The World

[Krul]

The Phoenix-Vegas Arcology

Built over the Hoover Dam, inhabited by roughly 2.1 million the survivors of  major cities of Vegas (Nevada), Phoenix (Arizona), and a multitude of other cities within several hundred miles of this location, with embassy's of the Summer, Dawn and Dusk courts of Faery and the Bright Clan of Dragons, this Arcology is is a nexus of power and potential.  Dominating the area around it for quite a bit of distance, the arcology itself covers area's on either side of the dam and stretches several miles in all directions, including down into the earth.   The presence and activity of several godbound (though most think they are young paragons) in the area have greatly strengthened the power and prestige of this arcology.

In terms of technology, the P-V arcology pushes the limits of science and techology to a degree that no other location within reach can match.  This is in quite a few ways due to the individual known as Sota, who given the materials can build, invent or recreate just about anything.  Furthermore, the young godbound has come into her powers only in the last year, but she has instinctively cause a vast computing network to surround the city for hundreds of miles, insuring the city's influence and communication have a reach unmatched by any other arcology.

Furthermore , the military of the city is stronger then almost any others, due to the Commander of the Legion of the Dead, Gary Norton, a general with great defensive abilities and considerable power over death and the dead.  Granted full command over his Legion, Gary is one of the legends of the city along with the Divine Engineer, but several other powerful individuals have also come home to live in this area.

And, as if even that were not enough, the city has become home to two queens of faery, who add considerable social influence and power to the area, the Immaculate Dawn Courtesans have followed their lady to this place and have chosen to make it a home to one of the outposts of the Dawn Court.  

If that were not enough, the activities of several wandering Godbound, such as the warrior known as Dread and the healer known as the Serene Judge have made this place even better developed.  

Several Lesser Magics and Strifes are well known in the area, allowing folks to better train to defend themselves.

Government:  A Council known as the Triad has executive control over the city, covering it's military and police needs, and a Senate, with a senator from each of the cities 9 districts cover the legislative needs of the city.   Each district has it's own rules and expectations, and  some are more permissive then others, each is allowed to set their own rules within the city's constitutional establishments.  Such things as gambling, prostitution and even a limited form of contracted slavery are permitted in some places within the arcology, but the heart of the law is that consent is required.

The Dawn Court (And Faery Courts)

Like all of the faery courts, the dawn court might have anywhere from three to twelve rulers, kings and queens known by such titles as 'Queen in Waiting' or 'Queen in Exile' or 'The King that Is'.  The full meaning of each title is often difficult to pin down outside of the faery courts, generally any Monarch outranks any other noble of his or her court, but their status with regards to other monarchs is more nebulous, and difficult for outsiders to pin down.  

However, of the various Faery courts, each of them have their particular focus and primary concerns, and the Dawn court is focused on community, diplomacy and guardianship, unlike any other court except for the Dusk court, they do hire out bodyguards and diplomats, but they do not hire them out for money, but only for favors.  They favor the growth of healthy and uninhibited societies and often involve themselves in mortal societies more so then any other court but for the Dusk court.  They generally consider some mortal societies more prudish behaviors ridiculous and a source of amusement, but they are one of the more comprehensible courts by mortal standards, unlike the Untamed.

The Bright Clan

While there are a number of different dragon clans, the Bright Clan has a mixed of humans adopted chosen by dragons as their own, making them a mix of human and dragonic behaviors that are rather unique for both kinds.  Having chosen to develop their communal lair within the rocky mountains, they are close enough to the PV Arcology to benefit from the network that has grown from the power of the godbound known as Sota, and they have their own powers.  The powerful dragon deity, the platnium dragon know as Bahamut, is the protector and founder of the clan, having commanded the dragons who had adopted mortal children to form the clan during the cataclysm.  

Within the clan, the Lady Maia is clearly seen as one of the most important members of the clan, considering the respect everyone else shows her, and her status as one of the ambassadors to the PV arcology.  She is clearly a paragon of some kind, though the full measure of her power is not yet known outside of the bright clan, and the clan as well as their patron are watching her.

NEXT UP: Enemies and Threats

[Krul]

The Uncreated

The endless chaos of Uncreated Night gouts forth strange life from time to time. These creatures curdle into existence deep within the void, but sometimes they find a way into more terrestrial spheres through the Night Roads, or infest shards of Heaven or the outer precincts of Hell. Some sages believe that they are a product of the friction between the created world and the void beyond, which explains why they so often have shapes and minds that are at least partially comprehensible to humans. Unfortunately, they are universally malevolent and hostile entities.

Uncreated look like warped and monstrous creatures, often assembled from seemingly-random parts and misshapen fragments. They usually have an overall theme to their outline, like that of a human or mundane beast, but the individual components are mismatched and twisted. They are innately horrifying and disorienting to behold, their very presence curdling the mundane reality around them. 

Uncreated have strange and hostile purposes within the realm, clustering around Night Roads or striking out to defile places that are important to a realm’s coherence. They seem to exist for purposes of entropy and negation, with this world’s natural laws as loathsome to them as their own congealed madness is to humanity. They appear to have human intellects, if not more so, yet their reasoning is often bent to purposes that appear arbitrary or pointlessly sadistic.

Uncreated are known for sometimes striking bargains with reckless  sorcerers, offering secrets from beyond the borders of the realm and liberty from the constraining laws that fetter their magical powers. While the power they offer is real, the price in obedience's and transformation is often an unendurable one.

Many people associate these beings with Cthulian Mythos and they may not be entirely wrong to do so.

Undead
The undead of the realms are products of fear, longing, and dark sorcery.  The prospect of an agonizing afterlife has filled countless men and women with dread. While certain the ancestor cults, and other true faiths can serve to anchor a soul to its native realm in peaceful sleep, not every spirit has the advantage of that shelter. Those
who die alone and far from solace might still cling to this world for fear of what comes next.

Others simply cannot endure the idea of leaving their work unfinished, and are sealed to their decaying corpses by their unquenchable will. Even when a spirit is absent and only the dead flesh remains, a skilled sorcerer can imbue the husk with a kind of half-life to create a mindless servitor.

Undead come in two kinds: lesser and greater. Lesser undead are purely corporeal in nature, dead bodies animated by magical power and imbued with a kind of half-intellect by the spell. They are not sentient, nor are they aware of the corpse’s prior life save in vague, brief flickers of habitual action.

Lesser undead obey their creator. When left to their own devices, they ape the habits of the living as their animating force expresses human urges in strange, dangerous ways. The urge to eat is a particularly violent one, but their other fumbling efforts can be even more horrific.  Many socities would outlaw the creation of such lesser undead, if the world wasn't in such dire straights that every assistance is needed.  As a result, while necromancers are not encouraged, they are an accepted part of  the world in many places.
Greater undead are qualitatively different. They have a human soul at their core, either animating a decaying corpse or manifesting as an insubstantial wraith. Their minds are usually dulled by the decay of their flesh or the confusion of their death, but they can remember their living days and reason as humans do. Spells to create them are substantially more difficult, and most necromancers must take care to keep greater undead safely bound.  Supreme Undead are the most powerful greater undead in existance known as Undead Monarchs (Undead King Word), and are the most powerful and terrifying of their kind, they are for all intents and purposes, undead gods, they often create themselves.

Monsters

A multitude of monstrous  beings have filled the world since the cataclym,  some less friendly then others,  from creatures gown to giant size, of which spiders, wasps and rats  tend to be the most vicious, though megalodon's are rather dangerous, but also such unnatural things as chimera, manticore's, kraken and levathans, and ancient creatures such as dinosaurs of various sizes have returned to the earth, but so have such creatures as mammoths, sabertooth tigers and the like.

As a further problem, there are also werebeasts of various kinds, few of whom tend to look at humanity with much favor, though some are less antagonist then others.  

If that were not enough, there are belligerent and antagonistic races such as orcs, goblins, trolls and frost giants as well as the less friendly races of dragons to name but a few.