Eshtravan

Eshtravan is a world that has been shaped by the fundamental forces of magic. One of the key events that all modern Eshtravani civilizations have built themselves up from is the Thurmergia Collapse. 2145 years ago the Thurmergian Empire in its prime was ruled by mage lords who decimated the world in their failed attempt at divine apotheosis. The civilization as it was known to that point was destroyed, their homeland polluted and spellblasted and is now what is known as the Thurmergian Wastes. The aftershocks of this cataclysm all but wiped out neighboring civilizations.

From the Collapse all civilizations that developed thereafter had their own superstitions, wariness and caution against the high magics that had twisted the world. The works of gods and divinities are less stigmatized than the magics of men in most societies but even those that practice the highest forms of magic should at least take caution with their work. However despite the stigma of advanced magics, the technologies and cultures of the world are none the less shaped by them.

Magic is a force of natural that civilizations must learn to live alongside and harness. The Thurmergian Collapse made it so. Though the Thurmergian Plains suffer the worse of the event's effects. The world over is saturated with enough magic where in at least 5% of the average population as some magical talent or potential. The biggest effect the Collapse had was the sundering of dimensional boundaries through out the world. The six inner planes of Fire, Water, Earth, Air, Shadows and the Firstworld overlap and align on Eshtravan during certain astronomical aligns. These rifts open during Equinoxes, Solstices and times of polar day and polar night. These planar alignments have introduced a lot of extraplanar denizens into the world of Eshtravan.

Most of the creatures that crossed the threshold into Eshtravan are elementals, through centuries of conflict and development the civilizations of Eshtravan have created technologies utilizing elementals. Elemental binding technologies has wide use by all societies due to low magical investment, instead it primarily exploits the properties of the elemental themselves. On the other hand the Shadow Planes introduce many different types of creatures into the north regions of Eshtravan, the most powerful and dangerous of these are the kytons, and nightshades. The inhabitants of these polar regions have banned together and created the Dragon Legion which fight these malicious invasive forces. Similarly in the southern pole a different kind of invasive species emerged from the realm of the Fey some two millennia ago.The elves, who were not native to Eshtravan; were only introduced onto this world after the Collapse due to the opening of planar fissures. Much like gnomes before them in during Eshtravan's Pre-Collapse era. However unlike gnomes, the elves were never really fey in origin and instead of slow individual migration, they came in force ready to settle their displaced empire and carve out a new home for themselves. Unfortunately their militaristic expansion had dissolved the last of the Pre-Collapse Goblin civilization and displaced the Goblin into scattered peoples they are today

Speaking of races and creatures introduced to Eshtravan Post-Collapse a great many native inhabitants were altered by the event. The mana-wasted lands of modern Thurmergia is a prime example of the biological alterations that took place. Magical Beasts, and sentient plants are all the more common in Eshtravan. Of particular note are the Dwarves, Halflings and Orcs. Despite many species suffering terrible and fatal mutations from the magic saturation of Eshtravan, many more species rised from aftermath. Dwarves and Halflings came about from giants and humans respectively, and take many cultural queues from their progenitors. Orcs are an odd case, as they share a variety of traits similar to trolls, ogres and a few other related "wild giant" giant species but research into the topic has yet to make a conclusive link to any direct lineage. It would seem ogres are suffering a slow extinction as more and more mutations show up in their population, many researchers believe that orcs are simply more viable ogre-kin. The world has seen the rise and fall of many species for better or for worse society still moves on and advances.

Across the world, magic and its byproducts drive the advancement of technology. Many globetrotting vehicles are built utilizing elemental bindings, however it is only one of many methods found on the spectrum of magic use. Those that practice the high magics are far more willing to invest amd enchant them into items to emulate the functions and amenities of modern technologies. Creating everything from advanced golems to the simplest of utilities for the commonfolk. On the other end of the spectrum is alchemy. The basic methods are thought to have been invented by goblins after the Collapse. Having been put out of their homeland by elven arcamist brought to this world by the mistakes of other arcanists. Goblin cultures generally have a distrust of arcane magics which lead to the development of alchemy as a means of achieving the extraordinary at arms length from magic. The alchemical marvels of the modern age rival those that can be achieved with some of the most advanced magics.

Eshtravan's modern civilizations have long recovered from the Thurmergian Collapse. The greatest of cities are urban sprawls of towers and skyscrapers but the world itself is still very much filled with mysteries left by the long dead world the modern one has built itself atop of and by the periodic influx of extraplanar powers.