The World
Setting
The Pearl of the Seas, one of the world’s largest luxury ocean cruisers, left Fort Lauderdale on July 3rd, 2020 to take its 1864 passengers on a pleasure voyage in a journey across the Caribbean Sea. On the fourth night, the ship was caught in a mysterious lightning storm that killed all electronics and made the ocean cruiser run aground on an unknown, unexplored island. With the communication and navigation system down and the constellations on the night sky unrecognizable, it soon became clear that there was no way to leave the island and that no help would ever come to rescue the survivors.
After the first wave of shock subsided, the chief officers of the ship took control, and with the help of a few self-appointed leaders, they took the first measures to organize the frightened crowd into a functioning society. Then, seeing no other option, the survivors started to settle down on the shore, using materials from the island and resources from the ship to lay the foundations of a habitable, self-preserving city. However, the island that looked like paradise at first glance didn’t welcome outsiders: the constructions were constantly disturbed by exotic dinosaurs that no scientific book had ever mentioned.
To keep away the dinosaurs and the many dangers the island had yet to reveal, a wide and strong wall was raised to protect the camps and settlements that soon became the city of Perseverance. As more and more survivors left their shelter on the fatally damaged ship, the city became more and more populated and alive, forming the four main community areas: the sustenance zone, the military zone, the expansion zone, and the protection zone.
Once the city was secure and met all the basic needs, scouting parties ventured beyond the walls to explore the wilderness surrounding the city. As the once frightened, shipwrecked passengers became stalwart survivors, they learned how to adapt to the island’s hard circumstances and take advantage of them. They not only discovered the beneficial effects of the local fruits but also observed the dinosaurs to learn how to tame them and live with them together.
Though the survivors of Perseverance managed to build their own city and society on a mysterious, hostile island, plenty of secrets are still to be uncovered by them. Perhaps the ancient temples the scouting parties reported about will reveal more...
Characters
Phoenix
Helping out in her dad’s auto repair shop as a teen, little Phoebe gained a lot of engineering experience tinkering with the computer and electronic system of cars. She was fascinated by all things tech and quickly realized that she can further develop her skills in the virtual world.
Years later, she took part in a dangerous, fully underworld-funded cyberattack, gaining her the now infamous name, Phoenix. Her reputation spread fast and wide, and she was soon contacted by a major record label and was offered a position as a security hacker. Her job was to fix the weaknesses of their network by trying to breach it and “steal” unreleased singles and albums.
Because of her work, she started to experiment with making music and participated in the night life more and more, becoming a familiar face in the Berlin underground scene. She even took occasional gigs, helping out as a technician and a sound engineer. Though she really loved what she did, she couldn't resist her daring, adventurous side, and one night, when the club’s manager introduced her to the cruise director of the Pearl of the Seas, she agreed to the director's offer to join the ship's technician crew without hesitation.
Keoni
Keoni lived in Hawaii all his life and had no plans to leave his beloved birthplace anytime soon. Working as a surf instructor by day and bouncer by night at the Hot Lava Beach & Night Club, he was a familiar face in Honolulu and known as a cool, friendly guy who could also stop a party from getting out of hand.
One incident, however, changed everything: the day Keoni’s love left him, a bachelor party was becoming unmanageable at the club under Keoni's watch, and the otherwise always-professional bouncer went too far and accidentally broke the groom’s nose while “escorting” them outside. No charges were pressed against him, but Keoni eventually lost his job.
Filled with remorse and fearing to face the person he briefly became that night, he decided to leave for Florida, where he soon found a job as gym manager and personal trainer on an ocean cruiser. Before even realizing it, he was celebrating his third year working on the Swimming Atlantic, so when he was offered a position on a brand new, state-of-the-art ship called the Pearl of the Seas and a festival ticket to the most exclusive party of the world, he didn’t think twice about it.
Jack
The child of a Canadian family with roots in Hong Kong, Jack was a rebellious teen who despised his parents for moving the family away from Asia and its mysterious magician scene. Being obsessed with the profession, he started to create his own tricks and illusions and finally put together a two-hour-long performance that centered around fire.
In 2009, he lost the World Championship in Beijing to Soma Hajnóczy, making a mistake in the final round. This was the pinnacle of his magician career, and the defeat made him stop competing. For a long time, though, he was able to market himself as a silver medalist and built a beautiful magical career. Traveling the world alone, he often felt lonely and wanted to cure his solitude with the company of Lady Luck, but she ruthlessly turned her back on him—he spent his hard-earned money in smoky casinos and accumulated serious debts, while his gigs became fewer and fewer.
Eventually, he went to therapy to treat his gambling addiction. It was around this time that he reluctantly took the cruise ship magician position on the Pearl. At the suggestion of his therapist, his contract specifically included that he could not set foot in the huge casino on the ocean cruiser.
Adelita
Despite growing up in a poor family, Adelita never felt that she was deprived of good food—in fact, her mother was a creative genius who could turn the simplest ingredients into wonderful meals. Adelita was often helping her in their humble kitchen, learning her culinary tricks while her father was out drinking instead of supporting his family.
During her teenage years, her dad’s behavior became more and more aggressive, so the two women decided to move to Adelita’s maternal uncle. She was even able to earn a little money for themselves by doing the dishes at his diner. Throughout her years of hard work and dedication, she proved her potential and talent and slowly climbed the ladder, finally becoming the star chef of the lively Zona Hotelera area in Cancún.
As successful as she was in her professional life, her poor parental figure haunted her private life, resulting in a marriage with an abusive husband. Their last fight ended with Adelita fending for herself with a knife—after this incident, she swore she’d never return. Wanting nothing more than to disappear, she applied for the head chef position on the Pearl of the Seas, and she was hired without so much as an interview.
The Council of Officers
Captain Ramon Wolfe
Erika Veldkamp
-Chief Mate
Terry Ross
-Chief of Security
Dennis Harper
-Chief Steward
Sarah Williams
-Chief Engineer
When the shipwrecked survivors realized there was no escape from the island, it became clear that they had to think long term, which meant leaving the damaged ship and settling down on the island. And that required organized order. Since the captain went missing during the catastrophic night, it was the chief mate who took control and called the other chief officers together to form a governing and decision-making body, called the Council of Officers.
The purpose of the Council is to maintain order and, ultimately, establish a functioning society by laying down basic principles and supporting the Leaders, the operational executives, who were appointed by the Council to carry out what was necessary to survive. However, the Leaders don’t act solely on direct orders from the Council: the most important issues would be decided during the Assemblies, the regularly held forums, where everyone could vote at their discretion.
This proved to be a working method as the city of Perseverance successfully grew over time and, once the captain was rescued from the destroyed parts of the ship and took his place in the Council, the survivors then set out to conquer the island.
Dinosaurs
Raptor
The Raptors are originally coming from the thick jungle up north, in hopes of finding more prey. They are a very aggressive species, and whenever they are not hunting, they can easily end up fighting each other. However, during hunts, they become ruthless killers, working perfectly together to take down the weaker and more vulnerable prey. The Raptors communicate with high-pitched sounds that are quite similar to what guinea pigs make, and since the few surviving guinea pigs are quite sensitive to the Raptors’ sounds, their upset behavior can usually predict incoming Raptor attacks.
Trampler
The Tramplers are a herbivorous species that are essentially friendly in nature. They peacefully feed on grass, bushes, and small trees most of the day, but if they feel threatened they, can quickly become very dangerous. The young and the elder often become targets of Raptors, so the Tramplers usually live in herds on wide, open fields to be able to notice the attack in time and take a defensive stance using their powerful and lethal tail as a weapon. The only thing that scares them is the storm, which they can sense beforehand; in that case, they usually find shelter under the edges of larger rocks and remain there until it passes.
Shieldhead
The Shieldheads are a large, powerful species, that generally lives in canyons and is always in search for berries, their favorite kind of food. Though they are herbivores, they can be very dangerous, too. Beside their huge size, their skull is almost unbreakable, and they tend to use their head as a flail. And if that wasn’t enough, most of their body is covered with thick, armor-like skin. Being mostly solitary creatures, they come together only to mate and then stick together solely for the duration of raising their pups. Once the little Shieldheads’ armor skin is fully grown, they all separate from each other. Though they live most of their lives alone, there are places on the island where the elder Shieldheads go to connect with their species and lay down for the very last time.