** The world itself is loosely based on different cultures and ideas from the real world. Volk is Germanic and Lann Dulle is Celtic. El Odran is Spanish and Jiraz is Persian. These are only stylistic suggestions, and do not need to be adhered to at all. Other cultures to think about are Chinese, Indian, Russian, British, you name it.

Federation of Volk - Northern Kingdom. Industrial, had been anti-magic for a long time. Capital is Snowhall. Corporation controlled. Defeated the south, Lann Dulle, in the last war by employing a weapon that could negate magic. Since the forced opening of trade between the two companies at the end of the war, their advances have increased by leaps and bounds, especially by merging magic with technology.

Kingdom of Lann Dulle - Southern Kingdom. Magical with strong currents of tradition being most important. Puppet government, controlled by Volk. Capital is Glaschaire, formerly a city of nature and spirituality. Since Volk corporations have moved in, the city is changing greatly, now you might even seen new concrete and steel buildings going up where they have never been any. A country where beast-people are common.

El Oran - Nation across the western sea, capital has the same name at the country. The capital is built around a massive tree in the estuary of a large river. Well known for their clothing industry. City of Thieves.

Jiraz - Ancient city of magic deep in the desert, making it almost impossible to get to. Home of the first Arcane University. Known to be so strict that students don’t even get to practice magic their first year, instead they must do everything on paper and learn the ins and outs of the theory first.  

Wyford Academy - Independent city-state on the border of both Lann Dulle to the south and Volk to the north. Consists of the Academy at the center of a city that has arisen to support the school. No standing military aside from the school’s population.

Students take classes and advance by year, though the age they can be selected to enter can be anywhere from 16-20. Younger students have been admitted in the past due to extraordinary circumstances. Classes range from the ordinary (math, reading, history) to the more unique, as the school is known for (dungeoneering, adventuring, magical study, weapon training).

Students live in dorms, and are expected to work some amount of hours at the school per week or undergo apprenticeships as independent study.

Those who are accepted do not need to pay a full tuition.

Magic - Any ability that uses mana inherent inside of their body, stored in an object, or gathered from nature that cause a change in the world. Mana can be depleted and restored, given time. Though human bodies can repair themselves, using mana is almost another kind of stamina. Unless the mana is stored in an object (a grimoire or a wand or trinket) then the physical item will degrade.

Mages and Wizards for the most part use Grimoires as a manner of converting mana into magic. New mages attending Wyford from rich families often have the top of the line Qyam Corp grimoires fresh from Jazir. They are filled with all the standard spells, with streamlined enchantments that make casting simpler. However, students from less fortunate parents may have a grimoire that was homemade or purchased second hand, held together by tape and glue. Where all the spells from a mass producer like Qyam will have the same effects, handmedowns may have more customization, with spells fitting the user, or having more unique effects.

Theurgy works similarly, though the nature of the mana gathered comes from Gods. A pact must be formed and its terms must be followed in order to convert the mana into something tangible.

Other types of magics exist, some more rigid like those in Jazir who study runes and magical formulae for years before they are allowed to work magic, and some are less rigid like those thaumaturges who are born with the connection to the elementals, allowing them to manipulate one without the use of a conversion implement like a grimoire or wand. And there are many more still that exist. If it does, someone at Wyford has likely heard of it and can help point students in the right direction to learn more.

Geis - A curse/taboo. Type of magic found in Lann Dulle. Placed upon someone and can cause different status effects if the taboo is violated. Expensive to create, and difficult to maintain. But if you can manage to stack them you can gain more and more power. Breaking a geis has minor problems, you may get a cold, or stain a muscle. If you break too many you could face worse risks.

Races - Humans, elves, goblins, and different animal-people races.

Technology - Thanks to the boon of innovation caused by the free trade between both countries, and Volk forcing Lann Dulle to expose its magical secrets, technology shared between them has jumped ahead by leaps and bounds in the last decade or so. Magitech has become commonplace, with things like controlled lighting, refrigerators, cameras, the beginning of a railroad and airships.

Guises - devices worn on the wrist that act as a mobile computer of sorts. They only work in proximity to Shrine Towers, that create links between explored and inhabited regions. They allow written text, audio and video to be sent between people and small groups. Of course, adventuring parties have come to love them for this reason, as well as students. Small networks of information are available if given access, like the library at Wyford, or In Snowhall.

Shrine Tower - A kind of magical-tech that needs Clerics to maintain. They keep monsters out of settled areas, and also work as a sort of radio towers.

Floating Continent - Newly discovered high above the continent just over the ocean. Incredibly dangerous, protected by flying monsters that has made any foray into exploring more difficult. Recently, thanks to the Wyford Six, a small outpost has finally been established that makes travel back and forth slightly easier. However, given the level of danger and the relative small cargo capacity of the few airships in production, much of the continent remains a mystery.

Wyford Six - Two men, three women, and one nonbinary human. Defeated a dragon (a young drake) that had heavily damaged two airships already, making efforts to establish a base on the floating continent impossible. Their fight was recorded by a Guise, and then transmitted back to the known world. Everyone knows who they are, though perhaps not their names. A traditional party with a healer, a tank, a mage, etc, they are the perfect example of the types of skills Wyford trains. Heroes and celebrities alike, who seem to spend most of their time on the floating continent still.

Airships - While it’s still not the dominant form of travel, they are spreading quickly. Invented and solely produced in Snowhall in Volk. Corporations who built them have more control over them than the government. Wyford has their own, though where it came from is anyone’s guess. given the importance, countries all around the world are trying to steal the designs.

Goblins - Green, short and stubby. Their language is hard for humans to learn, and so not much is known about them. They are a race who worships bread, with most goblins carrying around large pots on their backs full of flour or other ingredients. They often trade with humans, and are known to be trustworthy traders. They sometimes have expensive trinkets and things they are willing to trade undervalue since they don’t see the use of such things. They don’t travel into Volk.

Teleon - Seaside fishing town in Lann Dulle. Fairly large. Built into the side of a large wall wall that spans the continent. 10,000 people or so. Big enough to sustain a school or two, as well as an inn. Only a little farmland, and lots of small fishing boats. Built into a cliff, with the important civic structures built higher up closer to the wall, and the docks and lower income housing nearer to the water.

Timeline

1242 - The Snowhall capitol building is attacked in Volk. A perfectly spherical chunk of the building is erased, killing the elected officials. The military takes control of the country and declares war on Lann Dulle.

1243 - First tests of a weapon that negates magic completed in Volk. Stalemate outside Lann Dulle’s capital, thanks to a group of adventurers protecting and fighting for Lann Dulle.

1244 - The weapon is employed in a small city in Lann Dulle. By all accounts the weapon is devastating to the Lann Dulle military. Surrender is immediate.

1245 - Lann Dulle becomes puppet state of Volk. Under the terms of the surrender Lann Dulle must make available to Volk all requested magical knowledge they control.

1254 - Volk creates the mana  engine.

1257 - Political pressure from Lann Dulle’s populace spurs the creation of a trade agreement in both countries, while strengthening Volk’s control over the economy.

1259 - Quartz camera imaging is invented.

1260’s - Glaischaire moves toward industrialization. Movement between the two countries is begins toward open borders. Corporations become household names as they mass-produced products. Adventurers grow scarce, leave to other countries.

1271 - The first airship is built in Volk.

1272 - On a test flight, a floating landmass is discovered high above the ground. Named Neuvelt. Attempting to land ends in a massive failure, they are driven out of the sky by a large red-scaled dragon, the likes of which hadn’t been seen in Volk for centuries. Before they are attacked the crew takes pictures of the untamed land, sparking worldwide interest when it is run in the newspaper.

1273 - The discovery of Low Resonance Mana Calculation. Led to the invention of discrete computing devices.

1274 - Portable communication devices called Guises are marketed to the public. They allow written text, voice, and video communication in proximity of a Shrine Tower, as well as an information storage archives in different Universities. The Volk government attempts to send military units to Neuvelt and fails.

1275 - Video of a group of adventurers dubbed “The Wyford Six”
taking down the red dragon goes viral. A rush for adventurers to come back to Volk to go to the floating continent begins.