300 ASF

You may be wondering: how the hells do we know about Starfall? How do we know about the Thousand Fires, Rains, and Starry Nights? How do we know about the chaos of the Fractured Centuries, as refugees swarmed into the continent of Avelliron? How do we know anything about anyone, before or after the stars fell?

It is foolish to think there is only one answer, one source, one text, or one truth, and doubly so to believe anyone has claim to it. There are oral traditions, such as the Yulekk epics, which have preserved knowledge of all sorts over the centuries. There are artifacts transported by refugees and handed down through the generations. And, of course, there are present-day accounts of expeditions into the Star-Scarred Lands, from which we can make informed guesses.

The Lorekeepers believe that if something withstands the test of time, it must contain some modicum of truth. The charge of a Lorekeeper, then, is to find and assemble these pieces of truth into a mosaic. A mosaic that separates fact from fiction. A mosaic that paints a picture of the strange, wondrous, and terrible things of the world. A mosaic through which a bigger, more complete truth may be glimpsed.

This is, in essence, what the first Lorekeepers strove to do. They were people born in the tumultuous times of the Fractured Centuries. These were observant individuals who took note of the incredible things happening around them, from Starfall’s aftershocks to the temper tantrums of displaced monsters.

Whether to warn their neighbors or to sell off their secrets, these nascent Lorekeepers began traveling between settlements, sharing their discoveries, their lore. When they met other like-minded individuals, they traded and cross-referenced their knowledge. Their knowledge became invaluable and trustworthy, despite its bizarre nature, which otherwise might have been taken as a fib or fabrication. Over the Fractured Centuries, a web of information formed, spun by the tales and travels of the Lorekeepers.

On several occasions, this web was severed or burned, but always reformed, stronger than before. Principally, this was because the early Lorekeepers wrote things down. To this day, this is what separates Lorekeepers from bards, poets, and your grandfather around the cookfire, all of whom may be prone to meddle with the truth. Whether through journals, letters, maps, or in the corners of playing cards, Lorekeepers endeavor to capture what they learn in the written record.

Why?

Because our world really is that strange.