Introduction: The World is Flat
Pantheom drifts through space, forever fragmented into five pieces. It is said that it was once a whole, but it is no longer.
Pantheom itself is a flat disk, hundreds of miles thick and thousands across. It's five realms lie stacked on top of one another as Pantheom sails through the void of space, orbitted by its small sun and smaller moon.
At the center of the stack is the disk itself. The disk is hollow; dozens of miles beneath its crust, the layers of minerals give way to Apollyon, Pantheom's Hell. Inside the gigantic chamber dwell all manner of demons. The upper portion of Apollyon, called Abaddon, has a force of gravity that pulls upward, making its inhabitants inverted to the mortal realm above. Abaddon burns with the fury of magma and fire, a constantly shifting web of anger and chaos. Across Apollyon lies Feng'Di, the frozen wasteland. Here constant winter has created entirely different demons. It's gravity pulls in the opposite direction from that of Abaddon. Between the two lies the twisted landscape of Torkimond, a jungle-like region that inhabits the walls of Apollyon; in Torkimond, gravity pulls outward. Apollyon is collectively ruled by the Seven Dark Lords, demons of immense power. The premier among them is known as The Darkest One. His name is known to every demon in existence, but so dire is his power that merely speaking it aloud can have immeasureable consequences.
Pantheom is a place made of Aether. Every living being contains Aether of up to three types--black, white, and uncolored. The demons of Apollyon are made primarily of black Aether, though none are purely so. As such, they are at constant war with the nearly-perfectly white angels of Celestia, Pantheom's heaven. Celestia lies above the mortal realm, Chona, at one apex of Pantheom's structure. Celestia is build above the clouds of Chona; it takes the form of a continuous plain made of rolling clouds. Celestia is divided into seven regions, each ruled by an angelic lord, much like it's dark counterpart, Apollyon.
On the far side of the disk from Pantheom lies Vertigo, the realm of mystery. While passageways exist, in one form or another, between the various other realms, none are known to have ever entered or left Vertigo. It is unknown what sentient beings reside in there, if any at all. Vertigo resists intrusion by magical means, and so little is known about this strange place, only that it appears as a drifting archipelago of crystal islands and auroras far above the skies of Kalendra, the land of the dead.
Kalendra itself lies between Vertigo and Apollyon, on the underside of Pantheom's disk. Kalendra is the most fragmented of the realms, with most regions utterly closed off to one another. Once a soul in Chona dies, that soul is shuffled to Kalendra by Pantheom's Soul Lattice, an intricate structure that ensures the five realms interact properly. Depending on the life lead by that soul, he or she is sent to a corresponding region of Kalendra; sometimes a verdant paradise, other times a nightmarish purgatory. Eventually, the soul will return to Chona and be reincarnated; this process can take seconds, millenia, or anywhere in between, as the needs of Pantheom dictate.
Finally, there is Chona, the mortal Realm. Chona is the most dynamic and vibrant of the realms, mostly due to the comparitively short lifespans of its primary inhabitant, the human race. While there are countless islands dotting the far seas, there are only two of what could be considered continents, Eluria in the West and Belgrada in the East. The two continents are joined by the long but narrow Plain of Pearls, so named for the rich oyster crops found on its northerm coasts. The Angaren Ocean separates Eluria and Belgrada by some 2500 miles with only small islands between, making the passage across the Plain of Pearls the only land route.
In the year of 1330 SR (Sardipan Reckoning), there were three major powers in Chona. To the west were two large countries, Sempershire in the far West and its Eastern rival, Palosia. The Semperese were a proud nation of holy crusaders, known for their strong military and relentless devotion to their god, Turash. They shunned the magic that was the signature of Palosia, instead relying on native human furor. Their leader was the strong and charismatic Emperor Gallenbrad V, a righteous Paladin who had ascended to the throne at age seventeen. Now in his late thirites, Gallendbrad V had fathered three children; 8-year-old Mileena, 5-year-old Ashra, and, most importantly, 7-year-old Gallenbrad VI, heir to the Semperese throne.
Sempershire's Eastern neighbor was Palosia, a land of sorcery. It's capital, dubbed simply "Palosia City," was a shining marble metropolis on the coast of the Angaren Ocean, known for its many schools of magic and philosophy. Ruled by King Memnos II, Palosia was a flourishing nation, with far flung territories going as far south as the Outlands, a collection of large islands in the Southern Ocean, and as far east as Central Sea, the halfway point of the Plain of Pearls.
The remaining world power based itself in Belgrada, the sprawling country called Sardipa. Sardipa had once been a province in a larger empire that had eventually collapsed under its own weight. Sardipa had recollected most of the original territory, in some points stretching from shore to shore of Belgrada, all the way to the easternmost ocean, called The Deep. To the South of Sardipa stood the Broken Kingdoms, a loose confederation of states, themselves remnants of the Old Empire. They had banded together to prevent annexation from Sardipa. Sardipa's government was headed by a dictator with the title of Imperator, which currently belonged to an abnormally competent man named Michael Meadows, now in his fourteenth year of power (the average time of office for an Imperator was about twenty-seven months). Imperatorship had no clear-cut rules of succession, but there was never a short supply of those willing to take the office. The Imperator's Stronghold, the center of the Sardipan government, stood on Imperium Street in the Upper Barrens district of the capital city, Ulgotha. Ulgotha, the largest human city on Pantheom and the leader of the Chonan industrial revolution, was situated on the delta of the River Leshrac where it meets the Magginoth River before running into the Bay of Belgrin some 800 miles downstream.
Our story begins some 300 miles souteast of Ulgotha, in the city of Geon, Bellaraphon. Bellaraphon was one of the many Broken Kingdoms, and had recently been paid a visit by the Sardipan inventor, Savant Viggo Helmsman, age 62.
Pantheom itself is a flat disk, hundreds of miles thick and thousands across. It's five realms lie stacked on top of one another as Pantheom sails through the void of space, orbitted by its small sun and smaller moon.
At the center of the stack is the disk itself. The disk is hollow; dozens of miles beneath its crust, the layers of minerals give way to Apollyon, Pantheom's Hell. Inside the gigantic chamber dwell all manner of demons. The upper portion of Apollyon, called Abaddon, has a force of gravity that pulls upward, making its inhabitants inverted to the mortal realm above. Abaddon burns with the fury of magma and fire, a constantly shifting web of anger and chaos. Across Apollyon lies Feng'Di, the frozen wasteland. Here constant winter has created entirely different demons. It's gravity pulls in the opposite direction from that of Abaddon. Between the two lies the twisted landscape of Torkimond, a jungle-like region that inhabits the walls of Apollyon; in Torkimond, gravity pulls outward. Apollyon is collectively ruled by the Seven Dark Lords, demons of immense power. The premier among them is known as The Darkest One. His name is known to every demon in existence, but so dire is his power that merely speaking it aloud can have immeasureable consequences.
Pantheom is a place made of Aether. Every living being contains Aether of up to three types--black, white, and uncolored. The demons of Apollyon are made primarily of black Aether, though none are purely so. As such, they are at constant war with the nearly-perfectly white angels of Celestia, Pantheom's heaven. Celestia lies above the mortal realm, Chona, at one apex of Pantheom's structure. Celestia is build above the clouds of Chona; it takes the form of a continuous plain made of rolling clouds. Celestia is divided into seven regions, each ruled by an angelic lord, much like it's dark counterpart, Apollyon.
On the far side of the disk from Pantheom lies Vertigo, the realm of mystery. While passageways exist, in one form or another, between the various other realms, none are known to have ever entered or left Vertigo. It is unknown what sentient beings reside in there, if any at all. Vertigo resists intrusion by magical means, and so little is known about this strange place, only that it appears as a drifting archipelago of crystal islands and auroras far above the skies of Kalendra, the land of the dead.
Kalendra itself lies between Vertigo and Apollyon, on the underside of Pantheom's disk. Kalendra is the most fragmented of the realms, with most regions utterly closed off to one another. Once a soul in Chona dies, that soul is shuffled to Kalendra by Pantheom's Soul Lattice, an intricate structure that ensures the five realms interact properly. Depending on the life lead by that soul, he or she is sent to a corresponding region of Kalendra; sometimes a verdant paradise, other times a nightmarish purgatory. Eventually, the soul will return to Chona and be reincarnated; this process can take seconds, millenia, or anywhere in between, as the needs of Pantheom dictate.
Finally, there is Chona, the mortal Realm. Chona is the most dynamic and vibrant of the realms, mostly due to the comparitively short lifespans of its primary inhabitant, the human race. While there are countless islands dotting the far seas, there are only two of what could be considered continents, Eluria in the West and Belgrada in the East. The two continents are joined by the long but narrow Plain of Pearls, so named for the rich oyster crops found on its northerm coasts. The Angaren Ocean separates Eluria and Belgrada by some 2500 miles with only small islands between, making the passage across the Plain of Pearls the only land route.
In the year of 1330 SR (Sardipan Reckoning), there were three major powers in Chona. To the west were two large countries, Sempershire in the far West and its Eastern rival, Palosia. The Semperese were a proud nation of holy crusaders, known for their strong military and relentless devotion to their god, Turash. They shunned the magic that was the signature of Palosia, instead relying on native human furor. Their leader was the strong and charismatic Emperor Gallenbrad V, a righteous Paladin who had ascended to the throne at age seventeen. Now in his late thirites, Gallendbrad V had fathered three children; 8-year-old Mileena, 5-year-old Ashra, and, most importantly, 7-year-old Gallenbrad VI, heir to the Semperese throne.
Sempershire's Eastern neighbor was Palosia, a land of sorcery. It's capital, dubbed simply "Palosia City," was a shining marble metropolis on the coast of the Angaren Ocean, known for its many schools of magic and philosophy. Ruled by King Memnos II, Palosia was a flourishing nation, with far flung territories going as far south as the Outlands, a collection of large islands in the Southern Ocean, and as far east as Central Sea, the halfway point of the Plain of Pearls.
The remaining world power based itself in Belgrada, the sprawling country called Sardipa. Sardipa had once been a province in a larger empire that had eventually collapsed under its own weight. Sardipa had recollected most of the original territory, in some points stretching from shore to shore of Belgrada, all the way to the easternmost ocean, called The Deep. To the South of Sardipa stood the Broken Kingdoms, a loose confederation of states, themselves remnants of the Old Empire. They had banded together to prevent annexation from Sardipa. Sardipa's government was headed by a dictator with the title of Imperator, which currently belonged to an abnormally competent man named Michael Meadows, now in his fourteenth year of power (the average time of office for an Imperator was about twenty-seven months). Imperatorship had no clear-cut rules of succession, but there was never a short supply of those willing to take the office. The Imperator's Stronghold, the center of the Sardipan government, stood on Imperium Street in the Upper Barrens district of the capital city, Ulgotha. Ulgotha, the largest human city on Pantheom and the leader of the Chonan industrial revolution, was situated on the delta of the River Leshrac where it meets the Magginoth River before running into the Bay of Belgrin some 800 miles downstream.
Our story begins some 300 miles souteast of Ulgotha, in the city of Geon, Bellaraphon. Bellaraphon was one of the many Broken Kingdoms, and had recently been paid a visit by the Sardipan inventor, Savant Viggo Helmsman, age 62.
posted by Andrew Michael | 12:09 AM
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