Midose

Midose is the sole planet orbiting its sun. Although alone in its solar system it has 8 Major moons orbiting it and 4 minor ones. This has granted Midose bright nights, extremely treacherous seas and deadly weather patterns.   Here in Midose magic pervades everything, this has granted some of the planet’s inhabitants innate abilities or mutations. Those who can channel simple magic effects innately are called Magus and are considered a boon to the cultures of which they are a part. Any such use of a magus’ ability generally comes with a drawback. For instance a weather witch may be able to tell what will happen with a storm, they will also likely be incapacitated until the storm subsides.   Those with physical mutations are called Spellwarped and depending on how it manifests can be viewed in any number of ways. Beneficial mutations like genasi are embraced whereas mutations like being grave touched are considered curses. This mutation is also found in the flora and fauna of the world and is considered the reason many of the magical hybrids have come into existence.   There are many races and cultures throughout Midose but our journey will focus on the Asylon Empire and the regions surrounding it. The vast majority of the population of this land are humans, with most humanish races -like the Genasi or Tieflings- simply spellwarped humans, this is always a unique mutation and never breeds true in the offspring. For instance, a generic human and a Tiefling can reproduce and have a Genasi child. Mutations that occur in the spellwarped are random and seem to have little to do with the lineage of the parents. It has been noted that magical mutations are significantly more common in bloodlines that have the gift for arcane magic.   Though mostly human, many other races can be found in the empire. Dwarves, Halfling and Gnomish refugees from the sunken continent of Gid’Ugrir settled in the central and Eastern portions of the empire and have since spread throughout the kingdom. Giant Kin (goliaths), though rare, are found in the Lower Spine Mountain range. Goblinoid races (though unwelcome) can be found anywhere rough enough to have few humans and tend to breed until there are enough of them to become a problem. One of the only races to not be found in the empire is the Elves.   Many decades of strained diplomatic relations with the Elves ended with the Elves recalling their Diplomats. This was largely due to the elves' closeness with the Northern portion of the Empire and its growing independence, and rebellious attitudes. This independence partially, due to its trade relationship with the Elves, not only was threatening the stability of the unified Empire, but was also costing the Central Empire (specifically the Emperor) a great deal of money due to the goods that failed to traffic through the tolled roads of the central empire.   The event that fractured the nations relationship for good was the poisoning of Princess Fe’Aleal Benoe of the High Blood at the inauguration of the castle Castle En’Ichal a structure gifted by the elves to the empire as a gesture of peace to ease tensions, and subsequently cursed by the Fey in retribution for the innocent blood spilled there. The ambassadors that were recalled to the Elven lands never made it back to the elven nation seemingly having died in an unlikely bandit attack. Since then the borders of the lands are closed and masked with dense roiling clouds.   Magic: Arcane: There are plenty of provable facts about the use of magic, but magic itself is a mystery. Magic irradiates all things. Although no one is sure what is generating it, magic seems to come from the planet. Some say that is the guiding energy of life, while others make the claim that it is the aura of the gods. No claim to its source has ever been proven, and the more impossible an idea, the more popular it seems to be.   Few have the ability to manipulate magic on more than the minor scale. Why certain people have the ability to become wizards is as much a mystery as the source of magic. Sorcerous abilities seem to be inherited, passed through the mother’s line, but such bloodlines are jealously guarded as a natural resource and rarely allowed the freedoms that most enjoy. Despite the vigilance of the local governments a strong bond has developed between spell casters of all types.   There are many institutions of magic spread throughout the empire. The largest and most powerful is the Institute Arcana located in Limtall. It is, for all intents and purposes, the center of the magical world. It is considered the best place to get an education in the magical arts.   Clerical: Though Arcane magic seems to flow in the bloodlines of a select few clerical magic can manifest anywhere. Though a great deal of time and resources have been dedicated to trying to predict, and to some extent control, who has access to this it seems to be a literal gift from the gods. It is a common belief that the members of the Church of Asylon are all welders of divine magic but that is not true. It is actually exceedingly rare that people are able to wield clerical magic. The average members of this vast organization are the same sort of people that fill out most organizations (bureaucrats, workers and administrators) those few who actually can wield clerical magic are fast tracked toward the upper echelons of the power structures and paraded in public as often as possible. The prevailing belief is that if you pray often enough, believe hard enough and dedicate yourself to the church you will be able to gain the use of clerical power, but that is seemingly untrue. This power, like the arcane magics, seems to be inseparable from the person wielding it.