“Brief Lives” is one of the most plot-heavy arcs in the entire Sandman series. By the time the first issue that comprises the compilation hit shelves, readers had been wondering about “The Prodigal” member of the Endless family for years. He popped up briefly in “Fables and Reflections” but his name was only mentioned in Greek. The final D, Destruction, is a surprising figure who, much in the style of Neil Gaiman, makes a strange kind of sense. “Brief Lives” concerns Dream and Delirium searching the waking world for their brother, then finding him in a puzzling state.

I have to admit, I wasn't all that thrilled with Destruction's introduction in “Fables and Reflections”. Given the otherwise unpredictable, cleverly referential manifestations of the other Endless, the earliest version of Destruction just looked like Neil Gaiman running out of ideas. A big, boisterous warrior with a red beard, aka the ultimate Viking stereotype that has popped up in just about every fantasy story since Tolkien. In retrospect, I'd like to think that this uninventive character concept was intentional, that readers were never meant to approve of the version of Destruction that was always supposed to change into something else. The modern Destruction is an easy-going, peaceful man who long ago hung up his armor and is now content to try his hand at painting, poetry and cooking.

When Dream and Delirium (after a fairly arduous journey) find Destruction, he clarifies exactly why he abandoned his responsibilities as the master of his realm, also clarifying the nature of the Endless and how they affect the universe. Though Destruction hasn't tended his aspect for 300 years, life continues to experience creation, destruction and change. As Destruction points out, life doesn't exactly need the Endless to minister to its experiences, they just apply a sense of order and intent to it all. Without Morpheus, people would still dream. Without Death, people would still die. Just like Lucifer's epiphany about his role in Hell, Destruction's choice to leave his realm calls into question the very purpose of the Endless.

At the core of “Brief Lives” is the concept of change. Not only does Destruction willingly adopt a completely different lifestyle, we also learn a lot about how Delirium was once the Endless called Delight and how the current Despair was once an entirely different entity altogether. Even Dream, so set in his ways, has acquired a sense of sympathy since his time in captivity. It's at unexpectedly human moments like the sorrowful end of “Brief Lives” that it's apparent that Sandman isn't just about the way we tell stories, but about the universality of the human experience.