Tales of Xenith

Reflection: 

My world is not that unique and I’d say it’s pretty meta when it comes to a dystopian steampunk world. In creating this world my inspiration was from the game Bioshock Infinite and the steampunk genre. I took the cities above the cloud idea from Bioshock and took a twist on it. My world will be called Xenith where there are three distinct levels in this world: the Skylands, the midground, and the below. The world is built like this because I wanted to show distinct districts in the world that would show each district class and level of importance in the world. The whole idea of the world is to show the struggle of class and show how people can segregate others just by their race and class. The world will also inhabit people with mystical properties. For example, the Xandians are the winged people of the Skylands who have the highest rank within the world. They are considered to be godly and they seemingly came out of nowhere. There are also people in the below who possess magical abilities but were put in the below by the Xandians due to their fear of the other race’s power. The world being steampunk means that everything is somewhat technologically advanced with all the machines and gadgets run off the magic power called stream. The stream is connected to the plant’s core and is what allows things like floating cities to exist. My thought process on this was that it is kinda like climate change in our world where the world utilizes the stream for everything, but the overuse of it causes problems for all people within the world such as the decay of life in forest, oceans, etc. All the races in Xenith, besides the humans, can harness the stream naturally as if it was out of thin air. However, the Xandians are one of the few races to draw upon the stream naturally, but they are blinded by the effects of overuse and utilize large quantities. Races like the Xadnars, a race of humanoids who split from the human evolution tree millenniums ago, utilize the stream to the bare minimum and utilize their natural affinity to the stream with great caution as they seem to have a stronger connection to it compared to other races. However, the Xadians banished the Xadnars and other races to the below due to ensure there are no possibilities for an overthrow of power. They also have taken or slaughtered those with an affinity to the stream to further dwindle the chances of an uprising. By doing this not only is an overthrow of the Xandians and humans impossible, but the knowledge of power within the other races will be forgotten over time as future generations will not know of their race’s past affliction to the stream. The Xadnars is an example of a race equivalent to the minorities in our world in which are mostly silenced and have little power to anything within the world of Xenith. The conflict in this world is supposed to mirror race inequality and class struggle as people in the upper parts of the world can represent those in upper-middle to high-class people of our society. The Xandians are equivalent to the top 1% in our world in which they have high status and can sway politics easily due to their status. My world again isn’t that unique as many of the things here most-likely has been done before, but I just want to take my spin on these issues and add a magical spin to it.

Geography: 

There are three parts of this world: the Skylands (cloud cities), midground (landmasses we live on), and the below (ocean or subterranean). The people in the Skylands are the top of society in this world where people have power over all politics in the world and control the stream the most. Life in the Skylands is exuberant and eccentric with everything from buildings to everyday park chairs being decked out with rare stream minerals called stagnites, a mineral made of pure stream energy, and all the wealth going towards benefitting society in the Skylands. The landscape of the Skylands is not very interesting as it’s like an ocean island where it isn’t too big or has too many features, but each island is unique. The floating islands are connected by land bridges where people can travel by foot or take a small vehicle on. However, the sky islands are pretty spread out, except in metropolitan areas, where it seems like an open ocean of clouds. The people in the midground are considered the people of the middle class where they are the average people of the planet. The midground mostly resembles continents on our planet where there are 4 main continents that make up the midground: Trophum, Facixus, Lognius, and Vivitar. Each continent revolves around a specific task that the people do there and produce most of what Xenith uses. The people below are the lower class of this world and are made up of the races who were put there by the Xandians and humans. The below has two main places to inhabit: the caverns called Magna Caverna or the ocean. The races here have created small communities called Complexes where each race lives in separate communities consisting of their individual race. However, it doesn’t mean each Complex isn’t open to accepting people from other races or allowing other races to come trade. Each race has limited use of the stream and operates the low-level jobs which no one wants to do. The world runs off a mystical power called the stream and is linked to the world’s life force. The world’s stream is being overused and causes issues all over the world. For example, the forests are dying and the oceans are growing barren. In order to combat this, the world utilizes natural events and conjures monsters deep within the world to try to stop the use of the stream. 

Ecology: 

The people in the Skylands are almost all Xadians and humans where both races are known to be selfish and arrogant. They mostly dress in regal colors like royal blue or purple or even gold, but white is what everyone wears as it’s a symbol of their wealth and status. For the midground, the 4 continents each have a life of their own. Trophum is the continent where agriculture and farming are specialized. Each citizen of Trophum is tasked to produce food and resources for the world of Xenith. The people can specialize in growing massive trees full of stream energy cleverly called Stream Tree (Dendrium Dynamus) or specialize in farming large fish from the ocean that resembles tuna called Thunnus Largum or Spindle Fish. The people here usually dress in natural colors such as brown or green and wear materials that are similar to cotton. The people of Facixus specialize in creating things across Xenith. These people are known to invent technology from the floating vehicles on the Skylands to the sturdy chair made from stream trees in your homes. The people of Fracixus are strong and innovative with a good sense of what is a good material for building. These people wear a wide variety of clothing, but what makes them unique is their apron lined with a metal stronger than steel. The people of the Lognius are the thinkers and educators of the world, they also are the law of this part of the world. While the Skylands have their own individual legislative system, the one in the midground only pertains to the midground as this is their own source of power in the world in Xenith. The people here are intellectual and wear colors like white and red to symbolize their status, a mini Skyland basically. In Vivitar it is a continent to house all the people of the midground. This continent is nothing more than metropolitan areas and the suburbs. The people here are a hodgepodge of people from the other continents looking for someplace to live and a place to call their own. In the below, all the other races were put down here to live in fear and be segregated from the world. All of the races here work in plants or mines to the power of gather materials of the midground and Skylands. These people work the longest and hardest out of all of the other races on the planet. The races here co-exist with one another to make life in the below more liveable. The people here trade with each other and establish communities to ensure the well being of all those who live here. However, people grow restless as centuries of banishment have fueled a flame within these people with will erupt soon. Some of the races who live here are the Xadnars and a race of rock people called the Geonauts. The Geonauts are a race of rock people who live in caves and mountains and who once specialized in mining and the harvesting of rare earth materials. The world surrounding civilization is somewhat vibrant but is slowly dying due to the overuse of the stream. The forest which holds mythical creatures and once was wild and lush is slowly dying and the creatures seem to be more aggressive as their numbers dwindle. The people and the creature used to be in harmony but after the abuse of the stream and the technological advancements the world is slowly dying. There are different races on this planet which live in secret from the rest of society, such as people who live in the sea called the Seafarers, but there is even a sub-race called the Abyssals which are a race that lives deep within the oceans. These sea races are separate from those below as they live far from land and in the open ocean. There are also races who live in the forest that can turn invisible at will and are one of the most distant races on the planet. This race has no common name, but are called “the ones in the leaves” as they look like humanoid life forms covered in leaves and can turn invisible. However, most of the races have been pushed to the below and there some races out in the world who are in hiding due to the Xadians. The wildlife on this planet once was plentiful, but now dwindle due to the harming of the planet. In the great plains of Xenith, for example, use to live a species of massive dear called Staggering Deer as they stood 9 feet tall with antlers 8 feet in length. There used to be a species of cave bear called Giganta Urserus or the Giant Hazel Bear which used to live in the mountains but since have gone missing from the world. Countless other species like this use to roam the planet, but after the conflict between races and the use of the stream most have gone missing or died out as a result. Since then, a terror rises from the earth and deep within the sea which came out of nowhere. These creatures are alien-like and have blue and purple coloration. These creatures came after the planet started feeling the effects of the overused stream and have been wreaking havoc on societies around the world. There aren’t names for them yet, but people called them the “Voidlings.” 

History: 

The world of Xenith was once was a peaceful place where mystical creatures reside and all races lived in harmony. However, the humans who possess no affliction to the stream growing fearful of the creatures and other races as they seemingly can wipe out the existence of humans in an instant. In order to combat this, humans develop technology that can harness the stream artificially and begin their conquest to create “peace.” This was only possible due to one Xandian who helped the humans take down the other races and rise to power. Ever since then, humans have predominantly dominated the world with Xandians who allied with the humans co-existing with them. However, in recent times the races below grow restless and so does the planet as creatures of the “void” have shown up to seemingly stop humans from harming the planet any further.  

Culture: 

Those who live in the Skylands have the most luxurious life and dictate life in the world of Xenith. They have immense wealth and have the most technological advancements in the world but also use most of the stream’s energy. The Xandians in the Skylands are seen to be arrogant and have the most power as they are seen as the superior race and almost godly. The people in the midground are mostly humans with other races intermingled here and there. The people are seen as the middle class of this world and utilize the stream on an average. They obey the people of the above as they write the world of the land and dictate what can be done and what can’t. The people at this level work most of the jobs on the planet and sustain the economy within the world. The people below are the lower-class humans and all the other races and minorities. These people and races run all the other jobs, for example, stream plants, water cleaning, expansion, mining, etc. The people here utilize the stream for the bare necessity and are thought to be the most dangerous at times. 

Politics: 

The people in the Skylands manage all the politics with little power given to the people in the midground and none to the below. The Skylanders create all the legislation and class rights. For example, there will be laws regulating how much of the stream people can use in the middle and below, but barely any to those in the Skylands. There are also laws that govern how each person at each level can live and if they can move between different societies. For example, the midground people can upgrade their status to live in the Skylands, but only if they are important or have done something important to the expansion of Xenith, like conquesting or inventing an item to make the quality of life better. On rare occasions, people also have moved status due to marriage or inheritance. The laws governing the below are harsher than all the other laws. The people of the below can barely use the stream and cannot advance to other societies, only very rarely can 1 person advance. The people in the below work long hours and can barely make enough to support a household. There are people who can channel the stream here, but all those who can are taken or killed by decree of law. Laws are so heavily regulated in the below it causes most people to turn to crime in the below, only fueling their bad rep. 

Magic/Religion:

Magic in this world is called the stream and those who can use or channel it can cast some spells or alter something in the world. The stream can be used as a weapon or a utility. It can be used to cast strong magic that shoots lightning or can create land bridges to cross a river. The use of the stream is seemingly limitless, however, if one channels the stream too much you can be inflicted with stream illness which can deteriorate the body slowly. Some races have better control of the stream so the stream illness isn’t a large issue for them. Religion is something that isn’t big in this world. However, people do worship some gods that control a specific aspect of the stream. For example, the god Tanaidus, Brewer of the Sea, can channel the stream to cause huge waves that can destroy the coastline. Other gods like Fulgurus, God of the Storms, can summon large storms and fire thousands of lightning bolts in seconds. There are different Pantheons in this world, but most have been lost after the human/Xandian conflict. For example, each level of the world believes in different Gods within the world. The races in the Skylands and midground conform to one religion in which they believe in the holy Solatire and Largus who were believed to be the Xandian and human who brought “peace” to the lands. While the races below, believe in a wide array of gods from the aforementioned Tanaidus and Fulgarus to the life god, Vitarian, who people pray upon for well-being. Ever since the conflict long ago, people stop believing in the Pantheons and Gods and just live life with the Skylands and Xadians being their “god.”