The best place to visit is the high mountain, where the Jacinthi prophets live; however, be warned: the Dark Ones took over the mountain for a cycle, so avoid the region during that time frame.

The Dark Ones are everywhere, so their presence poses a constant threat. In addition, most of the waters in the western world are tainted, so don’t drink them! Watch out for earthquakes, which can happen at any time, as well as ice storms where ice falls the size of boulders, consuming locusts from the Topazi desert, and fire from the sky, because as the sky light expands, the atmosphere begins burning. Not a prime vacation spot!

If you are hanging out with the group transporting the orb, you’re in luck. They have a delicious fruit, given to them by the Whisperers in the cave where they faced their trials, that restores their health. But beware anything served by the Dark Ones: their food appears as delicacies, but in reality it is…well, I don’t want to spoil your appetite.

Whisperers fight with swords and light and fire. Most of the humanoids use basic implements as weapons as they are more primitive, but the Amthysti have mechanical devices like bombs – and have even built a machine that creates black holes. The Dark Lord uses electric bolts like lightning – and, of course, deception.

The Whisperers transport freely through space and time, so they don’t need vehicles. The magical child who is the seer for the group rides a panther-like creature with wings. Other than that, the creatures walk (or swim).

The Whisperers appear very magical to the inhabitants of the Second World since they travel through space and time freely and can manipulate light and energy. The seer child who can manipulate fire and receives prophetic visions of the future. The Dark Ones can manipulate can shoot electricity from their fingertips. The magic of the Whisperers and the child is used to fight against the Dark Ones. The magical sphere is used to open a portal to the First World

The Amthysti are the only species with any level of technology. Their crowning achievement is their black hole creating device; however, they haven’t learned how to control it, so if it was ever used, the black hole would grow without limits and would consume all worlds. Hmmm – maybe they shouldn’t use that one…

They are too focused on survival for games, for the most part. The Onyxi play a game called Stones, where they flip pebbles at the wall to see who can land closest. The Emraldi like to roll and tumble down hills for fun.

The inhabitants of the Second World speak in terms of cycles, related to the rise and fall of their sky light. The cycles are shorter than Earth cycles, as are their seasons. They don’t celebrate any holidays or special events, because they really don’t have much to celebrate. But the First World is in a continuous state of celebration.

The Whisperers worship the Divinethos. They desire to bring the inhabitants of the Second World back to the same worship, but the inhabitants have no recollection of the Divinethos or the First World. The group transporting the orb come to know the Divinethos and return to worship. The Dark Ones worship Skia Skotos, their Dark Lord. Skia Skotos seeks to bring the Second World’s inhabitants under his rule, then attack the First World and take it over, too.

A thousand years ago, a huge war broke out between the 12 species that almost destroyed the Second World. A treaty divided the 12 species, giving each a portion of land and prohibiting contact between them, so the 12 species have had no contact for a thousand years, until a meteor strike destroyed so much of the planet and forced them to work together. Before that time, each species had their own form of government. Now, there is no government.

Each species has a unique burial ritual. Some of the species send the weak, infirm, and elderly into the wilds to die. Some honor their elders and the dead. The Chrysoli own slaves and force them to do all their labor. The Chalcedi use substances to heighten their senses and create a type of hysteria for battle. The Beryli issue challenges and fight each other for the ruling position in their culture. The Topazi mate for life and always remain in pairs.

The Book of Revelation was my inspiration.

Good vs. evil, the consequences of slavery, the consequences of drug use, the question whether scientific discovery without limits is always a good thing, the exploration of the true nature of evil, demonic inhabitation, eugenics, and euthanasia.