📖World Lore

The World Before the Cataclysm

In the past, machines were powered by steam. Smoke billowed from chimneys, elevators creaked, and trains roared down the rails. Steam boilers were a reliable source of power. Magic existed only in legends and folktales.

Crossan, now known as Island X, was surrounded by stormy seas. For centuries, coal was mined here to fuel the empire’s steam engines. Towns and stone fortresses spread across the island, their streets filled with the clanking of gears and the whistling of steam valves. Mechanical carriages crawled along cobblestones, while airships floated overhead.

The Cataclysm

Deep beneath Crossan, where miners once extracted coal for steam boilers, something strange was discovered. A mysterious void in the rock glowed with a bluish shimmer. Inside, like coral in the sea, grew unusual crystals, sharp and transparent, like frozen lightning. These minerals were unlike any other: when touched, metal trembled, and lamps shone brighter.

Workers tried to extract one of the crystals, but something unexplainable happened. The air grew heavy, like before a storm, and a surge of blue light burst from the fractured stone. The crystals began growing rapidly, spreading through rock, wood, and metal, absorbing everything they touched. They engulfed the mines and fused with steam machines, transforming them into bizarre, twisted mechanisms.

People panicked and tried to flee, but it was too late. The island’s center began to crack open, as if torn by an unknown force from within. The ground shook violently, and a massive section of the island collapsed into the depths. From below surged spiraling blue energy. Thus, the Abyss was born, a deep wound in the body of Crossan, from which the crystals continued to grow, glowing with an eerie blue light.

The Spark

At first, the crystals seemed like a curse, disabling machines and mutating living beings. But soon, it was discovered that if properly processed, a crystal could be made safe and used to build machines that required no steam. Lamps that glowed for years, self-operating mechanisms, even weapons that released blasts of energy. These crystals were named Sparks, a blessing and a curse.

However, raw crystals remained dangerous. Prolonged exposure caused hallucinations and insanity. People claimed to hear the crystals "singing." Then their bodies began to change, absorbing energy, growing crystalline formations. Machines nearby would also be affected, merging with the infected, creating terrifying creatures.

Island X, the new name for Crossan, became the place where Spark magic and technology intertwined like the branches of a single tree. Some see it as progress. Others, a divine punishment. And then some descend into the Abyss in search of the crystals that changed the world.

The World Today

The discovery of the Spark marked the dawn of a new age, the Era of Magotech. Steam all but disappeared, replaced by machines powered by Spark energy. Strange automatons emerged, running on Spark alone. Massive Spark-powered trains replaced steam locomotives. Wherever possible, Spark now turned the gears of progress.

Even so-called Mechamages appeared, individuals who experimented with Spark to create things once thought impossible: staffs that emitted deadly Spark discharges, or shields that blocked anything. It’s no surprise that some turned this power to dark purposes. Others tried to harness the unrefined crystals, but little is known of their fates.

Now, throngs of prospectors rush to Island X, into the Abyss, where the crystals grow. Wealthy families form private armies to control major deposits, while mercenaries and raiders hunt lone extractors.

Island X has become both a beacon and a terror. Ruins of old coal mines and cities, wrapped in webs of crystal, now brim with peril and opportunity. And in this chaos, the player inherits their legacy. An abandoned complex once owned by their family. But the infrastructure that once sustained them now lies in ruins. Restoration will require resources, knowledge, and determination because deep within the island, everyone is trying to claim the crystals, and every inch of ground is contested.