Praemal
Two moons hang in the night sky. Lunas is a large bluish-white orb, while Rogue is the smaller, more erratic satellite. Most people are well aware that the world is round and that the moons orbit around it, while the world circles the sun. (They do not, however, have any concept that the stars are suns or that other worlds might circle about them—but then, who’s to say that’s true?)
Learned folk know the world is made up of matter and energy (the essence of both of which can be expressed as air, earth, fire, and water) and that matter is made of particles smaller than a person can see. Magnetism, lighter-than-air gases, and other basic aspects of science are not unknown, either.
Most people know that the Ethereal Plane (called the “Ethereal Sea”) is a magical place that shares the same space with the world but remains apart from it or “out of phase.” The Elemental Planes are conceptual places based around the fundamental building blocks of matter and energy. The Upper Realms, Upper Planes, the Heavens, the Celestial Realm—these are all names for the place of ultimate goodness where angelic beings rule and good people go when they die. Most do not believe this to be the realm of the gods, however—the gods dwell in secret places within the world or high in the sky.
The Heavens’ opposite, the Hells (or just Hell), the Pit, the Abyss, the Dark Realms, the Lower Planes, or the Nether Realms, exist in a similar metaphysical state. They are a place of demons and devils, where the evil go when they die to face eternal torment (or get their deserved reward, according to some). Plenty of evil gods and demons live right in the world, however, hiding in the shadows.
You will find no references in myths or legends, let alone in history, to people traveling to these realms beyond (except the Ethereal Sea). However, demons and angels do live in the world, clearly having come here from beyond. That such mystic places as the Heavens and Hells exist is beyond question.
Outside the City Walls
Although the campaign takes place entirely within the city of Ptolus, there are, of course, lands beyond the city. Knowledge of these places may prove useful for designing your character’s background, if you are not playing a Ptolus native. Your character might be from Tarsis, the oldest and largest city in the world and the heart of the Empire. Or you might run a barbarian from the Eastern Hordes beyond the Grey Mountains to the east of Tarsis. Your arcanist character might hail originally from the mysterious land of Kem along the Southern Sea.
The land surrounding Ptolus along the Whitewind Sea is Palastan, an ancient realm that stands on the verge of breaking away from the Empire. Its capital is Trolone. The people who founded the Empire, the Prust, hail originally from the Prustan Peninsula to the east. This is also where Grail Keep, home of the Grailwarden dwarves, lies.
Customs
Below is a small sampling of cultural customs widely observed throughout the setting.
Brightfather’s Day: This longstanding holiday is still observed every Fourteenth of Blessing, although its exact origins are now lost. Most religions have adopted it as a high holy day to revere an important god. All look upon it as a day of feasting, family, and making peace with enemies.
Dreamspeakers: Since ancient times, religious people have attempted to interpret the dreams of others, thinking they represented some sort of “sending” from a divine source. Today, dreamspeakers are minor fortunetellers or wise women who, for a small price, tell one the meaning of one’s dreams. Many do not take these oracles seriously, but even believers admit that some dreamspeakers just make up their interpretations. Only a select few actually have any preternatural affinity with dream meanings.
Friendship Bands: Long ago, it became a custom to write one’s name on a thin strip of cloth and wrap it around the index finger of an ally. This sacred bond of trust displays your feelings of close friendship. It’s said that in older times, kings used the bands as a way to demonstrate their support to their vassals (and, in turn, lesser nobles gave them to their liege to show loyalty). Essentially, the giving of a friendship band means, “I’ll work with you/follow you/help you because I respect you.”
House Gifts: Although not everyone adheres to the belief behind the giving of house gifts, it’s practiced widely. It is held that every home develops a spirit, sometimes called a luritas. When coming to someone’s home for the first time, or when invited formally, people bring the luritas a little gift—a shiny bauble, a coin, a tiny icon, or anything similar. The small object is placed upon a shelf always found near the entrance on an inside wall.
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