The Fractured Continent

A young boy, covered in blood could be seen on a raft slowly drifting towards the mainland.

The raft hit the sand and he shakily pushed himself onto the beach.

Then his eyes closed.

...

"huh!"

'Where am I?'

"Hey kid, you awake?"

He saw a middle aged sitting on the bed he was resting on.

"Where is this?"

"This is the Arter Coast. You know, you sea people aren't supposed to be here, but you looked pretty bruised up and we took you in."

...

"Thank you."

"Well, you won't be thanking me later. We're gonna have to have you return to where you came from. You don't got the rights to be here, its the law unfortunately."

"I'm here to take the diver test."

"Hah ha ha ha..."

"What's so funny?"

"Well, I'll let you stay for a few more days, but you know, you've got no chance at passing the test. Even most of the people here won't pass, let alone you sea people. The competition is always between those dirty aristocrats and their spoiled children."

"..."

"Well then, what's your name kid. Even though you ain't gonna make it, I like your spirit."

"Shinra."

"Well, that's an interesting name... How'd you end up like this anyways? We had to use two rolls of bandages to fix you up."

"..."

Shinra looked out the window with emotionless eyes. He had cried all the tears he had cried. 

...

"Looks like you had it rough, don't worry, you don't have to answer. Sorry for pryin'."

To this, Shinra responded by staring out the window, not know how to respond.

"I'll grab you something to eat. The test is tonight, so get ready, I'll take you there when the sun begins to set."

"Make sure not to leave this room, there ain't a lot of people as nice as me, so its better you interact with fewer people. My colleagues don't tend to enjoy the presence of you sea people."

"There's also some books on the desk over there. Its nothing special, just some history books, something to keep yourself entertained with.

And like that, the old guard left through the door on the opposite side of the room.

Shinra, having nothing else to do, reached for one of the books with his bandage-covered arm. He grabbed the book on the very top of a small stack, titled 'The Fractured Lands'.

He had learned to read from his caretaker, who seemed to know a lot more than she left on to. And even though he wasn't very good at reading, he could still piece together the text, slowly. 

It read:

'Everything began at the great scattering. The consequences of human greed had returned, as in our wish for greater power, we were given it, but in return scattered.

It is common knowledge that the world is ruled by the creatures that dwell in the deep. Humanity never ventured far from the land, as sea beasts were more plentiful and powerful than humans.

But although nature was unfair, it was not cruel. Born to a great destiny, certain humans had the ability to call upon the heavenly bodies to strengthen themselves, granting them the power to fight the sea beasts. They were few, but powerful. Everyone during that period of time, simply known now as the Age of Unity had one simple wish: to gain the power of the stars. It was the dream of many, the reality of a few.

Perhaps that was the cause of the scattering. People's wishes for power grew too strong, calling upon great disaster. This theory of mine is not rooted in reality, but is simply something we use to give reason to the unfortunate circumstances that have occurred.

No one remembers the exact date of this event, but a luminous celestial object sped towards the lands. It was so bright, that no one could really see what took place. All we know is that after the light had dissipated, the land that humanity stood on, had been scattered about the ocean into smaller islands. 

Humanity was not only separated, but severely weakened. In the aftermath of impact, it was estimated that half of the humans of the original continent had perished. Yet, similar to the wake of a forest fire, humanity rose up again.

After the fracturing of the continent, more people were able to harness the power of stars. The geographical layout of the lands and ocean had also been changed, some adopting environments attuned to certain celestial objects, beneficial for growth. 

Those heroes of the past, wielding great power now seemed more commonplace than ever. Thus, they gained a name, starcallers. 

With this resurgence in power, humanity was able to quickly stabilize and advance their powers. This period of prosperity and relative peace was dubbed the golden age. 

However, even with this rapid rise in strength, the ocean was still endless, deeper and wider than humanity ever believed it to be. 

No one knows what lives in the deepest parts of the ocean. No one knows if there are foreign lands past the horizon. So even though the golden age had passed, humanity still lived like turtles in a shell, powerless against the true apex predators of the ocean. 

...

"Hey kid, sorry to interrupt, but we've gotta go. You're gonna be late for the diver test."

Shinra was processing the vast amounts of information he just absorbed when he was awoken from his train of thought.

Immediately, he got dressed and hopped out of bed, still covered in bandages from head to toe.

As him and the old guard walked through the halls of the post to the outside, he saw many people dressed in similar chain equipment. 

These were the guards of the post he was in, many of whom clearly did not take light of his presence. They either looked at him in disgust, or completely turned away. 

It was just like the old guard had said. Most people were not as kind as him.

This was expected, so Shinra simply went about his way like normal.

The presence of the old guard by his side seemingly deterring any unsavory confrontations.

After exiting the front door, his eyes widened. 

There, in front of him was an enormous protrusion that stretched beyond the clouds. Shinra had seen this mountain in the distance from the rafts before, but now when he was really here, on land, it was way bigger than he had ever imagined. 

Not only was it colossal in size, there were also an assortment of luxury houses grew from the side of the mountain, lighting it up like how the stars light up the sky. 

It was truly magnificent.

"It does really look amazing up close doesn't it."

It was only now did Shinra really look like a ten year old kid, minus all the bandages. He had a big smile full of fascination on his face. 

"Yeah, its amazing."

"Well kid, that's where the test takes place, at the very top."