K5

## Steam, Skies, Seas, and Savages

The K5 Universe is based primarily around the steampunk and dieselpunk genres, focusing on the events following the War of Vile Men, a historical term for the K5 equivalent of the First World War. The K5 Universe has within it several primary settings:

### Sky-Islands:

Propped up by large deposits of Cyanite, these floating chunks of stone, dirt, and landscape provide homes for the altitude-inclined. Using airships fueled by Cyanite and armored balloons, Sky-sailors forge lives for themselves, hunting the colossal creatures of the air and selling their valuable parts. Massive beasts lurk amongst the clouds, and many of the world's powerful nations have forged aerial navies to hunt down and kill them. Combat in the sky is no rare sight, either, as Sky-Pirates prey on merchant vessels and civilians, perpetually fleeing from the battleships of the government forces. Cities and states have grown from the large floating chunks of earth, forging independent cultures and identities amidst the turmoil of the modern age, preferring to isolate themselves more and more from the people underneath them in search of peace and quiet. Much of the skies are unexplored, and many maps become unreliable after a few months to a year, making travel dangerous and unpredictable. Storms fueled by the Neutralite pollution of the War of Vile Men lash out at the cities and airships, rending metal from wood and flesh from bone, adding further to the lethality of this new frontier.

While the WRE lays claim to a majority of the Sky-Islands, other nations have begun clamoring for spots amidst the clouds. The Sky-Islands, like the gold and riches of Westerland, offer a chance for entrepreneurial individuals to earn a fortune off of trade, mining, Aether, shipping, and security. All forms of trade, from beast-hunting and so-called "Levying, to the mining of Cyanite or Neutralite or the harvesting of Aether clouds, possess opportunities for even the lowliest of people to find success. While the Sky-Islands make for an impressive temptation, they also pose a great danger to those who sail amidst its pearlescent clouds or attempt to settle the alien landscapes grown atop the floating chunks of rock.

#### Sky-Island Levels:

Sky-Islands do not sit at the same elevation, and are not at all uniform in their form or appearance. The higher a Sky-Island is, the weirder and less-habitable it becomes; this is caused, scientists believe, because the higher Sky-Islands are much older than those nearer the ground, which allows anomalies and unstable energies and radiation to take a deeper hold of the elevated land.

At 2 kilometers above the ground, Sky-Islands are still entirely habitable and mostly unchanged. Great waterfalls and rivers flow from these Islands and down to the ground, fueled by the frozen tops of the mountains that sit atop these chunks of rock. These Sky-Islands are often the smallest and shallowest, but are also the most-populated because of their low altitude and habitable temperatures. Large towns, cities, even Metropolises stand atop these gathered chunks of soil and trees, but they are also easily preyed-upon by those on the ground and predatory flying creatures of the Sky-Islands.

At 4 kilometers above the ground, Sky-Islands grow in size and depth slightly; it is estimated that Sky-Islands take several decades to climb to this height, gathering additional material as islands smash into one another over time. These Islands are less habitable but not outright dangerous; instead, pockets of Aether gas can be found and harvested at this elevation, as can naturally-forming deposits of Cyanite and Neutralite. Settlements are generally reduced to towns or villages at this height, although still-floating hulks of Airships and the corpses of great creatures still linger at this height.

At 6 kilometers, the Sky-Islands begin to look more and more alien, a factor driven by the increased presence of radiation, Cyanite, and Neutralite; these Sky-Islands are also considerably larger and deeper than the lower levels; so deep, in fact, that they can allow for the formation of full mining operations and the safe construction of underground settlements. Sky-Islands at this level take centuries to climb high enough, driven upwards by ever-increasing collections of Cyanite. Aether gathers in large geysers and clouds, giant mushroom forests and other forms of mutated plant life form and prosper, massive creatures the size of towns float amidst these Islands, and miles of untouched wilderness stretch out across these wide swathes of land. Settlements are generally relegated to domed cities and smaller towns, as the oxygen levels are too low to facilitate unaided habitation on all but the largest of the Islands.

At 8 kilometers, the levels of radiation and anomalous substances has reached such a point that other types of anomalies and strange, otherworldly geography can form; these Sky-Islands are often so large that they have smaller Islands floating above them, and can be the size of counties and provinces on the surface. Giant arched mountains, volcanoes, ring-clouds of Aether, inverted waterfalls and gravitational anomalies, and strange flora and fauna can all be found on Islands at this level.

At the highest level of the atmosphere, 10 kilometers above the ground, Sky-Islands increase in size and depth even more, and the commonality of gravitational anomalies increases dramatically. Inverted forests, upside-down landscapes, giant mountains with their own water cycles, Surreality Vortexes, and ancient alien ruins are all common here. The largest creatures of the Sky-Islands live at this height, floating colossi of city-sized proportions with their own orbiting Islands and ecosystems of other flora and fauna living on and in them. Deposits of Cyanite and Neutralite form entire Islands at this level, with individual crystals reaching the size of buildings.

#### The Squall:

A titanic Neutralite Storm stretching from the northern sea above the Jexan Union all the way along the Jexan border with the Republic of Polenia and the Kodian State, initially created over 300 years ago by the Imperator of the Westgaardian Royal Empire as a means of protecting the Sky-Islands from Jexan invasion. The Squall has not subsided or decreased in its intensity over the centuries of its perpetual raging, and shows no signs of stopping.

### The Scorched New World:

The Continent of Westerland is the new hemisphere of the globe, discovered and colonized shortly before the War of Vile Men. Some people blame Westerland's discovery for the war's beginning. The continent is a massive stretch of land, 5,000 miles wide at its maximum, and has proven to be the world's most recent attraction. Cities along the easternmost coastline act as junctions and epicenters of population as railroads and civilization steadily encroach further and further west. Impeded by indigenous peoples at every turn, the colonizing governments turn to arming its citizens to maintain law and order. This frontier is an equivalent to a steampunk Wild West, where outlaws rob trains on mechanical horses and where large plantations enslave the native population. Industry is rare here, seen only in relatively small amounts along the coast, where the bustling cities and huge harbor complexes clog the inlets with oil and refuse of unknown origins. People move to Westerland in search of fame, fortune, a new start to their lives, or something they were promised by their governments.

Westerland, like most of the rest of the world, was not left unmarred by the War of Vile Men, and bears many of the wrecks and scars of the conflict. Cities are left in ruin, forests and farmland left burned and blackened, and the wrecks of whole naval fleets still sit, rusting, in the waters along the coasts.

### The Known World:

The only real familiar land left in K5, where civilization first sprouted its first plume of steam, and its first oil pump. This far larger continent, is home to all of the major nations, and was the primary battleground for the War of Vile Men. Most of the western sections are horribly scarred by the conflict, with many nations in total ruin and many more left without much of an economy. Most advisors believe that if the Sky-Islands did not exist, or if Westerland was not discovered when it was, the world would have quickly descended into an economic spiral. This continent is the most heavily populated, although the war succeeded in wiping whole nations bare of human life. The Known World consists of a few primary areas and subcontinents, primarily the following:

1. Breit: Equivalent to Europe in other Universes, and features a primarily temperate climate with heavily condensed population and lots of industrialization.
2. Ostia: Equivalent to the Asian continent of other Universes, and features a variety of climates among the wide range of unique cultures and peoples that rival Breit in number.
3. Mittellan: Equivalent to the Mediterranean of other Universes, and features a warm climate perfect for the growing of exotic plants and luxuries.

### Misc. Biomes:

1. Badlands
2. Neverlands
3. Neutralite Fields

### Timeline:

Eras in K5 are split as follows: AJ, or "Antes Jehos," translated from Nolinian into "Before Jehos" (like BC or BCE), which counts down from ~7,000,000,000 to 0, at which point it switches to DJ, or "Despues Jehos," translated from Nolinian into "After Jehos" (like AD or CE), which counts up to 1614 until the era switches once again to WT, or WarTime, which corresponds to the years during the War of Vile Men and counts from 1 to 15. After the War of Vile Men, the dating system switches one final time to PT, or Post-Treaty, and counts up from 0 into the modern day.

1. Colonial Era
2. Golden Age of Thievery
3. [REMOVED]
4. 0-15 WT: War of Vile Men
5. 5-12 WT: The Stout Rebellion

## Nations & International Factions of the World (by region):

### Sky-Islands:

1. Westgaardian Royal Empire
2. Union of Birmingham
3. Republic of Truseau
4. Kingdom of Nolina
5. Jexan Union
6. Raiki Shogunate
7. Empire of Quiliasca
8. Empire of Soliasia
9. Empire of Arkesh
10. Kingdom of Vijastomba
11. Empire of Yaotlan
12. League of Castarano
13. Tribes of Mostadia
14. Confederacy of Kanahia
15. Matecan Confederacy
16. Kingdom of Mandia
17. Republic of Waldsbachia

### Breit:

1. Kodian State
2. Union of Birmingham
3. Dubring
4. Republic of Truseau
5. Kingdom of Nolina
6. The Sicherlands
7. Republic of Polenia
8. Republic of Chetrogia
9. Kingdom of Rombordia
10. Jexan Union
11. Sezetk Union
12. Rotinia
13. Torril
14. Inona
15. Jarvik
16. Fjarlan
17. Empire of the Straugar Isles

### Mittellan:

1. Empire of Monzia
2. Republic of Methelia
3. Tribes of Diyah
4. Askrah
5. Al-Shilata
6. Tribes of Serebia
7. Aland
8. Acusland

### Ostia:

1. Raiki Shogunate
2. Khaganate of Balong
3. Hedgewick Trade Company
4. Confederacy of Buon
5. Tribes of Asmada
6. United Provinces of Freeach
7. Halinhia
8. Sudalialand

### Westerland:

1. Westerland Free Territories
2. Beckonridge Gold and Railways
3. Hedgewick Trade Company
4. Long Western Railroad Company
5. Reddington Detective Agency
6. Wardens
7. Marshals

### Minor Factions:

1. The Patron Saints
2. DRA