Millenia into the future, the Interstellar Human Empire had grown too populous to support all its subjects on the planets it held. The Empress Titania, faced with this crisis, decided to solve it by combining a mission of expansion and exploration with a dispersal of the human population across the stars. From Earth, hundreds of colony ships set out into the black, carrying millions of people among them to find new worlds to live on. Among these ships was the SS Starfall, a colony ship carrying little more than a thousand individuals, and led by the Houses Petakova and Stocklin. Over decades, the Starfall drifted through space, exploring star system after star system to no avail. In the end, however, they came across a planet with its single moon where they could live. The moon they called Pomona, the planet they called Voltumnus. Life on the planet was not easy, however. They soon found that all manner of terrible beasts lived there, wielding a force that could only be called magic. The creatures besieged their city, named for their Empress, and the more powerful of them decimated the colonists' ability to reach the sky again. The colony survived, however, and in time the same magic that the monsters wielded began to show up in Titania's citizens. --- Seven hundred years have passed since the founding of the city. Petakova champions magic, and Stocklin champions science. Both aim for domination. Which side do you choose? ^[1]

In the year 5344 CE, the exploratory ship E.S. Starfall departed to discover new worlds in the name of the Terran Empire and its glorious Empress Titania. Equipped with the most modern in conveniences and boasting a fully sufficient population for colonization, the Starfall was helmed by members of two minor but ambitious noble families: House Petakova and House Stocklin. Their mission was a success; fifty years of FTL travel brought them to the beautiful Earth-like planet of Voltumnus, tucked away in a distant corner of the galaxy. Voltumnus offered fertile soils, glittering seas and majestic mountains, the city of Titania established where all three met. The early years were as prosperous as the settlers had hoped, the new colony flourishing under the guidance of its leaders. Yet one by one, the giant rocs that soared through the sky on forty-foot wingspans grounded their exploratory aircraft. Individuals who wandered too far from the heart of civilization tended to simply disappear. In their seventh winter on Voltumnus, the world itself revolted against them. The local wildlife, inexplicably ignoring all natural rivalries, launched a fierce and bloody assault that nearly wiped out all human life on the planet. It is the year 6101 CE- or, as the citizens of Titania call it, 709 AT. Days of living in peace on their planet are a hopeless dream; the never-ending war that begun that winter has only paused briefly in the centuries since. Humanity has regrouped and fought back, carving out a permanent foothold, but they have come no closer to understanding the mysteries of their world. Their implacable foes command powers that science can't explain, abilities to work their will directly on the world around them that have come to be known as magic. Teleportation, calling down fire, illusions- the scope of these powers is vast and varied. They have appeared among the humans of the city as well, creating individuals known as Celestians who are unable to co-exist with technology. The city of Titania has become divided; on the eastern bank of the Whiterush River, House Stocklin focuses on technological development and progress. On the western bank, House Petakova has accepted magic as the future, and is ruled by Celestians. Uneasy tensions between the two halves of the city pale against the backdrop of the eternal war, but behind all the conflicts of the moment lies a single great question: what is the secret of Voltumnus? ~~~ Elan Vital focuses on finding the answer. Whether you want to play a scientist, a Celestian, a noble politician from one of the two Houses or a soldier, there's a place for you. Our overarching plot is primarily player-driven, allowing people to investigate any aspect of the theme they find compelling. The future of Titania is far from decided- come and shape a world's destiny! ^[2]