by Vowron Prime
Places
The United Federation of Nations: World War Four left humanity reeling. Brutal nuclear war leveled New York, London, Beijing, and San Francisco, and many other cities besides. In the aftermath of this devastation, the geopolitical landscape favored unification to heal old wounds, and the result was the UFN. Spearheaded by the old United States, it includes the nations of Canada, the UK, most of western Europe, and other similarly minded countries around the world such as Australia, India, Greater Korea, and Japan. It is currently the world’s only hyperpower.
Sorath Empire: Kyron: The Sorath Empire’s newly founded Capital City. Located at the northern tip of the empire in the frozen arctic, it adjoins the massive Ells Mountains, famed for its Frozen Keep magically constructed out of ice. Due to its location, the fortress is well-nigh impenetrable. Unfortunately, that location also makes it a terrible capital city, as trading caravans often do not make the harsh journey there. Recently, the economy has become somewhat stifled.
Sorath Empire: Dervegen City: A midsized medieval city with a population of around 20,000 Zevan, it is located in the far south of the Sorath Empire, along the northern edge of the Wet Desert, and east of the Forest of Death. Ruled by the brutal yet effective Baron Zeikon, it has a thriving economy supported by commerce and contractor assignments, which are bountiful given its proximity to the Forest.
Sorath Empire: Hobogon Village: A backwater village located in the Forest of Death, its people eek out an existence in the hostile terrain. Originally colonized by the previous emperor as a way to stage contractors on assignment, it has since fallen into disrepair and was ultimately sacked by the Black Fangs who’d left no one alive.
Sorath Empire: The Great Divide: An impossibly deep chasm that runs for over a thousand miles east-west. No one knows how it came to be, and none who have ever ventured into its depths have made it back to tell the tale.
Sorath Empire: Vederyn Oasis: A massive oasis in the middle of an arid desert south of the Great Divide, few ever venture through there. It is rumored to be the home of a great and fearful Dorbo-Syken. Due to the size of the oasis, it more closely resembles a forest. It houses a mutagenic pond at its center.
Terms
Gyris: A horse-like animal tamed and ridden by the Zevan. While it is capable of reaching speeds of up to fifty miles per hour, it cannot sustain this for long, and so makes a poor option for long-distance travel.
Sensory Disconnection Syndrome: Colloquially known as Disconnect or SDS, it is a symptom of Full-Immersion Virtual Reality overdose. VR technology has come a long way in the 22nd century, but humans are unable to stay in the simulation for longer than a month. The mind begins to reject the near-perfect simulation, and the infinitesimal errors trigger a chain reaction within the mind that firsts manifests as paranoid hallucinations and quickly devolves into madness, permanently damaging the mind. Symptoms are easily avoided by exiting the Virtual Reality simulation and spending a period of time in reality. However, some twisted individuals prefer to use it as a mechanism for enacting torture.
Spidorilla: A fearsome mutated creature, comprised of an entirely mechanical/cybernetic lower half that greatly resembles a spider with its eight sharp pincer legs. Its torso is, however, entirely organic and closely resembles a razorback gorilla. The spidorilla’s maw consists of endless rows of mechanical teeth, similar to what one might find in a mechanical spider’s mouth. Its offensive abilities consist primarily of trampling down its foes with its mechanical legs, and punches thrown by the powerful gorilla’s torso. Oh, and don’t stick your hand in its mouth!
Zar’shad: A monstrous-looking creature that originated in the Republic of Thesbea, they are quite docile and tamable as beasts of burden. Sporting blue-tinted fur and pronounced musculature, they vaguely resemble bovines. Yet their seven eyes—two vertical columns of three eyes each, with single cyclopean eye set above them—give the creatures a distinctly alien appearance. They are the preferred beasts of burden in both Thesbea and Sorath, and are capable of traveling fifty miles a day. They can sustain this pace for weeks, unlike their gyris counterparts.
The Zevan: The residents of the strange environment Magnus finds himself thrown into. They are technologically similar to pre-Renaissance humans, though they augment their technological state with magic that provides not only combat utility but also civil amenities such as lighting, sanitation, and heating.
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