Othena

Othena (Oh-thay-na) is a universe that is a combination of an alternate history (but not unrecognizable) Earth and a decidedly science fiction-based rest of the universe.

History of Othena
Othena developed much like the real universe. The planets, systems, galaxies, stars, clusters, and other astronomical forms our scientists know of are known to those living on Earth in Othena.

However, it is concrete fact that there are advanced civilizations out amongst the stars, and even in the Milky Way itself. However, Earth (which is in the year 2008 by its count) is not yet aware of this fact. Their knowledge of the reality of advanced civilizations is as good as ours.

Earth
Main Article: Earth

Othena's Earth is the same size and proportions as ours, with all the same continents. However, there are several more landforms on this Earth than in ours. A set of islands situated in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, Gilana, is a major power on this version of Earth. Plato never heard the tale of the continent that was sunk beneath the ocean, because it never happened.

Due to Gilana's existence, some major events never happened. Humans still developed in Africa, and civilization still developed in the Middle East, but human development advanced more quickly, and by c.3000 B.C.E., cultures had developed to that point of real-world Middle Age cultures, though without the same history behind them.

It was in Gilana, and not the Middle East, where the world's dominant religion developed and spread throughout the world. Kyoism (Ky-o) is this religion, and while there are some similarities to Christianity, there are differences. Kyoism emerged on the planet as a minor religion 2100 years ago. Christianity itself is still one of the more prominent religions in the world, but nowhere near as widespread as Kyoism.

Most nations on Earth exist is Othena as in the real universe, but England due to Gilana, England's empire never stretched as far, although it still made settlements in the new world. The United States does exist, though it is not quite as powerful. Both nations, however, still commend a certain amount of authority in the world. Finally, both World Wars still took place, for the same reasons, and had nearly the same outcomes.

Kyo
Main Article: Kyo

Kyo is a planet orbiting the binary star system of Alpha Centauri, 4.36 light years away from Earth. The dominant inhabitants are a near-Human species with faintly tinted blue skin with four fingers on both hands. This is the extent of their differences.

Unlike Earth, the peoples of Kyo were united under a single, democratic nation almost 3,000 years ago. By 2300 years ago, Kyo first achieved the feat of building craft worthy of space exploration, and started exploring their own system. Two hundred years later, a crew of travelers discovered Earth.

By chance, the crew landed on Gilana. They they took pains to not be noticed, they were eventually found by a clan of farmers 20 miles west of the royal palace. Knowing that the clan couldn't handle the truth about the Kyoans, they explained themselves as emissaries of a deity named Kyo, creator of the universe. The clan later created a religion based around the story.

After two months of exploration of the planet, the crew returned to Kyo. Although commended for discovering an inhabited planet, the crew was reprimanded for interfering in their development. However, the government of Kyo decided not to try to reverse the actions, deciding that for the time being, it was the best course of action. Since the discovery of Earth, the Kyoans have discovered many other inhabited planets.

Kyo itself is a relatively peaceful planet, with no major battles or skirmishes after the unification of its peoples.

Resources
Rules of Othena -- Would you like to build a country, world, system, or galaxy in Othena? Please read this first. Entities in Othena -- A list of all the unique countries, worlds, systems, and galaxies in Othena.