Until mankind reaches the stars, we can only speculate on what truly constitutes our universe. Therin lies both the beauty and the curse of writing fantasy and science fiction. When I created Berek and set him on his way, neither he nor I had any idea he would eventually roam the stars, but life is what happens in between your plans.
The universe that Berek encountered has no centalized governing body. Many of the races he meets acknowledge that there is a benign intelligence seems to have a hand in keeping order, but as he and Elspeth discover in Married With Familiars, whatever that creative force might be it has had a hands-off policy on anything less than a galaxy-wide problem until now.
Here, then is a brief description of Berek's universe. There are many inhabited worlds and their development and populations run the gamut from extremely primitive and hostile, to being far more advanced than Earth. There are various forms of transportation including interstellar trains for the major routes and clippers for routes with smaller passenger loads. There are even private craft, many of which are flown by less than law-abiding entities.
Everything and everyone eventually arrives at COTU, the name by which most interstellar travelers know the huge artificial city which serves as the Center Of The Universe. If you can imagine something that blends Blade Runner and Diagion Alley, with a daily passenger influx that is greater than O'Hare and Heathrow airports combined, then you have a small idea what COTU is like. For the right price, you can buy anything there...even a new body. COTU sits inside a huge protective sphere at the junction of most major trade routes in the known universe. Because of its distance from any large stars, the city dwells in a perpetual twilight and like any large city, there are parts of it that no sane person would go unless well armed or with other able-bodied friends.
Food and lodging range from expensive and decadent to frugal and mundane. There are several popular institutions in the city, foremost being the COTU library, with the Zoo of the Universe running a close second. Several institutions of higher learning call COTU home, but seekers or practitioners of magic will be disappointed. Most training in the magical arts is done apprentice-style on the more remote worlds. COTU is, however, an excellent place to browse for obscure and arcane potions and magic devices if you know which back streets to prowl.
The functionality of the universe, for lack of a better description, is split into three realms; those worlds with developing or advanced technology, those where magic prevails and those where development of any sort hasn't happened yet. There are thousands of habitable worlds that fall in this third category and many of them haven't even been remotely surveyed or explored yet. It is the abundance of such worlds that has kept piracy and rebellion under control. Who needs to fight for booty when there are so many worlds ripe for the plucking. Many of these unexplored worlds hide gems or magical items of such value and power that there is concern among the technologically advanced worlds that sometime in the near future something will be discovered that could undo the existing balance of the universe. However, like most big problems whose definition require hard work and cooperation, this is on the universe's back burner.
When Berek and Elspeth arrive at Coquetzel Waystation and first class tickets magically appear in Berek's pocket, they set in motion a chain of events that hints at the possibility there are opposing interests already at work behind the scenes. Their newfound friend, the songtrader Marco Reedman, is the first to allude to such a battle in the offing. As Berek and Elspeth move closer to reaching Senbec, they find more direct and chilling evidence that there are malevolent forces at work. They also learn that many individuals throughout the universe also believe that an intelligent force hides behind the impenetrable curtain at the edge of the universe. Does whatver hides there act in opposition to the evil in the universe?
As Berek, Kallista and the others I have created continue their adventures, These questions will be answered, but new ones will spring forth. Such is the nature of an evolving universe...Particularly one in the hands of a writer.

 

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