Understanding Nyra
Nyra is a realm in constant struggle. The natural environment is a brutish and nasty place, dominated by creatures of immense strength, size, and deviousness. Sentient species are only able to survive on the condition that they fortify their cities from the beasts that live outside. And even so, there is little safety to be found from the array of threats in the cosmos. Indeed, magic, the very force which drives all things, has become a source of constant dread and scrutiny among the populace.
And much as nature is in constant conflict, so too are the many sentient species of Nyra. They have fought too many wars to name, over too many topics to name, in too many places to name. Those who rise to the top of the global hierarchy of power, those who maintain control, are brutal, efficient, judicious with violence, and filled with xenophobia and malice. Of those who have attained the most enduring imperial success are the Humans and the Ethakkra, a race of satyr-like people. The cooperation of the Ethakkran and Human empires is uneasy and often threatened with destabilization when irresponsible leadership arises. However, the peace has remained steady as the economic interests of both nations align.
The Human empire is predicated upon threat of military force, used as leverage to promote a booming economy, while attempting to suppress the revolt of its subjects. The human commoner is treated as nothing more than an asset, an operational piece of a greater machine. And when this machine runs, smoothly or not, and the wheels of the great empire continue to turn, the nobles care not what suffering they have wrought upon the populace. But under King Doran, the people are furious and hungry, wondering where the spoils and prosperity of a flourishing empire have gone. The nobles, caring nothing for the lower class, have their own agendas in garnering power, wherever it lies.
The Ethakkra, by contrast, have chosen the path of manipulation, economic control, and well planned deceit. So long as an Ethakkra may shamelessly accept their deceit and double-crossing, they will certainly be accepted into the upper echelon of society. But many barriers, both in class distinction and in expectations, prevent most Ethakkra from exceeding their station. The commoners know that there is a game they can play to make it to the top, but many know that it is rigged against them and thus choose to resort to successes of a smaller scale.
By contrast there are several races who have no interest in participating in such a dangerous game on such a large scale. A race of humanoid bats called the Sarkin, the Kazein birdmen, and a highly advanced humanoid race named the Ponderan, attempt with varying success to secure their societies away from such conflict.
The Sarkin, their visage more hideous than any other sentient being on the planet, have faced a great deal of racism and hatred. Yet their society has achieved not only societal stability, equality, and happiness, but also rapid technological advancement. Their species is an extended family, leaving no Sarkin unfed, homeless, or without work. But fearing conflict if they interact with the world at large, they have hidden themselves away in a sprawling cave complex.
The Kaze are a flourishing society of academics and artists, favoring the exploration of the mind and the expansion of knowledge over all other endeavors. Honor and respect are not only important values for social climbers, but a requisite for all members of society. In fact, Kaze rise in the hierarchy by amassing raw knowledge of the world around them and are respected in proportion to their intellect and social awareness. To be seen as dishonored is to be an outcast. The millenia-long war they have fought against the Ethakkra has largely been a war of disparate cultures, not one of resource dominance, and they have succeeded in it through superior tactical reasoning, not brute force. Accordingly, the Kaze are the sort to travel widely and amass new experiences, but they avoid most interaction while abroad, seeking instead to passively observe and report back to their colleagues.
The Ponderan are a species of proud and ancient humanoids who once ruled over the continental empire of Onus far before the other Nyran species spread across the globe. They have harnessed solidified magic, called magicite, to power an abundant society with energy infrastructure, ample food, shelter, and luxurious accommodations. They worship magic and therefore venerate the most powerful mages to positions of highest authority. Those who are not born with the gift (a rarity among their kind), are regarded as simplistic and backwards. Therefore it is no shock that all other species are seen similarly. The Ponderan, viewing themselves as wise wardens of advancement, have chosen to avoid interaction with the other species, fearing that their technology would destabilize less-advanced civilizations.
Meanwhile there are others who are left to make their way either in bloodshed or in honor. Two of the humanoid races of Nyra, one being the tundra-dwelling Highlanders, and other being the Famulus, a hulking and nomadic species, are just these sorts.
The Highlanders, a hardy race of humanoids, have a clan society which exists almost entirely on the frozen northern tip of Faydorn. They have not purposely kept themselves away from Nyra at large, but instead have been separated by brute geographical fact as well as outsider aversion to venturing through punishing cold. Being atomized into many groups, they value many different things. While some tribes focus more upon bloody dominance, others use cunning to succeed and value cultural enrichment. The nations and tribes that comprise their people have fought countless wars among themselves, vying for lands which have been passed back and forth time and time again. This cycle has no end in sight.
The Famulus, once the slave-breed who served the Ponderan, massacred most of their Ponderan leaders and made them flee the continent of Onus. In the wake of this event, the Famulus have settled it permanently, now worshipping fire and chaos, making dominance and absolute strength their highest ethos. And so, they raid the coastlines of the continents of Nyra to achieve glory and to bring home the spoils of war. When the denizens of shore-towns see the Famulus flags waving above the incoming ships, they often evacuate, ceding all of their belongings and history to the incoming wave of death.
Although the conflicts between the species and their political affairs seem to dominate the foreground, the machinations of this realm are not all understood by its inhabitants. There are arcane and godlike entities which are in competition to control the future of their existence and they create envoys to spread their influence in the world; mages. Given their connection to the stream by birthright, mages are interpreters of an energy which has been gifted to them. The vast majority which are not so gifted, however, have created ideologies of bigotry against them.
The Humans, Ethakkra, and Highlanders are particularly hateful of mages, conducting elaborate witch-hunts to find them and executing them publicly. Most other sentient species have some preference toward one or more of the elements. The Orderists, focused upon nullification of magical instabilities and creation of standing authority structures, are seen as a necessary evil by all species. The Kaze, for example, tolerate Orderists and revere the harnessers of the gaseous phase of matter, the Ventusari. The Famulus value power above all else and therefore tolerate a larger number of magic-using identities: their boats are often piloted by the harnessers of the aqueous phase, the Liquidus, but they have a clear cultural preference for the impulsive and destructive forces of the plasma-users, the Infernai, and the chaotic Noxai. The Sarkin, being a robust technological mining community, have a special liking toward the industrious and steadfast Solidus, the harnessers of the solid phase. The only species which has no such bigotries or preconceptions of magic users are the Ponderan, who, as has been said, have long ago accepted the place of mages in their hierarchies.
The world of Nyra is steeped in an oppressive atmosphere with countless intricacies. When all but the greatest of heroes attempt to stand up to the forces of oppression, they are crushed mercilessly. When the populace follows as commanded, they are used up and spit out. Those who seek the life of an individualist, must then stand against the barbarity of nature alone. Ask yourself; how will you survive?