Glade of Dreams
‘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.’ —Rayman 3 manual
The Glade of Dreams (named the Crossroads of Dreams in Rayman 3 and the original French release of Rayman 2) is the world in which the entire Rayman series takes place. It consists of a huge island surrounded by the Sea of Lums, and filled with diverse environments which range from the natural (forests, lakes, rivers, mountain ranges, caves, volcanoes) to the surreal (lands composed entirely of music, art supplies or sweets). The Glade of Dreams was created by Polokus, the Bubble Dreamer, whose power is so great that his slightest dream or desire becomes reality. It is said that time passes ‘a little too slowly’ in the Glade.
The Glade of Dreams is home to a variety of creatures, which come in two types – the Magical Beings, which bear an array of magical powers; and the people, which are not magical at all but still keep peace, order and comic relief to the land. Unlike the people from the previous game, all of whom were limbless, these people have at least two limbs. There are also the Lums, which the island depends on to keep balanced as they are the sources of life and energy. Rayman is the only being in this land who was not created by Polokus, but is also the only one who can receive powers from the fairies.
Most 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. The Glade's planet has two moons, one of which is seen as larger than the other; these can be seen prominently at certain points in Rayman 3 and Rayman. However, there are points in both Rayman and Rayman 2 during which there appears to be only one moon; it is unknown what orbital quirk causes this apparent fluctuation. Rayman's planet is part of a binary star system with two yellow suns, one of which is larger than the other; these can both be seen in Rayman 3, but not in Rayman, and only in some parts of Rayman 2, making it seem very likely that the smaller sun orbits the larger one. The menu for Rayman M shows various parts of the solar system, including a sun, a moon, and two planets. One planet, which is covered in greenish-blue clouds, may be the planet on which the Glade of Dreams is located; the other planet appears to be dry and desert-like. The solar system is part of a universe throughout which Admiral Razorbeard and his Robo-Pirates are known and feared for having reduced over one hundred peaceful planets to cosmic dust after enslaving their extra-terrestrial inhabitants. There are also a great many points in each game in which stars are visible in the sky, and the Yellow Lums in Rayman 2 inform Rayman that there are other gods which exist on other ‘worlds’, all of which suggests that Rayman's universe may be far more vast than that which is shown in the games.
