Tales Unending

Tales Unending is a fractured cosmology of Story Realms drifting within the Storywake—a dreamlike current where emotion, memory, and will shape reality. Anchors travel between worlds to mend fractured narratives, confront the Storyless, and prevent realms from slipping into the Unwritten, where stories lose the strength to continue.

Tales Unending was born from a fascination with stories as living things—structures that grow, fracture, repeat, or quietly fade when they are no longer carried forward. Rather than treating worlds as static locations, this setting treats them as narratives in motion, shaped by emotion, memory, and choice. Reality here is not governed by physics alone, but by meaning. The setting draws inspiration from storybook fantasy, mythic cosmologies, and games and fiction where worlds feel symbolic rather than literal. Players may recognize echoes of dreamlike, interconnected realms; of journeys between isolated worlds; of light, loss, and persistence—but Tales Unending is not about recreating any one influence. Instead, it asks a different question: what happens when a story cannot continue, and who bears the responsibility of carrying it forward? At the heart of the setting is the Storywake—a liminal medium where worlds drift based on resonance rather than distance. Story Realms are sustained by their internal logic and themes, exaggerated and archetypal by design. When those themes stagnate—when grief curdles into obsession, or memory collapses into repetition—the Unwritten begins to form. The Storyless are not villains in the traditional sense; they are consequences. Players take on the role of Anchors: individuals capable of moving between worlds, wielding Storyforged Arms, and influencing the direction a story takes. Anchors are not chosen heroes by prophecy, but narrative fulcrums—people whose presence causes change simply by acting with conviction. Their power is not alignment or destiny, but continuance. This setting is intentionally flexible in tone. While it embraces high fantasy and mythic stakes, it leaves room for whimsy, melancholy, intimacy, and quiet character-driven moments. A world may be bright and hopeful, gently tragic, or deeply unsettling depending on its Core Story. Combat, exploration, and diplomacy all exist in service of narrative momentum rather than conquest. Ultimately, Tales Unending is a setting about persistence—not triumph. Not every story can be saved. Not every ending can be rewritten. But as long as someone remembers, acts, or chooses to care, a story may yet find the strength to continue. And that, perhaps, is enough. Playlist for setting music: https://suno.com/playlist/da48d5bc-bb21-41be-8c1b-0d1de2cb9a60