Oh boy!
I am going to start from the top with your questions. When it comes to the race of your character, This fantastical world will be home to humans and half-human/half-animal hybrids of any species! It is hard do apply the dramatic differences of conventional D&D races in a game that doesn't hang on statistics. This will also allow a wide variety of benefits given by unique animal attributes or the versatility of the human's ever-encompassing fit into anything.

These factions are going to interact and generate your characters' motives and actions towards one another, either for or against the environment as well as players. I don't want to say too much!

You can be from anywhere you like! I encourage you to create a character's history that fleshes out the world around the perimeter of Skyveil. The only thing fate will force is that you are in this city for it's episodic origin. Whether coming to, born in, or trying to escape is not up to fate! That decision is yours. 

As I construct the OOC I will regale you with a delightful summary of Skyveil's history.