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Continuity
For this development, both the original game as well as Plus are regarded as (vague) canon with minor alterations.
As I’ve never played Awakened Shadow, its canon won’t be included, and personally the direction the anime went in didn’t appeal to me so that also doesn’t contribute.
A majority of Plus’s canon is edited slightly as well, such as the confusing plot and Nene’s redemption arc. He’s too good as an evil bastard being a jerk for a cheeky laff.
Alternative World Development
In my personal opinion, having the entire world be split into two wasn’t the most beneficial decision. It designates regular folk upon the surface as being unimportant, the impact of the entire planet breaking apart feels downplayed to benefit those able to traverse such an event. So to rectify this, I propose another alternative:
The world is a hollow machine
Instead of bisecting into two pieces, the world itself is an Ancient device filled with pockets and tunnels that can serve as locations for Cubes and other Ancient relics. It means the planet itself can/has awakened whilst preventing the alienation of regular folk through a global cataclysm.
The Ancients
The Ancients remain as a race from hundreds of years ago that once ruled over the planet, nearly all perishing in the fires of war.
Though remnants remain of their civilization, they were actually extraterrestrial beings who came from the stars and settled upon the planet.
As their technological prowess grew so did their ambition, beginning to integrate their work into the planet itself to strengthen and fuel it. The planet’s fundamental functions remained sound through specific programs and careful integration, but it led to the entire planet becoming a subterranean machine.
Though referred to as the Ancients, records were discovered that indicated they went by the Sojournans during their time, a fact known to a rare few.
It is unknown why the Ancients left their home planet.
What are Shadows?
Shadows are made of magic, which is the latent power of the planet that lies dormant in all beings born from it.
Millennia ago, the planet was rife with megafauna and thriving with magic in a delicate yet sustained balance.
The Ancients arrived from outer space searching for new lands, and immediately drew towards its high energy. They wove it to their own needs, its passive energy fuelling the magic dwelling within them from their own planet.
This energy congealed upon the point where the Ancients’ magic intersected with the planet’s; their Shadows. As not every Ancient possessed the inner strength to extend their magic to mingle with the planet’s, they turned their attention to developing machines to assist in their perceived shortcomings.
However, as the magic was slowly siphoned away, the natural balance began to shift and the glorious megafauna began to fall.
The creatures of the planet all retain a spark of that magic, both human, monster, and robots born of the metal of the earth. This legacy spanning since ancient times lies dormant within the new inhabitants of the world; their Shadow reflecting a form part of them once took millennia ago.
A Sense of Self
As a person’s connection grows with their Shadow, they begin to gain a consciousness and personality of their own reflecting their wielder’s inner self. Though sometimes appearing to be the stark opposite of their user, their Shadow often represents a different facet of their personality, or a side that contrasts their wielder well to provide a strong voice of reason for them.
As a Shadow’s strength grows, they gain the ability to separate themselves from their wielder for a period representative of their magical power and drive. The stronger or more tenacious the Shadow, the longer it can stay apart from their wielder.
The time they have left is indicated in the lustre of their Aspect, a golden item upon their person that acts like a visible metre on how much strength they have remaining before being called back to their wielder to regenerate.
While a Shadow can take a physical form whilst separated from their wielder, they retain their ability to become Corporeal, a form reflective of who they were as Megafauna in ancient times, to release a burst of concentrated magical power.
Dragons
The biggest, baddest monsters in the entire world, dragons are an intimidating enigma with painfully little research done around them due to their rare and volatile natures. Rumours are rife about them across all cultures: that they were once ancient gods that rebelled and were cast onto the mortal plain, that they are monsters warped by negative energy, consuming all around them to build their tremendous power, or that they are the energy of the earth and its terrible, beautiful rage manifested physically. Despite all the beliefs, all creatures know that they are beasts to be feared and revered in the same breath.
New Settlements
Olma Village
Since the world awakening three years prior, multiple new settlements have arisen, as well as existing ones that weren’t explored.
With the sheep tribe camp on the Isle of the Dead moving on, a village of Mediums arose, called Olma. Deeply spiritual and hermetic, they keep themselves to themselves whilst exploring the physical and spiritual plains upon the island.
Maintaining a good relationship with nomadic tribes, they are a kind and caring tribe that welcomes visitors eagerly. They don’t receive many visitors however due to the isolated location they live as well as their eccentric nature.
The city of Jublienne
Positioned in an arid and isolated desert, an oasis of culture and technology has sprung up with the activation of an Ancient monument: The Glass Palace.
The Glass Palace stands as an alternative to the Glass Spires; instead of being blades that bisect the world, it is a hub in which the dormant planet can/was awakened from.
With the demise of the Phantom Dragon, the people of the desert were able to establish a more permanent home that has flourished into a city rivalling Jibral itself. The Sultana has been more than eager to study Ancient technology, funding a research team within the Glass Palace itself.
Norwenna
A small hot spring town deep in the mountains of the north. A popular tourist spot and a good place to rest during northern expeditions, its natural springs are both beneficial and highly popular albeit out of the way.
Quite traditional due to their isolation, most of their people tend to travel for trade or work to provide for their families back in the village. The harsh winters they face are contrasted by the warmth they hold for one another, extending this welcome to people who take the less trodden path to visit them.
Monster Town
A settlement recently set up to the west of Jibral, created by monsters for monsters who want to live in peace alongside humans. Led by Mayor Poopie, a Poo Snake from the Cerebral Cube, alongside their Shadow, Maharajah.
It has grown into a small yet bountiful hub, fiercely defended by General Szabo’s Shadow, Jack o’ Lantern, with more and more monsters learning of it and coming to establish a peaceful life for themselves.
Though easy-going and amicable, many people are wary of an entire town of monsters, making trade and relationships difficult beyond Jibral. Despite this, Mayor Poopie remains positive and continues to extend the hand of friendship wherever able.