The Dream Realm (2024)

The Dream Realm (also known as the Dreaming, the Dream of Creation, the Land of Dreams, the Dreamstrideor simply the Dream) is a vast, ever-changing spirit world that exists outside of the boundaries of the physical world. It is opposite to that which is known as the Waking Realm. The Dream represents the collective consciousness and past memories & experiences of all sentient living beings, but its physical form takes the shape of a world if intelligent beings had to alter its surface, or what the world might someday be.Whenever someone is asleep and has a dream, they are within the dream realm. Under extreme circ*mstances or transportation, one can be awake within the Dream Realm. The ruler of the Dream Realm is Morpheus the Fantasy Lord.It has an ancient link with the Ethereal and Material Plane, where souls were close to death and nature. It represents the world of imagination, fears, bravery and even nightmares.

BACKGROUND

The Dream Realm is a strange environment that operates very differently from the Waking Realm. Time flows differently within the Dream Realm. The Realm is also based off of will, and those with enough will can make dreams manifest before them. Others can potentially express even more direct control over the realm. One can also meet their own ancestors, or themselves in the past, and therefore the future. Finally, one can travel very quickly within the Dream Realm, but they might not always be able to exit.The world of the Dream is made from the essence of living memories and dreams, coalesced into an incongruous material referred to as "Dreamstuff". This is strictly unique to the Dream, but can be changed and manipulated by the power of will, even charged by emotional impulses. Negative emotions have the effect of changing the Dreamstuff into manifestations of "Grimm". Dreamstuff can be seen as floating particles in the background of most dreams, and have different colours depending on a dream. This continuously spills from all forms within the Dreamscape.

GEOGRAPHY

Like some other realms, the Dream Realm is infinite, having no actual boundaries. However, unlike the other realms, geography and direction have almost no value in the Dream Realm. Because this realm is partially composed of the dreams of living creatures, the geographic features of their various realms do occasionally become represented in the Dream Realm; however, these tend to be in a constant state of flux, their relation to one another may be completely incongruous, the elements of multiple entirely separate realms may be found side by side. The Dreamscapecan consist of numerous dreams which vary depending on the being who brought it to existence and take the shape of those who have passed away, such as spirits, or dreams that are formed based on memories.Depending on how the Dreamscape is being formed at any given moment, you may be able to walk directly from one side of the world to the opposite. These locations may or may not be accurate reflections of the other realms (as they are formed roughly how the dreamer remembers or interprets them), and are just as likely to disappear and become replaced by others while you are standing there.As a result, 'navigation' in any typical sense has practically no meaning in the Dreamscape because navigation implies basing your location and direction on fixed elements of your environment, while the dreamscape has none. Any and all normal attempts to navigate the Dream Realm will undoubtedly only flummox the traveller; indeed, a visit to the Dream Realm is unlikely to involve an actual attempt to get "somewhere" because in the Dream Realm there is no such thing.Thought is an intensely powerful locomotor in the Dream Realm, more so than in any of the other realms; merely thinking of a place can transport you there, even if no living creature happens to be dreaming of that place into the Dreamscape at that moment. Though it would be based on your memories and your impressions of that place, not necessarily an accurate representation of that place, as it would likely disappear as soon as you stop concentrating on its existence. If others are dreaming of that same place, the place may very well be in a constant state of flux, shifting between any or all of the conflicting versions of that dreamed up the place. Oneiromancy is generally a more 'reliable' method of moving through this realm, though even with oneiromancy one will still experience the Dream Realm is constantly changing.Due to the way that the Dreamscape is moulded and shaped, it is just as likely to find locations so fantastic that they do not and could not exist in any other realm. These fantastical dream environments may be found side-by-side with real places, or real places can take on properties that are completely incongruous with reality. They are truly limited only by the subconscious imaginations of the world's collective dreamers.

Inhabitants

The Dream Realm is perhaps the most sparsely populated of all the realms, at least in the sense of having very few 'natural' inhabitants. It is, however, highly populated by the 'dream selves' of dreamers across the realms. In almost all cases, a person or creature currently dreaming in one of the other realms will inhabit the Dreamscape in an insubstantial dream-like state called a 'Dream-Self'. The Dream Self can be understood as the manifestation of the subconscious that reflects the condition of our mental, emotional and physical state through the dream. We can physically interact and 'awaken' within our Dream-Self once we become consciously aware that we are dreaming, an ability in which all living things possess, but by the nature of the dreamscape, and our own subconscious, we do not wish to be awoken from the Dream. As those see their own Dream-Self, the Dream can manifest unconscious ideas of the body, for instance, sending out signals that something is wrong, that one is suffering from a disease but has not manifested into symptoms. These are hard to detect without a trained eye, but spur a conscious thought within the Waking Realm once awoken from the dream. It is possible to also commune with spiritual figures, or seemingly meet beings of light or guides, often referred to as Phantomsthat grant comfort, assistance or guidance for everyday life - manifestations of desires and the individuals own ego. The Dream is also the place in which can manifest or present solutions to issues or problems within the Waking Realm, a font of inspiration and creativity. This phenomenon is oftentimes referred to as the Eureka Spiritsof the Dream, sensing that the Dreamers are facing an obstacle in the waking realm.This is the safest and most natural way to access the Dream Realm, as a death in this form will only result in the forceful awakening of the dreamer. It is also extremely difficult to access this realm with one's physical body.Creatures from any of the other realms may be found here, whether they are real and actually physically inhabit the Dreamscape (a very dangerous prospect) or simply born from the dreams of the world's dreamers. There can even be creatures unlike anything ever seen in any other realm that may be given birth until the dreamers finally awaken.Some of these creatures (or people) may spontaneously obtain permanency, continuing to exist even after the dreamer has awakened. The mutable nature of the Dream Realm confuses these creatures, who become unpredictable and often violent as a result. Collectively, these permanent dreams are known as "Nightmares" (or Night Terrors), frequently tormenting dream-selves all across the dreamscape. (A 'nightmare' may also refer to any sudden shift in the dreamscape that frightens and or causes harm to the dream-self, such as suddenly falling into a giant chasm).

TRAVELLING TO THE DREAM REALM

A veil exists which separates the Dream from the Waking World. It is normally impossible to travel between these realms. The vast majority of the time, travelling to the Dream Realm is accomplished simply by dreaming. When a person dreams, his or her 'dream-self' may be projected into the Dream Realm, but not be consciously awake as they travel there. The dream-self's interactions and experiences there are what constitutes a dream. In this way, most living creatures have interacted with the Dream Realm many times before. In this form, visitors to the Dream Realm are usually shielded from the dreams of other dreamers; there can be significant bleeding of dreams onto other dreams, however, which may be why dreams often include elements that make absolutely no sense to us, though we don't realise it at the time. This is the safest way to access the Dream Realm, as one's dream-self cannot be seriously injured or die - this would only result in the forceful awakening of the dreamer, and it usually occurs after an experience with a nightmare.It is possible for two people to dream the same dream or similar aspects to appear in the dreams of both. This is largely rare, but they do occur, and both can interact with one another in this 'Shared Dream'. Another instance of a rare dream is 'Nested Dreams', where the Dream-Selves begin to dream an extra layer that they can wake up from, but still remain in the Dream - entering the Deep Dream. The Dream within the Dream.Oneiromancy can be used to force a person's dream-self into the dreamscape even when the person is not sleeping.This is like a form of astral projection, and the consequences can be extremely unpredictable. In some cases it may act simply like dreaming, with the person’s physical body falling asleep; any negative consequences to the dream-self would result in awakening the dreamer. If instead the magic is used to forcibly keep the dream-self in the dream or one actually wakes inside the dream, negative consequences could be more permanent, severing the mental dream-self from the physical body and thereby damaging the mind of the dreamer or rendering him comatose.Some forms of oneiromancy (or transportation magic) can also be used to travel physically to the Dream Realm. This is an incredibly dangerous place for one’s physical body to reside; because the realm is always changing and aggressive nightmares (or temporary dream creatures) may be encountered at any time, the danger is constant, and death or dismemberment in this state is permanent since it is happening to your actual physical body. Many unwary mortals who wander into the Dream Realm physically are never seen or heard from again. Usually, one that journeys into the Dream Realm must carry a token of familiarity, otherwise referred to as an 'Anchor', that allows them to realise that they are in a dream realm, and not be caught within the maddening changing landscape and forget what is real and what is a dream.

Magic

One of the most curious things about the Dream Realm is that almost all forms of magic are completely and totally unpredictable here because they are constantly subject to the whims of the dreamers that make up the dreamscape. A fireball spell may function properly, or it may explode in the caster’s face, or the fireball may become a sentient creature to roam about the dreamscape as it pleases until the magic fades. Most magics will function this way. Thought-based magics are no different: the thoughts of the caster are in constant conflict with the thoughts of the dreamers, so their spells may function properly or go completely awry. All these forms of magic are also more difficult to cast in the Dream Realm.The only magic that can be truly relied upon in the Dream Realm is oneiromancy, which is significantly easier to cast here. In fact, a competent level of oneiromancy is practically a requirement for safe travel within the Dream Realm. Not only does it allow safer and more predictable navigation, it is also a powerful form of protection against the extreme dangers that the chaotic dream realm presents. Like the dreamscape itself, oneiromancy in this realm is limited only by the imagination of the user: it can take on any form and manipulate any aspect of the dreamscape in any way if the user is powerful enough. Temporary aspects of the dreamscape can be made permanent, and permanent aspects can be banished; the dreamscape itself can even be altered, essentially creating realities as the caster desires. In the dreamscape alone, oneiromancy could theoretically be used to destroy enemies, heal wounds, or travel, completely unlike its applications in the material realm, which are considerably more limited.Chaos or Wild magic is as close to a natural phenomenon in the Dream Realm as anything can be, roughly on par with oneiromancy. It is extremely easy to cast here, though its effects are no more or less predictable than they would be anywhere else, as there are no “degrees” of unpredictability to chaos magic. The effects of chaos spells do, however, have a much greater tendency to become permanent in the dreamscape, whereas in the material realm they usually fade when the spell wears off.

Miscellaneous Notes

Time intersects as chaotically with the Dream Realm as anything else does. A moment in this realm may span hours in the Material Realm or vice versa. While in the Dream Realm, a person might experience visions of the past or shades of the future - as time does not work in the same manner as it does the Material Plane, as it contains the memories and dreams of all, even our past and future selves. This is likely the mechanism by which certain people can have dreams predicting the future (though there is no guarantee that the future they dream of will actually come to pass). However, it does not seem possible to actually travel through time via the Dream Realm.It is theoretically possible to intentionally travel into a specific person’s dream while in the Dream Realm. To do this requires oneiromancy, a strong connection with or understanding of the target, having caught a dream with a dreamcatcher, or all three. It is much easier to accomplish by using oneiromancy on a sleeping dreamer outside the Dream Realm, rather than trying to find it from within the chaos of the Dream Realm.The one near-constant in the Dream Realm is that, in almost all cases, things originating in the Dream Realm cannot travel to any other Realm, and in the rare event that they do, they lose all their amorphous/chaotic properties and become solidly one thing when they leave the Dream Realm.When a person is dreaming, they may or may not retain access to all their items. A character’s conception of himself may include all his items, and thus increase the likelihood of having them in the Dream Realm. However, most characters wear few, if any, of their items to bed, thus decreasing the likelihood of having them in the Dream Realm. This can vary from dream to dream.Similarly, it is possible, though rare, for characters to lose access to skills or to become temporarily altered while dreaming. This fact has been used sparingly, if at all.