Post by Xavier on Sept 6, 2011 19:22:11 GMT -5
Ecliptico, also known as Stillworld to outsiders, is a planet much like our own. The planet was once a rich, life-filled world inhabited by many different species of humanoids. Magic exists here, as do all sorts of monsters.
The name of this world comes from the pattern of its orbit. Some time in the distant past of this world, a war raged across the land. A terrible army was sweeping the lands, destroying villages and enslaving the people. The art of magic was very prominent in that time, and the council of mages ruled the land. Seeing this unstoppable army, and knowing that even their great powers would only slow the creatures down if they attempted to confront them, the council decided that they would try a desperate act of magic never before attempted. They would stop time itself. They gathered in their great hall as the army marched across the open fields of the mages' homeland, and gathered their strength. As the council cast their spell, the sun slowed in the sky, and eventually stopped altogether. Thinking that they had indeed stopped time itself, their life energy all but spent, each one fell to the floor of the chamber in a deep slumber and none of them ever awoke.
Little did these men know, but they had not stopped time itself, merely the rotation of their planet. Their orbit now matched the cycle of their years exactly. One side of the planet was now in perpetual sunlight, while the other existed in perpetual night. The council of the mages sat in the center of what is now known as Aeok, the burning land, and the mages were killed by the extreme heat before anyone thought to look for them. The army was halted, but not defeated, and they encamped themselves in the only place they knew to be safe, the middle ground between day and night.
The army eventually settled and grew into a city, which spread along what is now known as The Belt. The only civilized area of the world, beyond minor settlements, The Belt stretches the length of the world. A giant wall encompasses the belt on either side, keeping the residents safe.
The natural life of the world was warped, both by the extreme release of magic, and the extreme environments that were created. In Aeok, the animals became larger, more aggressive predators. In order to survive the sun, more than one species lost their hair or fur and replaced it with scales or glass-like skin. In Guohash, the dark side of the world, the creatures became blind or incredibly light/heat sensitive to better hunt their prey. Subterranean tunnels span most of this side of the planet, created by large predators forced underground by the extreme cold. These evolutions were spurred by magic, and happened in the course of merely a few decades.
Now, nearly a thousand years after the war, the world is a hellscape of violence and strife. Few areas of the Belt remain habitable thanks to disease and overcrowding, and the wilderness is too dangerous for any but the strongest of adventurers. Ruins of the old world still remain, remnants of powerful magic, ancient artifacts and hidden treasure. All of it is there for the taking, by any who can brave the extreme elements and the monsters that hunt within it.
---
Tech: Steampunk-esque
Magic: Common, all sorts.
The name of this world comes from the pattern of its orbit. Some time in the distant past of this world, a war raged across the land. A terrible army was sweeping the lands, destroying villages and enslaving the people. The art of magic was very prominent in that time, and the council of mages ruled the land. Seeing this unstoppable army, and knowing that even their great powers would only slow the creatures down if they attempted to confront them, the council decided that they would try a desperate act of magic never before attempted. They would stop time itself. They gathered in their great hall as the army marched across the open fields of the mages' homeland, and gathered their strength. As the council cast their spell, the sun slowed in the sky, and eventually stopped altogether. Thinking that they had indeed stopped time itself, their life energy all but spent, each one fell to the floor of the chamber in a deep slumber and none of them ever awoke.
Little did these men know, but they had not stopped time itself, merely the rotation of their planet. Their orbit now matched the cycle of their years exactly. One side of the planet was now in perpetual sunlight, while the other existed in perpetual night. The council of the mages sat in the center of what is now known as Aeok, the burning land, and the mages were killed by the extreme heat before anyone thought to look for them. The army was halted, but not defeated, and they encamped themselves in the only place they knew to be safe, the middle ground between day and night.
The army eventually settled and grew into a city, which spread along what is now known as The Belt. The only civilized area of the world, beyond minor settlements, The Belt stretches the length of the world. A giant wall encompasses the belt on either side, keeping the residents safe.
The natural life of the world was warped, both by the extreme release of magic, and the extreme environments that were created. In Aeok, the animals became larger, more aggressive predators. In order to survive the sun, more than one species lost their hair or fur and replaced it with scales or glass-like skin. In Guohash, the dark side of the world, the creatures became blind or incredibly light/heat sensitive to better hunt their prey. Subterranean tunnels span most of this side of the planet, created by large predators forced underground by the extreme cold. These evolutions were spurred by magic, and happened in the course of merely a few decades.
Now, nearly a thousand years after the war, the world is a hellscape of violence and strife. Few areas of the Belt remain habitable thanks to disease and overcrowding, and the wilderness is too dangerous for any but the strongest of adventurers. Ruins of the old world still remain, remnants of powerful magic, ancient artifacts and hidden treasure. All of it is there for the taking, by any who can brave the extreme elements and the monsters that hunt within it.
---
Tech: Steampunk-esque
Magic: Common, all sorts.