Insomnia

The land of Insomnia is a dreary world, full of bleary-eyed Insomnians who drift through life in a haze. Their limbs dragged down by exhaustion, their minds clouded over with pain, it's all they can do to drag themselves into work every day before sitting in front of mindless drivel for hours on end when they get home. Social lives are unheard of. Proper entertainment is unheard of. Anything beyond mindless drivel would require a concentration that they just don't possess.

There is one story, though, that has been known to perk up Insomnians when they first hear it, to the point where they could almost pass as excited. A legend of long ago, its origins lost in time; it tells of a thing called Sleep. A magical spell that, after being cast on an Insomnian, causes them to be refreshed; to be filled with vigour; their eyes to open fully for the first time in their lives; the cloud that fills their minds to be lifted; and above all, to be alive in a way they've never known.

The story varies with each telling, but in every one there is a ritual to be followed in order to cast the spell. The beginnings of the ritual vary from hot baths to hot chocolate to soothing music to good food and alcohol to the smell of lavender, but it always ends the same way - with lying down on something soft and simply closing your eyes. Insomnians throughout the ages have tried every one of them, and every combination of them, but none with any success.