[@Pathfinder] it's not the most accessable setting to be sure. A lot of the details are largely extraneous as well. 

For the imidiate purposes of this RP it's enough to visualize a Harry Potter ish universe, though it's darker in general and besides a secret society of wizards there are also parallel organizations of vampires and Catholic holy warriors all three of which are at war with one another, either hot or cold depending on the circumstance. 

This is, in very broad strokes, the general shape of the world.

I can fill you in more, but it should probably be via chat or PM's