The name of all the nested worlds united as one planetoid. Strata consists of five worlds, the Lands Above, Escarpa, Pergola, Asthenia, Tenebrous and, at the very center, the Null Void. There are three moons and probably one sun. The worlds are connected by shafts of crystal called phenocrysts, most running all the way down to the darkest world near the very core. Crystals are abundant in Strata, and they grow like mountains in the lands above and are omnipresent in the core of the planet. Phenocrysts were invented by a person called Tor I in the Unity Period. From what information about Strata there was in TP, the Unity Period was a time when all the worlds were united under one central ruler from the Lands Above. This might’ve caused some internal strife, and over time, the worlds drifted apart. Tor I (that’s Tor-the-first, not Tor-i, that’s plural for a shape that looks like a donut) may be related to Torin, but the amount of time between the two is uncertain and therefore unconfirmed.
The last time a phenocryst was used prior to Torin’s quest was in the ostracizing of Lycentia. Accused for a crime she didn’t commit, she was banished to the Lands Below (strangely, the Lands Above have no real title, whereas the Lands below do). She spent nearly twenty years in a makeshift home in the Null Void before Torin arrived and released her.
The land in which you start your journey with Torin. TLA is a fertile, earth-like sphere with oceans, lakes, rivers and one central city called Crystal City. Formerly ruled by Torin’s parents, the King and Queen of Crystal City, before they were murdered by Pecand, a man probably trusted by them at one time, but turned out to be a traitor. Torin was rescued by his nanny, Lycentia, but Kurtzwell, the leader of the council, was tempted to accuse her of murdering the couple, but couldn’t find enough evidence to convict her. Lycentia was still banished to the Lands Below and returned to the Lands Above after Torin broke the Ostracizing Collar that prevented her from escaping.
The flora and fauna in the Lands Above is diverse and unusual, including talking snails, caffeine-laced slugs, odd, reddish vines that grow sharp, metallic, plate-like spines, and bushes with leaves that bear the symbol of two crescent moons and one full moon in the center. There are also trees that have square roots and mountains that become crystalline at the peaks. The main inhabitants are humans, with a society similar to the Middle Ages on Earth. It is a beautiful land, but the inhabitants have lived under the illusion that the Lands Below are dangerous, full of insanities and uninhabitable. Torin discovered that in fact, all the worlds (except Asthenia) were a lot more beautiful than anything he could’ve imagined.
The second nested world of Strata, similar to TLA except all the cities are built up the sides of steep, precarious cliffs, connected by bridges and stairways. The small area Torin adventured through was probably only a tiny bit of the sphere. Like its enclosing world, Escarpa has rivers and streams running down the mountains and oceans as well. The phenocryst chamber is one of the most intact and maintained in all of Strata (seconded only by the one in TLA), but unfortunately with no source of Erredy Powder. The door to the phenocryst chamber is blocked by a three-by-three stone grid. Torin was forced to find all nine tiles in order to gain access to the chamber.
Escarpa is ruled by King Rupert and his sarcastic wife, Di. Their daughter, Leenah, is quite different from everyone in Escarpa, in fact, she looks a lot like Torin, as he discovered. At the time of Torin’s journey, she had adventured into Pergola, the world below Escarpa, and been captured by the tiny natives. Torin managed to rescue her and developed a close friendship before their ways parted. Torin went on to Asthenia and Leenah went back to Escarpa.
The people and animals of Escarpa are often difficult to tell apart. The humanoid inhabitants are quite short and hairy, quite the opposite from their escalating fortresses. The animals there are also highly intelligent, and can communicate with other humans as well. The animals of Escarpa can be as grotesque as a two-headed vulture, but there are also some beautiful and unique creatures there.
This world is covered by forest, tall, enormous trees that create a soft roof of leaves overhead, pierced by the shard-like phenocrysts. There are also oceans (as in most of the worlds), cascading waterfalls and tropical streams. There are few mountains, most of the geography is flat and rainforest-like.
The natives are much smaller than the humans of the lands above or even Escarpa. They are hardly taller than a hand’s width, and have purple-hued skin. Their culture is similar to the natives of tropical lands on Earth, building small, clustered cities or small, round huts that cling to the roots of trees or larger cities similar to Medieval fiefs. The largest city houses the only complete phenocryst chamber on Pergola, which, prior to Torin’s and Leenah’s arrival, was inaccessible. With the help of the small people of Pergola, Torin was able to access the two-way phenocryst and send Leenah (who had previously been captured by the Pergolans) back home to Escarpa, while he went onwards to Asthenia.
The fourth world of Strata is remarkably different from any of the others. The landscape is comprised of molten lava and hot rocks creating land masses. There is no water, and yet there are signs of human inhabitants. Any people that lived in this barren world had vanished at the time of Torin’s arrival. The incoming and departing phenocryst chambers are surprisingly intact, with the former including a sign saying "Welcome to Asthenia." On the same island as the incoming phenocryst chamber, there is an abandoned hut carved into the rock wall and several different forms of stationary battle machines. One is something that resembles a miniature golf course that dispenses stone cannonballs, the other is a catapult to launch the cannonballs. Torin used the latter to launch himself into the next section of Asthenia, which is a seemingly endless maze of strips of rock edged by hot lava which leads to a machine that is probably tapped into the inner layers of the planet, since it dispenses water.
Beyond the device there is a barren lake of lava with an odd pedestal in front of it on solid ground. When a button on the pedestal is pushed, a number of perfectly aligned stone slabs rise out of the lava, creating a path to the other side of the lake. Adventurers who jump on these stones should take care, for only a few seconds after they are on the rock, the stone sinks back down into the lava. When enough stones are sunk into the lava, the bridge running from the other side to the phenocryst chamber will be accessible, but only if enough of the slabs are downed. The phenocryst is sealed, and opening it involves directing a beam of light across a nearby console.
The fifth and final world of Strata, and possibly the most isolated as well. There is no real ruler, and the ruling system seems similar to a democracy (like the United States). The culture is similar to 20th Century Earth, with a system of judgment and a courthouse. It is also the smallest world and the sunlight that reaches it is quite small. Perhaps different forms of light are created, but the exact reason why it isn’t pitch black in Tenebrous is uncertain.
This world is indeed among the unusual, with tall, broad, tree-like stone columns attaching the ground to a stony shield surrounding it. Like Asthenia, there is no visible source of water, yet the people and plants thrive. The phenocryst chamber is one of the most non-maintained in the whole planet. It has been converted into a storage room with stacked crates and paint cans and pipes running along the walls. This was rudely revealed to Torin when he transported into Tenebrous and smashed into a nearby pipe, knocking himself out until Boogle revived him. The room seems to have no real exit except the vent shaft near the roof, which leads into blackness and then straight down, not far enough for Torin to kill himself, but far enough to create a human-shaped imprint in a field of grass and being arrested for cruelty to plants.
Plants are very rare in Tenebrous, mostly because they are capable of speech and emotions. One of their chief "predators" is an odd species of silkworm called chameleon silkworms, which are capable of creating a copy of any color they are placed on. The humanoid inhabitants of Tenebrous are taller than Escarpans, but shorter than people like Torin. Their skin is pale and yellowish, and none of them have very much hair, even the females. This is probably because of the world’s location, which doesn’t allow for much sun to penetrate. The other inhabitants besides the people and the plants are all kinds of animals, most being capable of speech, including small rabbits, giant centipedes and other odd creatures.
Tenebrous also boasts the only direct route to the Null Void, the core of the planet of Strata. Tossing a person into the Void is something that is only done when one has been charged of a serious crime, such as Torin and Lycentia.
The very core of Strata. It is basically a hollow sphere (the inside of Tenebrous) coated with crystal shards with no gravitational pull. This is because the void is located at the center of the planet, and gravity pulls from all directions, creating weightlessness. Lycentia was banished to the Null Void after being accused of kidnapping Torin many years before Torin was ironically tossed in as well. Torin was able to navigate through the Void using a set of bagpipes he "borrowed" form the Amphitheater in Tenebrous, finally making his way to Lycentia’s house, a small cave bored into the wall of the Void.
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