Lore of Rain World

SPOILER WARNING
This section contains major plot details. If you have not made significant progress in the game, then it is recommended that you read no further!

This page contains the lore and backstory of Rain World. The contents of this article should always be supported by evidence from texts and excerpts found in the game.

Please discuss potential changes on the talk page to ensure your additions are valid.

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The events that transpire from the start to the end of the Rain World universe are complicated and entangled. The Slugcat's journey across the world is also riddled with clues and subtle messages of the past.

A number of pieces of evidence and excerpts acquired over the course of the game's storyline offer a logical and well-supported explanation in regard to the cause of the world's current state of decay and disrepair.

The game's original timeline is separate from the events of the Downpour DLC, which is considered an official alternative universe. For this reason, all Downpour-related lore has its own comprehensive page.

The Ancients

A mural likely depicting two Ancients engaging in commerce.

Before the events of Rain World, there existed a people commonly referred to as the Ancients.^[*] Within their society, there existed monks who sought to escape the cycle of death and rebirth that trapped every living creature. These monks believed that there existed five natural urges, which bound every living creature to this cycle, and that if they shed each one, they could cross themselves out^[†] for good. The Ancients were immersed in all things sentimental, as well as those cerebral. They created art in the form of poetry, song, and craft, and likely interested themselves in discussions, debates, and documenting their living qualia.^[‡] There were likely many strata of influence an Ancient could find themselves in, and there existed an intricate system of titles and honorifics that was present in their official communications. This was a society that proved to be spiritual, artistic, and ambitious to a fault.

Void Fluid & the Revolution

Deep below the ground, there exists a vast sea composed of Void Fluid. This fluid has multiple powerful properties: it dissolves solid material, has the ability to produce energy.^[§] It can even cross out any living being immersed in it, allowing them to leave the physical world behind. Void Fluid’s utility was discovered by the Ancients, and they began to put it to use, making great technological bounds in the process. This event became known as the Void Fluid revolution.

The Ancients had also designed lifeforms^[**] that would fulfill a variety of functions, such as production, entertainment, and many others more. These purposed organisms may have had a great ecological impact, as many of the creatures of Rain World are said to be descendants of them.

Another type of being may have appeared during this time. Echoes are said to be the results of failed ascensions—horror stories were told about those with large egos, and how they would be bound to the premises of their ascension forever.^[††]

The surface of the Void Sea as represented in Rain World.

Mass Ascension & the Iterators

From the Void Fluid Revolution came the Iterators: massive, freestanding computers imbued with great processing power. They played many roles in the upkeep of Ancient society, but one of their purposes was to discover a solution to ascension. This solution needed to apply to all living creatures, and provide them with a way to leave the cycle of death and rebirth; however, this problem appears to remain unsolved by the events of Rain World.

The water consumption of the Iterators is immense, and the exhaust of this water as vapor is equally great, so as more Iterators were constructed, the surface of the world was transformed by the rain they made. The surface became uninhabitable, so the Ancients moved their cities and settlements on top of their Iterators’ structures. As technology grew, the collection of Void Fluid likely did as well. Prices of Void Fluid baths had started becoming cheaper, and populations had likely started to decrease.

Five Pebbles & Looks to the Moon

Main Page: Iterator

The Ancients are all gone, likely having decided to ascend on their own. Looks to the Moon is an Iterator built early on, when surface water had not yet been more evenly distributed by the Iterators’ exhaust. Five Pebbles, however, was built after groundwater sufficient for an Iterator was everywhere, and was placed much closer to Looks to the Moon than was customary. At some point, after the Ancients’ disappearance, Five Pebbles became frustrated with his situation and sought an escape. It is incredibly difficult for an Iterator to ascend, but Five Pebbles made use of a technique that took both abnormally high amounts of water and intense concentration, to try to entirely cross himself out.^[‡‡] Looks to the Moon's proximity to Five Pebbles adversely affected her due to his excessive water intake, but her attempts to reach him had failed. Looks to the Moon sent Five Pebbles a forced transmission, urging him to stop. Five Pebbles, likely distracted from his processes, suffered a catastrophe, and the Rot was formed. Looks to the Moon’s attempts to reach out were ultimately futile, as she eventually collapsed.

Looks to the Moon's state after her collapse.

Footnotes

[*] Although it is a popular community term, this has never been used as a name within Rain World to refer to this society.

[†] The term “cross out” typically refers to the ascension/removal from the physical world of some living organism. This may tie in with the frequent use of 'X', or the cross mark, as a symbol throughout Rain World.

[‡] Individual memories and experiences of one’s life.

[§] The mechanics of this are quite unclear; the material that is dissolved by Void Fluid correlates with a fine layer of dust falling back down onto the surface, but it is never detailed why the whole world is just made up of dust. Similarly, it is not detailed how Void Fluid dissolves material or at what rate, as there seems to be a “bedrock horizon”, where increasingly purer Void Fluid is present the further down is drilled. What more, how Void Fluid is used to create energy is not detailed - only a vacuum is described in this process.

[**] It is unclear when, in relation to the emergence of Void Fluid as a technology, purposed organisms emerged.

[††] This is heavily implied, but never explicitly stated.

[‡‡] This is partly conjecture; the process is generally believed to be that described in the Gold Pearl. It is inferred that this process takes a great water intake due to Five Pebbles's own increase in water intake, and the aforementioned process being described as risky, as it requires many parallel processes to be run. It is also inferred that it takes great concentration due to the apparent error that occurred once Looks to the Moon forced communication with Five Pebbles.