Is this some kind of furry thing?

Yes.

Why does the protagonist have two names?

Most Russian names have a diminutive version that can be used in more familial contexts. In this case, Anna becomes Anya, and while Anya thinks of herself as Anya, other characters will use Anna in except if she’s close to them and they’re in private.

When/where is the story supposed to take place?

Magic and animal people aside, the story is set in an alternate history version of Europe, roughly during the early 1700s. The main differences with our history are:

1) Europeans never sailed to the New World.

2) France (Gaul) has become a continental empire, occupying most of modern-day Spain, Italy, western Germany, and the UK (Albion).

3) Instead of conquering Constantinople, the Ottomans took control of the Byzantine Empire through intermarriage, leading to the kingdom of Nicaea.

4) Firearm technology is significantly behind its real counterpart, as magi are seen as far more effective on the battlefield. The guns that do exist are curiosities from the Far East, and Gaul and its neighbors strictly regulate their import.

How tall is everyone?

The characters have substantial height differences, somewhat reflecting their real-world animal counterparts.

Yvon: 6’2”

Jean: 6’3” standing straight, 6’0” with usual slouch.

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Sofia: 5’9”

Raphael: 5’8”

Alain: 3’8”

Renee: 3’3”

Anya: 3’2”

How old is everyone?

Sofia is 25, while Yvon, Anya, and Jean are 23. Alain is 22, and Renee is 19.

What are the rules for draugr-arts?

Draugr naturally exist in an alternate dimension they call ‘Nowhere’, and while the exact nature of this realm is unclear, it seems to operate on very different rules than our reality. In order to influence our reality, draugr need to work via pacts with individuals known as magi, and crucially a draugr cannot influence reality against the will of its magus. Each draugr can only have a pact with one magus at a time, and a magus needs to be naturally aligned with the draugr for the pact to be formed. For each draugr, the set of potential hosts is a very small subset of the population. However, alignment seems to be somewhat heritable, leading to draugr hopping from one generation to the next within families.

If a magus consciously allows it or is on the brink of death, a draugr can take over their body, becoming fully corporeal and being able to act freely. However, this effectively kills the magus, so draugr-manifestations are rare. If a manifested draugr ‘dies’, they merely return to Nowhere.

Draugr can reproduce asexually or with any number of partners, and the nature of how this reproduction happens is very unclear. Generally, older draugr are more powerful. Draugr do not seem to naturally age, and cannot be killed by any means available to a magus, but can cease to exist within Nowhere.

Each draugr is an individual with distinct abilities, but broad lineages of draugr with similar arts exist. For example, while Anya’s draugr Enkidu is unusually old and powerful, many younger draugr with similar blood arts are active in Rus.

In order to use arts, a magus needs to offer something in their reality for their draugr. This something isn’t payment, but rather a necessary substrate that allows the draugr to bridge the gap between worlds and influence our reality. The something in question depends on the draugr. Rarely, a draugr may take a very large offering up-front instead of a small offering for each spell.

What are the draugr based on?

Enkidu (Anya): A mythological figure from the Epic of Gilgamesh, an epic narrative from ancient Mesopotamia.

Marghek Gwyrdh (Alain): A character from the medieval romance Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, likely based on an earlier figure in British/Irish folklore.

Mara (Sofia): A demon that tempts the Buddha in Buddhist scripture.

Mithra (Jean): An ancient Iranian solar deity that later reappeared as the subject of a Roman mystery cult.