That at least, is something that Aeleus can answer without any real trouble.

"Worlds with sufficient ambient magic to force changes on unsuspecting visitors have always been a rarity. In addition, this is the first world of its sort to appear; if we can learn some of the mechanisms behind the changes we can not only have a general idea of what to expect from similar worlds outside the dream realm, but can perhaps also learn more about the dream world itself."

In short, his intent was largely science.