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====== World History ======

==== Age of Creation ====
The Mother, about to give birth, creates a world for her children to be born on and to grow up.  Her children, the Gods, grow up on Terra, learn from their Mother, and begin shape the world to their own liking.  They create continents, oceans, plants, animals, beasts and mortals to entertain them.  Their Mother watches over them with pride, and when she thinks they are old enough, she leaves them to continue to grow on their own.

==== Age of Destruction ==== 
With their Mother gone, petty jealousies and tensions among the Gods grow and eventually lead to a planet reshaping war.  The Gods' creations, their mortals and beasts, are conscripted into the war but most perish.  During their greatest battle, their Mother returns and is horrified by what she finds.  In a moment of rage (and later great shame), she brings down a rock from the heavens upon her children, killing most and further sundering the world.  The Mother strips most of the power from her surviving children and banishes those who were the greatest offenders.  She then retreats into self-exile but not before warning her few remaining children that she will return one day to Test them to see if they are again worthy of having their full powers returned to them.  

==== Age of Rebirth ====
The remaining Gods, now much weaker than they were before, focused their efforts to repairing the damage to the world and attempted to lead lives that their Mother would wish of them.  However, there was much disagreement as to what such a path would take.  Not wanting their Mother see them fighting again, some Gods teamed up and others left.  The result was many thoughts on the True Path, that they were more scattered than before, and that they had less interest in their former play-things.

Because of this, the surviving mortals emerged from hiding to find, and for the first time, found their destinies in their own hands.  Many mortals returned to worshiping their former masters but others sought their own glory.  The mortals spread across the world forming civilizations, however ever present that their Gods might return to impose their will on them again.  

==== Age of Magic ====
The mortals find fragments of their Gods' tools and weapons leftover from the Age of Destruction.  They slowly learn to master these fragments, and called these tools Magic.  However, not every mortal seemed to have the ability to master Magic, and a great divide grew between those who could and those who could not.  The magical users began calling themselves The Mages, and they organized the non-magically inclined, the Plebeians, under them.  At first, all prospered as everyone's livelihood improved with the growth of Magic.  Economies grew, places of learning were established for Mages and Plebeians alike, and even the poorest Plebeian had a place in this near-utopian society.  However, the Mages became obsessed with expanding their own powers and soon forgot about the Plebeians unless they needed them to fight in their ever increasing wars.  

Finally, the Plebians appealed to their former masters, the Gods, for help.  The Gods, busy with rebuilding the sundered world and discovering the True Path, had not realized the extent that their former tools were being abused, and the most powerful of the Mages even posed a threat to the Gods in their weakened states.  The Gods debated and many decided to intercede.  They assisted the Plebeians in overthrowing the distracted Mages.  This was known as the Great Purge.  To ensure that mortals never again gained rose to the power that could threaten the Gods, they passed down laws to their Plebeian followers.  While the laws varied from God to God, they all stated that Magic, now called Wild Magic, was an affront to the Gods and not to be tolerated.  

==== Age of Religion ====
The Gods did permit a few devoted mortals to practice a strongly-controlled form of magic, Holy Magic, as long as their Laws were followed.  The Gods, having removed the threatening mortals and ensured that they would never again rise, returned to their mending of the world and search for the True Path.  

The Clerics, leaders of their respective holy discipline, again began to unite the people.  Unlike the Mages, any of them could even gain places of prominence in the various churches and be granted access to Holy Magic.  During this age, worship of the Gods prevailed and led to many beautiful creations and also terrible horrors.  Under the churches, a new age of equality began.  

However, as the Gods became more despondent, dogmatic belief in the Laws began to falter, and the churches has less and less control over the people.  

==== Age of Empires (modern age) ====

As the churches fell in popularity, governments, unconstrained by the restrictive Laws forced on them by the gods, began to expand and grow.  Wealth, under the guise of empires, became the new ruler of mortals.  Subsequently, wars became more common but so did trade and economic growth.  Many empires secured their future by leveraging the establish religions, declaring divine right and creating monarchies.  Others were ruled by councils and officials elected by the people (or at least by the people that mattered).  The quality of life of the average mortal, whether man, dwarf, or goblin, improved for those who had access to wealth and declined for those who did not.  

====== History of the Misty Crater ======

While not commonly recognized, many scholars claim the rock that ended the Age of Destruction created the Misty Crater.  Others argue that it was created during a unregulated experiment conducted by the Mages, characteristic of their desire for power and lack of regard for the consequences.   Still others argue that it was created by one god or the other, had always been there, or the most popular opinion: don't care.  

Part of the original obscurity of the crater was its location.  It was sandwiched at the edge of a expansive desert, a formidable mountain range, and arid plains that couldn't be farmed.  A nearby river made access to the crater reasonable despite its inhospitable surroundings.  However, the river lied deep within a canyon, and the water within was inaccessible in any appreciable quantity for agriculture and human consumption.  

Some of the first recorded expeditions sent to the Crater was near the end of the Age of Magic.  Word of strange occurrences had reached one of the most powerful Mage Councils, the Order of the Owl, and they sent a few expeditions of their more promising junior Mages along with some local guides.  However, most never returned.  Those who did returned seemingly mad, speaking of impossible creatures and even worlds within the crater.  The final expedition consisted of several senior council members, and no one returned this time.  The fragmented records of these events claim that the Order of the Owl sealed off the crater until it could be studied in the future.  However, the Purge was but a scant few decades away.  

During the Age of Religion, those who attempted to enter the Crater were unable.  Reports claim that a terrible sickness would overcome anyone who came close.  Doctrine of the various churches eventually stated that it was an arena of the Gods (or similar) and was off limits to mortals.  Even after the sickness was disproved (or perhaps was removed), a religious stigma kept many away.  

Sometime during the gradual shift form the Age of Religion to the Age of Empires, traders seeking new trade routes across the great desert, returned the Crater to public imagination.  Tales fantastic journeys and treasure spread across the known world, and many traveled to the crater to make their forture.  About the same time, a permanent trade route was established across the great desert, making the Crater the first (or last) waystation across that route.  

Several empires began to take note of the ever increasing stories as well as the economic opportunities by such a trade route.  A city at the Crater was founded on numerous occasions only to be razed by a skirmish or war.  It did not help that water was scarce at the crater.  To address this, Emperor Therom of the First Galazen Empire, known for his many infrastructure projects, gambled heavily and spent his entire treasury on building a canal from a nearby canyonous river to the crater as well as developing agricultural irrigation.  While successful in establishing a permanent and sustainable city at the Crater, Emperor Therom became preoccupied by with a war with a neighbor, and his empire soon fell to economic misfortune.  

Other empires soon swept in to expand what the First Galazen Empire had started only to forced out by one matter or another.  One of the more prominent upgrades consisted of boring a large tunnel through the side of the Crater, secured by large gates.  This allowed both water and traffic to more easily gain access to the interior of the crater, which proved to be a natural fortification.  It was here that the city of Mist was first established.  While a few more empires squabbled over ownership of Mist, the city and much of the surrounding area became free cities (or city states), beholden to no empire and using their newly discovered wealth to ensure that they remained free.  

The interior of the Crater was dominated by a single, striking feature.  The bottom of the crater was always filled with mist and looked very much like a Lake of swirling mist when observed from above.  Most of those who wondered into the mist, particularly in the early times, never came back.  Some did, however, and returned with treasures and fantastic tales of many strange worlds.  As more and more explorers, called Divers, came back from the Lake, they passed on more tricks on surviving their journeys.  As the Age of Religion fell further into history, some of these "tricks" began to make used of what had previously been known as Applied Magic, including Enchanting and Alchemy.  To avoid the stigma of Wild Magic, Applied Magic was rebranded as a branch of Science.  Science, at time time, was a type of experimental philosophy that provided a way of describing the world without using magic (at least up to that time) and had been cautiously endorsed by the churches.  Some of the more fundamental religions in the world strongly denounced this new branch of science, now called Energetics, as being Wild Magic.  Even the more progressive religions seemed to shy away.  However, capitalists quickly saw how Energetics could be used to make those already wealthy even more so.  

The discipline of Energetics became incredibly popular in the free cities and particularly in Mist.  Originally, it was used to establish semi-permanent paths through the Lake to the many, dangerous worlds that lay behind it, ensuring a steady flow of treasure and resources back to the city.  Energetics was also adapted to make powerful cannons for the defence of the city, and other city works such as city-wide-lighting and a network self-propelled carriages for public transporation.  The city council of Mist decided at the time to not hoard this knowledge as it would make them a target but to share it with the world at a rate that would ensure Mist of the other Free Cities could maintain their independence.  


====== Mist, the city of the crater ======

==== Geography ====

The city is nestled on the western inner slope of the Crater.  The crater's slope on this side is shallow enough to provide a place for a city and commerce to develop.  Further around the crater, however, the slope is steep enough that is only accessible by rope.  

Below the City lies the Lake of Mist.  It's surface is calm one day or in constant turmoil the next.  Occasionally, the Lake ushers forth wild surges of mist, and a few dreaded nights a year, the Lake swells out to temporarily take residence among the less desirable parts of the city.  This event, called the High Tide, is a source of far more exotic tales than actual events, but more than a few of these tales have an uncomfortable amount of truth within it.  

The affluent live farther up the slopes, farthest from the unnatural Lake and also a place only accessible by the determined or those with enough money to pay for ride on the Energetic Lifts.  Closer to the Lake's edge are the districts frequented by the poor or those claiming immunity from superstition.  The most notable of these is the Dregs, occupied by the most desperate within Mist.  A tunnel, bored long ago through the side of the crater, connects the city with the outside world.  Series of large gates along the tunnel, in addition to the crater walls themselves, provide protection for the city within.  

Where the tunnel opens to the city lies the Merchant's Square.  The most affluent shops are those established in the buildings around the square, and those merchants with enough money for a permit are allowed to show their wares in tents throughout.  During the days, particularly during the peak trading season, the Square is a flamboyant and capricious place, with exuberant energy spilling from it.  Competition is fierce among the merchants and charlatans and rule-breakers abound.  However, one of the great sports within the city is the making of a great deal, and the city guards have been instructed only to clamp down on only the more flagrant offenders.  That being said, cut-purses, burglars, muggers and the like, those that steal from others by other means than commercial deception, are hunted relentlessly as any Guard can in a city known for its wealth.  

Along the center of the tunnel runs a canal, carrying water from the nearby river, through the Merchant's Square, down into the Dregs, and draining in the Lake itself.  The canal supplies the city with water and because it drains into the mysterious lake, long ago became a waste disposal system for the cities unwanted trash and the occasional body, thrown in by some of the cities less reputable citizens.  Many, from the loftiest of academics to the crustiest of tavern barnacles, debate where the water and trash go, but none know for certain.  

A prominence, partially up the northern hill of the city, sits the Council chambers and home of the Director.  

==== Government ====

The Council, consisting of 41 of the heads of the most notable merchant Houses, run the city by majority vote.  The 41st member is also known as the Director, and while a mostly honorific title in terms of Council power, is the public face of the Council for both foreign dignitary and citizen alike.  

Political machinations among the Houses waxes and wanes over the centuries, with the present being neither the tamest nor the most violent.  Houses occasionally fall from favor, typically by losing their money in a bad business deal, and are both removed and replaced by majority vote.  

The Council also serves at the highest magisterial office, dealing with the most sensitive crimes.  However, they employ a series of lower judges and a supporting Guard to enforce their laws.  

==== Factions ====

  * The Council 
  * The Guild
  * The Academy
    * School of merchants - Largest school at the academy.  The children of the Houses all attend as well as many of the lesser merchant families.  Is is also common for the wealthy children of many international cities and empires to study here.  
    * School of energetics - A small and very selective school.  They insist of interviewing any candidate extensively before accepting them, and have fallen afoul of the Houses by refusing admission to some of their, if we're being completely honest, less respectable children.  
    * School of  
  * Crime syndicate
  * The Sweepers - 
  * 


====== Beneath the Lake ======

==== Overview ====

With the advent of Energetics, travel to below the Lake's surface and back has become significantly safer.  That is not to say that dangers do not lie below, but that the transit is no longer a near-certain death sentence.  By traveling below (Diving), a Diver finds themselves in one of many recorded or unrecorded worlds.  The academics argue as to the true nature of Diving, but the most common theories involve plane-walking or being transported to far-off corners of the known world.  Most of these worlds are uninhabitable due to extreme temperatures, lack of water, or large quantities of dangerous beasts and monsters.  A few more brave (or suicidal) settlers have tried establishing communities in some of these hospitable words.  However, most of these have failed.  Some has simply disappeared and others overwhelmed by a previously unknown threat.  Perhaps the biggest danger, however, lies in the fact that Diving is still not well understood, and the tentative connection to some worlds can simply vanish.  With this and the other dangers in mind, very few willingly Dive.

However, riches, both in terms of treasures, trade, and raw resources, compel many to attempt the journey.  In an attempt to control the frequent deaths of the untrained as well as to impose a new tax, the Council established the Hell Diver's Guild.  The Guild is essentially loose group of professional Divers that are allowed their profession by licenses issued by the Council.  To enter the Guild, you must be sponsored by a council-member or an existing Hell Diver and then serve as an apprentice diver for a minimum of three years.  After which, the apprentice Diver may apply for to a Hell Diver and enter the Lake alone or in the company of other Divers.  

Even though the Hell Diver's are mostly independent agents, the Guild provides some support in terms of Guild houses (effectively Hell Diver only taverns for socializing and forming expeditions), specialized vendors selling Diver related gear, and Appraisers.  The Guild Appraisers monitor the established Diving points for traffic in and out of the Lake by Divers, and ensure that the Council collects their percent of whatever comes back.  The Appraisers also check that any Diver who enters the Lake carries with them their Council-issued license.  

==== Notable worlds ====

**Ice world**.  Ice world is a frozen wasteland infested by Goblins and their larger and more aggressive cousins.  The land near the portal entrance is in a range of tall, treacherous mountains.  However, below the mountains is a series of caves that contains many precious metals and ores.  Divers setup semi-frequent expeditions of miners and sentries claim as many of these resources as possible before the locals chase them out.  Unfortunately, the locals appear to be better organized of late, and recently expeditions have been returning with more dead and less riches.  

**Barren world**.  As a stark contrast to Ice world, Barren world is a world devoid of water.  It is characterized by deserts and rocky outcrops.  Nothing appears to //live// here but for a type of amorphous wraith and a few other incorporeal creatures.  However, buried under many of the rocky crags appears to be the ruins of a wealthy civilization long ago destroyed and entombed within the rocks.  Some of the greatest treasures of the Lake have come from this world, but also some of the most notable deaths.

**Bestial world**.  A recent discovery is Bestial world.  It is occupied mostly by semi-familiar beasts but also tend to be larger and equipped with more fangs/teeth/etc. and aggressive tendencies that their counterparts back home.  The world is dominated by plant growth, jungles and forests.  Known sentient species were discovered living as nomadic barbarians in this world.  Many were eager to kill the Divers for their steel equipment and weapons are foreign to these people.  Still others are willing to trade for the steel.  Rumors of wild magics among the locals keeps a social barrier between the worlds, and the Guild Energetic masters warn that the connection to the world is less stable than most.  

**Floating world**.  The floating world is a world of floating islands and large but mostly harmless flying creatures.  The island where the portal leads is many miles in diameter but provides no access to neighboring lands.  A small settlement has been established on this world, and the Council has been experimenting with allowing unlicensed tourists (mostly very wealthy tourists) to visit.  The main attraction are the views of neighboring islands, which are spectacular.  Also, some of the flying creatures are larger than whales and fly about in herds or schools, depending on your biological leanings.  The views are not for the faint of heart because looking down reveals an expansive view of clouds far below.
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