#wbj2026

[americanpi]

World Building June 2026 Day 5

Day 5: History

Due to the Dream Dimension having magic and technology not available in the Waking World, contact between different parts of Earth tended to happen earlier in the Dream Dimension as opposed to the Waking World. For example, the first Dream Western European Muses made contact with Dream Japanese Muses two centuries earlier than the first contact between Western Europe and Japan in the Waking World. Muses throughout history who encountered new lands in the Dream Dimension often went on to influence similar explorations in the Waking World, albeit in an indirect manner due to the Masquerade that prevents the Dream Dimension from being mentioned or talked about in the Waking World. Many of the large-scale conflicts of the Dream Dimension similarly bled over into the Waking World, and vice versa. Powerful and influential historical figures were most often Muses - being awake in the Dream Dimension enabled them to defend their lives and interests in both the Dream Dimension and the Waking World.

[americanpi]

World Building June 2026 Day 4

Day 4: Cultures

Muses come from every continent of the Waking World, and not all Muses are even human. Indeed, the Dream Dimension benefits from the power and wisdom of Muses such as cats and horses who are sapient and sentient in the Dream Dimension but not in the Waking World. The Dream Dimension’s properties allow Muses to draw upon and utilize the magic and technological traditions of different Earth cultures. For example, European wizards and Japanese diviners practice and hone their magic in the Dream Dimension in ways that are not possible in the Waking World. Though the geography of the Dream Dimension is similar to the Waking World’s, magic and technology exclusive to the Dream Dimension allows for easy movement and cultural exchange between continents, making it a more interconnected and cosmopolitan realm than the Waking World.

[americanpi]

World Building June 2026 Day 29

Day 29: Weather

Weather in the Dream Dimension tends to follow the weather patterns of the Waking World, though there are many ways to change it. Some gods and powerful Awakened can influence the weather, bringing rain and storms wherever they please. There are also magical ways to change the weather of a small area. A team of average wizards working together, for example, can dispel a simple shower from a town and create a temporary period of sunshine there. Changing the weather of a larger area or dissipating storms requires much more energy and advanced magic. Such work is often undertaken by heroes who must, for example, weigh the advantages and drawbacks of letting a hurricane into a city. As with all natural objects, all weather phenomena in the Dream Dimension are colored exclusively with the natural colors of black, dark blue, and magenta. Climate change is a known problem in the Dream Dimension because even though there are magical workarounds, these are limited as places gradually become too extreme to live in even with the help of magic.

[americanpi]

World Building June 2026 Day 28

Day 28: Communication

Various magical means of long-distance communication - one of the earliest is the magic mirror - have been in place in the Dream Dimension for centuries. Therefore, the Dream Dimension was slow to adopt Waking World communications technology such as the telephone and email. Today, such technology is magically augmented and typically used only as a backup, but given fears of apocalypse such backups are common. Over the millennia, the Dream Dimension, or at least large areas of it, has been plunged many times into catastrophes such as wars or angry gods destroying large amounts of infrastructure. There have even been periods of time where all magic in the Dream Dimension stopped working due to rare events such as powerful godly curses or simple solar flares. These experiences have taught the residents of the Dream Dimension to keep backups of their resources. As a result, many types of magic and technology appear redundant but are needed in case of disasters.

[americanpi]

World Building June 2026 Day 25

Day 25: Art

Unsurprisingly, magic is almost always used in the arts and creative expression in the Dream Dimension. A major use of magic in art is to create the colors of the Waking World. Before developments in Dream Dimension magic and technology in the mid-18th century created colors other than the ones found naturally in the Dream Dimension, all art utilized only the natural Dream Dimension colors of black, dark blue, and magenta. Such art is still favored by the Awakened for a natural aesthetic - in fact, after the invention of color, the Dream Dimension had an art movement called naturalism that focused on using the natural colors in creative ways. Another popular art form that utilizes the magic of the Dream Dimension is performance. Muse and Awakened performers coordinate and display dazzling magic such as flying, spells, and music. A show often utilizes both magic and technology for a variety of special effects.

[americanpi]

World Building June 2026 Day 15

Day 15: Magic

The Dream Dimension’s magic is generally viewed as a science because it behaves consistently, with generally consistent rules. As with science, sometimes these rules, previously thought to be understood and set in stone, are modified to reflect changes in knowledge and understanding. Magic in the Dream Dimension comes from many different sources such as a god’s blessing, a wizard’s birthright power, or a magical girl’s artifact. In turn, there are many different magical traditions in the Dream Dimension. Many of these magical traditions such as Japanese diviners and Western European wizards are divided by culture or at least originating from different parts of the world, while other magical traditions such as magical girls and supers are universal. Not everyone in the Dream Dimension is magically inclined, but magic affects everyone and thus is governed by regulations. Those who cannot use magic often make use of technology or train in physical prowess, which does confer on them unique abilities because magic users must spend their time and energy training in magic instead.

[americanpi]

World Building June 2026 Day 10

Day 10: Language

For the most part, the inhabitants of the Dream Dimension speak the same languages found in the Waking World - for example, English in Dream America and Japanese in Dream Japan. However, thanks largely to the Awakened, the Dream Dimension also has languages such as Draconic and Fae that are not used in the Waking World. Most Muses and many Awakened are fluent in at least two languages. There are some efforts to create a “Common” language for everyone in the Dream Dimension - Muses and Awakened of all races - but these efforts are hampered by historical, cultural, and geographic divisions. The biggest concern with a Common language, much like Esperanto in the Waking World, is that it is difficult to create a language that everyone would find truly universal. Esperanto was limited because it attempted to be a universal language while based chiefly on Latin and Western constructions and conventions; similar roadblocks exist when it comes to creating a Common language in the Dream Dimension.

[americanpi]

World Building June 2026 Day 9

Day 9: Religion & Cosmology

The monotheistic God created the Dream Dimension, so the Dream Dimension has a deep connection to many world religions. In general, all of humanity’s gods are real and can be contacted more easily in the Dream Dimension as opposed to the Waking World - in fact, the magic of the Dream Dimension can create and strengthen deities out of collective worship from both the Dream Dimension and the Waking World. For example, there exists in the Dream Dimension the monotheistic God, who takes many different forms, answers to several different names, and can be verifiably contacted by His followers if spoken to in the Dream Dimension. Ruler gods such as Zeus and the Jade Emperor ultimately answer to God, and minor gods such as Athena and certain youkai are governed by their ruler god. Though gods can be contacted in the Dream Dimension and possess undeniable power, whether they are willing and able to solve the problems of the Dream Dimension and the Waking World is another issue entirely.