The Dreamless Queen's Lament: The Empty Throne of Night

Once upon a time, in a realm where the stars whispered secrets and the moon held the power of dreams, there reigned a queen known only as the Dreamless Queen. Her realm was a tapestry of dreams and realities, where the inhabitants were bound by the threads of their collective dreams. The Dreamless Queen was their guardian, the only one who could see the threads that wove the world together and the voids that threatened to unravel the fabric of reality.

In the heart of this realm lay the Throne of Night, an ancient and mysterious artifact. It was said that the Throne of Night held the key to the dreams and the dreams of all who lived within its borders. The queen sat upon this throne, her eyes like pools of night, her heart a cold, unyielding stone. She was the Dreamless Queen, for she had no dreams, no desires, no fears. She was only the vessel for the will of the kingdom, the guardian of the dreams of her people.

But one night, as the Dreamless Queen sat upon her throne, she noticed something strange. The throne was empty. The void where the queen's form should have been was chillingly silent. She felt a shiver run down her spine, a chill that seemed to come from the very throne itself.

"Who dares to sit upon my throne?" she called out, her voice echoing through the empty chamber. There was no answer. The chamber was silent, save for the occasional rustle of the tapestries that adorned the walls. The Dreamless Queen rose from her seat, her eyes narrowing in confusion and a hint of fear.

She wandered through her kingdom, her steps echoing through the silent halls. She sought her advisors, her councilors, her people, but none had seen anyone sit upon the throne. The Dreamless Queen's heart grew heavier with each passing moment. The throne was the heart of her kingdom, and its emptiness was a sign of a great and terrible truth.

As the days passed, the Dreamless Queen grew more and more distraught. She sought the wisdom of her elders, the sages who had been with her since the founding of her realm. They spoke of an ancient prophecy, one that spoke of a time when the dreams of the people would be lost, and the Dreamless Queen would be forced to confront the darkness that lay within the throne.

The queen's journey led her to the edge of her realm, to a place where the dreams were strongest and the night was deepest. There, in the shadow of the tallest tower, she found the source of the prophecy. A hidden chamber, accessible only to the Dreamless Queen, awaited her. Inside, the throne was there, still empty, but now it glowed with an eerie, otherworldly light.

The Dreamless Queen stepped forward, her heart pounding with a mix of fear and determination. She reached out to touch the throne, her fingers brushing against its cool surface. As she did, she felt a surge of energy course through her, a connection to the dreams of her people, to the very essence of their reality.

Suddenly, the throne began to hum, a deep, resonant sound that filled the chamber. The Dreamless Queen gasped as she felt the throne's power surge through her. She looked down and saw her reflection in the throne's surface, her eyes now filled with the dreams of her people, with their hopes, fears, and desires.

The throne's light intensified, and the Dreamless Queen felt herself being pulled into the throne, into the heart of the kingdom's dreams. She saw the threads that wove her people's reality, saw the voids that threatened to tear them apart. She saw the darkness that had been growing within the throne, a darkness that sought to consume their dreams.

With a mighty effort, the Dreamless Queen pushed back against the darkness, using the dreams of her people as a shield. The throne began to glow even brighter, and the Dreamless Queen felt herself becoming one with the throne, with the dreams of her people.

The darkness within the throne was pushed back, driven away by the queen's will and the collective dreams of her people. The throne's light faded, and the Dreamless Queen emerged, standing once more upon the throne. The void was gone, and the throne was filled with the dreams of her people.

The Dreamless Queen knew that her vigil was not over. She had pushed back the darkness, but it would return. She knew that she must be ever-vigilant, ever-alert, for the dreams of her people were precious, and the darkness was relentless.

As the Dreamless Queen sat upon her throne, she closed her eyes and reached out with her heart, connecting to the dreams of her people. She knew that she would never rest, that she would always be the Dreamless Queen, the guardian of the dreams of her kingdom.

And so, in the realm where dreams and reality intertwined, the Dreamless Queen sat upon the Throne of Night, her eyes like pools of night, her heart a cold, unyielding stone, ever-vigilant over the dreams of her people.

And in this realm, the dreams continued, and the Dreamless Queen remained, the guardian of the dreams, the keeper of the throne, the Dreamless Queen, ever watchful over the empty throne of night.