Setting – Anachrony
Setting
The history of New Earth
300 years ago, a mysterious, cataclysmic explosion shook the entire planet. The resulting natural disasters wiped out the majority of Earth’s population within weeks and turned most of its surface into an uninhabitable wasteland. This event came to be known as the Day of Purgation.
Years later, the largest surviving group emerged from underground shelters and established a foothold that would eventually become the World Capital, with the World Council as its governing body. As the remnants of mankind tried to rebuild a new society, they divided into four ideological factions: the Path of Progress, the Path of Harmony, the Path of Salvation and, the Path of Dominance.
Over the years, they learned to live in a fragile peace and began to prosper in their own way. All four factions walk their own path, outside the authority of the World Council, which acted as a global peacekeeping among the Paths. Their Leaders agreed to meet at the annual summit, where each of them would have influence in decisions regarding the Capital’s future.
When the first expeditions reached the desolate Ground Zero of the mysterious explosion, the explorers found an unknown material. Neutronium, as the new substance was called, became widely used as building material for the most prestigious projects thanks to its light but extremely durable nature. The first of these projects was the construction of the five Monuments, ordered by the Council to commemorate the coming 300th anniversary of the Day of Purgation.
In celebration of the 300th anniversary, delegations of the four Paths gathered at the World Capital, but instead of remembrance, they witnessed Time Rifts opening on the Monuments. This revealed the true power of the mysterious Neutronium, which is that, when exposed to energy, it is capable of opening wormholes through time. A grim message from the future made the people of New Earth realize that the Purgation was the result of the first of such wormholes, transferring back the energy of the catastrophic future impact of a Neutronium asteroid. This new impact can devastate not only humanity’s past, but also humanity’s future. With such a threat on the horizon, the Paths must do everything to prepare—and survive.
The face of New Earth
The huge settlement of the World Capital is considered to be the center of New Earth’s society and home to the civilized population that refused to join any one of the Paths. While the common people of the Capital live under the bunker-like dome known as the Inner Circle, the wealthiest families and the World Council are housed in the Council Tower. Their lives are relatively peaceful, and they can enjoy every benefit that the Capital’s state-of-the-art technology offers. The Capital’s dangerous and chaotic suburbs, called the Rim, house those who are stuck outside of the Inner Circle but still live under the Capital’s protective force field.
Not far from the Capital stand the Three Pillars, New Earth’s biggest and most efficient water purification system, which supplies the Capital through a large-scale network of pipelines. The mine lying beneath the mountain ranges surrounding the Capital is the result of a massive mining operation to secure a reliable source of Uranium, Titanium and Gold – and occasionally Neutronium.
The known lands of the desolate Old World are now referred to as the Outback: a deadly wasteland where traversing is ill-advised without sufficient protection due to drought, radiation, and hazardous weather conditions. Nonetheless, those who disagree with the Paths’ ideologies and the World Council’s control live in constant danger, in exchange for their freedom, in small settlements scattered across the Outback. Lately, rumor has spread that some of the nomad tribes possess Neutronium, which helps them adapt to the Outback’s radiation.
The rest of New Earth’s population found home in one of the Paths’ Capitals.