Universe Guide

📜 Notes from Scribe Jori

I have taken it upon myself to interview survivors of the Shatter. The more I learn, the more uncertain the truth becomes. There are many universes, this much is certain, but not all accounts align. I’ve encountered multiple survivors who claim to come from the same worlds by name, yet describe wildly different universes. This has led me to suspect that there are mirrors of each universe, or fractured variations that coexisted before the collapse.

Take Myrivale, for example: I’ve met delicate winged fae who have never heard of orcs, and yet I’ve also spoken to orc-blooded survivors bearing fae traits who swear they too hail from Myrivale. Or Earth—sometimes called Earthen—where one man described a viral apocalypse, another recalled strange creatures called “Pokemon,” and a third, a cyclops, claimed it was a land of towering cities and glowing machines.

What caused these universes to collapse and crash into each other?

Here are my compiled observations of the most commonly referenced worlds:

Elaren

A deep, enchanted forest realm inhabited by elves, dryads, and beastkin. Its native people, the Elari, often describe a spiritual bond with the natural world. The trees are spoken of not merely as homes, but as kin. Sentient, ancient beings who guided the forest’s balance. Druidism thrived here, and magic was drawn from root, leaf, and moonlight.

Earthen

A primarily human universe, though I’ve encountered cyclopi, daemons, and even corrupted elves who claim origin here. This realm appears in many mirrored forms. Some describe it as a world torn apart by plague—a disease that reanimated the dead, creating what they called “zombies.” Others speak of artificial monsters stored in small devices, of cities that stretched toward the heavens, of machines that mimicked magic. Earth may be the most fractured of all.

Rundar

A subterranean universe, where dwarves, fungal spirits, and sentient automatons lived beneath a sky of stone. Sunlight was rare. Towering mushroom trees filled vast cavern forests, and glowing ores lined the ceilings like stars. One dwarf compared the surface sky to his home caverns, “but less trustworthy.” There is concern that when the universes collapsed, many of Rundar’s people may have become trapped beneath the surface of newer lands, buried alive beneath lands not their own.

Syrentha

An entirely submerged universe of oceanic life. Land was scarce, and most structures were built into coral reefs, the backs of leviathans, or beneath the sea floor. Home to Merfolk, Abyssal Elves - they communicated through glowing body markings - and Shellborne, turtle-like humanoids who built nomadic cities atop living sea titans. Interestingly, the Shellborne seem to have survived the Shatter better than most, as their homes could move and stayed intact during the collapse. Those who were displaced from water… did not survive.

Graar'khann

A land of fire-worn plains and brutal survival. Dominated by orcs, but shared with elemental creatures, boarborn, and draconians. Graar’khann was highly tribal. Its history shaped by endless war, conquest, and trials of strength. Many orcs I approached were hostile, unwilling to speak unless challenged or proven worthy. There is great pride in their stories, though the realm itself seems to be one of constant upheaval.

Skarhold

A universe perpetually ablaze, scarred by volcanic storms and rivers of molten rock. Populated by giant cyclops, obsidianborn, and scorvani... the latter being insectoid humanoids with venomous tails and hive-minds, though I have yet to meet one directly. The obsidianborn resemble dwarves, but with coal-black skin, ember-red eyes, and an affinity for firecraft. Life here was about survival against the elements, not just against each other.

Myrival

A fae universe of towering flora. Humanoid fae, often categorized by elemental traits such as fire, light, or water. They lived in harmony with the forest. One version of Myrivale was populated by fae-orc, they resembled their kin from other universes but with delicate fae wings. This realm, in most descriptions, was unusually peaceful - more populated by flora, fauna, and spirits than by humanoid races.

Nyxis

A void universe of stars and silence. Starborn, dreamwalkers, and memory-woven beings wandered across floating islands beneath shattered moons. Some survivors seem more like projections than people - ephemeral things clinging to identity. Nyxis seemed to exist at the edges of the known... an “in-between” universe that never quite belonged to anything.

Divinarum

A realm of divinity, or at least those who claimed to be divine. Many inhabitants bore wings or radiated light, and I’ve met survivors who speak of having been worshipped by other universes they would traverse to. These beings say their power came not from within, but from belief itself. They drew power from prayer and crumbled when forgotten. Their temples were suspended in air, their relics hummed with power, and statues bleed light when touched.

Otherwhere

More universes surely remain. I continue my work not just to preserve what was—but to help us make sense of what remains.

—Scribe Jori