I started writing a setting to roll up a lot of thoughts about high fantasy and science fantasy. The result was a series of interconnected planets, and I soon realized I could map these to the real Solar System. So what did I end up with?

Storytelling Goals

  • The wonders and terrors of power matched with ambition
  • There are no Chosen Ones or fated heroes, but there are bloodlines and inheritances that can affect one’s future
  • Multiple protagonists or viewpoint characters. This is a world beyond a single person’s perspective
  • People don’t need to be conquered or guided, but freed
  • A sense of continuity and history - the past and present influence each other, and in turn shape the future
  • There can be inequality and intolerance, but it will never be gratuitous or done for “historical accuracy”. This isn’t history, but fantasy

Elements of the World

  • High fantasy, high technology, but not necessarily at the same time or in the same place
  • Multiple physical planets, with multiple ways to travel between them
  • Multiple cultures, colors, species. No blatant ripoffs of existing cultures, no appropriation - instead, strive to make something both original and authentic
  • Artifacts of culture - art, music, sports. All the stuff other than the usual combat/magic/exploration focus

The Planets

I don’t have every planet detailed, but here’s where I’m at so far.

Zarkhaen

Based on Mercury. The hell of fire and darkness.

A barrier surrounds the planet, making it impossible to leave without some kind of celestial intervention.

Home of the Soldiers of the Eclipse, known as “demons” to other planets. In reality, the Soldiers were people, designed to fight in a long-ago war, and exiled here rather than be turned back. They are not motivated by malice or greed, but by desperation. They yearn to leave their home world, but can only be drawn forth by summoning magic, and must inevitably return. Those summoned to guard places or enact a long-term goal for their summoner do so willingly. After all, the alternative is literally Hell.

They barter with beings of other worlds for their souls, but not to bring damnation to them. Instead, they use acquired souls to lessen their own suffering - they once again get to feel genuine human emotions, and savor real human experiences, even for a short while.

Meanirin

Based on Venus. The mist-wreathed world of illusions and dreams.

The world is covered in a mysterious mist, which creates illusions tangible enough to interact with. It is a fairy land, an Arcadia, where the line between reality and phantasm has been erased.

There is a transfer station hovering above the planet. Ships dock here, bringing passengers and cargo. The phantasms of the planet cannot be taken offworld without the mist to sustain them - but the risk the mist poses means that exporting mist is strictly controlled.

The rulers of the planet, the most potent of dreamers, weave castles, monsters, landscapes, even whole populations. The geography and politics of the world are ever-changing. To combat this, “anchor roads” have been set on the planet, lit by lanterns which repel the mist. When one is on an anchor road, they can feel relatively safe from the planet’s many dangers.

Averdam

Based on Earth. A pastoral world with green plant life, blue water, white clouds, and so on.

The world is a balance of elemental forces - not merely the four classical elements, but more ephemeral things like “life” and “fate”. It is the nature of the world to preserve this balance. As a result, both “good” and “evil” forces may arise at different times.

Others

  • The Mars equivalent is a world of hardship and fading grandeur, inspired by Barsoom. Caves, tunnels, underwater rivers, ancient ruins, and more.
  • The asteroid belt is a rhizome - a living tree, growing into a ring, all roots, playing host to a biological utopia. The theme here is “life unending”.
  • The Jupiter equivalent is a constellation of city-moons, wrapped into an enormous metropolis orbiting a center point.
  • The Saturn equivalent is the court of the gods - or so it’s said.
  • The Uranus equivalent is a water world, home of all that swims. Its theme is “stars reflected in water”.
  • The Pluto equivalent is the system’s graveyard. Ghosts are drawn here - of people, places, even things and events. The dead replay their memories in theatrical productions, and may sometimes try to borrow the bodies of the living to re-enact particularly passionate moments. The theme is “the pageantry of death”.

Future Plans

I will probably be moving my other fantasy-world ideas into this setting, as time permits - things like the Zelves, the elf-like shells of the Precursors who have gained sentience.