First, a setting primer

NAA is set in a fantasy world loosely based on early modern Europe (~1500 to ~1800CE). Our story begins in the village of Maplewald, located in the western half of the Sokorzelian Dual Monarchy, itself the leading country in the Commonwealth of Kingdoms which extends across almost all of Tälerland and into the elven lands of Soroyaume to the southwest. Both the Dual Monarchy and the Commonwealth came about as a result of the extermination of the royal House of Brandenstein by Widersaca the Black, the last great dragon, after which King Sigismund of neighboring Mazowisze was invited to take the throne by right of his Brandenstein mother on the condition that he assisted with putting a stop to the beast's rampage. He was successful, and soon after brought several lesser kingdoms under his banner as Archking of the Commonwealth through a combination of diplomacy and military might.

With the proliferation of firearms, dragons and other threats could be dealt with without relying on legendary heroes, while the Commonwealth's internal peace freed up much of the kingdoms' armies to patrol the main roads for lesser dangers like bandits. This lead to something of a decline for the Tälerlandisch Adventurer's Guild, though it remains an influential organization as people continue to rely on it for a wide variety of odd-jobs too dangerous for civilians and too unimportant for the army. Many young people register as adventurers for a few years as a way to see the world before settling down.

Magic is made possible by the mana energy suffusing the world, which trained individuals can bend to their will in order to perform incredible feats. In Tälerland, magic is generally divided into two types, Mystic and Esoteric, though practically speaking there is much overlap between them. Mystic is a catch-all term for traditional, ritualistic magic which includes elven sorcery, and generally involves spells influencing life and other earthly forces (for example, communing with spirits or creating localized rainclouds). Mystics are said to 'channel' spells, as they gently guide streams of mana into forms familiar to it.

Mages of the Esoterica, on the other hand, seek a deeper, more rational understanding of mana and magic. They learn to 'cast' free-floating mana into arrays of their own design, producing spells with such varied effects as forming a wall of pure ****, expanding a space to be larger on the inside than the outside, or controlling the mind of another person. This requires a great **** of will to accomplish, so mages will often attempt to strengthen their minds by exposing themselves to strong emotions. Tälerlandisch mages are organized in a loose guild, but tend to jealously guard their discoveries and techniques from all but their chosen apprentices.

Mana can also be channeled intuitively to improve one's physical abilities through repeated training, granting enhanced strength, reflexes, aim, etc. As this is mostly unintentional on the part of the mana-user though, it generally isn't considered 'true' magic. That said, this 'mana-reinforcement,' along with special equipment made by artificers, can potentially allow anyone to fight on even-footing with a mage or sorcerer.

The majority of the inhabitants of the Commonwealth are human, though elves, dwarves, and lone beastkin are all common sights in the major cities, with even more exotic races finding their way there from overseas. Away from the human settlements, goblins, kobolds, and tribal beastkin may also be encountered with some frequency, as well as dangerous animals like wyverns and griffons. On occasion, an infernal being may also break through to the mortal plane, either on its own power or with the help of mortal cultists; while they don't subscribe to mortal morality, not all are inherently evil or violent, and can be reasoned or bargained with.

Many other creatures, people, organizations, and forms of magic exist in this wide world, these are merely some of the most common in Tälerland.

List of significant locations (ongoing):

• Maplewald: little more than a pit-stop on the road to Drachensturz, this sleepy village is best known for the locally-famous Rack and Tail inn run by Albrecht and Sedainaris of Maplewald
• Drachensturz: a mid-sized town, only remarkable for being the place where the dragon Widersaca met its end
• Brandenstein: former capital of the kingdom of Brandenstein, recently rebuilt after being razed by Widersaca. Now home to the noble academy Rosalinde von Geringburg attended
• Lorenzhafen: a major port on the Dunkelsee, located within the kingdom of Brandenstein. Known for its talented artificers, as well as being the home of the infamous mage Eike the Libertine
• Lüdamm: a city-state and the de-facto capital of the Northern League within the Commonwealth, ruled by a council of patricians including Konrad Fulser, current head of the House of Fulser