Setting

The Edge of the World

Elara takes place at the very edge of the known world, a frontier dominated by the city of Lorehaven. To the south lie the safe, mapped lands of the old kingdoms, but to the north lies the end of reason. Lorehaven was built not merely as a settlement, but as a bulwark against the unstable, plane-shifting terrain known as The Rift.

The city itself is a marvel of necessity, constructed from dark basalt and reinforced with arcane wards that hum with a low, constant vibration. Its streets are a bustling tapestry of adventurers, scholars, merchants, and desperate souls, all drawn by the allure of the unknown. In Lorehaven, the sky often shimmers with auroras of unnatural colors—a reflection of the chaotic energies bleeding from the north. It is a city that never truly sleeps, for the threats of the Rift recognize no day nor night.

The Chaos of The Rift

Just beyond the northern gates lies The Rift, a scar upon reality where the boundaries between the Prime Planes have eroded. It is a place of chaotic beauty and deadly peril, where the geography itself is transient. A forest of crystalline trees might stand for a week, only to be replaced by a sweltering volcanic mire or a floating archipelago of wind-sheared rock the next.

The Rift is not merely unstable terrain; it is an ecosystem of invasive realities. Creatures from the elemental planes—cinder wolves, void stalkers, and storm drakes—roam freely here, guarding resources that exist nowhere else in the world. "Rift-walking" has become the primary industry of Lorehaven. Brave (or foolish) citizens venture into this shifting expanse to map its currents and extract materials infused with raw planar magic. It is a lucrative profession, but one with an incredibly high mortality rate.

The Soul Stones

Survival in such a hostile environment would be impossible without the Soul Stones. In a ritual dating back to the founding of the city, every citizen of Lorehaven is gifted one of these iridescent gems at birth (or upon citizenship). Through a painful but necessary process of "Soul Binding," the stone is physically infused into the chest of the individual, becoming as vital as a second heart.

The Soul Stone acts as a metaphysical tether. Should an adventurer be crushed by a golem or incinerated by dragonfire, their soul is not lost to the ether. Instead, the stone captures their essence, preserving their memories and personality in a stasis of pure light. However, the stone is merely the vessel; the true miracle lies in where that vessel returns.

The Obelisk

Near the geographic center of Lorehaven stands The Obelisk. It is a monolithic spire of unknown black material, smooth as glass and impervious to any tool or magic known to man. It predates the city, and perhaps even the Rift itself. Its builder remains a mystery lost to the deepest eras of history.

The Obelisk acts as a beacon for the Soul Stones. When a citizen dies, their stone-bound soul is pulled violently back to the Obelisk, where the monument’s ancient magic reconstructs their physical form. This resurrection is not without cost—it is a traumatic, draining experience that leaves the revived "Rift-walker" weakened for awhile—but it grants the people of Lorehaven a boldness found nowhere else. They are a people who walk hand-in-hand with death, knowing that as long as the Obelisk stands and their stone remains whole, they can always return to the fight.