World Backstory

Introduction

In years long past, the last human left Earth. As they fled, all semblance of order finally vanished, as all who were left were little more than satyrs, squabbling over what few scraps remained. With no masters and no gods, a new age was beckoning. An age of beasts. The cattle became the shepherds, the endangered became the prosperous and the savage became cruel. Soon, a crass mockery of society was born, with might making right. The humans that were left were far from mighty.

History of the World

Overview

Years ago, humanity left Earth, as it was determined that it was doomed, and could not and should not be saved. A small percentage of the human population were forced to stay behind, as they were deemed “unenlightened” and therefore not fit for salvation. These masses were the criminals and degenerates of humanity, who after years of abject misery and mistreatment from the “enlightened”, were closer to the animals left behind than the humanity that left them behind. The fighting started almost immediately, exacerbating the already dire situation. This combination of events forced an already disgraced population into further obscurity, giving the animals a chance to prosper. With the technology left behind and years without intervention, the animals gained an intelligence comparable to the brightest minds that were remaining on Earth, and combined with the brute strength and malicious intelligence of some species, were able to quickly carve out their domains. As different collectives and coalitions grew, so too did their needs and so a very rough society formed, taking advantage of what was left by the long absent rulers. The strong enforced the “law” or toiled away rebuilding what they could, the intellectual explored and reclaimed lost knowledge, the logistical or silver-tongued established business, trade empires and “laws” to help others and line their own pockets, while the particularly cruel hunted down the remaining humans. Some did it for sport, others became very successful slavers. Human rights were non-existent, and despite the chaos, the world was united in their hatred for humans, with local genocides becoming extremely common as retribution.

Culture

Might makes right, with the powerful controlling the meek with unquestioned rule. Some upstart “governments” attempt to right this and make a fair world, but face heavy resistance at every term from those who had grown fat and comfortable from their privilege.

A standardised currency is almost non-existent, with some communities prizing certain artefacts such as power tools over capabilities for long range transport, while others treasure the lustrous beauty of some metals like gold and silver, considering the auric beauty of gold to be a suitable status symbol. Greed, however, is in no short supply, with some lusting for anything that could possibly make them win the rat race of the world.

Nearly everyone has someone they wished dead, whether it be a sworn rival, a callous boss, an incompetent lackey, someone that inconvenienced them as an accident, or some unfortunate soul for merely existing, with humans fitting squarely in that category. Humans as such are treated as chattel, being slaughtered either for fun or food, or used as entertainment, pleasure or unwilling labour. In certain regions, humans are proudly locally extinct, with some communities boasting this fact. Some animals are despised due to their species nature, with monitor lizards being hated for their habit of consuming entire nests of eggs.

State of the world

The world is extremely dangerous. Some large groups of like-minded individuals have attempted to form groups to mimic the governments and states that used to dominate the world in order to establish some semblance of safety, but the opposition they face is both strong in number and power, with large swathes of the population wanting to maintain the status quo.