Argyle

In a world much like ours, in a time not too long ago, there exists a little corner of the world in which the realm of magic and myth and fairy tales forgot that it was not to be real, and intertwined itself snugly amongst science and reason and wonder.
Monsters twisted from mundane creatures stalk the land while scientists catagorize them binominally. Mages raise money for their reagents with bake sales. Mysterious robed figures swap wisdom and unusual garments for batteries and groceries.

Within this haven of fantasy is a small town. And within this town (and sometimes outside of it) are people living out their own little tales, each tale becoming part of an epic started long ago, something half forgotten and half misremembered, each part interlinking to a great whole, together working to decipher the mystery at the heart of this place, and to unknowingly decide how this legendary tale will end.

The Setting

The town of Argyle is a sleepy, forgettable place, situated in a particularly picturesque forested area right in the middle of absolutely nowhere. A place in which monsters beyond the realms of normality roam the wood in the night, the day and most every other time of the week, nobody can ever get any signal, the air is thick and sweet with magic, promises yet to be fulfilled and oddly high levels of oxygen, and the laws of physics, biology and rationality always come second to the power of a good, old fashioned wish.

The monsters are mysterious, varied and numerous, each species with their own methods of attracting prey and defending themselves from predators.
Unbeknownst to the local humans (who in some cases don't even believe that they exist,) the monsters are every bit as intelligent as them. They speak, they believe, they organize themselves into groups and organizations, and somewhere, deep in the earth, they plan for the future.

The humans who live here are far out of their depth, but deal quite well with everything. Mysterious robed people save the injured and lost, the mages guild (mostly made up of suspiciously capable teenagers) and the cryptozoologists (who despite what most will assume are very scientific and comprehensive in their study of the monsters) handle most other problems, so there's not that much to worry about except the occasional faire or town market.

Magic is perfectly real.

How it works and why it works, nobody knows for sure. Its existence fills the town with questions... Everyone who uses it knows one of the answers, but never for their own questions. And nobody knows which questions matter. Maybe all of them. Maybe none. Maybe all of the questions are just little parts of one big one, with one big answer... But it is here, and people, as people always do, try their best to understand.

The town is full of mysteries. Some are big, some are small, some of them nobody knows to think about, some are always on everyone's mind. Why do the monsters exist only here? Where do they come from? Why do so many of the magic tomes talk about "the price"? Who is The Shepherd? How come even the oldest of residents can't remember the librarian ever being any younger, or ever not being the librarian? Can Akira really talk to plants? Do fairies exist, and is Violet one? Why do so many people go by nicknames?

Somehow, amidst everything, nobody ever manages to tell the outside world about what is going on here. That's probably for the best.