Okay, so, as far as magic goes, I'd say we have six options:

A) No magic whatsoever

B) Put the whole magic thing aside for now and perhaps include it later
 
C) Start out with magic, but phase it out later on. Perhaps there are a bunch of spells written down somewhere, but they are lost, for example. Or it is completely forbidden at some point. 

D) Make magic a very important part of the world, eventually, there may be several magic societies/ schools (Personally, not a huge fan of this one.) People with magic abilities are considered gifted, but not necessarily revered.*

E) Make magic an exclusive and rare thing, most people can't use it, those who can (less than 10%) are often considered evil. Perhaps a cult or even a small community of magic using refugees will become significant.*

F) Magic is still rare, but magic users are seen as "divine," with most leaders and nobles being able to use magic. Magic users are treated with extra respect.*


[i]*Could even be region specific (for example, magic is forbidden in east, but not in the west) or history specific (seen as evil at first, but later magic users are respected, or vice versa.)[/i]

Also, if we do include it, we have to decide how intricate we want it to be. Should very powerful magic users be able to make fire rain down on armies, or if the most any one would be able to do is simple stuff.

Plus, there are plenty of other details to iron out if we allow magic. Is it hereditary? Random? How do spells work? Can anyone who puts in the effort use it? Do they need special wands? Etc.