Unfeasted
THE LIGHTLESS takes place…well here. This is Unfeasted. And you may be asking yourself, “do I recognize the shape of this continent?” If so, your grade-school teachers and your internet browsers deserve a raise! This is Pangea…well my version of it anyways.
The LFZ and L.F.O.
If you look at the top and bottom of the map, you’ll see the Great Partitions, the walls that were erected after the Encroachment, in order to keep humans separated from animals and Leviathans. The area within the Great Partitions, where humanity lives, is known as the Leviathan Free Zone. The walls are protected by Leviathan Safety Organization encampments that are dispersed along each Partition, and a few of the larger L.S.O. bases of operation lie here as well. The continent is divided into nine Quadrants, starting from the top left, moving right, and then down to the bottom. THE LIGHTLESS is set in Quadrant One, in a few of the central and eastern towns: Morrowtown, Sorrowville, Jawsedge, and Halestock.
Greed and the Breeding of Ignorance in the Face of Power
Shifting your focus onto what lies beyond the Great partitions, you will see vast quantities of undisturbed land. This is where all animals now live, besides small critters and of course birds and insects. Public hunting is illegal, as all meat is either farmed by the L.S.O., or hunted by them inside the Great Partitions. Leviathan meat is inedible, unfortunately. The L.S.O. is extremely controlling over all aspects of Unfeasted, and they are the sole power on the continent, undisputed, and unrestrained. Any spark of revolution within the people is swiftly stamped out. Times have been better for the L.S.O., however, as Leviathans continue to slip through their walls and into society. Their already meager trust grows thinner by the day in the minds and hearts of the people of Unfeasted. How much longer will their iron grip on society last? What would become of Unfeasted if the L.S.O. is removed from their ivory towers? If the Great Partitions fall even further into disrepair?
Rich or Poor, Humans are Humans
A final note. Turning your attention to the vast and various cities and towns that make up the nine Quadrants, you will see that civilization is booming (or has boomed). Hardly is there any room left for expansion in most Quadrants, especially the richer ones. War has been minimal over the past few decades, allowing a mostly peaceful existence for Unfeasted’s people, not accounting for the recent uptick in Leviathan attacks and disturbances. The L.S.O. owned most of the military, save for a few reserve squads, and where they were paid handsomely to, they would respond to disturbances swiftly, angrily, and with explosive force. Leviathans have become such a problem that the L.S.O. has developed an entire economic system from responding to the situations they themselves should have prevented in the first place. The places that could afford the highest taxes from the L.S.O. were protected with state of the art weaponry, fences, mines, 24/7 personnel, etc. And in the places where no such taxes could be afforded, or the bare minimum, a meager promise of officers from that Quadrant’s L.S.O. branch would be dispatched to handle situations by hand and in person (usually with shotguns and grit, rather than helicopters and heavy machine guns).
The Verdict
Up may soon become down in Unfeasted, unless radical change is at last allowed to be made. But, who will be the one to enact such a change? Is there such a person? Or has Unfeasted extended beyond its allotted timeframe, and it is only a matter of time now before the Leviathans will come to take their home back from humankind?
