Haven
The state of the world had been deteriorating for decades, but we chose distraction over awareness. As pollution levels increased, air quality steadily declined. Disease and infection spread easily, and death rates soared. Natural disasters became more frequent and the destruction they caused more catastrophic. Rising political tensions resulted in war across the globe, leaving many countries in ruins. The long-observed gap between wealth and poverty widened substantially. When living conditions became deplorable, the wealthy flocked to private islands where money could buy luxuries like vegetables and clean water. The remaining people were spread throughout the world, all fighting to survive in their own personal purgatory. They called this the Divide. The islands formed a new continent named Valorem. There is power in a name. To name something is to validate it - to humanize it. Healthcare, law enforcement, and government were now reserved for Valorem. The old world was nothing but the ruins of a civilization that no longer existed. Resources were hoarded, famine was rampant, and violence was unavoidable. People had lost all civility - all humanity.
