Hi Voyagers! I’m Michael / [url=https://x.com/watchuknow]Spacenorth[/url], back once again to share the latest about [b][i]Voyagers of Nera[/i][/b]! Ever since we released our trailer and after every single playtest, we get a ton of questions about the theme and setting of the game. [i]What is Nera? Where did these mysterious ruins come from? Who are we in this world?[/i] In today’s dev blog, we’d like to share some answers! [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44779674/698dd3722ed3a7d9c5c2b6f7a249e657bb440fd6.png[/img] Nera is an old, primoradial ocean world brimming with magic that was a home for countless nature spirits. These spirits were protected by a race of shepherds and caretakers, massive stone golems that were simply called the Ancients. It was their duty to protect the spirits and to craft a home for them. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44779674/45bf2ba79c56dfb975d663b44fa3a5c33eeaa9fb.png[/img] [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44779674/1627060ba012b4d3964db2512120e2f440a4a83b.png[/img] Unfortunately, the magic of the spirits drew the monsters from the Deep - terrifying creatures that lurk in the darkness, living in the bottom of the oceans where the light does not reach. They hungered for the magic of the spirits and invaded Nera, consuming all the magic they could find. The spirits that survived were driven into hiding and the peaceful Ancients were destroyed, leaving their colossal stone remnants as ruins scattered across the oceans. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44779674/279e7268825aef922168a9140ff1c4d915f050fb.png[/img] Although they were destroyed, the power of the Ancients did not disappear. Over hundreds and thousands of years, as their stone ruins were reclaimed by the world around them, their magic began to reform into new living beings, called Echoes. These beings are who we play as in Voyagers of Nera - humans born from long-dead magic returning to the world. As Echoes, we can connect with the dormant remains of the Ancients and we share the same bond that they once had with the spirits of Nera. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44779674/85ed564a90dcf98211da589ba0eb8e238f925fc9.jpg[/img] It is also our purpose to succeed where the Ancients failed - we must seek out and reawaken the spirits of the world, push back the monsters of the Deep, and rebuild Nera as a haven. If you want to learn more, our Creative Director shared even more details and art from the game at our last dev stream! [previewyoutube=I4r6UTKmjc0;full][/previewyoutube] And, to plug it as always, [url=https://forms.gle/Aq4HdnbwyLxMWUBU6]there’s tons to see in the game if you sign up to playtest! [/url] That’s all for this update - see you in our[url=https://discord.gg/voyagersofnera] Discord [/url]and at our next dev stream this Thursday, August 22nd at 1700pm PT, where we’ll be talking about the Embrace, the first biome of the game! - Michael and the Treehouse Team