There were two planets. One called Overworld, and one called Nether. In Overworld, there lived a primitive race. They built temples and other buildings in many places -in ocean, in deserts, in jungles. They even made networks of tunnels underground they called mine shafts. On the other planet, called Nether, was an advances species. However, their resources where running out and their sun was dying. So, they decided to search for a new planet, and found one. It just so happened that they had found Overworld. Desperate for a new home, they wiped out the species that lived there (or thought they did), and began living there. However, they still relied on the resources from their home planet, and built star-gates there. They planned to sever this connection once they had built a formidable home for themselves in the over world. Things went on OK for a while, but they soon felt cramped staying on one planet, as they previously lived on several in their solar system. They created cities on nearby asteroids, and made star gates there too. But they were growing too quickly to survive off of resources transported there from a drying home world. Their sun exploded before they could build a suitable home on the over world, and their home planet was transformed into a fiery wasteland. The once thriving advanced species died out. But still life existed. The Overworld natives still survived in their mine-shafts underground. When they discovered the "aliens" had gone, they came out of hiding and resumed their life on the surface, now even more primitive. Steve is the last surviving member of the advanced race, but it doesn't help him much. He simply survives out in the wilderness, sometimes visiting the primitive temples and villages of the native race. He does however, know how to create the star-gates back to his homeworld. Its a desolate wasteland now, but resources can still be found such as quartz and netherack (netherack was the main crust material of Nether, so it was named after the planet. Similar to Earths crust containing soil, which gave it the additional name "earth"). Steve also knows about the stargate to the asteroid cities, but they can not be reached so easily. The resources to make that type of star-gate don't exit naturally in the overworld. To get to the asteroids, you have to locate the single existing star-gate, which is found in a stronghold underground. The cities are mostly just empty buildings and pillars now, but the pillars do have healing properties to some creatures. One of these is a dragon like thing that has evolved from the animals the advanced race brought with them. Similarly strange creatures live in Nether, and still some in Overworld. Steve lives a sad, lonely existence, rummaging through the debris of things his race once built, but he has no other choice.