A Quick Guide to Aanrah
Hello and welcome to the WorldAvil of Aanrah! This quick guide will hopefully run down the most basic points of the world (both in regards to story and meta) to give you a easy summary of what the World of Aanrah is about!
Aanrah does not currently have a 'main plot', but instead a variety of smaller subplots across time and space. It is intended to be a collection, and generally (in both story and worldbuilding) leans towards dark fantasy and romantic fantasy, with 18+/Mature themes (see Content Warnings & 18+ Articles for more information!).
The Pre-Break era came to an end when the moon gods Yālǐdǐ Rānā and Ǐnéyālé Bhǒr† attacked the eldest of the moon gods, Mǒrdén Ǒérù†, in an attempt to overthrow him and take over Gǒngbě. Upon slaying Mǒrdén, the god Oreik was created from his spilled blood and his betrayal. He became the scapegoat for the other moon god's failed plan, who fled as soon as it was clear that Gǒngbě was collapsing without Mǒrdén's power to stabilize it. Though Oreik was able to save some of the shéngǒnshān who called Gǒngbě home, most perished - and the moon collapsed. Large chunks of the moon collided with the other two moons and rained down into Aanrah, and a ascended vuuhrah later called Tjyimlejy stopped the worst of debris from causing a full extinction event.
Notably during this break, the eldest of the five gods born from Oomeyrðeluunnst, Thaalltkrii, slaid his younger brother, Haleaauheyngt†, and took over Haleaauheyngt's earthly domain - the towering mountain Ebahooljat. This event was witnessed and recorded by the lanncám demigod Sioa Angdóisa - a important event which would solidify Sioa Angdóisa's role as the Witness to History.
The First Break ended with the Progenitor of Mortal Magic - in which a the mortal ordthay king Szaifudrus made a deal with the eldritch magic god Emrul for the power to save his kingdom, was given it, and then went back on his deal and taught magic to others. Emrul, who had been the one to suggest to the other divine that mortals should not have free access to magic, turned Szaifudrus into a monster as punishment and planned to slay him after he destroyed his kingdom (and hopefully all who had freely learned spells), but his plan was thwarted by Yālǐdǐ, who had slain Ǐnéyālé and taken his moon from the sky to seal into Szaifudrus. Ultimately, Yālǐdǐ made Szaifudrus a anchor for magic that Emrul could not destroy, and the knowledge of magic had already slipped out of Emrul's ability to damage control without destroying a significant area of Aanrah.
In the modern and current times, the vuuhrah are largely considered extinct on the surface, the last of their race either holed up in the Underground or clustered around Ebahooljat - even though all the remaining chief vuuhrah deities have long gone missing. Magic is commonplace, and the combination of previous technological advancements and enchanting advancements has made life in Aanrah significantly easier and more comfortable for the average person. But with this power has come tension, and some look now from their conquest over the dragons, demons, and fae of old to a new target - the gods themselves.
Travel is still largely done through horses in some manner, and though major roads may be better maintained and guarded, it is still not particularly fast or safe. The Underground Rail System is the current quickest and most efficient method of travel, but these trains are few and tend to be more expensive. The other frequent option is by ship, which still work on sails. Teleportation circles exist, but are highly limited and expensive.
As of current, weaponry itself still sits in the realm of sword and sorcery - while canons exist, there are (actually available) firearms. That said, it is possible for any level of technology to wind up in Aanrah - the Underworld and Faerealms are both attached to other realms of existence, and their residents are known to sometimes procure odds and ends from other worlds. These objects and occurrences are extremely rare though, and often aren't much (if any) help in allowing the denizens of Aanrah to create the same technology themselves.
A lot of the characters of Aanrah have origins tracing back to my high school years - some never had more than a design and maybe a name, while others had more fleshed out and full stories. A lot of the core foundation of Aanrah stem from the world I had made back then - and even though there's more of the old stuff left behind then brought with, I do still find myself working in callbacks to old concepts and ideas, even if just for my own enjoyment. This is, importantly, also sometimes why some character names currently feel potentially out of place in comparison to others who supposedly share the same naming language - they were likely named that prior to Aanrah's conception, and their names are still something I'm working on shaking loose.
The World of Aanrah
A Brief Overview
The World of Aanrah is a high fantasy world created by the First Gods and inhabited by a variety of races and species. Originally having three moons, Aanrah breaks its timeline down into Breaks & Eras, breaks being set when Aanrah loses one of its moons. In what is currently the 'modern' era, magic is available to all when it historically was not - and, as a result, tensions are reaching new highs between mortals and those that would previously be considered stronger then them - including the divine.Aanrah does not currently have a 'main plot', but instead a variety of smaller subplots across time and space. It is intended to be a collection, and generally (in both story and worldbuilding) leans towards dark fantasy and romantic fantasy, with 18+/Mature themes (see Content Warnings & 18+ Articles for more information!).
A Brief(er) History
(See A Quick Guide to Aanrah's History for a more thorough but still summarized version of Aanrah's history!)Pre-History
Aanrah was created ~20,000 years ago by the First Gods, who gathered at a 'well' in time and space where a font of power overflowed. Ultimately, it was decided to use this power to create a world - Aanrah. In the pre-times, Aanrah, it's Sun, and its three moons (Gǒngbě, Qǐnǒnsénhérǒn, & Qǒsāhün) were made, in addition to the divinemade races (the Shéngǒnshān, Gànintbyànt, Lanncám, Lalktay, Oemeo, & Vuuhrah). In addition to these races, Aanrah was becoming home to the Interloper races - those who came from a outside plane of reality, like the N'ghftu, Nuríian, Kīaezxīātl, & Xeith.Pre-Break
Aanrah formally began when the god Oomeyrðeluunnst† split into five pieces. The formal creation of the world spawned several other races known as the worldborn races - the Ordthay, Ingguons, Qoktştri, Jalump'y, Thiumranon, Īma’aifī, Isspaj, Troa, Fretiäkleldt, & Lajig. For the first half of Aanrah's existence, life as difficult for the worldborn races and even many of the divinemade races - Aanrah's three moons lead to a violently shifting tide that limited habitable surface land, and though divinemade races had some weak access to magic as a racial boon, the worldborn races did not - which put them all at a heavy disadvantage against interloper races (who had magic that existed separately from Aanrah) and vuuhrah (who's sense of inherent divinity allowed them extraordinary magical capabilities).The Pre-Break era came to an end when the moon gods Yālǐdǐ Rānā and Ǐnéyālé Bhǒr† attacked the eldest of the moon gods, Mǒrdén Ǒérù†, in an attempt to overthrow him and take over Gǒngbě. Upon slaying Mǒrdén, the god Oreik was created from his spilled blood and his betrayal. He became the scapegoat for the other moon god's failed plan, who fled as soon as it was clear that Gǒngbě was collapsing without Mǒrdén's power to stabilize it. Though Oreik was able to save some of the shéngǒnshān who called Gǒngbě home, most perished - and the moon collapsed. Large chunks of the moon collided with the other two moons and rained down into Aanrah, and a ascended vuuhrah later called Tjyimlejy stopped the worst of debris from causing a full extinction event.
Break One
The beginning of the First Break is marked in the settling dust of Gǒngbě's collapse, which left large swaths of Aanrah destroyed from meteor impacts and resulting tidal waves. During the Dark Years, the shéngǒnshān rescued by Oreik fled to the Underground, out of the sight of the moons, where they would eventually become the Yamahaeyuyud in honor of their saving deity. In the collapse of the largest of the moons, Aanrah's tides settled a bit, allowing terrestrial surface races to expand out further. The people of Aanrah began to cement more stable footholds in the world and more definite identities, and with more limited magic options, many pushed through to create important technological breakthroughs. Powers began to consolidate and expand, in both the mortal and divine realm.Notably during this break, the eldest of the five gods born from Oomeyrðeluunnst, Thaalltkrii, slaid his younger brother, Haleaauheyngt†, and took over Haleaauheyngt's earthly domain - the towering mountain Ebahooljat. This event was witnessed and recorded by the lanncám demigod Sioa Angdóisa - a important event which would solidify Sioa Angdóisa's role as the Witness to History.
The First Break ended with the Progenitor of Mortal Magic - in which a the mortal ordthay king Szaifudrus made a deal with the eldritch magic god Emrul for the power to save his kingdom, was given it, and then went back on his deal and taught magic to others. Emrul, who had been the one to suggest to the other divine that mortals should not have free access to magic, turned Szaifudrus into a monster as punishment and planned to slay him after he destroyed his kingdom (and hopefully all who had freely learned spells), but his plan was thwarted by Yālǐdǐ, who had slain Ǐnéyālé and taken his moon from the sky to seal into Szaifudrus. Ultimately, Yālǐdǐ made Szaifudrus a anchor for magic that Emrul could not destroy, and the knowledge of magic had already slipped out of Emrul's ability to damage control without destroying a significant area of Aanrah.
Break Two
The Second Break began with what seemed to be the sudden and unexplained disappearance of Qǐnǒnsénhérǒn, and the start of what is commonly thought of as 'mortal magic'. From the collection of spells Szaifudrus relayed to others, the races of Aanrah began to learn how to shape magic to their will and act akin to the gods. Mages and wizards became more commonplace, and enchantments ushered in a new era of innovation and invention. And, at last, many races found themselves capable of standing up to the races who once had such a ridiculous advantage in power they were often deemed 'unstoppable'. A push back in defense soon became a crusade to purge the surface world of many magically gifted race. The vuuhrah were hit the hardest - unlike the interlopers, they did not have another realm to return to, and their much more common nature made hunting them a sport. Their numbers rapidly declined, as did those of the isspaj, troa, and thiumranon.In the modern and current times, the vuuhrah are largely considered extinct on the surface, the last of their race either holed up in the Underground or clustered around Ebahooljat - even though all the remaining chief vuuhrah deities have long gone missing. Magic is commonplace, and the combination of previous technological advancements and enchanting advancements has made life in Aanrah significantly easier and more comfortable for the average person. But with this power has come tension, and some look now from their conquest over the dragons, demons, and fae of old to a new target - the gods themselves.
The Setting & Technology
In general, Aanrah is currently still largely 'swords and sorcery', but with some levels of technology. Namely, Aanrah does have some early trains (largely in underground tunnels) that are powered through a mix of magical and technical means. Aanrah's technological level could be considered somewhere comparable to pre-1800's on Earth - most technology is still largely kinetic, with more advanced pieces powered by magic in some form, but none in a way that could be comparable to electricity. Many important inventions to the efficient or even more mass production of basic goods have been met (such as the loom and basic printing press), but factories or true mass production are still far out of the picture. Technological advancements have picked up rapidly in pace since mortal magic, but the knowledge of magic is not yet far enough to solve all problems or be used as a particularly efficient energy source.Travel is still largely done through horses in some manner, and though major roads may be better maintained and guarded, it is still not particularly fast or safe. The Underground Rail System is the current quickest and most efficient method of travel, but these trains are few and tend to be more expensive. The other frequent option is by ship, which still work on sails. Teleportation circles exist, but are highly limited and expensive.
As of current, weaponry itself still sits in the realm of sword and sorcery - while canons exist, there are (actually available) firearms. That said, it is possible for any level of technology to wind up in Aanrah - the Underworld and Faerealms are both attached to other realms of existence, and their residents are known to sometimes procure odds and ends from other worlds. These objects and occurrences are extremely rare though, and often aren't much (if any) help in allowing the denizens of Aanrah to create the same technology themselves.
The Project of Aanrah
Origin
Aanrah originally was going to be made as a homebrew world for a 5e game to run with friends, using various ideas and characters I'd come up with over the past decade or so. Ultimately, because I was running on a lot of ideas I already had, creating balance and using these ideas pretty quickly came into conflict, and between that and generally failing to come up with a good idea for a campaign plot, I dropped the idea of using it for a TTRPG and decided to just build it as a hobby and a chance to actually compile stuff together.A lot of the characters of Aanrah have origins tracing back to my high school years - some never had more than a design and maybe a name, while others had more fleshed out and full stories. A lot of the core foundation of Aanrah stem from the world I had made back then - and even though there's more of the old stuff left behind then brought with, I do still find myself working in callbacks to old concepts and ideas, even if just for my own enjoyment. This is, importantly, also sometimes why some character names currently feel potentially out of place in comparison to others who supposedly share the same naming language - they were likely named that prior to Aanrah's conception, and their names are still something I'm working on shaking loose.
Comments