Mitheral
"Growf!"
Note: I am actually aiming at a steampunk feel with an Age of Piracy setting and Wild West setting mixed together. “Magical” below actually has a technological explanation that is far beyond the understanding of the current civilization. Antigravity is present, but is beyond anyone’s comprehension.
Global Warming, overuse of natural resources (fossil fuels and such), war, and disease of the 21st century left the Earth in a state that would have been unrecognizable to earlier generations. The polar caps are long gone. Coastal cities now lay underwater and mostly serve as coral reefs, metal structures long since corroding away to nothing. The population of the earth is a mere fraction (about 0.3%) of what it once was with large regions of the Northern hemisphere left uninhabitable.
Technologically the world has changed radically. After World War III the world was thrown into a Dark Age. Only in recent decades has science begun to reach pre industrial levels. Currently the technology of the world resembled the late 19th century with some anomalies. Without fossil fuels light and heat are derived from green sources like wind, water and solar. Yes, solar power has survived, even flourished. Plus some botanical sources - exotic plants that produce electricity ‘naturally’.
Transportation is either by foot, animal on land. Trains exist, but they are drawn by animals and much more limited. The fastest way to travel is by air, more specifically by dirigible. Solar power has made propulsion far more efficient. A ‘magical’ substance known as stardust can extract helium from the air or water.
Few humans live outside the protection of city states without the protection of a colonial fort. Most who do - other than scavengers with ships or skimmers - hold a status much like mountain men. The others are Range Guides, warriors who travel the wastelands and shun technology.
Characters
You are a scavenger with an air skimmer (1-2 man air yacht), eking out a living by prospecting, scouring old ruins for ancient artifacts or materials that might be traded for wealth - usually in the form of rare metals or gems. (Only large city states mint money.) Scavenging requires a Letter of Mark to operate in a city state’s area. If caught without such a letter while operating in their territory the punishment is severe.
The image below give an idea of the size I am thinking of, though it is a bit larger and a lot ‘cleaner’ - and lacks a dirigible.
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/00/df/b4/00dfb418cf424751eb0a89194fe84938.jpg
You will find yourself competing with larger vessels manned by scores of men. Often such companies are unscrupulous. Some are outright pirates.
My character falls more is a ‘new’ scavenger, possibly new competition. He is ‘odd’. He doesn’t buy any of the usual supplies. He sells very little, not enough to make ends meet. (That would suggest he has a stash somewhere.) Sooner or later he is going to catch the attention of the bigger ships. When that happens, everything he has will become theirs. He seems like he would be more at home in some library - though he doesn’t look it. He’s a giant of a man standing over 6 and a half feet tall.
Romance is a distinct possibility if the two characters can find a common ground.
Contact via PM
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