The planet is known as Tellus, the moon Titania. The single continent of this Pangea world is Luminas.
It is said that thousands of years ago all life came from a great primordial pool that bubbled up from the very heart of the planet. All animals, insects, birds and fish came from this pool but not all of them stayed the same. In myth it is said that some returned to the pool and once they drank from it they were changed. No longer animal, but something greater. We call these beings the Anth, and they are the anthropomorphic species that now walk the planet as the evolved people. They come in many shapes, canines, equines, caprine, corvine almost all mammalian and avian species can be found in the Anth people however aquatic life such as fish, as well as insects, are not.
In recent years there has been new found evolutions and changes to Anth kind and the animals around them. The biggest oddity is what they call the Fera. A half-made species that are as sapient as Anth but have not yet evolved and still walk on all fours like an animal does. They are rare, and mostly seen around a particular city to the east due to this place welcoming them so warmly.
There are other life forms on this world too that are unique, the Ismi would be a classic example as they are alive but not physical. They are closer to that of spirits and ghosts, beings of energy that walk unseen and communicate only in the static between dead channels.
Speaking of which, ghosts and spirits are a very real concept in this world.
Ghosts are beings of undeath, the echo of a strong mind that persists after the body fades. They are often confused, single minded towards a goal or purpose, but thankfully tend to be rare. Few become a ghost and there is only a handful of examples of a ghost keeping all mental capabilities.
Spirits are natural beings that are born as spirits and are not part of undeath. These creatures come in countless shapes and forms and have a wide range of mental ability. Most are simply pests, like the ever playful milk tail. Small, round ghosts that slip through walls and into your fridge where they sleep on your food. This causes the food to quick decay and rot, but they can not affect living beings. Purely an annoyance. Not all spirits are as... harmless though.
The Quasinatural sciences do not study the paranormal.
Paranormal refers to something unknown and occult, things that have no proven evidence to exist and may simple just be myth, legend, rumour or what have you. Quasinatural refers to proven but magic things. Ghosts and spirits are quasinatural, as well as espers, the long since extinct magic of the world, and technology that uses any of these concepts. The current high-end bit of tech that uses this form of science would be Psynite, a metal that connects with the mind and allows for deep-dive VR, cybernetics that you can feel as if it was part of your body as well as control just as easily, and other sci-fi concepts. These technologies are early days though and very expensive, it will take many years before they become day-to-day gadgets. For the most part. Psynite varies a lot in how effective it is, with Espers having a naturally stronger connection, but it still can depend from person to person.
Esper. People with a rare psychic gift that has powers to do with perception.
Each Esper has a power that can take on countless forms but they do have rules and limitations, with most Espers simply having a small gimmick more than an actual super power. The body and mind has more than 5 senses, as our senses of balance, gravity, temperature etc are all part of our perception of the world. As such, do not picture Espers as simply having super hearing or super eye sight. Powers can be as broad as smelling electricity, to controlling your own personal field of gravitational forces.
All Espers share a heightened instinct, a 6th sense if you will, which can help guide them.
Even if they do not remember the way out of a maze, that sense kicks in and as long as they follow that gut feeling, their subconscious, powers, and all their senses will lead them to the exit much faster than a normal person. This is useful in many situations and Espers seem to just 'know things' others do not.
Lastly, Espers can naturally see and hear ghosts/spirits that normal people can not. They can also touch these entities and even destroy them, as such, Espers always have a high demand in the pest control business. While this can be seen as easy, high-paying work, many Espers dislike the field and see it as more of a bottom of the barrel job. Something you get if you are desperate more so than passionate.
Let's speak a bit about the world.
Each country of Luminas is made up of regions that share our world's names.
For example, the capital country of the world, Aliva, is a mixture of the regions of France, England and Spain. This includes a combination of cultures, beliefs, architecture, all blended smoothly into something new and original. Alivia's main city Pardon, a mixture of London and Paris, has the elegant stonework and decoration of Paris but also the industrial roots of brickwork and hard angles from Londom. The result is a strong yet elegant style that is said to mix feminine and masculine shapes together, fitting for the city of Love and Prosperity.
There is 28 days in each month and 13 months in a year.
Many things in the Viverse take on forms like that, being akin to our world but just slightly more organized.
The current year that the stories take place in, is around 1010. This is basically the Viverse ticks through a history akin to our own twice as fast. In a single year, two of our years worth of STUFF happens. Such as the world wars happening around the years of 950 although they did come to an end even sooner than ours did. Much less graphic as well, the Viverse is strongly into unity and harmony, peace and love as concepts.
Ah yes, speaking of longer years and what that might entail.
The people of Tellus mature a bit quicker than you might expect. Lowschool for example is 5-10 while Highschool is 10-16. Once you turn 16 you are counted as a full fledged adult, in a legal and cultural sense. Many will take a year or two break before going to college where they will live in a dorm, and use that cheap living space to learn independence, while saving money for their own place. Being around 14 is counted as a young adult and you are expected to start learning how to be more mature for when the big day arrives. The Hivally girls, the Rubies, are only 10 but due to their mature nature are seen almost more like mid-teens in how they act, walk and speak.
Lastly, let's mention some religions and a big event in history.
Over a thousand years ago magic was a real concept, there was dragons, and mages and the world was a fantasy medieval like kingdom. But it was also corrupt and stagnant with the leaders of this united world having too much control over everybody. One day, a massive Stone fell from the sky and it completely obliterated the country of Tethys, sinking it down into the ocean and killing every leader that you could name due to them meeting up for a great discussion. Not only did this throw the power of the world on it's head, but the mysterious Stone also shattered mana and magic its self. Over the span of a few years these concepts would vanish and the once magical societies of Anth kind were left scrambling in the dirt. Technology was formed, unity was created, the past mistakes of corruption never forgotten. Over the next 1000 years Anths would band together and try to build a new world, one of science, reason, love, progress, technology and hope.
This great event, the Stonefall, marked the start of a new era and the year 0.
Several religions were understandably created around this event, although it should be said that no current mainstream religion worships a god or even has a concept of a god. It is only those within Pantry who have embraced such an odd concept, although for good reason.
The main regions are: Fallism, Starology and the Doomists.
Fallism is about the curiosity of the unknown, the worship of the Stone, and the belief that we must all be better unless bad things fall on us again. They are happy people who believe in karma via giant heavenly Stones smashing your entire country to fiery rubble, an understandable fear. As such they preach community, understanding, forgiveness, love and unity. They are the most common of all religions and the oldest. Each member wears a piece of black stone, married with white, that is said to have come from the original great Stone that now sits at the bottom of the ocean.
Starology is more intellectual and new, being tied to the ideas of stars, gravity and how the reality around us winds and ticks like a clock. They seek answers in the heavens above and often try to live their lives around superstitions. They have a worship of fire and see fire as a holy symbol and concept, the sun lights the world, the stars light the night, and fire is seen as the most important element. They are a modern take on religion, less churches and karma, and more about accepting that the universe is so complicated and beautiful that surely it must function like some greater machine. To create, to learn, to grow, is divine.
Doomists are more of a smaller group that think that one day an even bigger Stone will fall and this one will wipe us all out. Despite this, they think that this would not simply kill us but ascend us to a greater plane. They are about self improvement, study, training, to be better than others. They do have a concept of heaven that the others lack which is rather unique and oddly they think it is water based, despite common religions seeing water as a hellish concept. The ocean did claim a whole country after all. Despite their punk attitude and history of anarchism, they are not bad people. They simply reject community for personal, self improvement and independence over all. To be the alpha of the world. As they would say, what is the point of forgiveness and friendship if you are just gonna die one day and move on to your second, eternal, life.
And now a small word about sex.
Love and sex are both more accepted concepts in this world. Hybrids are rare and as such interspecies couples are very protected against casual hook ups, with only the most minor of precautions being needed. Brothels are legal and accepted as work, colleges and even high schools have Carnal Studies, not just to do with sex but intimacy, love, companionship and all things romantic. Freelance prostitution still exists for various reasons.
Rayne and her family is an example, as her children are heavily underage and thus heavily illegal.
But that does mean they are very valuable and are something no Brothel will ever offer.
There is a lot more to say.
Each species has their own festivals, beliefs and ideals but I think the above is enough to get a good grasp on this world. Over all, it is a world that reflects our own in many ways while also being original and different. The ideal goal of the Viverse is to make a better world, one of love and wonder and interesting adventures. I've struggled to world build a lot of that over the past year but with the Pantry, I feel I've started to finally grasp it.
