Terria is the brain child of Rachel Saunders, and forms the basis of the metaverse. It is a science fantasy setting because it combines high technology with a lot of fantasy elements. The core focus of the 4th age is the Terrian relm, the continent upon which the Lotus Kingdom and the Umatai are found. The many races, ethnic groups, and other elements are based upon many Earth cultures, and while most borrow from existing sources to a degree, they have all be given a unique twist within Terria. For more information please see the Wikipedia, and visit the gallery page for more images.

Terria is a fusion of many different idea's, some old, some new, others borrowed, and a few blue bits thrown in for good measure. The whole project started in the Autumn of 2002 with the original metaverse ideas taking seed, and developed throughout 2003. Terria was born in September 2003 as a genesis for the whole project, and the sketch below was the very first image to be added to the portfolio.

Over the space of 18 months Rachel worked on the project adding new elements to it, and depsite a delay of 6 months in 2006, the project was finally launched in the October of 2006 through the Orizan website. This launch marked a new chapter for the project as it allowed dynamic content to be added for the first time, and for older material to be catalogued for general consumption.

Anyone wishing to add articles, images, or stories please contact Rachel and she will review any material submitted.

Terria has been influenced by many diffent ideas and sources - all of which will be credited on the various Terriapedia pages. I think the most influential ideas for the origins of the Lotus Kingdom are Chinese, Mongolian, and Japanese history. I wanted to create a continent that was ruled by a dynastic kingdom, yet at the same time was diverse and flourishing.

Tian was influenced by the ancientEgyptians and near east, and their tribal essence reflects the honour that these people hold in high regard. I also wanted to make them more reforminst in outlook, hence why they fought the schizmatic wars.

To be honest I have taken many different ideas that I personally liked and worked them into Terria. A good example of this is the French foreign legion who inspired me to create a new pathway based on their ethics. I didn't want to be hindered in anyway in my creative scope, so I decided very early on to make it science fantasy, and not sci-fi or fantasy.

For me personally there is nothing better than to create totally new ideas, but the irony is that very few of the ideas I have are totally original. I have played around with many ideas, and I think that most of you will agree that for the most part I have not ripped off or infringed another authors work, but any blatent similarity is purely homage, and I always try to give credit where credit is due.

I will try to expand this page as I add more material to the project, to give you some idea where I am coming from, but suffice it to say as long as it sounds cool it will probably work.

Rachel
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