Broken Skies
War in the Eversky
Between 1000 and 1500 years ago, the world shattered.
An event now referred to as 'The Great Sundering' tore the crust of the planet apart, rending rock and splitting earth, pulling it all down into an endless abyss, never to be seen again. What little was left behind was in the form of floating islands, never more than a few tens of kilometres in diameter - with hundreds of kilometres of Cloud Sea between them.
Needless to say, for a very long time the few peoples that had survived were quite lonely - and indeed, the Eversky is a quiet and lonely place, with neither the winds to guide airships at speeds where they might soon reach their neighbours, nor the resources for an engine that might propel them there - but people adapt. There were many years of simply subsisting, with nary a word between towns - decades, even, when people started to believe that they were truly alone. But almost a hundred years after the Great Sundering, when people had finally gotten used to the life they'd been given, someone found it.
In the year following the discovery of the Upper Luft - a series of slipstreams in the stratosphere high above the Island level, finally allowing for real travel - nations began to form themselves around the largest hubs of civilisation, developing distinct cultures and ideals. In the East there grew the Iron Dominion, an industrial and scientific parliamentary republic built around the ideal that the strongest, most opportunistic people should rule. They are expansionist, they are imperialist, and their ultimate goal is dominance of the Eversky. To the West, there lay the Oakheart Sovereignty, a noble kingdom of antiquated knights and their feudal system, fueled by old tales of glory and chivalry. They believe in kindess, honour, and knowing one's place.
Travel using the Upper Luft was greatly restricted by the fact that the wind currents it provides, whilst highly advantageous for those looking to reach their destinations within the year, are much too fast for a typical dirigible to withstand. Those few who tried to use balloon based craft to sail away on were quickly torn out of the sky - and sent down below, towards the cloud barrier that exists between the Eversky and what remains of the ground, through which no living soul has ever returned.
No. To access the Upper Luft, you required a more advanced kind of airship.
One with a supports made of floatstone, a kind of metal that - under the correct conditions - exhibits the tendency to become lighter than air. An airship with a sufficient quantity of floatstone in its construction is more than capable of using the Upper Luft to traverse the Eversky.
And because it is impossible to remove the floatstone from an island without risking it sinking, floatstone quickly became the topic of bloody conflicts.
After a series of Luft wars between the Dominion and the Oakheart Sovereignty, which resulted in an approximate 25% decrease of the known human population, the World Court was created with the goal of keeping the peace between the two superpowers - both of which now covered thousands upon thousands of square miles of airspace. For a while, all parties involved were committed to remaining at least broadly peaceful, the memory of the last Luft war fresh in their minds during the first summit of the Sky Nations - but it has been hundreds of years since the World Court was created.
Since then, there has been revolution in the Oakheart Sovereignty, with the last crown princess of the Oakheart family breaking away from the royal family and becoming one of three co-founders of the Red League, a new superpower operating on restrictive - but ultimately fair - socialist principles. The World Court too has seen insurrection, as their top peacekeeping forces began to play with artefacts from the time of the Sundering, and succumbed to a strange kind of madness, becoming devoted to an unseen crew of Gods, and fiercely protective of all knowledge of what really happened during the Great Sundering - thus forming the fanatical religious organisation known only as The Heavens' Eyes.
But worst of all, war is once again brewing - this time over something far more serious than Floatstone.
And it seems that it might just be up to you to stop it.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Hi guys. I'm Baran, and I've recently come up with an idea for a book I want to write, set in the world of the Eversky. It has nothing at all to do with this RP, but I thought it would be a good setting to host one in. Essentially, the PCs are going to start in the World Court's home city,
Solace, working on a government contract of some kind that leads them all to meet each other. When they do, their employer reveals the true purpose of their mission - to stop the war between the Dominion, the Sovereignty, and the Red League - which they've only been hired to do as a last resort, since the rise of the Heavens' Eyes has obstructed the World Court from taking any real action.
The plot will revolve around a visit to each of the three great powers, tangling with not only their militaries, but Sky pirates, and even the Heavens' Eyes themselves. It won't be easy, and characters are entirely likely to die - especially in the finale - but I hope to have it be a worthwhile experience.
I can provide more information upon request, as I have the lore pretty worked out in my head, and I'm just looking for players at this point - a party of 5-8 should be good.
Anyone interested?
