Lugubrious — Roleplayer Guild

Well hello there.

As you might have guessed, this is no ordinary interest check.  Hell, it's in the title.  What I have here is something I've been working on for a while.  I've made loads of original characters over the course of the RPs I've been in, but in the slumps of inactivity you unavoidably experience once in a while, I decided to try something else.  So I made an original setting instead--a whole world.  Of course, it's hardly perfect.  That's why you're here: I want you to help me create an incredible roleplay.  Below is all the information I've made, and I would adore absolutely any input (ideas, suggestions, criticisms, you name it) from absolutely any of you, including plots.  If this receives some attention it'll probably become a fully-fledged RP at some point, and with your help, it'll become one you'll really enjoy.

The number-one thing I want you to do, however, is make character/s.  Just as if this were an actual roleplay, but with fewer constraints.  I want to see what you all can do!  You can make a peasant, a solider, a noble, a general, a governer, a god, anything that fits into the setting, and I'll probably put them into the full RP.  Given that a major theme of Protea's creation was the idea of 'anything being possible', please do flex your creative muscle.  But don't feel obligated or constrained--you can't force art.  You can even choose what sections to contribute to, based on what intrigues you.  Bottom line: if you are interested, please help me by making one or more characters, taking as much time as you need, or by giving feedback on this idea.

Welcome to Protea, a fire sparked by me, but to be kindled by you, and be enjoyed by us all.

World Name: Protea
Size: 1/3 Earth
“Moons”: Six
Setting: Semi-modern (1920's) Hyper-fantasy
Landmasses: Seven

Continents

A vast, canyon land.  Whether badlands, desert, or fields of stone, this place is dry but for massive rivers cutting fissures through the hard earth.  The ground inland is unstable, and deep underground tremors have created huge variances in elevation and uncanny natural stone formations.  Massive spires of rock, mountain ranges, and deserts divided into tiers are common.  One of the most interesting phenomenons are the Seas of Sand, which are deserts riding on top of large underground reservoirs.  While dangerous and navigable only by boat, they contain a great variety of life.  Their Sand Waterfalls can only be found in this part of the world.  There are no forests on Feldspar save for small jungles around freshwater oasis, and most fauna takes the form of shrubs and scrubby grass.  On the western edge of this land, there are places where Protea's magma bubbles through, creating fields of fire and rich volcanic soil, chock-full of resources for the courageous.  Find it west-southwest of Chalcedony.

Snaking along half of the bottom hemisphere is the thin, twisting continent of Tourmaline.  It is a cold but wet land, full of snow and unique frozen forests.  The mountains of shale and packed ice are whittled by the biting wind into strange, unnatural shapes.  This land is far from barren, but its flora and fauna are undoubtedly a breed all their own.  Surviving in Tourmaline is not easy, but it is not altogether an unforgiving land.  Since the settling and development of Tourmaline, its inhabitants have learned not how to fear the winter, but how to tame it.  There is a region directly south of the continent Feldspar that is void of surface-dwelling plants.  It is a vast icy lake, and under the ice is a thriving aquatic ecosystem based around lakebed vents.

The largest and most versatile continent, fittingly home to the greatest amount of humans, as well as the greatest amount of dwarves.  Chalcedony reaches from one pole to the other, and sports definite regions separated by mountain ranges and canyons.  At both the north and south ends there is tundra, below that coniferous followed by deciduous forest, and so on.  Toward the center of the continent are sprawling plains and wetlands.

A continent roughly a sixth the size of Chalcedony, sporting many of the same characteristics despite being on the other side of the planet.  It is far from the other landmasses, with the nearest being Tourmaline to the south, Spinel quite a distance to the west, and Agate to the northeast.  It was formed from an ancient shield volcano, and is shaped a lot like a star, with the center crater carved out into a large inland sea.  At the very center of this inland sea lies the island Nacre, a relatively small, lifeless island containing an underground staircase to a huge, lava-filled cavern where legend says that Cormumag, the First Keeper and the Father of All Evil, is enchained.  Corundum's population is almost entirely humans, whose society is not quite as advanced as those elsewhere on Protea.  Indeed, the norm for humans on Corundum is renaissance-era technologies, though magic still is still abundant.  The remoteness of this place isolates it from the rest of the world, earning its nickname 'the Lonely Island'.

In this place, gravity has forgotten about the earth.  Agate is the collective term for an expansive array of islands that literally float in the sky, like clouds.  While some stony crags do rest in the sea, the vast majority of these physics-defying islands soar in the air.  An intermingled, chaotic assortment of bridges, zip lines, ladders, and pulley elevators connect the islands with one another, since Agate stretches continuously from sea level to amongst the clouds.  About two-thirds of the way to typical cloud height, the largest island resides: Jade.  This island is huge, sporting not only the grassland and small forests typical to the other islands, but also a grand, gorgeous cherry-blossom grove.  Jade also has a lake, at the bottom of which in a slitted lockbox lies a charm that continuously but slowly generates water.  Jade has several rivers, most of which end in small waterfalls off the island.  It also has an impressive network of underground caves carved out by said rivers.

A grand archipelago of jungled islands connected by shallows seldom more than a few feet deep.  These islands, often formed from dormant volcanoes or tectonic shifts, have infinitely variable form with the sole congruity being their abundance of life.  Nature, it seems, has a very strict hold on these wild islands; those who choose to inhabit this land must conform to it rather than it to them.  As such, Chrysocolla is the least developed of the continents.  It can be found northeast of Feldspar, near the equator, and west of Agate.

East of Chalcedony, across the Tainted Sea, is the shadowed land of Spinel.  Spinel is a land rich in magic—too rich, in fact, and the magics eking from the earth in liquid and gaseous form provide both an incredible resource and a terrible hazard.  These magics tend to warp those who spend too much time around them, and those affected are often cursed and disfigured.  More egregious, though, is the eternal night plaguing Spinel; it is said that long ago, in the medieval times, a vast, horrible, tentacled creature sought to wipe the land of life, and to do so created a vast, impermeable barrier of Tenebris cloud far above the surface, which do not allow any sunlight to reach the earth.  The plant and animal life has grown bizarre as well, forced to use raw magic or organisms that use raw magic for sustenance.  Despite the inherent danger is such an inhospitable and ominous place, Spinel is far from unpopulated, and hosts a great deal of slummy urban centers.

Races: 

All races can use magic, though some have natural inclinations toward some affinities.  The only playable Golems will be Travelers
The most common sentient species on Protea by far.  They are a versatile breed, capable of anything from brutal war to lasting peace, with the only constant thing among them being the inconsistency.  While the grand cities on Chalcedony pierce the heavens, the colonies on Feldspar can be decidedly pre-industrial.  Humans themselves are almost as variable as the lands they have settled in; in addition to ordinary traits, humans can possess absolutely any eye color.  They can interbreed with parilis and elves.  When it comes to magic, humans have no natural inclinations toward any affinities but tend to adapt to an affinity more quickly than other races.

Considered to be a subset of the human species; that is to say, mutants.  They are very similar to humans, sharing the vast majority of their genetic code, but several traits serve to differentiate them.  Parili invariably have one or more traits of an animal.  The animal from which traits are borrowed can be anything from scorpion to seagull to stoat.  An individual parili will seldom have more than a couple traits, such as the ears of a rabbit or the legs and horns of a goat.  A minority of the population -approximately the same percentage as humans born mentally impaired- are born as disparis, who are both appear and behave much closer to their animal counterparts than to humans.  A dispari almost always faces a short and unpleasant life, resulting from both their lack of connection to parilis and their reduced mental capabilities.  Parilis can only interbreed with humans, and the children from said union have a fifty-fifty chance of being either human or Parili.  Naturally, Parilis are especially good with the Bestia affinity.

A subcategory of humanity, one confined to a very small part of Protea.  Germinas are indistinguishable from humans but for a seed pod located on the backs of their necks.  When germinas perish, their bodies wither and decompose quickly, leaving only the seed behind.  In the space of two to ten weeks, depending on the fertility of the soul, the pod will grow in size and then peel away to reveal the reborn germina, effectively resurrected at the exact age at which she perished.  If at any time the pods of living germinas are destroyed, by way of fire crushing, natural degeneration, ect., the germina dies immediately.  Funnily enough, germinas sport a natural disinclination for Herba magic, instead being slightly more inclined to Lux, Venenum, and Terra.

short, stocky, and hairy are the down-to-earth dwarfs.  Masters of craft, particularly with stone and metal, dwarfs are a civilization of remarkable repute.  They have a solitary streak, building grand cities in caverns, canyons, and other places.  However, compared to elves, dwarfs mingle with human civilization quite often, and are by no means an unheard-of sight in practically any Chalcedony city.  Dwarfs are the third most scarce of Protea's races, and can interbreed with none of them, making their society tight-knit and often unapproachable for outsiders.  Thusly, in cities with sufficient populations, it's not unusual to find an 'Iron Town' section with a high density of dwarfs.  Though dwarfs have an unmatched capacity for creation, they can also destroy, and when they take the field their warriors, wielding unparalleled weapons and technology, are a true force to be reckoned with.  Dwarfs have the longest lifespans of any race of Protea, and can live up two a hundred and sixty easily.  Expect to find dwarfs on Chalcedony, Spinel, Feldspar, and Tourmaline.  Dwarfs are naturally inclined to the Metallum, Ignis, and Machina affinities.

Tall, slender, and pointy-eared are the elves.  The closest of the major races to nature (even more so than the part-animal parilis), elves can most often be found in forests.  While they prefer seclusion, elves aren't an inhospitable race.  They live longer lives on average than humans, but do not visibly age much during its course after adulthood.  Upon death by old age, usually between ninety and one-hundred-and-five, an elf dissolves into vapour.  While capable warriors if sufficiently provoked, elves have a far greater inclination for art, be it visual, literary, musical or magical.  Elves come in three principle varieties: Snow, Sand, and Wood.  Snow elves are pale of complexion, with white or black hair.  Sub-species of snow elves include blue- and purple-skinned breeds.  Sand elves have dark complexions, with hair typically shorter and scruffier than other elves, blonde or red or none at all.  If not for their ears, wood elves would be difficult to distinguish from Caucasian humans or parilis; they share most of the same traits.  There are few elves to be found on Chalcedony; wood elves favor Chrysocolla and Agate, while snow elves stick to Tourmaline, and sand elves primarily live on Feldspar.  It is not unusual to find all three kinds of elves of Spinel, however.  All elves are inclined toward the Sonus affinity, but wood elves also favor Lignum and Herba, snow elves Gelum and Aqua, and sand elves Terra and Venenum.  Though dissimilar in appearance, the different populations of elves do not differ greatly in behavior, and they keep in touch with one another as well as humans do.

A diminutive, somewhat monstrous race.  Goblins are four feet tall on average when fully grown, and come in a variety of body types from stick-thin to disgustingly obese.  Their fingernails are more like claws, and their toes are splayed.  Their skin is dull blue, green, or beige, and is rough and hairless.  While sentient, goblins have a lower capacity for intelligence than the other races, and display very feudal societal tendencies.  Their eyes, while large and attuned to dark -not to mention a variety of colors- are sensitive to bright lights, so many choose to live underground or in cities.  While not aggressive or barbaric, necessarily, goblins aren't social creatures.  They receive prejudice from other races, but none so much as elves, who treat them as monsters.  Goblins have a slight natural talent for the Sensus, Lux, and Tenebris affinities.

found exclusively in the hard-to-find city-state of Monolith, the golems are beings not quite machine and not quite alive.  These beings range between four and five feet in height, can be made of metal, wood, rock, clay, obsidian, or straw, and, while resembling primitive robots, each house the spirit of a person. In essence, the people of Monolith are machines with the minds of people, though only their voices and personalities remain from their past lives. The workers come to be in two ways: either the spirits of humans heading for the next life are caught by a mirror-shaped artifact called Salvation and sealed inside an inanimate body, or visitors to the city are transformed, piece by piece, by weekly Blessings. The workers need the Blessings to survive, and if they are deprived of it, the magic holding their spirits in their bodies runs out and they effectively die. To ensure that Providence, which is equivalent to the Workers' deity, continues to send its Blessings, at least four fifths of the population must each day toil in the city. As such, almost no-one may leave, and the culture as a whole -while surprisingly vibrant- is rather reclusive.  There is a ray of hope at the end of the tunnel for Workers. After an indeterminate but generally long length of time, a worker can visit the temple of Providence and become a Traveler. Taller, more proficient in fighting and magic, and more diverse in capability and form, Travelers can leave the city for however long they wish. Upon ascending, they also regain the memories of their human life.  The actual term 'golem' is rarely used to refer to either of the beings classified under it; more commonly, they're simply called 'workers' or 'Travelers'.

Magical Afflictions

Burnout - decreased ability to both regain mana and draw on it for future magic.  This results from either using a spell that hasn't been prepared or has been prepared improperly, or after a magic steroid ("Wizard Juice") wears off.  This 'low' lasts a time directly in relation to the magnitude of the 'high', in case of steroids, or in an inverse relation to the level of the user's magic ability, in case of improper spellcasting.
Magic Warp - the produce of overexposure to raw magic.  Results in sickness, deformation, and altered personality depending on degree of exposure.  Regrettably common in Spinel.  Before the warp reaches a certain threshold, it can be cured.
Seed Blight - a unique condition among the germina race.  Seed Blight is a naturally occurring degenerative process that affects a germina's seed pod.  Substance abuse and unclean living quicken its spread.
Disparitis - a unique condition among the parili race.  A recessive disorder, primarily inherited, that causes mental retrogression to the state of an ordinary animal.  Increasing bestiality is mirrored in the victim's body, though no parili ever becomes completely animal.  Normally evident at birth, but late-onset disparitis has been seen.
Croatoan - a form of supernatural retrogradation only seen among the most diabolical of beings on Protea but excessively common in Gehenna and fairly frequent in Sheol.  It is reasonable to assume that this condition develops from exposure to hellish environs.  Beings touched by croatoan suffer disturbed mental faculties, bringing to the surface all of their hatred, resentment, depravity, and evil, while burying all else.  Croatoan is what makes the things sent to Gehenna into demons.  Only souls possessed of incredible fortitude, or touched by divine light, can resist.
Soul Fray - loss of self and growing insanity that a person suffers over longtime, repeated use of loaned magical power.  Most common in the case of either hosting the power of a higher being or relying too much on a Charm.  Notably inevitable for followers of Nocnitsa.  Dementia, hallucination, and behavioral changes are prevalent symptoms of Soul Fray.  In advanced stages, the things that the afflicted see may flash into reality.

Magic

Magic is abundant in Protea, and has influenced it since the dawn of time.  Nobody can be quite sure where it came from.  There are as many theories for its origin as there are brands of magic, though a popular idea is that there is a source at the center of the planet that sustains the mana of the whole world.  Magic comes in five varieties in this era: spell, conduit, raw, power and charm.
Spell – the natural state in which magic is used.  Spells come directly from the user, and require mana to be cast.  Unless used by a master of a spell's particular affinity, spells require incantation for casting, most often in the form of the spell's name.  More powerful spells may require the user to draw a magic circle with a finger or wand, which will aid in the casting of said spell.  Spells must be crafted or learned by each individual, making them more difficult to use than conduits.
Conduit – a recent development.  In this age, the barrier between technology and magic has broken down, and the two can be interwoven.  Conduits, also known as tools, weapons, gear, and so forth, are the result of this blend: technology imbued with a particular spell that can be activated whenever the user wishes, with no incantation and less mana usage.  The downside is that conduits are way less flexible, and are only capable of the same output, again and again, though there are certain techniques that can temporarily amplify said output.  A conduit can be anything from a shotgun whose pellets freeze to shoes that automatically engage a slow-fall spell when the user starts to fall.  Because these can be manufactured and used by different people, conduits are essentially entry-level magic.
Raw – magic in liquid or gaseous form.  This is neither naturally usable or producible by living things, and occurs naturally in the world, usually on the continent of Spinel.  Raw magic is unpredictable and uncontrollable, and its effects are more potent (and dangerous) in liquid form.  Exposure to liquid magic can result in warp and disfigurement.  While raw magic can be processed and broken down into a form that living things can imbibe to marginally increase their magical power, raw magic in its natural form can only be used in essence of application: when thrown at something, it'll kick off.  A vial of Tenebris will create cloud of shadows; a splash of Ignis will instantly explode.  Proper mages will never use raw magic, because they won't need to.
Power – a rare brand of magic.  Powers are unattainable by anyone but the most formidable wizards, though some beings (Travelers, for instance) have them naturally.  A power is essentially a single affinity that the wielder (called a Spirit) has an extremely high degree of control over.  A Spirit of Fire can employ fire magic in any number of ways, with no need for incantation and no usage of mana, but that Spirit is totally limited to the use of that one affinity, and to use others must work with another Spirit with a different affinity.
Charm – a somewhat unique form of magic.  While not directly controllable, charms can be very powerful.  Charms are artifacts, small objects like totems or jewels, into which a substantial amount of magic has been implanted.  When certain conditions are met, charms will become active, and the magics they can release are more deep than those spells can deliver.  In a way, charms are the closest Protea's inhabitants can get to primal magic, a form of magic completely unrestricted by mana, incantation, and affinity, one which has vanished from the world.  It is noteworthy to observe that charms themselves can be sentient and/or malevolent.

Affinity List

Forms
Spells are loosely defined by 'forms'.  These forms decide the basic way in which the spell affects the world.  Not all affinities can work well with all of them.  Spell forms are:
Cast – projectiles.  This includes broken down into missile, cutter, arrow, blast, wave, bomb, and beam.  Multiple instances of this form can occur in one spell.  Represented by a triangle.
Touch – physical contact.  This includes both ordinary touching and striking, with various body parts.  Represented by a trapezoid
Self – affects the caster.  If put into a conduit, self spells affect the user.  Represented by a square.
Area – affects the area around the user, in a radius definable by the individual spells.  Represented by a circle.
Curse – an esoteric form used by very few.  A curse, once used, instantly and unavoidably affects the victim.  There is no aiming or travel time, just the immediate effect. Represented by a dodecahedron.
Rune – places a two-dimensional rune on a flat surface that lies dormant.  It can be triggered by various means (for instance, a Praecantio trigger will activate the rune when magic is used near it, and a Touch trigger will activate it when stepped on or otherwise contacted).  Represented by a pentagon.

Combos
Combinations of affinities can have unique results.  For instance, Lux plus Praecantio results in astral magics, Viniculum plus Aqua makes sticky slime, and Fabrico and Sensus can create an floating magic eye that acts as a sentry.  Even using the same two affinities for different spells, the result can be different based on which is the primary, IE Potentia-Tutamen could make a stream of lightening that protects the target; Tutamen-Potentia might conjure a shield of energy that electrocutes those who touch it.  The possibilities are limitless.

More complicated spells require the use of several people.  Their mana costs are accordingly higher and their incantations longer.  Two-person and three-person spells are still usable in combat; any more typically constitutes a 'ritual' and is too long and too costly to use with any sense of urgency.  Two-person spells are referred to as Dual Arts, and a pair well-versed in Dual Arts can elevate them to either Heroic Couplets or Duumvirates based on their moral inclinations.  Three-person spells are Triple Arts, and develop into Grand Triplets or Triumvirates.

Magic is something that every sentient being (and quite a few non-sentient ones) on Protea can do, but not everyone is gifted in it.  It is much like exercise; all people are capable of attaining a toned, muscular state, but not all are naturally inclined to it. 

It is important to note that magic isn't the only way to become powerful.  Training oneself in the physical arts can be far more practical and just as potent, given the dedication and propensity of the trainee.  Those who build themselves well can exceed normal species limits for physical performance, attaining vast strength, great speed, and remarkable alacrity.

To use serious magic, one must first create or learn the magic.  A spell can be crafted by first acquiring a parchment and inscribing it with shapes corresponding to the form the mage wishes to use.  Then, the mage must write down, in a vertical column down the center of the parchment, the affinities he wishes to use.  Next, four objects pertaining to the affinities in question must be broken down by a pestle and mortar, a crucible, the Ignis or Fractus affinities, or other such means to be made into a brew.  Those must be mixed together and soaked into the parchment.  At that point, the spell is ready, and any magic-user (usually but not always the maker) can 'prepare' it by holding it and concentrating.  The parchment destroy itself, and the user will enter a trance that can last anywhere between 10 seconds and 3 hours while the spell is incorporated.  After that, they can use it at will, limited only by their ability to recite the incantation or name of the spell and the pool of mana they have available.  

A spell can also be learned.  The mentor must first transfer the 'seeds' of the spell to her student by bonding with him mentally.  Once this is done, emulation and practice with a clear, open mind will slowly allow the student to develop that spell until he roughly matches the mentor's own.  It is not usual, though, for a learned spell to be altered somewhat as the student's own magic affinity replaces the one existing in the spell, and this can lead to changed effects.

Once a spell is incorporated, it can be 'programmed' into an object to turn it into a conduit.  By programming a spell, the mage in question loses her ability to use that spell, and must make it again, though remaking spells is easier than creating new ones from scratch.

OTHERWHERES

There are some places on Protea that are not accessible through normal means of travel.  These 'otherwheres' are, with one exception, in space surrounding Protea and function as its moons, though only one of them is moon-shaped.  The moons themselves are innately magical, and break several rules of physics and space.
Sheol – also called the Dead Age.  This is where human and parili souls go when they die, according to Sapientism.  It is, at least, inhabited by the dead.  Sheol is a barren, craggy land, an assortment of stone and infertile earth much like the sky islands of Agate.  No living things grow here; the dead trees are long fossilized, not too different from the rocks around them, and the rare tufts of grass little more than ancient strips of canvas or paper.  The islands themselves are large, and interconnected by natural bridges or enormous chains.  The soil here is so devoid of life that it is not a far cry from sand.  There are several Cities of the Dead scattered throughout Sheol, but those who permanently reside here can be found anyplace.  They are skeletons, of all shapes and sizes, and ghosts, from banshees to revenants.  They are hostile to any living thing that should happen to be transported into Sheol.  Sheol itself has an extremely meager atmosphere that does not protect it very much from the sun's radiation.  The atmosphere is a greenish-yellow.  Sheol can be entered by any wizard with exceptional skill in the Victus affinity, using a spell called Charon.

Nirvana – referred to often as the Blessed Grove.  This is the holy land where the souls of elves who've lived in the light go after death.  While the moon is quite small, four trees grow from its surface.  These massive, ancient trees reach hundreds if not thousands of feet outward, forming a continuous canopy in which the inhabitants of Nirvana live, each soul rejoicing and singing for a hundred before being reincarnated as a new elf in the world below.  Nirvana has a well-developed atmosphere, very blue, and is altogether a welcoming place.  As one gets closer to the center moon, however, the canopy becomes thicker, and more hostile.  It is there in the fickle light of fireflies and fluorescent mushrooms, where sunlight cannot reach, and few elves live, that one can encounter Wytes.  These Wytes appear as ghostly lights, and looking at the lights can make it appear that a elf-like figure is holding the light.  These Wytes will attempt to lead whoever they can to Nirvana's murky core, from where no soul has ever returned.  The only way for a non-dead non-elf to enter Nirvana is to be sent there by the elusive forest spirit twins Foliole and Petiole, and once there the only possibility of escape is the core.

Gehenna – the realm of demons.  Called by many names among the many faiths of Protea, Gehenna appears in them all as a searing nether-realm characterized by black stone and seas of lava.  It is where those who commit atrocities in life are fated to end up, where they become demons themselves.  Some, with remorse in their hearts, can find their way out of Gehenna by following a long, hard path of redemption, but most do not.  The goals of demons invariably lead one of three ways: to rule over other demons in Gehenna, to purify oneself completely and utterly and depart to another plane of existence, or to escape and return to Protea to resume their atrocities against the light.  Of course, there is an infinitesimal fraction of demons who might return to Protea and try to live more or less normally, but most demons become inextricably bound to Gehenna and the malevolence it represents.  Gehenna can be entered by using a banishing circle, which is a high-tier ritual necessitating Vacuo magic.

Nidavellir – commonly called the Dark Court, Deep Dark, or the Infinite Cave.  Nidavellir is indistinguishable from a normal moon on its surface, which is without atmosphere and completely barren.  The inside of Nidavellir, however, is hollow, and there lies the ancestral homeland of the dwarfs.  Within this colossal cavern there is breathable air, but life is scarce; Nidavellir has been devoid of civilized life for a long time.  In its absence, it has become inhabited by a trio of abyssal creatures called the Steel Dreamers.  These colossal, misshapen beasts of living metal lay still in sleep, probing the world of Protea below with intense Mentus powers, sending nightmares to Protea's inhabitants.  Nidavellir can be entered by finding and using obsidian portals scattered throughout Protea.  Nidavellir is considered by many to be Protea's true moon, since its fewer anomalous properties and shared qualities with a mundane moon means it exerts the same effects on Protea as the mundane moon does.

Svartalfar – the Far Shore.  Svartalfar is the holy land of the goblins, but unlike what one might expect, it is a glorious place.  Hidden in a vast nebula is a miniature ocean floating in space, and beyond its still waters is a beach with black sand.  The Far Shore is an area of land approximately 910 square miles, and while lush with species of fluorescent tropical flora found nowhere else, it is without animal life.  The land is blanketed in a peaceful quiet, though among the stillness of the trees indecipherable whispers can be heard.  It is eternally bathed in a half-light provided by the surrounding nebula, which also hides it from the sun.  Gravity here always points down toward the planet, no matter where upon the Far Shore one travels.  It Is inhabited by a tribe of goblins with ink-black skin and feathers, who are silent, benevolent and revered by ordinary goblins as angels.  The far side of the Shore is bordered by a cliff wall that extends all the way into the nebula.  To enter the Far Shore, one must simply wait for a new moon on Protea and sail across the Tainted Sea into an inlet shrouded in fog with at least one goblin in the boat.  After sailing through the fog, that traveler will find itself on the Far Shore.  This process is reversible.

Hadal – a realm unknown to the inhabitants of Protea.  It is an exact mirror of Protea itself, but everything is made of shaped water of various densities and colors.  The air itself is water, and at 'sea level' the 'sky' is eternally light, eternally white, but below 'sea level' the water gets gradually darker.  This world has no inhabitants, but there are plentiful corpses made of black water, that correspond exactly to still-living inhabitants of the real world except for a lack of eyes and teeth.  From the holes pours blood, endlessly, that dissipates into the surrounding water.  Any living beings in Hadal gradually lose their memories from the real world, and begin to think of Hadal as real.  To access Hadal, one must become a passenger on the submarine Ankou.

Factions

One of the primary nations on Chalcedony.  It is one of the oldest civilizations on Protea, and has been characterized by change.  It encompasses mainly the eastern portion of Chalcedony, but also extends southward.  Its land is primarily temperate, interspersed by all manners of forest, coast, hill, and marsh.  Its capitol, a gargantuan port city on the eastern shore, is called Upward.  The government of the Commune is headed by the Humble Council, which acts as a unicameral legislature, and it has no executive.  The chief aims of the Commune are fairness and conservation; they enforce complete equality among the citizens, making sure that none are disadvantaged.  Seventy-five percent of the incomes of its citizens are taken as taxes, but the Humble Council redistributes much of it for education and healthcare.  While home to great (in fact, mandated) ethnic diversity among most Protean races, immigration into the Commune is quite low, and little changes among the generations despite the overwhelming progressive spirit.  Religion is rare and, though tolerated, discouraged, as is freedom of expression.  The current councilors are Milton Avery, Li “Swan” Nguyen, Garruk, Imoriel, and Drull Ghullson.

One of the primary nations on Chalcedony.  It is a new civilization, branched off from the Commune several centuries ago.  It encompasses much of the western side of Chalcedony, but wraps up around to its northern part, as well.  Much of it is divided between grassland and arid climates, and while it contains a good deal of shoreline, it has fewer metropolitan ports.  The Republic developed a tricameral legislature, each with its own executive and duties, to make sure that none can be more powerful than the other.  Its system of ideas hasn't changed much, its status quo preserved for much of its lifetime, though that's not to say that its completely unchanging.  The Republic is decidedly capitalist, ripe with competition and with a good economy, though there are claims that it is the rich, and not the elected representatives, that control the nation.  While diversity is not enforced, the Republic is home to a wide variety of people nonetheless, and is more closely aligned with the dwarfs of Chalcedony than any other nation.  Though not militaristic, the Republic is well-prepared for the inevitable conflicts that arise from expansion.  Its executives are Mikhail Polzin, Velvet Pallas, and Roman Argives.

A newly deposed dictatorship.  Formerly the Allegiant States, the Sovereignty came to be after a politician named Lillian Verity was elected democratically by a populace terrified of a rampant disease called the vopuli pox.  After Verity was elected, a commission of scientists under her directive miraculously discovered the cure, and in the aftermath of the chaos evidence arose that linked the August Orthodoxy to the attack.  Despite the Orthodoxy's furious denial, the new Allegiant States elected to give Verity emergency powers to quell the threat.  Those powers were never given back, and the States split into the Sovereignty and the smaller, aptly-named Resurgence.  Other nations watches in fear as the Sovereignty grew more and more powerful, until they decided to take action against the rising threat.  The Republic of Fogi and the August Orthodoxy, though never before allies, joined to lend their aid to the Resurgence.  After a catastrophic battle, the higher-ups in the Sovereignty turned against one another, and with a little help it collapsed from within.  Four years later, the Sovereignty is a shadow of its former self, little more than a shrunken, wilting democracy encompassing dreary highlands, pine forests, and central-southwestern Chalcedony.  The leader of the States, the aging Erico Hackett, has been reinstated as president.

The faith of the common man.  The Pantheist Church has fragmented organization, lack of unity, and a variety of interpretations, but it is by far the most populous religion.  Incorporated by men, parili, dwarfs, elves, and goblins alike, it encompasses a cadre of nine gods known as the Cosmos Empyrean, whose likeness can be seen in nine shining constellations in the night sky.  Their names are the Pulao the Bellringer, the Qiuniu the Player, Chiwen the Hungry, Chaofeng the Omen, Yazi the Slayer, Bixi the Chronicler, Bi'an the Warden, Baxia the Carrier, and Suanni the Regent.  While all practitioners of the Church give regard to each of the Cosmos Empyrean, it is not unusual for a practitioner to dedicate his or herself to a single one.  The Regent, the Slayer, the Hungry, and the Carrier are the most popular, among nobles, warriors, peasants, and laborers, respectively.  The Omen and the Bellringer are the least worshiped, and considered unlucky.  Though the Pantheist Church has a very wide following, its lack of cohesiveness prevents it both from having an overarching influence on the world and from being destroyed.  The Pantheist Church conducts notable missionary, healing, and charity work.  It is common for Pantheist ministers to practice Astral magic.  The official PC relation with the August Orthodoxy is one of respect, and the Church is distrustful of the New Coven.

The high-profile religion of Chalcedony, practiced almost exclusively among humans, dwarfs, and parili.  This monotheistic faith holds that one true god, Lugus, created Protea, before retreating to the planet's core to combine his life-force with the planet, and protect it from other metaphysical beings, particularly those embodied by the Otherwheres like Sheol and Gehenna.  While the faith asserts the existence of other deities, it worships only Lugus, the only one who labored to make the world.  The August Orthodoxy is well established, well organized, and very powerful, making it a major potential player in Chalcedony affairs.  Its holy city, Vigil, is near the geographical center of the continent, and the territory surrounding it -in which the August Orthodoxy is the main presence- lies between the lands occupied by the Republic of Fogi, the Arcadian Commune, and the former Sovereignty.  It is common for the clergy of the Orthodoxy, known as Augustines, to have an affinity for Terra, but it is seldom used in ordinary dealings.  It is said that whoever is chosen by the priests as the High Father is gifted with the power to mold the earth.  The August Orthodoxy generally looks down on the Pantheist Church as a little brother, wrongfully worshiping lesser celestial deities who merely follow Lugus, which it tolerates.  However, the August Orthodoxy is a vehement enemy of the New Coven and Nocnitsa both, identifying them as disciples of demons and darkness, and will unashamedly oppose the two cults whenever possible.  While the official mantra of the August Orthodoxy is to maintain order, faith, and light in a world where Lugus can no longer help them, there are several extremist sects whose hyper-militaristic nature has brought some public opinion against the AO proper.

Hidden around the fringes of the various nations on Chalcedony are hints of something dark and terrifying.  In the shadows of civilization, in their alleys and their slums and in the dark forests and marshlands untouched by the nations' influence, lives the New Coven.  After a genocidal campaign by the Republic of Fogi and the Arcadian Commune -the last time the two have cooperated since their split into separate nations- to eliminate the original Coven after it became too large, vicious, and powerful.  Though the old witches were executed, they became martyrs, and the New Coven came to be in the ashes of the old.  Smarter and better managed than its previous incarnation, the New Coven keeps a covert presence around the continent.  It is particularly present in the Arcadian Commune, where the new leadership has declared the Coven to be an official religious society, and has forbidden any action against its growth except for an often-stated discouragement.  Members of the New Coven tend to be mysterious but violent, insidious, and diabolical, wielding dark magics.  The New Coven official relation with the Pantheist Church is one of dislike, while the NC despises and attacks the August Orthodoxy.

Situated on the eastern edge of Feldspar is the collection of city-states called the Triple Alliance.  The three city-states are Bravado, Bombast, and Dervish, of which the latter two are seaports.  All are rough, sprawling cities, carved from stone and adobe, surrounded by walls.  A network of roads, called the ivory trails, connect them, and each are vital to one another due to their expansive trade.  Dervish is the manufacturing center and main port, Bravado -the most tropical of the three- is the agricultural center, and Bombast overlooks a grand array of quarries, providing the other city-states their raw materials.  Near Bombast is an extensive ruins, left over from an earlier civilization, much of it hidden beneath the sand.  Together, the three cities sustain themselves and one another in a hostile environment.  Each city-state is governed by a single lord, and none of them approach the level of civilization and order present in the human civilizations on Chalcedony.  While life in any member of the Triple Alliance can be rough, and even medieval at times, its standard of living is high compared to much of the continent.

on the western side of Feldspar, north of the volcanic wastes, is a metropolis entitled Dustborne.  For as long as any of its inhabitants can remember, it has been in a state of constant war among three factions.  The first is Argil, an extremest sect of the August Orthodoxy completely disavowed by the High Father.  Next are the Marl Foxes, the most subtle of the three but no less brutal and deadly.  Lastly is WOL, the Warriors of Loess, the most militaristic of the three.  The perennial conflict had been raging so long, and passed among so many leaders on every side, that nobody really knows what the original grievance was; now, it is an unending cycle of revenge and cruelty.  Life expectancy is so reduced that the age of 30 is seen as ancient, and all three factions employ child soldiers.  The conflict is fueled by outside interests, including agents of the Triple Alliance, Arcadian Commune, Harrowed Commonwealth, August Orthodoxy—practically everyone has a few people with fingers in the pie.  They supply the weapons, explosives, and magics in return for valuable materials scavenged from the former metropolis Dustborne.  'Desert Warlords' is the collective term for the three sides in the war; compared to other, true factions, the Desert Warlord are in no position to influence much of anything, so concerned are they in their bitter civil war.

Sailors of Feldspar's Sand Sea, brigands and thieves all.  They form a very loose, anarchic society, stretching across most of the continent but concentrated only in dens, lairs, hideouts, and massive ships.  In addition to attacking and pillaging the Triple Alliance, various settlements across Feldspar, and having a hand in the eternal war in Dustborne, they provide a sort of black market.  Recently they've become mighty interested in the ruins near Bombast, trading heavily in whatever they can get from it, and even leaving their sandships behind to send raiding parties into the ruins themselves.  These dangerous pirates are not be trusted, not to be underestimated, and never to be trifled with.

Tucked away in a valley in Feldspar is the reclusive tribal civilization of the Germina.  It came to be several centuries ago when a group of pilgrims, stricken with magical affliction and fed up with the pitiable conditions on Spinel, emigrated from the dark continent.  En route to Feldspar, they lost their way in a storm, and landed on an uninhabited coast.  Inland they wandered, slowly dying of starvation and thirst, until they happened upon the oasis valley the Cabal calls home today.  The Cabal is condemnatory of magic, outright banning many affinities and requiring permits for magical use in the valley.  In terms of culture, the Germina Cabal is aggressive and territorial, more than happy to keep what few visitors there might be in their desolate region away.  While known for their fighting ability, the germinas prefer to abstain from engaged conflict.  Any members of this society who fail to uphold it are mercilessly banished.  Recently, a desert drake called the Sacert, having angered the Cabal with its repeated raids, was captured and subdued, beginning a flowering practice of beast-taming.

Within a vast mountain-range in the sparsely-populated, arid northeastern zone of Chalcedony lies a valley, and within that valley lies the city of legends.  Monolith is a massive city situated on, in, and even under its own lonely mountain, loosely organized into districts.  Some of its lower levels are flooded, like the Pearl District.  Populating this city exclusively are the golems, either the plentiful four-foot-five Workers or the rare seven-foot Travelers.  At the peak of Monolith is a glittering beacon known as Providence, which daily sends waves of light through the city called Blessings.  Blessings refill the life-light of the golems, sustaining their infinite life, but they also enchant living creatures, turning them piece by piece over the course of a dozen Blessings into golems themselves.  There exists also a mirror called Salvation, situated near the city's zenith, that captures dead souls and imbues them into inanimate golem bodies.  Every day, more than 3/5ths of the populace must labor in the city, thereby appeasing Providence enough to rain down its Blessings.  Monolith is the grandest manufacturing center on Chalcedony, and probably the world, outshining even the dwarfs.  Due to the remoteness of the city, and its general strangeness, it is seldom visited except by those with economic interests or those seeking to leave their old lives behind.  Monolith's Providence is viewed by the Pantheist Church as an incarnation of Qiuniu the Player, by the August Orthodoxy as a miracle of Lugus, and by the New Coven as an occult anomaly.

If the cursed land of Spinel can be governed, the Harrowed Commonwealth does its best to do so.  The Commonwealth takes the form of a sprawling collection of largely-independent cities, each entered in a series of trade agreements and protection contracts with many others.  Despite their hopeful cooperation, the Commonwealth is splintered, with most of its constituents trying to provide for themselves, too put-upon to help very much with others.  As a result, the grip that the governing body of the Commonwealth -a ragtag group of representatives whose true name has been eclipsed by the nickname 'Stitches'- is tenuous at best.  The Pantheist Church has a lot of missions among the cities of the Commonwealth, but is Nocnitsa, supposedly helping the Commonwealth but doing all that it can to gain its own power, who has the real influence.

Unlike the Harrowed Commonwealth, the Legion is Flies is not a nation, and it is not concerned with the well-being of anyone but itself.  In effect, the Legion is a vast army, eternally in motion under the dark sky, putting up a sea of tents where it will and vanishing the next day.  The Legion if Flies is always hungry, always eager to scrape whatever sustenance it can from the landscape of Spinel, and when it cannot, to kill and plunder from any settlements in comes across, including those of the Commonwealth.  Greater cities, while able to repel the attacks better, are more likely to give the passing Legion tribute to keep it away.  A lifetime spent among the raw magics seeping from the ground has taken a greater toll on this throng than most.  To the more ordinary people of Spinel, the Legion of Flies seems to be a barbarian horde, difficult to call human.  What goes on in the camps of the Legion is the subject of many horrified whispers.

those ravaged by supernatural disease on the continent Spinel.  While 'Lepers' refers to people afflicted, it is also used to refer to two large Gothic cities situated on the vast lake Succor.  The addictive waters of Succor, laden with raw Sano magic, give comfort to those touched by sickness, making the Lepers the best places on Spinel for afflicted people.  Naturally, both have great populations.  With little to no government, and only the will to survive to rule, the Lepers are both essentially huge, degenerate slums, with a semblance of order kept by citizen watches on good days and gang warfare on bad days.  In truth, the waters of Succor also contain raw Venenum magic, ensuring that the illnesses of those who drink from it will only be mitigated, never cured.  Stupefied by the waters, many inhabitants abandon hole up indoors, abandon the waking world, and resort to dreams to try to live.  Though it is known to nobody, the presence of the eldritch Steel Dreamers is particularly powerful here.

these former colonies of the Arcadian Commune are situated on the unforgiving continent of Tourmaline.  Though disunited ever since their split with their former motherland, and primarily occupied with forming a thriving civilization in a land of perennial winter, a recent development has forced the fragmented colonies to join forces.  From the frozen forests monstrous beasts are attacking, larger and deadlier than ordinary animals, and capable of their own magic.  Already many outlying towns have been laid to waste, their populations scattered, killed, or forced to retreat into larger, more fortified settlements.  The Colonies blame the Winter's Brotherhood for this onslaught, demanding that if that be not the case that the elves cease their rivalry with the Colonies and render them aid, but the Brotherhood will not provide assistance.  When angry colonists destroyed a Brotherhood outpost in revenge, the Colonies soon found themselves facing a two-pronged war against elves and beasts alike, though the two foes have been observed fighting one another.  Desperate for help, the Colonies have sent out pleas for aid across the oceans, enlisting any mercenaries, freelance magicians, and borrowed soldiers that they can, promising payment in gratitude and precious metals to be found in the Tourmaline ground after the end of the war.  By day, bands of hunters scour the frigid landscape, boldly engaging any beasts they encounter, but when night falls and the howling hordes come forth the fighters of the Colonies are forced to hole up in their forts, outposts, castles, and walled towns and pray to whichever gods they believe in that they survive the night.  So preoccupied are the Colonies that they're unable to make any official effort to discover why the beasts of Tourmaline are acting in such a manner.

unique among the societies of elves around the world is the Winter's Brotherhood, a slew of snow elves on Tourmaline.  While most elves prefer their seclusion, being considerate to others but content to have little influence on the outside world, the Winter's Brotherhood is a highly regimented, militaristic kingdom, controlling the frozen forests and snowy plains of Tourmaline where few others groups would dare to tread.  The Winter's Brotherhood is highly aggressive and xenophobic, distrustful of outsiders, and eternally at odds with the Colonies of the Solstice.  Not all snow elves on Tourmaline are part of the Winter's Brotherhood, and those that do not, like the elves elsewhere on Protea, steer clear of the WB and try to make sure that other peoples do not believe that their ideals represent all elves.

If the August Orthodoxy was the sun, then Nocnitsa would be the moon.  Shrouded in darkness and mystique is this religion, more thoroughly ingrained and better organized than a cult, but never to approach the majesty of its counterpart in the west.  Nocnitsa encompasses a vast pantheon of deities, each associated with a particular brand of magic, rather than ascribing a single overarching god.  The gods in question are said to be able to exist solely because of the desires of mortals, and benefit mortals in exchange for worship.  After binding oneself via blood offering to Nocnitsa, a practitioner becomes a kin, or disciple, of a single god, though he may worship however many he chooses.  This ritual can only be performed on Spinel.  Based on the god chosen, the kin is given certain powers, and restrictions under which they may be used.  Because of this gift, members of Nocnitsa are typically much better-off than other inhabitants of Spinel, and levy their talents in service of others for a price.  This can range to anything from a Victuskin growing food to a Telumkin slaying someone's enemy.  Disciples of Nocnitsa lose most of their power if they leave Spinel, though it will gradually return when the disciple himself returns.  Only leaders of Nocnitsa, dedicated to the parish and organizing it for years without choosing a god, may worship the gods of Banned magics.  There is a price, however, for hosting the power of a god, and by walking the path of Nocnitsa a person starts an inevitable trail to their own demise, a doom paved with power and pleasure and plenty, but a doom nonetheless.  Insanity, deformation, and death lie at the end of the line, but for the people of Spinel and even those beyond, Nocnitsa offers a life fulfilling enough while it lasts to be a very enticing fate.

Legends tell of a phantom submarine, emerging only into the surface world in the midst of the strongest, most continuous monsoons, when the storm clouds block all light and the deluge is tinted red.  On those rainy days, the tower of the submarine Ankou will rise in a port town, from the ocean, a lake, a pond, or even a swimming pool, and from its depths will shamble a crew of people in vast, baggy diving suits to walk among the inhabitants of the town, begging them to join them in their submarine.  They will tell of an impending disaster, a flood to end the world and drown all life for which this particular storm is the herald, and implore the people to save themselves by entering the submarine.  After a day or two the submarine will depart with any who heeded the warning inside, and sink back down into the water from which it came, followed shortly by the end of the blood-red storm.  Dozens of myths circulate the coasts of every continent, some telling of people who attempted to remove the crews' helmets, only to find nothing but water -and a seemingly random pair of eyes and set of teeth- within.  Those with knowledge of the preternatural say that the Ankou is a ferry between the world of Protea and the realm titled in ancient mythologies as Hadal.  One thing is for certain: no person, from any race, who has ever ventured into the Ankou has returned as anything more than a familiar voice coming from another diving suit, pleading with the people to come, and also be saved.

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