(In the article banner we see the Superhero Lightrunner, known to her family and friends as Zana Ray, rushing to the scene of her next epic struggle with the villains of her hometown, Silver City.)
Hi everyone! This is a "lore" article about the world where many of the characters I make art of live. I am inspired to share it by the incredible stories and worlds of so many amazing users here. This is for fun and not maybe the most interesting, but it is an introduction to the world where the characters I will write about later live, and hopefully add some important context to their stories. Every character I will show here, and almost every location, are my own creations. Some ideas were created together by my gaming group in our TTRPG games, but everything here is mine or mostly mine and something it was agreed I can share.
Why Superheroes? Honestly, High Fantasy is my favorite genre, but in the context of a truly creative world where anything is possible- magic, sci-fi, other dimensions, slice of life and more, a Superhero story can include literally anything. Each new character I make adds whole new worlds of lore just fitting their own story into the whole. That's what makes this world the easiest to share. And it is mostly Earth-like and modern, so I don't need to explain very much...
The World of Prismaris:
(Prismaris, as seen from space. Not pictured- the moon Lua.)
Prismaris is a world of superheroes. From everyday people with minor powers that don't even think of themselves as special living out slice of life dramas on to living legends whose mighty battles with the forces of evil can decide the fate of the world and beyond, heroes and villains are as much a part of Prismaris as the sea and sky.
Fourth from its star, known as Sola, Prismaris has a tilted, Earth-like axis which causes seasons, and it is very similar to Earth in size and climate- although Sola sets in the East, not the West. The planet has one small moon, Lua. The moon Lua is tidally locked like Earth's moon (that is, it does not rotate) and there are a few small mining colonies and scientific military outposts on its dark side facing away from the planet. These facilities gather precious rare and sometimes unknown minerals as well as scan the sky for potential threats- something taken very seriously now after the peaceful alien race known as the Zla arrived a few decades ago seeking a new homeworld after theirs was devoured by a magical black hole.
The Peoples of Prismaris:
(The peoples of Prismaris come in many diverse shapes, sizes, and colors, and all live in relative harmony, with only Geopolitical or moral alignments causing division and strife.)
On Prismaris primates were not the only creatures to stand upright and develop powerful minds and societies. Anthro races of all stripes, scales and feathers coexist alongside humans with relative peace and harmony, and in the modern age any group of people you will find is a colorful mixture of several different races sharing the same fashions, lifestyles and conversations.
(This popular dance club DJ, Magic Spike, a Lizard anthro man, has feathers in addition to scales, a mixed-race trait inherited from his Bird Anthro father.)
Mixed-species humanoid families are uncommon, but happen plenty, and children can have different anthro/human race parents. Children are just whatever species the birthgiver is. Secondary traits come from the other parent, such as unusual pupils or eye colors, mismatched ears or tails typical of their other parent's race, unique fur/skin/scale/feather patterns or coloring, sharp teeth, and so on. These hybrid traits are clear signs of a mixed heritage, but get no more a second glance than mixed race humans do in good societies on Earth.
(Prismaris-born Zla siblings Oh and Ea sit on a beach watching the Solarise, wondering what their own world's lost star Zar looked like before it was devoured by a black hole when The Fall forced their grandparents to flee their home system and seek refuge elsewhere.)
The only peoples not entirely welcome or treated fairly by everyone on Prismaris are those not native to the natural world itself. Aliens are known to exist, including a recent immigrant race known as the Zla, but they are poorly understood and distrusted by many. Sentient robots and living machines have existed for decades, but are rare, as their creation is highly restricted due to many seeing them as an upset of the natural order of birth, life and death. Some fear that society itself might be upended by the changes technological beings could cause if granted all of the same rights as living ones, and it is a thorny and sensitive issue with no clear universally agreed upon resolution in sight. Finally, Celestial messengers and Eldritch horrors, whose mere presence is always deeply unsettling, are really never welcome anywhere outside of their own Spheres of reality.
The Technology of Prismaris:
(There is a noteworthy divide between what is common technology in everyday life and the futuristic wonders of genius inventors and mad scientists. Here we see Dot Mandrake, also known as the ghost-seeing spell-hacker IN_CRYPT scrolling through a chat forum instead of focusing on her studies at Evergreen City University.)
Technologically Prismaris is at a mostly-modern era 2010's technology level, with cars, computers, the internet, smartphones and so on, but social media and some other things are less prevalent than on Earth, while some, such as advanced robotics and Sci-Fi wonders that defy description are regularly seen as well. It is a comic book universe where people still need to look things up on the internet at a library computer because their cyborg friend's netlink chip is down.
The Geopolitics of Prismaris:
(The Geopolitics of countries on Prismaris can be a complex bog to navigate, but Superheroes remain deliberately impartial to anything other than the greater good.)
Geopolitically different countries and languages exist on Prismaris, including some unfortunate strife, but due to the presence of Superheroes keen to defend the weak and innocent without regard to borders actual war is almost unheard of. Superheroes vow to stay neutral in most geopolitical squabbles, upholding only freedom, equality and the greater good, and despite temptation no country is willing to openly sponsor heroes as soldiers for fear of other countries having more unknown superheroes than they do. Thus geopolitical turmoil on Prismaris generally falls into the category of subterfuge, with psychic detectives, invisible assassins and mad scientists waging quiet, invisible wars in their own mystery and intrigue stories.
The History of Prismaris:
(Here a hero of ancient times, the plant-controlling warrior-shaman Jade Greensinger, fights to defend her village from the deadly serpent Yezhekilli.)
Superheroes and villains define Good and Evil on Prismaris- they always have and always will. From the earliest days when magical shamans and sword-wielding warriors defended jungle villages and stone castles, to the modern era when a man of steel might be struggling to hold back a doomsday machine in space while his team mate, a nerdy hacker with only a super-speed mind, attempts to crack its code and shut it down before it can detonate and destroy the planet. Although these larger-than-life battles to save the day are the focus of stories told about Prismaris, they are such a part and parcel to it that the people actually living there don't really react to these events with nearly as much surprise as anyone would on Earth.
(The Coastguard and EMS medic hero with super strength, Rick Harrison, aka, BlueMoon, attempts to subdue his evil twin brother, the cyber-reborn mercenary, GhostFang.)
Everyday Life and Everyday Citizens:
(Incredible Super-battles of heroes versus villains lose some of their drama when they are part of everyday life and you have work in the morning, like street side magazine and newspaper salesman, Sal Samuels does.)
Aside from an ever-curious press trying to get that long awaited interview with the newest man of mystery or super-fans determined to learn the beautiful heroine's true identity, most people are just trying to live their lives, finish their work, buy their groceries and get home in time to relax with their feet up for a few hours before heading out again in the morning to do it all over again. Flash news reports of a super battle down at the mall or sudden alerts that the bridge is closed due to a showdown between heroes and an ice villain who has frozen it are often met with the same bored and accustomed indifference people in this world do to ordinary weather and traffic alerts.
Respecting a hero for their efforts is usually a given, but it is with the same familiarity a person on Earth would respect a Firefighter or emergency Medic- their bravery and good deeds deserve respect, but how often does anyone really go out of their way to show it to them? And how many of them grace the covers of magazines and billboards for their noble exploits when exploiting supermodels sells far more subscriptions and hype?
The Call of Heroism:
(The aquatic smuggler villain RedTide considers if he should continue his alliance with a mysterious stranger, or cut off loose ends before he loses control of the greater scheme at work. Little does he realize his psychic opponent with subtle mind-reading powers is well aware of his intentions...)
Money, power, fame, or the sheer love of crime... There are endless reasons someone chooses to waste their talents becoming a villain, but only ever one true reason someone becomes a hero. Being a hero doesn't pay money or fame, and actually causes mostly problems for those who take up that lofty mantle. Yet it is a sacred calling, a noble duty, and a thrilling adventure that the best, bravest, and most brilliant will always strive for, just as the most cruel, craven and cowardly will seek to uphold their own twisted ideals as villains. The powers, themes and story genres of Prismaris change and frequently mix together in ways that defy expectations and logic, but the core spirit of the world is that eternal struggle between Good and Evil that can never be won, and the champions who embody it. As day follows night, Good will always win over Evil, if only just in time for the next thrilling adventure- just as surely as Sola sets in the East.
(Her battles won and the city saved for the day, the pyromancer and telekinetic warrior hero EmberFlash gazes into the Solaset.)
Thank you all for reading! This was my first attempt at a "lore" article and I hope it made you smile! Please feel free to comment if you want to see or know more about something mentioned or shown here, and I will make sure to consider it important ^u^
UPDATE: I am touched by the number of people who have asked if it would be okay to create their own characters in this world, and I want to say that the answer is an enthusiastic "YES!"! Please subject tag such posts "Prismaris" and tag-comment me in them, so I am notified and everyone can search them easily, and I would be genuinely humbled to see the heroes, villains, locations and stories anyone wants to share inspired by this! A world you created living in the minds of others, and their living in it with you through their own imagination is how it goes from "pretend" to "real", and is a gift I did not expect this little world to earn ^u^
PS: I hope to do one small article expanding the lore with a character feature or location each week, but it might be bi-weekly depending on my schedule!