Olara

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Long story short


Poems, openers, lore

From nothing...

The infinite multiverse trembles each time a world comes to be. A single quake throughout the heavens and throughout the cosmos, felt by gods and men alike. When reality settled, after the progenitors had come and long since passed, an overdue rumble carried a curious message: Something new had arrived.

Olara began as a curiousity, just a spectacle for the gods to ponder. No oracle powers had omen of this place, no shift in power nor the frequency of the universe, just a sphere of untapped potential. This began the first of many conflicts to come, gods bickering for purchase above the world before them, as titanic creatures battled for survival.

Dissecting Myth

Experience and culture are what separate legend from history. Many events are impossible to record, leading to oral traditions taking on the burden of keeping the past alive. Time after time, stories change and adapt to modern audiences before eventually being cemented to their most impactful forms. The stories shared today are what remains from the amalgamation of true events, life lessons, cultural landmarks, and personal anectdotes.

The necessary few tales for a civilization to form constitute a creation myth, explanations of natural phenomenea, historical retellings, and a prediction of an apocalypse worthy to change the structure of the world. Naturally, we begin with the creation myths shared within this world; Namely the story of Ao, the overgod, and his stirring. Even this story, which is foundational to the structure of history, varies slightly from retelling to retelling alike all the stories discussed here.

Ao, the father of the gods, has sat as a witness to the actions of his children and sequential successors since the beginning of time. Even for one as removed as Ao, this time spent observing brought upon a reflection of his work. With this reflection brings contempt to his creations, as he made the decision to stir the primordial well of power which was prior balanced between his children and their mistakes. With his infinite power, Ao shook the multiverse once more, imitating the quakes of an infant reality, creating Olara.

Born with the world itself, 3 entities were created as the power centers of the natural works of the world. These forces controlled the land, sea, and sky; Delegating their vast power to many spirits, archfey, elementals, and even chosen few commonfolk.

As the ages passed, these entities found themselves at odds over menial problems time and time again. This tension came to a head when the sister in charge of the sky, Somtora, began plotting to steal the domain decay from the sister of the land, Faer. Somtora waited until the coldest day of the year, before she found Faer sluggish and weakened by the frost and cold. Somtora wound up a storm of unimaginable proportions and prepared to unleash it on her sister, but was interrupted by Eora, the sister of the sea, who crashed tsunamis directly into the path of the storm. The clash caused enormous injury to all 3 sisters, who decided it be best for them to cut off contact with eachother.

Taking up residence far from eachother, their domains eventually slipped further and further from their grasps. As their power faded away, they became more and more intertwined with the places they chose to live. As Eora became the sea, Faer became the land, and Somtora became the sky; Never to return to the godhood they once held.

Where's the fantasy?

Olara is a world not unlike the average setting for high fantasy adventure, thus many popular tropes pop up throughout. As a world developed, and still developing, through the gameplay of real folks, Olara is built on the stories driven by the actions of people who are affected by the world around us. This gameworld differs from our own in many ways just as pop-fantasy does. Below is a non-exhaustive list of things to keep in mind while making decisions within the world.

  • Magic is real and common
  • Unorthodox and fantastical creatures are common
  • Technology has advanced to late medieval levels but with clear magical influences
  • Many gods exist and gain power from the faith of their followers, directly relating to their portolio of domains. (i.e. the sun, storms, or even trickery)
  • Adventuring, or traveling and completing quests, is a socially accepted career path
  • Minted coins of gold, silver, copper, and platinum are accepted as currency regardless of boundaries
  • There are many diverse races of sentient creatures who share cultures, societies, and rights with humans. These include, but are not limited to, elves, dwarves, fey, plane-touched folk, and giant-kin.
  • Magic ranges in power from lighting candles at will, to travelling continents instantaneously, to rewriting reality with a word. Generally the more powerful, the rarer the magic.

What now?

While the world of Olara was developed with Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition in mind, this world can be used with any ttrpg, or other medium, you prefer! Be sure to make any changes to your story to seperate it from D&D 5e as needed, but take caution not to spoil the fantasy in the process. Above all else, have fun!

Our best recommendation to immerse yourself in the world is to accept the fantasy and embrace the improvised history, culture, and behaviors developed at YOUR table! Make a head-canon, screw it up, keep it anyway! The story is yours!