This first part of the dream was very vague. I was traveling by car through a city and into the country. In a sunny meadow, I got out of the car. It seemed I had felt my way to this place. Somewhere here, I found my way into the Realm of Dungeons & Dragons.

I had come to find Venger. I explored for a while. I saw many different creatures, and I remember thinking that any one of them could be Venger because Venger was omnipresent and didn't show his true form (the way he appeared in the cartoon) to just anyone.

I found my way to a huge room, like a coliseum with a stage, that had the beauty of cathedral � a Dark cathedral. I went up on the stage where there were five or six other people standing in a row with tall red orcs armed with medieval weaponry standing behind them. I knew these people were here to each announce their reason for wanting either to be allowed to live in the Realm or to have a private audience with Venger. I was last in line and listened to their statements as I waited my turn. They were too brief, I thought, and they didn't present their appeals well.

Then it was my turn. I began, and then realized my voice was too small. I started again with a louder and projected voice. I sounded strong and resolute. I stated first my name. I had a middle name that started with a D. I think it was Denaria, but I just can't be sure. So, I started with, "I am Rana Denaria Kane," and the rest I don't remember well enough. All I know is that I proclaimed my love for Venger and said that I believed that if he realized the power of love, he would become more powerful.

Then I saw a leviathan that I knew was Venger himself. He was a ginormous red beast. His hands were each as big as a large house. He lowered his hands and scooped me up carefully. I wondered if he would crush me. I know he spoke to me, but I have no idea what he said.

The next thing I remember is wandering around a castle, looking for Venger and becoming annoyed that I couldn't find him. I saw a tiny door halfway up a wall. I opened it and looked through. I was face-to-face with a dirt-colored creature that sat at a desk and appeared to be doing paperwork. A secretary. Though we were so close, he didn't see me. He stood, turned, and said something to a figure on a bed in the far corner of the room. Then he left. I thought the figure lying in the bed might be Venger, so I crawled through the door to get to him. When I got to the bed, I saw that the figure was a wood carving. And there was a wood mask beside it. I knew that these were things that could be animated with magic to offer wisdom to the one who awakened it.

I don't know why, but I was suddenly afraid. I knew that Venger had sent his demonic orcs to capture me. I left the room through the same door the secretary used and saw a quite different world outside. Everything had a clean look and was in whites and cool shades. A stark contrast to the earthy tones and medieval surroundings of what I'd left behind. Looking down, there seemed to be no floor, but I would soon learn it was a solid plane with images of floating purple and blue clouds against the blackness of space. In some spaces, it was like a contained fog. I had stepped from medieval fantasy into sci-fi fantasy.

But I had to keep moving. The orcs were coming, like they could track me, with Venger right behind them. And I feared him.

A man came up from behind me, grabbed my arm, and hurried me away from the door where the orcs might see me. It was Jareth! So I was in the Labyrinth. Jareth wore a white poet's shirt with a tight black leather vest, dark blue-gray tights, and deep burgundy riding boots. The only thing wrong was his face and his movements. He was like a mixture of Jareth and Captain Jack Sparrow.

When I was out of danger, he took me to a room where there was at least one other person. I was trying to talk to him, but he was ignoring me. And he was far taller than I was � ridiculously taller. I indignantly insisted that he make me taller, which he did immediately. After that, we had a companion. A woman. I don't remember anything about her other than she was there to help me avoid the orcs. We all walked together, I on Jareth's arm as he walked me out over the invisible floor with the cool-colored fog and stars beneath our feet. It was magical.

But then the orcs were coming. They'd crossed into the Labyrinth. Even Jareth was shocked at this. This was not supposed to happen. We ran through doors that took us to completely different areas once we were through. It was rare that one could walk through a door, simply to pass to the other side. Every doorway was like a dimensional jump. With this, common throughout the Labyrinth and unknown to outsiders, it was relatively easy to evade the orcs.

But they were getting smarter. And Venger was determined to take me back. I hated I'd gotten Jareth involved in this and likely put the Labyrinth in danger. I did not want Jareth and Venger to face off. I felt that Venger would kill Jareth. I believed they were rivals already, with a fragile truce since their worlds were connected.

The orcs found us, and Jareth was separated from us. The woman and I ran through doors, into rooms, looked through windows for portals, looked for odd places to hide. I found the little door again and knew it was the gateway between the Realm and the Labyrinth. Seeing that door made me angry. I simply hated that it existed.