The Chevma Plane is a corrupt reflection of the Valisen Plane. They are two worlds with identical geography but very different cultures -- and Chevma was leagues ahead in technological exploits as well. A viral apocalypse began 16 years ago in the wake of government-sanctioned experiments. The gods were almost plentiful and extremely visible in Chevma but began disappearing shortly thereafter. There was no point dawdling in a dying world. The virus ended up wiping out 98% of the population. There are four possible reactions to the virus. A very small number of people contract the virus, survive it, and come out on the other side with a chevma capable of splitting doors between worlds. These people are called saliros, or worldjumpers. A fifth of the population are immune and will suffer no illness at all. A good third of the population got and lived through the virus but lost their chevma in the process and now wander Chevma broken-minded and terribly violent. The majority of people who caught the virus simply died. |
The Chevma Plane is called such due to the chevmas everybody is born with. A chevma is an animal companion that is a representation of a person's soul. They share pain, injuries and death with their person but are a separate personality and mind. People who lose their chevmas undergo such intense trauma that they are never able to be rehabilitated. There is an entire culture surrounding chevmas. Chevmas should not be touched by another person unless invited; they should not be aimed for in a fight, as it's considered dishonorable. Speaking directly to another person's chevmas is uncouth, unless you're close friends or family. Chevmas stay the same animal their entire lives. They are born as whatever the person is destined to be and there's an intricate mythology surrounding what each and every species and color variation means. |
In what's left in Fiore, Rossore (what was once the world's leading metropolis, in both tech advances and size), there's a small gang run by the twins. On the outskirts of the city is the only running farm for miles, the Wells' place. But Fiore is also full of the so-called crazies; those folks who survived the virus but outlived their chevmas and now rove around trying to kill everybody else. They're not especially intelligent but they more than make up for it in violence. They will try to steal living chevmas from people and/or kill anybody they catch. They are by far the biggest danger in the city and the reason the gang exists. Crazies aren't too dangerous if encountered individually or in small groups but the bigger the group the harder they are to escape. Crazies are 'activated' by sensing chevmas so can be tricked for short periods if somebody has a chevma small enough to hide. They also carry the virus and can infect those lucky few who have never been exposed through bodily fluids. |