So... here's my promised thread on the Dreamworld in my fantasy novel. This is basically word for word from my brainstorm/world-building combo.

Dreamworld is a wild land, a savage land, that encompasses all aspects of our dreams, the beauty, the joy, the nightmares, the fear, the darkness. It's general state is guided by those of people in the real world (RW). It shows the true state of their inner lives. When good is strong in RW, so is DW. It's strong, vibrant, and bright. When evil is srong, DW begins to decay, to crumble, and the nightmares that lurk in crannies and hidey holes in the mountains prowl ever closer to the cities and towns. The subconscious takes on a more brutal, oppressive edge. But, DW is not without its guardians, the Sentinels: archetypal characters who are part of the world (And the subconscious) who seek to stem the tide of darkness. King Arthur is their chief, Among their ranks are Cuchulain, Gilgamesh (Much weakened and less than he once was.), Robin Hood, Odysseus, Lancelot, Galahad, Gawain, John Henry, and so on.

When DW is overwhelmed by the darkness, and the last Sentinel falls, the night overwhelms entirely, and humanity will cease to dream, and their souls will begin to wither and die. Malxor's victory at that point will become complete on Earth.

(Plot spoiler below)
The world is sort of governed by the Overseer, one of the first Teleporters, and he was placed there by Lyrianur to be the guardian. He's incorruptible, but not even the power of a Teleporter can control the subconscious of humanity. Many in DW blame him for the for the darkness, including the Sentinels, but he can't do anything. The Captain of the Watch has taken over.

The permanent residents of DW (Who aren't human by the way. They're dream constructs.) are becoming evil and darker because the humans are. This causes a civil war between the Watch (Guards and defenders of the city who enforce the law) and the Sentinels, because the Sentinels believe the Watch has betrayed DW and become the enemy.

DW can't be mapped, because it is not a physical world that changes slowly. It's a misty, ethereal, world, ever-shifting to accommodate and because of the many dreams of the dreamers. Where once stood mighty cities with pinnacles reaching the sky in apparent defiance of gravity. People flew, walked on wall, and even on ceilings. Great feats of imagination and genius happened. The sun shone bright, people were happy, and dreams inspired the people in RW to achieve great things. The nightmares lurked in their own secluded corners, hunted and weakened by the Sentinels. No longer. The shining towers of tomorrow denigrated into rundown towers of dark stone and ramshackle towns. No longer did people strive for great things, but for security, safety, and pleasure. Flying became rare. It became dangerous for the inhabitants to go out at night, which grew darker. The day turned into an eternal twilight, growing darker as time goes by.

The Sentinels, once popular, respected, numerous, and strong, became disliked, then despised, then hated, and banished into the wilderness. Then they became inferior, then sub-human (The inhabitants think they're human.), and then animals. They became rebels, enemies of society, and they grew weaker. Many were killed, until only the mightiest remain. Ignorant of the true nature of DW, they blamed the Overseer for DW's fall, and declared war, citing his betrayal against Lyrianur, his duties, and the people, which, as I've mentioned, isn't true. The Sentinels wage a rebellion against "his" forces, mandates, and laws, when they're actually the captain's.
The monsters have grown fiercer, more powerful, and more cunning. They have left the far reaches of the wilderness to prowl the farms and countryside, even to within bowshot of the walls of the towns and cities. They have no set shape, but change depending on who sees them. They're cunning, and use telepathy of various types to lure their victims into leaving the town and following them into the wilderness. The Sentinels try to intervene, but they can't save everyone.

Ooh, very intriguing..... *Never thought of the dreamworld in this way before*

Thanks.

This is really neat. So when people dream during their sleep do they enter the dreamworld so that it's actually happening there? Or is the dreamworld just a representation of their dreams and not where it actually happens?

Yeah, they enter the Dreamworld when they dream. Different types of dreams have stronger connections to the Dreamworld. In James' and Anastasia's case, a coma is the strongest dream-type and is equivalent to truly living there.

So can peoples' dreams kind of interfere with one another and semi-meld together so that in your dreams you can be interacting with real people (though they might not know it)? Also, do people know that the dreamworld is like this, or do they think dreams happen the way we view it here?

It's possible they can interfere with other dreams. Not guaranteed though, since Dreamworld is so big. They think dreams are the way it happens here, which is part of the way I'm thinking about writing it. I'm thinking of having a chapter -1, then a Chapter 0 which is a psychologist's analysis of James' recounting of why he wanted to go back into a coma.