BACKGROUND: The Wyld universe is much like our own, with a major twist at the start of the year 2000. For two years people all over the world suddenly manifest uncontrollable magical powers. These 'Wyld', as they come to be called, are soon killed on sight to protect everyone else. In 2002 things change. Wyld appear with much greater frequency, but much less power. But their power is controllable. The first kind are later called Untamed, and the latter Tamed.

Those two years see great changes throughout the world. The United States fragments into several smaller countries. Hawaii becomes part of Japan, along with a few other Pacific islands. Several smaller countries collapse outright, or are absorbed by larger countries. Religious fanaticism reaches an all-time high, greatly affecting the structure of new countries and old alike.

Below is a map of the former USA:

(The dark blue one is Cascadia and includes part of Canada)

Japan is about the only country that is not seriously affected. They see the Wyld, at least the Tamed, as being blessed and embrace them. As a result Japan, and Hawaii once it is absorbed by Japan, becomes the destination of choice for Wyld fleeing oppressive governments and violence. Avoiding most of the rioting and damage that other countries face, Japan flourishes more than ever.

Eventually it is learned that everyone 'goes Wyld' between their nineteenth and twentieth birthdays. If they were already twenty years old or older when the Taming occurred (the event which caused the change in the way Wyld manifest), they don't go Wyld at all. Those who will not go Wyld are called 'Normals' and still wield most of the power in the world.

Wyld manifest in infinite ways, but there are certain trends:

Humans: Wyld who look normal. Some groups promote the idea that they are the 'new human', an evolutionary step forward. Other Wyld are considered dead-ends by many.

Fae: Wyld who look, and often have powers and personalities like, Fairies, Elves, Sidhe, Leprechauns, etc. Two Fae of the same type are not always the same in power or personality. They will often follow one particular portrayal of their type (D&D versus traditional folklore, for instance).

Beast: Beast Wyld have animal attributes. Anything from a single trait, like cat ears, to being an animal completely (sometimes even in mind). Their powers are usually nature based.

Monster: Monster Wyld look like, have the powers of, and sometimes even personality, of mythological monsters. Many could also be considered Fae. Monster Wyld are usually unattractive by human standards and often have enhanced physical abilities. Their powers are usually destructive.

Angelic: Angelic Wyld are always beautiful and look like angels or other positive religious icons (Not just Christian/Jewish/Muslim). They often have great charisma and the ability to influence others to their own benefit. Healing and light-based powers are also common.

Demonic: Demonic Wyld are the counterpart to Angelic Wyld. They are not necessarily ugly, however. Many are quite beautiful. Particularly Succubus and Incubus types.

Cyber: Cyber Wyld have the ability to interface directly with computers with their minds. Their power is only useful inside a computer, though they tend to have a little more insight into how electronics work than their actual education would suggest. Cyber Wyld have caused large jumps forward in programming, with much smaller improvements in electronics in general.

Mythos: Mythos Wyld look, and often act, like creatures from an H.P. Lovecraft story. They are usually insane, at least at the time of manifestation, and can cause insanity in others.

Plants: The plant version of Beast Wyld, they have plant-like features such as green skin that absorbs sunlight or leaves growing out of their hair. They can often feed on sunlight by one means or another and some can even plant roots for sustenance. They are generally patient and have nature-based powers.

Dark: Dark Wyld consist of Vampires, Werewolves and other weres. They can infect other Wyld, or Normals. This is the only way a Normal can become Wyld-ish. All Dark Wyld can appear normal at least some of the time.

RULES:

1: There are only five Untamed in the world still living. If you want to use one of these contact me, as I've already got at least some background on each.

2: Tamed Wyld are all roughly the same power level, but they may never know this. Power variation is okay, but less powerful seeming Wyld will always have hidden depths to their powers that put them on par with other Wyld.

3: No super-science. Cyber Wyld have accelerated technological advancement in only very limited ways, mostly in computer programming. Science has so far completely failed to understand Wyld powers so has gained nothing from it outside of Cyber contributions.

4: Magic has existed all along, but very few people knew about it. Those few can now do much more with it than they could before. Wyld have a natural talent for it that varies from person to person. Fae are particularly adept. However, most people don't know that magic outside of Wyld powers exists. There should not be a lot of magic users around, though a story about a family of magic users would obviously have more. But this kind of magic is still being kept secret.

5: The cause of the Taming is already planned and will be revealed in later stories by me. If you want to include information about it that hasn't appeared in one of my stories so far, contact me.

6: Any time frame from 2000 to 2023 is open for use, but please try to make sure not to include information that isn't known in that time frame. For instance, people in 2005 didn't know that everyone 'goes Wyld' between 19 and 20. But in 2010 it's common knowledge. Also, remember that all Wyld between 2000 and the beginning of 2002 are extremely powerful and are usually killed on sight. Only the five mentioned in #1 survived.

7: My Wyld logo (above) is available for use in Wyld Universe stories only. I'd actually prefer it is used on all Wyld stories (even if really small), but this is not a requirement.

8: Fanfiction is okay. If you want to write a story in the Wyld Universe that doesn't follow one or more of the above rules, just mark it fanfiction and you'll get no complaints from me. :)

9: Wyld transformations are instantaneous, without physical sensation and usually accompanied by a flash of light.

10: Reserved in case I think of anything else. ;)

It's not necessary to contact me in order to write a Wyld story, unless you have questions or want to use one of my characters or an Untamed. If you do, and I read it and find it doesn't follow my rules or I have some other problem with it, I'll contact you. I want to encourage people to write in my universe, so I won't be too strict and try to compromise where I can.

I think that about covers it. If you have any questions, or want to use one of my characters or an Untamed, please PM me!

Thanks!