NOTE:
Please know that this content was written for and pertains to the 2023 Realms Unknown event. New lore, game details, and more will be added at a later date.
What to Expect
The Realms Unknown festival is a 3-day fantasy immersion experience. You can come for the day, the entire weekend, and camp overnight. Our event offers lots of entertainment and activities in each realm (Ages Past, Fae & Goblin, & Time Travelers). We have 3 event stages, with our mainstage located in the Ages Past Realm. We also have 3 (21+) taverns, one in each realm, vendors, and of course the interactive Portal Quest (please see activity description below).
The Ages Past Realm
The Ages Past Realm is the realm of history and memories past. In this realm you will encounter the Norsemen of the Viking era, battle with Knights from the Medieval Time, and explore the high seas during the Golden Age of Piracy. Attend workshops, classes, attend pirate school, enter the boffing ring, watch live cannon and small arms demonstrations and much more!
The Fae & Goblin Realm
The Fae & Goblin Realm is the realm of magic and nature. In the Emerald Forest, you will discover the magic of wishes, get to parade and dance with the Faeries, meet the Royal Faerie Court, sparkle with a real live unicorn, and be amazed as you watch a variety of puppet shows, and the aerial performances of the Faerie circus! At and around the Whispering Pond, you will be enchanted by the musical sirens, and play mermaid games, and even get to meet Una the Mermaid swimming in her one-of-kind tank! As you frolic among the flowers and trees, beware of Wotan the Faerie Smasher as he and his motley goblin crew! All this and more in the Faerie Realm!
The Time Traveler's Realm
The Time Travelers Realm is a diverse realm of time travelers from all different time periods and dimensions. This realm is fueled by the spirit of adventure, ingenuity, invention, science, and…Tea. Yes tea, and Goggles, top hats, steam valves, gears, lace parasols, time machines, underwater cities, and tea parties aboard giant airships. In this realm learn tea dueling, play field games, climb aboard an airship, and play Mondo Croquet! Take a moment to relax by the Time Travelers stage to hear tunes of fascinating time periods and enjoy your tea!
The Ages Past Realm is the realm of history and memories past. In this realm you will encounter the Norsemen of the Viking era, battle with Knights from the Medieval Time, and explore the high seas during the Golden Age of Piracy. Attend workshops, classes, attend pirate school, enter the boffing ring, watch live cannon and small arms demonstrations and much more!
The Fae & Goblin Realm is the realm of magic and nature. In the Emerald Forest, you will discover the magic of wishes, get to parade and dance with the Faeries, meet the Royal Faerie Court, sparkle with a real live unicorn, and be amazed as you watch a variety of puppet shows, and the aerial performances of the Faerie circus! At and around the Whispering Pond, you will be enchanted by the musical sirens, and play mermaid games, and even get to meet Una the Mermaid swimming in her one-of-kind tank! As you frolic among the flowers and trees, beware of Wotan the Faerie Smasher as he and his motley goblin crew! All this and more in the Faerie Realm!
The Time Travelers Realm is a diverse realm of time travelers from all different time periods and dimensions. This realm is fueled by the spirit of adventure, ingenuity, invention, science, and…Tea. Yes tea, and Goggles, top hats, steam valves, gears, lace parasols, time machines, underwater cities, and tea parties aboard giant airships. In this realm learn tea dueling, play field games, climb aboard an airship, and play Mondo Croquet! Take a relax by the Time Travelers stage to hear tunes of fascinating time periods and enjoy your tea!
Explore the Realms
Costuming
Costumes are not required to attend or participate in Realms Unknown, but are highly encouraged. We are an all-genre festival integrating everything from historical re-enactment, to fantasy, gaming, Steampunk, to science fiction and cosplay. If you intend to participate in the Portal Quest, we encourage you to build a costume around your questing character! *Please see our event rules regarding cosplay props, and costumes involving historical tragedies.
Terrain
Generally speaking, the property of the Lewis River Golf Course is very ADA friendly. We will offer ADA parking and camping right at the main entrance. The majority of the terrain is flat with low golf-course grass. There are some paved pathways, and some small hills.
Lore & the Portal Quest
The Realms Unknown Festival is inspired by numerous mythologies, fairytales, game settings, stories, and movies interwoven to create a unique, fun live action roleplay experience!
The Plot:
Hidden beyond the veil are the Realms Unknown. Dimensional realities of magic, memory, time travel, and more. Due to increasingly negative energies emanating from the mortal plane, a crack in the energy barrier between these dimensional realms has formed causing portals to open. These portal openings have caused the realms to fall into proximity with the mortal plane. Humans and other beings have found themselves sucked into a cosmic vortex and the only way to return home is to find the keys to close the portals. However, not everything in these realms is what they seem, and not everyone wants the portals closed. Some beings wish to keep them open so they can enter the mortal plane, and will do almost anything to succeed. Navigate the realms, solve the challenges, find the keys to save the realms!
The Game:
Hidden in each Realm are series of secrets, riddles, logic puzzles and physical or mental challenges that must be solved in order to win the key for each realm. Solve the challenges in each realm to win a realm portal key. Complete each realm, win all the realm portal keys. Complete the final challenge, you save the realms and win the Master Portal Key! Game registration is located in the Nexus! It is Free to register, with an optional $5 quest bag which includes health and clue tokens as well as a-keep-sake goblin key necklace (which you use to collect your keys). The Portal Quest is considered an all-ages activity, with a recommended minimum age of 10 years old for maximum engagement and understanding. This activity is more fun and engaging when completed in a small group or campaign, but solitary questers are welcome!
The Ages Past Realm is a dimensional reality where all historical memories of the Primal Material Plane reside. There are several layers to the Ages Past Realm which connect all memory paths of every form of existence that has ever been in the material plane, both human and non-human. Things are not always as they seem in this realm. Memories are not always remembered in detail, and some things are forgotten entirely, and some moments only remembered in the way the collective consciousness chooses to remember them.
Since the primary energy distortion is a result of negative energy emanating from the Earth plane the Portal to the Ages Past Realm is directly connected to the history and memory of human collective consciousness. Interestingly, the choices, actions, and thoughts of the human realm in the now are able to alter and change the memory patterns in Ages Past. These changes are unconscious to the figures living out repeated memories of the past. This means the memories of Ages Past are in constant flux. As the human world in the now becomes increasingly entrenched in negative energy, the memories of the past begin reflect memories of strife and struggle, and is one reason the Portal of Ages Past seems to have opened itself into a collection of warrior memories.
The Time Travelers Realm is comprised of cosmic way finders, explorers, inventors, and journeyers. They represent a wide variety of beings from across all planes and times of existence. With an insatiable hunger for truth and unstoppable curiosity, Time Travelers are those who have discovered (in a myriad of ways) to transcend their realities and places in time in order to explore the far-reaching places and spaces between realties.
At one point in the “time” continuum Time Travelers reached as far as the border to Elemental Chaos, but quickly discovered this was too perilous a journey and decided to turn around and go back to bar at the end of the known universe. Although it is not entirely known how far across dimensional reality Time Travelers can go, rumors in Goblin City of the Fae & Goblin Realm have claimed they have gone as far The Nine Hells of the Astral Sea, but that claim was primarily made by a Goblin known as Bankrup who is known for spinning tall tales just to win the approval of Stinkachu, a popular mead drinking Hobgoblin in the region of Faedark, so no one really knows.
The distortion in the Primal Plane emanating from Earth has opened a portal to Trokinrse a sort of inter-cosmic vacation hub for Time Travelers located just a hop, skip, and jump between the mortal world and the Fae & Goblin Realm. The Time Travelers are mildly aware of the energetic shifts that have been taking place. However, they are far more interested and concerned with goings on of Intergalactic Time Travelers Day which is primarily celebrated by drinking copious amounts of tea, and playing mondo croquet; barely aware a portal has even opened connecting their world to other realms, causing them to be yanked into proximity of the Prime Material Plane. If you ask, some Time Travelers think the Portals are simply a new installation put in by the CDTTT (the Cosmic Department of Time Traveler Transportation) in an effort to reduce inter cosmic traffic and to reduce inter-dimensional Travel emissions.
The Borderlands comprises the dimensional space existing between Prime Material Plane and the Astral Sea. The Astral Sea can be reached from almost any point in a Prime Material plane or first layer of any Outer plane by spell, psionic ability, or device. It is described as a barren place of other-dimensional nothingness extending in all directions. What little solid substance that floats in the bright, gray void is typically chunks of matter broken off from their original plane. The Astral Sea has no gravity but objects do retain their mass so you can throw small items or push off from large objects to move in this weightless environment. As the barriers between the realms have weakened and portals opening, chunks of dimensional realty are breaking off and floating lost, misplaced, or wandering in the Borderlands. The energetic distortion of the material plane has caused some of the weirdest, strangest and most obscure aspects of human and non-human reality to coalesce in shared space.
The Human Realm/Earth (Terra). In the words of one very wise crab of the Endless Sea, “The human world is a mess”. Humans have lost connection with the realities beyond the material plane and have become consumed with conflicts and emotional distress. Many are despondent and have lost their way in the great purpose. No longer creators of their realities, humans have become indebted to activities, institutions and ways of life which do not seek mutual benefit or stewardship of the physical plane. Few humans realize there are dark forces beyond their reality lying in wait and at the ready to take advantage of their evolutionary vulnerability and to take power over the physical plane. The further entrenched in conflict and emotional distress the Earthly realm becomes, the more accumulation of negative energy accumulates in the Veil, creating fractures and weaknesses across planes of realities. A long time ago, humans and beings of the Fae & Goblin Realm were mutually aware of each other. Overtime most (not all) humans began to experience a form of energetic forgetfulness. Humans not only began to lose their albitites to hear, see, feel and experience the other planes of reality, but they also began to forget entirely about them. The Realms are now Unknown to most. Additionally, the same abilities which allow the human world to experience the other planes of reality are the same abilities which foster human creativity, benevolence, ingenuity, and playfulness. The loss of which, is undoubtedly contributing to the further entrenchment of negative consciousness.
A portal has opened between the Earth plane and the other inter-dimensional realities. Unsuspecting humans are being pulled into this vortex, and are finding themselves in the Elvtroxus (Nexus), an intermediary realm and inter-cosmic plane station. Humans are not able to exit through the Elvtroxus and return to Earth. The CDTTT uploaded a revolving vortex door program to the cosmic matrix, which has been unfortunately stuck going in one direction since 1967. The Time Travelers Union attempted once to get it fixed to no avail due to budget cuts and a prioritization of funds towards the building of the inter-cosmic highway.
Elvtroxus (The Nexus) is an intermediary realm and inter-cosmic plane station. It appears whenever there are rifts or fractures in a cosmic plane barrier (the Veil). It is an emergency back-up program that was originally created and uploaded to the cosmic matrix by an ancient race of beings known as the Xeelee, a time traveling race that is said to be older than Universe itself…but again that information comes from Bankrup the Goblin, so take that information with a grain of salt. Anyway, the Nexus serves as an inter-cosmic gateway station leading to whatever portals that have emerged as a result in a barrier rift. It also acts as Mess Hall for inter-cosmic construction workers, and has become a sort of inter-cosmic hub for beings from many different Realms.
Origin Story:
The Realms Unknown are a multitude of dimensional realities that most of the time, go unseen, and undetected by those existing in physical and mortal plane. All of the Realms together, comprise the fabric of all space, time, and reality, and their collective energetic life forces sustain all of existence.
The Fae Realm is the realm of nature and magic. This realm is also known as the Fae & Goblin realm, or ‘land of faerie’ or the ‘faerie plane’. The Fae & Goblin realm is an echo of the prime material plane (best understood as an overlapping parallel universe) suffused with potent magic and unrestrained emotions. The realm of the Faerie exists as but just one of the many Outer Planes. The fae realm however, is one of the outer planes of reality which share a direct connection to the physical/mortal plane. This unique quality allows creatures and fae beings to sometimes pass back-and-forth between the two planes at matching geographical locations without needing to traverse the Astral Plane. This direct connection is also the main reason the Fae & Goblin realm has a central role in the ongoings of human affairs and the ruling over dimensional realities.
About the Fae & Goblin Realm:
The Fae & Goblin realm is home to many different fauna and forms of fae and elemental beings. Beings of air, earth, water, fire, and the 5thelement. Elemental Fae draws their life source and energy from the elemental forces which rule them. Their power, and abilities, traits and emotional selves are embodiments of their elemental forces.
The Fae & Goblin realm is a place of unrestrained and awe-inspiring natural beauty. Visitors to the plane find that all sensations, both sensory and emotional, are heightened. Smells are stronger, colors are more vivid, and sounds are clearer, and time different. At the same time shadows are also darker and impulses are harder to control. Strong emotions over time are beginning to alter the landscape of the Fae & Goblin realm itself. Evidence of this change is observed by trails of wilting flowers created by the despondent or furious and carefree animals emerging alongside the chipper and cheerful creatures.
Inhabitants of the Fae & Goblin realm vary in temperament from kind to malicious, but almost all have a mischievous side to them, and few stop to consider the needs or worries of visitors to their world. While many of those living in Fae & Goblin realm are untamed, large numbers also congregate according to race or by political allegiance.
Fae Social Hierarchy:
Fae are organized by their elemental class. Each class has its own power structures and social hierarchies. Each Fae society may express different cultures, values, attitudes and traits. Some Fae societies are communal and rely on mutual aid and reciprocity, while other fae societies are organized around more self-driven ideals, competition, and power over dynamics. Increasing dark thoughts, emotions and energies of the Prime Material Plane are impacting Fae & Goblin realm and is causing an increase in Fae adopting more selfish behaviors and attitudes, creating conflict and rifts among Fae societies.
Archfae:
Archfae are fae beings who have gained demi-god powers and status, and have established a position of preeminence among fae-kind. Each archfae has a unique appearance and set of abilities, most control a portion of the Fae & Goblin realm and they often have self-proclaimed titles.
Some archfae are powerful fae representing many different races, while others are the awakened spirits of natural places such as forests or rivers, others are the sentient incarnations of different types of animals, and others are so old and powerful they transcended the bounds of mortality. Some archfae are regarded as deities and granted divine abilities to their worshipers. Archfae can be also contacted by a willing witch or Warlock to form a fae pact.
The Four High Courts are divided by the seasonal jurisdictions: Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall. These four courts represent the seasons but they are only one aspect of nature. Nature is multi-faceted and therefore takes on a multitude of expressions and will be personified in the Fae & Goblin realm. There are fae that preside over the seas, and among the Merfolk, exist the Coral Court. There are also the fae of the desert wastes, and the fae who rule over the endless skies as well.
Seelie (Divine Realm) and Unseelie Fae:
Most but not all fae serve one of two god-like Archfae rulers: Tiandra the Summer Queen or the Ruler of Darkness and Air who share an ancient and bitter rivalry. Those who belong to Tiandra’s Seelie Court are known as seelie fae and are generally good -aligned and represent or celebrate the beauty of nature. The Seelie Court has many different species among its members, including but not limited to Fae elves, nymphs and dryads, giants, fairies, cu sidh, leprechauns, selkies, unicorns, centaurs, treants, sylphs, and undines. Its nobles are primarily Fae elves, though some are truly unique creatures and part elemental. They are known to be honorable toward visitors to the Fae & Goblin realm, if a bit mischievous, but they do not welcome non-fae to join their Court. The King of the Seelie Court is the ruler of the pantheon, and King Oberon. The Seelie Fae are beautiful but tend to be elitist, and these courtiers thrive on politicking and gossip, with the court fae forming endless cliques and factions. In their history they have only admitted pure-blooded fae to their ranks, and, when dealing with outsiders, preferred those with fae, elven or celestial blood.
Those who belong to the Ruler of Air and Darkness’s Unseelie Court are known as unseelie fae, and are generally evil-aligned and represent or celebrate the darker and more macabre aspects of the natural world. They are generally more dangerous and untrustworthy in their dealings with visitors; however, they are known to be more welcoming of non-fae into their Court. The Unseelie Court works tirelessly to undermine the Seelie Court, sometimes violently but more often through games and cruel mischief.
The remaining inhabitants of the Fae & Goblin realm either have no allegiances except at their own whims, or serve another of the archfae, such as Oberon, Hyrsam, or the Prince of Frost. Uglier inhabitants of the Fae & Goblin realm, such as fomorians and hags, are generally not welcome among either the Seelie or Unseelie Courts.
Primary Festival Story Plot:
The Royal Fae Court of the Realms Unknown Festival is the Summer Seelie Court, presided over by Queen Tiandra. The Faerie Queen has taken her court to the Emerald Forest, a region of Fae & Goblin realm to investigate the appearance of an unstable portal which has opened between Fae & Goblin realm and the Prime Material Plane. She suspects the emergence of this portal has something to do with the ever-increasing dark energy emanating from the Prime Material Plane. More specifically, the portal that has opened is a direct connection to the human realms of Earth. Queen Tiandra’s spies have discovered that a similar portal to Earth has also emerged in the hidden region of the Faedark which is currently ruled by the Unseelie Court. Upon Further investigation in Emerald Forest, and to Queen Tiandra’s great dismay, she has discovered two other portals have emerged in addition to the one in Emerald Forest. One in Ages Past (the realm of history and memory) and one in the Time Travelers Realm (the realm past, now, and future). The Nexus has also formed as a result of the energetic rift between light and dark energies. This rift has caused energy to become stuck in a holding pattern and now acts as an intermediary plane between the realms. Queen Tiandra fears more portals will begin to open further fracturing the cosmic continuum of existence.
Suspecting that Queen Tiandra will launch efforts to close the portals, the Ruler of the Unseelie Court has sent Wotan leader, of the Barbarians and an unlikely General of the Unseelie Fae to spy on and disrupt the efforts of Queen Tiandra in Emerald Forest. Although the power of the Seelie Fae grows weaker with the increase of dark energy, the Unseelie Fae grow in strength. Queen Tiandra fears the emergence of these portals will allow the Unseelie fae access into other realms which have long been protected by the Seelie Court, and that this phenomenon may signify the coming of the ‘Great Shift’. … The fabric of all existence now hangs in the balance!
Fear and gossip about these portals have spread throughout Fae & Goblin realm. Other Fae Courts have left their regions to find Queen Tiandra in Emerald Forest to summon an emergency ‘Convergence’ in order to share their concerns and find a solution. One such Archfae is Una from the realm Waters and Seas who convenes the Coral Court, has devised a contraption which will allow her to travel across land just so she can meet with the Undines and merfolk of Whispering Pond. There are dozens of lakes and ponds that exist across the Fae & Goblin realm, but there is also the endless sea which lies beyond the border of Fae & Goblin realm near the Elemental Plane of Water. It is there where Una originates, and she comes bringing news from the Sea Faeries who state that a portal has also appeared in the endless Sea.
The Great Shift:
It has always been known that barrier between the Fae & Goblin realm and the Prime Material Plane is the weakest barrier point. A noble duty of the Seelie Court has always been to watch over, guard and protect the gateways between Fae & Goblin realm and the other Realms. With the emergence of the portals, the protective barrier (known as the veil) which protects all realms, is at a shattering point. As a result, Fae & Goblin realm, Ages Past and the Time Travelers Realm have all been yanked back into proximity with the Prime Material Plane. There is a Faerie prophecy which tells of a time when the energies which govern over Fae & Goblin realm will shift from light to darkness. If or when this great shift happens there will be no protective borders between the realms which will cause a great imbalance of cosmic energies, resulting in mass universal chaos. The prophecy also states, this disaster may be averted with a counterbalance.
Object of the Game:
The Realms must unite and join forces in order to raise the vibrational frequency of the portals. This includes the human realm. Leading this effort is Queen Tiandra of the Summer Seelie Fae Court. Will she be able to persuade leaders of the other Realms to join forces and collaborate? Will her own people push aside their elitism to work with non-fae or non-royals? To complicate matters neither the human realm or the Realm of Ages Past are even aware of the existence of the other Realms. A long time ago, the realms between humans and the fae were more closely connected, but now they remain mostly unknown. With the portals opened, this means humans, fae, time travelers, and memories of the past are all converging at once! Furthermore, the energy and powers of the Fae are negatively impacted by the mechanics, and technology of the Time Travelers Realm. Humans from the prime material plane are being pulled into the Nexus which is the center of the energetic distortion. The only way back to their realm (and to prevent further dark energies from entering with them) is to journey through the portals and solve a series of riddles, puzzles and challenges which will reveal the secrets to saving the realms.
The Portal Quest:
There are four realms of the event which are quest regions: Ages Past, Time Travelers, Fae & Goblin, and the Borderlands. Patrons who are sucked into the Nexus will find themselves at Once- Upon-A-Time, the inter-cosmic lobby and mess hall of the inter-dimensional planes. There, patrons will be equipped with abilities, skills, and knowledge on what to do next. They will also be given the option to purchase a quest pouch, which will contain tokens for health and clue exchanges to assist them along their way. Patrons will then receive their first clue on where to go and the quest begins. Each realm will have a series of 4 riddles, 3 logic puzzles, and 2 physical quest challenges, each increasing in difficulty. There will also be opportunities for side quests. If all the primary quest activities are completed successfully in the realm, the hero/s will be given a key (which they will then get to attach to their lovely goblin necklace they received in their quest pouch). The keys symbolize a lesson taught in each realm, which will be important to remember when piecing together the grand quest. Once all four keys are obtained, the quester must then go to Victors Hall in the Nexus to complete the final challenge to obtain the Master Key and to be declared Key Master of the Realms!