Praeturum

Praeturum is the world in which Gladium is set. The world is loosley based off of Bara Magna from LEGO's Bionicle line. Within Praeturum lies seven distinct areas, split into five nations and a 'wild land' in the middle. Although 'Praeturum' refers mainly to the large continent in the middle, the term can also refer to the world in general, since at the moment the planet has no name. Each of the five nations has its own unique architectural style and form of magic. Most of these styles are taken from popular fiction themes such as steampunk, elven, or Feudal Japan.

Praeturum is constantly being developed and expanded, so this page may change often.

Overview
Praeturum is a large world with lots to write about. An overview is required.

The entire world of Praeturum revolves around the five elements. We know them as: fire, water, air, earth, and lightning(or life). Each element has it's own nation, race, magic type, and god (or 'Deu'). In Praeturum, the elements, and most everything associated with them, are known as, in the same order as above: Iglamma, Nym, Venet, Muntur, and Trontan. The denonyms for each of these are: Iglammian, Nymeri, Veneti, Munturian, and Trontanese.

The people of Praeturum are known as the Holem. Holem are humanoid beings with extremely thin, greyish skin, horizontal, rectangular eyes, and no hair. Their skin is typically tinted their typical racial color (for example, in Iglammian will be reddish, a Trontanese will be purpleish, etc.). Because of how thin their skin is, practically all holem wear some form of armor at all times. This is typically divided into lighter underarmor (still metal, not leather like on earth) with warriors wearing heavier battle armor on top of that. Holem lifespans practically twice as long as humans. Whereas a typical human in a first-world country could have a life expectancy of about eighty years, a holem in equal circumstances would expect to be one hundred-and-sixty. Holem are divided into varios groups based on height and race. All but one of the Praeturian race have been introduced. There is a sixth race known as the Yuncta. They are a race that has diminished, equal control over all elemnts. All Yuncta are over five feet tall and have a light grey skin tone. In addition to the races, there are also height categories. Minem typically range from 4.5-5.5 feet, Medem from 5.5-6.5 feet and Magem are anything above that. The slight majority of holem are medem, but there are many midem and magem. This height catgorization is important because a holem's height is in direct relation to their magical ability. Basically, a taller a holem is, the more magical he is. Because of this, it may seem like magem would be the overlords of Praeturum, but the shorter holem are typically more agile and have more physical prowess.

Speaking of magic, that is another force that drives the world. All holem are able to use what we could consider magic. Using a staff, wand, normal weapon, speical weapon, or even their bodies(typically hands) as focii, holem are able to alter the world around them using their elemental powers. These powers are also used in battle and in science. Magic-powered machinces are found all around Praeturum, the most popular and useful being Trontan-powered machinces (basically electric stuff).

Scientific progress on Praeturum goes at a relatively slow, but steady pace. It has taken them approximately two thousand years to go from the equivalent of late-medieval times to futuristic times(say two hundred years into our future); a timespan of about eight hundred years on earth.

(Relatively) Brief History
The full history of Praeturum can be split into five distinct periods: The Beforetimes, The Golden/Auremnic Period, The Collapse/Bronze Age, The Wartimes/Torvanii Era, and the Silver Age. The length of these periods are not uniform in length. The Bronze Age lasted nearly ten thousand years but The Wartimes lasted only 298 years. A fuller overview, written from the view of a holem, can be found here.

The Beforetimes
Before the universe was created, there was a void of grey energy. Eventually, odd, formless lifeforms emerged and began their own civilizations in the void. These creatures had no definite lifespan, but could be killed somehow. The eldest and chief of these was known as Mortanis. It was a god-like being who was the first to emerge from the void.

But then everything changed when the Deu arrived. From nowhere, a hole from another universe appeared. Matter and light poured into the void, but the void fought back. The beings who opened the portal were able to seal themselves into a bubble of existence, now known to us as Calari. Needless to say, the void creatures hated Calari. Mortanis tried all he could to vanquish the invaders, but anytime anything made of grey energy touched Calari, it would disintigrate into matter native to the Deu's home universe. Soon, the Deu found out that they were able to 'split' grey enrgy into their native five elements using their own, special Convenus Energy. Using this heavenly power, the Deu brought the universe into existance. The entire race of void-beings was wiped out save for one stubborn, powerful one: Mortanis. Unbeknownst to the Deu, Mortanis had managed to turn himself into a floating spirit. To diminished to do anything about the new existence, Mortanis bided his time, plotting a way to get back the home he once had.

The Deu, meanwhile, decided to create a world for them and their creations to live in. Thus, they created Praeturum.

The Golden Period
Thousands of years before the present, there were no holem. Instead, the master race of the world was the Aurem. The Aurem lived on the fabled land of Cala and had near-godly elemental powers. Even the shortest among them dwarfing an average magem, the Aurem were much mroe human-like in most regards. Their skin had a golden hue to it, their eyes were more oval-shaped, and they had hair on their heads. The Aurem were creted as companions to the Deu, a perfect race. Each one of them was near-immortal and most knew the Deu personally, as during this time they lived on Praeturm. Basically, everythign was perfect.

Unfortunately, a weak-willed, controversial scientist named Torvan was corrupted by Mortanis, who had gained enough strength to telepathically communicate with Aurem and influence them to his will. Mortanis used Torvan to try and revert the universe back into the void it once was. He would combine the elements back into grey energy and use that bit to reverse the chain reaction that created the elements. However, the authorities found out about his project and, just before Torvan was able to complete his plan, police borke into his house. In an act of desperation, Torvan put his hand into the glob of grey enrgy he had created. The convenus energy inside him reacted violently to the grey energy and it fused to him, seeping thoughout his body and then using him as a living bomb. A shockwave of grey energy spread across the world, transforming Cala into a mutated netherworld and splitting each aurem into five holem, one for each element. The holem who were sufficiently far away were mutated into Yuncta. This shockwave also made it nearly impossible for the Deu to physically visit Praeturum. Sadly, they retreated back to Calari, taking a backseat view of the events that would unfold. This shockwave is known as The Splintering.

Torvan became a twisted being of grey energy, a mix between an aurem and the thign Mortanis was. Mortanis was able to bind himself to a large suit of armor and, in turn, gave Torvan his own form.

Soon after, the new holem took new names for theselves, with their original aurem names as surnames. They then divided themselves into groups based on elemental race and constructed great, arc-like ships to carry them to Praeturum. However, during a storm, the Trontanese ship was blown apart from the rest and it landed on Plasmera island instead of mainland Praeturum. As such, the Trontanese and the other races lived millennia thinking that each other had perished entirely.

The Bronze Age
For some short time, the holem cooperated peacefully with each other as they settled the wild lands of Praeturum. The five nations formed, their boundries the same as today but vastly undeveloped. But soon enough, tensions rose and parties split off from the original nations to form other kingdoms. This continued to happen for some time until everyone was comfortable with their own special nation. However, wars soon broke out between the nations. For over ten thousand years, Praeturum crawled along, constantly at war with itself. Around four and ahalf thousand years ago, with much help from the pacifist Pacem Consumptis, the nations miraculously put aside their differences and eventually formed back into the old nations. Science, art, and all that stuff was returned to Praeturum. But now, instead of fightign themselves, the races startes to become sceptical of each other.

The Wartimes
Soon after the Bronze Age ended, an arms race began in Praeturum. Each nation employed its scientists to develop bigger, more destructive weaponry and better defences for itself. Eventually, Iglamma and Muntur allied with each other, putting the remaining two nations into a panic. Although Venet and Nym were never that close, they had no quarrels with each other. Thus, they allied and the two grand alliances of Praeturum were formed. Tensions continued to rise as each alliance waited for the other to make what seemed like an inevitable first move. Then, all at once, it happened. Due to some misinterperated orders on each side, Venet and Iglamma unintentionally attacked each other. The two powerhouses of the world had unintentionally attacked each other and each claimed that their attack was in response to the other's. The Great Praeturian War had begun.

For almost three hundred years, Praeturum raged on in a constant state of war. Unlike the Bronze Age, however, science flourished. Although the holem had never been much of a seafaring people (even Nymeri from The Wartimes would be considered poor sailors by today standards), each side realized how important a naval advantage would be. Ships that could sail faster and last longer were made, including one Nymeri ship that could, according to them, 'last forever'. This perticular ship made a voyage no holem had ever made before, it tried sailing around the forbidding Torvan's Tadpole to the Stilla Peninsula in Venet. 'The Tadpole' is a mass of spiky monoliths and tiny, barren islands jutting out of the water. Nearly every ship that came within a mile of the tadepole was sucked towards it by some mysterious force and dashed against the rocks. Little did the Nymeri sailors know what la beyond this infamous archipelago. After successfully making it past the Tadpole, the ship's crew was nearing the end of the tadpole when they spotted another ship in the distance. Baffled, the crew sailed in for a closer look. The ship was unlike anything the crew had ever seen. When the two vessels had come up next to each other, each crew stared at the other in bewilderment. The crew of the mystery ship had purplish skin, slanted eyes, and wore armor unlike anything on Praeturum. Thus, the nation of Trontan and the rest of the world came back into connection with each other. For a moment, the war didn't matter.

The people of Praeturum were elated when they heard the news. Copies of the now-famous Nymeri ship were produced and sent to rich voyagers who wished to travel to Trontan. Unfortunately, during one voyage, a Veneti merchant ship was spotted by an Iglammian frigate close to Denkoru, the Trontanese capital and hub for Praeturian-Trontanese interaction. Naturally, the Iglammian ship opened fire on the Veneti. A curious, worried Trontanese ship sailed out to see what was going on and was caught in the crossfire. The ship was sunk and Trontanese Coast Guard quickly came to apprehend the Veneti and Iglammian crews. Unfortunately, the ill-fated Trontanese vessel belonged to a powerful, popular Trontanese lord. Outraged, Trontan closed its doors to all outside interaction. On the mainland, each side once again blamed the other and the war fired back up again.

Finally, before a major battle in lower Iglamma, an Iglammian scientist named Taharus Finem was commissioned by the Iglammian government to produce a weapon with the ability to eradicate an entire army. He created a golden suit of armor that would suck the elemental energy from every holem within a two-mile radius and, using the wearer's own power, launch it back at them in a wave of destruction. Taharus reported his invention to the Iglammian general, who was overjoyed with his work and asked when he could have some. However, Taharus was sick of the war. He hated the destruction it had caused and the fact that it was behind Trontan's lockdown. He gave the general several less-powerful versions of the armor to be used by his troops. He himself kept only one copy of the original. The aforementioned battle at Angusto Pass, the main route from the lower Pyrac Valley into the central Herbus Valley was the greatest the war had ever seen. It's outcome would very well decide the fate of the world. In the midst of the chaos, Taharus himself appeared and rushed into the middle of the chaos. He acitvated the armor and the entire army fell, Venti, and Iglammian alike. Nearly two armies had been wiped out in one swoop. The use of such armor had a horrifying after-effect: Taharus' body started to crumble. Quickly, he destroyed all the notes he had on the armor and then scattered the pieces in remote places around Praeturum so that no one would ever use the again.

The loss of such a massive force shocked the two generals. They had few troops left and those that there were began to abandon their generals, fearing that another Taharus woudl sping up and kill them all. Furthermore, the people of Praeturum were getting tired of the war. There were protests all across the four nations calling for an end to the war. So forced, Venet and Iglamma made peace with each other.

The Torvanii Incident
The Torvanii Incident is a great event that the holem base their calendar on. 'BT' stands for 'Before Torvanii' and 'AT' stands for 'After Torvanii'.

It began some three hundred years after the end of the war, when Praeturum was finally starting to cool down. Trontan had reopened it's gates to the mainland and the five nations were getting along relatively well, although there was still some tension between the Iglammians and the Veneti. However, many were uncertain about the future, believing that another Great War was just around the corner. Thousands of holem converted to the highly controversial practise of Torvan Worship. In pre-Torvanii Praeturum, Torvan was believed to have been a fallen god of death and grey energy instead of an Aurem scientist. Although many were unnerved about the new trend, the governments of the nations saw no harm from the practise and placed few bans on it.

It was at this time that Mortanis saw fit to continue his plan to push the unverse back into the void. For millennia, he and Torvan had been recovering their strength, preparing to strick again. When Mortanis first saw what the holem believed about Torvan, he constructed a grand plan. As part of this, Mortanis altered Torvan's memory, making him believe that he actually was a fallen Deu and that Mortanis was his servant.

Mortanis started a Torvanist church in Iglamma known as the Torvanii. Because of his grey enrgy powers, the Torvanii quickly became the most popular Torvanist church in Praeturum. Member and branches could be found all across Praeturum. Soon enough, the member count was over one million. Then, in 3 BT, Mortanis militarized his folowers by giving them grey energy powers. Using this new army, Mortanis captured the Torvanii's home city of Oppulus. Startled by this sudden military action, Torvan worship, especially the Torvanii, was banned across Praeturum. Unfortunately, it was too late. No holem had ever seen anything like grey energy powers and thus had no counter to it. Mortanis conquered nearly the entire Herbus Valley, wings in the other nations began to take small towns and villages. It seemed like the world would be ruled by the Torvanii.

As the destruction raged on, five holem, one from each nation recieved a mysterious message guiding them to a set of coordinates in the middle of Eran. Each of them decided to go for their own reasons. The five met up at the spot all at once and foudn themselves in front of a massive, half-buried temple to Yuncta, the queen of the Deu. The five enteres and found themselves in a hexagonal room with five pedestals, each one with a shaft of light illuminating it. Each one went up to pedestal and was imbued with immense elemental power, a gift from the Deu. These five quickly formed a team against the Torvanii.

At first, it seemed that the Torvanists couldn't stand a chance against Praeturum's new guardians, but then, as the world prepared to clear Iglamma of the Torvanii and end them once and for all, Mortanis revealed Torvan. He claimed that it was from the 'Deu' that he had gained his powers. Torvan seemed to give off an aura of malevolence, fueling his followers in battle. But finally, on December 25, 1 BT, the Guardians were able to defeat Torvan and the Torvanii and bring peace back to Praeturum. They then went back to their home nations to keep the peace there. After that ordeal, Praeturum was free to continue on its way.

The Silver Age
This is the present age of Praeturum. It has lasted over two thousand years and has brought on a multitude of changes, bettering the lives of all holem. There have been no major wars, no horrible incidents, just peace. However, with such a long time having gone by with nothing happening, some holem are beginnign to fear that the next horrible event is just around the corner.