Onward opens with a montage of historical high fantasy epics in the town. Flash forward to the present, and the town is still populated with high fantasy creatures. They just live like us in modern society. Ian, a shy elf, is celebrating his sixteenth birthday. He wants to be like his dad, who sadly passed away before he was born, but nothing seems to go his way. His mom surprises him with a gift from his dad, a wizard staff, intended to be given to him and his brother Barley when he turned 16. Their father wrote a spell to allow his sons to bring him back to life for one day. Sadly, the spell fails, and only the bottom half of their father is brought back.