The Original Pitch

[Carthrat]

The Pyrosphere

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Premise: Floating islands dot the sky, each one with it's own community of people. These islands are eternally at war, endlessly clashing and sacrificing the priests of the other. Yet no island has yet become the strongest; alliances form to defeat the greatest and crumble shortly thereafter.

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Where It All Happens

-The Pyrosphere is what the world is today. The world is an ocean of sky and cloud; the ends wrap around each other, but few islands travel from one point to the other. This is how the world has been for as long as recorded memory; there were never oceans of water, never a single, solid continent; only lonely archipelagos and solitary vessels floating through the winds. It is always raining, always foggy, always misty; visibility is always poor, but people have become accustomed to this. Nobody is bothered by the wet.

At the centre of world stands the Maelstrom. All high priests can intuit it's exact position relative to them, and thus navigation becomes possible.

As well as islands, Storm Geysers and airships ply the skies; some skyships are the distant emissaries and scouts of islands, while others belong to traders (unionized or not.)


Why It All Happens

-The furies rage endlessly below as man wars eternally above. The war of the deities beneath the land create great diamonds; Aether Crystals fuse together and form Storm Geysers that levitate just as the islands do. Many believe that the powers of this war are what buffet the islands and keep them from falling; the High Priests of the furies certainly agree.

The power of these crystals is marvellous indeed; only High Priests can synthesize them and create food, weapons, tools, and the like. But they are scarce. Islands war over them constantly- but that is perhaps seconadary to the war over knowledge and power.

For when one priest ritually sacrifices another, they can insight and knowledge with the blessings of the furies; knowledge of weapons, magics, and other such things which they can then use against their enemies.

And every priest believes that, should they become amongst the strongest of clerics in the world, that they and their island will ascend to heaven- and thus elevate themselves above the terrible battles that occur with startling frequency.


Who Makes it Happen

-There are only two classes of people in the Pyrosphere; those who live to fight and those who live to trade. Warriors live upon the islands and are ruled by the High Priests, mysterious individuals who lead their charges through war and storm. High Priests alone make magic possible; High Priests alone are the source of the necessities of life. High Priests can steer islands and High Priests can infuse strength into their kin. High Priests are the central players in this world; blessed by the furies with powers mysterious and the only way for humanity to thrive. Without these priests, even the most basic things would become impossible.

As counterparts to the warriors are the traders. They are linked to war, however. For when a High Priest perishes, those who remain on the island are helpless; they cannot even provide food for themselves. Thus they must find the traders that roam the skies and sell them weapons in return for food; likewise, the traders sell weapons to islands that are victorious in return for their surplus.

It has been noted that the traders buy far more weapons than they sell. Most traders are individualists, captaining their own skyships (acquired by dubious means) and finding islands to barter with- despite their apparent lack of priestly navigation. Dotted around the pyrosphere are large neutral zones, too, where dozens of skyships conglomerate to form a market of sorts. Fighting in these places is a mark of disrespect.

The traders are only loosely organized, and rivalries are common- and frequently deadly.


What Actually Happens

-Islands either discover storm geysers due to the powers of their priests or buy the information from traders. They reach them and harvest the crystals for power and supplies. It is at these geysers that other islands mostly frequently arrive at, and fights typically break out in short order. Sometimes, information comes from scouts or traders on the location of another island, and a surprise attack can be launched. The rewards of battle are great, and unless there is great disparity in power between the islands (and such disparity is not always obvious), a fight will be offered and usually accepted.

-On an island, every individual is expected to sacrifice themselves for the priest. But on the same token, if battle is hopeless, the priest should surrender and offer themselves to the enemy. War is inevitable- treating your opponents fairly in defeat is generally a rule. One does not pillage an island into ruin or slaughter the inhabitants whole, as other islands will more than likely band together to rid themselves of such a terrible threat. Losing a priest is crippling enough... and the trader's union have an uncanny knack for hearing about such incidents.

-This doesn't mean people don't fight dirty and priests don't lie about surrendering- they do- but once an enemy is clearly beaten and you have the priest in custody, further war crimes against them are generally frowned upon.

-After any fight, however, some of the soldiers on the losing island may attempt to negotiate joining their opponents. Most don't, preferring to remain with their families and friends, or perhaps harbouring vengeance against those who ruined their lives.

-Nobody trusts ANYONE who portrays themselves even remotely like a mercenary.

-Islands weakened by casualties or by only recently gaining a new High Priest tend to shirk combat and attempt to buy up weapons from the traders; nonetheless, daring assaults have borne fruit in the past.

-High Priests hate each other. Bringing two high priests together will result in a fight or a sacrifice 100% of the time.