Constantinople World Building - Jack Lawson (1701239)

After the Re-Enchantment occurred, many older, less advanced cities, countries and empires quickly became the forefront of human civilisation, as technology failed mankind, the poorer nations' memory of older and more traditional methods and ways of life allowed them to stay relatively proficient, as the Western world fell apart without their full range of technology, the newly enchanted Istanbul in particular reverting to the name they held when still a Greek Colony, adopting the name Byzantium to closer represent their new world of magic and mythical Greek creatures.

Atmospheric Setting

As the Byzantium Empire has grown and thrived a great deal since the Re-Enchantment, within the core civilised areas the atmosphere and general tone is fairly light, with many people going about their daily lives in a way that – at first glance – would seem very natural to us in the real world, with the differences being almost entirely cosmetic in nature as the currencies and apparel have shifted with the events of the Re-Enchantment. However, the atmosphere and tone shift a great deal when exiting civilised areas and entering the wilds, particularly as the day comes to a close and night approaches, with an almost eerie tone hanging over travellers and trade caravans, the sensation of being watched ever present at these times.

Locations

The Byzantium Empire covers several large areas, the largest of which being the “Atlas Ranges” which include the main city of Byzantium, called Byzan, and the Atlas mountain range, as well as several large forests and a lake, known by the locals as the Well of Tears, primarily for it's mystical properties and peculiar sound of crying it gives off at night. The other areas in the Byzantium empire include “The Shard” - a massive chunk of enchanted stone that turned into a Plateau and eventually grew mystical forests, it now is the home to many of the more dangerous creatures in the world, “The Plains of Myr” which are a desert like wasteland filled with derelict technology and fallen planes from the Re-Enchantment and finally the “Depths of Tarta” which is largely taken up by an enormous chasm and cave network, many believe the mountain in the Atlas Ranges was originally the Earth that seems to be missing where the Chasm in Tarta is found.  The final area of note outside of the main city and it's provinces is a large, lone mountain known only as “Olympa”, atop which it is said the origin point for all magic lies, as this peak is also where the God of Boredom had originally sealed all that was released in the Re-Enchantment away in a magic crystal.

Each area in the Byzantium Empire has it's own ecosystem, ranging threats and characteristics to ensure that no one area can become a focal point of player presence, and narratively, because the God of Boredom wished to spread as much chaos as far as possible, though it is obvious that Olympa has a high concentration of danger, due to it's importance in the Re-Enchantment.

Civilisation and Story Drive

A whole year has passed since the Re-Enchantment occurred, with most of Western Civilisation crumbling without access to the modern comforts previously afforded to the members of society in nations such as the United States of America. Unlike the US, which fell apart completely, the United Kingdom reverted to a near tribal or Viking like state, resorting to raiding and infighting to survive. However, as the Western nations struggled to adjust, the East quickly adapted and even managed to create an incredibly effective method of regulating the threats to their societies and keep a stable economy via the creation of what came to be known as Hunters Guilds. The Guilds have quickly become an important aspect of life for people, taking in the less talented “Gifted” and the ones that need careful training to control their new powers as well as non gifted individuals with a knack for specific things the guilds require, such as creature research and supply management, as well as monster hunting. As the world adapted to the new reality they faced, these Hunter Guilds became more and more commonplace, the members of the more powerful guilds almost being revered as celebrities in their Towns and Cities as they travel their locale. It became particularly common for local Governments to hire these guilds to deal with monster threats, such as Hydra dens, Centaur raids and – on occasion – Dragons. Life in these societies changed in a great way, as electricity became nigh impossible to generate and technology became derelict and unusable with what little technology society still had access to being repurposed to focus on medical needs, particularly the “Disenchanter” program, which was created to rid the Gifted of their powers with some rather horrifying side effects, in order to protect society from unstable Gifted. Despite the lack of easy access to technology, the living standard of the people in Byzantium has steadily improved as the number of gifted that have mastered their abilities increases, with many of them using their power to help people complete daily tasks as members of the Hunters Guild: “The Frontier Hunters”, which is widely considered the strongest and most effective Hunter Guild in the world. This is primarily due to Byzantium's nature as the focal point for the Re-Enchantment, with the highest number of Gifted being within it's new borders, as well as the most dangerous creatures being present. In addition to this high concentration of gifted and mythical creatures, Byzantium also found itself situated right next to an enormous mountain that – according to all previous data – never existed until AFTER the Re-Enchantment, and has shifted more than any other tectonic artefact in history in a very short amount of time, quickly being named the “Atlas Mountain”. This mysterious mountain quickly became the staging point for many of the largest and most threatening “raids”  the Hunter guilds could undertake, as the mountain is also the home of an intricate cave system housing incredibly powerful creatures, most notable of which being a Minotaur which roams the ever changing cavern systems. As time passes and the mountain changes, it slowly becomes clear that the Mountain is actually a monster, the Titan Atlas from Greek myth and the longer he is left undefeated, the closer to waking he will get.

Economy

 With the introduction of the Hunters Guilds, the way the economy on the Silk Road functioned changed dramatically. People now use two currencies, the first is known as Eido, which is a metal shard infused with magic, shaped into a coin, with one Eido being worth a great deal and generally being the method of payment used to pay the Hunters Guilds, whilst the other is known as Gil, the more common currency used for trade in traditional day to day activities, it fills the same purpose as the old dollars. In addition to this, towns and cities are all almost entirely centred around the main Hunters Guild buildings, with the Frontier Hunters building being massive, and the focal point of the main city of Byzantium – Byzan – which lies in the “Atlas Ranges” area, right at the foot of the sleeping Titan mountain. The larger guilds take all kinds of contracts, smaller ones performing tasks for townsfolk included, whilst the more elite members of the guilds are tasked with eliminating monsters that pose a threat to trade routes along the silk road or researching new monsters, whilst the highest echelon of hunters are tasked with Atlas Raids in the labyrinth, with each of these jobs paying progressively more in response to their increasing danger.

“The Gifted”

Whilst the rest of humanity struggled to adapt to their new world, no one group struggled more than the Gifted in the beginning. The Gifted is the collective name given to the individuals that were bestowed with magical abilities upon the Re-Enchantment, though many of those individuals were shocked by their new powers and found themselves unable to control them, killing innocent bystanders and even themselves in the process of testing them. However, thanks to the creation of the Guilds, the few individuals that were able to master their gifts were given a platform to teach others with these powers how to control and master them, quickly allowing the lawful gifted to make the choice to either keep their power and learn, or have it disenchanted. Most gifted specialise in a certain type of ability, some being given the ability to amplify their physical strengths and speed or boost it with elemental magic, whilst others are given the power to control creatures or transform themselves into other creatures entirely. As time passes in the newly enchanted world, new powers are discovered constantly, with the existing Gifted growing their power constantly and discovering new ways to use their powers, particularly via what quickly became known as “Mastery” quests, handed to the Gifted by the highest members of the Hunters Guilds and local law enforcement, and from criminal organisations to rogue Gifted. All Gifted draw their power from a limited pool of energy known as Mata, which is present within the individual and effectively acts as a muscle, and as with all muscles, can be trained and increase in strength with use and care. Many scholars in the Byzantium Empire believe that the amount of Mata an individual can draw on relates to their mental capacity, whilst others believe it directly relates to physical capability, though the truth is somewhere in between, as the most powerful Gifted practice both physical training and meditation of maximise their abilities.

Monsters

Upon the Re-Enchantment, many creatures of classic Greek Mythology were released into the areas surrounding Byzan and it's territories. Along with the typical creatures like Imps, Goblins and Harpy's, which make up the large majority of “minor threat” level targets as they do little more than annoy even the lightest armed adventurers and trade caravans, often avoiding the more heavily armed convoys intentionally to preserve themselves. However, there have also been several sightings of far larger, far more dangerous creatures, such as Hydras, Griffins, Manticores, Giants and Cyclopses and most surprisingly, the Cerberus. These creatures are given rankings depending on their individual threat level and extermination quests are handed out by Hunter Guilds to hunters of different skill levels depending on those threats, with D rank being low threat, C and B being medium, A being high and S being priority, extreme danger targets. Despite the rankings displayed, it is often the case that the lower rank creatures possess greater intelligence than the higher ranks, which in some situations, means they pose a greater threat than their rank would suggest.

D Rank – Goblins, Imps, Harpies and Fairies

C Rank – Catoblepas, Satyrs and Daemons

B Rank – Centaur, Griffins, Gorgons and Arachas

A Rank – Leviathan, Hydras, Cyclops and Manticores

S Rank – The Cerberus, Minotaur, Giants and Dragons