Glade of Dreams: Difference between revisions

{{quote|text=The Crossroads of Dreams was a place of heavenly bliss where calm, happiness and the joys of life seemed to reign forever. Some of the inhabitants even began to feel that the hours and days passed a little too slowly.|sign=Manual|source=''[[Rayman 3]]''}}

==Name==

The name of [[Rayman]]'s world was first used on a printed map that came packaged with copies of the PC and Nintendo 64 versions of ''[[Rayman 2]]''. The French version of the map identified the world as ''La Croisée des Rêves'' (meaning ''The Crossroads of Dreams''), but the English localisation changed this name to ''The Glade of Dreams''.

==History==

''For a more detailed overview of the events which have occurred in the Glade of Dreams, see [[Rayman (series)]].''

==Inhabitants==

''For a complete list, see [[:Category:Characters|Characters]].''

''Main article: [[The valley]]''

[[Rayman 1|The original ''Rayman'']] takes place in [[The valley|a small valley]] located somewhere in the Glade of Dreams (perhaps in the [[Archipelago]]). [[The valley]] features a mixture of naturalistic environments ([[The Dream Forest|forests]], [[Blue Mountains|mountains]], [[The Caves of Skops|caves]]) and surrealistic ones ([[Band Land|music]], [[Picture City|art]], [[Candy Château|sweets]]).

===In ''[[Rayman 2]]''===

In ''[[Rayman 2]]'', the Glade is explored in far greater depth, though only naturalistic environments such as mountains, forests, lakes, caves, beaches, swamps and fields are seen. There is significant overlap between these locations, giving a greater feel of cohesion and realism. In the previous game, [[Rayman]] simply walked from one location to the next, but here he uses [[the Hall of Doors]] to teleport from place to place. The official map that came with this game shows the Glade to be a single large island, with an Archipelago consisting of seven small islands located off its south-east shore. The Glade is surrounded by an ocean known as [[the Sea of Lums]]. At one point in the game, [[Rayman]] encounters his old enemy, [[Jano]], who now resides in [[the Cave of Bad Dreams]], an otherworldly grotto where the nightmares of [[Polokus]] are now confined.

===In ''[[Rayman 3]]''===

This game features naturalistic locations that are similar to those of ''[[Rayman 2]]''. However, the locations of ''[[Rayman 3]]'' do not flow seamlessly like those of ''[[Rayman 2]]'', but contrast sharply with one another, like those of [[Rayman 1|the original game]]. For example, [[Rayman]] travels from [[The Land of the Livid Dead (Rayman 3)|an idyllic Celtic landscape]] to [[The Desert of the Knaaren|a scorched desert]], and from [[The Summit Beyond the Clouds|an icy mountain range]] to [[Hoodlum Headquarters|an outlandish factory]]. One official ''[[Rayman 3]]'' website contained an interactive map showing the geographical relationship between the game's levels, but this map has since been lost.

===In ''[[Rayman Origins]]''===

The next game, ''[[Rayman Origins]]'', takes place on a group of islands. Harking back to [[Rayman 1|the original game]], they are clearly distinct, and some are naturalistic ([[Jibberish Jungle|forest]], [[Mystical Pique|mountain]], [[Sea of Serendipity|sea]]), while others are surrealistic ([[Desert of Dijiridoos|music]], [[Gourmand Land|food]], [[Moody Clouds|machinery]]). While some of these locations strongly resemble areas of [[the valley]], they do not seem to be located in the valley in the literal sense. ''[[Rayman Origins]]'' also introduces [[the Snoring Tree]] as the central resting place of [[Polokus]], and the [[Land of the Livid Dead (UbiArt games)|Land of the Livid Dead]] as the Glade's nightmarish underworld. Though both are referred to as 'the Glade of Dreams', it is not clear how the islands of ''[[Rayman Origins]]'' relate to the large island of ''[[Rayman 2]]''. It could be that the large island dissolved into smaller ones at the beginning of ''[[Rayman Origins]]'', when the [[Livid Dead]] invaded and the dreams underlying reality began to disintegrate. It could also be that ''[[Rayman Origins|Origins]]'' simply takes place on the [[Archipelago]], a series of small islands shown to be located off the south-east shore on the ''[[Rayman 2]]'' map. The large, shadowy landscape that can be glimpsed at the bottom edge and corners of the ''[[Rayman Origins]]'' map supports this idea.

==Universe==

Most [[Rayman (series)|''Rayman'' games]] seem to take place on the mainland of the Glade, so very little is known about the rest of [[Rayman]]'s universe. The map indicates an [[Archipelago]] off the south-east coast of the Glade, but this is never visited in the games.