Quill and Compass, Entry 1: Welcome to Gaiaxia
By our first century, we Sun Elves are expected to contribute something of worth to the Realm. I could have composed symphonies for the courts, or turned my hand to carving monuments, or spent my years entombed in a dusty library. Instead, I have walked the mountains, I have sailed the seas, and I have heard stories spoken in a dozen tongues. I would be remiss not to share them. This is my gift to the Realm— a record of its past and present, told not as dry fact, but as a living tale, to be remembered and cherished.
I am Tobias Elanor, bard of considerable renown, scholar of unparalleled insight, and explorer of no small daring. With quill in hand and boots well-worn by countless adventures, I now turn my attention to that grandest of all subjects: the world itself.
As you may well know, we call this realm Gaiaxia. A land once ruled by Dragons, whose shadows still linger upon the land and whose whispers echo through every legend. It is a place where the mundane and magickal are inextricably intertwined, where the deities themselves once walked amongst us mortals, and the line between layman and legend can be as thin as a simple stroke of a quill.
You will, no doubt, be clamoring to see a map of such a place. Very well—here it is. Study it well, though be advised: no map of Gaiaxia has ever truly been complete. The seas shift, the borders of kingdoms falter, and even the most seasoned cartographer cannot capture the pulse of a living world. Still, my discerning eye assures you this one is rather splendid and remarkably accurate!
From this point onward, I shall guide you across continents and Ages alike. You will learn of the grand epochs that shaped this realm—from the reign of Dragons, to the rise of the El’koryn, to the beauties of the modern day and beyond. I promise, it shall all be quite thrilling.
So steel yourself, dear reader. The journey begins here.
And in my next entry, as any proper tale must, we shall start with time itself: the Ages of Gaiaxia. For how could one hope to understand the present without first recounting the past?
With ink, wit, and no small measure of brilliance,
Yours, ever truly,
— Tobias Elanor, Bard, Scholar, Explorer Extraordinaire
© DracTheDrake
Hello hello!
A bit of backstory for the curious:
I've been sitting on this idea for a while now and have wanted to share it with the world, but never really felt that it was ready or, to be completely honest, worth sharing outside of our home D&D game. As our table's Forever GM, a title I proudly wear no matter how bittersweet it may be, I've never really been one to simply run things as they are straight out of the book, I've always tinkered.
That's how Gaiaxia was born. My living world and passion project.
We started playing D&D5e regularly back in 2018 and I wasn't content with simply running our game in The Forgotten Realms. I have nothing against the setting, it simply didn't click with me; I'm a lore junkie and didn't agree with some of what I read (and I read A LOT), so I decided, as any sane person does, to create my own world. It's gone through several iterations, plenty of rewrites, and tons of lore changes, but I've gotten it to the point I'm at now: wanting to share it with the world.
I honestly had no idea how to go about it though. Do I simply post lore dumps? I'm into that and will read them all day long, but with some feedback and encouragement from my other half, Lilly, I've decided to use one of our canon in-universe recurring characters to explore it alongside all of you as a sort of in-world published travelogue .
Going forward in this series, any italicized text will be written in the voice of none other than the scholar and explorer extraordinaire, Tobias Elanor.
Feel free to ask questions or simply chat in the comments. Thank you for reading on and I hope you enjoy this adventure as much as I have through years past and many more to come!