The Universe of Native

Gods

Five alchemists, set on obtaining godlike power, sacrificed and reshaped their planet, killing all but themselves – but they got their wish. They survived the blast that shattered their planet, immortal now. Before returning to their work, each recreated a race of people in their own image, and wildlife to suit their whims.

Natives

The Gods of Alchemy recreated the planet's inhabitants after they destroyed all life in their quest for power. Each scientist, previously altered by their various experiments, created a division of natives in their own image. The divisions – the Cutters, the Breakers, the Bones, the Hard and the Vein – each worship their own god specifically, with concessions made to the other gods. After all, they are immortal and make appearances from time to time – when they are not too busy continuing their research and experiments.

The System

The world of Native is very different from our own. The energy source that shattered the planet also holds the pieces and atmosphere (and the rest of the solar system) together. The outer planets and the sun, orbit around this energy source, though the fragments of the planet itself are held motionless. Between the scattered crust of the planet, the atmosphere exists in varying density, allowing the natives to traverse the empty expanses between land by ship, walkway or ropes.

Flora

Because the atmosphere is thin, the solar system's sun doesn't provide light in the same way that we readers are accustomed to. Add to that, the strange energy source mid-planet holds the world static, so there is no sunrise or sunset. Instead of the sun, the natives set their internal clocks by the brightening and dimming of the Glow, giant floating gourds that are cultivated on specific islands to light the skies. They grow on vines until they ripen fully, when they are set loose to float away (lest they begin to rot!). Light Keepers live full-time on Glow islands and tend to the vine, ensuring generations of gourds to keep the lights going.

Fauna

The alchemists filled the system with animals of their own design, based loosely on their favorite creatures from before the cataclysm, or just on their individual aesthetic preferences. It is often possible to tell which alchemist created any given animal if you know much about them at all.

Parrots fly freely admist the islands, feeding on fruit and insects.

The giant herbivores, angels, feed on the ripened glow gourds that float freely, but the keepers do occasionally have to fend off a hungry angel that wants to snack straight from the vine!

There are agricultural and burden-bearing quadrupeds on many islands, herded and tended by the natives for food and materials, or used as riding or pack animals.

Technology

The natives have technology based on air currents, as they lived on the inner crust of their planet before it was shattered. The advanced technology that existed before the cataclysm is lost to most, though the Vein seem to have backwards-engineered many artifacts, including the Simula, organic and alchemical artificial life forms.