The Dream Lord was "awoken" by specks of psychic pollen from the Candle Meadows of Karass Don Slava that had become stuck in the time rotor of the Doctor's TARDIS console. This pollen induced a collective dream state for the Eleventh Doctor and his companions, Amy Pond and Rory Williams, when warmed. The Dream Lord trapped the Doctor, Amy, and Rory between two worlds, one in a seemingly idyllic Upper Leadworth, five years in Amy and Rory's personal futures, and the other in a TARDIS hurtling toward a "cold star". He told them one of these worlds was a dream and the other was real. In each world, the three were to face "a deadly danger", and dying in the dream world would allow them to wake up in reality. In actuality, the Dream Lord had created both worlds; all the while they remained asle