#utopia project

Utopia - Series 2, Episode 2

THE 6 KINGDOMS IN DETAIL:

(C) MHRABAK, do no reuse without permission.

The First Kingdom: (also known as the First Estate) A proud and archaic shadow living in the crumbling ruins of their former greatness.  The people of this plane are commonly regarded with suspicion and assumed to be distant and cold by outsiders.  Ultimately, though, they are loyal, purposeful, and strong.  The First is iconically represented by the skull or skeleton as they believe in the bones as being the strongest and most lasting part of the body.  For a citizen of the First, true strength is what remains when all else has been stripped.

The Spiritualists: (also known as the Second Estate) An extension of the First Kingdom.  Spiritualists vary in their beliefs, which are largely a conglomeration of old-world religions.  Most follow ‘the way of the path,’ which literally entails traversing the footpath from the original settlement of the world to the numerous branches and divisions of religious sects that have since added to and broken off of it.  The longest road is said to lead to the sacred city, home of the only strictly formalized religious group of the plane.  Each Walker experiences a different journey depending on the path they take and the location in which they finally choose to end their journey.  Walkers that have reached the holy city are known as Prophets of the Path and are typically versatile warriors due to the length and danger of their travels.  As a result, they are a renowned addition to Skullguard patrols.  People of the spiritualist plane tend to be independent, argumentative and willful, but also deeply entrenched in faith.  They can range from extremely accepting to extremely close minded.

The Romantics:  The initial kingdom to split from the First’s rule, Romantics are focused mainly on the liberation and genius of the intellect and as an afterthought, on all other practical matters.  They tend to be eccentric, artistic, pompous, and hoarders of knowledge.  Though they hold the largest reserve of old world knowledge, they tend to rarely use it for anything more than passing fads in their own society.  They idealize and romanticize the poetic power of nature, possibly because their world is largely barren and devoid of it. 

The Unspoken: The Unspoken were exiled and condemned by the First kingdom to be unable to speak out ever again.  Thus, in the world they were sent to, they are unable to produce vocal sound.  As a result, they have created a widely expressive system of sign language to communicate and love the written word.  They are colorful, bright, and expressive people that are hesitant toward outsiders, but that obsessively and lovingly protect their own.

The Wilder:  The most isolated and technologically lacking of the planes, the people of the Wilder are used to an extremely hostile but bountiful environment.  They are survivalists, navigators, and as fierce as the creatures that roam their world.  However, in their own hidden settlements, they are surprisingly domestic, good natured, and laid back.  A man or woman of the Wilder may hold a knife to your throat in the forest, but if he decides to take you home, he’ll patch you up, teach you how to whittle, and be sharing a meal with you before you know it. 

THE DETAILED BACKSTORY/HISTORY:

(C) MHRABAK, Do not reuse without permission.

In the final days of Earth’s existence, a lone scientist discovers the keys to creating a new reality: a perfect vision of Earth that would recreate it in its ideal form, crafted specifically to suit the needs of the people who had tried so desperately to mold the natural landscape for centuries.  Countries could be expanded, resources allocated at will, and all challenges or obstacles of nature shaped to suit the people’s needs.  Having taken on a partner to realize his idea, the two reveal their invention to the world and arguments inevitably break out.  Negotiations begin peacefully at first, but quickly escalate as governments splinter into factions and make demand after demand for this new Eden.  Promises are sold by the scientist’s partner to the many factions, but not even this stops the inevitable fighting that ensues.  Facing a world war fueled by the seductive lure of paradise, the scientist is betrayed and killed by the partner who helped him realize his dream.  Believing he was right to do so, the murderer, known as Albrecht, seizes the technology for himself and executes the half-programmed seeds of a new reality, consuming the old world to provide the necessary energy to create an entirely separate one.

It is many lifetimes since the planet as it was once known was destroyed   The information, history, and resources that were to be programmed into a new world, being incomplete upon execution, have forced the people to create a patchwork identity out of what little knowledge was preserved.  This initial world, now known as the First Kingdom, begins to grow obsolete, with its leader mysteriously fading farther and farther from the public view.  New dissent leads to revolt and punishment, and ultimately, the technology is stolen, torn apart, and scattered as the various groups enact their escapes. 

Now, six parallel worlds stand where once there was only one and the technology vital to controlling them lies forgotten.  The people’s memories of Earth fade into myth as new worlds and new problems arise.  Though an uneasy peace exists, it is only due to the physical isolation of the groups, and even they are beginning to argue from within.  Worse, the First Kingdom’s influence still reaches across the worlds in the presence of a small military force, known as the Skullguard, who possess the only existing technology capable of allowing physical travel between realities.

The scientist who first envisioned paradise is long since dead, but his deepest secret remains, and it is awake and walking amongst those who have forgotten him.   People murmur that the once dwindling patrols of the First Kingdom are strangely increasing in number and rumors spread of a young woman able to cross freely between the kingdoms.  Her story is where ours begins, and she is not alone.  Having gathered an eccentric group of misfits, they now unite for a powerful purpose: to rebuild what was lost and unlock a hidden world known only to the man who built it.  For it is through this group that the doors to Utopia will finally open.