The world of Velosia has five continents, with a wide range of
climates. Much of the land is unexplored as of yet, because civilization
is in a period similar to that of Earth's Rennaisance. Volcanic
activity
has been dormant in most places for centuries, but that may change
soon
enough. Most of the temperate regions remain untouched, and its
many
forests are unspoiled. In the nation of Tuvya, the political
climate is
in a state of constant flux, with the current monarchy's line beginning
to
die out (because of inbreeding) and a bordering nation beginning to
threaten the people. Although science is not considered heresy,
the
people of Tuvya are very superstitious and consider most unexplained
phenomena to be the cause of "magic" that the planet produces.
The main
religion in Tuvya is a sort of "earth worship" and many of the people
are
very "aligned with the planet." "Alignment with the planet" is
what
enables these people to cast "spells." Tuvian scientists have
not been
able to discern why or how the spells function, but all they know is
that
it does work. Even though this skill is not found in very many
people, no
one has had such a great "alignment" as to be able to kill someone
with a
mere gesture or anything like that. The sorcerers of this kingdom
enjoy a
social standing similar to that of artisans, such as musicians.
Many of
the nobles have a court magician or two.
However, 2000 years later, Velosia has advanced to a newly dawning space
age. Tuvya has had space travel for decades, but the Tuvians
are only now
just starting to venture out of their solar system, using sleeper ships
to
explore their corner of the galaxy (Cryogenics had only recently been
perfected enough to make the journey to the next star feasible.)
Much of
Velosia's biodiversity has been lost, with the last remaining wild
animals
living in various nature preserves around the planet and most of the
species being extinct. Domestic animals are still abundant, but
because
of the damage to the biosphere, magic is but a distant memory to the
people of Velosia. Information is a valuable commodity on Velosia,
so
explorers are highly sought after, and are paid large sums of money
upon
their return.