The Great Unknowns

“Questions Without Answers”

The Great Unknowns

Overview

Concept: Fundamental mysteries defining SkyLands existence
Status: Unanswered (possibly unanswerable)
Impact: Philosophical, theological, practical concerns
Investigation: Ongoing (Archivists, clergy, explorers, everyone)

What Lies Below?

Question: What’s beneath the lowest islands?
Evidence: - No bottom found (longest drops: weeks of falling objects, no impact) - Darkness absolute (light doesn’t penetrate) - Occasional sounds (disputed—imagination? Real?) - Rot seems to rise from below

Theories: - Infinite void (nothing exists) - The Beneath (Rot source, possibly sentient) - Old world (ground still exists, unreachable) - Another sky (mirrors above, inverted) - Death (falling = gone forever)

Implications: - If void: Existential terror (floating over nothing) - If Beneath: Enemy territory (invasion possible?) - If Old World: Nostalgia, recovery dreams - If Mirror: Parallel civilization (unreachable)

Who Investigates: Few (suicidal to drop too far), mostly theoretical

What Lies Above?

Question: What’s beyond highest altitude?
Evidence: - Air thins (suffocation risk) - Extreme cold (lethal quickly) - Light intensifies (blinding) - Some claim “seeing something” before turning back

Theories: - Open space (universe beyond) - Solid barrier (sky ceiling) - Divine realm (Constellations’ home) - Another Shattering (broken layer of previous world) - Death (like below, just colder)

Implications: - If space: Universe connection, other worlds? - If barrier: Trapped (sky is cage) - If divine: Gods reachable (or forbidden) - If layers: More worlds above/below (infinite?)

Who Investigates: Storm-Captain Kiera (pushed altitude records), suicidal explorers

Are the Constellations Real?

Question: Do divine beings actually exist?
Evidence For: - Historical clear communication (documented) - Supernatural phenomena (Rot, Aether, Shattering) - Prayer effects (statistical anomalies) - Universal belief (pre-Shattering consensus)

Evidence Against: - Current silence (seemingly abandoned) - No physical proof (only testimony) - Explainable naturally (Aether = energy, not divine) - Apogee technology (could fake divine)

Implications: - If real: Faith valid, silence explainable, hope possible - If false: Civilization built on lie, comfort lost, freedom gained - If real but gone: Abandonment trauma, despair justified - If real but changed: Corruption possible, danger imminent

Impact: Central theological crisis (287 S.)

What Caused the Shattering?

Question: Exactly what happened at Year 0?
Known: - World broke (floating islands result) - Luminar Council involved (timing, warnings, experiments) - Catastrophic (millions died) - Permanent (287 years, still broken)

Unknown: - Specific event (what exactly failed?) - Intention (accident, sabotage, attack, experiment?) - Participants (who did it, who tried to stop it?) - Reversibility (could world be restored?)

Theories: - Reality experiment failure (most common) - Divine punishment (clergy view) - Weapon malfunction (military accident) - Natural disaster (cosmic event, unavoidable) - Deliberate transformation (intended outcome)

Implications: - If accident: Recoverable with knowledge - If punishment: Atonement needed - If weapon: Repeatable (danger) - If natural: Helpless (depressing) - If intentional: Why? (conspiracy)

Investigation: Guild-Master Song obsessed, Kalis Dren claims insight

Can the Rot Be Stopped?

Question: Is Sky Rot curable, containable, or inevitable?
Known: - Spreading (slow but persistent) - Transformative (changes matter, people, reality) - Intelligent (Voice Beneath—possibly) - Deadly (to those who resist)

Unknown: - Origin (where from? Why?) - Purpose (intelligent goal or natural process?) - Limits (can it be stopped or will it consume everything?) - Cure (possible or futile?)

Theories: - Natural consequence of Shattering (healing requires restoring world) - Separate invasion (external force) - Apogee weapon (activated accidentally) - Divine test/punishment (endure or fail) - Evolution (humanity’s next stage—Rot-Touched belief)

Implications: - If curable: Hope, effort justified - If inevitable: Despair, adaptation necessary - If intelligent: Negotiation possible? Surrender? - If evolution: Resistance futile, embrace it?

Urgency: High (spreading accelerating)

Are We Alone?

Question: Do other survivors exist beyond known settlements?
Evidence: - Sky vast (unexplored territories immense) - Shattering global (other survivors likely) - Occasional strange ships (unknown origin) - Radio silence (no distant signals)

Theories: - Other civilizations exist (isolated, unreachable) - We’re last remnant (everyone else dead) - Other survivors regressed (primitive, uncontactable) - Other survivors advanced (hiding deliberately)

Implications: - If others exist: Alliance possible, trade, hope - If alone: Existential responsibility (last humans) - If many: Competition for resources - If hidden: Why? (threat, trust, difference)

Investigation: Long-range expeditions (rare, dangerous, mostly failed)

Is Reality Stable?

Question: Will the Shattering happen again?
Evidence: - Ongoing anomalies (temporal, spatial, physical) - Rot spreading (reality corruption) - Divine silence (guardians absent?) - Lost locations (islands vanishing)

Theories: - Stable (Shattering unique event) - Deteriorating (slow collapse continuing) - Cyclical (happens periodically) - Controllable (if knowledge recovered)

Implications: - If stable: Civilization possible long-term - If deteriorating: Urgency (find solution or die) - If cyclical: Futility (build, break, repeat) - If controllable: Hope (agency possible)

Concern: Growing (287 S. instability increasing)

The Ultimate Question: Should We Try to Recover the Past?

Question: Should humanity seek pre-Shattering knowledge and technology?
Arguments For: - Solve current crises (Rot, resources, stability) - Reclaim glory (Apogee achievements) - Understand catastrophe (prevent repeat) - Moral imperative (knowledge is human right)

Arguments Against: - Hubris caused Shattering (repetition risk) - Dangerous knowledge exists (proven lethal) - Present matters more than past - Adaptation better than recovery

Factions: - Returners: Yes, pursue everything - Traditionalists: No, focus on present - Pragmatists: Selectively, carefully - Clergy: Only with divine guidance

Tension: Central conflict (287 S.)

The Interconnection Question

Question: Are all mysteries connected?

Observation: Multiple unexplained phenomena - Shattering (broke world) - Rot (corrupts islands) - Divine Silence (constellations don’t answer) - Silence Phenomenon (populations vanish) - Lost Locations (islands disappear) - Voice Beneath (speaks to corrupted) - Unsolved Phenomena (reality anomalies)

Theories:

Single Cause Theory: - All mysteries stem from Shattering (one catastrophe, many effects) - Evidence: All post-date Year 0 S. (timing correlates) - Problem: Mechanisms differ (how does one cause produce diverse effects?)

Multiple Causes Theory: - Each mystery has different cause (unrelated) - Evidence: Phenomena are diverse (different mechanisms) - Problem: Coincidence seems unlikely (too many mysteries simultaneously)

Conspiracy Theory: - Single entity causing everything (unknown intelligence) - Evidence: Patterns exist (maybe) - Problem: Requires massive power, unclear motive

Chaos Theory: - Reality is broken (no single cause, just entropy) - Evidence: Everything is getting worse (Rot, storms, phenomena) - Problem: Some things are getting better (technology recovery, population stable)

No Consensus: Too complex to determine

Impact: If connected, solving one might solve all (or make all worse)

The Survival Question

Question: How long can humanity survive?

Threats: - Rot (consuming islands at accelerating rate) - Population decline (180,000 and falling) - Resource scarcity (finite supplies) - Divine silence (no supernatural help) - Phenomena (reality unstable) - Isolation (settlements fragmenting)

Projections:

Optimistic (Clergy): - Cure for Rot found (stops primary threat) - Population stabilizes (birth rate increases) - Technology recovered (solves resource issues) - Divine response returns (constellations help) - Timeline: Indefinite survival (centuries+)

Realistic (Archivists): - Slow decline continues (no major breakthroughs) - Population reaches 100,000 by Year 350 S. - Some settlements survive (others fall) - Adaptation continues (humanity persists) - Timeline: Centuries (but diminished)

Pessimistic (Some Scholars): - Rot acceleration continues (islands fall faster) - Population reaches critical minimum (genetic diversity lost) - Civilization collapses (revert to scattered survivors) - Extinction possible (Year 400-500 S.) - Timeline: 100-200 years remaining

Current Consensus: Unknown (too many variables)

Practical Response: Survive today, worry about tomorrow later

The Meaning Question

Question: What’s the point?

Context: World is dying, gods are silent, survival is struggle

Philosophical Responses:

Defiant Optimism (Light Worshippers): - Point is to survive, thrive, hope - Meaning is self-created (we choose purpose) - Struggle makes victory meaningful - “We continue because we can”

Pragmatic Acceptance (Most People): - Point is to live (no grand purpose needed) - Meaning is in small things (family, work, community) - Struggle is just reality (accept it) - “We continue because what else is there?”

Nihilistic Despair (Some): - No point (world is ending, nothing matters) - Meaning is illusion (comfort for weak) - Struggle is futile (we’re all dying) - “We continue out of habit, not reason”

Transformative Acceptance (Serpent Worshippers): - Point is to transform (become something new) - Meaning is in change (endings are beginnings) - Struggle is resistance (acceptance brings peace) - “We continue by becoming something else”

No Consensus: Everyone finds own meaning (or doesn’t)

In-World Documents

Bishop Vael’s Meditation (Private Journal)

Entry 234, Year 287 S.

I’ve spent 20 years studying the great unknowns. What caused Shattering? Are constellations alive? Can Rot be stopped? Is reality stable?

I have no answers. Only more questions.

But I’ve realized something: Maybe answers don’t exist. Maybe reality is fundamentally unknowable. Maybe we’re asking wrong questions.

The Shattering happened. We don’t know why. Maybe there is no why. Maybe it just… happened.

The constellations are silent. We don’t know if they’re alive. Maybe they never were. Maybe consciousness is human projection.

The Rot spreads. We don’t know how to stop it. Maybe it can’t be stopped. Maybe it’s natural process.

Reality is unstable. We don’t know if it will hold. Maybe it won’t. Maybe we’re living in temporary state.

And you know what? That’s okay.

We don’t need answers to continue. We don’t need certainty to hope. We don’t need understanding to survive.

We just need to keep going. Day by day. Question by question. Mystery by mystery.

Maybe that’s the answer: There are no answers. Only choices. Only continuation. Only us.

And maybe that’s enough.

Archivist’s Summary (Great Unknowns Project)

PROJECT: THE GREAT UNKNOWNS

Goal: Answer fundamental questions about Aetherium

Duration: 287 years (ongoing)

Resources: Thousands of hours, hundreds of scholars, countless texts

Results: Comprehensive documentation, numerous theories, zero definitive answers

Questions Investigated: 1. What caused the Shattering? (7 major theories, no proof) 2. What is the Aether? (5 theories, all speculative) 3. Are constellations alive? (Evidence contradictory) 4. What is the Rot? (Understood partially, origin unknown) 5. What is Voice Beneath? (Heard by many, explained by none) 6. Can Shattering be reversed? (Theoretically possible, practically unknown) 7. Are we alone? (No contact with others, but Aetherium is vast) 8. Is reality stable? (Increasingly doubtful)

Conclusion: We know more than we did (Year 0 S.). We understand less than we thought.

Recommendation: Continue research. Accept uncertainty. Hope for breakthrough. Expect none.

Personal Note: I’ve dedicated my life to answering these questions. I’ll die without answers. Future Archivists will continue. They’ll die without answers too.

Maybe that’s the point. Not to answer. Just to ask. Just to try. Just to continue.

—Chief Archivist Theron Bookbinder, Year 287 S.

Returner’s Hope (Manifesto Excerpt)

WE WILL FIND ANSWERS

The Clergy says: “Accept mystery. Have faith.”

The Archivists say: “Document mystery. Hope future understands.”

The Pragmatists say: “Ignore mystery. Focus on survival.”

We say: “Solve mystery. Recover knowledge. Fix everything.”

The great unknowns are not unknowable. They’re unsolved. Difference matters.

What caused Shattering? Luminar Council knows. Find their archives.

What is Aether? Pre-Shattering physics explains. Find the texts.

Are constellations alive? Star-Readers communicated. Find their methods.

Can Rot be stopped? Pre-Shattering had cure. Find it.

We will find answers. We will solve mysteries. We will fix what was broken.

Or die trying. Either way, better than accepting ignorance.

—The Returners, Year 285 S.

Serpent-Worshipper’s Response (Underground Sermon)

THE QUESTIONS ARE THE ANSWER

You ask: What caused Shattering?

Wrong question. Right question: What will cause next transformation?

You ask: Are constellations alive?

Wrong question. Right question: Does it matter?

You ask: Can Rot be stopped?

Wrong question. Right question: Should it be?

The orthodox seek answers. We seek acceptance.

The scholars seek understanding. We seek transformation.

The Returners seek recovery. We seek evolution.

The great unknowns are not problems to solve. They’re realities to accept.

Change is coming. Transformation is inevitable. Endings are beginnings.

Stop asking why. Start accepting what.

That’s what the Serpent teaches. That’s what the Voice reveals.

The answer to every question is: Accept. Transform. Become.

—Sister Morrigan, Weeping Halls

Common Folk’s Perspective (Tavern Conversation)

Patron 1: “What caused the Shattering?”

Patron 2: “Don’t know. Don’t care. It happened. We’re here. That’s all that matters.”

Patron 1: “But don’t you want to understand?”

Patron 2: “Why? Understanding won’t un-shatter the world. Won’t bring back the dead. Won’t stop the Rot.”

Patron 1: “But knowledge—”

Patron 2: “Knowledge is luxury. I have crops to tend. Family to feed. Rot-Beasts to avoid. I don’t have time for great unknowns.”

Patron 1: “But if we understood, maybe we could fix—”

Patron 2: “Maybe. Or maybe we’d make it worse. Luminar Council understood. They broke everything.”

Patron 1: “So we should just accept ignorance?”

Patron 2: “I accept that I’m alive today. I’ll worry about tomorrow when it comes. And I’ll leave the great unknowns to people with time to waste on them.”

Bartender: “He’s got a point. Most of us are too busy surviving to philosophize. The great unknowns are for scholars, clergy, and fools. Rest of us just live.”

Child’s Questions (Recorded by Teacher)

Student: “Teacher, what’s below the Deeps?”

Teacher: “We don’t know.”

Student: “What caused the Shattering?”

Teacher: “We don’t know.”

Student: “Are the constellations alive?”

Teacher: “We don’t know.”

Student: “Will the Rot kill us all?”

Teacher: “We don’t know.”

Student: “Why don’t we know anything?”

Teacher: [Long pause] “Because the world is complicated. Because records were destroyed. Because some questions might not have answers. Because we’re doing our best with what we have.”

Student: “That’s not very satisfying.”

Teacher: “No. It’s not. But it’s honest. And honesty is important. Even when it’s unsatisfying.”

Student: “Will we ever know?”

Teacher: “Maybe. Maybe not. But we’ll keep asking. Because asking is what humans do. Even when answers don’t come.”

—Classroom conversation, Skyport Eos, Year 287 S.

Quest Hooks

The Investigation: Research great unknown (choose one, investigate deeply, find partial answers)
The Expedition: Explore Deeps or Periphery (seek answers to fundamental questions)
The Discovery: Find pre-Shattering text addressing great unknown (partial answer, raises more questions)
The Debate: Mediate philosophical debate (Returners vs. Traditionalists vs. Pragmatists)
The Revelation: Constellation answers question (or seems to—is it real?)
The Voice: Voice Beneath offers answers (do you listen? Do you trust?)
The Experiment: Test theory about great unknown (dangerous, might provide answers)
The Survivor: Interview oldest person alive (they remember more than most)
The Archive: Find Luminar Council records (answers to multiple questions)
The Choice: Discover answer to great unknown (share it, suppress it, or use it?)
The Proof: Gather evidence for specific theory (prove or disprove)
The Acceptance: Help someone accept that answers don’t exist (philosophical counseling)
The Obsession: Scholar consumed by great unknown (intervention or enable?)
The Truth: Discover uncomfortable answer (truth is worse than mystery)
The Mystery: Embrace mystery as feature, not bug (find meaning in unknowing)

The Shattering - Central mystery
The Aether - Fundamental unknown
Sky-Rot Overview - Major threat
The Voice Beneath - Intelligence unknown
Constellation Clergy - Seek divine answers
The Archivists - Document questions
The Returners - Seek answers actively
Bishop Ardent Vael - Embodies uncertainty
[All other mystery pages] - Specific unknowns

“We don’t know what’s below. Don’t know what’s above. Don’t know if gods are real. Don’t know what broke the world. Don’t know if Rot can be stopped. Don’t know if we’re alone. Don’t know if reality will hold. We know nothing. We survive anyway. That’s something.”

“The great unknowns are not problems to solve. They’re conditions to accept. We live in mystery. We die in mystery. Maybe that’s the point.” — Philosopher

“Every answer we find raises three new questions. We’re not getting closer to understanding. We’re discovering how much we don’t know. That’s progress, I guess.” — Scholar

“I’ve spent 50 years studying the great unknowns. I know less now than when I started. But I know it better. That’s something.” — Archivist