What Is Bonfire?

Bonfire is an original world by yours truly. In short, it is a post-apocalyptic universe where technology has, for the most part, regressed to the preindustrial era. The world is populated by two separate species of humans, the Higher Humans and the Lower Humans. It's some weird mixture of medieval, Victorian, and modern aesthetics, all wrapped up into one 'darkest timeline' bow.

Bonfire has been my personal pet project for 8 years now, and has gone through many iterations since (some on purpose, some simply because my memory is absolutely horrendous). The goal is to eventually publish this world in webcomic format, following a main plot divided into four-but-technically-five acts.

The main plot is about an adventurer's group called Bonfire, a large group of children who may or may not follow a mildly divine ghost cat with the vague intention of 'fixing everything, maybe.' Depending on who you ask, they either want to explore the world and help people, take out the Gang Lords and install a new government, keep the Anthros from going extinct, or even make a new society in the wilds of the Hidden Lands.

The wonderful world of Bonfire

Bonfire takes place almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. Most of the world's human population lives either in Tartarus (Europe, Asia, Australia) or the Hidden Lands (Africa).

Tartarus is a world lost deep in the throes of history. It is ruled by monarchic tyrants who go by the name of the Gang Lords, demigods who rule almost entirely by divine right. The societies under them are highly feudalistic, with a strong cultural focus on growing both territory and wealth through conquest. Technophobia runs rampant, as it is believed that most advanced technology is simply too powerful in the wrong hands (see in the hands of anyone who isn't of noble blood). After several hundred years, only a handful of territories are left.

The Hidden Lands, on the other hand, is a place sequestered from the rest of the world by The Mountains, an artificial barrier that spans the entire African coast and the border with the Middle East. While the area north of the Sahara isn't in much better condition than Tartarus, central and southern Africa have become the last bastion of modern life left in the world. 

The People

The world of Bonfire is inhabited by three separate species of humans, along with a handful of humanoid species.

First are the Higher Humans, a race of humans characterized both by their ability to have unnatural eye colors and their possessing of one of several forms of magic. They're native only to Tartarus, where they make up the majority of the middle class and the entirety of the upper class. They can have several powers, including-

• Fire. This is characterized by a natural ability to set themselves or their surroundings on fire. Their appendixes have been repurposed into flame sacs, and their bodies contain a secondary circulatory system which both serves to transport highly flammable oils to the skin and also as the fuse to light those oils as required. Their skin itself is often highly flame resistant, as is the actual vessels transporting the oils.
• Water. This is characterized by the ability to freely manipulate water. Many Water Highers also have the ability to breathe underwater through the use of their repurposed right lung, which is less of a proper lung and more of a compact filtration system. Some also have the ability to freeze water, although this seems to be mutually exclusive with the ability to breathe underwater.
• Air. This is characterized by the ability to manipulate wind patterns and air pressure around them to a certain degree. While they cannot directly change air content, they can cause chemical reactions in any gas, such as rupturing water molecules in the air to increase the oxygen content. They can also control vibrations in the air, such as sound waves, manipulating them to a certain degree.
• Earth. This is characterized by the ability to manipulate soil and rock, seemingly through some form of telekinesis. This may also relate to the magnetic forces of the earth.
• Toxin. This is characterized by the ability to create natural venoms that can be secreted through the skin, saliva, or even blood. The effects of the toxin differ depending on the person- some can be nothing more than a hallucinogen, while others may cause total organ failure. Toxin Highers are immune to the effects of their own venom, but are almost always susceptible to the venoms of other Toxin Highers- even those of parents or siblings.
• Electric. This is characterized by the ability to create or manipulate electrical patterns in the world around them. While the lack of technology makes the latter a more difficult aspect of the power to use, it is still a highly versatile power. Some Electric Highers can detect the presence of others by their electrical signature, while others have the ability to use their sparks as a weapon.

Along with this, Gang Lords and their close relatives have the ability to have two powers that overlap to make a new power altogether.

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Lower Humans are, to put it simply, humans without powers. Due to a natural mutation, they also have the ability to have unnatural hair colors, but cannot have unnatural eye colors. They're native to Tartarus, and make up the great majority of the lower classes (hence the name) and have a small minority in the middle classes, with no representation in the upper classes. Despite often taking up the place of the peasantry, their numbers are few and far between. They suffer from several generations of inbreeding, and extreme societal and governmental discrimination- such as the inability to own a weapon of any kind, or face possible execution. Although they have the most reason to want to destroy the current power balance, due to their low numbers and the sheer lack of power they have in any form, there has yet to be a successful coup of any kind fostered by them.

Anthros are an unusual species, characterized by being human-animal hybrids. They are biologically immortal, unable to age beyond a certain point and also immune to age-related diseases, but are also unable to reproduce. If the Red List still existed, they would be considered endangered- while their numbers remain stable in the Hidden Lands, they are practically extinct in Tartarus. This and the cultural view on them as inhuman beasts have led to them turning into a high-value commodity among the rich Tartarusians, leading to those who haven't already been poached, more than likely, ending up as a human's pet.

Nixens are a magical species of humanoids, said to be the direct descendants of dragons. Much like Anthros, they are  immortal- however, they cannot die of starvation, exposure, or any other cause than complete decapitation. Evolution and their minor shapeshifting abilities has driven them to mostly become human mimics who can blend in perfectly as a Higher or a Middle human. Very few even know what they are, nonetheless that that actually exist.