The Glade of Dreams (KHIII) (HPR1)

The Glade of Dreams, also known as the Crossroads of Dreams, is the world in which the Rayman series takes place. Surrounded by The Sea of Lums, the Glade consists of a single large landmass with an Archipelago of small islands off its south-west shore. It is 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.

In the beginning, there were only the Lums – beings of pure energy that initially came in yellow, red, purple, silver and blue varieties, each with their own special properties. One day, the Lums focused themselves into thought, and brought forth Polokus the Bubble Dreamer, a divine being whose power was so great that his every thought or desire became a reality. With nothing but his imagination, Polokus dreamt the Glade of Dreams into existence, and populated it with a wide variety of fantastical creatures. The Glade's balance and harmony were maintained by the Heart of the World – a magical energy core consisting of the original 1,000 Yellow Lums. Polokus's dreams – and, therefore, the Glade itself – are composed of Electoons, benevolent little pink creatures.

According to legend, the Glade was originally shaped like a disc, and the gods fought for power over the Heart of the World, which was located in the disc's centre.

When Polokus had completed the Glade of Dreams, one task remained: creating time. Polokus entered a deep sleep, and travelled in his dreams to the place where all the gods of all the worlds meet. Together they set about dreaming up the future.

Unfortunately, Polokus's nightmares could manifest themselves in reality just as well as his dreams. When he had his First Bad Dream, Polokus inadvertently created the monstrous Jano, who began to spawn Darktoons, the nightmarish antitheses of the Electoons. As the Darktoons multiplied, they spread discord and evil throughout the Glade. In order to stop Jano and the Darktoons, the nymphs – a family of fairies dreamt into existence by Polokus – joined forces to create a hero dedicated to preserving the balance of the world: Rayman. After stopping Jano, Rayman went on to have many more adventures, foiling the schemes of such villains as The Magician and Mr Dark.

Some time after the defeat of Mr Dark, the Robot Pirates invaded; destroying the Heart of the World, they scattered the lums throughout the world and imprisoned everyone from The Glade of Dreams and the surrounding Archipelago. Ly The Fairy, one of the strongest fairies in the world, was soon captured and Rayman and Globox fell to the pirates as well.

Globox, before Ly's capture, managed to retrieve a Silver Lum from her. This Silver Lum was later used to restore Rayman's ability to punch, allowing Rayman - and Globox who was thrown in the same cell after his capture - to escape and meet with Sora, Donald, Goofy, Riku, Kairi and King Mickey.