Broken World

The chasms have been there, as long as people can remember. What caused this cataclysm, is unknown. Nobody alive is old enough to even remember stories from the time before. Have they always been there? Although there are some ruins, which are believed to be older than the chasms, there is no discernible information that can be obtained from them. Many of these ruins are next to or even on top of the chasms, leading many scholars to believe that these cities were broken apart by some cataclysmic event; perhaps the same event, which caused the earth to open up all over the Broken World. Even though the edges of the chasms are farmed extensively for metals and other resources, nobody has ever been to the bottom of an abyss. Those who tried, have not returned. Nothing seems to emanate from these chasms, apart from strange fog and the occasional nightmarish monster.
The inhabitants of the world have splintered off into various villages and some larger towns, all run by their own central authority. Resources are considered a currency, sometimes more valuable than gold or money, and the balance of power is maintained by the fact that no community can get by without trade with others. This, however, also brews conflict. For now, the lords and alchemists are in a state of Cold War, out of fear that an armed conflict will cause their resources to be destroyed. The mystical art of Alchemy helps to keep the other in check, as the members of the Order of the Alchemists attempt to forge newer and more powerful techniques and objects, so that the study of magic can be taken to the next levels.
The Age of Heroes is long gone. People have stopped believing in heroes. Monsters and villains are simply waited out, instead of fought, since no one is prepared to engage in fights for glory anymore. Every person for themselves, seems to be the philosophy rampant in the Broken World.