Chosens

Chosens are individuals summoned from other worlds to serve as heroes. They arrive without memories of their former lives, retaining no known homeland, family, or identity beyond what they build after arrival.

Unlike ordinary travelers or migrants, Chosens do not enter the world by natural means. They are called through summoning rites known to several factions, though the exact methods differ by region, tradition, and purpose. All known Chosens arrive without memories of their previous lives. No Chosen has ever fully recovered their former identity.

Chosens are most commonly summoned during periods of crisis.

Factions may call upon them to:

• defeat monsters or hostile powers
• recover lost relics
• explore dangerous regions
• end curses or magical disasters
• legitimize political or religious authority

Although Chosens are often described as heroes, not all are treated with honor. Some are welcomed as saviors, while others are used as tools, weapons, or symbols.

Multiple factions possess the knowledge required to summon Chosens.

Known summoners include:

• temples seeking chosen champions
• royal courts facing war or disaster
• magical colleges conducting controlled rites
• isolated cults or secret societies
• desperate communities with inherited rituals

Summoning is rarely simple or safe. Failed rites may produce nothing, damage the surrounding area, or attract unwanted magical phenomena linked to magic.

Public attitudes toward Chosens vary greatly.

Some societies consider them:

• chosen heroes
• divine gifts
• living omens
• dangerous outsiders
• property of the summoning faction

Their lack of memory makes them vulnerable. A faction that summons a Chosen often controls the first version of the truth they hear.

Because of this, many Chosens eventually question who summoned them, why they were called, and whether their assigned purpose is truly their own.

Wayhome is strongly associated with Chosens.

The guild shelters Chosens who have escaped, completed, rejected, or outlived the missions they were summoned for. It offers work, protection, records, and a place to build a life beyond the role of “hero.”

Not all members of Wayhome are Chosens, but many Chosens eventually pass through its halls.

The summoning of Chosens creates frequent political and moral disputes.

Common conflicts include:

• factions competing to summon stronger heroes
• kingdoms claiming ownership over summoned Chosens
• Chosens refusing their assigned destiny
• summoners concealing the truth of a ritual
• failed heroes being abandoned or hunted
• Wayhome interfering in factional claims

These disputes remain one of the major sources of tension between Wayhome and other powers.

Despite the existence of known summoning rites, many questions remain unresolved.

Scholars still debate:

• where Chosens truly come from
• why they lose their memories
• whether summoning creates or merely relocates them
• why some rites succeed and others fail
• whether Chosens are chosen by the ritual, the world, or something beyond both

The mechanics of summoning are known. The truth behind it is not.