1. Runic tattoos- A sacred art among the warrior elite, magical tattoos inscribed on a warrior's flesh imbues him with increased attributes and/or special abilities. These tattoos are not visible unless its effects are in use. Tattoo creation success is highly dependent on the level of ability of the inscriptionist, amount of magical power poured in, amount of skin covered, and the magical capacity of the warrior inscribed upon.

2. Necromancy is a feared and powerful art. It is also forbidden. Once there was a mage order that was charged with discovering the secrets of life and death. However, "The Taint" caused its members to go mad because they could not extend life with the raw stuff of reality. It had instead created undeath. Undead legions swept forth across the land and every civilization banded in a coalition to wipe the menace out. They succeeded at great cost and killed the Necromantic order and sealed the tombs. There are rumors of survivors that had survived the great purge. Additionally, a god of unlife had been created in the process.

3. When the world "so far unnamed" was created, the divine created the many races that populate it today. The dwarves were born of the earth and fires, beneath the mountains. They are the firstborn, hewn from molten lava and from the granite peaks of the Iron Mountains. Elves came into existence out of air and water, fire was used in their fashioning to create their fleshly bodies. Quick, temperamental, and deeply intertwined with nature, they are the gardeners of the world, disdaining the conflict of men. They lived for awhile, two sentient races in a world of animals.

Then, Godfall occurred. The death of many gods and goddesses had caused the creation of a new force called "The Taint." This taint gave the gifts of magic to the Elves and the Dwarves, causing strife as both races strove to master the land. War broke out. Elves and dwarves slaughtered one another. The fighting died down as both races were weakened and tired from fighting. They would master the magical arts through tradition and engrave the horrors caused by “The Taint” into their memory.

Some time after, humans came into being. They came from the seas far beyond the huge landmass that comprises the main continent. Uncultured, uneducated barbarians that they were, they quickly took up residence. It has been surmised that no god created them, but instead, they were born from the dead corpses of gods, another byproduct of the first Godfall. Elves and Dwarves taught them of society, culture, metalworking to better themselves. Instead, the humans used these arts to kill one another and raise up nations. They are also as stated in another document, highly susceptible to the taint, arising in new mutated races. As a result, both elves and dwarves have low opinions of the short-lived race.

A young race were born in the bone-dry plains, south of the temperate fields and forests of the central areas, the orcs. Orcs are honorable and live a tribal existence in large family groups. They hunt and gather across the land in packs and sell themselves as mercenary bands. Devastating in close combat, they possess no talent at all in magic, and are also highly resistant to “The Taint”, having been created after it affected the other races. Orcs have proven to be strong magekiller troops, duelists, and loyal retainers.

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Time passed. Each race had militarized to defend themselves from one another and from the new races created by “The Taint”. “The Taint” had warped natural creations and unleashed horrors across the land. Beastmen, malformed humans that “The Taint” had warped and twisted were given savage intelligence and craved flesh. Werewolves, humans that change forms during full moon and go berserk, craving the flesh of fellow man, and hunting. Giant animals were created where “The Taint” existed in large concentrations. More frightening is that... where did all the energies from ”The Taint” go. It exists because the gods died and their power had nowhere to go but this reality. What is on the other side of the door?

4. Humans are assholes. They kill each other, rape, loot, and destroy kingdoms. They're divided into several distinct groups. The Nordlings don't live on the main continent but on a large amount of scattered islands to the North-east + North of the Continent, making attempts to colonize the North borders of human lands. Extremely strong, resistant to cold infantry and raiders, sometimes bands sell themselves into the service of kings. The “civilized” human nations (medieval) are organized into the Free Duchies to the North + East areas of the continent. They used to be together under a king but they killed him and each duchy has been struggling for dominance. They're reliant on elite cavalry and conscripted militia from peasantry. Anglarre, to the West + Central is a huge, sprawling nation. They are the oldest human empire that has survived the times and are reminiscent of the Roman Empire. They invest in orderly infantry, siege machines, and combined arms to tackle any threat. For them war is a science, one that they have perfected. They place incredible importance on the status of citizenry. If you're not a citizen...well, you'll be treated like an animal. To the south are the Talis kingdom and it's subsidiaries, made up of desert peoples south of the bone plains. That is, deep south. They worship the aspect of fire, are dark-skinned, are incredible warriors but are generally isolated from everyone except for the orcs. They fight the orcs on a regular basis due to incursions for more land.

5. Current events. Right now, elves and dwarves have already largely recovered from their fighting from millenia ago. But they're dealing with their own problems. The elves have issues with humans chopping down their trees, invading their homes, and mutated wildlife being a general nuisance. Dwarves are fighting a war against denizens deep beneath the earth in battles that only a dwarf could tell you about. Humans are still busy killing each other and the peasantry in dangerous places are terrified but you know, what are they going to do about it? However, war is on the rise in the North at the start of the setting. Nordland invaders are coming and they're taking over settlements and establishing new ones, cutting swathes into the freemen who had established their communities away from human political-social structures.