Fantasy world

This world is vast, beautiful, and deeply tragic. Magic here is not merely a rare gift, but the very blood of the earth, flowing from abandoned celestial cities to the black abysses of the ocean. And the entire history of this universe is woven from great wars, fallen empires, and hundreds of wondrous peoples forced to share a single land.

The Cursed Sky and the Severed Heights
If you look up on a fair day, high in the clouds, you can see the greatest wonder and the primary pain of this world — the Floating Cities. Enormous castles and citadels of dazzling white stone and mithril frozen in the heights, surrounded by waterfalls plunging straight to the earth. Once, they belonged to the Aarakocra (Avians) — a proud and majestic race of bird-folk. But in the era of the Ancient Rift, they angered the gods. The punishment was cruel: a terrible curse stripped them of flight forever. Their feathers thinned, their bones grew heavy, and their wings turned into weak appendages. The celestial cities grew empty and became tombs filled with ancient treasures. Now, the wingless avians are forced to walk through the mud alongside others, gazing at the skies with deep longing and searing envy. And the sky now belongs exclusively to the massive, fire-breathing Dragons and elite human orders who have tamed ferocious Griffins.

The Lands of the Mainland: Kingdoms, Empires, and Wastelands

On solid ground, a completely different life teems. The central part of the continent is occupied by the powerful kingdoms of Humans. They are an ambitious, numerous, and flexible race. Their vast medieval cities are surrounded by fortress walls; in high towers, beautiful princesses weave intrigues or await saviors, while kings send Knights clad in heavy steel on endless campaigns. The life of these cities is actually governed by three great forces: the Mages' Guild (controlling every scroll and artifact), the Thieves' Guild (keeping the alleyways in fear), and the Mercenaries' Union, where for a purse of gold, one can hire anyone — from an orcish berserker to a serpent mage. To the west of the human lands lie the Eternal Forests — the domains of the immortal Elves. Wise, beautiful, and refined, they live in the crowns of giant trees under the protection of Ents (living thinking trees), as well as capricious Fairies and Pixies. But there is a dark side to this coin: deep underground, in black caverns, lie the cities of the Dark Elves (Drow), who practice black magic. Deep within the bowels of the mountains, the anvils of the Gnomes (Dwarves) thunder — short, bearded masters who value gold, steel, and strong ale. Beside them live their cousins — pragmatic Gnome-inventors, who despise magic but create guns, gunpowder, and complex clockwork mechanisms. However, the dungeons are dangerous: powerful bull-men Minotaurs roam the dark labyrinths, and cowardly Kobolds dig their traps in the wild caves. On the endless Wild Wastelands, Orcs and Goblins gather in ferocious hordes — tribes that recognize only the law of strength and constantly raid caravans. And on the vast grassy plains roam the proud tribes of freedom-loving Centaurs (half-human, half-horse), unsurpassed archers, and merry Satyrs, who love wine, music, and chaos. In the high cliffs lurk massive, dull-headed Trolls, capable of healing any wound in seconds, and ferocious Ogres.

Secrets of the Waters and Fangs of the Night
The water in this world is as inhabited as the land. In coastal port cities, one can encounter the silent raven-folk Kenku. Due to an old curse, they are deprived of their own voice and communicate exclusively through perfect mimicry of sounds they have ever heard (someone else's speech, the clink of coins, or the creak of a door). In port taverns, sailors whisper about the Selkies — peaceful inhabitants of the northern seas. In the water, they look like ordinary seals, but upon coming ashore, they shed their skins and become indescribably beautiful, pale humans. The oceans also hide highly developed civilizations of underwater knights with fish tails — Merfolk, who war with the cunning Sirens that lure ships onto the rocks with their singing. In rivers and swamps live the wise, cold-blooded half-human, half-serpent Nagas, guarding ancient sunken temples, while wild Lizardfolk and swamp-dwelling Kappa frogs hunt beside them. The forest lakes themselves harbor beautiful spirits of fresh water — Undines and Naiads, devoid of souls but desperately seeking one through the love of mortals. In the deepest wilderness of the forests hides perhaps the rarest and most miserable race — the Elhi. These are graceful forest half-beasts with the beginnings of deer antlers. Their blood and antlers possess incredible magical power, and therefore mercenaries hunt them cruelly, as if they were game. When the sun dips below the horizon, the world changes. On the roofs of gothic cathedrals, stone Gargoyles come to life, spreading their wings for the night hunt. From their gloomy castles emerge ancient clans of Vampire aristocrats, and in the thickets, ferocious Lycanthropes howl at the moon. Among ordinary people hide Tieflings — beings with horns and tails, with demonic blood flowing in their veins, and the cat-folk Tabaxi — nimble wandering traders and thieves.

🪄 Magic Piercing the Eras

Magic in this world is diverse and dangerous. Great Archmages subdue fire, water, earth, and air. Cunning Warlocks make dangerous pacts with demons for crumbs of power, and dark Necromancers desecrate graveyards, raising armies of soulless Skeletons and Zombies. When magic and technology unite, alchemists breathe life into massive runic Golems of stone and steel.

The world stands on the threshold of a new era. Old alliances are fraying at the seams, dragons descend from the skies more frequently, and the wingless avians are ready for anything to reclaim their floating cities.

[Who do you want to be in this world? Write your name, race (human, elf, gnome, orc, wingless aarakocra, kenku, naga, selkie, elhi, or any other) and your class (knight, mage, warlock, necromancer, thief, mercenary). Where will you head first?]

GEOGRAPHY AND POLITICS:

• Land Empires: Human kingdoms with a feudal system, knightly orders, castles, kings and princesses.
• City infrastructure: In megacities, all power and the shadow economy belong to the influential Mages Guilds, Thieves Guilds, and mercenary unions.
• Heaven: Abandoned floating cities of white stone. The sky is completely controlled by enormous ancient dragons and knights on griffins.

MAGICAL INSTITUTES AND CLASSES:

• Higher magic: Academies of archmages who control the elements.
• Forbidden magic: Sorcerers (deals with demons), necromancers (armies of the undead: skeletons, zombies).
• Applied magic: Alchemists (potions), bards, animated stone and steel golems.

REGISTRY OF RACES AND THEIR FEATURES FOR INTERACTION:

1. Humans: Ambitious politicians, knights, merchants. The most numerous race.
2. Elves: Immortal, wise, and sophisticated magicians. Ents and fairies protect their forests.
3. Dwarves: Underground blacksmiths and miners. Dwarven inventors create mechanisms.
4. Orcs, Goblins and Kobolds: Fierce, cunning tribes of the wild wastes who recognize strength.
5. Aarakocra (Avians): Bird-people who, due to an ancient curse, have lost the ability to fly. Their wings are weak, and they look longingly at the sky.
6. Kenku: Crow-people without wings. They have no voice of their own, communicating only by perfectly imitating the speech and sounds of others. They are prone to theft.
7. Nagas and Lizardmen: Half-human, half-snake, and reptilian creatures. Wise, dangerous inhabitants of rivers and swamps.
8. Selkies: Inhabitants of the northern seas. Seals in the water, on land they shed their skins and become beautiful people. Melancholic.
9. Elhi: Stealthy forest half-beasts with the beginnings of horns. They are hunted by mercenaries for their rare magic.
10. Creatures of the Night: Vampire aristocrats, lycanthrope werewolves, and stone gargoyles that come to life in the darkness.
11. Other Peoples: Demonic tieflings with horns, the cat-like tabaxi people, centaurs, minotaurs in the labyrinths, trolls and ogres in the mountains. Water sirens, undines, and kappa.