The World

The World is one of the Game Mechanics in Seven: The Days Long Gone.

Description
It's the world that's outlived the end of an advanced civilization. Humanity has fought its way into a second medieval period. In this era, a man named Drugun was born, who saw value in scavenging feared Ancient artefacts and using them for his own ends. Powers granted to him by the Artefacts he discovered allowed him to establish the most powerful empire of the new world - the Vetrall Empire.

The Story
Sure, yeah, sit down, take a load off and have a drink. I’ll tell you how this beautiful shithole called Peh came into existence.

When all is said and done, when the ashes of humanity’s mistakes have settled again, nature goes back to work, cleaning and patching up the wounds we’ve left on the Earth. But there are always those who’d rather fight nature’s work, ripping the old wounds open again.

Yep, you’re right. There are still fools enough to do such a thing, even now. Why? Well, a long time ago, our forefathers wanted to bring God down to the earth, drag him down out of the heavens to answer for all of our suffering. Did it work? Look around you, that’s how well it worked. Those poor sods screwed up, and I want to know how. Lucky for me, there’s lots of places to look for answers.

Not everyone’s happy about me rummaging through these once-buried cities. Sure, it’s illegal, yeah. But to be honest, ‘illegal’s kind of an understatement when you consider what the Inquisition Tribunal will do to you if they catch you mooching around out there. On the other hand, what choice is there? Could you steal from mothers with starving children? Or be happy starving yourself? Nahh, I reckon it's better to rob the dead and burgle their cities than steal or starve. Least you don’t have to worry about whatever horseshit the Biotek Order is currently trying to convince you of.

I know, friend, I know. But look – this whole plateau, Peh included, was worth less than a rat’s liver at a cryo auction. And then lo and behold, the earth rumbled and shook, cracked and exploded, and farted out these impossible buildings with their metal pipes full of magic and weaponry only the Technomagi understand.

Those who survived and had enough brains were long gone before the Vetrall soldiers arrived, with those metal damn freaks. Whoever they caught was convicted of heresy on the spot, because of "potential exposure to unwanted elements". Ha! Irony is, once they’d put their walls up around the whole Goddamn mess, they sent these so-called heretics back in for a bit of good ol' fashioned back-breaking labour. And between that and the threat of death from magical poisoning came the same lies that have always been told – work is good for you, work hard, work hard enough and if you find just the right thing you’ll be freed. The song remains the same, friend. It’s only the singers that change.

Huh? How did I end up in here? Well shit, that ain’t no mystery. I walked up to them guards outside and politely asked if our beloved Emperor Drugun hadn’t made up their entire holy scripture while sitting on the crapper. They laughed, I laughed, they kicked my face in and threw me inside. Fair trade if you ask me. ‘Cos you know what? Heh. That fat sack Drugun isn’t the only one looking for something in them buildings...

The Community
The world of Seven is inhabited by a diverse society that won’t always remain indifferent to your presence, so getting on peoples’ good side is not a bad idea. Life is tough in Peh, and a few well-chosen friends and allies can mean the difference between pay-dirt and a dirt nap.

Winning the confidence of the people you meet brings all sorts of advantages – an extra hand in a fight, an extra brain with a difficult problem, and at the end of a hard day’s artefact hunting and dodging the Emperor’s anti-Heresy squads, a safe place to rest and stash some extra stuff. There’s no place like home, right?

By the same token, not everybody you meet needs or wants a new friend, and there are plenty of people out there who’ll be more than happy to ignore you or use you as far as they can, and maybe even put one in your back when they’re done. To survive in Peh, you’ve got to be smart. Don’t jump to conclusions. Listen. Look before you leap (especially if you’re being chased across rooftops at night). Listen to peoples’ problems, help those who need it and keep a close eye on those who don’t. You can use what you know to your advantage, turning enemies against each other, or just for doing a little good wherever you go. The choice is yours.

Of course, sometimes it’s not possible to turn the other cheek, to walk away from some ugly mutt who’s just questioned your mother’s heritage, or to ignore a squad of Vetrall soldiers dishing out a beating to some poor urchin in an alley. That’s when you’ll find out who’s really paying attention. Did you just rid a small town of its local drunken bully, earning the gratitude of all around? Or perhaps you just plugged a slightly obnoxious but nonetheless useful man, and have earned the ire of his friends and neighbours. Fight the fights if you have to, but pick them wisely – a victory today may be a loss tomorrow, or another win on a different day. You never know.

Sometimes though, it’s not just the people you have to watch out for, but the world itself. Rain, storms and bad weather make it hard to see, and muffle a lot of sounds too. Anyone who happened to be, say, looking for you, might have a hard time finding you under such conditions. Of course, that may not be a problem, depending on who’s doing the looking.

Just remember to keep an eye on the sky when you make your plans. Getting away with anything in broad daylight is always going to be more tricky when everyone around you can hear and see as well as you can. Even with clear skies, some things are best left to the dark of night anyway… The long and the short of it is, you’ve got a world out there to explore, and a chance to either make it big or end up talking with the worms. Your place in the world is as much about what you do and who you do it with, as to whom you do it. Peh runs by certain rules, and once you figure them out, you’ll have all the tools you need to live the life you want to. Whether you live it long enough to enjoy any success, well, that’s another question.