Avatarp World

The World

"The world, is home to a vast number of planets, stars, solar systems and much more, but we all begin here, in Dormina, a satellite of the planet Ano. Dormina is quite small, and is also located comfortably close to the planet, for physical travel to occur without much hassle.

Due to it's size, Dormina's inhabitants cannot survive on it, as it is, even with the help of the Five Lords, and thus, they require things like crops, cattle or resources, to be grown or collected in the world below. The other problem, is that the world below, Ano, is incredibly dangerous. What is especially noteworthy here, are the Cauldrons where certain rare, but key resources are found.

Thus, one of the Lords, the Fragmented, invented the Avatar System, for the inhabitants of Dormina to peruse. This section however, is not meant to detail the Cauldrons, Lords or the Avatar System. It is meant to illuminate on the world surrounding us, and somewhat further as well. First, we need to clarify Dormina's state.

Dormina in it's whole, is shaped like a massive, round cup. The sides of it are rocky barriers, covered in fog, and the bottom is hemispherical. At the inner portion, in a massive span of grass, forests, lakes, rivers and hills, lies the Pentafold, the city of the five lords. The Pentafold, comes in three portions. The Center, the Five Paths, and the Ring.

Pentafold: Center

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The center of the Pentafold, contains most of it's civilian population, and a vast number of institutions, such as colleges, academies, hospitals, museums, banks and so on. The leadership of the whole city is focused here as well. The leading body, the Pancratic Council, is elected once in four years. Generally, they are considered capable leaders, however exceptions have existed, and continue to exist.

Assuming one provides for the city, they are in turn provided a set monthly budget. This is done through a system tracing back to the five lords, and thus cannot be tampered with by anyone in Dormina, something that makes it looked upon with envy. You earn what you deserve. The legal system is also centered here, and the hq of the city guard is as well.

The Center has no set pattern to it's internal expansion, but it's outer perimeter is lined by a tall, circular wall, so it's shape is always set, despite the chaotic and asymmetric found within.

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Pentafold: The Five Paths

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Five equidistant sets of railways, spreading from the center, to the ring, with buildings found at the sides of them, generally, houses, stations or storages. Between the center, the paths and the ring, lie plains full of forests, lakes, hills, rivers etc. One of the primary functions of the paths, are to provide people easier access to these intermittent areas.

Generally, farmers and the like live here, as a result. Transport arrangement as well as engineering, are two other well known, albeit less ubiquitous professions, taken by inhabitants of the Five Paths. They have the least population, and their outer perimeter is also generally unprotected, bar from some thin walls. Criminal elements are not something unknown to the area.

Neither are they too present or powerful, however. That honor goes to the Ring. The Five Paths are also where the Fragmented Terminals are.

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Pentafold: The Ring.

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The Ring of the Pentafold is it's outer portion, separated into sectors, called districts. The industrial district, has most factories, and it is where most companies conduct their business, and thus, is the largest district. Following shortly after, is the market district, where most of the exchange of resources is handled, even by the more influential corporations of Central Pentafold.

The entertainment district is next, where most Pentafold citizens come, whenever they need to relieve their stress, or as the name suggests, be entertained. Following after, is the public district...where most native citizens to the Ring make their homes, and then, dead last, is the prison district, whose name speaks for itself, and is securely walled off, and guarded at all times.

Other small portions of the ring, are the docks, from where vessels leave for Ano, and the Gate, which is the entrance to subterranean Dormina.

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Dormina: The Underground

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The underground of Dormina, is where the five greatest temples of the Five Lords are built, and where they are said to be sleeping. Originally, their Oracles elected a number of scholars, who were to study the works of the Lords. In turn, the scholars choose the warriors of the Lords, from a young age, and have them brought to the underground to train to fulfill their future purpose in life.

A lot of great discoveries have come from the subterranean Dormina, such as the railways on the Five Paths, an old project of the Lords that never came to be on their time, as well as upgrades on existing technologies. Among these, was one that made construction much quicker. Due to them not being part of the Pentafold, and affiliated with the Lords, subterranean dwellers are outside of the Council's jurisdiction.

They are also seen as aristocrats, or nobles of a sort, and treated with a great deal of respect. They possess supernatural powers.

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Ano itself, is much less populated or developed, with just small settlements, or wandering tribes and caravans being found upon it's surface. Due to Dormina and Ano rotating with the same speed though, we can only ever observe one side of it. Luckily, this side is where the Cauldrons, sources of some of the most cherishes resources of our civilization, can be found.

Not only that, but it appears to be quite fertile as well, since a lot of farms have been successfully built, and protected by the users of the Avatar System, in collaboration with Dormina's own farmers, and workers.

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Ano: Front Side

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The side of Ano that we do see, is apparently a rather vast continent. Mountains are the first thing visible to those who decide to observe Ano from Dormina, and most of the surroundings observed by those that first use the Avatar system, are reportedly close to, or actual mountains. There is a number of valleys, as well as quite a few lakes and rivers discovered however, and it is around them that the above farms are erected.

Other than this, massive holes, either on the sides of the above mountains, or bore deep into the ground, have been noted. A lot of monstrosities, and other odd creatures and...things, seem to be found around them as well, much more than anywhere else on Ano's Front Side. Needless to say, the Cauldrons are found here as well, all seven of them.

The furthest reaching scoutings, as well as interaction with Acriman and Keffari originating individuals, seem to indicate the presence of a vast ocean beyond the continent we have discovered.

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Ano: Back Side

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The other side of Ano, is largely considered a mystery. Two realms have been noted to lie there. First, Acrima, a kingdom built on a number of islands, and having a great affinity for and even worshipping the Core Fire, going so far as to send clerics and knights on seeking journeys to retrieve it for their kingdom, and Keffar, which is supposedly, west of Acrima.

Spread into a few islands, with the rest of it, built on a desert. Their buildings resemble tall metal towers, and some time they dwell underneath the earth as well, due to terrible sandstorms, and fearsome Incarnates, plaguing their realm. They are more technologically advanced than Acrima, but their harsh living conditions, force many to flee for the front side of Ano in hopes of a better life.

There are reports, from both sides, that they use large, circle shaped, floating stone constructs, to cross the vast distances and reach for the Front Side. Perhaps, some variation of our Monoliths and Terminals?

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Leaving Ano, we must visit a few other worlds, where matters unfold quite differently. Evidence seems to suggest, that the undead are present there as well, not to mention, some of them seem to be different on a metaphysical level as well, located in a wholly different dimension. Read further to understand the point at hand.

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The Lotus

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Few know what the Lotus really is. Those born in it, are brought up by old exiles, outcasts or automata, and are expected to, at a later point, undertake a ritual, that puts them to sleep, permanently. No, this does not imply they die. They enter the dimension where all dreams take place, which apparently looks much like a revitalized version of the Lotus.

Odd lords, different from our own govern this dream world. While the dreamers are granted power and immortality, there is the ever pressing danger of creatures they refer to as Nightmares. A way to escape them, is by falling asleep in the dream, and as a result, waking in our world.

Which seems to project themselves, into our world. Immortal, clearly, for our world is just a dream, to them. Yet, this...process, seems so curiously similar to our Avatar System.

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Iliaster

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An odd Moon, that can occasionally be observed in Keffar, and very rarely in Acrima as well. It is surrounded by a dense ring of artificial satellites, and suspended stations, and seems to be populated by ancient Automata. Indications are that they are in fact, the same as the ones waging war against the Incarnates, in Ano, before the Five Lords put an end to them.

Occasionally, flying machines seem to crash in flames, and corpses of automata can be seen inside, suffering from wounds of no known origins. The Acriman see it as a sign of their deities, Keffari on the other hand, assume a war is occurring there. The explosions and laser beams flying around, reported by both sides, lend credence to the theory of the latter.

We too have been given some of these corpses for examination. It seems they are Fiend-induced wounds, of some sort.

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H7-59.

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There are two kinds of people that ever visit, from H7-59. One, are a bunch of well armored astronauts, that do not seem to use energy weapons like we do. They say they are fighting a difficult war, against armies of Incarnates that have been corrupted. The other type of people who visit, are...these odd mutants, with chitinous skin or scales, or even bony protrusions, that seem to have supernatural powers.

The second group, is fighting the tainted Incarnates too, but instead of just slaying their foes, they also eat the corpses, gaining Incarnate-like powers and physiology. The two groups do not have the best relationship, but are not openly antagonistic either. The atmosphere of H7-59 also seems to be different to ours. Most of them who make it to Ano, do not return to their home world.

It is likely, that they can't. To transverse space, they use these things they describe as "energy-pathways in space". Each vessel they build, is programmed to be able to tale a single specific route. The return trip, counts as a different route, for it's purposes.

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Oricus

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Space and time, are rather convoluted in Oricus. It appears this planet is a nexus of many different worlds, converging continents, or lands belonging to other worlds, from different eras. One moment you are walking through a forest, and when you make it out, you see a foreign purple sky, scorched by lightning and ancient ruins lie in front of your eyes.

It was believed for a long time, that Oricus was a land without order, and it is, or was, certainly true for most part. Unfortunately however, the last batches of people coming in from Oricus, were children and teenagers , escaping a tyrannical empress' conquest. And they came from different parts of Oricus. People from there seem to be utilizing something that is similar in nature to Abyssal Blood, to fuel their powers.

What is frightening, is the fact that this empress' empire, possesses advanced space travel technology. If they knew about us, they could reach Dormina. We are lucky, that they don't.

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Leir

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Leir is apparently, a distant world, filled with vast sandy deserts, and cold seas, with tall mountains, rocky islands and ancient fortresses. Apparently, an apocalyptic event occurred there, little over a hundred years ago, and the inhabitants are trying to recover. They have formed market-cities, for scavenged goods, and are trying to establish governing bodies and permanent residences.

Encounters with them, paint them in a mostly pacifistic light. Inhabitants of Leir, are labelled "Incarnates" by many, due to their bodies often resembling various reptiles, amphibians or aquatic species, and having bony masks with hollow black eyes over their faces. However, they do not behave like Incarnates, they require food, drinking, sleep, they tire out, bleed etc.

It may be that they are actual aliens. They travelled to Ano, using "ancient pillars left behind by their predecessors" back in Leir, that "you can enter and appear in other places". After staying in Ano or Dormina for an arbitrary amount of time, they spontaneously vanish back to their own world.