How to Get Into Averno: A Wikihow

# **Introduction**

So you’ve found Averno and you’re overwhelmed. Welcome to the club! No fear, Sam is here to help you out with a multi-step guide on how to get into Averno, with two pathways: those who are willing to sink a little more time into Averno, and those of us with shorter attention spans. No shame in either option, and both will get you the same information!

**Resources**

1. The Averno Bible - a comprehensive document of our ever-expanding lore
	1. This is usually what you’re directed to when you want to “get into Averno” but it’s 89 pages of pretty art and big text so this guide just. Compresses it.
2. The Averno Wikia - Wikipedia for Averno, useful for finding specific info
3. The Official Website - a professional look at Averno, all content compiled here
4. The Instagram - most active social media, follow for frequent updates
5. The Linktree - a compilation of all our important links!

**Table of Contents**

STEP 1 - Where the Hell are we?

STEP 1.5 - Origins and Town History

STEP 2 - The Wild Ones and the Shadow Mothers

STEP 3 - What is Averno?

STEP 4 - Putting the Media in Transmedia

STEP 5 - Joining the Masses

Let’s get started, shall we?

## **STEP 1 - Where the Hell are we?**

One of the most important aspects of Averno and *knowing* Averno is the location itself—it’s quite literally the name of the entire franchise. To get to know the three major locations of Averno, look no farther than right below.

* **\***The section **The Forest** has small spoilers for Live from Averno, so look at the Short Attention Span section! →

**2.** Read pages 23, 25, 27, 29, 31, 33, and 25 to read about the Departments at A New School!
* It’s also worth reading the tiny paragraph on page 8 to see how people get to A New School
* Take the Department quiz here to find out which department is the best fit for you (but don’t worry, it’s college and you’re free to choose whatever you want).

⭐The given pages are location specific to cut down on content, but I recommend reading 11-36 straight through!
* The Town
* The Forest (no LFA spoiler)
* The School

**2.** **Optional Reading:** To understand how people are drawn to Averno, read pages 3-5 in the Averno Bible

One should also note that while Averno is a fictional location, it is based on the very real location of the Shenandoah mountains. As such, it's worth acknowledging the traditional custodians of the land that inspired this world we love so much.

**We acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land we are on today, the Manahoac Nation, and pay our respect to their elders.**

The Manahoac, also recorded as Mahock, were a small group of Siouan-language Indigenous people in northern Virginia at the time of European contact. They numbered approximately 1,000 and lived primarily along the Rappahannock River west of modern Fredericksburg and the Fall Line, and east of the Blue Ridge Mountains. They united with the Monacan, the Occaneechi, the Saponi and the Tutelo. They disappeared from the historical record after 1728. The Manahoac are sometimes viewed as a confederacy of tribes, or as a single tribe composed of several subtribes. These include the following:

**Hassinunga**, who were at the headwaters of the Rappahannock River;

**Manahoac proper**, who, according to Thomas Jefferson, were present in Stafford and Spotsylvania counties;

**Ontponea**, who were located in Orange County;

**Shackaconia**, who were found in Spotsylvania County on the southern bank of the Rappahannock;

**Stegaraki**, who were in Orange County along the Rapidan River;

**Tegninateo**, who were located in Culpeper County at the head of the Rappahannock; and the

**Whonkentia**, who were present in Fauquier County near the head of the Rappahannock

Colonists recorded the name of one village: Mahaskahod; it was most likely located near modern Fredericksburg.

## **STEP 1.5 - Origins and Town History**

While knowing the entire history of Averno isn’t required knowledge for every piece of Averno media, it’s central in understanding how this weird little town came to be. The most current media that encompasses the town’s history is *Live from Averno,* a true crime podcast that tries to solve the mysterious disappearances around town, as well as figure out the true history of Averno.

Click Here for how the Turners “founded” Averno (The Town's Founding and the Turner Family)

Click Here for what Aster did (*Slight* Live from Averno Spoilers)

## **STEP 2 - The Wild Ones and the Shadow Mothers**

The Wild Ones are present in nearly every piece of currently-released Averno media, so you’re going to want to know what the big deal is with them! The Shadow Mothers are the guardians of the Wild Ones, so you’ll also be seeing them a lot.

 **The Wild Ones** are children rescued by the Shadow Mothers from abusive and neglectful homes, raised feral in the forest. While it’s unclear how, Wild Ones also have magic powers.
**The Shadow Mothers** are the spirits of the women who fled to the woods, as well as Wild Ones who have grown old and died. They are not sentient beings, but rather personifications of The Forest that they inhabit.
**Reading Material:** Page 7 in the Averno Bible.
**Wild Ones Life Cycle:** A fun little MSPaint drawing. Trigger warning for mentions of child abuse, death, and decay

## **STEP 3 - What *is* Averno?**

Now that you know where you are in the world, it’s time to figure out what that really means. This lovely paragraph (illustrated by the wonderful Zee) gives the most concise answer to date on what Averno is as a franchise.

## **STEP 4 - Putting the Media in Transmedia**

Congrats! You’ve made it through the very basics of Averno. Now it’s just a question of what you want to look at, and truthfully there is no “right” answer. These stories, while interconnected and wild, don’t particularly follow a proper timeline, because time is wobbly like that. So I’m just going to tell you to consume Averno by order of release date! Well. Sort of by release date. I took some creative liberties.

None of the media here needs prerequisites to understand it! These stories are largely self-contained, with the exception of some characters here and there.

1. **The Come Home EP**
	* The Come Home EP with its 3 tracks—Forest Hymn (Averno’s “theme song”), How to Let Go (sung by August Greenwood), and Nova Phone Home (sung by Sushi Soucy) is a really easy way to get a good feel for Averno as a whole
		1. Plus, it takes less than 10 minutes to listen to the whole thing.
	* Come Home can be listened to on all major music platforms!
	* Click here for an article that explains the songs within.
		1. I know that LFA was the 1st release and Welcome to Camp Averno was the 1st musical release but listen, I *mostly* know what I’m doing.
	* Very good for those summer nights when you need to get all of your feelings out.

1. **Welcome to Camp Averno**
	* Averno’s first music release starts with an absolute banger of a theme song by August Greenwood and Sushi Soucy! Welcome to Camp Averno is the sweet and nostalgia-inducing theme song for Camp Averno, a virtual summer camp held by Averno every summer.
	* Listen to Welcome to Camp Averno on all major music platforms!
	* There is a beautiful Spanish cover by Gaby here

1. **Live from Averno**
	* A New School’s only True Crime podcast, Live From Averno is a live-written horror-fantasy podcast starring Will Shepard and Quinn Bailey. It’s funny, you get to take part in the mystery of why there’s so many gosh dang people going missing in Averno, and there’s a good amount of world building as well. Really good at capturing the weirdness of Averno. Season One (the only currently released season) takes about two hours to complete.
		1. The last names of our hosts might be wrong here. Morgan keeps changing them up on me. Help.
	* LFA can be listened to here for Spotify users and here for Apple Music listeners. I don’t actually know where else it's available. Whoops?
		1. LFA has a season one marathon here
	* If you like Buzzfeed Unsolved, especially the True Crime shows, you’re gonna *love* Live from Averno. Listen in a cozy sweater on a rainy Autumn day for maximum vibes.
	* Written by Morgan Smith and Jamie Frazier.

1. **Willow**
	* Willow is the first ever fully released musical in Averno and it’s *beautiful*. Spanning three different moments in time (the summers of 2006, 2011, and 2012), Willow looks at the love that transcends all kinds of gaps, and the impressions we leave behind on our communities. The music (written by August Greenwood) is phenomenal and it’s such a wonderful story (book by Morgan Smith).
	* Listen to Willow here!
		1. Here’s the Linktree for Willow, which has a fun character quiz and everything.
	* Read Willow’s synopsis here
	* Sweet Willow has a really sweet music video here
	* I recommend listening to it under a good tree while a nice breeze blows.

1. **The Departments EP**
	* The Departments EP has 7 fantastic instrumental themes for the 7 Departments at A New School! The wonderful music was written by Fairything, Thawney, and ACONITE.
	* Listen to the Departments EP here!
		1. Refresh yourself on A New School here
	* Super fun to bop to in the car or while doing homework!

1. **The Winter Holiday Music**
	* Completely just for fun, over December several members of the concept team created both an Ostrich EP (for the fun Averno holiday of Ostrich Day) and a The Terrible Averno Holiday Album! Both feature humorous and fun songs for the winter season.
		1. Listen to the Terrible Averno Holiday Album here
		2. Listen to Ostrich Dubstep here
		3. Listen to the Forest Ostrich here

1. **Into Averno (A Short Film)**
	* Into Averno is a love story in four minutes about two unnamed characters. The characters explore and move in their relationship together as the narration and music get creepier and more ominous.
		1. **TW:** While there is nothing visually scary about Into Averno, it’s rather unsettling at points, and those who experience paranoia (especially that pertaining to being watched) should probably stay away from this film.
	* Watch Into Averno here on YouTube!
	* Written by Morgan Smith.

1. **Dazed (Album)**
	* The Dazed album was the soundtrack associated with the ending of the Find Averno ARG, an Alternate Reality Game following the disappearance of Kennedy Harris as they lost their mind trying to find, and eventually going to, Averno.
		1. The musical itself tells the cautionary tale of Kennedy once again going farther than they should looking into Unverno, as well as their friend Clover, who tries to pull them back from the mess they’ve gotten into.
	* **TW:** The Find Averno ARG, and Dazed as a result, contain themes of reality shifting, mental illness, depersonalization, derealization, and horror elements.
	* Listen to Dazed here
	* Very good for listening to when you’re angry at the world you were born in

1. **Dazed (Short Film)**
	* The Dazed Short Film is a 1 hour long musical short film with filmed elements, animated portions, and
	* While Quinn and Will, the main characters of LFA are prominently shown here, listening to LFA is not required (but highly encouraged) prior to watching.
	* Music by Alicia Selkirk, lyrics by August Greenwood, Alicia Selkirk, and Morgan Smith, and a book by Morgan Smith.
	* **TW:** The Find Averno ARG, and Dazed as a result, contain themes of reality shifting, mental illness, depersonalization, derealization, and horror elements.
	* Watch Dazed here!

1. **Cryptid Hunt (Demo)**
	* Yet another *fantastic* banger by Sushi Soucy, the Cryptid Hunt demo is, you guessed it, the demo for Cryptid Hunt in Over and Out! A super fun, super catchy song about catching cryptids—what’s not to like?
	* Listen to Cryptid Hunt (Demo) here on Spotify (and I’m pretty sure other major music platforms)
		1. Scream this with your friends because it is an unforgettable experience.

1. **Over and Out**
	* Over and Out is a fun, alien-filled love story between Solar, a DUE student who goes out trying to find aliens, but instead finds a girl—Nova, a Wild One that chose to leave the forest and live a normal human life. With music the fantastically talented Sushi Soucy and a book by Morgan Smith, the story is fun and heartbreaking all at once.
		1. Fun fact, Over and Out is currently the only musical in the Averno Universe that has a truly happy ending. Hooray for love!
	* Listen to their wacky relationship unfold over walkie talkies here!
		1. There’s a fun Linktree with a quiz, articles and more here
	* Cryptid Hunt has an awesome lyric video here
	* Stargazing while listening to this album is a fantastic experience and I would recommend it 100%!

1. **Wild Ones**
	* Wild Ones is a beautifully illustrated and poetic webcomic following the stories of a group of Wild Ones in the forest and their struggle against the growing darkness and mystery in their home.
		1. Refresh yourself on who the Wild Ones are here
		2. Read the Wikia page on Wild Ones here
	* Read Wild Ones on WEBTOON here!
	* Written by Morgan Smith, art by Orchi.

1. **Bittersummer**
	* Bittersummer is a heart touching coming of age myth rooted in the folk music and deep woods of the South, with music written by Annalise Emerick and the Brother Brothers and a book by Morgan Smith. It tells the story of Quinn (our beloved LFA host), Dahlia, Cam, and Violet and their one summer together in Averno.
	* Read the synopsis here
	* Bittersummer can be listened to here!

## **STEP 5 - Joining the Masses**

Now that you’re a well-educated fan, you should consider joining one of the most important parts of Averno: the fandom! Here are some examples of how you can get into Averno.

1. **Make a fan account!** Make an account on Instagram, Tiktok, or Tumblr with the username @yourname.averno or @yourname.campaverno
	1. Post your creations! We love seeing all your wonderful creativity come to live. There’s an increasing tag on AO3 (tag is Averno Township), tons of fanart, moodboards, playlists, fanworks, text posts, memes, and more!
2. **Become a patron!** Patrons get exclusive early access to Averno content, merch, and calls with the creators! https://www.patreon.com/avernotownship
3. **Start talking!** The fan-run Discord server (unaffiliated with Averno as a company) is a relatively good place to find other fans and chat. Join here.
4. **Every summer, Averno hosts Camp Averno**, a virtual summer camp with daily activities, fun cabins, opportunities to interact with other fans, and more! Stay updated on our social media to see when
5. **Subscribe to our monthly newsletter** to see upcoming content releases, what the Averno team is up to outside of Averno, and even art created by the fans!
	1. Post your Averno fanart under the hashtag #wildonesnewsletter for a chance to be featured in next month’s release.
6. **Follow us on social media!**
	1. Instagram
	2. TikTok
	3. Tumblr
	4. Twitter
	5. YouTube
7. **If you’d like to and have the means, get merch!** It’s the best way to directly support our fantastic artists and get that retail therapy.
	1. Our Redbubble