The Universe of The Blood Red Dreaming is a Narrative Universe, the universe of the story- the one in which we live every day. The difference between how will normally live- sleepwalking through the shadowlands- and how psychonauts in the Shadowlands live is dramatic. The Psychonaut Sorcerers of the Shadowlands lucid dream through the Worlds of the narrative.

The Lesser Realms

The Ghostlands

You live in the Shadowlands now, but, you are still asleep. You sleep walk through life, and appear like a ghost to active Psychonauts.

Learn more about the Ghostlands

The Ring

The Ring is the place where everyone begins their quest into the Shadowlands. People wander through the Shadowlands in a haze before awakening and beginning their lucid dreaming endeavors into the Shadowlands. The Ring appears innocuous to most travelers, who remain ignorant of where they truly reside when they step into the ring. The Ring is the refuge of a dying universe in the Dark Era. It may be a shadowlands future for our universe. It may be the universe preceding our own, the universe from which the Man of Void and Lady of Fire sent their message, which guaranteed their rebirth in the new universe- through message, through story.

Learn about the Ring.

The Afterlife

The Realms of the Afterlife are creepily “1984” patriarchal. The Afterlife is bright- blinding- a traditional cloud and sunshine heaven, but creepy and manakin like. Everything is clouds and spires, but with lots of uncanny valley, like a heaven in Epcot Center with the wires and animatronics showing. There is evidence of a Goddess figure, but statues and plaques have been visibly broken or vandalized. Flood myth imagery recurs in the murals of Heaven, wall hangings depict what appears to show Early agriculture, leading to soil erosion, leading to local flooding, but with captions that describe world wide floods and divine anger and forgiveness. 

Learn more about the Afterlife.

Hollow Heart

The Secret Heart of the Shadowlands and the counterpoint to the Ring. The Hollow Heart is the bottom or the ‘root’ of the Shadowlands. A dimension of darkness. This is the source code of the Shadowlands and the cheat code of the realms.

The Hollow Heart is the fractal source code for all other realms. The Hollow Heart contains the seed of the story and from the Hollow Heart springs all other realms.

Learn more about Hollow Heart.

The Major Realms

The Foglands

The Fogslands of Leng is the unformed land of the unconscious: Urizen and Eden, depending upon how the player enters and what happens.This is how people end up in the shadowlands if untrained. After Escaping the The RIng, this is always the first mission. This is the equivalent of the Astral Plane or the realm of dreams and many dreamers end up here.

The Foglands represents the time after the fall of civilization. 

Learn more about the Foglands

The Glass City

The land of the Locust King and his Hungry Empire, his false utopia that hovers- a castle city in the sky. Without secret knowledge of the Free Peoples, wanderers in the Shadowlands will be hard pressed to move deeper, beyond the grip of the False King and his Hungry Empire.

The Glass City represents human history, the time period after the agricultural revolution and the rise of cities.

Learn more about the Glass City.

Arcadia

This is not utopian or idyllic, but many mistake it as such to their pain and surprise. This is the land of the Free Peoples, and it is wild and independent, so be wary and be strong.

As the Realms of the Shadowlands are analogous to the eras of the Great Tales, the Green Lands is the story in the era of prosperity. When the Locust King swarms across the land, the Realm of Arcadia is transformed into the Glass City.

Arcadia represents human pre-history, the time period during which humans existed but before the advent of written history as modern humans measure it. 

Learn more about Arcadia.

The Painted Labyrinth

The Painted Labyrinth is the place of trials, the deepest part of the Shadowlands, a realm of initiation and the keeper of ancient mysteries. All who seek to become warriors must journey here, but have a care- the labyrinth devours the unwary. The Painted Labyrinth represents the period of life on earth prior to the existence of humanity.

Learn more about the Painted Labyrinth.

Recurring Locations

The Great Road

A Manifestation of the Witch Road, this transcends the Realms and moves through them. When there is a quest, when there is a story, when a hero has a destination; then will the Great Road lead there. 

Learn more about the Witch Road.

The Tower

Whether its the Tower of Retribution in Berserk or Kami’s Watch Tower in Dragon Ball, The Tower of Babel in Ancient myth or the New Tower of Babel in the film Metropolis, The Dark Tower quoted in King Lear or the Dark Tower in the works of Stephen King; no matter the form of the story, epic tales grow towers like damp houses grow mold.

Learn more about the Tower

The Wasteland

More accurately a state of decay rather than a place, the Wasteland is the spreading blight that is the result of the Locust King spreading the Hungry Empire across the land to consume everything in an attempt to meet the every increasing demands of the tribute. 

Learn more about the Wasteland.

The Iron Castle

A version of the Iron Castle repeats through the Realms, although the names and forms change. Once the Locust King has been born, the Castle is present, whether in its rotted form as Ribcage Castle in the Foglands, or in its full Imperial glory in the City of Glass. 

Learn more about the Iron Castle.

The Great Cemetery

There is a version of the Great Cemetery in every Realm.

Learn more about the Great Cemetery.

The Cave of the Cryptkeeper

There is a Version of the Cave in every Realm.

Learn more about the Cave of the Cryptkeeper.