Welcome! The story of the Dreamworld awaits you. But before you begin, a quick explanation—this page is an introduction, telling how Ariana got where she is today and just what the Dreamworld is. At the bottom of the page are links to different parts of the story of our current Rivendell campaign. These summaries are reasonably up to date; although a couple small things have happened since I last updated them, you won't be too far behind us if you read them. If you get confused at any point, try going back to the main page and checking out one of the other links; the characters section should be very helpful. All right then, enjoy the story!

At age sixteen, Ariana was a fairly typical high school girl, at least to all appearances. A good student, if a bit of a daydreamer, she kept a low profile and went through life as expected, making the best of it with a smile on her face. But as her best friends Jessie and Robert understood, for they felt it too, Ariana always longed for something more than the world of earth had to offer. She wasn't sure exactly what she wanted, but she dreamed of fantasy, magic, and adventure.

She got her wish. Transported unexpectedly to a world of dreams one night as they slept, Ariana, Jessie, and Robert met another young man named Andrew, and the four of them were told that they were the only ones who could save the Dreamworld from destruction. They were to go through many adventures in the Dreamworld, which is the world glimpsed by all dreamers from all other worlds. Only a very few ever actually enter that world, however.

This is the story told in the first Dreamworld novel, which I am in the process of writing. However, I can't be expected to tell how the novel ends, of course... ;) So I'll simply explain that in order to save the Dreamworld, one of the four had to become the Dreamworld's new Guardian. Ariana volunteered for the job, for though she hadn't the slightest idea what she was getting herself into, and she knew it, she also had a strong feeling that she should make that sacrifice anyway. The price was high, however; Jessie, Robert, and Andrew were immediately returned to their own world, soon to find that they were the only ones on earth who now remembered that Ariana had ever existed. As for Ariana herself, she was bound to the Dreamworld and, as far as she knew, could never return to earth, just as Jessie and Robert could not return to the Dreamworld.

The Dreamworld is of a unique nature. It appears to have existed as long as all other worlds; perhaps longer. It is not itself simply a collection of dreams, but rather it gives life to them, though much of what the Dreamworld is can be shaped by dreams as well. When one falls asleep at night, one glimpses the Dreamworld. Much of a dream comes from the dreamer's mind, from what the dreamer makes of the Dreamworld. Things can happen in dreams independently of the dreamer's will, however. Still, there is enough control for dreams to be relatively safe, and most people simply can't enter the Dreamworld.

It's also very difficult for Ariana, as Guardian, to leave the Dreamworld. It took her two years before she finally figured out how to magically jump to another world, and even then it took a great deal of work. The only world she found she could reach was that of Rivendell, which is in many ways closer to the Dreamworld than, for example, earth. So at the age of eighteen, she finally discovered Rivendell and the many interesting people there.

Ariana has been the Dreamworld's Guardian for about three years now, at least at this point in the storyline that the Rivendell campaign follows, and she is still learning what powers the Dreamworld's Guardian has, and how to use them. There is still a great deal she doesn't know, and these powers also grow with time. Her duties as Guardian mainly consist of keeping a balance in the Dreamworld and keeping the nightmares from growing too strong. Nightmares are necessary, of course, but they cannot be left to their own devices. This great responsibility has been laid on the shoulders of an unsure, inexperienced young woman, but her heart is strong and full of love and courage. She is finding it extremely difficult, but she believes she has the strength to stand against the Lord of Nightmares, who wants to take control of the Dreamworld and destroy Ariana herself. Thus begins Ariana's continuing struggle to rule her world to the best of her ability, and thus also begin the adventures of the Dreamworld Saga.

All right, now that you know the background behind the story, here's everything that's happened in Rivendell so far! It's divided into six chapters, according the dates we roleplayed the story.

The Dreamworld Saga ©2001 by Amy Unfred