Azimuth

Azimuth is the name of the world in which the Cloudgazer stories take place.

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SPOILERS AHEAD

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The Planet

Azimuth is a gas giant. Human inhabitants live on antigravity constucts such as Floatrock cities and Antimass airships. The entirety of human civilisation on the planet resides in a small arc section of its upper atmosphere; in a sense, their world has a vast, apparently infinite expanse of sky beyond its edge. In fact, if they were to sail in any one direction for long enough, they would return to their start point; however, this has not been done successfully since the Gold Age and in the modern age is considered contraversial.

The lowest cloud level, the point where the weather is invariably highly volatile, is known as the Understorm. In aeronautical terms the boundary to this layer is known as Mean underStorm Level or MSL. It forms the datum from which all altitude is measured (Above Mean underStorm Level or AMSL). Most human habitation resides between 1000 and 8000 feet AMSL.

The rotational period of the planet's magnetic field is only 18 hours, but the cloud band of human habitation rotates within more or less 24. The orbital period of Azimuth is approximately six years (although they still use their legacy western calendar from Earth), and gravity is close to Earth normal (due to the lighter density, as the planet is over 18 times more massive than Earth). It appears to have been chosen due to an atmospheric composition similar to Earth's own; largely nitrogen, oxygen and carbon dioxide, at least in the upper atmosphere. The Understorm's composition gradually changes in successively deeper, hotter layers.

Azimuth has two moons: Mygos and Thiros.

History

Civilisation before the Gold Age

Many thinkers have pointed out that in order for humans to survive in Azimuth, technology of the Gold Age was required. This has led to many questions regarding humankind prior to the Gold Age. One popular theory is that humans originated from somewhere else entirely, and came to Azimuth many millenia ago.

The Gold Age Era

See: Gold Age

Earliest recorded history tells of humans living in Azimuth for at least the last 3,000 years. During most of this time, the world was actually administered by a single super-nation, known as The Azrune. This era was referred to at the time as the Unity Age. Later centuries would call it the Gold Age. It represented a high point of social and technological progress.

The Collapse

See: The Collapse

Gradually, over the centuries, factions formed within the Azrune and began to break away from it; at first peacefully and then eventually with bloodshed. Over just thirty years, the global union was whittled away by war, treachery and a cultural rebellion against world unity.

The Long Aftermath

See: The Long Aftermath

This period, immediately following the Collapse, was a dark ages of many centuries of decay and ruin. Although most of the destruction wrought came earlier, the age marked the apex of piracy in the skies. Azrune shut its airspace completely to outsiders.

The New Age

See: New Age

Marked by the first envoys from other nations to be allowed into Azrune, the New Age ushered in a flurry of optimistic centuries of advancement as new nations grew from the clans and fiefs that had ruled previously. The New Codes of Honour and chivalrous ideals emerged.

The Bloodied Skies Era

See: Bloodied Skies Era

Also known as the Modern Era, the Bloodied Skies Era began in 9281, when the Republic of Great Brazak declared war on the Empire of Capridor. This sparked a widespread conflict known post-contemporously as the Old Nezzu War, marking the start of a particularly troublesome period. Toward the Liberation War and post-Occupation Of Great Brazak, there was a clear and steady decline in the ideals of honour.

Language

Azimuth is dominated by a fairly small number of languages, but they are fractured by a plethora of dialects; just as might be expected for a culture that is a distant descendant of globalisation.

• Azbuka - The most commonly spoken language in the world
• Saufran - Second most widespread lingua, most prevalent in areas of Aquitano culture
• Dinjari - Mostly found in Meedish communities and Lystrata.
• Guba Jango - Or "slave tongue", is a semi symbiotic language with Dinjari
• Yutangan - Considered an archaic, sometimes even dead, language. Originates with Yumanni culture.
• Valinn - Spoken by many Valyans, particularly in the Valya Free States.