"Step down, Seraph." Celeth spoke coldly as he approached the podium. He would take a rigid, frozen posture behind it, his speech that of an arrogant professor's lecture to an audience of unworthy simpletons.

"It should be noted that while we know little of the creators, it is apparent that either they were extraordinarily long-lived or their descendants possessed their power as well. The four quadrants were not created in rapid succession, but over a process of two or three millennia. As the average lifespan of even the dragonborn," a slight glare toward Angel, "is only four to five centuries without the Emperor's Gift** - far less for most of us - it is questionable whether the creators were the same from one quadrant to the next."

Celeth then gestured back to the projected image of the Alpha quadrant. "Now. The Alpha quadrant bore a critical flaw. Its surface depth is shallow, and the land yields little in the way of resources, or at least those requisite for a technologically advanced society. Hence the creation of Beta." Instead of a signal to Iris, Celeth simply raised a hand and the projector's image shifted. "A mass of manastone and various metals, the Beta quadrant was originally created as a resource cache. It is a spherical, semi-hollowed shell of rock with a single starglobe at the top and no Nightbringer chain. Our theory is that Beta was never meant to be inhabited. However, when expansion is possible, expansion will occur. This led to the creation of the Wellspring, as Beta had no water source of its own." Celeth paused briefly, realizing his predecessor had omitted something very important.

"At this point, one should note that all these details are the product of archaeological study and educated theory. Not only do we know little about the creators themselves, but we have no records and our evidence is largely anecdotal. Logical progression would dictate, however, that this be explained once we reach the subject of chronological history." He sent desultory glance in Victor's direction before continuing.

"Moving right along," the projector would shift again. "The most prominent theory behind the creation of the Gamma quadrant is the need for further expansion. A chain of islands and small subcontinents suspended in air inside an elliptical field, the very nature of Gamma presents more questions than it answers. Just as Beta, it is powered by a single starglobe, although a much more powerful one. Nightbringers are again present, in the form of the Evermorn chain, which is uninhabitable by most species due to their extreme surface temperature. However, in Gamma, all the airborne landmasses rotate around a central axis, and due to this rotation, the day-night cycles differ from one isle to another. For example, daylight in the Solarfall chain begins five hours sooner on the Alpha isle than the Omikron isle. We have very few substantial theories to explain Gamma's unique construction, and even those suggest it was most likely an experiment."

The projector shifted once more, to Delta. "Finally, the Delta quadrant is a hollowed shell much like Beta, but fundamentally different in nature and purpose. The starglobe is positioned directly in the center, as well as an inverse gravitational well that pushes out toward the inner surface. It is the only quadrant which features this sort of gravity, suggesting that the process was only developed after the creation of the other three quadrants. The surface is composed of a series of tectonic plates, and from that we surmise that Delta was an experimental attempt to simulate, as closely as possible, the nature of a typical 'blue planet'. The day-night cycle exists here as well, created by another new development: the starglobe itself waxes and wanes in power output on a set schedule. Some notes and transcripts exist, our only such records from any quadrant, which indicate that Delta was a work in progress for an extremely long time. Tremendous earthquakes due to faulty construction of the tectonic plates were once a near constant. Even with stabilization pylons in place, the problem has not been completely eliminated, and mild quakes still occur on occasion."

Celeth then stepped down and returned to his seat without so much as word, until Angel, Iris and Victor all looked to him expectantly.

"I have explained the science, as requested." The frozen orbs turned toward Angel again, "and I do believe your eidetic Gift** places you in the best position to teach history lessons."

((** See "Past and Present"))

((Total OOC post, obviously))

The history post will eventually get made, although it's incredibly difficult to put together. In the meantime, I thought it would be a good idea to make a FAQ of sorts, with some of the things people ask from time to time. If there's anything this doesn't answer, or if any of the answers only beget more questions, feel free to ask, I may even post it here.

Q: How did you come up with all this?
A: I steal ideas as I see fit and incorporate them as I go along, although I do heavily alter them to fit my vision.
- The concept of four worlds connected by gates was stolen from the Death Gate Cycle by Weis & Hickman. It's a great series and you should read it. It's different in many ways obviously - the worlds in the DGC were created by the sundering of a planet. My Quadrants are all separate constructs that were created to support expansion and provide materials and energy for the others.
- Seraphs (the next question, which will also be answered in more detail in this post) are heavily influenced by Wolverine and Archangel from the X-Men, as well as the Borg from Star Trek. Early model Seraphs actually had eyepieces instead of the implanted cybernetic eyes.
- The concept of my nanomachines was inspired by Star Trek as well, although more so by the Metal Gear Solid video game series. All Seraphs possess them, but most others do too in the more developed nations. They are mandatory in Straphia for many reasons, not all of them particularly humane. Of my current characters, however, only Victor and Melinda have them. There are different grades of nanos with different capabilities and purposes.

Q: What is a Seraph?
A: An engineered supersoldier. The program has been around for about two thousand years, and the current active seraphs have either 18th or 19th generation augments. There is a lot of detailed information in Victor's profile, as it is essential to his skills section. They make up a very small percentage of Straphia's military, as the program requires a 50-year service commitment. The augmentation and training of a seraph costs over a billion credits, so the government wants a significant return on the investment. At any given time, there are about 100,000 seraphs in active military service. That number has been fairly steady for the last three centuries or so. Trevor II Kazon was the prototype seraph, and until the last few generations, most of Victor's ancestors have been involved in the program.

Q: What is a Verchani?
A: Verchani are a race of humans which make up about 90% of the Quad's human population, and 70% of the overall population. They are the descendants of the original colonists who settled there after the Creators built Alpha. The signature traits of the Verchani are fair skin, blue or gray eyes, and silver hair that sometimes turns black with age. Unlike most races, male and female Verchani have no significant difference in height. The average for both sexes is 72 inches, or 6 feet. Their average lifespan is between 200 and 240 years, although this is dependent (as it is in the real world) on technology, medicine, nutrition, and many other factors. The nomadic tribes of Upper Delta tend to live far shorter lives than the people of Straphia, for example.

Q: What other races are there in the Quad?
A: Most of what you'd see in a typical fantasy setting. Elves, Dwarves, Dragons, Gnomes, and many others. They are all minorities and have arrived through various methods. With the exception of Beta, the quadrants have very open policies to settlers from other worlds, whether they arrive through the Sigil gate or space travel. Other races of humans also exist, and in some places have intermingled quite successfully with the native Verchani. Gamma in particular is a melting pot of many races. Celeth is a prime example of this, although he is a rarity even by their standards.

Q: So, what's the deal with Angel and Iris, exactly?
A: Nearly 22,000 years ago, a great war had erupted between the Alpha, Gamma and Delta quadrants. King Lythos III of Sintherrata began a series of peace accords that finally ended this war, and sealed what would later become known as The Union by marrying Iris I Silivistar, queen of the Azure dragon clan. Their wedding was blessed by Tharos, the god of Life and Light. The child they conceived was given the "Emperor's Gift", a great power that would make their heirs immortal until they chose to pass it to the next generation. This new imperial line was given the name Avarian, or "Dragonborn". Three children were born to them: Eltar, Silas, and Mithril. Silas murdered Eltar in order to gain the Gift, but Lythos and Iris intervened and it fell to Mithril. For this, Silas killed his parents as well, and waged a war with Mithril that lasted for decades. Mithril eventually won this war and ruled for over fifteen thousand years before he ascended as the god of Justice and Law. He added his own power to the Gift, and the bearer becomes his Avatar. Angel is his only living descendant, and the current bearer of the Emperor's Gift. Iris II, the character you see here, is the eldest descendant of Iris I. The two are cousins by blood. By rights, Angel is the Emperor of Sintherrata, and Iris the Queen of the Azure. However, the Alpha quadrant was invaded by a demonic legion 26 years ago and reduced to ruin. They live in exile while they attempt to unite the other three quadrants and gather whatever allies they can to free Alpha from its occupiers.

Q: Victor and Melinda are so high-tech, while Angel, Iris, and Celeth are more fantasy oriented. Why is that?
A: Really, the entire Quad is a high-tech environment, especially in the larger, richer cities and nations. The difference in perception stems mostly from the fact that Victor is much more visibly technological, and that Melinda is more obvious due to her line of work. That said, however, the Quad IS, in a sense, still very much a fantasy-style world - imagine, if you will, a setting like Forgotten Realms, 20,000 years in the future.

Q: So how does this stuff work?
A: A lot like what we have in the real world, only the power source is magic. The Quad is constructed primarily from a substance called Manastone, which can store arcane energy like a battery. Obviously with a power source such as this, no thought has ever been given to ideas such as nuclear fission/fusion or the burning of fossil fuels. Many of the creations resulting from their technological efforts are just like what we have. There is media (television, for example), there are vehicles, gadgets, and even a long-standing space program (which is how the people of the Quad discovered RhyDin, as they have no direct connection to the Nexus).

Q: In a world that seemingly lacks social gender inequalities, why are women more powerful and favored sorcerers?
A: The Quad's gods of magic are a council of three. Two are female. That said, it is not true that any given woman will be more powerful in magic than any given man. Women, on average, simply have a higher overall potential. Of the 928 in history granted the title of Vindra (the highest order of sorcerers), over six hundred have been female.

Q: What's with the roman numerals in everyone's name?
A: It signifies how many before them had that name, much like royalty does in many countries in the real world. (Queen Elizabeth II, for example, is the 2nd British queen named Elizabeth.) In the Quad this practice is not unique to any rank or class, and is a cultural staple of the Verchani in particular.

The newest one (as this just happened)
Q: Why did Victor change his name?
A: Patriarchy, a very common social disorder even in our modern world, does not exist in the Quad and has not for millennia. Most married couples do not change their name unless they are marrying into a higher house, and this is equally common among males as it is among females. As Anyanka comes from an ancient line that predates his own (and even predates his world, for that matter), he adopted her name in tribute.