Other Worlds by Aolis Zumdan

Aolis Zumdan published Other Worlds in 389 A.D., allegedly just six months after returning to the Four Kingdoms from his arduous journey. Zumdan labored to keep journals throughout his ordeal for over a decade (Zumdan notes in the text that due to the differing time streams in other realities, it became difficult to tell just how long it was) and used these journals and notes to compose the final book.

While Zumdan insisted for the remainder of his life that everything in the memoir was true, the general populace remained skeptical. Critics pointed to many aspects of the book as proof that it was at best far-fetched and at worst downright impossible: the fact that Zumdan was vague on how his journey started in the first place, the fact that he admitted to not knowing exactly how long the journey lasted, the fact that he published a mere six months after returning from a decade-long venture. It all contributed to a widely-held disbelief in the already fantastical narrative he presented. He would eventually be referred to as Zany Zumdan in many circles.

Decades after the publication and general mocking of Other Worlds, a cult following began to spring up around it. A small group of readers across the kingdoms formed a community around treating the text as a work of non-fiction and discussing the ramifications that would follow from all of it being true. Centuries on, the following is still small, but devoted, and gathers in Zumdan's hometown (Volotanka) to discuss the book and share ideas. Some of these followers will even spend time creating ORs (original realities) as works of fiction to share with one another.