Kismet exists as two parallel worlds divided by the Great Rift, an uncrossable barrier of light that permanently split a once-overlapping reality.

Gaia’s Realm is a high-fantasy environment shaped by living magic and natural expression. Landscapes feel intentional rather than engineered—forests that grow around ancient sites, cities integrated into terrain, and regions where the land itself holds memory. Geography varies widely, but magic is ambient and organic, influencing climate, ecosystems, and civilization alike. Sacred temples and sites mark places where Gaia’s presence is strongest.

Terra’s Realm is an industrial-fantasy world with layered cities, stone and iron infrastructure, early mechanical transit, and regulated power systems. It is neither medieval nor modern, but transitional—defined by growth upward rather than outward. Upper districts are clean, orderly, and stable, while lower districts sit closer to instability, pollution, and experimentation. Fayth behaves differently across environments, making geography politically and socially significant.

Across both realms, rift scars and reflection chasms appear as localized distortions—dangerous areas where reality subtly mirrors the opposite world. These places are heavily restricted, studied, or mythologized, depending on who controls them.

At the foundation of all history lies a single truth: two gods struck the same world.

Before impact, gods are formless forces. Only through descent do they gain identity. When Gaia and Terra descended upon the same planet, they became embodied beings and fell in love—after the fact. Civilization flourished under dual influence until the world could no longer sustain two opposing divine logics. War followed, not just between peoples, but between ways of existing.

The war ended with the creation of the Great Rift, severing reality into two parallel realms and permanently separating the gods. Though the rift stabilized quickly enough to allow survival, it left lasting wounds in the fabric of the world.

Over centuries, the two realms diverged:

• Gaia’s world embraced innate magic and diverse peoples known as Numens, preserving memory and balance through lived tradition.
• Terra’s world rejected direct communion with power, building institutions to regulate, suppress, and translate the phenomenon known as Fayth.

In the present era, Terra’s development of Riftec—a system that allows safe, repeatable interfacing with Fayth—marks the most significant shift since the Sundering. While celebrated as progress, Riftec reawakens forces once survived only through ignorance and restraint, raising questions about whether the world is repeating the conditions that caused its original fracture.

Lore in Kismet is not static. History is remembered differently on each side of the Rift, shaped by absence, doctrine, and survival. Truth exists—but it is fragmented, politicized, and increasingly dangerous to uncover.

Society in Kismet is defined by division—not only between individuals, but between worlds. Since the Sundering, social structures developed independently on each side of the Great Rift, shaped by entirely different relationships to power and divinity.

In Gaia’s realm, society is organized around coexistence with living magic. Communities tend to be decentralized, shaped by environment, lineage, and tradition rather than rigid hierarchy. The peoples of Gaia—collectively known as Numens—live in ways that emphasize balance, memory, and continuity. Authority is often informal or situational, rooted in wisdom, age, or spiritual responsibility rather than law.

In Terra’s realm, society is highly structured and stratified. Humans live in dense urban centers with clear social layers. Class divisions are reinforced by proximity to stability and access to infrastructure. Upper districts enjoy clean environments, regulated systems, and safety, while lower districts bear the risks of experimentation, instability, and industrial fallout. Social order is maintained through institutions, regulation, and surveillance rather than trust.

Cultural identity in Kismet is shaped by how each world understands power and history.

Gaian culture values memory, ritual, and expression. Art, storytelling, and oral tradition play a major role in preserving history. Cultural practices often blur the line between daily life and the sacred—festivals may coincide with natural phenomena, and architecture grows around the land rather than reshaping it. Individual identity is often tied to ancestry, environment, and communal role.

Terran culture prioritizes productivity, discipline, and progress. Art exists, but is often utilitarian or symbolic rather than expressive. Cultural norms emphasize restraint, conformity, and respect for institutional authority. Innovation is admired, but only when sanctioned. Fear of instability has shaped customs that favor order over freedom, and curiosity is often treated as a liability rather than a virtue.

Politics in Kismet are inseparable from power—how it is accessed, controlled, and justified.

In Gaia’s realm, political power is diffuse. Conflicts tend to arise from territorial disputes, ancestral obligations, or differing interpretations of balance rather than centralized ambition. Alliances are fluid and often bound by tradition or shared memory rather than treaties.

In Terra’s realm, politics are centralized and contentious. Control over Riftec development defines modern power struggles. Political bodies compete with religious institutions, industrial leaders, and research authorities for influence. Decisions are framed as matters of public safety and progress, but are often driven by economic gain and class preservation. Information is tightly controlled, and dissent is frequently reframed as recklessness.

Religion exists in both realms, but in fundamentally different forms.

In Gaia’s realm, belief is experiential. Gaia’s presence is tangible, localized in temples and sacred sites. Religion is less about doctrine and more about participation—rituals, offerings, and reverence integrated naturally into daily life. Faith is personal, communal, and flexible.

In Terra’s realm, religion is institutional. Terra’s absence defines belief more than her presence. Faith is expressed through structure, hierarchy, and regulation rather than communion. Religious institutions historically oversaw Fayth-related phenomena, enforcing taboo and restraint. Even as Riftec rises, religious language and authority continue to shape how power is framed—often positioning control as moral necessity.

Governance reflects each realm’s core philosophy.

Gaia’s governance is decentralized. Leadership varies by region and culture, often emerging through consensus, tradition, or spiritual responsibility. Laws are few, but customs are strong.

Terra’s government is bureaucratic and hierarchical. Laws are extensive and enforced through layered institutions. Authority is divided among civic leadership, regulatory bodies, religious institutions, and industrial powers. Riftec’s emergence has complicated governance, introducing new authorities and undermining older systems that once justified control through fear of the unknown.

Technological development diverges sharply between the two realms.

Gaia’s realm relies minimally on technology. Tools exist, but magic fulfills many practical roles. Craft and creation are often organic, blending magic with material rather than mechanization.

Terra’s realm is defined by early industrial fantasy technology: stone and iron infrastructure, mechanical transport, layered cities, and regulated systems. The most significant advancement is Riftec, a modern interface system that allows humans to safely and repeatedly interact with Fayth. Riftec enables scalable power, infrastructure growth, and rapid societal change—but also introduces systemic risk and ethical conflict.

The environment in Kismet is shaped by divine legacy.

In Gaia’s realm, ecosystems are vibrant and adaptive. Magic influences climate, terrain, and wildlife, creating regions that feel alive and intentional. Natural balance is maintained through coexistence rather than control.

In Terra’s realm, the environment is increasingly shaped by human intervention. Urban expansion, industrialization, and Riftec infrastructure alter landscapes and climate patterns. Certain areas exhibit instability due to Fayth interaction, particularly near rift scars. Nature is managed, regulated, and often sacrificed in the name of progress.

Across both realms, the physical world bears the quiet scars of the Sundering—reminders that reality itself once broke, and may yet break again.

Power in Kismet originates from a hybrid foundation formed by the Sundering—part natural principle, part divine fallout. How that power manifests and is accessed differs radically between the two realms.

• Gaia’s Realm

  • Power exists as innate living magic
  • It is woven directly into life, land, and identity
  • Magic is expressive, adaptive, and personal
  • Individuals are born with the capacity to wield power as a natural extension of being
  • Balance is maintained through coexistence rather than restriction

• Terra’s Realm

  • Power exists as Fayth, a volatile phenomenon left behind by the Rift
  • Fayth is not spellcasting, belief, or divine favor
  • Humans cannot wield Fayth directly without consequence
  • Historically managed through taboo, ritual oversight, and institutional restraint

• Riftec (Modern Development)

  • Riftec is a system that allows safe, repeatable interfacing with Fayth
  • It translates unpredictable reactions into standardized outputs
  • Riftec enables infrastructure, transportation, defense, and experimental technology
  • It does not grant personal abilities or innate power
  • Failure is systemic and industrial, not mystical

Across both realms, power is never free. Whether innate or regulated, it carries cost, limitation, and consequence, shaping societies as much as it empowers them.

Terran Institutions

• Riftec Authorities – Research bodies, regulators, and industrial leaders controlling Riftec development and deployment.
• Religious Orders – Institutional faith organizations historically responsible for Fayth oversight; increasingly sidelined but still influential.
• Civic Governments – Bureaucratic leadership enforcing law, zoning, and class separation.

Gaian Structures

• Temple Circles – Decentralized spiritual centers tied to Gaia’s presence.
• Ancestral Clans & Wardens – Groups responsible for preserving memory, balance, and ancient sites.

• Gaia – Present god of life and living magic, dwelling within temples and sacred locations in his realm.
• Terra – Absent god of structure and restraint, revered through silence, institution, and law.
• (Additional historical or modern figures are intentionally left open for narrative and OC creation.)

• Progress vs Restraint: Riftec’s rise challenges centuries of controlled ignorance.
• Class Division: Upper districts benefit from clean, stable systems while lower districts bear experimentation and failure.
• Gaia vs Terra World-Logic: Living magic and regulation are fundamentally incompatible.
• Rift Stability: Increasing interaction with Fayth raises concerns that the conditions of the original Sundering may be repeating.

• The Great Rift cannot be crossed, seen through, or bypassed.
• Gods cannot communicate across the Rift.
• Humans cannot gain innate magic.
• Riftec does not grant superpowers.
• Fayth interaction always carries risk; no system is perfectly safe.
• Reflection chasms are not portals

• Human OCs (Terra): Common roles include citizens, engineers, Riftec researchers, regulators, Acolytes, Umbrals, laborers, or political actors. Power scaling should remain grounded—no spellcasters, no godlike abilities.
• Numen OCs (Gaia): Should reflect innate magic tied to race, environment, and culture. Power is expressive but not limitless.
• God OCs: Not permitted.
• Cross-Realm Characters: Direct travel across the Rift is not allowed. Interaction occurs only through indirect influence, myths, or reflection chasms.
• OCs should reinforce themes of consequence, limitation, and imbalance, not bypass them.

Economic systems in Kismet differ sharply between realms.

• Gaia’s Realm

  • Primarily barter- and gift-based economies
  • Trade centers around crafted goods, rare materials, cultural artifacts, and magical services
  • Value is placed on longevity, quality, and symbolic meaning rather than accumulation
  • Long-distance trade exists, but profit is secondary to balance and obligation

• Terra’s Realm

  • Currency-based economy with strict regulation
  • Wealth is tied to industry, infrastructure, and access to stable systems
  • Riftec development has become the most valuable economic sector, reshaping markets and labor
  • Upper districts control capital and distribution; lower districts provide labor and testing grounds
  • Black markets exist for unregulated Riftec components, information, and restricted research

Trade between realms does not exist. Any perceived influence occurs indirectly through myth, recovered relics, or reflection chasm anomalies.

Movement within Kismet is shaped by geography, class, and realm.

• Gaia’s Realm

  • Travel is largely organic: on foot, animal mounts, or magically aided movement
  • Paths and routes often follow natural flows rather than engineered roads
  • Long-distance travel may involve magical conveyance tied to environment or ritual
  • Certain regions are accessible only to specific Numen peoples due to terrain or resonance

• Terra’s Realm

  • Heavily infrastructure-based transportation
  • Stone roads, mechanical lifts, rail lines, and tram systems connect urban centers
  • Riftec-powered transit enables faster movement within cities and between major regions
  • Travel quality and safety scale sharply with social class
  • Restricted zones exist around Rift scars and active Riftec facilities

Teleportation or instant travel does not exist in either realm.
The Great Rift itself is entirely impassable—no travel, communication, or observation across it is possible by any known means.

Kismet explores fate as consequence rather than prophecy. The world centers on the idea that destiny is not something foretold, but something inherited—shaped by past decisions that continue to exert pressure on the present.

Key thematic elements include:

• Fate vs Choice — how much agency exists in a world already shaped by irreversible decisions
• Progress vs Restraint — the danger of understanding without wisdom
• Division and Incompatibility — two world-logics that cannot fully coexist
• Power as Responsibility — not who can wield power, but who bears the cost
• Memory and Loss — what is preserved, what is forgotten, and who decides
• Love as Consequence — Gaia and Terra’s bond did not prevent catastrophe; it created it

Kismet is inspired by a blend of fantasy, science-fantasy, and mythic storytelling, particularly works that examine power, consequence, and fractured worlds.

Primary inspirations include:

• Inuyasha — divine presence, spiritual roles, and mythic consequence
• Tales of Symphonia — parallel worlds and incompatible systems
• Made in Abyss — exploration driven by curiosity with real cost
• NieR — existential aftermath and inherited catastrophe
• The Promised Neverland — systems that normalize harm
• Final Fantasy IX — mist-driven industrial fantasy, tone, and aesthetics
• Final Fantasy X — Fayth, divine absence, and belief as structure
• Arcane (League of Legends) — the moment where understanding power reshapes society rather than saving it

The story takes place during a fragile turning point.

• The Great Rift remains stable and uncrossable, but reflection chasms and localized distortions are increasingly relevant.
• Terra’s realm is entering the early stages of the Riftec era, where Fayth is being systematically translated into infrastructure and technology for the first time.
• Institutional authority is strained as religious oversight, civic governance, and industrial ambition compete for control.
• Gaia’s realm remains rooted in living magic and memory, but unease grows as Terra’s developments echo the conditions that once fractured the world.
• The balance that preserved both realms since the Sundering is no longer guaranteed.

This is not an age of apocalypse—but an age where the conditions for one are quietly forming.

• Kismet is not isekai; the worlds are parallel halves of a single broken reality.
• The Great Rift cannot be crossed under any circumstances.
• Gods are limited, embodied, and subject to consequence.
• Power escalation is systemic, not individual.
• Riftec is intentionally framed as progress before it is framed as danger.
• The setting is designed to support long-term narrative escalation without immediate collapse.