Kanan Atrum is the name used to describe the cluster of dimensions that weave into one another. Kanan being the name given to the Aortal world, or the largest and central plane of existence in the cluster. Atraumium is the generalized name given to the smaller dimensions that cling to Kanan. Kanan Atrum is a Dark Fantasy setting that takes place in a mix of High/Gaslamp fantasy. Turkish/Ottoman and Slavic culture is at the center of the setting, but there's plenty of other influences you can find too. It was originally a Dungeons and Dragons setting, so a lot of the fundementals of the setting such as races and class structures may reflect that. I still play D&D here, but at this point its evolved into just a general OC setting. Kanan Atrum has gone through quite a few iterations over the past few years, but recently my wife has helped me in overhauling the world and having a more consistent vision. (He also made this website! Thank you, Luka. I love you!)
"Creation Mythos, or Lack Thereof"
"The way this world came to be has long been debated. Few can find solace in the tales spun by worldly gods and haughty politicians. They spread superficial stories of themselves, explanations spread so thin that many do not find comfort in the legends they tell. Was it the fallen gods of the sun and moon, Achillea and Lilium, who brought upon the vast land and sea? Or perhaps it was Godking Samet who had forged the world himself, around his palace of impossible grandeur. The solace these stories bring is brief as the unspoken history that rests in the veins of the earth, flowing rich with otherworldly blood, seem instead to tell tales that are much older than even the stars that hang low in the sky.
There is a deeper meaning in the world. One that goes beyond the reigns of Godkings and fickle deities. Though few yearn for this truth, most find it simpler to not protest the words of the beings above them. The way this world was born matters not. What matters is the way things are now. Gods will seek sanctum in their cities and towers and palaces, and mortals will serve underneath them. In return for worship, gods will provide order and culture and the power to trade and wage war. The way of life is intrinsically linked to the identity of these deities. For without them, mortals will have nothing."
"The Era of the Gold Sea"
The world of Kanan, with all of it's plights and sickness nowadays, has changed vastly over the centuries. Though now this dimension is wracked with disease and salagh-şik, there was once a time where the world's waters flowed with gold and mortals were able to live just as prosperously amongst gods.The world was much more sparse; Çeşmiye and Cardielle were still in their infancies, the world was still ruled by the forces of natural magics. On a more academic level, the most prevelant distinction between the Era of the Gold Sea and now is the Zhikhade theory; The separation of body and psyche. The idea that the mind is held on a separate plane of existence than the flesh.
Then came The Defiling. A cataclysm that cast the whole world into nine days of terror and death. The skies and waters both bled a deep red, and the nature of Zhikhade was brought to its knees. The apocalypse had come and no one had known why or how it came to be. As Zhikhade was shattered the concept of mind and body began to meld together, and mankind began to become disfigured beasts. Their bodies became physical manifestations of their mental anguish. This phenomenon came to be described as salagh-şik, a way to describe letting ones mental self and physical self become one. And then one night, without warning, the red sky was split apart. The moon hung in the sky like a fruit, fertile with hope. It was little known at the time, but in the safety of his palace the sun god Achillea was devising a way to put an end to this time of darkness.
After he had previously killed his brother, the moon god Lilium, there was one celestial throne laying vacant. And so Achillea would betroth a new moon god, the gentle and maternal Lunaria. It is commonly believed at this point in time that her asencion, and therefore the introdction of her purity into the pantheon, was enough to cut through the thick corruption that lay over the world.
While the world has mostly recovered from this time, many years ago, the effects of the Defiling still lurk within the corners of Kanan. Salagh-şik still remains with no cure, though at a much lower frequency of infection. The oceans between Cardielle and Çeşmiye no longer glow golden, and instead are now thick and unruly and crimson. The lingering anxiety of those days of darkness still hang over the minds of men, even a thousand years after the fact.