Once upon a time, the world existed in pure nothingness, void. Then, when our Creator deigned it so, he created two forces, two brothers to give it form: The Dark, which also brought with it misery and negativity, and The Light, which brought with it levity and positivity. The brothers were born to counteract each other's weaknesses, and strike a crucial balance to keep the world intact. The Dark would reprimand The Light for his mindless indulgence that encouraged his inaction, and The Light would show The Dark that his pessimism was not all-encompassing of the beautiful world around them.
Together, they were referred to as The Roots, holding the earth below and the fabric of reality together in tightly woven fibers. Peace lasted for eons, and people were created to populate the world of the brothers, The Dark raising Darkners from the earth, and The Light bringing Lightners from the stars. But they could not coexist in one world with any permanence, as the Lightners could only experience the Dark in often forgettable dreams, and the Dark could only experience the Light through looking through lenses of insanity, they could not truly coexist until the balance shifted.
One day, our Creator entrusted them with a vessel, referred to as The Branch. A being that could roam both the Light's World, and the Dark's World at their command. But, they fought over it. The Branch could only truly belong to one side, so behind our Creator's back, they attempted to make a copy, in monochrome. The brothers had decided the first Branch would belong to The Light, and the second, would belong to The Dark. But, just as the Second Branch was about to be brought to existence, our Creator discarded it, and the only vessel was to belong to The Light.
The Dark was furious, and for the first time in milennia, took it upon himself to take his physical form in the worlds, and upset the balance. When the day had passed, he took hold of the night, and communicated to the Lightners through their dreams, that they often found so frightening, they called him "Nightmare" whenever he revealed himself. But as powerless as the Dark seemed, it had a certain grip over the Lightners, and with enough darkness, they could become a vessel, a branch themselves, in a way that Darkners could not.
