Var Sarlir; the world of black seas, pulled just from the cosmic furnace… perhaps a bit too early.

Defined by its massive oceans of roiling black sludge, Ichor, Var Sarlir is a world still in progress. The cold light of its sun, the Architect, painstakingly etches more and more detail into the land with each pass, its knowing light reacting with the Ichor, the basic building block of reality, to form its dominion. The primary landmass, Esk Kal, is a supercontinent occupying much of half of the world. It is surrounded at all sides by the Ichor Seas, and is split partially down the middle by the only true ocean on Var Sarlir, the Diamond Sea, contained and separate from the Ichor by land bridges connecting to the northern pole of the planet. Hundreds of islands dot the horizon off the coasts of the Ichor Seas, seemingly pieces of entirely different realities that have surfaced from the dark ichor.

Though this world is young, society has nevertheless progressed quite quickly with the guiding hands of the Gods. First crawling ashore 5,000 years ago, the Segharva, beings partially formed from the Ichor and often considered ‘incomplete’, were the first of the sapient races. Thereafter, humanity arrived, and in short order the Khesil and Vos, the last of the two native races, were also born from the Ichor. In the intervening time, the Ghazka, Vress and Wildkin all came to be; the Ghazka, clockwork beings that were the result of wilderness spirits wishing to be more thoroughly anchored to the mortal plane; the Vress, wraith-like creatures fleeing the hubris of humanity in their home plane; and the Wildkin, those who transitioned into a more animal-like state as a result of rituals binding them with nature.

Most of the world’s society is somewhat advanced. Industrial-age manufacturing is occurring in some of the wealthiest human cities, though it is still relatively primitive. Firearms and rudimentary electricity exist. With the aid of magitech, vehicles and airships are present, though rare and coveted. However, recent upheavals have somewhat stalled technological progress in much of the world, in favor of societal progress. The Reimer Kingdom, once one of the largest and most advanced factions in the world, recently collapsed as a result of an uprising against monarchy. Likewise, similarly imperialist human cities and mixed settlements driving technological progress have faced severe backlash and upheaval. The world is in a state of flux, as ease of communication and travel aids rebellions in organizing and striking back at those with power.

Humans are the greatest offender; mistakenly believing themselves the first of the races to arise on Var Sarlir, the Reimer bloodline fostered racism and imperialist beliefs. It was these views that drove humanity to encroach on the land and cultures of others, but they were universally rejected; though they managed to occupy some Segharvan land and control portions of the Sleeping Jungles, a popular respite for mixed communities and witches, this violence triggered significant backlash that lead to the Reimer kingdom’s complete collapse when the Vress laid an immensely powerful, alien hex upon their kingdom, along with the work of the anti-imperialist human rebellion, Humanity’s Reprise, comprised of outsider cultures of humans and the once-oppressed and impoverished peasants of the Kingdom’s crown cities.

The aftermath of that collapse has made significant waves. Cities once aligned with the Kingdom have largely broken away if they survived the hex, and are entrenched and struggling against Humanity’s Reprise, who is attempting to reclaim the territory taken by the kingdom for its rightful owners, and rout the last vestiges of the imperialist culture that it represented. The hexed city of Arathim incubates a serious threat, the still-living and mad king Hakhar Reimer IV, who exploits his terrified cabal of powerful mages to attempt apotheosis, guarded by swathes of enraged ghosts that swarm the cold, frozen streets of his city.

Likewise, further westward, the Anz Vaskhul crusades proceed with resistance. A militant, religious faction, the Anz Vaskhul worship Nailaxkha, God of Discipline and War, also referred to as the God of the Apocalypse in less reverent circles. The Vaskhul are suits of exquisite, animated armor, imbued with the souls of warriors torn from their homes and tortured until they became a ‘blank slate’ for the Vaskhul to impress their beliefs upon. The Vaskhul live bare, strictly regimented lives dedicated to aiding Nailaxkha’s ascension with the assimilation or destruction of all life on Var Sarlir.

Altogether, the world is in a formative period. Though much of it is dominated by small, sleepy towns and people living quiet rural lives, larger power structures are gaining traction and are likewise meeting resistance by those who realize what the coming decades may hold for them. As technology advances, power grows and consolidates; in due time, such power structures will become immensely difficult to challenge, and so must be uprooted before they can take hold.

It can be hard to really tell, at a glance, though. Many people live in its deep forests, in small clustered communities whose only contact with the outside world are trading caravans that pass through from time to time. People, of course, struggle with their day-to-day problems, whether it’s things as mundane as bandits, strange supernatural happenings, or even deadly supernatural disasters. Smaller organizations work to do good (or bad) on smaller scales, and many people are content to try and live their lives in solitude, separate from the vast power struggles occurring outside of their sphere. Distant societies like the Ghazka, strange clockwork beings of poorly understood origin, operate in isolation, surrounded by mystery and speculation.

Even the very workings of this world are in contention. A vast, strange creature lurks beneath the surface, breathing and pulsing in the deepest caves. The depths of the Diamond Sea, the entrenched deep woods filled with hostile wilderness spirits guarding their last true home from encroaching mortal races, the unlivable north pole, the strange happenings of the distant islands and the shadows caught in the corner of one's eye. There is much left unexplored and undiscovered, whether hiding in the most hostile environments or in plain sight.

So—who are you, then? Heroes looking to change the world themselves? Just people fighting the good fight? Or simple adventurers, seeking treasure and excitement? Wizards and warriors trying to grapple with the day-to-day struggles of communities against bandits, cults and supernatural threats? Or perhaps you're truth-seekers, looking to uncover the mysteries of the deep, unexplored woods, or what lies below the surface of this world?