WHERE WE’RE GOING

A Primer: Part II

Same disclaimer as the first go around. This post, the follow up to Part I: Where We Start, is the next chunk of information that we gave out to other creators regarding our societal system builds. 

This one gets into specifics regarding the THREE WOLRDS and THREE MOONS that make up 3W3M. 

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SYSTEM MAP

There are eight planets in this star system. The inner and outer planets are separated by a super dense (much denser than our own) asteroid field, and our worlds exist inside a generous goldilocks zone (we’ll get into actual distances and planet composition later, but for now, assume that the map below is a general representation, but not to actual scale). 

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THREE WORLDS. THREE MOONS. 

AKVA [WORLD]

Our first planet, AKVA, has no moons and the surface is entirely covered with liquid (we’re implying water here, but as we get into the research, I’m sure there’s going to be something neat we can do like a liquid oxygen or one of the oxygen combinations deep seas divers currently use. Maybe this will make ‘underwater’ a better medium for story...or not, we’ll see). 

Anyway, at the heart this world, is KHOR. This is the glowing cold fusion/magically conducive ‘goo’ that powers everything in the solar system regardless of which cycle (science or magic) we are in. This planet is the most accessible place to find this stuff (it does exist on one other, outer planet in this system -- in fact, it’s more abundant there than here, but for now this is the easiest place to acquire it). It can be captured/distilled/refined when it bubbles off the planet’s exotic goo mantle and cools in the surrounding liquid (this is an INDUSTRY).

The planet has two nations/governments -- both are theocratic, and of a single religion with with two major sects (like Sunni/Shia or Catholic/Protestant, but more in practice or in line with Buddhism -- but honestly, let’s be open to throwing all those references away in the hopes of something cooler. After all, to quote some asshole writer, ‘We have new gods now.’).  While these two nations are NOT technically at war, they are in constant conflict based on the wildly erratic yields of Khor (it works like solar flares -- there are periods of high activity and low, which directly affects the level of conflict). Both sects engage in the mining and excavation of Khor, but each individual sect only services one of the other two planets (so they each have an exclusive trading partner). And because Khor is the most important resource in the universe -- and fighting over it is actually against their religion -- each of the theocratic governments are able to easily lure bravos, mercenaries, and soldiers of fortune to fight in proxy battles over the mining of it.

There’s more, but you get the idea. 

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FAYRII [WORLD]

A world ruled by a monarch (King or Queen) -- it seems to be a feudalistic planet that, at first glance, appears ‘evil’ (but is actually just ruthlessly rigid in opposition to the dynastic chaos going on elsewhere). 

The thing to remember here is that the  ‘mythological symbolism’ of the universe being in an endless cycle is paramount here. The King or Queen reigns until one of their children is able to replace them (let your imagination run wild at all the ways this could be done) and become the new King or Queen. 

The huge number of royals engaged in attempts to destroy each other -- and fight for an opportunity to replace the monarch of Fayrii -- all live completely separate from the King or Queen. They live on...

HEIR [MOON]

A bit like Monte Carlo, Macau or Dubai, this moon is an opulent distraction for the extremely wealthy, criminal masterminds, and thrill seekers throughout the star system. 

While it is technically controlled by the monarch of Fayrii, the moon is mostly under the daily control of crime bosses and the constantly-warring aristocracy. 

Those vying for the throne wage secret wars of betrayal and assassination and, sometimes, the innocent are caught in the middle. 

This is the best place. This is the worst place. 

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THERRA [WORLD]

ORDO [MOON]

KAOSO [MOON]

THERRA is where our story begins. All the other stuff -- the heart of our mythology -- is cranking away in the background of everything until we reveal it later -- it’s all color at the start. This world, and it’s two moons (Order and Chaos, or ‘Science’ and ‘Magic’) thematically represent everything we’re trying to do message-wise. 

This world is run by a self-appointed group of ‘politicians’ that are basically representative stand-ins for the plutocrats, schools, corporations and institutions that run the planet (now, again, we’re not going to call these things that, for this document they’re just substitutes). 

Mike and Mike are still nailing down the aesthetics of this. We’re looking at some kind of holographic 60s, or something where technology is just an overlay, but I think wherever we land, there will be a heavily element of ‘weird fun’ also. Like, everything seems to make sense -- to follow some kind of familiar logic -- until you go to the spaceport and you don’t take a spaceship to another world or moon, you hitch a ride on a space slug or something like that. Which should be fun.

Regardless, that’s the mechanical world building stuff. Grinding against that is all the end-of-the-science-age/rise-of-the-magic-age stuff. About that...

In the same way that those cycles ebb and flow, the state of these moons wax and wane between the highest order of advancement and the ruins of a lost society. SO...right now, the ORDO is the most technologically advanced place in the solar system (and secretly runs THERRA). In contrast, the KAOSO basically exists as an archaeological site, where alien others built monuments of scientific nonsense (except...some of it is starting to work again), and the environment is uninhabitable for ‘humans’.

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Okay, That’s about it for today. 

I know that we were supposed to have a housekeeping post, but after talking about it with the guys, we think that needs to be a living FAQ where you can constantly ask questions in the comments and we just refer to that page over and over (this should be up very soon). And we unlocked some really exciting new possibilities for the Founding Members that we want to make sure are fully built before we tell you about that.

Also, tomorrow, a first look at del Mundo designs.