Madness Realm
A Madness Realm is a place in the Near Dreaming where the madness of human Dreamers can sometimes cause serious dilemmas for the Kithain.
Overview
Madness Realms are, perhaps, the most dangerous areas of the Near Dreaming. In these places, the dreams of mortals who've surrendered their sanity are often realized. Mad dreams are extremely powerful and can catch an unwary traveler in their twisted realities for extended periods. Madness Realms are particularly dangerous because they can affect the trods upon which changelings travel. Kithain walking the Silver Path can find themselves tossed into a Madness Realm, caught in the chimerical reality of an insane person's dreams, until they can solve a puzzle that is often illogical or even insoluble. Sometimes, they remain trapped in these Madness Realms until the Dreamers who created the realm awaken from sleep, which in some cases of mental institutions, can take a very long time, especially when tranquilizers are used to control the violently insane. When a Madness Realm frees its captives, they always find themselves back on the trod, or wherever they were when they were grabbed, with no explanation for what has occurred. Any damage inflicted in a Madness Realm remains, just as any prizes grasped there are still at hand when the ordeal is finished.
References
- CTD. Dreams and Nightmares, pp. 18, 24-25.