"That's a good question?" says Orpheus, chewing his lip slightly as he considers the more philosophical than historical nature of it. "Should we assume there is one? Any more than our original worlds did. A storyteller's dream may have united themes - arcs to follow, or repeated motifs, but does the waking world? Or is reality too messy for that?"

He shakes his head, frowning.

"I think it could, but it may be harder or more complicated than the world Julia made. Especially since the closest thing we have to gods here are the Pthumerians, and there are a lot of them pulling in different directions. I think some of the ones in the city may be related to - or may even be those half-human children, grown now, but I'm not sure. I haven't had the chance to talk to many."

And as much reading as he's managed to do, it's difficult information to stumble upon accidentally. Pthumerians seem to be pretty private about a lot of things, or maybe he was just looking in the wrong places, too busy seeking signs of Julia or the real Deerington to notice anything else.