Cultural context
Place each legend within its landscape—time periods, cultural values, and historical echoes.
Myths. Folklore. Oral histories.
Travel the world through its lore and legends.
Curated stories, cultural context, and enduring motifs from every corner of the globe—presented as an ever-growing library for curious minds and creative worlds.
Feature Spotlight
The Songlines of the Red Earth
Australian Aboriginal songlines map the land through melody and memory, weaving geography, law, and cosmology into epic walking routes.
- Region: Australia & Oceania
- Motif: Sacred geography, ancestral journeys
- Use it for: Worldbuilding paths, pilgrimage quests, mnemonic magic
What you'll find
Built for explorers of story and culture.
Each entry pairs narrative beats with context, motifs, and hooks so you can appreciate the tale—or reshape it for your own creative work.
Motifs & symbols
Quick-read motif tags and symbol notes help you spot parallels across regions.
Story beats
Structured summaries outline the arc so you can retell or remix with confidence.
Atlas view
Browse by region to dive into Norse sagas, Yoruba folktales, Pacific songlines, and more.
Latest articles
Across cultures and centuries.
Tap a motif to filter the library. Every entry notes region, story tone, and quick hooks for tabletop or fiction.
Merlin
Wild seer who engineers Arthur’s rise.
King Arthur & Excalibur
Sword, stone, lake—and the cost of broken oaths.
Sigurd and Fafnir
Dragon blood, rune-hearing, and a cursed hoard.
Guan Yu
Red-faced general turned god of loyalty.
Väinämöinen
Songs shaping land and duels of runes.
Pangu and the World-Egg
A titan’s body becomes mountains, rivers, sky.
Namazu
Earthquake catfish pinned by a vigilant god.
Perun
Slavic thunderbolts against serpent Veles.
Erlking
Forest whispers only the vulnerable can hear.
Nergal and Ereshkigal
Underworld power struggle turned shared rule.
Izanagi and Izanami
Creation, taboo in Yomi, and misogi birthings.
Hine-nui-te-pō
Goddess who chose the underworld, fixing death.
Anansi and the Calabash of Wisdom
The spider-trickster Anansi tries to hoard all wisdom into a single pot, only to realize knowledge flourishes when shared.
- Motifs: Trickster hubris, communal knowledge
- Takeaway: Power scatters when greed gathers it.
- Use in play: A cursed reliquary that resists secrecy.
Gilgamesh and the Waters of Life
After Enkidu's death, Gilgamesh seeks the plant of life beneath the cosmic sea, only to watch a serpent steal it.
- Motifs: Flood, immortality, serpent
- Takeaway: Mortality frames meaning and legacy.
- Use in play: A submerged sanctuary guarded by tides and time.
Yuki-onna, the Snow Woman
A spirit draped in winter mist spares a woodcutter in exchange for silence—until a broken promise melts the bond.
- Motifs: Winter, taboo, mercy bargains
- Takeaway: Agreements with the uncanny require vigilance.
- Use in play: A blizzard-bound patron who forbids speaking her name.
The Wild Hunt
A spectral cavalcade streaks across winter skies, led by Odin, sweeping up the souls of the unprepared.
- Motifs: Omen, liminal skies, restless dead
- Takeaway: Hospitality and hearth offer shelter from chaos.
- Use in play: A night ride that exchanges favors for safe passage.
Rangi and Papa
Sky father and earth mother embrace until their children, craving light, push them apart and birth the world.
- Motifs: Separation of sky and earth, sibling resolve
- Takeaway: Creation demands difficult boundaries.
- Use in play: A realm divided by ancient siblings with opposing domains.
The Hero Twins in Xibalba
Hunahpu and Xbalanque outwit the lords of the Maya underworld through games, sacrifice, and rebirth.
- Motifs: Underworld trials, ballgame, twin synergy
- Takeaway: Wit and playfulness can topple tyrants.
- Use in play: A tournament where rules are literal magic.
Raven Steals the Sun
A shapeshifting raven frees the trapped sun from a miserly chief, scattering light across the world.
- Motifs: Trickster, light-bringer, shapeshift
- Takeaway: Defiance against hoarded hope.
- Use in play: A heist for light in a lightless tundra.
The Lady of the Lake
A liminal guardian gifts Arthur his blade, demanding reciprocity between shore and otherworld.
- Motifs: Sacred waters, gift-for-service, otherworld
- Takeaway: Boons bind both giver and bearer.
- Use in play: A sword that must be returned before it will obey.
World atlas
Navigate by region.
Tap a card to explore starting points and motifs that recur across each landscape.
Europe & Norse
Omen · Heroic · WinterFrom the Wild Hunt to selkie changelings, European lore carries liminal passages between hearth and hinterland.
- Key motif: Bridges between mortal and fae realms
- Best hook: A debt to a rider seen only in storms
Africa & Diaspora
Trickster · AncestralAnansi, Mami Wata, and Loa spirits hold court with wit, water, and relentless reciprocity.
- Key motif: Cleverness against hoarding power
- Best hook: A feast where every tale is a key
Asia & Pacific
Spirits · CreationSonglines, tsukumogami, and sea dragons thread landscapes where objects and oceans hold memory.
- Key motif: Living landforms and wayfinding
- Best hook: A map sung only under starlight
Americas
Duality · Sacred gamesHero twins, raven thieves, and lake guardians swap power through bargains, games, and light.
- Key motif: Trials decided by wit and play
- Best hook: A dawn stolen and hidden in a vault