Setting information for Writers.

Kingdom of Rhinurden

The territory the story is set in is ruled by a Langrave, specifically Langraven Thandicar of Weismeira. It is a noble title just below the rank of royalty, and there are probably only three or four Langraves in the country.

Langraven Thandicar has two Belgraves as his direct subordinates, each responsible for protecting vital borders or such. Below them would be mere Graves or Ritteren, the difference between the two being that Graves possess land; villages or minor forts. Barley is a fairly remote village, in a region which has largely avoided direct oversight or taxation for a few decades.

The reason for Barley's relative autotomy is because the mountain and forests surrounding it are a hotbed of monsters, which makes traveling towards it from southern Weismeira, or from the sides, dangerous. In a way, it is considered a neutral buffer between the southern kingdom which Weismeira is a part of and the northern Oligarchy from which Ikarus hails.

all of which is irrelevant to the people in the region, and Ikarus himself.

Sardeus and the Confederation

Ikarus specifically comes from Norindel, or Sardeus as it is also known, an extremely large and wealthy port-city. It is one of the best known cities in the world, with sayings such as 'All roads lead to Norindel' or 'Every ship is sailing to or from 'Norindel'. It is a region well-known for it's horses and for its thinkers, and for it's patron saint Norin the Dragonslayer.

Norindel is ruled by a powerful family with many subordinate branches, who represents the city in a league of independent city-states. This oligarchic league is known as the Confederation of Princes, which is led by the elected High Prince.

The Wilds, or the Unclaimed Lands.

Between most countries in the setting there are swathes of territory where humans dwell only at great risk. Even within countries there are places where monster populations are too thick or too territorial to live safely. For the Confederation and the Kingdom to have touching borders is a source of conflict for both, and fairly rare for a pair of countries.

Due to the dangers of the Unclaimed Land, it is safest to travel by boats and as such most of the richest and most powerful countries possess grand port-cities. Places without ports, surrounded by Wilds on all sides are much smaller and weaker.

Within the Wilds there can be gathered tribes of monsters, for the more social types, or powerful lone beasts.

The Basics of Magic

In this setting Magic is fundamentally an act of Will, and most ceremony, incantation, and props are meant to get a person in the right mindset to utilize it. Most people have the potential to tap into lesser magic, even if they lack the physical requirements, if they have sufficient Will.

Will, in this example, is knowledge and resolve; understanding your desire and wanting it to the point of insanity. You must believe in what isn't real, in a sense. To throw yourself off a cliff and know, with the same certainty as taking a breath or a step, that you can fly.

This is easier if a person follows old and formal teachings; spellcraft, in short. Just like how it's easier to follow a footpath through the snow than it is to trudge through untouched snow. Like how water takes the path of least resistance, following a channel. In a sense spellcraft is a channel carved into reality, creating a place where magic flows easily.

People also tend to have affinities, which makes using certain kinds of magic easier. Ikarus, as an incubus, has an affinity towards 'control' and 'consumption', which makes bending something to his whims or absorbing something easier. By his natural inclinations, who he is and what he feels, he has a gift for fire and lightning; heat.

A genuine mage has differences in their body compared to their mundane counterparts. They have a crystal-like organ in the center of their chest, beneath the sternum, which acts as a magic heart; circulating magic through pathways that reach throughout a mage's body like a second vascular system.

It is different for something like Ikarus, where his magic system in more completely integrated with his body. His actual heart is a magic core, and he carries magic in every drop of blood. An Intravascular Magic System, rather than the more normal Paravascular System.

As a being so closely aligned with magic, it is easier for Ikarus to use it instinctively.

Magic energy is called many things among many people, terms like _Mana, Pnuema, _or Chi, Qi, Chakra.