World Primers

History

In essence, the world's history is broken into 5 Epochs, of varying lengths. To summarize, the 1st Epoch is a lengthy, poorly understood period of time in which Dragons were the ruling power throughout the world, and humanoid societies were small and scattered. In the 2nd Epoch, Sorcerers rose to power, gaining their power through humanoid union with Dragons, and the spawning of Draconic Bloodlines. Sorcerers subjugated, allied, or killed the ruling Dragons, and allowed humanoid societies to grow (under their tyrannical rule). In the 3rd Epoch, the discovery of Logicmastery (the practice of Wizardry, in essence) allowed anyone with the will to learn to gain the same power Sorcerers hold. The Order of the Logicmasters was founded, and dedicated themselves to destroying all trace of Dragonsblood from the world, killing any Dragons and Sorcerers they could find, a veritable genocide. Rather than use their power to seize political control, the Logicmasters abstained, and founded their own nation upon a large island. In the 4th Epoch, war engulfed the world due to the power-vacuum left by the Logicmaster's Great Purge, and the new religions of Dichotism, and it's heresy Singulism, became prominent. The world is currently within the first century of the 5th Epoch, a time of technological renaissance and relative world peace (though smaller scale conflicts are still abound).
It is strongly encouraged to read the 5 articles that cover each of the 5 Epochs in more detail. They are relatively quick reads, and give a very good foundation, perhaps the most important primer to contextualize the setting.
1st Epoch: Rule of Dragons
2nd Epoch: Tyranny of Sorcerers
3rd Epoch: Rise of Logic
4th Epoch: Fall of Nations
5th Epoch: Rise of Civilization

Factions

In the modern day of this world, various globally powerful nations have established themselves, which are all quite powerful and stable. Most nations are content to participate in the newly emergent global economy, strongly discouraging the large-scale wars of older ages. Although all factions have their personal features, some stand out as especially unique. The Tensun Trading Company is a nation that is actually a mega-corporation. This nation regulates and facilitates the global economy, and almost all guilds have their headquarters within it. Meridian is an island nation that the Logicmasters occupy, and is a bastion of technology. Though isolationist in nature, the Logicmasters can keep tabs on all nations from their island, and ensure that their bitter enemies do not rise to power again. Finally it must be noted that guilds hold a massive amount of decentralized power over world politics. Though they cannot wield an army as a nation would, a combined effort across many guilds could certainly bring any nation to economic ruin. As you are adventuring through this world in some shape or form, it may be worth your time to read up on the International Adventurers Guild.

Religions

Organized religion plays a large role in the landscape of Vallonde, and is the cause of much good, and much bloodshed. Masoritanism Is perhaps the oldest religion, found worldwide, with innumerous subsects and variations upon the religion. The religion worships the 4 primordial elements of Fire, Water, Earth, and Air, which also represent spiritual modalities. At it's core, Masoritanism preaches a strive for balance with nature, and balance within the self. Dichotism is the largest religion. It is Polytheistic, containing 10 gods, 5 of good (called the Risen), and 5 of evil (called the Fallen). Dichotists worship the Risen, and seek to unite the world in their service so that one day mortal-kind will aid the Risen in destroying the Fallen. A heresy to Dichotism exists, called Singulism, which stipulates that there are not 10 gods, but 1 God containing all 10 aspects of good and evil within themselves. In Singulism, each person in the world carries a piece of divinity, and the lives they lead imprint upon this piece of divinity. Singulism preaches that upon death, this piece of divinity returns to God, influencing the whole of God towards good or evil depending on the life you lead. Other religions exist within the world, which are smaller, often central to a specific culture.

Magic/Technology

Magical power in Vallonde is largely explained by Oremars Theorem. This theorem postulates 3 primary sources of power: The first is the power of Aether, a pure elemental energy that is summoned and shaped to the desired effect. The second is the power of Abstract, a sort of psionic power that is illusive in nature, whose methods of conjuring and wielding are poorly understood, perhaps tied to one's willpower or conceptualization. The final power is the Logic, the physical laws of the world, which can be manipulated using the Eldritch language to achieve the effect you want.

The technological state of Vallonde is quite comparable to the Eberron setting, with magic-punk style tech. Firearms exist, though they fire energy projectiles rather than metal bullets. Powered transports such as the Lightning Rail, powered seacraft, and powered aircraft continue to make the world a smaller place. These technologies are powered by Aetherdynamos, engines made of batteries called Aethershards, which can power anything from small tools, to the magnificent Skylance.

A final key difference in Vallonde, when compared to other D&D settings, is that knowledge of other planes is scarce, and largely theoretical. There is no known way to travel to other planes, and as such certain spells and abilities may be re-flavored, or simply not available to be taken. It is undeniable that other planes exist, as their energies and inhabitants seem to manifest within the material plane. Many arcanists view planar travel as the next frontier of magic, and are racing to discover the means to travel to other worlds.