Transportation:
in Technology:"The road is long, the price is high, and the end may be death or deliverance."
Travel in Everwealth is both a necessity and a peril, a testament to a world struggling to reclaim the marvels of its past while enduring the stark realities of its present. What once was a land crisscrossed by grand networks of railways, airborne vessels, and well-paved roads has regressed to an age where journeys are grueling, resources are scarce, and the means of safe travel are a luxury few can afford. The Schism’s destruction, compounded by centuries of war and neglect, has left the infrastructure of the Lost Ages in ruin. What remains, decaying locomotives, rusting armored transports, and skeletal airships, are either priceless relics attended to with religious fervor by those lucky enough to possess them or the sought-after spoils of scavengers and frontier raiders. For most, however, travel is no less than a herculean task. The vast majority of Everwealth’s population, impoverished and uneducated, lack the resources or knowledge to undertake long journeys. With beasts of burden costly and limited to the wealthier classes, the average person has little choice but to travel on foot, often with minimal provisions and even less certainty of reaching their destination alive. The distances between towns and cities are immense, compounded by deteriorated roads and the omnipresent dangers of the frontierlands—be they brigands, roaming monsters, or the cursed remnants of the Schism.
Travel in Everwealth is both a necessity and a peril, a testament to a world struggling to reclaim the marvels of its past while enduring the stark realities of its present. What once was a land crisscrossed by grand networks of railways, airborne vessels, and well-paved roads has regressed to an age where journeys are grueling, resources are scarce, and the means of safe travel are a luxury few can afford. The Schism’s destruction, compounded by centuries of war and neglect, has left the infrastructure of the Lost Ages in ruin. What remains, decaying locomotives, rusting armored transports, and skeletal airships, are either priceless relics attended to with religious fervor by those lucky enough to possess them or the sought-after spoils of scavengers and frontier raiders. For most, however, travel is no less than a herculean task. The vast majority of Everwealth’s population, impoverished and uneducated, lack the resources or knowledge to undertake long journeys. With beasts of burden costly and limited to the wealthier classes, the average person has little choice but to travel on foot, often with minimal provisions and even less certainty of reaching their destination alive. The distances between towns and cities are immense, compounded by deteriorated roads and the omnipresent dangers of the frontierlands—be they brigands, roaming monsters, or the cursed remnants of the Schism.
This lack of mobility traps countless folk in a cycle of poverty and isolation, tethering them to villages where opportunities are scarce and hardships abundant. The few who can afford to escape often risk everything, pooling their meager resources or relying on sheer willpower to cross leagues of hostile terrain. Those lucky enough to secure passage on a decaying supply train or a merchant’s cart view it as a rare privilege, while others take their chances on forgotten paths that may lead to freedom, or death. The dangers of travel extend even to those who command relics of the past. Rusting tanks and troop transports, remnants of long-forgotten wars, remain coveted for their ability to traverse hostile landscapes and fend off attackers. Yet even these mechanical wonders are unreliable, their upkeep demanding rare parts and the expertise of those versed in the lost sciences. For scavengers and warlords alike, the discovery of such relics among the ruins of ancient cities represents a windfall of unparalleled value, a prize that often sparks bloody skirmishes over their possession.
In Everwealth, transportation is not merely a journey but a trial of endurance, will, and fortune. For the rare few, it may lead to new horizons and opportunities. For most, it is an unattainable dream, the miles that separate them from a better life as insurmountable as the mountains and waters that define the land. Here, the road is not just a path, it is a crucible, where every step tests the resolve of those who dare to leave the safety of home.