This is a brief introduction to the world I am building for my novel: Magic of the Ancestors.
Earthling, let me tell you of the world I hail from...
The World of Kab
You may not know this but most planets in the universes are alive. The People of Kab called their planet-being Akna.
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Akna has witnessed and lived through six mass extinctions in her three billion years. The first five were natural but the last was not. The last had been caused by a single species: the walkers. The survivors of the War of Poison Fires had gone underground where they lived for a hundred, hundred winters in a world without the kiss of Father Sun.
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Although Akna had been able to recover from the former mass extinctions, she had been unsuccessful in all her attempts to reestablish a harmonic resonance after the War of Poison Fires. Her only hope of survival rested with the descendants of those who had poisoned her.
As a last resort, Akna sent a message to all those hiding below her surface on Turtle Island.
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If the walkers--The People as they called themself--wished to keep their magical talents, their obligations, they must do three things. First, they must emerge from the darkness and live under the light. Next, they were to find and speak to the Jajibôba, the Travelers, for they knew the key to restoring her health and, thus, maintaining their magic. And third, they must promise to put Akna's wellbeing, the planet’s health, above their own desires. ​
With the knowledge gained from the Jajibôba, sages built portal bridges between Kab and five parallel, twin worlds. One of those twins is your planet: Earth. On each of these mirror worlds, the walkers had discovered iron and then chosen to pillage and poison their planet. Sickened and weakened, each of their planet-beings died before the walkers became extinct.
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These one-way bridges transport people from those now magically-dead, mirror worlds to Kab. Only those people who resonate with magic are transported across the bridges.. It is the frequency of the magic, not the person, that attracts the portal to bring them to Kab. For it is elemental balance which Akna seeks and the portals provide.
​Every newcomer, or cheechako, has at least one obligation; most have two, a few have more. In an effort to be kind, Akna insisted that the bridges be designed so that cheechakos do not remember their old life. All cheechakos be free from the sorrow of losing their families and their place in the world. However, each person does retain "learned knowledge" such as education, abilities, and skills.
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The bridges, built to operate for eons, are still stable. However, time from one end of a bridge to the other, is not. A cheechako can be transported to a time that is decades or hundreds of years in the past or the future compared to the world they came from. ​
​This twist has resulted in a world where the power of crystals, steam fission, and the natural vibrations of the universe are the source of power behind technology.
Kab’s fauna and flora are also imbued with magic. Some of these creature's abilities are useful to the people, some are benign, but all are valued.
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Science, magic, and nature are equally acknowledged and respected on Kab.
Turtle Island
The mass of land that is called North America on Earth, is known as Turtle Island on Kab.
Turtle Island was never colonized by the People Across the Great Waters of the East: the Europeans and Spaniards. The most likely reason for this is that the genius of the Mayans survived and thrived. As they and their knowledge migrated north great stone cities were built. Their technology continued to grow and expand and rivaled that of any other around the globe.
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Unlike Earth, on Turtle Island, the People's culture was allowed to grow and evolve without the toxin of colonization. Over time, as populations grew across all the continents, borders were agreed upon and Nation-States were created. There are 44 Nation-States on Turtle Island. Each with its own clans, tribes, languages, ceremonies, and culture. But they all belong to the Great Nation of Turtle Island. The common language is Athapascan-Diné.
Cultural mores throughout the Great Nation are focused on protecting Akna, the planet, and all the creatures put under The People's care. The Law Above All Laws states: That no other law can be made that does not support seven generations forward and seven generations back.
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This has resulted in a land and way of life that values All That Is over the individual.