The world at large

The population of the world is heavily skewed towards the human. About forty percent of all sentient people are human. Elves and Dwarves and their various subsets make up the next largest blocks at about fifteen percent each. Orcs, Goblins and all of their varieties total at about ten percent. This leaves the remainder as unique species with such multitude that they are impossible to quantify quickly or easily.

The largest settlement on the continent is the city of Atlier, a sprawling city that spans both sides of a wide mouth river. Atlier is the modern metropolis of the new age, filled with every type of people in the world. It seemed it never slept, the trade districts bought and sold from every market on the globe, the trains always ran, the clubs always bounced. This is the place to be. Atlier is the capital of the kingdom of Arxheal. The Royal elven line abdicated power only two hundred years ago and the country has become an odd mix of democracy and aristocracy, with a joint council made up of elected officials, guild(now corporate) appointees and waning noble houses.

Magic is present in all living creatures and most anyone can use it, but it requires such rigorous training and study that many would prefer to use modern, more easily accessible and reproducible means to accomplish what is essentially the same thing. As such most people treat it like a hobby. Where things get interesting is where magic can do things that science can’t, yet. In the world of academia, scientist have found that magic is a particle that interacts solely with consciousness, which is able to alter the rules of physics but is self governed by consistent internal logic.

There are religious orders have verifiable evidence that their gods exist, and so haven’t faded as they entered the modern age. The Mothers of Reverence are the most prolific on the continent and worship a pantheon of four goddesses and their children. There hasn’t been a direct child of the goddesses in over a millennium. They preach equality, justice, and charity.

There are two orders dedicated not to any particular gods but instead to fighting the infernal influence of Hell itself. These are the Order of Mercy and the Scions of Thrask.