☪ the aesthetic is rooted in a fusion of steampunk and traditional medieval fantasy. ☪ skyscraper-like buildings are a relatively new invention and still a luxury. there is steam-powered transportation (like trains, some early forms of cars) and electric light, but these are the main technological advancements. ☪ in some areas the aesthetic leans more steampunk, and in others it is more medieval fantasy. this generally correlates to how urban the area is; cities have more technology and are on the cutting edge, whereas small villages have much less technology.

☪ i am going to be honest here, i have not thought out the world very well. i do know that there are 5 countries on the continent, one majority comprised of each race, generally following their customs, and the fifth is a melting pot of many people of different races (this one is the most fleshed out) ☪ this country is called elia, and it is a plains country with many rivers and lakes running through it although it isn't on the coast. they're in political turmoil with other countries frequently because they have a lot of land and other countries want some of that too. ☪ a lot of countries are monarchies or something similar, democracy is not extremely popular but more and more people are starting to become unhappy with the current government system ☪ the continent is fairly flat, though there is one region that has many mountain ranges (think a topographical map of the US but scale it up). there are also a lot of rivers and lakes running throughout the continent, making agriculture not overly difficu

☪ some areas get a lot of rain, whereas others get snow more often than rain in the winter. elia is near the center-top.

☪ the only politics i really have planned out is the current conflict between elia and its neighbor to the north. a lot of the land in the north is what us nowadays would consider "flyover country" which means the country in the north believes it has more of a right to the land. the country is very small, and is majority composed of elves. in the past they owned the land, which means they feel as if they have a right to it. the conflict hasn't quite yet escalated into all-out war, but it is very close. ☪ that's all. i haven't planned much of this.

☪ the magic system is relatively simple, and likely something you've seen before. ☪ each person has an affinity for a certain element (of the 4 western elements, think avatar). some are more likely for certain races, but anyone can have any element. this means they will be best at learning this certain type of magic, but this isn't a hard limit. ☪ magic is simply exerting your will on another object or person, which means there are many different schools of magic. anyone can learn any kind of magic, so someone with an affinity for fire can learn water magic, but it will be more difficult for them. ☪ other schools of magic include things like potion brewing, imbuing objects with powers like minecraft enchants, disguising/transformation/shapeshifting, and changing the probability of an event happening (shoutout to my irl friend for the idea for this one cause she's right that would be an EPIC superpower).

☪ basically, anything someone can do that exerts their will on another person/object is possible with magic. ☪ of course, doing very strong things takes many long years of study and practice. magic relies on peace of mind and scholarly study, so strong emotions will hinder people's abilities to do spells, while having a spellbook to reference is going to be helpful. ☪ spellbooks can be different things depending on what your study is. a potion brewer will have a spellbook that looks more like recipes, while more heady powers like elements will have spellbooks that look more like n inspiring quotes pinterest board. this also really depends on what the individual person's needs are. ☪ magic relies on studying. you can't just "so anyways i started blasting", you have to know what you're doing on both an instinctual and scholarly level (hence why people are better at the element they have an affinity for, they have better instincts regarding it). cont

if the thing you're looking to learn has a lot of books related to it or a lot of living people practicing the skill, there will be less roadblocks to learning it. if the research is sparse, you'll be filling in more of the gaps yourself and it will take longer to learn or get good. if you're tackling a new field of study for the first time, everything will be trial and error, which can be very rewarding but very difficult. ☪ almost everyone has innate ability to do magic (some very rare cases exist where they can't, as well as some rare cases where the person has no element). aside from element affiliation, everyone has the same level of talent, it only depends on the amount of work you want to put in. ☪ using magic burns calories quickly, especially for more difficult spells. this effect doesn't diminish as you get more skilled, but instead arguably gets worse as you're likely casting harder spells more often.

☪ there are technically five races, but one is quite rare while the other four are common. each of them has their own distinct physical characteristics and culture. while children can be any mix of races, the two most prominent/dominant will be shown. a 50/50 mix will show both, a 25/25/50 mix will show the 50% and the most dominant 25% ☪ the order of dominance goes as follows: humans > elves > draconic > nymph ☪ elemental dominance goes as follows: air > earth > fire > water (this correlates with the race dominance)

☪ the most dominant race genetically is humans. humans usually head up technological improvement. ☪ humans are as you would expect; with any natural human skin tone and any natural human body type. they can have any natural human hair or eye color, including albinism. ☪ humans are most commonly associated with the air element, although they can have an affinity for any element. ☪ human culture still has traditions and customs that are not very readily broken, but they are more accepting than some of the other races. unlike some other races, they won't exile half-breed children, and if someone breaks their customs they won't be too upset.

☪ the second most dominant race is elves. they tend to preserve their culture and tend to be expert historians. they have a traditional medieval fantasy look to them. ☪ elves have paler skin tones/hair color/eyes (less melanin) generally, because they tend to live in northern areas and forests or other areas with less sunlight. they also have pointed ears, some moreso than others. ☪ elves are most commonly associated with the earth element, but they can have any element. ☪ elves are big into preserving their culture. they are more likely to be xenophobic and more likely to resist changing of tradition. the most extreme communities are known to exile people simply for not following the traditional customs. they are quite hostile to half-breeds and half-elves are often run out of elven territory.

☪ the third most dominant race is draconic people. they have very traditional asian-appearing or african tribal aesthetic to them, especially in the southern country which is mostly dominated by them. ☪ draconic people have darker skin tones because they live in hotter climates generally, as well as darker hair and eyes. sometimes they have unnatural skin tones like dark red or orange (typical firey colors), but that is uncommon to rare depending on the community. the majority of the time they have horns on their head of any shape, and colors ranging from black to ivory and occasionally a color correlating to their element on the tips (usually with ivory horns, for example a water element will have blue tipped horns rarely). they uncommonly have lizard- or dragon-like tails, rarely have dragon wings, and very rarely have both. they have slitted pupils and are generally shorter and more muscular. ☪ draconic people are generally associated with fire element, but can have any element ☪ cont.

☪ draconic people are very open and accepting, and oftentimes take in people who have been exiled from other places. they don't have much ties to any sort of tradition, and some families have traditions but very very few communities have town-wide traditions or culture; simply because they have little attachment to it.

☪ the least dominant race are nymphs. they tend to be more nomadic than other races, rarely staying in one place for long. ☪ nymphs embody whatever element they are associated with. they have unnatural skin tones that look like their element, and generally in lighter, pastel colors or darker colors. for example, a fire nymph might have dark red skin and an air nymph might have either light yellow or light blue skin. they generally have more lithe bodies, and usually have long hair (which sometimes, but not always, correlates with the element). their eyes don't have any easily visible iris or pupil, but if you look close it is there but very light. when you're not looking closely, it looks like their eye is one color. someone seeing a nymph out of the corner of their eye could readily assume they were a ghost of some sort. ☪ nymphs are most commonly associated with water, but can be associated with any element. ☪ cont.

☪ as stated above, nymphs are a nomadic people, which means they have little culture that carries across generations. one thing most of them do share is a belief in certain deities and respect for certain appearance choices. for example, cutting one's hair short is considered an affront to the deities, so nymphs seeking to cut ties from their family will often cut much of their hair off. generally, though, they're relatively accepting of people who can conform to their way of life.

☪ the fifth race is aerial people. they are unable to have biological children, but even if they could they would not be able to pass on their aerial nature to children. ☪ aerial people are distinctly different to all other races in that they are not born and made instead. some people begin to feel so despondent about the life that they are currently living that they feel as if they cannot take it anymore, and use their magic to "escape it". This causes a significant change in the person, including physical changes and losing all of their previous memories of their life, leaving them to find a new life for themselves. Many aerial people describe this moment of change as an "act of god" or "meeting god" ☪ aerial people retain features from the race they used to be, while also having some different ones. the main feature that is immediately noticeable is the bird wings they now possess (any bird), making them capable of flight. cont.

if the person previously was a draconic person with wings, the dragon wings will be replaced with bird wings. aerial people are generally regarded as more fragile than other races, but the veracity of this statement is debated. they may be more prone to injuries and breaking bones because they tend to live rougher lives than the average person. ☪ aerial people can be associated with any element, it depends on their race before they changed. ☪ they are a very monadic people, and don't form communities. most aerial people have similar beliefs and outlooks on life due to having similar lives (generally either nihilism or unfaltering optimism), but this isn't a culture, and an aerial person will generally be very excited to meet another person like them, and very rarely do so since there are so few of them. they don't often hold high positions in society, and are often gossiped about when they show up in a new town.

☪ i don't care what you do to make ocs! go wild! i am posting this so that you guys can have fun with something i wrote if you so desire. i'm just going to give a few examples of some of the characters i or my friends have made (this setting was originally for an rp) so that you guys can see what we did. ☪ so long as you adhere to the rules i've set out you can do whatever you want! i don't care if you use the world (because honestly i haven't fleshed it out very much and i need to work on it), you can (and should if you want to) just use the species to have fun. so long as you don't completely break the rules i've set out. ☪ you don't need to ask me before making an oc, but i would love to see if you want to share!