Ibres Common Lore

The History of Erde as of 515 SE (The Silent Era)
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Knowledge of the world of Erde's past is fragmented to its human (and demihuman) inhabitants but through divination and historic stone writings that remain it is well established that human civilizations have existed as early as six thousand years ago and possibly earlier. However, none of those ancient civilizations stand today, having been wiped out by the dragons in a great war that wracked the very foundations of the world.

The War of the Scale
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Between 4000 and 5000 years ago all human civilizations were destroyed, marking the end of the Age of Myth (scholars still argue on the exact date.) The details are lost to time and the will of the dragons, who have endeavored to keep humanity ignorant of what their leadership considers "dangerous knowledge." The only account that remains is that of the dragons themselves, who purport to be protecting the world from the folly of humanity, though one only has their word when it comes to the truth of the matter.

Let it suffice to say that it was a time of great tumult and the world was forever reshaped that day, with entire people being displaced as continents split apart, celestial bodies came crashing into the planet, and the world was blanketed in darkness.

Recovery for its people came slowly at first, with disparate tribes maintaining old grudges in the face of destruction, but eventually they healed with the land and begun to settle once more after several generations of nomadic survival. They erected cities and kingdoms. Castles and empires. And things would have returned to normal if not for organized armies of dragons who would purge nations which had, according to them, threatened the balance of the world. And so the era passed into the Age of Dragons.

The Age of Dragons
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For the next few millenia dragons calling themselves The Order of the Scale effectively ruled the world as arbiters of temporal affairs. Whenever humanity showed signs of pursuing the tempermental arcane arts, such as those drawing power from the Nether or Supernal, or begin to grow too powerful and demanding of natural resources, they would be destroyed ruthlessly in massive culls led by the champions of dragonkind. Entire nations could be reduced to rubble in a single night when the fury of the dragons came upon them. And so, for thousands of years, humanity was chained in what they could accomplish despite being largely autonomous. Until the Order suddenly disappeared.

The Silent Era
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It is still unclear as to why the dragons ceased sending their Emissaries to issue ultimatums and winged legions to enforce them, but sometime within the past 515-600 years those of the Order disappeared. Or at least people finally noticed that they weren't showing up anymore 515 years ago. Solitary dragons were still spotted from time to time, but none who claimed to be from the Order or attempted to enforce its demands. Neither did they seem to know what had happened to the once dominant draconic organization.

And this is the era in which people now live. An age where people still live in the shadow of dragons yet suffer not the talon when they push too far. With this newfound freedom humans (and demihumans) have expanded their domains beyond anything dreamt of for thousands of years. Massive overseas trade networks began to appear, and real cities began to flourish. New religions peppered the settlements with renewed vigour and the world was once again in human hands... for better or worse.

Brief History of Ibres
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A massive continent containing more than one plate, possibly the largest on Erde. It stretches vertically across the world, crossing the equator near its upper-center and spreading downwards until it splinters into various island chains. Geography is likewise varied, with temperate climates on the nothernmost and middle parts of the continent, jungles and swampland around the southwest, and a large desert southeast beyond the a mountain range cutting through much of the middle continent.

Ibres was last culled by the Order 626 years ago with all written records of the incident being lost or destroyed. Only vague oral retellings remained by the surviving human and demihuman ethnic groups, and spoke of gods who fought to liberate humanity from their draconic overlords (and in some cultural tellings, were victorious and thus responsible for the Silent Era). Humanity has since recovered from the devastation, with various horsetribes either settling down along the fertile coasts on the Northreaches or within its imposing mountains and forests. What were once villages, or at best small towns, blossomed into hives of stone and wood.

Many tribes refused this change and clung to the old ways, living with their herds on the Corscan Plains at the edge of the Northreach's peninsula but still north of the Devouring Jungles. What they did not grow they could easily trade, for commerce followed the wake of cities and trade between the burgeoning states both in the Northreach and Southlands made the plains nomads very rich indeed. It was easy for warlords, hungry for plunder and glory, to absorb other tribes into a host which would raid and demand tribute of the settled people. This tactic proved less useful against its neighbors to the immediate north, Molvonia and Bretland, due to the treacherous mountains that separated the dry plains and the river-laden forests. Still, if people wanted fine silks, gold, and spices, they had to avoid angering the wrong Horselord.

The Molvonia-Letia Conflict
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Molvonia is and always has been to some extent a kingdom built and maintained through conquest. Whether taking territory or holding onto a capital to secure a one-sided trade deal, the country's first response to diplomatic conflict is typically force.

And so naturally they created a lot of enemies. When Molvonia invaded Letia on 7th Month 514 S.E. those grudges manifested (with some nudging and bribing by Letian diplomats) in the form of the Liberty Coalition.

The Liberty Coalition
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The Bretland Confederacy, the Holy Kingdom of Letia, several Corscan Horselords, and the Damascan League all formed a war pact against Molvonia. Officially it was a response to the latest aggression, the occupation of Brettian territory, the threat of further expansion that would enfluge the entirety of the Northreaches.

In the case of at least two signers this claim is hypocritical, as the Plainsfolk were always committing violence against their neighbors and Letia itself began no less than 3 Crusades against Molvonia in the past 200 years due to the kingdom "harboring beasts of the darkness" (meaning vampires and trolls).

Bretland's claim of defense was strongest, having born the brunt of Molvonian strongarm tactics, and the confederacy still wishes to reclaim tracts of land that were conquered in the past decades.

The League could care less about who wronged who and merely entered the treaty as suppliers seeking to make a considerable profit. While officially their merchants are taking part in the current economic sanctions against Molvonia the edict is rarely enforced. And when it is there's usually the hands of a competitor involved with bribing the right people.

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Cultures of Northern Ibres:

Molvonian
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Molvonia is an ancient land that was once a collection of small counties, such as contemporary Bretland Shires, born around the coasts just north of the Corscan plains and nestled between river-abundant mountain valleys. Shortly after the dragons vanished, Lord Jaelun Avon took control of the two most powerful states in this region through marriage and then launched a massive offensive against the remaining cities. Capitulation occurred rapidly, in part due to Jaelun's reforms which led to many mages joining his army, and those lords who bent the knee quickly were ushered into the new nobility alongside the new King's closest retainers. The Avon Dynasty has successfully held onto the throne for 511 years hence, surviving civil war and many assassinations.

Today the young Elodie Avon prepares to rise to the throne after her father, the previous King, was killed in a wizard's duel of honor. This left the 15 (nearly 16) year old future-queen in charge of a massive war on multiple fronts against the Liberty Coalition, which had formed in response to her father's war of expansion into Letia. While there were those within the kingdom who had hoped she would endeavor to put a stop to the war she has only pursued it with more fervor than he ever did. Most suspect the cunning Ser Giles Raniford, a knight in her personal service and well known in court politics, of being behind this push to war so contrary to the girl's quiet demeanor. Being the only remaining child of the royal line, few would risk the succession conflicts that would emerge if she were assassinated. And thus the war against the Coalition looks as if it may continue until one party is forced to surrender.

While expansionist kingdoms desiring an empire are nothing new, what makes Molvonia an unusual case is that it combines its jingoism with a practically xenophillic policy. It is one of the most accepting places of vampires and trolls on the entire continent, with members of both demihuman groups finding positions as highly ranked as the Royal Cabinet. Venarii Clans are even given areas specifically prepared for when their caravans are visiting a city so that they'll always have a place to come. Of course the kingdom's armies are greatly bolstered from this arangement as well.

Molvonian humans tend to exhibit traits similar to most people of the eastern Northreach Peninsula when born, namely light-skin, earthen color eyes, and reddish-brown to black hair. However, Molvonia also has a strong magical tradition, and it is extremely common to use enchantments for unusual colors and such practices were even at one time required of the Royal Family, who were the only people allowed to have pink or purple hair.

Letian
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A religious-cultural identity named after their One God, Leht, the Letian people are devout and mostly gathered within the theocratic Holy Kingdom of Letia, ruled by the Heirophant and his/her family similar to any monarchy, where they build massive temples dedicated to their god and his divine servants.

While Light and Anima magic are well used in the kingdom, Dark Magic is strictly outlawed by the Church of Leht. As are many things declared Anathema. The Church takes a great interest in the daily lives of its people but for the vast majority it is a source of comfort rather than dread. Because shunning one's duty as a taxpayer likewise means one shirks one's religious duty to tithe there are practically no cases of tax fraud, the threat of a fanatic mob of zealots far outweighing any minor profit that could be made. The Church puts this money to good use, building shelters for the homeless, repairing infrastructure, and otherwise using that money to improve the lives of its valued citizens.

Cultural Letians tend to have lighter skin than the other people of the Northreach Peninsula, with blond or red hair and blue eyes. A large part of this is because of strict religious rules that demand Letians only forge marital bonds within the Leht Religion and many non-Lehtians not being keen on converting away from their polytheistic faiths.

Brettian
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The people of Bretland, who have formed a landlocked confederacy of river towns largely located south of Letia and east of Molvonia. A few independent towns exist but due to the defensive war against Molvonian expansion deeper inland they've developed a far stronger sense of shared cultural identity and even those Townlords who avoid joining the Bretland Confederacy itself are lending military aid to its irregular forces against expansionist aggression.

Most people born to families from Bretland are similar in appearance to Molvonians, but tend to be described as more rugged in appearance. Their hair color is also darker and loses much of the red that is present in either of their closest neighbors, though they also naturally share blue eyes with their Letian neighbors.

The river townships, called Shires, are typically run by the wealthiest person or the head of the most respected family. There's a great deal of trade and industry that takes place in Bretland, as it contains the most abundant source of lumber in the Northreaches (being almost entirely forested) and the Blackspawn Mountains contain veins of iron that could equip legions with full platemail.

People from other cultures, except the Plainsfolk, tend to be biased against Brettians, often describing them as scoundrels, knaves, and ramshackle brigands pretending at civilization. And while many Brettians do resort to violent seizure of goods, much of this reputation was built around dishonoring the landclaims of Brettians who felt that foreigners were trespassing on their roads and territory without showing proper respect for their sovereignity. Not helping matters is that Brettians are a highly individualistic people and feel that each and every landowner has the right to their property and can demand a toll from merchants they come across on their own land. At a certain point, foreign merchants start to feel as if they're being nickle and dimed by cabin-dwelling hermits who just so happen to own an inch of road their wagons must use.

Venarii
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Vampire nomads that travel by night caravans, setting up their clan camps outside major cities that don't kill vampires on sight. Even within territories that don't kill them the Venarii (or vampires in general) are rarely welcomed due to their dependence on (demi)human blood. For their part the Venarii avoid the affairs of non-vampires and focus on attending to their kinship circles while serving as a dependable black market resource capable of smuggling forbidden wares past any checkpoint using their mastery over their own vampirism.

"Gulat": While most vampires stay with the Venarii and its culture, there are many who integrate into local societies. While they and other people tend to merely call these rogue vampires vampires, Venarii label them 'Gulat', something that roughly translates as "one who has commited suicide." To the clans, a vampire who turns from their kin is worse than dead, and avoided until the point it begins to spread its vampirism outside of a Clan Matriarch's blessing. These acts are never taken well, and the offending vampire typically disappears soon after knowledge of the rite spreads, with their unlawful progeny likewise vanishing from the face of Erde.

Creating another vampire is itself a draining process that few are willing to pursue as it can leave one physically weakened for up to a decade. One drains the target of most of its blood before performing a ritualized transfusion of vampiric blood. The blood can be from more than one vampire, so long as it all comes from vampires of the same lineage (such as from within the same Venarii clan).

The history of vampires is a shrouded affair that humanity is unfortunately not privileged to. They have been there since the earliest remembered days, warring with the other nomadic clans, and eeking out an existence in caverns where they would not be bothered by the light of the sun. While Venarii can survive its touch, it causes them a great deal of pain and nausea, to the point that it's easier to avoid it all together or dress in something that covers one's entire body. As such, Yashmaks and Burqas are a popular dress for vampires who wish to be ready for daylight travel, and most Venarii clothing at least incorporates some kind of veiling when necessary.

The Damascan League
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Coastal City-States with a penchant for trade due to a confluence of favorable winds and harbors. These cities are only bound by a Defensive Treaty against foreign invasions, and the Merchant Princes often war with each other or even in their own streets against rival Houses.

Damasca is noted mostly for its sailing culture and expansion over seas rather than conflicting with rivals on Ibres. It has managed to exploit its early successes at ocean-faring vessels to even place colonies across the Molvonian's Eternal Sea towards the archipelago and unexplored continent now known as Eternia. Thanks to this move it has also gained the most control over Pegasi and the knightly orders built around the flying mounts from those islands.

Damascans sometimes have a more tanned or olive appearance than their western counterparts, sharing more in common with the Plainsfolk who've often conquered the local governments only to be assimilated by the culture. Damascans have dark hair, usually black or at least dark brown, and prefer to wear lighter clothing that lets their skin breathe in warm weather. Something that's common due to the hot winds that blow through this region from the southern desert and plains.

Plainsfolk (Corscan)
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Those who kept to the way of the nomad traverse the wide plains with hosts of livestock animals and horses in their wake. This pastorial lifestyle comes with some advantages, such as readily available mounts and meat, but the sheer demands of the herd make it hard to stay in any place too long. When there is a drought and grasses grow short so does the patience of the tribes. Horselords, the warlords who have come to rule their individual tribes, war against each other and 'Sitter' settlements just to survive these poor seasons.

Plainsfolk are almost universally mounted warriors or healers and favor the bow. It is a rare Corscan who is even comfortable with two feet on the ground. Like Damascans, who share their genealogy, most Corscans are black haired. Unlike Damascans however, there is a steady exchange of traits due to the sheer geographical distance covered by their people and thus a Corscan may share physiological traits from Molvonia, Bretland, or any of the southern nations near the plains or desert.

Trolls
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Sapient, but sometimes questionably intelligent, trolls have long lived in the Blackspawns and other mountain ranges separating the Northreach peninsula from drier climates. Simple people living in small close-knit tribes, they were often treated like other monsters such as ogres and chimera, being driven from their homes by humans who wished to use the land or didn't like the troll being too close to their settlements.

Their people were being driven hard until roughly 160 years ago when the Moldovian King at the time elevated a troll he had befriended while adventuring into the nobility, and then a few more after nobles began protesting too loudly and helped create an equal number of freely available titles. Within the decade trolls were already beginning to move into the country and being integrated into the society. Any misgivings the locals had were soon turned around when Letia had another fit of crusade-fever and troll frontline soldiers helped make them crawl back home within two years at most. Since then a few Damascan City-States and Shires have allowed trolls to live among them but most still face widespread discrimination outside of Molvonia. Even within Molvonia they are only legally equal, with not always concrete results.

Trolls are thick with muscle and fat, and possess green or gray tinted coarse skin that gives them infamously strong hides. Otherwise like most demihumans they largely appear human in appearance.

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Cultures of Southern Ibres:

Azunite
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Azun is a kingdom directly to the south of the Devouring Jungle though its people can be found throughout the Gods' Spiral Islands as well. A people who love freedom and personal expression, they decorate their cities with colorful mural art and dedicate entire blocks towards personal enrichment via massive gardens with both food and beauty to be had in abundance. Most societies on Ibres are polytheistic but none have embraced the many faces of religion with as much gusto as the Azunites, who dedicate temples to multiple deities that normally don't even exist in the same pantheons (including the Letian Monogod).

Its people live in massive ziggurat cities connected by bridges and walkways. Functionally this is to keep the city from getting washed away during a monsoon flood, something that occurs semiregularly towards the northeast where the Swamp of Uls sits. It also helps avoid many of the terrifying beasts which come crawling out of the jungle on occassion.

Azunites have milky brown to dark skin with dark hair, and most people from here tend to be jovial with newcomers and stress the importance of forgiveness (as long as there's a sincere apology behind it). Unfortunately the current Queen, Namara Embertongue, has not absorbed these cultural values as strongly as others, and her Council has pushed various 'Faith Edicts' that target people who are deemed blasphemous towards certain gods that she and her sycophants hold in high esteem. Blasphemy could be desecrating a temple's altar, but it more often seems to be breaking religious laws that people don't even hold, or declaring that one believes in no gods at all. This has led to an upset in local politics as whereas the nation once kept close ties with the Republic of Midas it now was slowly learning in favor of the Etruscan Empire. Some feared that the Queen was leaning towards assimilation into its borders even... as rumors spread of a proposed marriage between her and the young handsome Emperor.

Ulsian/Swamplander
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The loosely termed 'Swamp Kingdoms' are hardly that, with some isolated villages simply declaring themselves a kingdom so that others would stop trying to claim their village as part of their own. It didn't work.

Luckily this amounts to very little, as only a fool would send their army to try seizing one of the floating settlements, and most swamplanders tend to be pretty lax easygoing folk. The worst they have to deal with are the local dangerous wildlife or a wyvern raiding party from Etrusca or Azun.

Swamplanders tend to be darker in skin like Azunites, and genealogically their ancestry encompasses all of the southern people. Being that land is a precious commodity, many communities build on the water itself, using flotsams to house their people from the various swamp predators that lurk underneath the muck and opaque water.


Etruscan
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The great Etruscan Empire is the only such (official) Imperial government in the entirety of Ibres, housing multiple cultures within its body and subject to the near complete dictatorship of the Emperor. Originally the culture arose out of Damascan colonists spreading southwards, a product of their seaward expansion phase.

The current Emperor, Lodoss IV, is still a young man fresh out of his teens and seeking to end a longstanding rivalry with the southern Midas Republic as his reign's crowning achievement. And he doesn't plan to end it with diplomacy.

Etruscan architecture is grandoise and often uses a combination of marble and gold, both of which is has in abundance. In fact, most gold exports, including coinage, originally comes from the many Imperial Government-owned mines and traded for valuable iron, of which it is unfortunately not as well provided as its rivals. Because of such it tends to be overly reliant on its copper and tin stores, making bronze weaponry or tapping into arcane solutions to its metallurgical obstacles.

Etruscan humans (those born in "proper" Etrusca) are olive-skinned like their Damascan relatives though there is a mixed population between the darker skin found in most Azunites, the reddish-brown of Midassins, and the tanned skin of Corscans or Desertfolk.

Shaller/Desertfolk
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One of the people of the Etruscan Empire. "Shallers" prefer to call themselves the People rather insistently, despite the rather well documented existence of other "People". Since this was unserviceable many just took to calling them after the Shallow Desert itself. The Desertfolk are skilled nomads, much like the Corscan Plainsfolk whom they bear a distinct resemblance to, though unlike the Horselords they prefer to avoid seeking conflict if possible and sometimes settle in cities carved on the cliffs of the Southguard Mountains.

Midassin
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Sustaining a style of life far different than their neighbors, the Midassin people share the Azunite spirit of creativity and the industriousness of the often militant Etruscans whom they periodically war against. Early in its history the Republic of Midas managed to secure a powerful navy and thus the Spiral and its bounty was largely theirs. Amongst the first to tame wyverns, they held a dramatic advantage for generations despite the creatures' unruly dispositions.

In 515 SE they no longer have this monopoly, a prize that has lost some of its shine due to the discovery of Eternia and the Eternal Isles's Pegasi. However, they are still one of the most powerful trading empires in the south seas, and unlike the Etruscans, who lost a great deal of their northern sway by making enemies with the Damascan League, maintain ties with the northern half of Ibres.

Their thinkers are also some of the most enlightened of the time, producing marvels of engineering that include metal horses moved by a synthesis of magic and steam. This and other feats of the new 'Science' have been attributed to the great Technological Revolution inspired by Prime Minister Saji's policy of constructing new public schools and focusing on practical natural philosophy as well as the classical studies in magic.

In appearance its people tend towards a slight orange brown to brownish-tanned skin similar to Corscans and Etruscans. However there is also a great deal of diversity due to an open immigration policy, and thus like Corscans there's quite a bit heterogeneity in their population.


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Noteworthy Locations:

Heaven's Tower
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A truly massive structure that predates historical records constructed of what appears to be white alabaster but more impenetrable and stainless than adamantine. Local cultures are highly superstituous of this place and treat it with reverence. Those who would be curious instead face another challenge... the tower is a wyvern mating ground.

Every month or so, swarms of wyverns come to the tower and immediately surrounding islands. There's hardly any space for nests so instead they cluster together on the limited amount of land available or at the top of the tower itself.

The mystery of this tower remains intact, as no person has ever found an entrance or been able to penetrate its shell. These days few even try, and instead admire it from as far away as the Northguard Mountains.

Devouring Jungle
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The greatest overland barrier between northern and southern Ibres may not be the various mountain ranges, the vast Corscan plains, or the Shallow Desert, but instead the humid jungles which rest just above the Southguard mountains.

Few people even dare to attempt the journey, and fewer of those reappear from the jungle's depths. Vicious beasts from carnivorous bipedal reptiles to giant plants which snap shut and digest an entire body lie in wait within, and even the tribes of people living on the outskirts have a deep respect for the jungle's ability to kill entire bands of hunters with but a single mistake.

The Shallow Desert
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Burning sands and dunes mark the desert's borders, with the rare oasis and ruin to punctuate the bleak landscape. The locals, Shallers, build cliffside adobes across the adjoining Sandy or Northguard mountains, using them to protect themselves from Corscan raiding parties.

A strange feature of the desert is the existence of ancient pyramids and other ruined monuments across the desert suggesting that once a great civilization made its home here. How that would be possible in the inhospitable climate is unknown, though many scholars suggest there was once a great many rivers and floodplains that made such possible. It is suspected that the Shallers are those peoples' descendents, though if so they do not speak of the matter to outsiders and seem to make a point in avoiding the ruins.

Blackspawn Mountains
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These mountains separating Bretland and the Damascan territories earned their name from the monsters and feral demihumans which made them their home. Creatures such as harpies and ogres inhabit the various mountain valleys and cliffs, sometimes launching their raids on mining camps or even into civilized territories for food, slaves, and plunder.

Despite these dangers there are many Brettians who attempt to eek out a living at the edges as well as Damascan merchants, unable to afford ships or the tarrifs placed by Letia or Molvonia, traveling under heavy guard through them.

Ancient temples from another time can sometimes be found deep within, and adventurers have been known to explore these sites to varying degrees of success. Many die, some return with great treasures, but mostly they waste their time combing a location that has already been wiped clean of valuables.

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Religion:

The Letian Celestial Order
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While Leht follow the "One True God" there seems to be an awfully abundant system of saints and spiritual beings in his service. These divine servants end up being shuffled in importance every generation or so, or even experience a change in their legal status. Servants have been declared Anathema/Demonic one decade only to return the next into high standing. For the most part this follows some consistency, with those deemed mistaken being tried for heresy by the ruling Heirophant's council. While a few servants seem to be vindicated, others remain illegal ever after... their most devoted followers often joining the Red Cult as a result.

The Red Cult
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A heretical sect of Leht's followers who feel the divine should universally be available for worship: "demonic" or not. Because their beliefs would be heretical under canonical law they hide their beliefs except when they know they can trust a person with the knowledge. This has not prevented people accused of following heretical beings from being dragged off in the night to be tried before an Inquisitorial Hearing.

Molvonian Secular State
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Until the time of Joric Avon's father, Molvonian had a tentative pantheon of old gods who represented divines from each of the major regions within its boundaries. However, after another religious civil war nearly left the country open to another attack from Letia, the kingdom's policy was to rule via secular authority rather than the divine right that every other known monarchy depended upon. This was somewhat successful if only thanks to the legitimacy granted to the Avon Dynasty's unbroken chain but in the long run it may prove to be an unfeasible strategy of rulership - such as if the Crown-Princess dies without an heir.

The individual duchies and counties each have their own religious positions and in many places near the frontiers of the Kingdom it's possible for them to enforce a state-religion's rules despite such behaviors being looked down upon in the Capital.

Miscellaneous/Extra:

Magical Theory
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The schools of arcane knowledge are an ancient art predating human history via oral traditions until they could be written down into tomes and distributed at a wider scale. Largely these arts were forbidden by the draconic Order of the Scale and thus could only grow in secrecy until the Silent Era. Since then magic-use has proliferated into positions of status in any kingdom (at least in some form) and formal teaching is readily available to those with talent necessary to manipulate what is known as the Essences.

The Essences are split into three External Essences and the Internal Essence. The first three are the most traditional focuses of wizardry education, expressing some of the most potent realizations of reality bending. They are the Essence of Light, the Essence of Dark, and the Essence of Anima. The Holy, the Black, and the Natural.

The first is associated with people of faith, who seem to have the easiest time channeling its energies. It is also the most prevalent type of external magic, particularly in Letia where holy warriors are nearly equal in number to those bearing physical arms. It is believed that this essence is granted by the divine beings who inhabit the Supernal Realm - a theoretical place of existence where the religiously inclined believe one or more deities dwell. Evidence of this plane is sketchy at best, but more rationally-minded Letian scholars devoted to the subject have established through experimentation evidence of a spatial bending from which emits the energy of the Light Essence, suggesting an extraplanar resevoir of the essence.

Second is the largely shunned Dark Essence. Practitioners describe its channeling as a sobering experience that detaches the sensation of self. Despite still being strong in Molvonia and the Etruscan Empire, many places such as Letia or Azun refuse to allow unregulated study of this essence. This superstition is based entirely on the fact that it resonates with the forces which animate the Undead and the poorly understood Nether. This realm was previously not even considered in formal magical education, only being told by Venarii clans amongst themselves until shared by rogue vampire scholars, and it was considered myth until theoretical magicians realized the existence of the Supernal Realm and deduced that since it did not permeate the material reality, it must have a similar source. This darker counterpart has been termed "The Nether".

Finally among the external essences there is the natural force of Anima. It is this magic that wizards readily identify because when one has the talent its manifestation seems almost innate. Unlike the other essences, which are drawn into the human world from "pockets" into other realms, Anima permeates the entirely of material reality. Every stone, every fire, every person, has a force of Anima within themselves, and it can be drawn out with skill. However, it should not be confused with Internal Essence, which may best be understood as a "blank slate" essence tying together all the others.

Internal Essence (or some call it a Life Essence) seems to be a sibling of Anima but less bound to the Cycle of Power than the others. It has an equal effect no matter the surrounding essences, and effortlessly glides past, or rather through, them. It is a wholly unobtrusive and neutral thing to all magic. Its effects tend to be limited to internalized forces such as rapid healing, bodily ailments or improvements, and magic that doesn't tear through space so much as apparently gestate within a person after being channeled by the caster.

The Cycle of Power
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It is a well known fact of magical theory across all schools that the external essences are subject to a law known as 'The Cycle of Power'. While the internal cause is unknown, the law itself is fairly straightforward. Anima overwhelms Light, which defeats the Dark, which extinguishes the Anima. Dark to Anima to Light to Dark and to Anima again.

This simple arrangement has absorbed a massive portion of scholarly investment as it is believed to be the key to unraveling the mysteries of reality so that a unifying theory of magical arts may finally be developed. The prevailing rational theory is that these represent a sort of causal transformative cycle in the world (hence the name) but the many faiths likewise seem to opine on the matter for reasons related to their respective dogma.