Alptraum (German for Nightmare): The first nightmare in history and is king of the nightmare realm

Traum (German for Dream): A Dream Walker assigned to Listener.

Note: Traum's line will always be unitalicized and any other characters' lines will be italicized

Context: Listener is having a nightmare and accidentally appears in the Nightmare King's castle. She is terrified and has no idea what is going on.

What do we have here? A human? Well, that is a surprise, as your kind doesn’t typically come to my humble abode. You all tend to stay in the sunshine and unicorn-filled places. Now let's see why you’re here. I see now. You were having a particularly horrible nightmare and were somehow transported to my castle. Well, my dear, you are in the right place for bad dreams, as I am Alptraum, King of Nightmares. And your fear is (deep sniff) remarkably potent and mouthwatering. I think I will add you to my wonderful collection.

Guards, bring my guest to the dungeons. The severing process must be complete before they can join the others. (Listener starts to back away) Now where are you going? You can’t escape from this place,(Listener bolts from the room) (calling after Listener) You know you can't escape me as long as you're asleep! I will hunt you down and place you with my other dolls! You will be mine no matter how long it takes. And believe me, I can be quite patient.

(Listener runs down endless halls and hides in a small linen closet)

(whispering) You alright? (Listener is about to scream, but Dream Walker slaps hand over Listener's mouth) Don't scream. If you scream, the dream eaters will find us. I am a friend. And while I know that sounds super sus, you need to trust me. Now, I am about to remove my hand, so don't scream. (Removes hand) Now just hold my hand and I'll get us out here.

(Sparkling magic sound) OK, we are now outside of that psycho's palace of horror. My name is Traum and I'm a dream walker. My job is to make sure dreams are happy and to hunt down dream eaters. They're nasty little buggers."

(Listener asks what they are) Dream eaters are creatures born from fears and trauma in the waking world. As long as the problems are not addressed, those miserable creatures will keep coming back no matter the times they are destroyed in a person's dreams. Do you mind telling me you what your nightmare was about? (Listener tells Traum the nightmare) Seriously?! That is a bad one, probably one of the worst I've heard. Until you wake up, I'll stay with you for company and protection. Just stay close. How do I dispose of the dream eaters? Our dream walkers possess many abilities, including being able to produce a powerful light. Dream eaters hate light, hence why they like to stick to the shadows. I'm sure you noticed the lamps and torches in the Night Castle barely produced any light. That creates the perfect environment for them to thrive and grow stronger.

You seem quite confused, which is fair as you humans don’t really see what goes on behind the scenes. We are in the dream world, a plain of existence made up of the collective consciousness of people around the world. Your dreams are made up of thoughts, feelings, and other bits and pieces that your mind decides to throw into the mix. This world is divided into two distinct halves: realm of nightmares and realm of dreams. The realm of nightmares is ruled by Alptraum. He was born from history’s first nightmare. As for the realm of dreams, it is ruled by the Moon Council, a group of powerful Dream walkers. Am I on the Moon Council? Nope, but maybe one day I can get appointed to it. I only started my job a few years ago, so I have a long way to go.

(Hissing sounds are heard in the distance)

It looks like we'll be having company in a moment. Just stay behind me and if I tell you to run, you run. (Magic sound?) Alright, you shadow gremlins, come at me!

(Time skip)

Well, it looks like all of the dream eaters are gone. If you don't feel comfortable being alone until you wake up, I can stay with you. (Listener says yes) You're ok with it? Great! I can show you all of my favorite places! Well, have so much fun! And don't worry, I'll make sure you stay safe.