The Wordbound sigil Eldara Tourism Bureau
A towering waterfall between mossy cliffs and old stone ruins, the gateway to Eldara
The Eldara Tourism Bureau presents

Welcome
to Eldara

A fantasy RPG where words are magic, and your vocabulary is the passport.

Plan Your Visit Please spell responsibly.
Postcards

Seven Regions Worth the Trip

Eldara's language broke long ago. The pieces became places, and the Bureau has photographed all of them.

A painted map of the seven regions of Eldara
Fig. 1. Eldara, as surveyed. The Bureau accepts no liability for unmarked territories.
Veil of Aeloria
Painted scene of the Veil of Aeloria, a waterfall and a wordbinder

I. The Veil of Aeloria

Where the waterfall once spoke

Gateway to the realm and gentlest of introductions. The mist still hums with half-said words; the Gnarls are polite by local standards.

Verdant March
Painted scene of the Verdant March, a forest with a stag and hounds

II. The Verdant March

A forest that keeps its own records

Old-growth borderland where the trees grew around buried words. Walk softly, speak in full sentences; the forest is taking notes.

Ashen Wilds
Painted scene of the Ashen Wilds, falling pages and beasts

III. The Ashen Wilds

Where pages fall like snow

Burned country. The snow here is paper, the lamplight is a moth, and something large eats letters at the end of the Cinder Road.

Sunken Kingdom
Painted scene of the Sunken Kingdom, drowned towers underwater

IV. The Sunken Kingdom

Drowned by a name spoken backwards

A capital city under the tide, catalogued by squid. Waterproofing is the visitor's responsibility.

Crystal Desert
Painted scene of the Crystal Desert, glass dunes and a dragonfly

V. The Crystal Desert

The dunes record every word

Glass sands that keep what you say forever. Speak carefully. The desert quotes back.

Forgotten Library
Painted scene of the Forgotten Library, endless stacks

VI. The Forgotten Library

Every book ever unwritten

All overdue. The Marginalia crawl the stacks and the Index will not hear a long word.

Vault of Names
Painted scene of the Vault of Names, a wight at an open door

VII. The Vault of Names

Where true names are kept

Someone left the last door open. Tours end at the Threshold. The Bureau strongly recommends knowing your own name.

Field Guide

Local Wildlife

Word beasts feed on stray syllables. Keep your letter pool closed and your vocabulary sharp. Feeding the wildlife is, in fact, the entire point.

Thornback sprite

Thornback

Sus thornensis

Grown from the word THORN and nothing gentler. Charges trails without apology.

Weak to flame
Glyph Hound sprite

Glyph Hound

Canis glyphus

Knocks letters out of order for what can only be a hound's idea of a joke.

Scrambles tiles
Hollow Stag sprite

Hollow Stag

Cervus silentii

Where it walks, birds stop singing mid-note. Short words simply fail in its presence.

Silences short words
Emberjaw sprite

Emberjaw

Draco cinereus

A small dragon of the burned country. The pages fall like snow; the Emberjaw is why they burned.

Weak to frost
Hushmoth sprite

Hushmoth

Tinea taciturna

Drawn to lamplight and long words alike. Eats the second one.

Imposes word minimums
Inkfin sprite

Inkfin

Sepia scripta

Catalogues the drowned capital in ink. Files visitors under 'specimens.'

Resists shadow
Errata Imp sprite

Errata Imp

Diabolus correctus

Corrects your spelling. Whether you asked is not its concern.

Devours letters
Nomenclator sprite

Nomenclator

Index nominum

Checks the shelves and finds names missing. Asks you to fill out a form.

Do not sign anything
Notice to Travelers

Travel Advisories

The Bureau is required by charter to publish known hazards. Most are survivable by vocabulary.

§1

The Curse Clock

Approximately one region in three carries an ambient hex. Every few turns, a letter is cursed. Spelling with a hexed tile burns the caster. Transmute, route around it, or simply eat the cost; the Bureau cannot refund hit points.

§2

The Realm's Patience

Eldara does not wait forever. Linger too long over your letters and the realm hexes one for you. Each offense grants you less grace than the last.

§3

Backmask Zones

Certain creatures speak your words back to front. Travelers are advised to build their spells in reverse until the effect lifts.

§4

The Wordstone Surge

Spent letters charge the Wordstone; at full charge your next cast deals half again its power, pierces enemy wards, and burns hexes clean from the pool. The Bureau officially rates it 'very satisfying.'

§5

Daily Expeditions

One sanctioned expedition departs each day: same wilds, same beasts, for every traveler. Compare notes at the Bureau at your own peril of pride.

Getting Here

Eldara requires no signal, no account, and no companions. Eldara is fully offline once you arrive, and the Bureau keeps no records of your visit.