Nahia (New World Design)

"Millions around the world go missing, and in most circumstances, cases that are reported become solved by the very next day. In the more extensive loss periods, a good number of the missing return to society relatively safe... but sadly, not everyone is as fortunate.

Even then, there are some who are never found. Every year, thousands of names join this list, of those who will not be heard from again. A couple dozen or so could be explained away, but thousands?

Just where could these people have possibly gone...?"
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Basics

Are the laws of nature and physics actually different in this world, or are they the same as in real life? How does magic fit in? How do magical beasts fit in?
-Relatively the same, yet with either extreme or exaggerated philosophies
-Everything is powered/operated with solar and kinetic energy, but primarily radiation; an "organic mineral" serves as the leading factor of this
-"Alien/Native" species are highly radioactive by nature, being able to both absorb and generate solar/kinetic energy; most exclusively rely upon the sun to survive, yet others go beyond that, going so far as to manipulate certain energies in extreme, "creative" ways

Is this generally an earth-like world? Is it an “alternate Earth”?
-Yes
-Somewhat

Are there different human races, whether or not there are non-humans like elves or dwarves? How does the cultural and ethnic diversity of this world compare to the real world?
-Yes
-Everyone is joined together, cultures and other diversities discarded for sake of survival and adaptation
-Race and other such differences are relatively unimportant, individual power and personal influence factoring any human's level of importance; humans diverse themselves by "class" rather than race

How long have there been people on this world? Did they evolve, or did they migrate from somewhere/when else?
-Since before the "Void Migrations"
-For the current humans, exclusively migrated; historic, relatively extinct humans had evolved

How many people are there in this country? How does this compare with world population? What is considered a small town/large town/city in terms of number of people?
-Several hundred million residents reside in Nahia's largest human city
-World-wide, there are estimates of roughly a billion humans existing in Nahia, but nothing is certain...
-What defines as a small town/village is a population between forty and two-hundred; two-hundred to one-thousand makes a large town, one-to-five thousand makes a city, five-to-ten thousand makes a large city, and roughly anything beyond that makes a metropolis; there is only one large/"mega" metropolis in Nahia, known as "Argent Sol"

Where does magic power come from: the gods, the “mana” of the world (as in Larry Niven’s “Warlock” stories), the personal willpower or life force of the magician, somewhere else? Is magic an exhaustible resource? If a magician must feed his spells with his own willpower, life-force, or sanity, what long-term effects will this have on the health and/or stability of the magician? Do different races/species have different sources for their magic, or does everybody use the same one?
-An unnamed "botanic mineral" popularly dubbed as "Meta Glass" is a mysterious ore boasting plant-like qualities; it is a peculiar mineral in that it reacts positively to sunlight (especially direct, extensive forms of radiation), both multiplying in mass and changing its physical density (it increases its malleability, yet at the same time it becomes much more structurally compact); able to be farmed and manufactured, it can be reinforced into a specialized, structural building material or just as easily be expertly prepared as an alternative food/energy source; it is extremely parasitic, and when consumed/absorbed it fuses with the host's body (in the case of human "outsiders", it laces itself throughout their internal body and slowly fuses with, or entirely replaces, whole organs), and reengineers them down to a cellular level until they carry the same traits as the basic material itself; hosts of the mineral will find themselves no different (physically) than that of the natives of Nahia, being able to survive solely off of radiation and manipulate it at will; it is also thought that this material is at least sub-sentient, as machines and once-lifeless hosts (like zombies and skeletons) seem to have the capability to operate on their own; the full list of characteristics regarding this material is not known
-So long as one is a host of "Meta Glass" and is within access to some form of radiation (like direct sunlight), resources are not exhaustible
-Extensive use of a host's stored energy will put one in a period of stasis until they are "refueled"; if one expels too much at once, it is possible to experience temporarily damage depending on the amount of MG they are infused with (extension of one's limits coincides with percentage of infusion)
-It is reasoned that all humans require MG to obtain such feats; natives either naturally can do without, or are hosts -themselves; as for radiation in particular, everything is based around it

Are there non-human inhabitants of this planet (elves, dwarves, aliens)? If so, how numerous? How openly present? What areas do they occupy (examples: dwarves in mountains or caves, elves in forests, etc.)?
-Yes
-Natives (aka "Munstroa") are said to be several billion world-wide, but nothing is certain...
-Due to Nahia having roughly five times the surface area as Earth (and other reasons), Munstroa are not as present as one might think; globally, munstroa occupy every corner of Nahia, depending on the species

How similar are the history and culture of the alternate earth to real history and culture? Why is it so similar/different?
-While much more simplistic, Nahia history does reflect Earth's... at least when one looks at our historical mythology
-Many creatures and iconic characters tie in with Nahia history, some reflecting our legends spot on; bluntly, the "original"/native humans of Nahia once were the basis of the historical "heroes" we know, like Hercules and Achilles: they were powerful humans boasting inhuman feats beyond compare; the "monsters" of our legends also originate from Nahia, as certain species like Vampire and Lycanthrope had joined Earth's original colonists, following our human ancestors into the world; because of the absence of MG on Earth, the descendants of the original humans ceased to be hosts of the material, reducing themselves to the "modern humans" we are today... the munstroa that were with us could not survive effectively within a radiation-free environment, and they began to attack humans in response to oppression, leading into the legend of the "monster wars"

Is there a specific historical point where this world split off from ours (e.g., Napoleon won at Waterloo)? If so, what was it? How long ago was it? How much has changed and will continue to change as a result? Is the split in history a result of the presence of magic, or is the change the thing that made workable magic a possibility?
-Yes
-When Atlantis sunk... no seriously; originally known as "Giza Aterpea" ([pronounced: GEE-zuh a-ter-PEE-uh] Man's Refuge), this was less a city and more a gateway the size of a small island; Earth was accessed by way of a dimensional rift created when unknown dragon "roared" and "created the doorway into Nirvana"; the dragon, whose name is lost to time, entered the new "barren" world (Earth) and explored it; after finding it deprived of radiation (Nahia's natives' primary source of life) it devised a plan to get rid of the humans he specifically hated: he constructed Giza Aterpea, a sea-faring construct designed to prolong and stabilize the existence of the rift between worlds he had created, and through deception and false promises he encouraged many humans into entering
-B.C. (Before Crossing), A.D. (After Desertion); over two thousand years ago
-After a sufficient number of humans were on the other side, the dragon destroyed the floating construct, the remnants of Giza Aterpea sinking into the abyss with all traces of any remaining Meta Glass breaking apart and dispersing beneath the waves; as the only other thing in existence able to create the rift, the dragon returned to Nahia, leaving the Earth-trapped humans (and the munstroa who were among them) to perish... or so had the dragon planned; humans survived, but now in a world without sufficient radiation, none could hope to reach a relatable strength in power the same as the dragon's needed to recreate the rift and return home

If magic is known to exist, which historical events have changed and which are the same? How have organized religions reacted? Governments? Ordinary people? What laws and/or professions are different? What effect will the general and specific differences have on the social questions below?
-Many of our legends and myths are simply organized in a historically jumbled and inaccurate mess, some events and characters misrepresented either through exaggeration or mistaken identity; not everything in our lore exists as a part of Nahia's history, such as the presence of literal gods, yet some of these gods like Zeus and Hades are certainly based of iconic, Nahian historical characters... for instance, Echidna is not a historical person, but is rather a founding race of most munstroan species, yet there was one member of the echidna race that had a part in Nahia history that reflects the legend of the Echidna deity we know in our legends
-Stranded in an alien world, where the laws of nature were "supposedly" different with the lack of sufficient radiation, diversity was quick to take place among the deserted human and munstroa people, and with desperation guiding them they were quick to divide amongst themselves; humans found ways to survive, but the munstroa had a much harsher time coping... within a single generation, most of the local races became extinct without the radiation-based atmosphere they needed to thrive, leaving only a select few munstroa left on Earth (or "Terra", as it had been then called); as time passed, Nahia history became little more than shared myths and legends, their telling roughly similar from colony to colony yet inconsistent due to different translations marred through time; since humans adapted much better than the munstroa, they prospered at a speedier pace, unifying and forming governing systems at rapid succession; born from a time of desperation, a powerful nature of greed and the urge of asserting one's dominance developed in the humans of Earth, and it wasn't long after securing their thrones did they begin to assert themselves as "superior" beings, with munstroa races labeled and treated as inferior; backlash from the munstroa (now dubbed "monsters" as a form of offensive slang) led to direct oppression by the humans, and thus the great "monster wars" began; not many races of munstroa survived said wars, and those who did were subject to the "Hunts" that followed, as were the "witches" and "warlocks", or, the last remaining humans who were hosts of Meta Glass (for they were seen as threats, as they were the only ones left who could manipulate and generate radiation); further dwindled in number, and now facing complete extinction, the munstroa and very last MG humans fled ad went into hiding... and after several generations of wars and changing cultures, we come to the times of this day and age...

How does this world differ physically from earth? Is it the same size (same density, same gravity), same ratio of land/water, same atmosphere, etc.? Does it have more than one sun or moon? Rings? Are there spectacular constellations/comets, etc. visible at night or by day?
-Nahia is larger than Earth by a considerable margin, and has several differences in its nature
-Estimated to have about five times the surface area of our Earth, it is interesting to note that, regardless, the world's gravitational pull is only greater by a very small amount (an increase of only 20%!); the environment on the other hand is relatively lethal, having a radioactive and slightly more pressurized atmosphere all throughout... if a human outsider were to step foot into this world without being a host of Meta Glass, they would surely die within hours; land-to-water surface ratio of Nahia is relatively 40:60, having four continents; large lakes, rivers, and a single ocean form the brunt of its watery surface
-Nahia orbits one sun, but has three moons; one moon dwarfs the other two (which are roughly the same size) with a mass that exceeds the combination of their own; the "twin" moons are named Erreba and Anaia, with their superior known as Guraso; the orbits of Guraso and Erreba follow the same path, with Anaia forming a "criss-cross" path that intersects with the others (this has led the moon to be known as the "wayward child" of the three); since they are located at different points of distance from Nahia, the moons are never in danger of colliding... yet they do allow for some rather unique eclipses from time to time
-There are no rings, apart from a visible, neighboring world (called Lagun) bearing two sets
-No constellations, but there is a comet able to be seen orbiting Lagun (dubbed "Dragon of Lagun") every two (Nahia) years

How are the continents laid out? If there is more than one moon/sun, how does this affect winds, tides, and weather generally?
-Berria and Zaharra form the two major continents of Nahia', Zaharra on the eastern side of the world with Berria at its west (were one to look at a map based upon their closest points); roughly the same size of surface area, Zaharra is more evenly spread out while Berria's land is more spaced apart, granting the western continent the false impression that it is smaller than it actually is; the third largest of the continents is Hilgarria, which is located near the center of the world's equator and in between its larger continents, though slightly nearer Zaharra; Ederra is the smallest, and final continent, and is located beyond Zaharra's eastern shores, just visible to its natives
-Due to the odd conjunction of opposing orbits and various sizes of its moons, as well as their different distances from the world below, Nahia has a rather unpredictable weather environment; winds and tides can increase and decrease at extreme rates and change within an instant, yet since the world's gravitational pull is mostly effected by the largest moon, Guraso, it is not as random as one would first expect; storms and showers generally occur at the same rate as on Earth, yet are usually much more severe, partially due to the presence of radiation in the atmosphere

How much land is there, and how much of it is habitable?
-40% of Nahia is covered in land, yet while this is more than on Earth, do recall that Nahia is several time larger than Earth to begin with; so long as you can survive the radiation, all but a select few places in Nahia are completely inhabitable... however, that is not to say certain places are not dangerous to live in, as is the "pitfall city" of Artala Migen and the "Abyssal Lands" below Argent Sol

Is the axial tilt and orbit the same — i.e., does the world have the same seasons and same length of year as Earth?
-Interestingly enough, the axial tilt seems to be only slightly more centered than Earth's own, yet the world's rotation is more noticeably different (each day consists of twenty-eight hours, as opposed to Earth's twenty-four); while seasons are less extreme than on Earth (though only marginally), Nahia's lengthy orbit makes them much more lengthy, a year being close to five hundred (Nahia) days in length.