The Leviathans
Unfeasted and Vilakku are both worlds where their original supercontinents never shattered, and where the mighty animals known as Leviathans still roam the land. These are two of the largest similarities between the parallel universes Gatherer’s Bounty and Shifting Memory, Star-Shapers being the third.
Herbivores and Carnivores, You Know the Drill
These creatures are my versions of our very own prehistoric friends. And while you can expect to see some that you might not be so familiar with, rest assured that the Leviathans are not fantasy monsters, nor are they revenge-seeking, human-devouring obsessed killing machines. (That is, unless they have been changed by nefarious hands to be so…But I wouldn’t worry about that right now, that story’s a far way off from being in front of anyone’s eyes besides my own).
The Shifting Memory Universe and its world Unfeasted
The setting for THE LIGHTLESS, Unfeasted is a supercontinent that exists within a somewhat modern time, where not only all Leviathans, but the majority of all animal life has been herded into the top and bottom of the continent behind two Great Partitions. Leviathans could not exist in harmony with the people in this universe, nor could the Star-Shapers here come together enough in order to maintain adequate beguiling of the great animals, ensuring that people remained free from the bottoms of their feet and stomachs. Humanity had a very difficult time evolving in this universe, and only were able to do so after hundreds of millions of years. Living underfoot of the giant Leviathans was no easy task, but humanity can be just as resilient as the enduring Leviathans. Countless people lost their lives as humanity evolved and society and technology developed, and it developed quickly here, thanks in large part to contributions from Shapers, who have always been fascinated with the world and science. Humans would eventually go from existing in niche pockets where Leviathans either could not or did not traverse, to living in protected, and vast towns and cities.
Humans here had to band together, and leaned heavily on Shapers in order to survive, until the Encroachment was conceived. It became apparent that if humans were going to ever live in peace and safety, they were going to have to separate themselves from the things that hunted them, and destroyed their homes, and there were many. With Shapers at the helm, and the greatest builders and laborers ready with a plan, they set that plan into action, herding as much fauna as they could to the corners of Unfeasted. Many more lives were lost, but this was a single, united effort by all of humankind, the first and last time such a miraculous event would happen in this universe, and perhaps in all others as well. With the first step completed, the construction of the Great partitions could begin. Many, many years later, and again with many more lives lost, the Encroachment was finished, and humanity at last could breath a sigh of relief. They had not only conquered the odds of evolving at all, but they had conquered Unfeasted, a seemingly impossible feat.
Of course that is only where the story of Unfeasted BEGINS. So, did all the Leviathans stay behind the Great Partitions, and humanity lived happily ever after? Well, if they did then you wouldn’t be reading this right now, and I would’ve gone to bed hours ago.
The Gatherer’s Bounty Universe and its Alina Bairn(world) Vilakku
The setting for VINE VEIN, Vilakku is a supercontinent that exists within my version of a medieval period. Leviathan problems have been dealt with here in a much different manner than on Unfeasted. No walls exist to keep these beautiful and powerful animals away from civilization, beyond that of the walls that surround the most powerful cities in each of the Seven Kingdoms. However, the Star-Shapers here have enjoyed ages of collaboration in aiding each of the kingdoms in warding off Leviathans and other unwanted animals. This is mainly because all life on Vilakku has been confined to a single slice of the continent called Malstray. Crammed into this diverse land in Age 8 of the 1st Era in an event that would come to be known as the Sweeping Winds, within this percentage of a much larger whole, humans were forced to work together to survive. They were not the only ones swept to Malstray, Leviathans were as well, and there was much less room now to avoid one another.
Evolving on Vilakku was no walk in the park either, and like on Unfeasted, humans took a beating from their reptilian overlords for millennia. Once humans had finally evolved enough to sustain small tribes, and communities could form, Leviathans and humans were forced to interact. These encounters nearly always tipped in the favor of the Leviathans, that is until the first Star-Shapers. They were able to beguile the great animals, and some could even tame them permanently without having to give up some of the ages of their lives for a quick beguilement. The people of Malstray came to embrace living around the Leviathans Shapers tamed, and even the wild ones that still roamed the land, as both kinds carved out their own territories, and lived their own lives.
