Vesevia Primer:

Vesevia is a realm, and a planet inside that realm. Earth is a planet in a different realm. These two realms are normally not connected, and do not necessarily have the same laws of physics. Between these two realms is a lawless (as in physical laws) space known as the Between Spaces. Anything and nothing goes in this space. It is infinite, and unending, while simultaneously being extremely finite, and ended. You can exist as both dead and alive, alive, or dead, as a stone, or as something else all together in this space. Time has no effect either. You could live forever, or die instantly, though not necessarily permanently. Most things stay as they once were, out of habit.

The gods of Vesevia are capable of all the emotions, and failings, of humanity. I intended to make them Greek/Norse like. They will screw up, and it will be terrible for everyone involved.

Vesevia, the planet, was created by Ves, the god of Murder, Destruction, Vengeance, and Arrogance as a gift for Eve, the goddess of Love, Purity, Perfection, and Hope. Ves is in love with Eve, though Eve is too naive to realize this. As Ves is not the god of creation, the planet is rather far from perfect. He did not blend the landscapes, so grasslands stop, and deserts start. You can walk from one to the other and go from feeling a slight breeze, to being instantly hot and dry. Another step could take you into a blizzard, as you've passed the line into an arctic area. The mountains are extremely tall, and make the Olympus Mons seem average. Some of the shorter ones are flat on top. The coastline of every continent on Vesevia save one are raised roughly 100 feet above sea level. The seas, speaking of which, are all fresh water, while the lakes and ponds are all salt. Another odd aspect, is the shape of Vesevia. While most planets are round, Vesevia is rather football shaped.

Another aspect of Vesevia, is that Ves did not create a sun for it originally. There was only darkness at first. Azur, god of Light, Radiance, Righteousness, and Purification created a star for Vesevia, in hopes of winning Eve's attentions. Ves was not to be outdone, so he created another star, though his was dark, with a purple hue to it. Both stars orbit Vesevia, rather than Vesevia orbiting them. Eventually they realized they would need a day, and a night cycle, and had Gorm, god of Invention, Randomness, Wit, Ingenuity, create two star shields, which circle the stars, and create the illusion of night time. Another addition to Vesevia, was a bacteria which excretes a substance that seems implausible. This substance is a liquid, but lighter than air. This substance has other amazing properties, and one of them permits it to shield the planet from the two star's intense ultraviolet light. Only enough light to be useful gets through.

Vesevia has 20 hour days, and time is constant no matter where you are on the planet. Another oddity, is that while there are still four seasons for Vesevia, they are much longer. The Vesevian year is 2.3 times the length of an Earth year, and seasons last for 250 days (20 hours each). Rather than call it a year, Vesevians refer to it as 'Cycles' or 'Cycle of Seasons'.

Eve created the first sentient species for Vesevia, which were the High Elfs. Eventually many of the other gods began to populate Vesevia with their own creations (though some stole Elfs, to manipulate into new beings). Soon it was full of all sorts of creatures, both immense, and tiny. High Elfs are considered by the gods to be the inheritors of Vesevia, but many of the gods have told their children that it is THEY who are the inheritors of Vesevia, since most of the gods want Vesevia for themselves (they're all rather petty).

The majority of humans arrive in Vesevia at the same time (though from all over time and space, and from different versions of Earth), and in the same place. A giant mass of people, all together. Eventually, many of them come together to form a nation...it's an anarchist's dream, essentially. The rest go off to form other nations. If you are planning on creating a human nation, this is where you'd get your starter population, unless someone wants to give you some of theirs at a later time in the history of Vesevia.

Magic is essentially another dimension within the realm that is Vesevia. It is accessed by nerves throughout the body. Some people have these nerve endings, and others do not. Those that do, can use magic, those that don't, can not. Magic in Vesevia is very difficult to control, and can, and often does, get out of control. Most mages do not live to adulthood, and those around them are often killed in a magical explosion. There is a university system in place to deal with this threat, though not all use it. Those who do not use this system, are considered witches or warlocks. There is also a sort of 'magical pollution'. When someone uses a spell, they often release a bit of extra magic that does not go into the spell. This magic stays in Vesevia, and permeates the surroundings. Over time, this can lead to very strange things.

Psychics are those that are born with an advanced mind that allows for psychic abilities. They can not do nearly as much as mages, however they can do things mages can not. For instance, read minds, and predict the future (though the future is not set in stone).

Chi, is the force that flows through every body. If someone were to master their body entirely, they'd be capable of doing amazing things utilizing their Chi. Things like rapid healing, amazing feats of strength/agility, incredible endurance, etc.

Faith is of the Christian variety. Very, very few ever get anywhere with faith, but those that do are impervious to magic, and can do miracles. Faith however, is not a weapon, but a shield. It does no harm, but may heal and help those in need. Christians who use faith can not be killers and otherwise terrible people.

Favor is power lended to a person by one of the gods of Vesevia. It can be used in the same way as Magic, but with little to no risk involved. It's also useable by those without magical abilities. However, favor is not given out easily, and can be taken just as quickly as given. Blood Magic is an example of favor, in this case, the favor of Zoendine. Zoendine is sort of an exception however, as her favor does come with risks. Known as blood magic, Zoendine's favor causes those that use it to go more and more insane as time goes on. They lust for blood (which is how they pay for Zoendine's favor) and sometimes will kill themselves, or those around them, with the intention of gaining more and more power.

Evolution is controlled, or more accurately 'suppressed', by a goddess. O'lida is the goddess of genetics, and completely controls all the genetics of Vesevia. She is constantly looking at (and manipulating) every strand of DNA, and RNA in every life form in the entire realm. Not the planet, not the star system, not the galaxy or universe, but the entire realm. She does this to keep everyone safe from mutations, cancers, genetic defects, etc. She does this primarily for the sake of newborns, as she is also the goddess of babies, and birth.

Technological evolution is also suppressed, but by the majority of the gods, together. Technology isn't kept at a standstill however, it is allowed to progress at a marginal rate. Gorm is strongly opposed to this, and so are his Gnomish creations, however, Eve decreed that his Gnomes would be exempt from the rule, with the condition that they be made too jealous, secretive, and unfocused to advance technology as a race. Instead Gnomes tend to make anything and everything, on an individual scale, and never share their ideas with one another. Though they do tend to sell their creations when they are no longer interested in them, they always come with reverse engineering booby traps, as insurance.

Vesevia is not focused on a single place (though it is focused originally on Vesevia the planet), or on a single moment in time. Stories in Vesevia can range from the stone age, to beyond the Space Age.

Another aspect of time, in Vesevia, is that it is entirely linear. If one wishes to go backwards in time, one must send everything in reverse. Think of time in Vesevia as a tape player (or MP3 player). You can hit play, rewind, stop, etc, but there are no branches, nor extra timelines. If someone goes back in time and changes history, they're not creating a new branch, or a new timeline. They're simply starting over at an earlier point, and changing the outcome.

As this IP is not created with children in mind, and as Greek, and Norse Mythology were big inspirations for it, perversion does have it's place in Vesevia. One of the races, Nymphs, were created by the goddess Nyarn, who rules over the concepts of Lust, Sex, Rape, and Pain. The Nymphs, likewise, are all about lust, sex, rape, and pain. They're sort of a running gag for Vesevia. This all being said, I do imagine that writers could and would forgo the perverted parts of Vesevia, to write non-perverted stories. The perverted aspects, while being part of Vesevia for sure, are not what Vesevia is about.

© 2009 Jens Morrison