Horizon

Horizon, also known as The Horizon, or FD-001, is the universe where the vast majority of Horizon Hoppers takes place, and it is also the universe housing the Horizon Foundation.

It possesses a strange ability to randomly abduct individuals from other universes, placing them primarily upon various planets throughout the galaxy known as The Great Spiral. This effect is referred to as the Horizon's Pull.

Origins
" If you were to walk upon the soil of each world in the Great Spiral, like I have, then you, too, would feel as if you had seen nearly all there is to see. But I have come to learn that our world is not quite so small as that. If you look beyond the ends of the Horizon, you too will witness infinite wonders, infinite beauty the likes of which you have never imagined. All you need is to will the seek it, and the means to make infinity fit within your grasp. " - Founder Daniel

FDH-001, referred to as Horizon by citizens, is believed to have come into existence several billion years ago in a massive sudden creation of a tremendous amount of matter and energy, similar to a number of other universes throughout reality. The source of this sudden "big bang" is unknown, and there are several scientific theories as well as religious doctrines that claim to offer some semblance of clarity to what sort of power is capable of triggering such an event. Irregardless, the Horizon, an ever-expanding universe filled with a large number of galaxies and star systems, was brought into existence, alongside an infinite number of identical Horizons across the multiverse. However, this particular detail would go unknown to the Horizon's residents for quite some time.

The term "Horizon" was first created by a religious order of spiritualists known as The Faith of Stars, who believed the answers to life's greatest questions could be found only by looking "within and without", meaning understanding one's own self and also seeking peace by acting upon the outside world in a positive manner. They also believed the answers to life's greatest mysteries could be found by reaching the very edge of the universe, which they referred to as the Horizon. Though this order is long gone, their influence shaped many of the cultures found in the Horizon today. In particular, their ideals of finding answers by looking both outward and inward inspired modern-day astronomers to name the universe using a title that meant "one's future lying alongside one's home", or that the universe itself was also the distant horizon, calling forth eager hearts to face challenges and conquer any obstacles in their path.

In time, as is natural with any universe that holds sentient life, biological processes manifested and evolved in a regular pattern on a number of different planets, with different species coming into existence as a result of exposure to different planetary conditions.

The Great Spiral
The Great Spiral is one of several larger galaxies located within the Horizon's boundaries, and is actually located close to the center of the universe (in relative terms, anyway, as it is still several light-years away). It contains several star-systems, each with a variety of different planets, both inhabited and lifeless. The Great Spiral is the home to the main headquarters of the Horizon Foundation, which is located on the planet of Neo Eden. Interestingly enough, the Horizon's Pull seems to prefer transporting individuals to planets within the Great Spiral, or at least, there is not yet any evidence that they are being placed anywhere else.

Deep Space
The outer regions of the Horizon are referred to by Great Spiral residents as "Deep Space". This area of the universe has largely gone unexplored, as it is believed to be filled with harmful cosmic entities and anomalous forces. Several exhibitions into the farthest regions of Deep Space have ended up with missing flight crews, which has largely deterred any further efforts to uncover it's secrets. It was believed by The Faith of Stars that whoever manages to break through the horrors of Deep Space would be able to open a path for others.

This Deep Space region is also believed to be responsible for the difficulty in travelling outside of the universe. Normally, multiversal travel can be quite easy for a wide variety of worlds, simply requiring a set of time-space coordinates and a functioning inter-dimensional transportation unit. However, within the Horizon, such travel is impossible due to the extreme difficulty of pinning down precise coordinate numbers. When an attempt is made to locate a particular world, the results are filled with inaccuracies and uncertainties. This is believed to be somehow caused by something residing within Deep Space, but there is no true evidence to this claim.

History
The Horizon evolved and was molded into it's current state over a great many years by it's residents. Once several planets discovered the science behind safe space travel, it would only be a matter of a few centuries before a full-fledged inter-universe communication network was founded and several galaxies began working upon creating groups of allied planetary governments. Though there was a great deal of war several decades ago, it has largely died down, and many worlds throughout the Horizon remain relatively peaceful, at least in terms of relationships with other planets.

The Faith of Stars remained prevalent for a long time, gathering followers and working to improve conditions for the less fortunate throughout the universe. However, they would begin to face controversy when their attempts to chart maps of Deep Space would result in the deaths of the crews of several research vessels determined to uncover what lay outside of the inner regions of the universe.

This controversy surrounding their institution would only escalate when it was discovered that The Faith of Stars was in fact attempting to also uncover paths to achieving immortality, utilizing unlawful genetic research, time manipulation, consciousness uploads into robotic bodies and even attempts to resuscitate the dead. The Faith of Stars believed their efforts were justified if it meant bringing prosperity and knowledge to the universe, but nonetheless, they had gone behind the backs of the Horizon's various government systems in order to achieve their goals, and so they were tried for their crimes and the order was disbanded.

Despite their collapse, their teachings remain embedded in many different cultures throughout the universe, and their goal of breaking through Deep Space remains a genuine scientific mission statement of many high-level research organizations.

Several years later, a young man known only as Daniel would proclaim that a great evil was descending from Deep Space to destroy the Horizon. Soon after, dark eldritch horrors indeed appeared, larger than suns, making their way towards the inner regions of Horizon space, consuming several planets and rendering their residents little more than undead husks with no desires except to destroy any sentient life they came across. Daniel, with the help of a band of heroes from other universes, managed to destroy the queen of these beasts and banish them into a pocket dimension, ending the threat. The people looked upon Daniel as a hero, and he became a legendary individual, his status and story remaining well-known even to this day.