After World War 2, a group of displaced survivors from Europe, Asia, and Africa set out across the arctic ocean to find a home untouched by war and greed. They found one — and named it Metalands. What they did not know was that the land was already occupied by three distinct peoples: the Haptycs, suited creatures dedicated to the protection of their sacred temples; the Prymates, ape-like humans who had either missed or reversed the course of evolution; and the Aythosi, aliens from planet Aythosia who had come for a mineral called CIFI, hoping to use it as a heat source as their home planet drifted further from the sun. After much struggle, all four groups agreed to coexist, divide territory, and share knowledge. That agreement has held — but the balance it rests on has never been particularly stable.