Etreia

The world of Etreia, a fantasy land filled with all kinds of wonders and creatures.

Home to multiple mortal races, and immortal creatures like fairies and demons.

The world

The four continents of the world are Lethia (East), Fjorgus (North), Evalin (West), Camberia (South).

Lethia has a western european. The northern half of the continent is controlled by the Valian empire. The southern regions are a coalition of kingdoms that push back on the empire's control. The bigger kingdoms are the Clenn kingdom, the Purlia kingdom and the Argenia kingdom. Has a good mix of all races, but is mostly humans.

Fjorgus has a Scandinavian/slavic culture. High amounts of dwarves and beastkin. Has multiple dozens of free cities and a dozen small kingdoms. The northern half is home to wild tribes and mostly unexplored. Most places outside the southern coastline are always cold.

Camberia has a more tribalistic, native american/african culture. Has one large empire called Tilaktla, which unified multiple large tribes and clans under one banner against external threats, but it's filled with internal conflict. Beastkin, orcs and elves are plentiful here. The eastern part of the continent is a large desert, home to a more middle eastern culture. It's controlled by the Khalid Sultanate, a matriarchy ruled by beastkin.

Evalin has an east asian style culture. It has three kingdoms that are always warring wars against each other, either openly or in the shadows. They're the Sayyid kingdom, the Shishido kingdom, and the Chen kingdom. Has large amounts of elves, gnomes and humans, but every race is present.

The magic

Magic in the world of Etreia is the ability to control mana. Those who can do it are called spellcasters.

The magic circuit is an internal body structure formed by spellcasters to store and transport mana through their bodies. No two persons magic circuit is the same. It generally is created and expanded gradually as a spellcaster becomes more experienced in mana manipulation, with only the greatest of mages having it expand through their whole body.

Spellcaster ranks are assigned based on a standard progression of magical circuit growth, but it isn't set in stone. Every advancement has at least some degree of risk, as it can cripple one's body if not careful.

Talent on a mage usually means how smart they are and how compatible their bodies are with mana. Some bodies offer more resistance to mana than other. Being smart also helps with forming a Circuit and handling mana.

Grading usually goes as follows, with the rank being obtained once the requirements are fulfilled:

Rank 0 - As soon as one is able to gather mana from their surrounding on one's body, they're officially a rank 0 spellcaster and can start forming a circuit.

Rank 1 - A single hand (Can only cast minor spells. Anybody can reach this rank with a two or three years of circuit forming). Most people start with their dominant hand as it's easier.

Rank 2 - A full arm, shoulder included (Can take a long time due to inexperience and the comparatively larger size of an arm. Usually takes around around five or six years for somewhat talented people).

Rank 3 - The other arm (The second arm is usually achieved in half the time thanks to accumulated experience with the first)

Rank 4 - The chest (The first big risky advancement, as a misdirection can send a surge of mana into the chest cavity. It does connect both arms and unifies the magic circuit, bringing a qualitative change with it. A mage is considered talented if they can achieve this before age 25).

Rank 5 - The lower torso (Big spike in mana capacity, can take a long time due to size to cover and care needed)

Rank 6 - Both legs (Usually makes one able to fly)

Rank 7 - The head (The second risky advancement, as the brain can get fried by mana. The brain can never develop a magical circuit due to its complex structure. Gives increased senses and greater mana control.)

Rank 8 - Internal organs (Every organ gets upgraded by mana. One becomes unaging after this point.).

Rank 9 - The soul (Qualitative change. Can match demigods. Everyone that has tried it has died in the process or gotten stuck.)

Spellcasters that decided to form the magic circuit differently are called irregulars but other spellcasters. Doing so usually leads up to unexpected developments, some good and some bad. For example, one can start training from the legs, but instead of being able to achieve flight, they will dangle in the air due to magic not supporting their whole body, just their legs.

Grades are also subdivided based on progression, with early, middle and late ranks for each rank. For example, late first rank is someone that has a hand and almost a full arm fully developed.

Schools of magic

There are multiple schools of magic in Etreia, so many that it would be meaningless to try and list them all. But some of the more better known ones are.

Artificing: The art of making artifacts with mana. One needs to know about mundane things, like smithing and sewing, but also arcane stuff, like wards and mana properties. It's not about altering the properties of an object (Like alteration magic), but about creating something that moves and/or works tanks mana, like lights, self moving carriages, water pumps, automatic doors, voice transmitters, etc. 

Botany: Magic can also be used in plants, and tons of plants have mana in them, some even as their primary form of sustenance. The tribes of camberia are experts at using magic herbs and even controlling flora using magic. Almost every tribe has a spellcaster that does this, usually called a druid. Alchemists are also required to have knowledge in magical flora, for obvious reasons. 

Alteration: The power of mana can also be used to alter properties of things, including living beings. Contrary to artificing, this doesn't make a thing that's powered with mana, but instead makes something change properties thanks to mana. One example is making soft stuff hard, or hard stuff pliable. Skilled enough mages can use Alteration to do things like grow temporary new limbs or change their body sizes. It is the most versatile way to use mana. Spellswords are all adept in alteration magic.

Conjuration: It is the art of creating things using attributed mana. Most widely used in combat magic, like creating fireballs, water blasts, etc. Things created through mana generally are unstable and short lasting, usually crumbling after the spellcaster loses concentration or leaves the object alone for a moment.

Necromancy: Its practice is usually shunned at best, and highly illegal at worst. It's any kind of magic that has to do with death, like animating bodies or employing souls as servants.

Illusion: Mana can also be used to alter perception of things. Instead of changing what something is, like with alteration, you can change how people perceive it instead. Illusion magic can also be used at a higher level to do things like influencing people or even making them have visions. Mages experts in this are rare and generally considered dangerous, as you cannot really trust anything surrounding them.

Summoning magic: An art thought to be lost to time or simply a myth. Said that it can summon creatures not only from this world but others, using a combination of space magic and complicated arrays.

Space Magic: One of the more complicated types of magic, as it messes with one of the fundamental rules of the universe. It is incredibly hard and dangerous to practice, but it's also one of the most powerful and useful kinds of magic. It can let the user do things like create pocket dimensions and teleport around space in a near instant way.

Demons

Demons are creatures that are born from human desire. They're aligned to one or many of the seven deadly sins, with a demon strength based on how many sins they're aligned with and how strong those desires that formed them are.

The exact science on how demons are formed is unknown, but it is believed that it happens by mortal desire subconciously shaping the mana around them, eventually concentrating it in one point, and giving birth to the mortal looking demon.

They're hunted by adventurers and the inquisition, so they live in the shadows, sometimes remaining low for centuries before striking again. They're capable of taking the forms of mortal races to blend in.

They're true forms almost always have things like tails, wings, horns, fangs and weirdly colored eyes.

Demons have different ranks based on their strength, categorized like so by the inquisition:

Imp: The lowliest kind of demon. Physically as strong as a child, generelly just as smart, but with exceptions.

Lesser demon: Slightly stronger than a normal human. They usually hide among humans and use dirty tricks to get what they need, as any trained person can easily take multiple down. Some are able to use some demonic magic at this stage.

Winged demon: This is the rank at which most demons become able to grow wings. They become as strong as multiple men together, and most also awaken demonic magic if they hadn't yet, with it being much stronger at this rank. A party of C rank adventurers is usually needed to hunt them down.

Greater demon: This is the rank at which demons become more brazen, as their strength is enough to handle multiple squads of soldiers, with even a group of B rank adventurer struggling to match them.

True demon: Generally the last most demons are able to take. They become strong enough that a group of A rank adventurers is needed to match them, and an even stronger party is needed to kills them. They're rare but extremely powerful, and even the inquisition is wary of them when hunting them down. Demons at this level almost always have subordinates under them, and some are leaders of undeground organizations, like black markets and assassin guilds.

Archdemon: The S rank equivalent of a demon. They are the ultimate form of a demon. They always have powerful bodies and even more powerful magic. As soon as any is discovered, the whole world comes together to destroy them, so it is unknown if any archdemon is alive at any given moment, unless one happens to reveal their powers. A lot of cataclysmic events are related with the appearance of an archdemon. Even a party of S rank adventurers might not be capable of dealing with one.

These categories are just a guide. Some demons are better at combat than others, while some are better at things like manipulation or disguise.

Demons are also able to make pacts with mortals, creating binding contracts with them. The most common bargaining chip for mortals is their souls and their desires, but also servitude and wealth may be used by others. Giving up your soul to a demon means becoming nourishment for them after death, instead of returning to the goddess.

Deities

There are multiple gods in the world of Etreia.
-Eleria: The goddess of light, mother of the sun. Protector against darkness.
-Cassimir: The god of wealth and abundance. Provider of those in need.
-Mahanna: The goddess of life and fertility. Patron of those who seek to have long lives and many offspring.
-Disenia: Goddess of the moon and the night sky. Guide of those who live in the darkness.
-Cleftus: God of the seas and the tide. Deity of sailors and those who dwell near his domain.
-Brann: God of fire and warmth. His priests are firekeepers, a highly respected role on the tundras of Fjorgus.
-Zarios: God of death and burial. He who guides the death to afterlife. His priests conduct burial sanctifications, while his paladins fight the undead.

Coin

Coins are divided in bronze, silver and gold coins, with one silver being 10 bronze, and 100 silver being 1 gold. The most common currency, accepted in all the land, is printed by the Church of wealth, made with the purest of metals.

Coins are colloquially called 'ears' by the normal people, as it is said that the god of wealth has coins for ears.

A single bronze can get you a piece of bread. Ten silver coin is the bare minimum to feed a family of four for a week. A gold coin is enough to pay for comfy housing in a city for one month. A hundred gold coins are enough to buy a house.

Gifts

Gifts, also known as blessings, are special powers given to certain individuals at birth, be it by gods, demons, bloodline or even the world itself. They're usually special abilities that are rarely found outside of gifts, like being able to detect lies perfectly, being able to understand every language, being a master at every weapon without practice, or even being born with an already formed magic circuit.

They sometimes manifest at birth, but most of them manifest later in life, generally during childhood, tho rarely they will also manifest during adulthood.