The Facsimiles

The Facsimiles are a collective name for 201 worlds that were put into place by The Great Creator at the dawn of time, which were worlds produced in likeness of a world known as The Archetype. Their exact purpose was unknown beyond that these worlds grew and developed in 202 different ways, with different types of inhabitants, biomes, civilizations, flora, fauna, and more appearing on each star in different ways to the point where they were all unique within a few centuries. The overall aetheric balance and stability of these worlds plays a pivotal role in The Crest of Zabutur, with the sundering of some of these different worlds triggering new Ages and eras. While no one is sure what happens if all of the Facsimiles are destroyed, no one alive imagines that the outcome can be good in any way—and with only four facsimiles remaining by the time of The Crest of Zabutur, the inhabitants of these remaining worlds are doing what they can to forestall their own destruction.

Significance in Timekeeping
Each Facsimile has its own aetheric stability or balance, with aspects inclined towards the different Elements to give the world its diversity both in geography and lifeforms. However, when this balance moves significantly enough, it can disrupt the often delicate ebb and flow of aether and can cause significant damage and disruption to the world in question. If it is able to be significantly corrected before too much damage can be done, the affected star may be able to right itself, but if it is allowed to worsen, the very planet could unravel and disintegrate into a supernova type burst of aether. The appearance of one of these supernovae in the skies is an astronomical event that heralds the dawn of a new Age, and since they often light up the sky similar to massive stars exploding, sometimes these facsimiles are referred to as "Stars".

The Archetype
The world known as The Archetype, also locally referred to as Kalmora, is the original source world from which the Facsimiles were created. The Great Creator is said to watch primarily over this world, with it being His original creation. Many different races and peoples live here and have adventures that are covered in The Tales of Kalmora, and is an integral part of the Jalenga's history as well. Kalmora is home to a myriad of different races, some of which carry parallels to the Serenza races of Mencu. Most notably, a slightly more "tested" form of Kumenza exist there, known locally as the Kalesh. Kalmora is also the original homeworld for The Mavericks: Kada, Zoroka, and Aveline, although they are not the only characters to have traversed multiple worlds.

The Archetype differs from the Facsimiles insomuch that its overall stability and balance does not hang in jeopardy. It is believed that the very world is connected to the existence of The Great Creator, and thus as long as that entity exists, Kalmora will never dissipate the way many of the Facsimiles have. While it is not without its problems and its aetheric balance is not always perfect, it is believed to be under the protection of The Great Creator, even if there are some Facsimiles that have stronger stability than it.

Notable Facsimiles
The events of The Crest of Zabutur take place primarily in the 197th Age, and as such, most of the Facsimiles have already been dissipated or destroyed. However, a few that remain or that have not been lost to recent memory stand as the most notable stars, and are well-known to immortal or other long-lived creatures such as deities or Jalenga.

The 5th Star
The 5th Star, also known as Tokorima, is one of the four worlds that has survived with The Archetype into the 197th Age. It is a lush and green world populated with treacherously dense forest and jungle growth that covers the land like moss on rock, and the oceans are similarly full of aquatic plants even at daunting depths. The inhabitants are primarily smaller humanoid individuals with feathered wings not unlike the Serenghe on Mencu, although they come in far more varieties. Because of the abundance of resources, the inhabitants have to be just as aggressive against nature as it is against them to keep their cities from being overgrown and reclaimed by the fierce flora of the star. The largest city in Tokorima is an enormous multi-layered megalopolis known as Kadanas-Fe. Interestingly enough, this city and its suburbs inhabit the same area that the Sayenzi Greatwood covers on Mencu. While the flora of this world does seem to be an ever-looming threat, the overall aetheric stability of The 5th Star remains high, and thus is in little imminent danger of collapse.

The 52nd Star
Main Article: Mencu The 52nd Star, better known as Mencu, is the primary setting of the The Crest of Zabutur series. A notorious bastion of aetheric stability, the world has attracted a great many forces from other worlds, including the Jalenga, various deities, and even otherworldly invaders with far more malicious intent than the Jalenga. This aether-dense world is believed to have lasted well into the 197th Age because of its stability and because of the resilience of its versatile inhabitants, although with how many different pivotal events have occurred during this unusually long age, some believe that Mencu was primed to become the star that would unravel and trigger the 198th Age. However, if this is to be the case, none of the inhabitants seem keen on allowing it to happen.