Character Analysis
(Avoiding Spoilers)
Living... wherever dreams take him. By traveling through the dreams of the sleeping, Dream can go anywhere in the waking world. However, his true domain is The Dreaming, the world in which all people go to dream. Whimsical and fantastic, The Dreaming is as beautiful and abstract as you’d suspect a world made of dreams to be. Black sand beaches under steely skies, sprawling greens and meadows, a library with endless levels, stretching into nothingness. It is all by Dream’s design, the absolute master of his realm. Dream appears all over the waking world, feeling as pervasive as dreams themselves.
Profession... Oneiros, Morpheus, The Sandman, Dream of the Endless. Dream is an entity of many titles and names – appropriate for the embodiment of dreams, who has been known to humanity since we first closed our eyes at night. The Endless are the personification of entities that are a constant to the existence, such as Death, Desire, and Dream himself. Allocated to The Dreaming, Dream became the ultimate power of his domain, ruling it with godlike power, able to create and change it as he sees fit. He also has the duty of creating all Dreams and Nightmares, personifications of what the dreaming will encounter in their sleep, crafted to bring to light things that the sleeping were not able to face while they were awake. His primary task is to keep order in his domain, overseeing the passage of dreamers through his realm and keeping the denizens of his world in line. As he says, “The Dreams and Nightmares no longer seem to recognize their master. I will remind them.”
Interests… looking after The Dreaming, especially after an unplanned extended absence has left his domain in disarray. It leaves little time for much leisure activity, as Dream is often single-minded in his goals and focused solely on his responsibilities as the ruler and guardian of the dreaming world.
Relationship Status… single. Although Dream has had relationships with mortals and immortals alike in the past, they never seem to end well. Now Dream is busy reconnecting with inhabitants of The Dreaming, as well as siblings and old acquaintances, including his faithful librarian Lucienne, his siblings Death and Desire, and the imposing Lucifer.
Challenge… hunting down an entity named The Corinthian, a Nightmare that had escaped to the waking world to wreak havoc, when a human occultist named Roderick Burgess accidentally summoned Dream. Though the man had hoped to bring forth Death to demand that his dead son be brought back to life, he decides that keeping Dream around may prove fruitful after all. Taking away Dream’s helm, ruby, and pouch of sand before locking them away in a glass sphere, Burgess keeps Dream away from The Dreaming, hoping to break their will and make them cooperate. As the years tick by, however, Dream remains silent in his prison, his own hate for his captor growing, as well as his concern for his realm and the effects his extended absence has had on The Dreaming and the rest of the waking world. Still, he must take things one step at a time to escape, find his stolen possessions, and seek revenge.
Personality… controlling, calm, and responsible. Dream often speaks in a low, steady voice, and doesn’t emote much at all. He’s also singularly driven by his responsibilities as the ruler of The Dreaming, fixated on returning to power, repairing his realm, and reigning in the Nightmares and Dreams that have began to walk the waking world. This sense of responsibility can make Dream controlling, reminding other inhabitants of The Dreaming of his absolute authority over them, as well as the fact that he is the only person of power in the entire domain. This can make Dream seem standoffish, harsh, and unreasonable, qualities that only become embittered as he remains imprisoned in the waking world. In his own words, Dream describes himself: “I contain the entire collective unconscious. Without my rules, it would consume me. Humanity would be consumed.” This demonstrates that his cold exterior and propensity for strict rules and an expectation of absolute loyalty come from a place of necessity, safeguards to ensure the stability of The Dreaming and the safety of the waking world.
