A Diver is any individual who decides to leave the safety of his/her village, town, city, etc. to explore no-man's-land. Divers are usually seen as treasure hunters, but they often have their own reason for leaving their homes. Most Divers are capable of using magic, but some possess natural skills sufficient enough to defend themselves and survive in the wilds. Divers have a very bad reputation in most nations, but they are still capable of obtaining informal contracts from just about anyone.
Arcane nodes are natural conductors of the arcane energy found in the air, and within the earth. These conductors are capable of releasing a constant flow of raw energy powerful enough to fuel powerful mechanisms, or persistent magical effects. These nodes are rare, and often act as a base to establish a new nation. Without a node, sustaining a stable civilization is practically impossible.
The Model-3 Force Field Generator is a mechanism that most scientific communities use to protect their nations from dangers that exist in no-man's-land. These machines create an extremely powerful force-field that only allows specific life signatures through it, namely those who are citizen to any given nation. They require an insane amount of arcane energy to sustain them, which means that without an arcane node to power them, they are impossible to use efficiently.
Project Scattered Shades is a combination of efforts put into the creation and implementation of an Arcane node outside of any current national borders. Through the combined efforts of popular Arch mages and arcane scientists, production of the very first synthetic node has begun. Machinists from Teknoh are creating a transport vehicle to contribute in this project. Additionally, a new law known as the 'survey initiative' allows the CMAS to hire Divers to survey no-man's-land for suitable expansion locations. This project has increased tensions in no-man's-land between Divers, along with raising concerns among civilians in Arcadia.
An Arcanite Battery is the most common way to store Arcane energy in Thorisa. These smooth, durable storage devices vary in size and shape, from inch-wide cubes, to spheres with several feet of diameter. A/B's are a conductive matrix of solid Arcanite encased in stone, metal, wood, or any other sturdy materiel. Arcanite itself it not a natural resource, but it can easily be created by solidifying a small amount of arcane energy. Arcanite is often very erratic in design when created, and very fragile, which is why many choose to encase it in another material, for safety and security. A small A/B that can fit in a person's hand contains more arcane energy than most humans do in their bodies, and is capable of powering many small weapons or mechanisms that are fitted to accept them as a power source. Most people cannot absorb the energy directly into their bodies, despite being able to fill the batteries manually using magic. These batteries often sell for a sizable sum if they are filled, making them very attractive to Divers.
The Arcane Detector is a very crude device for quantifying arcane energy. It emits an arcane-infused humming noise when activated. The pitch heightens when the sound-waves are interrupted by residual arcane energy of in the immediate area, assuming it is of a high enough volume. These are very rare, difficult to create, tend to malfunction, and are impractical for anything other than finding arcane nodes in no-man's-land.
Arcane ammo is the primary source of firepower used in all sorts of projectile like weapons. There are several types of A/A that fit into different weapon models, but the principal is the same regardless. An arcane element is infused into the tip of a special arcanite casing, and once triggered by a secondary A/B, it detonates and travels up the reinforced barrel, producing a different effecting depending on both the ammo type, and the weapon design.
Staves are long, arcanite-infused objects that extend the length of a person's arcane network by matching their affinity. This is accomplished by loosening the physical bond of the arcanite, and coating it in wood, steel, or another stable material. These staves can be topped off with conductive elements, but it isn't necessary despite sometimes improving or changing the effect of a person's arcane magic altogether. Staves allows humans to use dangerous magic much easier, as they circumvent the need to practice safe casting, especially with elemental spells like Fire and electric conjurings.
This is the massive expanse of unclaimed land between the nations in Thorisa. No-Man's-Land is lush with latent arcane energy, and wilderness of all shapes and forms, ranging from forests, to deserts. The wildlife is unpredictable, vicious, and completely uncatalogued, making the creatures in the wild very dangerous, even to the protected nations. Additionally, food can be sparse, fresh water is infrequently found, and each type of landscape is full of unique dangers, from excessive heat, to crippling cold. If you were to compare the amount of land between nations, No-man's-Land would cover over 95% of Thorisa. The possibilities are endless out there.
The Quadra Powers are the four nations under Arcadia's rule. There is the capitol of Arcadia, Teknoh City, Illon Republic, and the castle town of Hyznia. These four nations are the biggest, and most powerful in Thorisa. They are also the only union of nations known across the continent, making them somewhat of a ruling government, despite the fact that they don't meddle in the affairs of other civilizations. They do express distaste for war, and are not subtle in their intention to snuff out conflict before it grows with their overwhelming influence.
CMAS, or the Council of Magic and Arcane Science, is Arcadia's authority on everything Arcane. Compared to the government, the CMAS hold just about the same amount of influence, considering that they control the military, manage everything magical, and have full reign of the capitol's M-3 FFG, among other things. All mages and Arcane Scientists who reside in any of the Quadra-Powers are inherently part of the CMAS, but not all who are classified as members hold very much sway at all. The CMAS is in place to regulate and control the use of magic and arcane study within Arcadian borders. Anyone registered under the CMAS are disallowed to leave Nation borders unless they are permitted by the figureheads of the council. Any who leave while registered as a Mage or Scientist are considered criminal to the nation of Arcadia. The CMAS are very selective about who they allow into their upper ranks, but aren't very secretive about what they study, or what they practice.
The highest ranked mages registered within CMAS. Arch mages, unlike any scientists, are considered extremely dangerous, and are often capable of using exceedingly powerful magic. Arch mages are also responsible for most unique magic in Arcadia's history. Some mages with extensive magical capabilities claim the title of Arch-mage outside of Arcadia, but they are not acknowledged as such, especially considering their lack of affiliation with the government, or CMAS.
A mythical community of Divers rumored to exist in No-Man's-Land. Nobody knows much about it, and most consider it a true myth.
These are Divers who have subscribed to the Arcadian Survey initiative. They have a very bad reputation with other Divers, alongside the negative aspects that Divers already carry. Junkers are paid very well.
A slang term for anyone who uses magic. Calling somebody a 'wizard' is considered extremely patronizing, and offensive. The word is looked down upon, and rarely uttered as anything more than an insult
Thorisa is a super-massive continent that covers nearly 1/3rd of the planet's surface. The rest of the world is covered in an endless ocean that has never been explored by man successfully. Its dangers are absolutely unknown, and nobody dares enter its waters. No-Man's-Land is nothing when compared to the sea.
Warlocks are mages who study forbidden, or ancient magic that cannot be reliably studied within the parameters of arcane science. These mages are inferred to be capable of using void energy with the help of arcane rituals that thin the veil between reality and the void. Demonlogy, Void Templar rites, and Warping are a few studies considered to use 'warlock magic' effectively.
Machinists are those who practice Arcane construction. They are capable of building all sorts of things using arcane energy from A/B and their trusty tools. Many arcane scientists are also Machinists if they aren't capable of using magic themselves. Mages can become machinists as well, but it's well known that people with an active arcane network usually make very sloppy machinists.
A very rare individual who is capable of warping humans and objects across insanely long distances. This type of magic is very unstable, and without very precise control, warping can either be ineffective, or outright kill the subject of the warp. The study of warping is forbidden in Arcadia, and it is very hard to find texts on the subject anywhere in Thorisa.
A very group of individuals who are capable of negating all forms of magic through an unknown means. Void Templar claim that they use the void, which they worship as 'that which judges the flow of time and power' to cancel out whatever they claim to be a 'blatant misuse of arcane energy'. Their weapons and armor seem to be the source of their powers, but it's been reported that a few Templar can cancel magic without them. The Void Templar are very prominent in the southern regions of Thorisa, but do not show any signs of spreading across the continent.
A magical ailment wherein a person's arcane network is damaged severely, rather than sealed. This disease slowly cuts off the flow of arcane energy to the body, leading to a loss of magical abilities over time, physical fatigue starting in the extremities, and eventually, once the heart and lungs cease functioning, death. It is caused by improperly preformed Silencing rituals, straining the arcane network beyond its limits on too many occasions, and rare magic that is meant to damage a person's network directly. The life expetency of a victim can be anywhere from 2 months to 10 years when diagnosed.
~More to be added as the story progresses, or upon request~
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Mae
Jensoman
