Ecliptica World Knowledge

Intro:

This is Ecliptica; a planet that rotates slowly enough that the sun faces the same side forever; blasting one part of the planet into a wasteland and reducing the opposite side to frozen hell. You, as well as the rest of the planet, live in the space between.

Ecliptica exists on the brink of a new era. Technology has advanced beyond anything those of the past could dream of, with trains running across some lands and a flying city on the magnetic pole. Understanding of magic is coming close to rivalling the great empire of the past. Despite the advancements the world is going through, however, the world is not always safe. Monsters lurk in the dark, villains try to carve their worldly claims and many nations even war with one another.

You are an adventurer, setting out into this big world. You hail from the desert that surrounds the solar wasteland, but you are a Zheziin! Your people are known across the world for how well-travelled they are.

In fact, you are currently in the land of Vyre. where the great empire of the past stood before it died overnight, 3000 years ago. The continent is host to small towns built near the ruined cities that hide dangerous secrets beneath the surface, both in terms of monsters and in terms of artifacts.

Races:

Zheziin: That’s us! Dark, tan skin and about six feet tall. Capable of magic, and found around the world in a variety of professions despite their origin being the desert.

Baerysun: Magical mutants. Only about five feet tall, sort of bluish skin and strongly blue hair. Have wings coming from their back. Powerful mages, but physical capabilities are limited. Came into the world around 7000 years ago, it is believed.

Ykliss: Large, white reptiles standing nearly seven feet. Very pious societies, so most you’ll encounter out on adventures will probably be paladins, priests, monks or simply religious warriors.

Ka’Shawn: Burly, lumbering lizardpeople of the mountains. Were once united as the Vyrian Empire 3000 years ago. Nowadays they live mostly as loners or in very small villages.

Shōlong?: We’ve only met one; Ku-Lung. A colossal winged reptile that is very intelligent and seems to be immortal. Can also burn things apparently.

Regions:

Vyre: We are here. Very mountainous subcontinent (full continent includes “Phobias” across the channel). Once hosted the great Vyrian Empire, 3000 years ago, whose magical prowess is still unmatched by modern magecraft. Primarily populated by Ka’Shawn and Baerysun, but has small populations of every race.

Zhes: More formally the League of Zhes Citystates; a shitload of allied citystates in the desert whose trade influence is felt worldwide. Our family is from here, but we were born in Vyre. Primarily consists of Zheziin like us, but includes other races (especially the Hensiir) who are there for trade reasons.

Astral Isles?: A region mentioned by the Shōlong, Ku-Lung. Located at the Astral Pole, where no travellers have ever returned from.

Planes:

There are twelve planes, each presiding over one of the core elements of magic: Heat, Cold, Air, Water, Earth, Dream, Reverberation/Resonance, Spirit, Light, Shadow, Order, and Entropy. Each plane exists as a replica of Ecliptica itself, and transportation into most planes is direction transfer of location: you will show up in the corresponding part of the plane you go to, and vice versa.

The Burning Plane rules over the element of Heat, and its sister plane is the Permafrost. They are so intrinsically linked that, oddly enough, they’re actually linked physically--If you walk towards the colder side of the planet while in the Burning Plane or towards the hotter side of the planet while in the Permafrost, you will cross into the other via a region called the Shatterfrost.

The Burning Plane is a dangerous place, but not uninhabited. There are several cities in the Burning Place, primarily consisting of the powerful and magical. Beyond that, its intelligent denizens are the elementals, beings who embody aspects of Heat--be they pure Heat elementals, Fire elementals or otherwise. There are also animals in the Burning Plane, but they’re significantly different from animals on Ecliptica, much like the difference between Ecliptica’s people and the elementals.

The ‘Contagion’

Named thus by Ku-Lung, some strange silver-violet set of organisms found in a set of Ancient Vyrian ruins. Bodies are incredibly unnatural, and respond to situations in very strange ways. More research needs to be done.