[Dedicated Lore Document]

Figured, since we got some people writing their own routes, it was high time I did this. All of this is, hopefully, loose enough that it won't be too restrictive.

First, some general lore.

Slavery
In this world, slavery is not an inherently morally dystopic system.

Due to cultural reasons, people who have become slaves accept it. merchants tend to be careful who they sell slaves to and vet their customers. Slaves are also prohibitively expensive and most owners don't consider it financially viable to harm someone they shelled out so much for, not when they can't be bred fast like dogs.

Slaves are subject to the same laws anyone else is. of slaves is more common among the underground of society and people who aren't actually trained and authorized to sell slaves. When a is abused, how they feel about it is down to personal taste.

Due to the seal, a will forever be enslaved. "Freeing" one is less removing their status and more taking them someplace they can run from their status.

Slaves are typically kept publicly naked to denote their status, with masters who publicly clothe their slaves seen as deviants. However, public nudity is still embarrassing for most slaves and public nudity of non-slaves is still treated as public indecency.

Becoming one usually involves personal decision, someone with authority over you selling you, a crime that this provides an easy way to avoid execution for, or in the case of the more criminal parts of society, being captured since you look valuable or . It's typically down to personal choice or poor circumstance rather than systemic exploitation, but some orphanages that manufacture slaves can slip by unnoticed.

There are those who detest the practice of slavery, but this is typically due to personal reasons rather than culture or morality.

Seal
Seals are magical runes that are placed on a 's very soul. They can never be removed and will allow anyone to recognize they are a by just looking at them.

As rune magic, they can be cast by just drawing the rune in the air with one's finger, though it takes a skilled spellcaster to do so. For owners who are not skilled enough in magic to cast the Seal rune, they may use magic items that apply the rune.

As the Seal is engraved on the 's soul, it leaves no visible mark. Those who look at a can just tell they are a because of it.

The Seal does not the to obey orders, and it does not prevent the from doing things, such as wearing clothes or fleeing. However, it can allow the to be more easily tracked or found via magic and makes it nearly impossible to hide the fact that one is a .

Seals can also be used to read who a 's current designated owner is, though it takes a special magic item to read this information. This designation will automatically update whenever the is sold or given away. In the event of the master's sudden , this designation will default to whoever claims the next, though the legal system may dispute this unless the claimant can make it official. Seals can also detect when transfer of ownership in the case of the master's is written into a will or agreed upon verbally while the master is alive and transfer ownership automatically from this information.

Class/Social Status
Commoners have only a single given name. Only nobility have surnames, while only royalty have middle names.

Nobles aren't all bastards, but they aren't all saints either. They're typically wealthy and have a higher status, but rarely marry commoners unless they're wealthy merchants. Wealthy merchants are the closest you can get to becoming nobility without marrying into a noble family. Of note though is that royals typically marry nobles rather than other royals so as to keep up genetic diversity and prevent their royal lineage from getting assimilated by another royal family. Nobles similarly tend to marry other noble families or wealthy merchants. Nobles marrying commoners isn't all that common, but it still happens. Royals marrying commoners is even rarer, but not unprecedented.

Nobility and royalty carries with it a higher amount of authority and better access to education and magical tutoring, but rather than hoarding power, the nobility and royalty do use their wealth, power, influence, and connections for the welfare of commoners, so it's not an inherently bad system. Nobles have power and authority, but they're expected to use it for the wants and needs of the people, so there's a welfare and honor system involved among the nobility.

Magic
Magic is pretty freeform.

In terms of function, it's typically split between
-Offensive magic (usually elemental but not always)
-Illusion
-Barrier
-Healing
-Buffing
-Debuffing
-Summoning (monsters, objects, spirits, etc.)
-Runes
-Territory (battlefield control and weather magic)
-Alchemy (potion brewing)
-Enchanting (giving objects magical effects)
-"Lifestyle magic" that functions as mundane utilities like cleaning and flavoring food.

Magic can also be separated into the following elements:
-Fire
-Ice
-Water
-Lightning
-Wind
-Earth
-Nature
-Light
-Darkness
-Space/Time
-Non-Elemental
Though these elements can apply to spells that aren't offensive attack magic and many spells can be a mix of them.

Resurrecting the dead is only possible as zombies, but teleportation magic, dimensional storage magic, and levitation/flight magic are possible, if considered high-level.

Curses are difficult to cast and even more difficult to cure. Certain cursed objects are "soulbound" and thus can't be taken from the person who has them, though such cursed objects aren't necessarily bad to have. The soulbound nature means that if the object is lost or taken, it will soon vanish and return to its owner. If the owner dies, it will transfer to the next sapient person who picks it up.

"Runes" are magic seals that can place an effect on things or be used as magic traps. seals are runes placed on a person's very soul to forever mark them as a and tie them to their master. Promise Seals can restrictions on a person's actions though they can only be placed consensually and are very high-level Runes.

In general, it's easier to focus on offensive magic or supportive magic. Only the truly powerful wizards can specialize in both. While you can dabble in both, it's hard to truly excel in both. Magic is also more common among the nobility and royalty than commoners.

Besides resurrecting the dead, healing magic also cannot remove scars, cure natural/congenital disabilities, correct poor eyesight, or regrow lost limbs (though it can reattach them). Artificial limbs, however, can be made with armor, gears, and enchanted to function as a living limb, but they're difficult to make and very expensive. It can cure some diseases, but not all of them. For example, vampirism and lycanthropy are only curable in their early stages, before it fully sets in.

Magic and potions can have sexual uses, such as lactation, genderswap, dick growth, breast growth, aphrodisiac, contraception, etc. Magic sex toys also exist.

Magical Appliances
Some magical appliances that act as luxuries in this world are:
-Refrigerators, stoves, ovens, heaters, AC, and indoor plumbing that are made with magical engineering
-Gossip Stones, which act akin to cell phones complete with illusory image of the person you're calling.
-Magic lanterns, which can illuminate without oil.
-Magic bags which hold more than their size would indicate. Wallets are the most common form of this.
-Magic books can function as information storage, allowing you to write down what you want and call upon it by opening the book at any time.
-Crystal balls can be used akin to live television viewing. Some can even play movies recorded on plug-in crystals.
-Special headbands can also play music, with plug-in crystals for different songs.
-Some cities and towns have Gate Crystals that allow easier travel between cities, though they are typically restricted to royalty or military use due to the cost of using them.
-Sex toys and sex potions that can help facilitate fetishes or safe sex.
-Stamps that can apply a seal. Used by merchants who don't have the magical skill to cast runes.
-Lenses that can read a 's designated owner.
Most of these appliances are prohibitively expensive. Some, like the seal stamps and owner reading lenses, are even legally restricted.

Gender & Sexuality
A general rule of thumb is "everyone is bi" in this world. It's possible to only like one gender (such as the openly gay Tercorrin Treebowyer), but this is very rare.

Since bisexuality is the norm, terms like "heterosexual" and "gay" aren't typically used. You'll find terms more akin to "he prefers the company of men" or "she does nice things for men only."

Trans people can find genderswap potions quite affordable. Futanari/hermaphrodites are rare, but accepted. Genderless people exist, but are even rarer than futa.

Body Image & Beauty Standards
Breast growth potions mean that flat chest complexes are just about non-existent, though it's far more difficult to shrink breasts than to grow them. That means you're far more likely to find a woman uncomfortable with her bust being too large, rather than too small. Same goes for penis growth potions, though it's easier to shrink penises than it is to shrink breasts.

The average breast size in this world is naturally far larger than the one in our world. Ironically, this means flat chests are something of a nobility and royalty status symbol, since it's so much rarer to be born with and hard to magically acquire one.

Commoners are typically bustier than nobles and royals as a result of this ideal. Some spiteful and catty noblewoman may even try to slip a flatter commoner a breast growth potion out of jealousy. However, commoners tend to be more appreciative of larger breasts than nobles or royals.

Gold Coins
The currency of Pendragon. Nothing special. They function in very low numbers. Most meals are typically in single digit Gold Coin cost. Slaves, however, can go upwards of several hundred, especially the more valuable ones. Values in the thousand are considered purchases for a millionaire. Ten thousand coins? That's a fortune.

Religion
This is a world without gods or organized religion. Plain and simple.