Orphaned Worlds

Humanity climbed to transcendent heights at some point in the past, but some millennia ago paradise fell. Some say the gods' magic still exists, but the gods stopped sharing it with humanity.  Deprived of godlike powers to animate metal slaves, to see hidden planes, and to shape life in ever more creative ways, the world regressed to a simpler, more difficult way of life.  Civilization has worked half-heartedly to rebuild from the ashes, but there always seems to be someone ready to stifle the next leap forward.   Separated so far from life of the 21st century, civilization could have rebuilt and exceeded anything it had achieved before, but certain constraints seem to be imposed by unseen hands. Before the great collapse, some believe humanity had recently made contact with species from other worlds, even found ways to visit them, but there are so many wild ideas out there, it's hard to know what to believe and feels safer to just be skeptical.  The truth is no one knows much about what life was like before the Fall/the Collapse, and anyone selling a story has something they want in exchange.