Astraea
From WOiD Wiki
Astraea is the name of the world on which the RPG World Only in Dreams (WOiD) takes place. It is a world rich with life, oddities, and myths, where it becomes difficult to be certain of what is real and what is rumor.
The name Astraea is also used by the main administrative account in the WOiD forums.
The World
A wide range of living forms can be found in the world of Astraea, including flora, fauna, and beings of varying levels of intelligence. Documentation is an ongoing process, and there is no certainty as to how complete any listing may be even after thousands of years. Many lifeforms have proven to be highly dangerous, and others are particularly elusive.
The most numerous and widespread of the races of Astraea seems to be humans, though it is uncertain as to why this is the case. Some believe that the technical and adaptive abilities of humans affords them an advantage; others say that it is the humans' spirit of persistence, and still others feel that it is simply because other races simply aren't bothered enough by humanity to wipe it out, or variations of that idea.
In any case, it is noteworthy that while humans seem most numerous of the sentient races, they also seem to be mostly ignorant of the other sentient races which share their world. The existence of the "supernatural" (magic, psionic abilities, non-human races, etc) has only recently leaked into the realm of public awareness among humanity, with the majority still relegating such phenomena to the realm of legend. For years previous, such concepts had eluded all but select groups, such as demon-hunting clans and Panther Corp, who long worked outside public knowledge so as to avoid inducing mass hysteria. Typically, non-human races conceal their existence from humans for one reason or another; however, suspicions have grown through the ages, and it is uncertain how much longer it will be before humanity fully accepts that it is not alone on Astraea.
Human cities speckle the main continent, most of them fairly large and surrounded closely by smaller dependent towns. While many cities qualify as small self-governed territories after centuries of steady growth and rebuilding, they are generally considered as unified city-states. The largest of these city-states is Nova Terra, a major center of trade, technology, and learning which wields considerably more power than most other territories. Its main competitor is Risengard, a large sovereign territory which is governed by a monarchy.
Though Nova Terra, Risengard, and a few of the other cities have outposts at various locations around the world, little more than the world's surface appearance is known. Those who tend the outposts often don't remain long, either because they strongly disliked it or they are killed. People who man the outposts spend most of their time checking various defenses (many outposts having been destroyed or simply vanishing though the years), and study the land and its plants and animals when they can.
