Synaptum

**Synaptum** is the world in which all continents and people, sentient and non-sentient alike, reside. It is dependent on complex neural networks to support its existence, to which those are dependent on other functions supported by an alternate realm.

## Mythos/History

### The Ancients

*Once upon a time, there was once nothing but a group of unnamed souls who founded the void, a blank canvas that would become our world. [...]they had a mission; a yearning for each other - to dance eternally within each other's souls.*

Long ago, there was an unnamed collective of souls called The Ancients. The Ancients had a goal that became clear to them with the passage of time - to unite and rule Synaptum as one, as well as go through the motions of daily life until the end of their time. Not much is known about them aside from their desperate need for each other, and their subsequent failure to realize that goal. There are no memories collected from their time due to how young the world was - too young to keep any autobiographical memory from either of them. Nobody knows how many Ancients there were, or even their names, or their appearances.

### The Ancients' Descendants and the Memory Pools

*One day, something happened. One of The Ancients dissented against becoming one after it happened. This dissent railroaded them to an existence of forever being separated, and each would die and leave behind Descendants, with one, no matter how distant, fated to finish what they started. To rule our world and bring to it eternal prosperity.*

Nobody knows what, if anything, happened to suddenly make one of those members go against the idea of unifying. Historians believe it was from a case of too many littler incidents in the alternate realm that slowly chipped away at the confidence of that one member, while others believe it was sudden. Their time was coming to an end as alternate life experience became more complex. They still had a world that they loved dearly and wanted to keep alive even after their passing. With the added pressure to have someone take up the mantle when it came to matters in the alternate realm, they made the decision to take pieces of themselves and breathe life into them.

One by one, each Ancient had taken their last breath over the course of a year. When all had fallen, their bodies became mystical pools that could birth new life for generations to come. Each Memory Pool gave birth to a Descendant, each a Guardian of their Memory Pools, each one becoming the embodiment of their continents. Esther, Graelenn, Prismia, and two others whose names are unknown even by their sisters, attributed to a loss of memory. Each respectively warded over and provided life for Etheridge, Graelenncia, Prismia, and two other unnamed continents.

### A Fruitful, New World

*"The world was growing, the Guardians passed down The Ancients' prophecy about a chosen one, one chosen to rule the world and bring eternal prosperity."*

Synaptum's continents fill with new life made from the pieces left behind from The Ancients, multiplying and dividing endlessly to fill lands full of all kinds of people from different races. Those who acquired sentience decided to build villages and make strides in advancing their societies, and had the aid of alternate world influence to shape their social orders. Villages became towns, which grew into large cities, and when the cities became too large, people moved about the land to start new villages and towns. The Guardians passed down their stories to the denizens, spreading their stories with folklore that began as word of mouth, then advanced to written word, detailing the prophecy of how one among them all would be destined to rule the world and fulfill what the Ancients couldn't finish.

Heeding their words, the world leaders were told to be prepared to relinquish their power and let the "one true ruler" take the reigns when they come into power. Whether they truly wanted to, or would fight for power, remains an unknown and moot point.

### The Graelenncia Collective's Inception

*"Her energy was different from all the others. Her mission was clear - gather a group of advisors and take the reigns. She had everything she needed to either decree anything for the benefit of her future subjects, or rip it all asunder and send this world collapsing. Only time will tell what she'll do."*

One day in 2005, a little girl appears. Her name is Kendra, and she is saved by Talia Annemieke, who is descended from a family who is meant to serve the future ruler of Synaptum in their future Cabinet. Kendra, unsure where she came from or what her purpose was, and filled with a sense of adventure, goes on a journey for self identity. She is joined by Talia. Later, she is joined by Chrysalis, a rough-and-tough protector and delinquent who didn't believe in following the rules all of the time, and Daisy, who only wanted nothing more than to be friends. There was also Hans, Talia's trusted friend and butler, who turned to the stars for his answers. Sheldon and Scales join later and serve as friends, joined later by Levin who functioned as a logical protector.

### Graelenncia Falls

*"Even with a support system, Kendra came into her destructive powers, and tore Graelenncia apart. This destruction was severe enough to drain Graelenncia's Memory Pool and send its Guardian, Graelenn, to an indeterminate time of slumber."*

After an incident in 2009, Kendra wanted to take control of her own life as well as rule Synaptum as she was destined to. Her taking control led her to come into her destructive powers too early, scourging the continent in a fit of rage. This made her collective disband through death, fleeing, and Talia being sealed away for years after her fight with her. As Talia would be sealed away in Kendra for fourteen years, the little girl's unconscious body fell through a fissure into the ocean, where she would wash up on the shores of Etheridge after a year.

## Politics

### Past

While Synaptum was prophesized to have a central ruler, nothing like that ever came to be. For starters, Graelenncia's scourge destroyed social order, displaced millions, and killed thousands. Prismia and the other two unnamed continents remained undiscovered for generations, keeping them safe from tyrannical rule. As for Etheridge, it bore the brunt of draconian law and the constant threat of annihilation should Her people "try anything funny." Queen Kendra acted as the central power, only having a Cabinet of advisors to help her with daily life under the threat of losing their sentience, imprisonment, or outright execution.

### Present

Synaptum lacks the central ruler that was prophesized, and is instead governed by multiple politicians in their own countries, their own laws only applying to their lands. While Synaptum is abundant with alliances across differing governments, there also exist political tensions caused by Queen Kendra's usurption, subsequently causing fights over power. No wars have broken out yet, as multiple world leaders from different countries have acted as mediators, including those from The Etheridge Collective. After the horrors of Graelenncia's destruction and Queen Kendra's reign over Etheridge, said world leaders established the Synaptum Union, established to prevent world domination.

Etheridge's many countries are run by their own leaders, and have been since Fall 2020. Some countries have their own royalty, each kingdom run by the royal family that Kendra overthrew years before, swearing to be fair rulers for their subjects. Other forms of governments consist of presidencies; cities, towns, and villages are still run by mayors.

The continent of Prismia still remains unexplored, mostly because it sealed itself off following Queen Kendra's tyranny. Two other continents remain unexplored and their names have not been given as an act of self preservation during a time of unrest.

[UNDER CONSTRUCTION]