I began dreaming in the Labyrinth and the Pool shortly after my highschool graduation in 2021.
I'm putting these two together because I think they're inextricably linked.
The Labyrinth is an expansive concrete maze made up of many different levels and floors with varying lengths. There are rooms that contain traps, food, and hiding places such as caves and large rocks. The condition of the Labyrinth is rather poor, with some sections of the concrete chipped away to reveal the rebar foundation beneath. Light comes from halogen tubes on the ceiling, which buzz quite loudly. The entire maze carries sound very well, making it hard to be quiet.
The Pool is a small water bath (unsure of the dimensions, but it's very small.) lined with white ceramic on the walls, and a rough stone floor. There are small lights at the bottom of the Pool that gently pulse in different colors: green, pink, blue, gold, et cetera. The water is comfortably warm, and a series of jets push an air current that causes the pool to swirl about. There is gentle music playing, more of an ambulating tone than a melody.
The maze is filled with about 50 other people at the start, who i'm going to call Runners. They are peers about my age, mostly older school friends of mine and people I have seen walking down the street. Runners act like average people do- they are always terrified, but I'm going to assume with the following information acting as context that it's a rational pattern of behavior and nothing extremely of note. Their behavior varies- some will run from you, others will try to attack you. Others still will try to follow you and warn you of danger.
The Overseer is a name given to the voice over the intercoms. There are intercoms interspersed throughout the maze, and the voice of a person of indeterminent gender will calmly announce how far the leading Runner is in the maze from time to time, and how many of us there are left. The Overseer also speaks to those who make it through the Ladyrinth in the Pool, though their voice seems much closer and all encompassing. In the Labyrinth, their calm demeanor feels like an insulting lack of attachment, but they lavish praise upon the winners in the Pool in a very proud and awestruck way that makes it hard to hate them.
The Runners are not the only ones in the maze. There is an incentive to get to the finish line, and that incentive comes in the form of The Hunterbird. The Hunterbird is a thin, carnivorous, quadrupedal bird with white feathers and very large pearlescent talons at the end of its long legs. It has two wings with an estimated wingspan of around 8 feet, and a long thin beak with a hook at the end. It also has no eyes. I would say the closest thing to it on earth would be a horrible crossbreed between a white heron and a shoebill stork (the latter of which it makes a similar noise to).
DEFINITE
1) The Labyrinth must be finished to access the pool. I have never found myself in the pool unless I finished the Labyrinth. The transition between the two in nonexistant-one moment I cross the threshold of the exit, and in the other, I am in the pool.
2) All winners are stones. Let me explain; the Runners that reach the end of the maze are what The Overseer calls winners. Winners are sent immediately to the pool, which is very, very small. I cannot tell how small it is, because I have no frame of reference; upon entering the pool, all Winners are transformed into stones. Slightly rough and sedimentary stones. The currents push us about the glowing warm water, and together, we become smooth.
INDEFINITE
As far as indefinite rules go, I can't think of many. The first one is this: Do not let the Hunterbird catch you. Here are some strategies that I found work to evade the Hunter Bird.
1) Do not make too much noise. The Hunter Bird appears to be mostly or completely blind, since standing completely still and otherwise masking your presence can save you if it finds you. Keep communication with your fellow Maze explorers to a minimum, and crouch and move slowly close to the walls to minimiz echo.
2) Do not stop for long. Even if you are tired, stopping gives the Hunter Bird a chance to find you. I'm not sure why this is, but my running theory is that along with acute hearing, the Hunterbird has an excellent sense of smell.
3) Do not eat the food. It is routinely poisonous, and the severity of this poison varies from mild nausea to seizures. Whether this is natural or a trap, I can't say. I have seen a great range of symptoms from Runners who eat that food, including: Vomiting, Seizures, Losing Conciousness, Cough, Bleeding nose, Loss of vision, and Psychotic hysteria.
4) Stay by yourself. Larger groups make more noise- I found it tempting at first to stick together with the Runners who wanted to follow me, but this quickly proved to be a fatal mistake. If you must stay with a Runner who's especially stubborn or become important to you, keep it to just one partner.
5) Get out of the maze as fast as possible. After the dream ending prematurely when I was caught by the Hunter Bird, I studied some methods of maze solving. They do not work- the layout of The Labyrinth changes when we aren't looking. This was proven to me by backtracking and keeping count of right and left turns. Just worry about moving.