Kargon: Lore

Considerations

Considerations

The setting for this “universe” is an alternate modern Earth on a large landmass known as Kargon.  All real-world phenomena remain the same: gravity, forces of nature, human nature, etc.  However, planetary geography, events in the history of Kargon, and how history is recorded (QKE & KE) are somewhat different.  The different Chronicles will be set in separate times in history. 

Everyone speaks the same language after The Golden Era; however, there are remnants of the individual dialects from old tribal languages.  The old tongues are most pervasive among the Jek’s culture.

Peldastens do not normally use contractions, and prefer using sophisticated speech.  Jeks use contractions and simpler language.  Mondejans and Akorans are somewhere in-between.

In the Vari Academy, no one has a name except members of the faculty.  The students are associated with the “tag” issued to them upon the first day of class.  An example of a tag is, 1523-c13-s26, broken down thus:  1523, the year the class started; c13, the 13th class of a group in any given year; and s26, the 26th student in that class.

Elementalists (or “users”) are made, not born.  Some users are more powerful than others; there is no way to determine this.  However, it is believed that the physical capacity of the individual plays a part in how powerful a user can become.  Users are not immune to their own element, but they have a greater resistance to it which is subject to the limitations of the human body.

The unnatural methods employed to transform a normal person into a user come with negative effects.  The enormous power contained within a user ages their body at a faster rate.  The older a user becomes, the less their body can fight the internal instability.

The power of a user combined with the specific elemental material that is used determines how strong or weak it is against another element.  For example, while lightning is not particularly strong against earth, if the lightning user is powerful and the earth user is using dirt; the lightning user has a better chance of breaking through.  However, if that lightning user were to face an ice user, which lightning is usually strong against, but the ice is too solidly formed, the lightning user’s attacks will be less effective at penetrating through the ice.  A powerful user will reduce his or her weakness against one element, and be stronger against others.  A weak user may barely be able to use his or her element and might not be strong enough to use material or parts of that element contained within something else.  For example, an air user who could barely form a gust of wind would not be capable of manipulating the air circulating in someone’s lungs.

The cunning of an elementalist could circumvent what would otherwise be a problem.  For example, if an earth user had a wall of rock between him or her and an opposing lightning user, lightning attacks probably wouldn’t be very effective.  However, the lightning user may be skilled and resourceful enough to channel lightning from the sky above to attack behind the rock (if there were any lightning to be used) or bend lightning around the rock (if the user is powerful enough to do so).

Powerful fire users can forcibly extract heat from water molecules thus solidifying it into ice (scientifically, this is how ice is formed).  A source of light can be searing hot enough to allow a fire user to utilize it.  Lightning can be channeled through water.  Air can move through water, albeit slowly, as bubbles.