The Endless

by Larry Bryant (18 Jun 94)

Disclaimer: The Sandman, the Endless, Dream, Destiny, Death, Destruction, Desire, Despair, Delirium (Delight), and any characters mentioned in these postings about the ENDLESS are the creations of Neil Gaiman, Sam Kieth, and Mike Dringenberg. They are also the sole property of D.C. Comics. I do not want any money for this, and this is in no way intended to challenge their trademark of these characters. Furthermore, this is for personal use only. Please don't put it on an archive or distribute it. This posting is intended to further the enjoyment of Storyteller games, for those who know the Endless, and those who don't. Furthermore, it is recomended that anyone who doesn't collect the Sandman start immediately.

What are the Endless? Well, they are characters from Vertigo's (D.C. Comics) *Sandman* series, the greatest comic book to ever exist. I highly recomend it to any, and every, one. They are more then that. They are the seven. They are enigmatic beings of vast power. They are the forces that guide the fates and acts of mankind. They are the products of Neil (BOW, you are NOT worthy!) Gaiman's imagination. Or are they?

The Endless are beings who are beyond huuman understanding. they are "The Seven, who are not prayed to, who are not gods, who were never men." They are, from eldest to youngest: Destiny, Death, Dream, Destruction, Desire, Despair, and Delirium (Who was once Delight). Their Greek names were Potmos, Teleute, Oneiros, Olethros, Epithumia, Aponoia, and Mania. The Endless are the most powerful beings in the Universe, excepting God and Lucifer Morningstar, and possibly the kind ladies. Destiny existed before everything else, and when the universe was born, so was he. When the first life evolved, Death became, followed, after some time by Dream, since things could die before they could dream. The others were created some time afterwards. The Endless are immortal. They cannot die (Well, they can, but it takes a lot). At the end of the Universe, only Death will still exist. In her own words, "When the first living thing existed, I was there, waiting. When the last living thing dies, my job will be finished. I'll put the chairs on the tables, turn out the lights and lock the universe behind me when I leave."

• DESTINY: Destiny appears to be the tallest of them all. He wears a worn, brown cloak, that conceals his eyes. It has been theorized that he is blind. If so, it is unknown what brought this about. Chained to his right wrist is a large leatherbound book. Written by hand (by What is in question), in his book is a desciption, in perfect detail everything that has happened, that is happening, and will happen. He does not have a shadow and leaves no footprints.
• DEATH: Gaiman's words are her best discription, "The one at the end... I think I fell in love with her, a little bit. Isn't that dumb? But it was like I KNEW her. Like she was my oldest, dearest friend. The kind of person you can tell anything to, no matter how bad, and they'll still love you, because they know you. I wanted to go WITH her. I wanted her to notice me. And then she stopped walking. Under the moon, she stopped. And she looked at us. She looked at me. Maybe she was trying to tell me something; I don't know. She probably didn't even know I was there. But I'll always love her. All my life." Death is short, and pale. and beautiful. She has black hair, and a joyful view on the universe. Death has wings when she wishes to.
• DREAM: The lord of stories, and master of dreams. Dream is tall, almost Destiny's height. His eyes are dark pools which seem to have stars hidden deep within them. Dream has dark hair, and is pale. He resembles Death more than any of his other siblings. He takes his duties very seriously.
• DESTRUCTION: Destruction has a joyful view on existance, much like Death. He is tall, and powerfully built, with red hair. he often has a beard, when he wishes to. He abandoned his realm almost 200 years ago, and has not been replaced. Things are still destroyed, it is just not controlled.
• DESIRE: Imagine the most beautiful person you could imagine, both male and female. He/she is everything youu could ever want, and ever will want. A being constantly exploring the paths of pleasure. You'll always want him/her. And he/she will never be satisfied with anything
• DESPAIR: Desire's twin. Both were created at the same time. Despair appears hideous, short, overweight and scarred. She lives in a realm of mists, filled with mirrors showing people who have fallen to despair, some for moments, some for lifetimes. She is constantly mutilating herself.
• DELIRIUM/DELIGHT: Delirium is the youngest of the Endless. She was a being of great joy, until she realized that the universe was changing. At that moment, her long, strawberry-blond hair became short and multi-colored. Her eyes changed and now no longer match. She can still collect herself, and her eyes match when she does so, although it hurts her very much. She also has a great deal of wisdom, and knows things even Destiny does not, such as why she stopped being Delight.

Each of the Endless has a realm that they control and reside in. Each of the Endless is uncomfortable in the realms of the others. Only Death is comfortable in the realms of the others. Each one also possesses a gallery, which contains their sigil, and replicas of the other siblings' sigils. When one wishes to talk to another they go to their gallery, and hold the specific sigil (symbol of power and office). They then say, "Dream" for example "I stand in my gallery and hold your sigil. Will you talk to me?" or something similar. When one does not wsh to communicate, they only need to remove their sigil from their own gallery. Their sigil will become black in the other galleries.

The individual sigils are Destiny=a lagre, leather book; Death = an Ankh (Making her loved by the Kindred); Dream = a helm made from the skull and spine of a god; Destruction = a sword (his place is now blank); Desire = a crystal heart; Despair = a ring with a hook on it; Delirium = a swirling patch of multi-colored fog.

A few ground rules to get out of the way. All of the Endless have a willpower of 10. They have no need of a Linguistics stat, as when they speak, a being hears it in their native language. Their appearance is what a person would expect, and they appear to be of the same species as the creature viewing them. To a cat, the Endless appear feline. To a person, they appear human, unless they wish otherwise. I will just list their powers in a lump. these will by no means be comprehensive, and there are no doubt other abilities they possess. All of their abilities should be treated as automatic sucesses.

All the stats i'm presenting are for their physical forms. By their own admission, the Endless are nothing more than ideas cloaked in flesh, wave functions, continueing motifs. their physical stats can be whatever they wish, as can their appearance. They are to be used sparingly, so as not to lose their impact. The Endless are powerful beings, but are encountered by mortals (even Kindred) very rarely. Most mortals never get to meet one of them. At the most the will meet one of them once. That will probably be it. And of course, they will meet Death, at the end...

All of the Endless are perfectly understood (at least their words, if not the meaning). There fore they need no linguistics stat. Furthermore, they appear to be a member of whatever species is viewing them. The Endless can, at will, invoke incredible physical prowess. Dream once grabbed a demon by the tongue and slung him into a wall before the demon could react. And this was one of the guardians at Hell's gate. Furthermore, the Endless can travel between dimensions at will, and cover great distances with a thought.