Setting.

Setting

ARCANA's setting is something that's expanded and developed as we progress with our site plot. The below's just some basic guidelines.

GENRE: ARCANA is not the gritty, realistic fantasy in the same vein as Game of Thrones. This doesn't mean we won't explore darker themes, but you should look towards Lord of the Rings, Warcraft, or The Elder Scrolls for inspiration and a general guideline to the world.

RACES: Most people are humans. Elves, dwarves, and any number of other species exist, but aren't necessarily plentiful or well-known. Any common fantasy races and their subraces, such as dark elves or half-orcs, are allowed. More esoteric species are allowed on a case by case basis.

DEITIES: No known omniscient gods are confirmed to exist, but various small deities--physical embodiments of a concept or a place--exist in plenty, created by the imagination of mages or by the innate magic of the land. They are often venerated and given tribute, but rarely are they worshiped.

MAGIC: Magic isn't uncommon but mages are. Treat it like athletic prowess, where a mage is something like a professional athlete. Some people have natural aptitude, some study it constantly, and the best of the best do both. There are many dabblers that may be able to light a candle with their gift, but true mages of power are rare.

GEOGRAPHY: The entire world is referred to as Creation. There are three major continents--Osternesse, Lourn, and Akarthia--with any number of kingdoms and empires within them. ARCANA's story begins somewhere landlocked in the middle of Osternesse. The Aoroian Sea is east of Osternesse, separating it from Lourn to the east and Akarthia to the southeast.

TECHNOLOGY: In Osternesse, technology is medieval at best. A horse-drawn carriage would be considered high-tech. Some city-states or lesser-known races may be experimenting with fusing magic with engineering, but such feats would be unheard of in the major cities of Creation except as rumor.

LANGUAGES: The lingua franca amongst the privileged is Akarthian Common, which is often described as melodic and beautiful. Tradesmen and travelers prefer Osterin, a jumbled mix of various Osternesse languages. There is no unified language in Lourne, but the Lournish pictographs used in their writing is shared by all Lournish people.

RELIGION: There are many religions, none of them confirmed as fact. Most are heavily regional, but a few are widespread enough to be continental. The Spirit-walkers of Southern Lourn revere the magic innate to nature. The Eightfold Goddess is commonly worshiped in all Akarthia. Osternesse is known to revere a pantheon of thirteen major gods.

CIVILIZATION: There are very few cities, some of which are glorified towns and others are breathtaking splendors of their age. Most of them are either trade hubs or capitols of this or that kingdom. Between cities are either small farming villages or unexplored, uncharted territory.

HISTORY: The average person's knowledge of history tends to be limited to local history and only going back a century or two. Anyone that's personally interested in history can find records of events from up to five hundred years ago. Beyond that, only true academics and dedicated researchers will know much if anything at all.