## The Ancients Dotted all around the world are ruins of a long lost civilization, simply referred to as "The Ancients". Little is known about them and Archaeologists go to great lengths and perils to discover anything they can about them. ### Power Cores The Ancients were a highly advanced society and they left behind little devices that produce perpetual energy. People call them Power Cores and they're highly sought after as they can power all kinds of machines (but mostly clockworks) for sheer indefinite amounts of time. Nobody knows how they work and consequently the only source of more power cores are ruins of the Ancients, which luckily there are plenty of. ## Nations of the World There are a few prominent nations in the world. They take different forms but the biggest players are monarchies with colonial agendas. ### The Calvian Empire This nation is basically the old british empire during the victorian era, complete with an empress. The empire has the largest fleet of airships. Big cities are at the center of the empire and it is in the process of setting up colonies all around the uncharted parts of the world. The capital, along with many more settlements are situated on their home continent of origin Meryl, which the Empire shares only with the Sharbik kingdom in the desert. ### Airborne City Kyberis With the rise of airship technology (pun intended) and the possibilities created by the power cores of the Ancients, a few people came up with the idea of an entire city made up of many airships that have been connected and move as one. Kyberis is independent politically and all who can afford to charter a flight there are welcome. ### Velltrian Kingdom One rather powerful nation is the Ocean Kingdom Velltria, which calls an entire ocean its territory. It consists of island settlements, floating towns and one underwater city. This kingdom has the largest naval fleet and a proud king. ### Underwater City There is an entire city that exists underwater in the middle of the ocean, built around the ruins of a city of the Ancients. It can be accessed via submarine or a series of elevators that lead to the water surface, where ships and airships can dock. This city is the center of the Ocean Kingdom. ### Sharbik Kingdom This kingdom spans over the Deraharr Desert in Meryl. Its largest settlements are all located along a single river they call Kar'heb which carves a path through the desert. The desert is full of Ancient ruins, including 3 mysterious pyramids, only one of which has been explored so far by the Sharbik. Thanks to the contents of that pyramid, the Sharbik have developed advanced clockworks that make them an equal to the Empire when combined with the home advantage in the desert. ## Creatures and Races ### Humans The only (currently) playable race. Humans are the main race in all empires. No need to go into more detail because they're everywhere. ### Werewolves Werewolves inhabit forests and rural areas, where the church can't do much about them. They live with their families, which they refer to as their pack and feed on anything that moves. Most attacks on humans are either out of a lack of other food sources, or (more commonly) because of misunderstandings that led to humans attacking a werewolf first. Werewolves transform in a full moon, but some extremely rare ones can transform under any moon light. ### Vampires Vampires live among humans and they feed off of their blood. They are immortal, but can be killed by specific means. They are usually the prime target of monster hunters in urban areas, because young Vampires find it hard to control their thirst enough not to kill their victim. As they grow older, Vampires usually learn to avoid suspicion and make deals with humans to keep them supplied with blood in exchange for something they can offer, like knowledge of old history, or protection. Many Vampires are loners and go their own separate way but some form "families" (even though there is usually no real blood relation) and live together. There is even a powerful Vampire society that lives within the Empire that has ties to powerful people, which allows them to evade the church and monster hunters. ### Magical creatures There are many other magical creatures that hail from the spirit world, like Fairies, Wolpertingers, Basilisks, Dragons (about as powerful as a young D&D dragon and as intelligent as a tiger when fully grown and extremely rare), Perytons, Satyrs, and others. While many are dangerous and deadly, some are friendly or indifferent towards humans, although monster hunters when in doubt won't take a risk. Even though their existence is passed on through myths and legends, most people never see one of them in their lifetime. ## Factions Aside from the nations there are also some other factions and organizations. ### The Church In the Empire, people believe in one omnipotent god (think catholic church). The Church as an organization aims to spread the word of god all around the world. The Inquisition is a branch organisation of the church that focuses on hunting blashphemers and monsters. Witchcraft is shunned by the church and the Inquisition actively hunts witches. ### The Grand Coven A few old witches have gained enough influence to be able to politically oppose the Inquisition within the Empire. They have ties to powerful people and witches of the Grand Coven enjoy immunity from the Inquisition as long as they abide by some strict regulations to their witchcraft. The Grand Coven actively recruits new witches, looking to strengthen their numbers and influence. However, many witches are ambitious lone wolves who don't want to bow to the rules and restrictions of the Grand Coven. ### The Society of Ancient History and Archaeology (AHA Society) Initially an imperial ministry, the AHA had to reform after being abolished when the Church declared the Ancients ungodly blasphemers and got the crown to stop supporting the exploration of Ancient ruins. The AHA is now financially backed by private investors who consist of collectors, inventors and manufacturers, who are looking to make good money off of Ancient technology. The AHA can be found in most cities nowadays even beyond imperial borders. ### The Free Havens The oceans are infested with pirates who live the free life attacking unprodected convoys and sometimes even smaller military vessels. In order to protect against the efforts of the nations to shut the pirate problem down, the pirates banded together in some loose alliance called The Free Havens. Their ports are no place for vessels of the nations to even approach and they harbor the outcasts and misfits of the world. ### The Alumni of everlasting Flesh A mysterious society of doctors, who combine experimental medicine and Alchemy in their pursuit of immortality. They wear the typical Plague Doctor outfit and are rarely encountered in broad daylight. Members of this society pursue immortality through all means. No practice is too dangerous or off-limits for them.