‘Project Altera’
Two kingdoms inhabit the sky, feeling the ripples of the ARMOR War from ages ago.
As echoes from centuries past re-emerge, heroes from across the world converge.
For the last four years, I have been writing a five-part fantasy saga, set in a pair of floating kingdoms called Tera and Alta. It started out as a small hobby: just something to pass the time in Sixth Form… but once university came around, I found myself returning to this world again and again to add more stories and lore, eventually going as far as to rewrite the entire thing to improve it’s narrative quality.
That project has now become my most ambitious project yet, something I’m constantly adding to and improving on over time. Near the end of 2024, I finally revealed this project to my brother and my friends, and they’ve been a colossal help in writing this tale, giving second, third and fourth opinions that I sorely needed, and finding or raising details that I never would have thought of.
I’m not ready to reveal this story just yet, at least not all of it. A lot of it is still early in concept, and a lot of it is being rewritten… but I have added aspects of it into my other projects. For instance, almost all of the characters in Pathmaker come from this universe, and HERO v HERO directly adapts it.
Part 1: Age of Darkness - A young Teran knight, Alex Smith, finds himself caught in an adventure far bigger than himself, travelling across the country of Tera to find a cure for his friend’s deadly curse, and to stop the evil usurpers seeking to undermine Tera and take the throne.
(5% Complete)
Act 1: Phoenix Clan Saga - Alex seizes the chance to prove himself as a hero when his childhood friend returns in search of the Great Sage: someone who can cure her of her horrific curse.
Act 2: (Currently being written.)
Act 3: Astaroth Saga - The Dark Lord returns with Lily’s power in hand, seizing the throne of Tera with the help of unearthed battle machines called ARMORs. It falls upon this small team of heroes to step up and save the world.
Part 2: The Grand Tour - Alex mysteriously wakes up in a kingdom thought long gone, with no way back to Tera. Alongside the mysterious Nora Captio and a new crew of friends, Alex rises to face this new adventure head-on, to find the truth about the legendary ‘Sleeping Treasure of Alta’.
(100% Complete)
Act 1: Alta Islands Saga - Alex wakes up in the Alta Islands, with no memories as to how or why. Alongside Nora Captio, he has to learn the ways of this world, take to the skies and find the truth of his purpose here.
Act 2: Guardian Beasts Saga - Aboard their stolen pirate airship, ‘Hihome’, the crew seeks out the three Guardian Beasts of Alta, and the Sleeping Treasure they guard, while avoiding the Blue Arms and the Collectors.
Act 3: Helias Saga - The Sleeping Treasure, revealed to be the largest, most powerful ARMOR yet, falls into the control of Helias. Against insurmountable odds, Alex and the Hihome Crew have to pull off a miracle to save the world.
Part 3: Shadow of Necron - Three years have passed since the Alta Incident. Despite the chaos that ensued, life has gone on… despite that, one loose end had still not been tied up, and soon enough, it comes back to plunge the world into jeopardy. Against a force of nature, Tera and Alta have to unite once and for all, and face this threat as one.
(50% Complete)
Act 1: Evacuation Saga - Three years of peace in Tera come to an end when Necron returns to corrupt the world with an all-encompassing Shadow. With no way to fight back, the team leads a desperate evacuation to the Alta Islands.
Act 2: Frozen Shadow Saga - Jade’s sacrifice plunges Tera into a brief ice age… but before Alta is ready, two new shadows emerge from the snow to restart the Shadowed assault. Altera has to unite, or face certain death.
Act 3: Necron Saga - Altera has been united, and everyone’s friends have been brought back from darkness. With nothing left to do, the world braces itself for the fight of their lives, united as one against Necron’s Shadow.
Part 4: The Life Unlived - Ruby, lost in time, finds himself without his friends and without a purpose, lost in a world completely unlike his own. When a stroke of luck gives him a home, it’s up to Ruby to… well, he’s going to have to figure that out on his own.
(50% Complete)
Act 1: Bad Future Saga - Ruby appears 2000 years in the future, without a way back, or even a purpose. With the help of new friends, Ruby discovers everything there is about this new world… and everything there is to himself, too.
Act 2: Freedom Saga - Mara’s long-lost sister re-emerges, working for a magical drug gang called Illumina. The team have to decide how far is enough to go, and how deeply they want to sink their lives in the name of freedom.
Act 3: GVNR Saga - GVNR, growing impatient with Ruby, and now uncontested by Illumina, plunges the city into martial law. Ruby and his friends’ days become numbered, and their hiding places slowly count down to the final battle.
Part 5: The Dark World - Six more years have passed, Alex and Serena have disappeared, and the Cloud Sea is dying. In this final chapter, all of Altera unites to find the truth of the dark world, unite the world once more, and save the world once last time.
(10% Complete)
Act 1: Dark World Saga - Alex wakes up in a dark world unlike anything he’s ever known. With the help of a stranger called Ambor, Alex embarks on a desperate journey to find his fiancée, and a way back home to Altera.
Act 2: Ondan Resistance Saga - After the miraculous return of a dear long-lost friend, Alex and Serena join the resistance against Iyrrhon, the Iron Incursion, and the powerful Great Witch of Onda… Jade’s mother.
Act 3: Iyrrhon Saga - The leader of the resistance is kidnapped, the rebel base is compromised, and the fall of Altera is imminent. Despite that, heroes from all worlds still converge upon Onda to save the planet one last time.
“I wish I had more to say, but this is really gonna take a while…”
Credits
Myself: Most of the story.
NinjaBash, ‘Miles’, ‘Simeon’: Many key story details.