DETAILED DETAILS - SECTION OF THE ENCYCLOPEDIA INFINITA

  ROSSO

  The Scientist, the Heretic, the Rebel

  Rosso Broonus Regola, son of Red, son of Aka, is a young man from Lahl-Ah Land who befriends Roa during his travels. His father, a great researcher, was attacked by an angry crowd one day when trying to teach the village children about astronomy. He was supposedly burned at the stake. His mother died years prior of a treatable sickness but was left to worsen as the holy men of his village decided to pray for her instead, leaving him completely alone in his teenage years.

  Rosso represents the desire for truth and reason. He is a militant freethinker, who consumed by his anger against all religion, has shunned any form of spirituality, tradition and ritual from his life. He is also emotionally stuck, intellectualizing his problems instead of dealing with them from an emotional standpoint. Having lived his life according to the remaining notes from his father's work, he longs for closure, wandering the desert, looking for truth. When he meets Roa, he is on his way to find his father's old associates, who might provide him with the definitive answers he seeks about his dad.

  The inspiration for this character came from Giordano Bruno, the father of Freethought. He was burned at the stake for attempting to go against religious thought about the nature of the Universe, dying in a place called Campo de Fiori in Rome (field of flowers). Rosso means 'red' and wears a red cloak, symbolizing the fire that consumed one of the real-world heroes of truth.

  AURA AND THE GIFTS: AN INTRODUCTION

  The ability to use one's aura comes from a Free Person's inner nature. Are they in tune with their inner selves, and how much? If so, they can use their inner life force. Aura, also known as the soul of the Universe, exists within all things, including rivers, mountains, animals, plants and other people. However, it is this inner introspection that allows a Free Person to unlock it within themselves.

  Aura grows with meditation, it depletes with the use of Gifts, and replenishes by taking care of one's self through good sleep, healthy food, socializing, exercising and other aspects of a good lifestyle.

  'Gifts' is a fancy word for skills to manipulate one's aura. One manifests a Gift through two things. One, the knowledge of how to wield such a Gift. This comes from training, meditation and practice. Two, the user's inner reserves of aura. The more complex, intense, and powerful a Gift is, the more aura it will use. The same Gift can use more or less aura, as well. For example, the Loot Gift, uses more or less life energy depending on the amount of aura that is transferred from the user to the receiver.

  The Compass Gift: Follow Your Heart

  The Compass is the most widely-used and easiest Auric Gift to learn. It takes the absolute minimum amount of aura to use, and therefore can be manifested almost anywhere and by virtually anyone, even rookie Jumpers after some practice.

  By knowing what one truly desires deep in their hearts then focusing that energy outwards, from the heart into the hand and finally into the thumb, one can manifest a small, colorful flame of life energy. By doing a 'thumbs up' the user can then point, move and eventually gauge the path forward. This flame will change shape, color, intensity and movement, based on the direction it is pointed to, as well as the distance from the destination one's heart is seeking. The flame will extinguish when the user's heart wavers in desire, or their focus shifts to something else, clouding their thoughts.

  There is a caveat, however. The user must know what they want, to avoid following a confused trail that leads to the wrong things. The Compass only points to one destination, so knowing what one truly wants, above all else, is paramount to not getting lost, both in interdimensional travel, and in life.

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  EXITS

  Although their origin is a complete mystery, Exits appear in every world of the Innerverse. Some Exits come in and out of Existence at regular intervals, some often and some taking centuries, or perhaps, millennia. Others instead appear and disappear at unknown moments, although some seasoned travelers argue that it is just a matter of recording their pattern for enough time. Many Exits connect different worlds, while some connect the same plane of Existence, serving as shortcuts to weary travelers.

  Jumpers and Shadows are the only beings capable of seeing and using the portals to travel from one place to the next. Kami, including Grand Kami, while powerful beings of divine nature, are unable to see the Exits. The same goes for locals, who bound by limitations of perspective, are completely unaware of their existence.

  The act of traveling through an Exit is called 'jumping,' giving the name 'Jumper' to anyone who travels using these portals.

  Exits have numbers on them, although no apparent logic seems to exist concerning their order. The most important Exit is the one that leads to World Zero, also known as the Heart of Hearts, the Place Where All Things Meet, and the Core. This is the most sought-after Exit in the Innerverse, as both Shadows and Jumpers seek it out due to the legend of the Dreamer; the most powerful being who is able to grant any wish to anyone who manages to find its way to the mythical top of the Palace.

  THE CULT OF IGNORANCE OF DEFAULT WORLD

  The Theological Arm of the Default

  Default World is a complex society that spans a multitude of worlds. The system that it runs on, known by the Shadows as the Order of the Worlds, and by the Free as the Old Order, is extremely organized, divided into many specialized entities. One of these is referred to by the Shadows as the One True Creed, or by the Free as 'The Cult of Ignorance.' Supposedly led by a mysterious, religious figure called the Supreme High Priest, its goal is to ensure the adherence of the locals of Default World to the Cult. The theology revolves around the Word of the One Above, a set of ancient scriptures deemed to be perfect. The Free refer to these writings as the Books of Lies due to them being a vast collection of fantastical pasts that never occurred, wild claims of unscientific nature, and great, immoral rules pertaining to abominations such as slavery, misogyny, and more. The followers of the Cult are referred to as the Fantaseers by the Free, for their shared ignorance in seeing fantasies instead of reality for what it is.

  The Cult in Lahl-Ah Land and the Holy Desert Fathers

  In World Five, Lahl-Ah Land, the Old Order left behind a local subsidiary of the One True Creed. While Shadow presence is almost completely gone in that world, some of the Default's systems of control have stayed behind, evolving on their own with time.

  The Cult's managers there are called the Holy Desert Fathers, men who interpret the scriptures falling from the skies during Page Storms. These often-nonsensical writings, are twisted and cherry-picked to serve the Fathers' agenda, often allowing them to gain wealth, power, and influence over local governments and affairs. The scriptures are said to come from a deity the locals call the God of Letters, also known as the Author Above, although its existence has never been proven.

  HISTORIES OF THE INNERVERSE - SECTION OF THE ENCYCLOPEDIA INFINITA

  HISTORY OF WESTERN WASTE, LAHL-AH LAND WORLD

  The Rector of the Library has received local historical records from one of the largest, yet most desolate worlds in the Innerverse. Known as World 5, due to it being the fifth one discovered by the First Jumpers in the Everago, it is known as Lahl-Ah Land by the locals. The following is an excerpt from the local historical records:

  The history of Western Waste is long and complex, however, due to the environmental cataclysm of the previous centuries, and all the Human suffering it has caused, much of the records have gone lost. Ancient maps and books reveal that Western Waste was once known as Tharill, a lush, green expanse filled with cloud forests, rivers and an immense, sweet water lake. Most of the fauna has disappeared as habitats collapsed since the Desert came. The Tharn, a large, flightless, migrating bird, is among the few species that has managed to survive the cataclysm.

  Among the things that survived, one can also find the trade routes of the caravans of Western Waste. Connecting most Human settlements, these routes span the length of the Waste, from Mount Gash in the north, Red Rock Canyons in the south, and the City of Skar in the east. The trade is centered around food products, salvaged material from the Great Before, and the exchange of slaves captured during the Holy Wars of the Author in the Sky.

  Tharill was once filled with diverse, colorful cultures. Unfortunately, many died off as the Desert came, when their livelihoods were slowly extinguished. The rest were hunted down by stronger tribes, who one by one, joined the One True Creed. In the current age, Western Waste is almost completely barren of both natural, cultural or religious diversity. With the establishment of the One Religion, education, science and inquiry has been made almost completely illegal, punishable by imprisonment or even death.

  Find out what happens in the next exciting chapter of The Greatest Fight!

  X1.3.1 - The Never-ending Symphony