Part I: Overview - (i) Origins
The true origins of Erâth are obscure, lost to the myth and legend of the oldest races. What is known is that Erâth comprises all that is; nothing beyond it can be known. It could be considered that Erâth represents the Universe, but in many ways is very much finite.
Erâth is a flat world. This does not, however, mean it is not round. It has a north, south, east and west, and to this day most parts of the world remain unexplored. There are great continents, and greater seas. Some seas are so vast they cannot be crossed, and are inhabited by creatures of appropriate enormity. There are large tracts of Erâth that are desolate wastelands. Much of Erâth is forested, but there are mountains and deserts, also.
Despite its vastness, Erâth is possessed of an edge. If you were to journey long enough in any particular direction, you would encounter one of two things: either mountains that increase ever in size and steepness until eventually culminating in an impassable wall; or a plunge, profound beyond depth, where the sea drops to oblivion.
Yet a curious aspect of Erâth is that, in spite of such an end, it is possible to journey endlessly within its borders. Like the concept of traveling in an unwavering straight line yet returning nonetheless whence you came, such is the case in Erâth. Should the traveler be inattentive to their direction or destination, they would find the landscape gradually change—as with all journeys—yet all the while remain the same, and eventually become that in which their journey began. The conscious traveler will, of course, eventually arrive at their chosen destination, but in this way the world of Erâth is kept all the more vast. It is uncertain what would happen should one attempt to travel beyond the edges of Erâth.
There are many things alive in Erâth. The inhabitants of Erâth (of which only a few will be discussed in this history) form a part of this livingness, but by no means its entirety. The life of Erâth extends beyond consciousness and awareness, and into the roots of the land itself. As such, not just plants, animals and people but mountains, trees, rivers, and even the air itself, are all very much alive. A thing that affects one part of Erâth must by necessity be felt in every other part. The smallest of changes—the birth and death of creatures, the eroding of the land by the water, the pushing of roots and growing of trees—whilst unnoticed by all who roam Erâth’s wildernesses, have a great cumulative effect. Thus, changes in the livingness of Erâth—the slow spread of Darkness, the dying of a race—gradually darken the entire world, but in such slow measure that it can only be considered over the course of millennia.
