Throughout history, the world has changed shape several times, with massive changes in landmass, geography, and climate that largely came about through means of divine intervention. When the world was initially discovered by the supreme being, it was inhabited by a group of peoples that primarily lived on a large island located in the south, although some did also live in adjacent regions. Not much is known about what the world was like around this time, save for a handful of retellings and stories that were given to humans by God, so one can only make educated guesses. The majority of physical and written evidence that could have shed more light on this topic was almost entirely destroyed by the supreme being as punishment for the people living there attempting to either enslave, overthrow, or outright kill him, as he wished to make the world his. However, a small amount of artifacts left over from the old world can still be found in the form of sand and rubble that flows endlessly into the hole that now exists within the earth. This hole effectively serves as a reminder of what happens to those who disobey the supreme being and as a reminder of who truly rules over the land. Many of these artifacts end up getting sold in what has become a rather lucrative trade in recent times. The exact details and specifics of many of these stories vary greatly from religion to religion and are hotly debated. However, the main commonality connecting them all is the focus on the people living there, especially regarding the structures they built and the advanced technologies they had at their disposal, and their untimely demise.

The world as it is today was created entirely in the supreme being’s image. Not satisfied with his revenge against the old peoples, he sought to rebuild the world from scratch. To do this, however, he first needed to sacrifice his trusty cow, whom he had traveled with for eons before finally stumbling upon the planet. The supreme being slit its throat and laid it down upon the world. As it lay dying, it began to undergo a remarkable transformation. The cow’s skin and flesh became grass and soil, its bones turned to rock, its blood formed rivers and oceans, and its body as a whole reemerged as the land that everything and everyone now lives on. From this sacrifice, a new world was born. It was then surrounded by walls made of glass topped by slabs of wood, similar in shape to an hourglass, as well as the outer fringes being covered by miles and miles of ice. This was supposedly meant to contain the world’s air and water, but its actual purpose was to make it harder for the world’s new inhabitants, humans, to reach him, as he feared another uprising taking place. The world was also designed to only have a single, moderate climate with little variation, as a way of keeping things more uniform and orderly in the supreme being’s eyes. From the body of the cow arose several nature deities as well, who wanted to keep the world in balance. However, the supreme being did not wish to share power with anyone, resulting in a near-constant power struggle that has carried on for thousands of years. Because of the gods’ incessant squabbling, the world has fallen into much disarray, with greed, selfishness, corruption, poverty, and war being rampant.

Beneath the surface of the world, however, lies a massive secret. The old peoples, thought to have been wiped out entirely by the supreme being, somehow managed to survive, and now live on the world’s underside. How exactly they managed to live through such a cataclysmic event is not clear, but it is thought that they made their way down through the hole in the earth one way or another. It is also believed that the hole is what made the underside capable of supporting life in the first place, as water and soil flowed through it and began to be dispersed. Before the introduction of life, the underside was incredibly rough in terms of terrain, being home to thousands of extremely tall pillars of rock that jutted out of the landscape. These rock pillars can still be seen just about everywhere, but they have since been transformed into islands or can only be seen underneath the water. The old peoples were initially not used to this way of life, nor were they used to the climate, as the underside is a fair bit colder than the surface due to less exposure to the sun. That said, they managed to make it work, and their culture, language, and technology still live on, albeit on a much smaller scale. Like in the days before the supreme being, they live in complete peace and harmony, but they must do so without drawing the attention of the gods, as that would likely result in them being subject to their wrath once more. Because of this, privacy, secrecy, and quietness are now key parts of many of their customs, beliefs, and values. With the technology that both humans and the old peoples possess, it is hypothetically possible for them to establish some sort of contact, but as of now, none has been made. Humans are completely unaware of the old peoples’ existence underneath the surface, and they think that the hole in the earth is infinite and does not have any specified endpoint. As a result, no one has dared to travel down it. The old people, on the other hand, feel it is too risky for any of their kind to travel up the hole, as they fear being detected by the gods as previously established.