falling to minions? The fuck! You can miss me with that bullshit and suck my dick."
"W-what?" the creature seemed even more confused.
"Wait, pause, hang on," Corven shook his head. "I don't want you to get the wrong impression. I don't swing that way, and I'm not into beastiality, by the way."
"Wha-?" the creature was speechless, before finding its voice. "I am the mighty—."
"I don't really care who the fuck you are, man," Corven interrupted, waving his hand dismissively. "If you could kill me, you would have already done it. I'd already be dead by now, so I'm guessing there's some kind of universal laws set in place, preventing you from doing so, so whoever you are must be limited within this place to follow said rules, huh?You can;t do anything to me in this dreamscape, can you?"
"You arrogant bastard! You Dare!" the creature exclaimed, rearing in anger, causing even more lava to explode from the volcano below. "I am a Chaos Primordial! You dare to speak to me in such a vulgar—."
"It sucks to suck, which I'm sure you must know all about, seeing as you are imprisoned here," Corven laughed in the face of this creature. "I take it, it was you who sent those monsters after me, huh? What a bitch you are. I, personally, of course wouldn't know anything about sucking — I'm fucking awesome. Say, how does it feel being a bitch and sucking D? It can't be that good, right?"
The being released a mighty hiss, shaking the entire realm they were in. Corven just looked indifferently at the creature, as it threw a fit. It still didn't attack Corven, which only added to his suspicions.
"Damn the Cosmic Binding laws of the Dream Realm," the creature's hissing voice sounded barely cohesive.
Corven smiled innocently at it, as it eyed him angrily. "Your days are numbered, Corven, of House Umbrovante," the creature released a terrifying pressure, causing Corven to fall to his knees and sweat fiercely. "My minions have your scent. My children will come for you, and they won't stop until your body is lying before me dead with no hope of entering the cycle of reincarnation. Of this, I promise you. They'll find you no matter where you hide. Know that your father can't keep you safe forever. When I return, so, too, will my brethren, and the Era of Chaos will begin!"
Corven felt true terror. This creature was such an asshole. He wondered how it tasted, though. Maybe, if it really is a giant snake, he could cook it and make something delicious from its corpse.
Corven shook his head. He wondered when he started to think like this.
The creature, thinking Corven was beside himself with fright, had no idea what Corven was actually thinking. It suddenly looked to the side with a far away look. "It seems your time here is fleeting. We will meet again, seed of night and darkness."
Then, like the switching of scenes in a movie, Corven's environment changed and the giant eyes vanished.
Corven stood on top a dark hill of grass dark blue in color, overlooking a fast body of water so everreaching and dark, it was reflective, blurring the lines of deep, clear water and the vibrant, starry night sky that seemed to perfectly reflect the cosmos of the deep space beyond. It reflects the sky so well, Corven couldn't tell where the sky ended and the water began.
Corven was awestruck. He felt at peace in this dark, quiet environment. There was no one there to disturb him. He felt both aware of everything in this place but also so, so, so relaxed. In a word, it was—
"Beautiful, isn't it?" a sudden voice shook Corven from his reverie, and he looked to his left to see a flock of crows and ravens flying into a cluster to form a beautiful woman whose skin seemed like the very fabric of the night sky, made of countless stars and constellations all across the curvy body of her form. Her hair was darker than oil and as lush as silk, and, from her back, she sprouted beautiful, black wings like an angel of the night, with feathers as dark as her hair and just as heavenly. She had a powerful aura, no less powerful than the serpent eyes Corven saw in his last dream, but, where that creature had a chaotic maliciousness to it, this one had a calm humming feel to it, like a soft breeze in the night sky,passing over the ocean and onto the shore.
Corven wasn't sure who this person was, but he sensed a kinship to this being. A sense that they're connected in more ways than he could possibly know to date. He felt safe around this being. And, somehow, he knew this woman was a primordial goddess… Of what? He wasn't entirely sure. But he was certain that she was quite powerful, indeed.
She just smiled at Corven, the way a mother would her child, her expression just as soft and just as compassionate, only more intense, Corven supposed. "The scenery… It is beautiful, is it not?"
Corven was so lost in studying this woman's features, he'd hardly heard the lady speak again. Then, Corven took a second to realize she was talking to him and a second longer to think of a response. "Yes, you sure are… The scenery is, I mean."
"You have his shamelessness," the woman noted,tilting her head in amusement as she giggled slightly. "You're definitely his son if that scene with that stupid snake is anything to go by."
Corven was wide-eyed. He did not know he was being watched then. He had already deduced that wherever that serpent was, it bound it to that plane, like a prison of sorts. He'd just assumed that no one could peer into it from outside it, though, looking back at it now, it made more sense that there were entities watching that place.
Corven realized that this woman must have been one of such entities. 'This lady is definitely a goddess… But which one?'
As if she could read his mind, she spoke, her voice strong yet gentle, firm, yet soft, like hardened honey that retained its soft texture. "From Tenebrae to Mother Night, I have many names and titles accumulated over the millennia. My name is Nyx, the Night Mother and Progenus Mother of House Umbrovante… And you, Corven Nexus Nox Umbrovante, will be my champion."
Corven was flabbergasted. He could only get out one word from his shocked mouth. "Who?"
Nyx looked at Corven as if looking at a silly child. She smiled, shaking her head. "You do not know your whole name, do you, little bird?" Nyx stated, clearly still amused. "No matter, I do. I was there to name you upon your birth, and there to guide your cradle from the Shadow Realm and into the Common Planes.
"You are the bridge of the Boundless Darkness, the Endless Night & The Shadow Realm itself. Only you have will over all these three great planes… Or you will, eventually, of course. You are Corven Nexus Nox Umbrovante, and your story has only barely just begun. You have a great destiny awaiting you, my little bird. I do hope you're up for it."
"You know who my parents are?" Corven asked before he thought better of it.
"Oh, child…," Nyx fixed Corven with studious eyes. She seemed lost in thought and Corven was uncertain if that was a good thing or not. Eventually, after a long moment of consideration, Nyx spoke. "Your mother lives. Of this, I am certain, though I cannot find her, yet her lifeforce is still linked to me, just like all the creatures of the night. She is hidden from my sight, but the link remains present, if only, faintly."
"And… my father?" Corven asked, curious. This was the closest he's ever been to knowing anything about his parents. He was not going to throw away this opportunity. "Do you know him?"
"I do," Nyx stated simply, smiling kindly, her face lost as if in a memory nostalgic and long forgotten. "He slumbers, just like many primordials. He will claim you when he's ready, I suppose, and when he does, you'll know who he is then. For us primordials, time can often be difficult to distinguish and keep up with, considering it is so much like liquid silk — It slips by so swiftly; 10 years could feel like 1 and a 100 could feel like 5 sometimes. I suppose slumbering doesn't help much in that regard. Do forgive him, won't you."
Corven was unsure how he felt. Was his parents truly alive? His mother, was she in trouble? His father, was he really a primordial? If so, which one is he? And what does this lady mean 'he's in slumber'?
He had so many questions and not nearly enough answers. It felt like, instead of getting answers to questions he's been wanting his whole life for, he's got even more questions than he had before as an added bonus. It was frustrating!
Shaking his head, as if to clear his thoughts, Blacked faced the water. "What is this place?"
"The Shadow Realm," Nyx states curiously, as she, too, faced the water. "Or, at least a plane inside the Shadow Realm. The Shadow Realm itself is quite vast — With multiple planets and planes making up its geology — Many pocket dimensions and forgotten spaces, like the one you see before you, exist within its borders. There are many races and creatures of the night, of darkness and of shadow that exist here — Entire civilizations call this place home, you know.… Yet it remains sealed, inaccessible to anyone who was outside it upon the event known as the Sealing.
"Even the gods themselves cannot access it. No mortal has had access to this realm, outside its native inhabitants, since… Well a long time. It's one of the Great Realms that make the Multiverse and is the greatest of the Forgotten Realms.
"I often come here to ruminate in the silence, admire its beauty and think back on what led up to its loss."
"Why am I here, then? Wait, you said the Shadow Realm is sealed, and that no mortal or god is allowed in," Corven began, thinking over what was said. "How am I here? And how you? And what is the purpose of me being here?"
"I do not know," Nyx mused, admittedly thoughtful, hand on her chin. "Truth is, while I and your father helped create this ever expanding realm, it has its own sentience — it's own consciousness, its own identity — It's own will. It, perhaps, seeks to be free, to expand beyond the confines of the Sealing once more… Perhaps that is why it calls to you…After all, this is your birthplace, isn't it?"
Corven wasn't sure what she meant by that, nor what to do with it, but he did let her continue. He wasn't certain if she was telling the truth but he did feel a sense of familiarity with this place – a kinship, almost, as if something in him recognized it's presence and something of it recognized his.
"House Umbrovante was the first monarchical family of the Shadow Realm," Nyx continued. "Hundreds of years ago, they were at the peak of their power — Then the Sealing happened and changed everything. The loyal houses that followed them were torn — Some escaped; others stayed — The Sealing only served to weaken House Umbrovante further and their statuses as the Shadow Realm's singular powerhouse declined afterwards. And during that collapsing period, you were born."
"What was the Sealing?" Corven found himself asking.
"The Sealing was an event that Sealed shut many realms — The Shadow Realm were amongst these realms, perhaps the greatest of them, too.
"Even now, it takes a lot of energy to keep my footing inside, but, considering I'm quite the powerful primordial and the Progenos Mother of, I have such energy to spare. Very few other deities are even able to appear here for long, and the ones who can, can't stay too long in such a sealed domain, lest they be sealed themselves.
"Perhaps you'll find a way to unseal it one day. If you do that, perhaps then, you can figure out why the realm calls for you..".
Corven knew she wasn't lying for certain now. This domain had a connection to himself. He could feel it, deep in his consciousness. And the longer he stayed in it, the stronger it became. He could almost feel the Shadow Realm itself, urging him into a specific direction — He just wasn't sure which just yet.
"You're waking soon," Nyx said, observing him, her voice beginning to fade, and with it, her and the Shadow Realm itself beginning to blur. "Give my granddaughter my regards, my champion. We will meet again, perhaps in person one day soon. Get stronger, fight hard. Your path will be perilous but I can assure you, it will have been worth it in the end."
Corven's environment faded then, and he awoke to find himself in a bed not his own to blinging, white light.