There is no place like home

One of the unique features of the SmallPowers multiverse is that there is no universe that contains Earth, not even one of them. Which might seem strange, what with the multiverse where these stories all take place being an infinite number of universes. This can be explained by the simple fact that infinite does not mean inclusive. There are infinite places that are not our world. This was a deliberate choice and almost an imperative when constructing these tales. There are already thousands of stories that rely on the history of our world, both actual and fictional. Alternate histories, pre-histories and parallel universes abound in literature. As well as the inevitable arrival of some characters from fiction created by someone from our universe. Sherlock Holmes wanders into a thousand times and planets, as writ, and in my opinion brings nothing new by that. There is nothing inherently wrong with using Earth, Fictional Earths, or Earth's History. There are plenty of good reasons to use the catalogue of characters, items and places in new fiction. There is the small problem of there being the weight of all the other renditions pressing in on a new tale and pulling the reader's mind to a direction that may not serve the story at hand. There is, of course, the necessity of using terms from our place and time. Elves, for example, renamed and modified never seem to resonate the same way an author might wish.

The SmallPowers multiverse has many people and items that are named and described in terms that are familiar to us. The people of men are mainly human, although some live longer or shorter than we do. Elves, dwarves, goblins and giants are found as often as dragons and griffins. However, they do not trace their origins to some mythic place named "Dirt" or Mother Earth Universe Prime. They are described as they exist in their own place and time as they are. The name is a description more than their foundation, essence, or formation.

In addition, each of the stories are set in universes that have very limited connection to one another. The connection, for most of them, is that a wizard of the Order has shown up to halt an impending apocalypse. There are a few places that do have serious connections to other places. The universe that holds the planet where the Order leases a bunch of caves for offices and workrooms is one. A witch named Penta and her husband, Bob the white wizard, have a small cottage that serves as an alternative meeting place for many of the senior wizards of the council of the wise. The gray-mists of the Elves is more a place between universes, as is the location of Hoonast's tower where many of the transport wizards meet and rest. The great henge is another unique place that has no place in a single universe, as seen in the tale of Stella, Olivia, and Beatrix. There are even places that are manifested entities, as seen in Betkorn's story.

In all; the items, places, characters and their histories are utterly unconnected to our universe. They are new and unencumbered by the threads of our past and our future. Nonetheless, I am sure you will find them all to be just as real as anything or anyone from our universe.