No great nation endures. In the end, wealth succumbs to famine; armies, to defeat; glory, to oblivion. For all of history, soldiers, rulers, and prophets have dreamed of breaking the cycle. For all of history, they have failed. Until now.
Scholars and tinkerers are succeeding where the warlords could not; as they uncover nature’s secrets, what was once called “magic” becomes more abundant by the day. In the hands of monarchs, its destructive power could change warfare. In the hands of industrialists and inventors, its productive power could free humanity from its limits.
The ascent of humanity is about to begin.
***
Welcome to the Ascent, an Earthlike fantasy setting, with no gods, no intelligent species other than humans, and limited magic. Over the course of the timeline, magic becomes more abundant as humans work out how to cheaply, reliably tap into it. Eventually, magic will resemble the nanotech and hovercars of science fiction. The “Ascent” itself is the inflection point, the era when magic (and machines) really begin to take off. Themes include sacrifice, rebirth, the interplay between cultures and civilisations, and the coolness of fantasy flying machines.
My goal is to write a number of stories set throughout the timeline, chronicling the history of this world through the stories of individual characters. To begin, I plan to post updated worldbuilding notes to the “World of the Ascent” link, above (what’s currently there is left over from an earlier version of the setting). It’ll be a long road, and I look forward to seeing where it leads.