Metera

Metera is a world in the Uando Galaxy in the Local Void. Uando is home to approximately one billion humans whose civilization exists on a technological spectrum between TL2 and TL4. Metera is known to The Resistance, but is a world under persistent Guardian surveillance, and subject to frequent manipulation by The Guardians.

Geography

Virtually all of Metera's inhabitants live on a large continent, called Alsis, that straddles the equator and spans nearly halfway to each of the planet's poles. Other, smaller continents exist on Metera, but they are as yet uninhabited. Several islands and island groups around Alsis are also inhabited.

Meteran civilization is divided into two large cultural groups, the more advanced of which lives in cities on the lowlands along Alsis's edge. The less advanced group lives in the highlands toward the continental interior, and in some islands in the seas surrounding Alsis.

A natural barrier exists between the northern and southern parts of the continent: no settlements are situated below an altitude of approximately 8,000 feet between the central 5 degrees of latitude around the equator, between 2.5 degrees north and 2.5 degrees south. While there is scant data available about this, it is speculated a parasite or virus lives in those latitudes at low elevations that is extremely deadly to humans.

History

The oldest known evidence of human civilization on Metera is speculated to date back seven or eight centuries, though reliable records are difficult to obtain, if they exist at all. A group of subterranean stonework tombs on an island northwest of Alsis is thought to be the oldest archaeological site on Metera.

Historically, there has been conflict between the inhabitants on the Northern side of the continent with those on the Southern side, and both groups have historically been at odds with the less advanced peoples dwelling in the central highlands. The only land-based routes safe to humans that cross between the northern and southern halves of the continent pass through highlands occupied by the less advanced cultural group, and all such passes are dangerous, with little in the way of physical infrastructure to assist travelers.

Frequent skirmishes, and even wars between political groups in the North or South against the highlanders in the continental center have sparked up many times in Metera's history. When the more advanced lowlanders have been on the brink of victory, natural disasters and other seemingly random occurrences have prevented outright victory, buying the highlanders reprieve time and again.

Culture

One religion dominates Metera, known as the Church of the Triumvirate. The Triumvirate is believed by members of The Resistance to be three Guardians who either found Metera with humans already there, or who brought humans to Metera. While the specific roles of The Triumvirate are not universally viewed as the same, they generally fall into creation, guidance, and death. All three of The Triumvirate are male, and, in most regions of Metera, men tend to be afforded more status and privilege than women.

Because of the numerical quality of The Triumvirate, three is considered to be an auspicious number by most Meterans. Cities are often built with three gates, town governments consist of groups of three, or three groups of three, or three chambers, parsed into groups of three, etc. Major cities may be governed by a tribunal consisting of a priest, a noble, and an elected merchant, tradesman, or other "man of the people."

While Metera is a world with mana and magic, sorcery is strictly prohibited. An entire group within the Church of The Triumvirate is tasked with tracking down and capturing or killing sorcerers, witches, and other practitioners of magic. Some remote pockets of the highlands are suspected of being more tolerant of magic, but this has not been confirmed, and agents of the Church are present in nearly every town and city on the planet.

Places of Interest

The Library of the Wastelands - A mythical repository of ancient mystical information thought to be buried in the ruins of a fallen civilization in the south-central foothills of Alsis.

Paralia - A major city on the southwestern coast of Alsis, believed by The Resistance to be home to a Guardian facility.

The Triangulum Mountains - A group of three high mountains in the west-central highlands of Alsis, where people have claimed to have mined natural mana stones.