The Inn | Notion

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Once a vast library belonging to Cahlia’s great-grandmother, the place has since been repurposed into a magical inn for characters transported from other worlds.
The books within the inn act as gateways to alternate timelines of Evernoll, allowing characters whose stories have destabilized — those who’ve lost their purpose, identity, or direction — to be drawn into the inn’s realm.
Time flows differently inside the inn — no time passes in a guest’s original world while they stay. </aside>

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Guests are individuals from alternate timelines of Evernoll that arrive at Cahlia’s Inn
They may arrive at the inn for due to their stories destabilizing in their world, which could mean losing their purpose, identity, or sense of personal direction
While under Cahlia’s care, guests may see her as someone else from their story — a mentor, friend, rival, or figure of guidance — as the inn’s magic subtly projects fragments of their own narrative perceptions onto her.
These projections are not intentional illusions, but rather echoes of their unfinished stories, shaping how they interpret Cahlia’s presence until their sense of self is restored.
Cahlia often chooses to play along with these perceptions, using them as insight into what the guest needs most — whether it’s closure, forgiveness, or rediscovery.
As their story stabilizes, the illusion fades, and they begin to see Cahlia for who she truly is, recognizing her as the innkeeper who helped them rediscover their path.
This phenomenon reinforces the inn’s purpose: to help guests reconnect with their true selves through the empathy and understanding of another. </aside>

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Guests arrive through magically manifested rooms, which appear and disappear according to the inn’s will. Each room reshapes itself to reflect the guest’s personality and origin.
When a guest is ready to return home, their room’s door transforms into a gateway back to their timeline, triggered by their emotional or personal restoration through Cahlia’s help. </aside>

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Beneath the inn lies a network of exposed leyline roots, the cause of its reality-bending magic and time distortion.
Leylines are vast, root-like streams of magical energy that course beneath Evernoll’s surface — the veins of the world that carry raw, living magic through the land.
In ancient times, when magic flowed untamed, leylines caused strange phenomena: floating lands, shifting terrains, and reality-bending anomalies.
The leylines beneath the inn leak unstable energy, creating a pocket dimension that links Evernoll to its many alternate timelines — each timeline representing a different “version” or era of the same world. </aside>

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As the innkeeper, Cahlia is both caretaker and emotional guide to her guests. Cahlia personally oversees the upkeep of the inn (along with the help of her companions external to the inn)
Initially believing herself to be magically ordinary, she discovers her unique gift upon her stay at the inn: the ability to stabilize stories and harmonize fragmented timelines.
After Cahlia helps a guest resolve their inner or narrative conflict, their book reactivates, granting her access to their world’s timeline.
Cahlia can enter the book realms, gathering unique materials or reconnecting characters across timelines.
She later receives letters from restored guests via Mimet, her courier ally — the letters mysteriously appear in his delivery satchel. </aside>