"What is written may be forgotten. But what is threaded… endures."
—From the Vaults of Orrenvale, sealed scrolls of the Silent Loom
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On the World Beyond Sight
In the Age Before, when the Loom was still whole, the world of Elarion spun in quiet harmony. It was a realm of shifting skies and sleeping gods, where names were etched into reality not with ink, but with threads—those invisible veins of fate, will, and memory that wove all things together.
But harmony, like silence, does not last.
The Rifts came—tears in the Loom itself. No thunder heralded them, no prophecy warned of their coming. They simply… opened.
Some say the stars screamed when it happened.
Through these gashes spilled more than just creatures of nightmare. Something older bled through. An essence. A presence. Duskreth—the forgotten force, neither god nor curse, that now coils through the marrow of the world like smoke seeking flame.
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On the Setting: Elarion and Ashgrove
Elarion is not whole. Not truly. It remembers being a continent of wonder, of empires and burial songs, but now it is fractured into places of rot and rebirth.
To the north lies Nytherra, frozen and still dreaming.
To the west, the haunted elegance of Virelia, where ruined courts dance beneath ash trees.
But here, in the east, lies Aeldenmark—a country adrift in its own forgotten glories. And within Aeldenmark's hollow chest beats the city of Ashgrove.
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Ashgrove: The City of Bound Echoes
Once a place of industry and arcane invention, Ashgrove now slumbers under grey skies and lanternlight. Its streets wind like veins, choked with fog and whispers.
Ashgrove is divided into eight districts—each with two names: one for the living, and one for those who remember what came before.
In this world, names carry weight—and names, once forgotten, do not rest quietly.
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On the Power System: The Threaded Path
All who survive the rift-scarred lands know the Threaded Path is no gift—it is a burden, a spiral into deeper madness or mastery. When a soul is marked by a rift artifact—like a coin etched with impossible symbols—they begin to perceive the Threads: strands of fate, memory, emotion, and shadow interwoven through reality.
There are five known stages along this path:
1. Threadbound – The awakening. The mark is received, and the soul begins to see the threads. Minor sensory manipulation or perception is possible.
2. Weaving – Control begins. The individual may now manipulate one or more threads: memory-threads, emotion-threads, shadow-threads, and more.
3. Patterned – Power solidifies into a unique "Pattern," tied to the soul's true nature. This stage is dangerous, often causing rejection or soul fracture.
4. Fractured Loom – Forbidden techniques, where the soul breaks boundaries. Madness and brilliance walk hand in hand. Few survive.
5. Loomwalker – A state beyond fate. A myth. A curse. Perhaps a lie.
No two Threadbound walk the same path. Some burn out. Some vanish. Some... Unweave.
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Important Terms for the Reader
Thread Marks: Visible signs (tattoos, scars, glowing symbols) that appear on those who have awakened. Each mark is unique and personal.
The Loom: A metaphysical construct believed to hold all fate, memory, and identity. Rifts are tears in the Loom.
Unweaving: The act of erasing a person's thread entirely from the Loom—removing them from memory, history, and reality. Forbidden, and feared.
Echo-Fields: Zones of metaphysical residue—left behind after trauma, death, or rift activity. Memory and emotion persist there. They can be seen, heard, touched… and sometimes fought.
Duskreth: An ancient, nameless force tied to the origin of the rifts and the Threaded Path. It is not a being, but an idea. A contagion of the soul.
The Threshold System: A theory suggesting that every soul has a breaking point—a Threshold—which when crossed, unlocks unnatural power. Each crossing deepens your connection to the Loom, but frays your humanity.
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On the Tone of This Tale
This is not a story of chosen ones or golden destinies.
This is a story of shadows that move without light. Of cities that remember things long buried. Of a young man named Kyren, who walks District Seven with a coin that should not exist, and memories that do not belong to him.
It is the story of Riftborne Shadows—and of those who dared to pull at the threads of fate, knowing they may unravel the world.
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"The air remembers.
The walls remember.
And you, reader…
You will remember too".