Invidia (Warmages)

Our story begins in Mellara, the capital of Sarrin. Sarrin is a large state in the northern half of its continent. To its west, the even larger state of Terrnor. The main border between the two states are the Black Mountains, a large mountain range running from north to south. To the north, near the sea, the mountains crumble into the Ridgelands. The hills here are full of mines for precious stones and metals, stone, salt, and other valuable commodities. Farther south in the mountainrange, the Free City of Libera guards the western edge of the main mountain pass between Sarrin and Terrnor. A peninsula off the southern edge of Sarrin holds the small state of Vyland. In the south, the mountains widen while the continent narrows. A few other small states lie between Sarrin and the mountains. The dense forests of New Sylvara, the corundom of Elves, lies in the space south of Terrnor and north of the mountains. The 'neck', the narrow region where the whole width of the continent is occupied by mountains, is the home of the Dwarven Domain, Duvarin. South of the neck, the mountains lose height and size. There is a large peninsula of land, bordered by mountains to the west and north and by the sea to the south and east, which is ruled by the empire of Astan. The land is composed of desert, though there are rich flood plains flanking the two major rivers that carry water from the mountains eastwards.   Terrnorr is the heir to the ancient Krystullin empire that once dominated the entire continent of Invidia. Its attempt to reclaim the lands of its distant predecessor led to the creation of the Defensive Union, which would later consolidate into the nation of Sarrin. This history means Sarrin is a far more politicallly diverse land than the unitary Terrnor, where countless duchies and baronies and burghs compete for power and land. It is also culturally far more diverse, with the ethnic groups of the indigenous Shars and the Mela, or the sea people, the populations of seafaring merchants who colonized the coastline and founded cities like Mellara. But though Sarrin was originally created to protect small states, the Queen's vast wealth, resources, and military means that the territories compete for her, not with her. The war, similarly, transitioned from a fight for survival to a fight over the valuable Ridgelands. Each year, thousands of young men and women die trying to preserve, expand, or recover the mines and towns that provide so much wealth yet so little value.   In a world where magic is a science doggedly pursued by affluent scholars, the Sarrinar Queen has created an academy to train youth into wizards for its army. Known as "warmages", "swordcerors", or "warcasters", the Queen is counting on the power of magic to finally turn the tide of an endless war.