<span style="color: #FF8000"><span style="font-weight: bold"><div style="text-align: center;">VORTEXIA</div></span><br/><br/>The vortexians were an old race. A race that was among the first to develop space travel. The vortexians altered space travel. Amped it up to include the ability to travel through worm holes. And even more amazingly to traverse a blackhole from one side to the next like it was nothing. The Vortexian homeworld was a dry planet that was still lush with life. No forests grew in thick groves but there was small populations of trees dotting various areas of the massive landmasses that made up the planet. The world was sectioned off into four large continents.<br/> <br/>On the southern section was a very wide six mile long continent that spread all across the bottom fifth of the round planet of vortexia. The entire southern continent was covered in ice, snow, mountains, and on the eastern side a thick forest leading into waterbound willow trees on the outer edges of the world. On the far lower end is a large snowy mountain range spanding across much of the southern part of the land mass all the way around to the other side of the land mass on the world.<br/> <br/>The middle and eastern continent continent was desert land for miles around. Several oasis and a waterfall dotted the desert which had large sand dunes that rolled on for miles upon miles. Leading from the sand dunes of the large desert land to the northeastern was a great canyon miles long. The canyon dropping down with a rapid and dangerous river with sand bars on either side. To the southwestern side of the desert is a steep sharp dropping cliff that leads to a body of water line with tall sharp pointed rocks and dangerous rapids of swirling water. This body of water leads into the ocean that surrounds the land mass on all sides.<br/> <br/>To the western side of the world is a large mass of land surrounded by tons of islands dotting the waters on all sides. In the center of the western continent is a large and dangerous active volcano. Far to the edges of the volcano known as Mount Houdalii is a set of cities that are populated by a race of Vortexian that look much like golems and mountain rocs. To the northern edges of the rocky land making up the surrounding area around Mount Houdalii is bumpy rock terrain. Dotted with occasional tuffs of grass and the once in a blue moon willowy tree that holds very little life to it. In fact they are skeletal in appearance. Dotting the northen edges of the rocky terrain is areas populated by tents of nomadic tribes. There is a bit of greenary that surrounds the entire outer edge of the volcanic continent. Thin and barely there it is more like a glossing of green than true land. The many islands have several dotted with smaller less active volcanos. Several of the volcanic islands the volcano took up the whole islands. Several were dormant. The islands were like their own many continents due to they all had their own governments and cultures. The ones that were populated. There was a few deserted islands. The far western islands were populated with thousands of different types of fruit trees.<br/> <br/>The northern continent was filled with meadows, valleys, hills, and plains. The land was lush and vibrant. Flowers dotted many of the meadows. There was an occasional bush dotting the land here and there. These bushes covered with exotic berries of delicious flavor. The hills are smooth and rolling green life. To the entire northern half of the continent is a thick and lush jungle. Filled with animals and plantlife of all kinds. This jungle thins out and leads into the other half of the continent which is the meadows, valleys, hills and plains.<br/> <br/>In the center of it all is a land mass that no one considers a continent due to its small size. It was approximately half the size of Earth's Australia. It had a giant lake in the middle of the land mass that had rivers trailing out in the four directions of north, east, south, and west. Leading into the ocean. It was flat lands that were lush and filled with greenary and life. Unfortunately this island also laid on the only location where there was tectonic activity. Therefore it was often riddled with earthquakes.<br/> <br/>All together the many seas of this world were peaceful. Minus certain areas where volcano's erupted or earthquakes rattled the planets continents.</span><br/><br/><div style="text-align: center;">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</div><br/><br/><span style="color: #00FF00"><span style="font-weight: bold"><div style="text-align: center;">THE BEGINNING</div></span><br/><br/>Vortexia had thrived and advanced for many, many years. They began their collecting or treasure hunting ways on their own planet. Archealogists of all kinds mixed with treasure hunters searched the lands from top to bottom. Unearthing and excavating many areas where their ancestors had once lived. Finding all kinds of treasures and rare items. They began collecting and saving these finds. At first the treasure hold was on an uncharted island in the very middle of the ocean between the three upper continents. As they progressed in technological and scientifical worldliness, they began to realize they needed treasures and items from other planets. The moment they gained space travel they began pirating other worlds. Treasure hunting in ruins and forbidden zones. They went far and wide gathering treasure and putting it in their uncharted island.<br/> <br/>When their technology became the most highly advanced in all the universe they began to work on building the Vortex. A treasure hold built in another dimension. As they built this treasure hold they also created the Vortexian Cube. The item which would be the key to finding and opening the treasure hold in its other dimension. Years upon years they worked on the Vortex treasure hold. Still they gathered treasure from all over the universe. Traveling through space time continium. Creating worm holes and traversing any blackhole they came across. Finally thousands of years after it was originally created the Vortex was finished. They sealed it each and every time they used the Vortexian Cube to store their treasure. Each year the treasure increased in mass and quantity. They began to build clues and puzzles. Anything they could think of to make finding their treasure, should the cube fall into others hands, difficult and challenging to get to.<br/> <br/>When they finished this treasure hold they decided people going to their planet would lead to knowledge that was dangerous to their hiding the location and secret behind the Vortex. So they destroyed their own planet after getting everyone off of it. Just blew it up into millions upon zillions of tiny tiny atoms. This continued on for many, many, many years. Until one day...the Vortexians suddenly just...vanished. Their Vortexian cube just suddenly...vanished. As if destroyed by the universe itself the Vortexians ceased to exist. They ceased to be known, seen, or found. They became known as the lost race. All that remained was the key to the Vortex. The Vortexian treasure hold. The Vortexian Cube began to travel aimlessly through space. Sentient but unable to do anything while floating without cause through space and time itself.</span><br/><br/><div style="text-align: center;">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`</div><br/><br/><span style="color: #FFFF00"><span style="font-weight: bold"><div style="text-align: center;">EARTH</div></span><br/><br/>Earth. The one place in the world where chaos is part of the order. Where without chaos there wouldnâ€™t be society. Only this Earth is much more futuristic. It has things that run on steam. Weapons that contain gears. Clocks that show gears. Clothing that varies from the Earth told about in stories to the Earth we call home to total Steampunk style. There are massive machines that fly through the sky. These ships are powered by clockwork, gears, and of course...steam. They vary from normal boats to advanced ships straight out of a science fiction film. The teens possess skateboards that fly with solar panels and steam when its night. The pop up wing like sail helps guide the skateboard through the air.<br/><br/>Weapons vary from average pistols to pimped out steampunk weapons loaded with gears and triggered by steam rather than spark or powder. There is even gears that allow you to travel underwater for longer periods of time than you could with scuba gear and oxygen tanks. There are things called Soarwings that enable the wearer to fly as long as they have control over their thoughts and feelings. A calm mind is needed for these as anything else will cause you to plummet to the earth at perilous angles. The soarwings are strapped under your armpits and around the waist. Worn on your back and can be landed by thought. The soarwings only work during the daytime because sunlight is the strongest energy source. At low levels it is possible on the night of a full moon to fly at low altitudes by moonlight.<br/><br/>The rich even lucked out and have a steam powered flying car. It is extremely expensive and usually only able to be custom made. This product is not available to the common public. In fact these cars are quite rare due to the difficulty and time that went into making them. Generally running close to a hundred million dollars for the basic design. Plus whatever the price of the pimping out parts cost. Usually only the very rich could afford this. These cars varied from Viper looking cars to mustangs or camarros.</span><br/><br/><div style="text-align: center;">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</div><br/><br/><span style="color: #FF0000"><span style="font-weight: bold"><div style="text-align: center;">CENTURIES LATER...</div></span><br/><br/>The Vortexian Cube had traveled far and wide unnoticed and unseen amongst the stars of the galaxy. For centuries its course had been thrown this way and that way or altered by things that passed by it in space. The comets, the meteors, and the ships that passed by it sent it hurtling in different directions and at different speeds. The further into space it traveled the more knowledge it absorbed by the things it picked up as it passed by planets and ships. It sent out little ripples of sound that absorbed knowledge. It stored this knowledge in its â€œbrainâ€, the sphere that was an exact replica of Vortexia within the cube, so as to keep this knowledge for use at a later date. Throughout space it traveled as it slowed and began to near the Milky Way Galaxy.<br/><br/>Traveling through the solar systems of the Milky Way Galaxy it neared the Earthian solar system. Passing by each and every planet from Planet X to Mars. As it began to float past Mars a meteor was sent flying out of the Meteorite Belt between Mars and Jupiter. The cube happened to enter its path of trajectory. Caught within the path of the meteor it was pressed against the underside of the front of the meteor. As the meteor fell through the planets atmosphere and began breaking apart the piece containing the Vortexian Cube was sent flying through the air. Hurtling downwards at rapid speeds. The meteor piece and the Vortexian Cube broke apart.<br/><br/>This sent the cube hurtled rapidly through the air in a spiral. It spiraled out of control at a speed that would have made a human sick from the rapid around and around pattern. Suddenly it crashed landed embedded a bit in the ground in front of an Earthling. The cube shimmering and rippling with spacial energy. Glowing a purplish glow as the sphere within the cubes walls spun around and around. The cube sent out ripples of energy like magnets and began absorbing the information of its surroundings. Registering that there was an Earthlian lifeform before it. Hoping the Earthling would pick it up. Yet for the moment it stayed quiet. Very, very quiet. It could talk but for the moment it was the observer and possibly the observed. Then again the human had almost had a scorching hot cube embedded in their foot. Mere inches from where the human had been standing. The cubeâ€™s glow began dimming but the shimmering did not fade. The cube was cooling.</span>