Varen

The world where you live in, Varen is an expansive land, filled with magical beasts, divine beings and shadowy creatures.

## History

Varen is a young world. There are many theories about it’s origin. Milkras tells her followers that she crafted it long ago, whereas The Spirits say it just turned up, part of the cycle of nature. The Gods, on the other hand, share a different story: they speak about the sleeper, a supreme being who dreamt existence, and that Varen was created to protect him. Shardminds pay the origin no mind, but believe that the source of power and enlightenment is the mystical floating city of Ociel, which is said to fly across the land. No matter what view one agrees with, if one agrees with one at all, but there are some facts about the past: The Dwarven Empires that fell centuries ago, the great Orcish warlords who perished in the past, or the One Tribe, which split into both feylands. The most important recent events were the arrival of the shard, which changed Driov forever, as well as the birth of Erdrev.

## Culture

Each nation has it’s own culture, which has developed and evolved during the years. There is one fact that adventurers and travelers should keep in mind: the linguistic difference. Each Nation has a language, and it’s hard to find bilingual individuals. There is no such thing as an universal dialect.

* Edrev has **Goblin** as its official language, but Giant and Dwarven are quite common within the Empire. Depending on which part of the country, people used to travelers may handle a bit of Common or Deep Speech.
* People from Zierch speak **common**, but given the high levels of education and the cosmopolitan structure the kingdom has, most of the citizens know either Goblin or Elven.
* Both Feylands speak **Elven**, and the noblemen and tribe leaders know Common or Deep Speech.
* Driovites communicate in **Deep Speech**, but studious shardminds know most of the other languages.

Peasants, soldiers and normal people usually limit themselves to their nation’s language, but adventurers tend to hold high communication skills.

## Magic

Power beyond what normal people are capable of is not common but neither is it strange. Granted, Zierch holds an incredible amount of wizards, sorcerers and divine casters, so the arcane is everyday stuff there. Powerful fey warriors from both sides can wield magic, and shardmind erudites hold knowledge that makes them capable of many astonishing feats.

These powers come from different sources:

* Arcane- The power of the universe, the cosmos and the deep understanding of reality.
* Divine- Power granted by either The Gods or Milkras
* Primal- The wrath and knowledge of The Spirits
* Psionic- The awareness and power the opening of the shard brought.
* Martial- Intensive training and capacity to fight
* Shadow-Dark powers are believed to feed from Lunette’s energy or from the Nightmare’s element.

## Religion

Across Varen, religions are held differently. The Githyanki and Githerai belive in The gods, as well as the civilized Fey and the peple from Zierch. Edrevians believe in Mlkras, and the wild fey in The Spirits. Shardminds hold Ociel as their ultimate goal. However, small percentages of the population believe in no god, care not for them, or even worse, defy them. The latter are either those who support the Nightmares, or who assist Lunette.