The Void

The Void appeared in 1962, as if some horrendous answer the rising global tensions over the placement of nuclear warheads in Cuba by the USSR. As tensions grew, a great quake shook the world as some 300km east of Cuba, a new island rose from the waters. This caused tsunamis across all of the eastern seaboard and the west of Europe and Africa, and the worldwide earthquakes decimated much of modern society. Once the world collectively took its time to rebuild, the previous wars and conflicts a thing of the past due to the worldwide crisis, explorers began to map this new island in 1966, and what they found there confused and befuddled scientists of every study.   A massive hole, almost 10 kilometers in diameter, sat gaping within the middle of this new island. It's depths shrouded in mist and it's cliff like walls leading deep into the unknown. Electronic technology failed to function near the island, and as such Cuba became the default expiditionaey point for these explorers. The first explorers who began delve into this cave called it The Void, a dark stain on the earth. And what they found changed the world.   Just by entering into the Void, some hundred meters down, explorers were granted unexplained powers beyond understanding. Magic, which had heretofore been considered myth, became real. However, another side effect of this transformation is that these explorers could no longer resist the draw to explore the void, and would lose their minds if they returned to the surface and left the island surrounding the Void.   The world governments were about to declare the Void a no entry zone, but the first Artifact excavated from deep within the void changed that. This artifact could be used to cure any disease, although only a few times a year. It was priceless, and the wealthy were bidding against world governments to control it.   Soon, the powerful governments of the world combined their forces and attempted to gain control of the Void, but they were too late. During this tumultuous time, a religious order had grown internationally to such a degree that even most governments were mostly comprised of their flock.   This religion was known as The World, and they believed that the Void was a pathway into the very essence of Gaia, the living representation of the earth. They believed that the items removed from the void were holy relics, and the Church were the only ones who could consecrate them, allowing them to be safely used by mortal hands. Soon, a militia led by the church took control of the island from the US government and built their holy land surrounding the Void. The world governments, due to the implanting of church higher ups throughout them, found themselves unable to act in time due to bureaucratic red tape. Soon the stranglehold on the island by the church was so strong that governments had to grovel at their feet to gain access to the Void.   It's been over 60 years since then. The artifacts of the void have become ubiquitous in the world, although ones that are actually useful above and beyond technological advancements are prohibitively expensive. For many of the downtrodden and disenfranchised, their dream is to save enough money to pay the churches tithe to access the Void, and become a Delver, so that they may find an artifact worth enough to turn their lives around.