Fantasy...

-Gods are gone
-People who still follow the gods are in a cult thingmy
-The cult has been around for thousands of years, but is only recently really getting anywhere
-Essentially, the cult worships anything that has a tie to the old gods (weapons from ancient heroes said to be granted as gifts from this god or that, etc.)
-They have quite the collection of fake and real artifacts (secretly)
-The gods didn't want to leave
-The gods were there to prevent anyone from gaining enough power to become a god themselves...
-The gods were banished by a person (details lost in time. Might have been a man or woman) who could either become a god or banish the gods.
-They thought the gods were corrupt and self-forwarding, and so banished them
-For at least 5 centuries people mourned the loss of the gods. They had been very dependent on them.
-Great cities fell, history was lost, and so the time of the gods is remembered as the best time evar. (Which it was not. It was actually pretty average.)
-After that, there was the Great Regression (500 more years), in which pretty well everything was forgotten, except the a-hole who banished the gods effed everyone over, and pointy things kill people.
-2000 years later, things are finally picking up again. Grand cities exist, blah blah blah.
-People aren't *as* p-o'd about the gods leaving, but many still use it for an excuse as to why they live in slums
-Dwarves and elves were humans.
-Dwarves were humans who fled the wrath of the storm god (will make names later) underground. They became adept at mining and crafting and minute details that only they can really appreciate. They usually live 200ish years. Else they wouldn't be able to finish much of their work.
-Dwarves are almost always drunk. If you mess something up in a human society, you might be told: "Look at this! It looks like a sober dwarf made this!" which is an insult.
-Elves were humans who favoured magic and beauty in nature. They were vegetarians, were insanely good Sorcerers, and extended their lives with magic. They usually live 500 years. The eldest ever to live was 1206 years old. The current eldest is only 702.
-So... the leader of the 'I want teh gods back, plox' secretly want to become a god himself, and actually hates the old gods, despite what he tells the rest of the cult. (I.e, gimme power and I'll bring the gods back. He actually means give me power to become a god)
-Magic. Magery (practiced by mages) is the party pooper of the magic-types. Essentially, it's so restrictive that to light a candle, you need to study a book for about an hour (if you're adept at magic), have some seemingly random components with you, and a lot of concentration. Thankfully, it's actually pretty practical when a lot of mages come together for a large casting. Sorcery isn't good for big things.
-Sorcery is the party animal of the magic world. It's spontaneous, unpredictable (duh) and you don't usually get the same results twice. Makes for great combat magics, if you don't mind a few singed eyebrows. Most self-taught magic users are sorcerers. Takes quite a bit of concentration, but not usually much in the way of ingredients.
-Dragons... are... essentially as close to gods as you can come by these days. Immortal up until they are killed of unnatural means, very strong in magic, and their demeanor will vary greatly. They can only breed once every century and a half for a year, meaning that if another dragon of the opposite gender can't breed at the same time, they won't be breeding at all for a long while.
-An offshoot of the 'We want teh gods back' group that believe the gods were great, but they left for a good reason, and that we should move on. Pretty nice chaps who will help and stuff if they believe you believe the same as them, but don't believe you believe the same as them.