Overview

A quick orientation for readers new to this world.

Magic operates on one principle: [reality prefers lower-energy states]/magic/. The world reshapes itself to avoid costly change. Every form of magic — from wizard threats to ancient rites — exploits this tendency.

Three eras define the world’s arc. The Olden World was saturated with free magic. The Era of Containment saw wizards hoard that magic, leaving the world predictable and mundane for centuries. Then the wizards caused the Lapse — a chain reaction that merged distant locations into the same ground, ending the era and reshaping the map.

Three pillars run through history: the States (political and religious powers), the Wizards (solitary hoarders of magic), and the Untethered (mystics, druids, and other spiritual people living outside the structures of society).

Magic users fall into four groups — [wizards, religious practitioners, sorcerers, and spiritual practitioners]/magic_users/ — each engaging with the same underlying system in different ways.

Relics come in three types: true relics crafted by wizards, replica relics used by sorcerers, and artifacts — objects that accumulated magic naturally.