Intra Mundum

Work in progress: I'll be adding more to this as I get my notes organized.

World
The story is set in a fictional world called Orbis. Geographically it is based on some of the same principles as our world (north is cold and south is warm), but its layout is completely different. In the time the story takes place, humanity is on the brink of an industrial revolution. Industrialism and science has triumphed as the driving force of the modern world, and a great central empire has risen above all to usher mankind towards a new age.

This central empire is called Anteris Senturum, meaning “the central pillar of man”. Remarkably efficient at trade and economy, and with a large army to defend its borders, it has annexed most of its neighbouring countries and brought them under their influence. As a plutocracy it is governed by a wealthy elite of Councilors that answer only to the Emperor himself. The Emperor is treated as a man bestowed with holy favor by the gods; Emperors are chosen through a sacred rite and not through lineage, although for the past two generations the emperors have come from the same family. The people of Anteris Senturum have known peace for almost three hundred years. Despite it now being in open war with several rebellious neighbouring countries, war has never reached the country’s own borders; nobody has yet been able to reach it with any army.

In the east, the major country is Senta Johi. While it does trade with Anteris Senturum and a few other western countries, it is very reclusive and a mystery to most people in the west.

Calendars
In the world of Orbis, there are different calendars in use. Most western countries follow the calendar of the Avos (forefathers, founders), a civilization that left behind a great deal of knowledge inscribed on stone tablets and other artifacts. From these artifacts, humans learned about measuring the passage of time by observing the stars, and eventually scholars determined that it had been over three thousand years since the Avosi started counting time. At the time of this story, the year is 4320. When using the Avosi calendar, years are referred to as AO (after origin).

In the east, countries generally follow the calendar of the Shén. The Shén are their guiding spirits, or gods, who come in all shapes and forms. It is believed everything has a Shén – even inanimate objects – that represents the pure essence of its origin. In accordance with their history, they count time since the Shén first came to Orbis. At the time of this story, the year in the Shén calendar is 7820.

The northern countries, though of different faith, follow the Avos calendar. They see time as cyclical and their faith therefore does not count years, but they follow the Avos calendar for practical reasons.

In the south and south-east, people mainly follow the calendar of Avos for practical reasons as well. Their dominant faith counts years from the event called the “Great Sacrifice”, which by tracing the age through the generations of people spoken of in their holy texts, happened 1324 years ago at the time of this story.

Countries
Anteris
Anteris is an empire formed by the prophet Athaos Kifaios in the year 3890. Together with a large group of refugees from wars in the south, he founded Anteris and slowly developed it into a small port town. As a port town, it eventually started trading by sea with foreign countries. Over time, more and more refugees from wars all over Orbis ended up in Anteris, populating it and contributing in developing it from a small town into a large city. In the year 3949, the prophet Athaos Kifaios died to an illness of the heart. But he left behind the religion of Ortuism, delivered to him through visions. Over the years Anteris grew ever larger, also generating a large army to defend its borders. Eventually the country started annexing neighbour countries by way of trade, military might and politics, but never with any direct confrontation of armies. In the year 4280, the current emperor of Anteris, Theroos Inaios, proclaimed the northern continent of Vetust under rule of Anteris. He decreed that from now on, Vetust would be known as Anteris, and the great city formerly called Anteris would be its capital, named Anteris Senturum.

Faiths
Ortuism
The most widespread faith is Ortuism, the religion of the country of Anteris Senturum, which teaches that all men are children of the gods, and that all men are born into an image of one of the twelve. These twelve are seen as blueprints for a perfect composition of society, and all twelve kinds of people must be in balance to please the gods.

Bellator: The warrior god.
Artifex: The artist god.
Lignarius: The carpenter god.
Arator: The farmer and cultivator god.
Domina: The god of mothers.
Dominus: The god of lords and those that may govern others.
Repertum: The god of ingenuity and invention. Also seen as the good of science.
Relatus: The god of knowledge and stories.
Latro: The god of servants.
Lupa: The god of prostitution. This trade is considered an integral part to a society in the teachings of Ortuism, but there are many rules that govern it.
Malificus: The god of liers and criminals. Nobody is born in the image of this god, but if a person is found guilty of a crime, it is believed that Malificus clouded the priest’s vision upon the person’s Judgment.
Ortus: The god of origin. Only the Emperor is born in his image.

A person is judged and his alignment decided six moons after birth by a representative of the Emperor himself. These representatives are called Visions, and are treated as avatars of the Emperor.