Lore of the Marquel Universe

After re-reading through my older chapters, especially the ones where the lore of my story is explained, I realised that it is quite a bit disjointed if the reader doesn’t have the headcanon I do. Occasionally I purposely explained it a bit wrong, due to the fact that the character explaining the lore (Charlotte) didn’t have all the facts. Unfortunately, that resulted in a very confusing, very patchy explanation of the lore.

Throughout the entire legacy, the lore is pretty important, as just about the entire story revolves around that. This is especially important in Generations 2 and 3. It’s not overly visible in gen 2, but the actions of the characters (Mia and Chantia in specific) in that generation have a huge influence on the events that follow, but they don’t know it. That is because there are two versions of the lore: the version Charlotte (and thus by extension, Mia and Chantia) know, and the real version. I know, it’s ridiculously more complicated than it should be, but that difference is the reason the characters made the choices they did, and thus ultimately the reason the story developed as it did.

So, in order to make it easier for the readers (a.k.a. you guys :) ) to understand what the hell is happening, I am going to use this page to explain the true versions of the Lore of the Marquel Random Legacy universe. 

To make it easier for you to plod through the ~1000 words of dry lore on this page, I have added some pictures to distract you. :) If the dry factual lore is still too much for you, Alison attempts her best to explain it in Chapter 3.05. That is, however, a lot more drawn out and focused on Lyra in specific, and there are some concepts not explained there, so I really suggest reading this page.

Part 1: The basic Sims stuff

Age span: The age span I play with is 130 days. The normal aging makes no sense to me, so I’ve converted the age span to something that I can relate to. One day in a sim’s life converts to 6 months real time. Thus:

Infant: 4 days (age 0 – 2 years)
Toddler: 8 days (age 2 – 6 years)
Child: 12 days (age 6 – 12 years)
Teen: 12 days (age 12 – 18 years)
Young Adult: 34 days (age 18 – 35 years)
Adult: 40 days (age 35 – 55 years)
Elder: 20 days (age 55 – 65 years)

(Yes, that does mean my poor sims have to gestate 18 months instead of 9 months, but that’s just how the cookie crumbles. It also means my sims die relatively young, but I really dislike the elder stage and 20 days is the longest I can stomach it.)

Season and moon settings: The moon cycle is set to 10 days, and the seasons to 7 days each. That means Full Moon occurs every 5 years to the sims, and the seasons change every 3.5 years. The seasons were originally set to 5 days each (generations 1 & 2), but from generation 3 onwards it will be 7 days.

Ghosts: I play the ghost states a little bit different than the game directs – just the names, basically. There are several ghost states that I refuse to acknowledge, as they are a little bit too cartoonish/attempt-to-be-funny/parodic/whatever, so I have ‘redubbed’ the following ghost states in my mind/story:

Death by mummy = Death by disease
Death by meteor = Death by murder/violent act
Death by jelly bean = Death by poison

Part 2: The story stuff

 

Different Worlds: An infinite number of different worlds exist. The different worlds are all the same physical planet, just different alternative dimensions thereof. The only thing the different worlds/dimensions have in common, is that they share the same Moon.

Magic vs Non-magical Energy: There are two kinds of ‘forces’ that determines which kind of world a specific dimension is – Magic and non-magical Energy (referred to as Energy). Because of these forces, a World can be classified as Magical, Energetic, or Mixed. On Magical Worlds, only the ‘Magic’ force is present, so the sims are all Supernatural, and magical creatures (e.g. dragons and unicorns) exist. On Energetic Worlds, only the ‘Energy’ force is present, so neither Supernaturals nor magical creatures can exist. On Mixed Worlds, both Magical and Energetic forces are present, so sims/creatures can be either Magical or Energetic. It is only on Mixed Worlds where Magical and Energetic sims/creatures can co-exist.

Damnation: The ‘forces’ that determine which kind of world a dimension is are very fragile. A creature can only survive in a world where the right kind of force is present. If they are exposed to the wrong kind of force for a prolonged amount of time, their minds cannot cope with it, and they will fall into a downward spiral where they will steadily lose their emotions. This process is known as ‘Falling into Damnation’. If a creature who has Fallen spends enough time afterwards in the right force, the process will be reversed.

 The Balance: Because the creatures of the multi-verse are so sensitive to the different forces, it is vital that the forces do not mix in worlds that are not classified as Mixed. This delicate balance of forces is simply known as ‘the Balance’.

Full Moon: In order to ensure that the Balance can be kept, an exchange of forces between the worlds must be possible, so that excess amounts of the forces don’t build up over time. Because all of the different worlds share the same Moon, when the moon is fully visible in all of them (i.e. Full Moon), they are connected and the exchange of forces can occur.

The Song: Creatures born on Full Moon are more sensitive to the different forces than others. Because of this sensitivity, they are able to hear the Balance in the form of music. When the wrong kind of force is starting to build up, the music they hear gets louder. As the minds of these creatures would not be able to handle such a large influx of information, they are only sensitive to the balance of forces that directly affects their own personal lives.

The Rift: On every world, there is only one place where the exchange of forces on Full Moon is possible – the Rift. The opposite type of force that should be present will always be strongest around the Rift. If a creature of the wrong force type (e.g. magical creature in energetical world) lives close to a Rift, it will take them longer to Fall. If a creature of the right force type (e.g. energetical creature in energetical world) lives close to a Rift, they will eventually start to Fall. Rifts can only be opened during Full Moon.

Anomaly: A creature born in a world of the wrong type of force (e.g. a magical being born to an Energetic world, or an energetic being born to a Magical world.) This is not supposed to be possible, and only in cases where the Balance has been grossly disrupted will this happen.

The Wilds: If a creature is close to a Rift on the night of a Full Moon, it is possible for that creature to pass into one of the other dimensions. Creatures that are present in a world foreign to the one they were born in are known as the Wilds. When a foreign creature i.e. a Wild remains in the wrong world for too long, not only will it start to Fall, but it will also attract its own force type, causing the Balance to be disrupted. Creatures who cross over are normally of a specific type – ones that desire to cause as much chaos as possible. Due to this, Wilds do not have a good reputation in the multi-verse.

The Keeper (of Balance): The Keeper of Balance is a being of unknown origin that has a very close relationship with the Balance. In worlds where the Balance is in danger of being irreparably disrupted, the Keeper will appear and try to eliminate the source of the disruption. Due to this reason, it has been known to hunt The Wilds, forcing them to return to the world they belong to.

 Gateway Worlds: In order to limit the movement of creatures between the worlds during Full Moon, a series of worlds exist that acts as ‘guardian worlds’. Instead of having only one Rift, these worlds, known as Gateway Worlds, have many – sometimes up to a hundred, with each Rift leading to a different world. The Gateways Worlds act as guardians by force-closing a Rift after it has been used. Only beings belonging to that specific Gateway World will be able to reopen a Rift after it has been closed. The Rifts will remain closed until the next Full Moon, where they will reopen and the process will begin anew. Due to their vital role in minimising the spread of Wilds, the Keeper have a strong connection to each of these Gateway Worlds.

  The Hunt: One a Wild has entered into a Gateway World, it is unable to leave until the next Full Moon. In that time, agents of the Keeper will meet with the Wilds and determine their intent towards the multiverse. If a Wild is deemed innocent, the agents will assist them to return to their worlds, but if they're deemed dangerous to either the Balance or the multiverse, the agents will pursue them and kill them. This pursuit is known as The Hunt.

Fairies: Fairies are magical beings capable of powerful magic. Their strongest magic is only unlocked when they experience extremely powerful emotion. When a fairy chooses to form a bond with someone through love, their powers are at its strongest, but when they lose their bonded, the grief they experience will cause them to fall into an insanity that cannot be broken.

Dragons and Unicorns: Of all the magical creatures, dragons and unicorns are the most mystefied. Both possess considerable power, but the manner in which they share their powers are different. Unicorns only grant their power to those pure of heart, often in a once-off boon, while dragons choose to bond with a person and share their powers with only that person. 

 Dragoneers: Dragoneers are people who have managed to bond with a dragon. It is very rare for a dragon to bond with a person, as a bond can only be formed when the dragon is hatching. As dragons live in inaccessable and secretive locations, becoming a dragoneer is considered the pinnacle of skill, and numerous people often set out to find these locations, but most of them never find the dragons' nests.