Thoughts on my world?😆
Author: David Dave
CARNO — COMPLETE WORLD DOCUMENT
1. THE WORLD
Planet: Carno
Size: 43% larger than Earth in volume
Reason: Allows continental and world-level events without breaking the world’s believability
Layered Geography:
• Sky — inhabited by the wealthy (sky people)
• Surface — modern civilization, unaware of underground
• Underground — main setting, Jexling and factions
• Deep Underground — ancient ecosystem, monsters, Zvx-affected animals with no unique abilities
2. THE DREAMY STATE
A natural cognitive state all humans possess. It provides meaning, long-term patience, emotional continuity and importance. Jexling lose this permanently upon awakening chains. Effects of loss include weakened sense of self, ambition remaining but losing meaning, masking behavior, persistent feeling of wrongness and not belonging, inability to properly integrate with surface people, and structural inability to hope. The separation between those with and without the Dreamy State creates the psychological and ideological barrier between surface and underground — not a physical wall but a civilizational divide.
3. ZVX & THE POWER SYSTEM
Zvx cubes — small tesseract-shaped solid cubes. Color shifts to match individual psyche. Four types:
• Blue / Kari — physical, biological, chemical abilities, some defying normal physical laws
• Red / Hajik — non-physical, mental, psychic abilities
• White / Raha — spiritual, supernatural, neither body nor mind. Most rare.
• Black / Yahuld — unknown, unpredictable, random abilities with rules even their users may not understand. Most unpredictable.
Color indicates ability category, not specific power.
When inhaled, the user’s consciousness enters the Awaken Chains state — a dark grey landscape covered entirely in translucent hands and pairs of arms glowing in prayer position. Looking toward the thumb side reveals The Barrer.
4. THE BARRER
A gigantic multi-construction of hands. Two enormous hands extended upward, each with eyes on the palms. Its mouth is thousands of wriggling fingers. A long ancient wrinkled hand protrudes from the ground holding scales — the symbol of equivalent exchange. The Barrer does not speak, does not guide. It appears, takes something, grants something, disappears. Not all users can re-enter this state.
The praying hands covering the grey landscape are implied to be marks of previous exchanges — history written into the space itself.
5. POWER RANKS
Seven ranks indicated by a tongue of fire appearing above the user’s head when using their ability. Color matches their cube type. Clarity of flame indicates rank.
• R — flame looks like mist. Most basic.
• U — flame beginning to take shape. Beginner in training.
• Y — flame becoming stable. Progress in shaping ability.
• H — flame like a candle under sunlight. Fully trained in Asur Bodies.
• P — flame fully visible. Master level.
• S — flame with unique combination. Individual skill developed.
• M — flame burns brighter than a lightbulb. Total mastery.
Letters taken from the first letters of the names of the 7 Elects.
6. ASUR BODIES
A training method teaching six techniques:
Soul Search — sensing another person’s Zvx location. Higher strength can overwhelm or hide from detection. Can be reversed against the user.
Enhanced — maintaining a normal human appearance while the body is physically far beyond normal human capability, adapted to underground gravity and dim oxygen.
Selfness — controlling personal will to maintain Zvx output and prevent becoming a Traxe. A Traxe is an anomaly where the person ceases to be a person and becomes a creature running purely on Zvx instinct.
Stabilize — managing emotions, as emotional instability directly affects will, which affects Zvx reaction and ability expression.
Psyonic — shouting a power name creates a clear mental image of power output affecting body and will. Experts can also resist some mental tricks through this.
Domira — performing a perfect behavioral impression of surface people. Those who master this are called masked persons.
7. SAING SACRIFICE
A second re-entry into contact with the Barrer for existing Jexling only. Requires knowledge of a lost language to initiate. Provides a temporary boost to existing ability, lesser in effect than the original awakening, lasting only one day before disappearing as if it never happened. Only usable in tight situations by those who know the lost language. Very few people possess this knowledge.
8. SEEKERS
People who study ancient and lost languages. Their knowledge makes them uniquely valuable in relation to both Apoxtry interpretation and Saing Sacrifice access.
9. APOXTRY
18 physical structures scattered across the world, functioning as partial maps to the treasure. All 18 required for a complete understanding. Example form — pillar or tower structure. Located in dangerous environments, surrounded by monsters and Zvx-affected creatures.
Zvx cubes are the embers of Apoxtry — confirming authenticity and connecting the power system directly to the treasure map system. Every Jexling carries a fragment of something cosmologically significant.
Cannot be easily moved — earlier belief said it simply could not be moved, later belief evolved to say moving one causes consequences. Language contained within is rare, requires interpretation, and no direct translation exists. Meaning depends entirely on the interpreter.
10. THE TREASURE & THE MAN BEHIND THE WORLD
The Treasure — believed to represent ultimate fulfillment. Never confirmed. Appears to have will — whenever it is close to becoming pure myth, evidence of its existence re-emerges, keeping the pursuit alive and raising the question of whether it is real or constructed by accumulated belief.
The Man Behind the World — no confirmed identity. Exists as myth, belief, and evolving narrative across generations. The only planetary-level existence in Carno. Not truly human. The gap between him and the strongest humans is not merely one of degree but of kind. May be real, entirely distorted, or constructed over a million years of belief. The possibility that sustained belief and reality become indistinguishable at sufficient scale is left open.
Jexling chase the treasure not through hope — which requires the Dreamy State they no longer possess — but through the absence of everything else. It functions less like ambition and more like gravity. Whether they could even receive fulfillment if they found it remains an open and unanswered question.
11. TIMELINE
Total stated age of the treasure’s existence: 10,739,88 years — not confirmed as exact, represents generational transmission
• 500 years ago — Age of Machines: Modern technology begins. Jexling emerge and are recognized.
• 2,000 years ago — Age of the Great Revolution: Old gods and mythos challenged. Apoxtry discovered as mapped locations.
• 50,000 years ago — Age of Legends: Major myths form. Faction origins. The Man Behind the World and the Treasure begin as concepts.
• 1,000,000 years ago — Age of Stories: No reliable history. Only oral tradition and tribal myth remain.
General rule — information degrades over time. Older eras are less reliable. Beliefs mutate across generations.
12. POWER CEILING
• Normal Jexling maximum: Continental level
• Absolute world maximum among humans: World level, rare and conditional
• The Man Behind the World: Planetary level. The only existence of this scale. No human character may reach planetary — this is a hard rule with an enormous if attached even for world level.
13. THE FIVE FACTIONS
ORDANE VASELS
Goal — maintaining order and balance between surface and underground. Run by the Council of Elders, the 7 Elects. Handles Zvx anomalies — random animals and people consuming cubes — without the knowledge spreading to common surface population.
Ranks:
• F — lowest, bodyguards of the institution
• E — internal institutional business
• D — surface deployment, handling anomalies
• C — special clearance, partial information access
• B — internal affairs management
• A — special cases, strength grants freedom from most orders but obligated to direct orders from higher ups
• S — held only by the 7 Elects, unclimbable by normal means, holds partial political force on the surface
Special Classes:
• Sparta — elite guard groups, three units, among the strongest and most specialized professionals in the organization
• Special Forces — guards of rank S, sometimes evenly matched with rank A
HEADLESS HYDRA
A criminal organization formed from multiple gang factions unified under one structure. No permanent clear leadership — position climbing through violence is constant. The organization maintains balance even if most leaders die simultaneously.
Clearances:
• Clearance 1 — lowest recognized members, small illegal surface dealings
• Clearance 2 — blackmail operations, strict secrecy, spreading information means death
• Clearance 3 — control 4/10% of major underground entries, execute upper leader dirty work, can be hired by sky people
• Clearance 4 — dangerous information tier, darkest secrets, among the strongest units
• Clearance 5 — authority alpha, the leadership collective, self-regenerating structure
BLIND SUN
Religious fanatics believing Zvx and all related phenomena are divine action. The Barrer is their messenger angel. Forcibly recruit members, particularly targeting the homeless, by making them consume Zvx against their will.
Non-Arsenal Classes:
• Venerable — highest position, distinct individuals holding power both underground and surface
• Saints — title given posthumously to members of greatest belief
• Teachers/Preachers
• Members
• Folks
Arsenal Classes:
• Paladin — highest, described as alchemically enhanced with religious symbols, divine in blood, called the Lions of Kahur
• Holy Knights
• Warriors
• Soldiers
FROZEN LOTUS
An independent organization founded by Miss Folariya after comprehensive betrayal — parents sold her and her brother as children, brother attempted to kill her for leadership, lover revealed as a spy, own children attempted to take her position by force.
Grades:
• Common Grade — lowest
• Selected Grade — specific mastery
• Special Grade — most diverse group
• Unique Grade — directly managing the organization
Each grade has three levels — beginner, trained, mastery.
BLOOMING MASK
Newest but rapidly influential faction, operating on both surface and underground. Led by Keroyuki, the Thousand Face.
Levels: 1 through 10 stars
• 1-3 — lower levels, basic footwork
• 4-6 — intelligence gathering and processing
• 7-8 — management and powerful individuals
• 9 — strong ability users
• 10 — top level
14. THE 7 ELECTS
Ancient figures whose names and titles form the rank system. Currently the titles are held by people in power, not the original figures. Listed from lowest to highest political position:
1. Rayo Vanto — R
2. Unto Pratha — U
3. Yahambol — Y
4. Hari Yoka — H
5. Petro Gamina — P
6. San Yat — S
7. Mahaopta Venri — M
15. CHARACTERS
UPOI — THE FLAME EMPRESS
Born into a clan that values strength above all else, with no distinction between men and women. The clan has held the title of strongest clan for thousands of years. Training is brutal and efficient under the philosophy that pain is the teacher and every pain has purpose. From childhood Upoi silently asked why — she never wanted strength, she wanted comfort and safety, but received only one answer everywhere she looked. The title of strongest eventually absorbed everything that question represented, and when she didn’t reach it she pushed harder because that was all she was ever told to do. She is not numb or repressed — she is genuinely shaped. She has no third person view of her own situation, no framework to recognize what was done to her as damage. She simply pushes.
Ability: Fire manipulation
Named techniques: Molten Stone, Inferno Combustion, Dance of the Flaming Phoenix, Sun Lion’s Roar, Eye of the Heavenly Empress
Final form: Half face covered by a flaming dragon skull, body mass increased, flaming dress with phoenix feather design, two long feathers from her head
Rival: Folariya — their battle destroyed a 5,965 km² island, cracked two neighboring islands, lasted two weeks, ended only when Uyopto appeared and stopped it
FOLARIYA — MISS FROZEN LOTUS / LEADER OF FROZEN LOTUS
Founded Frozen Lotus after being betrayed by parents, brother, lover, and own children — each betrayal distinct in nature. Her power requires complete emotional absence to reach maximum potential, which sits in permanent tension with being a person defined by accumulated emotional history.
Ability: Hot Ice and Freeze Expand — functions as two abilities but is one
• Hot Ice — creates icy material that burns instead of freezes
• Freeze Expand — extreme freezing reaching approximately 200 degrees
Named techniques: Frozen Anguish, Freezing Lotus, Roaring Crystal Dragon, Frozen Crystal, Misty Snow Leopard Foot, Dance of the Celestial Nine Tailed Fox
Final form: Nine crystalline floating pillars above her like a crown, dress spreading to cover vast sea resembling ancient sleeping frozen dragons, body covered in silky cloth with dragon scale design, mass increased to roughly 32 feet
UYOPTO XIVRATO — CURRENT STRONGEST
Member of Ordane Vasels Special Forces, holds authority almost equal to rank S. Ended the two week battle between Upoi and Folariya by appearing alone, smiling, and telling them it was time to stop — without demonstrating any power at all.
Ability: Adaptability
Limit: 24 adaptations maximum
Rules: Must discard adaptations or perform sacrifice to continue. Overuse destroys the body. Adaptations expire over time.
VENERABLE FATHER THATOKUS — BLIND SUN
Single minded ideological conviction with no conventional moral framework — his own ideology is his truth, held without self deception or blind faith. He placed the Weeping Saint’s corpse as the fuel for his iron giant himself, viewing the saint’s lifetime of suffering as divine destiny now serving its purpose.
Ability: A gigantic moving humanoid iron chapel structure, 30 to 38 meters tall
Fuel source: The suffering of the Weeping Saint’s corpse — the more suffering fuel present, the stronger defense and offense, though speed relies on jumping and close combat agility rather than raw movement speed
Additional mechanic: Can absorb nearby metals to rebuild itself from damage. Each successful absorption reinforces Thatokus’s belief in divine gift.
PHARAOH OF DARKNESS — TAOHA
One of the longest standing leaders of Headless Hydra, continuing a family dynasty of criminal leadership across generations.
Ability: Darkness manipulation
• Absorbs light of any kind — no light penetrates his darkness
• Travels through shadows he has marked
• Conventional weapons have no effect on his darkness
• Can consume corpses with darkness to create an army — cannot control those stronger than himself or those with unique abilities
• Can create constructs from darkness
• Black hole suction capability
Bounty: 58.6B — 9th highest in the world
Sacrifice: Took his own wife’s heart as the exchange — his love being the only thing equal to him
AMUNTRO SAKA — THE CRIMSON CRESCENT DEMON
A legendary figure from long ago. The original holder of the title strongest. Created the concept of that title. Famous for mastery over every form of weaponry and the creation of his 12 Heavenly Weapons — each unique, no blind spots, functional in any environment.
Cost: Can never see the sun again
Revival: Summoned once by someone who paid with their own life, motivated by hatred and anger toward enemies
Post-revival changes: Now called the Crimson Crescent Demon. The 12 Heavenly Weapons became the 12 Demonic Ark — all offense, reduced coordination, no perfect defense. Suffers from severe motion sickness similar in effect to Natsu from Fairy Tail. His current form was shaped entirely by the summoner’s hatred — he did not choose this second existence.
KAHARAVIR
Criminally hunted on the surface for attacking and killing law enforcement and jury members. Not the strongest but financially powerful and psychologically terrifying to those close to him. Expert in using his ability for horror and psychological warfare. Holds high status through fear and money rather than raw power.
Ability: Keratin manipulation — creates dense strong constructs
Power source: Body fat — his fat is his power source, requiring him to maintain his size
Notable use: Extended fingernails, toenails and hair to the ground simultaneously — described as nightmarish, nearly exposed the underground to the surface
XERONVIB
One of the fastest people in the world. If someone counts from one to ten she has already covered every road in a large city twice.
Cost: Permanently sacrificed intelligence — her mental state is permanently that of a teenager
Personality: Stubborn, always running, avoids responsibility until consequences become too loud to ignore — and even then, consequences only whisper, never haunt. She is comfortable. She found something that works, mostly. She is not in constant horror as one might assume — the running functions. She cannot fully grasp what she lost, which means she cannot properly mourn it.
RANAMUNTRA
A rogue solo individual defined by accumulation of specific irreversible loss — parents killed and dismembered by a killer who ate them, wife died in his arms surrounded by fire and ash, daughter found violated and discarded in a ditch while he was gone thirty minutes, dog infected by a virus he had to shoot himself to spare it the worse death. Each loss specific. Each one a different kind of helplessness. The Dreamy State loss means he cannot rank these losses by importance — they all sit equally heavy. He is now hunting his enemies and anyone he finds guilty.
Ability: Strong telekinesis
Maximum scale: Can shake an entire city roughly 263,947 km² in rough estimation
Limitation: A mental limiter chain prevents explosion if he pushes too hard — built in either by the Barrer, the Zvx itself, or his own subconscious
Cost: Must lose a significant amount of blood every half month
THE BROTHERS OF HERGOOR
Identical twin brothers, each standing 10 feet tall. Sons of Hergoor, once the wealthiest pirate. After his death they took his wealth to the dry hills and deserts. Wild criminals who live entirely as they please. Not the brightest. Operate almost as a single unit.
Abilities: One controls electricity, the other controls water
Notable achievement: Took down a Paladin — one of the Lions of Kahur, alchemically enhanced with religious symbols — over three days and nights of unceasing combat. Victory was possible partly because it was a product of the Paladin title rather than a fully realized one.
Cost: Each brother must fight constantly, including each other, sometimes to near death
VELDAMOR
Once a powerful independent figure attempting to build his own faction. Recruited extensively but remained the sole pillar of strength within his group. Crushed by the combined pressure of the established factions. Internal conflict dissolved his organization after his defeat. Now homeless — missing one leg, one arm, half his body burned, one eye gone.
Ability: Electromagnetic creation and reshaping
Costs: Cannot directly touch the electromagnetic force. Must eat enormous quantities of food constantly as power relies entirely on food consumption.
TOROY HANACHU
A survivor hiding from all five major factions. Holds one secret about each faction — the reason for her bounty and her continued survival.
Ability: Transmutation of her own body — from 100 times larger than herself to 50 times smaller, applicable to everything including living matter
Limitation: Must return to her true form three times per day regardless of circumstances
True form: Appears as an old woman despite her actual age
Bounty: 3.7B — 20th highest in the world
TENNOR GATSEBA
Roams freely without aim. His foolishness leads to self harm and harm to those physically near him, which is why most factions leave him as a free man rather than attempt recruitment or capture.
Ability: Light reflection — strong
Cost: His idiocy is the source of his power — permanently unintelligent, the foolishness and the ability are the same thing
HEUTA VANHUNCIL — MC
From a rural tribal village. Daughter and granddaughter of the village’s richest man, who protected her from almost everything and whom she loved deeply. On the day of his funeral, still a teenager, her older brother — wheelchair bound, having lost both legs — approached her seemingly to offer comfort, then attacked her with fleshy tendril-like growths from where his legs should be. He told her he had watched her live comfortably while he suffered alone, that her eyes always held pity that made him feel like half a man, and vowed to make her understand he was still a man. She broke free using a broken wine bottle, fled to a forbidden room in her grandfather’s house, and found a small red cube. Her brother chased her through trees, threw a tree at her, and she fell from a tree down a snowy hillside. As she fell she accidentally swallowed the red cube.
Cube: Red — Hajik — mental and psychic abilities
Note: The forbidden room belonged to her grandfather, meaning he knew about Zvx. That secret died with him.
BERO HARATUBA — MC
A teenage orphan who was never adopted. Survived through multiple jobs and self-funded his own education with limited help. Physically not in the best shape. Tried to rescue a girl surrounded by boys, was slapped by the girl who had invited them, beaten near to death by the three boys. Refused hospital treatment despite his boss offering to pay, even knowing it was the right choice. Returned to his shabby apartment, looked at the sky city through ceiling cracks, wept. Knows his real talent lies elsewhere but does everything in opposition to it. Asked himself why he does this to himself. A black cube fell through the cracks from the apartment above and passed through his injured arm while he was distracted by his landlord calling his name.
Cube: Black — Yahuld — unknown, unpredictable abilities
Note: His real talent — what he knows he should be doing but isn’t — remains unspecified and important.
IJERIMA GARINDOIR — MC
From a major underground clan, always compared to his older brother who is widely considered perfect. Their relationship was genuinely good despite this. During a clan tradition requiring combat to death or surrender — surrender being deeply shameful — he was made to fight his own father, the clan’s strongest. After one round he surrendered. His father, enraged, moved to kill him. His older brother intervened and took a blade meant for him. The brother died before healers arrived but handed Ijerima something wrapped in cloth first. Ijerima was shamed, permanently marked on his forehead as no longer belonging to the clan. In a deep forest alone he unwrapped the cloth and found a white cube, which he consumed.
Cube: White — Raha — spiritual, supernatural abilities. Most rare.
Note: He carries his brother’s gift, his brother’s sacrifice, a permanent mark of rejection, and the shame of the surrender that caused everything. The three MCs hold red, black and white cubes. The fourth color — blue — remains unassigned to a protagonist.
16. THEMATIC CONSTANTS
• Truth degrades over time
• Interpretation shapes reality
• Power does not change a person — it reveals them
• Identity is fragile and easily lost
• Fulfillment may be misunderstood or structurally unreachable
• The people chasing ultimate fulfillment are those least equipped to receive it
• Belief sustained long enough may become indistinguishable from reality
• Wounds come before power — power reveals what the wounds already made