Since the beginning of recorded history the sorceresses have ruled Mylura. Magic has always been the bedrock of their civilization, but magic is not distributed equally. Whereas all women are born with some spark of sorcery, however dim, men have only their minds and muscle to rely on. This has lead to the development of a matriarchal civilization which continues to dominate Mylura to this day. The ancient name of this civilization is Thea. Ruled by the sorcerer queens and protected by arcane armies, the Theans have expanded their boundaries to all four corners of the continent. With spell and arrow they drove back the monsters and demons who long plagued humanity and brought safety and security to all. That, anyway, is how the bards sing it...

In the rogue republic of Daedra to the north another story is told in the bars and taverns, a story of tyrannical witches driven mad by the power of magic, of a civilization which oppresses men at every turn. The people of Daedra, men and women alike, spurn all things magical and matriarchal. Instead of relying on sorcery they have turned to technology, instead of venerating the Theans' Mother Goddess they worship a Pantheon of Gods, and instead of being ruled by Queens, a senate of prestigious male citizens calls the shots. Daedra even rejects their own who are born tainted by magic. Girls capable of more than a cantrip and unable to hide their talents soon find themselves exiled to the wilds (or in some more radical regions, executed).

Since Daedra declared its independence, the two nations old and new have met one another in a series of sporadic wars. So far the steam powered technology of the Daedrans has held out against the old magic of the Theans, but, with Daedran science advancing everyday, many among the Sorceresses fear the age of magic will soon come to an end.





Mylura is a single supercontinent. At its center is a vast desert once a sea before it was choked off from the ocean. Expansive forests dominate the east while grasslands stretch west to the coast. In the south is a hot, wet climate chracterized by jungles while in the north high mountains rise up out of a coniferous forest. Thea claims the central desert and all realms to the south while Daedra remains somewhat isolated in the snow-rimmed lands of the North. The regions between the two realms where no human power holds sway are called the Wilds and play host to magical beasts and demons best left undisturbed.



Although the spark of magic can only be passed from mother to daughter, without training that spark only rarely grows to a fire. It is for this reason that talented Thean girls attend academies at early ages and why books of magic are burned wherever they are found in Daedra. Over the centuries powerful magical bloodlines have emerged in Thea, the royal family being one such lineage. These magical families, called Houses, always manifest a characteristic style of sorcery. For example, one might excel at conjuring magical beasts while another may be renowned at illusion. In Daedra the Houses are long forgotten and the bloodlines muddled beyond separation. However, this in no way prevents wild talents from arising here and there within the Daedran population.



Thean religion has much in common with earthly pagan traditions. The Theans venerate the land in the anthropomorphic guise of a Mother Goddess. This Goddess is seen to have many facets but also a central unity. The Daedrans instead focus on a pantheon of male Gods each with their own distinct sphere of influence. Chief among these are Kraxis, the Lord of War, Aeros, the Patron of Invention, and Shador, the King of the Gods and ruler of the Underworld. Thean priestesses hold their worship in sacred glades, while Daedran priests favor grandiose temples each built to venerate a specific God. Both faiths, though diametrically opposed, are steeped in ritual and shrouded in mystery.



While Thean technology, due to their reliance on magic, has halted with the production of steel, the Daedrans have catapulted forward into the industrial age. Daedran streets bustle with coal powered trams and primitive automobiles while above zeppelins dominate the sky. Though coal is still the main source of fuel for Daedra, oil is a rapidly burgeoning commodity. This shift is one of the main forces spurring on the hawks in the senate who point to the rich oil fields squandered by the primitive Theans who still hold the central deserts.



The backbone of the Thean military is their calvary. Mounted on magical creatures that the Daedrans, for all their power, fail to domesticate, they charge into battle. The unicorn riders are among the most illustrious and exclusive of these brigades for unicorns will only carry a virgin forcing their riders to take oaths of chastity. The sorcerer queens themselves and those sharing the royal blood ride only the most haughty and powerful of all magical beasts, dragons.

While the Theans rely on magic and monsters, the Daedrans turn to guns and armor. Massive tanks bristling with machine guns form the spearheads of the Daedran army. They are supported by masses of riflemen recruited by the thousands through nationwide drafts. Above their troops, carrier zepelins unleash swarms of speedy biplanes and maneuverable gyrocopters.



Under Thean law, the man is the property of his Mother until married at which point he becomes the property of his wife. Theans see this not as a cruel, but necessary for men, deprived of magic, need female protection. Men are also considered emotionally weak by the Theans who forbid any activities which they think may tempt a man's 'darker' nature. Smoking, drinking, and sex outside marraige are but a few on a long list of such forbidden activities. It goes without saying that men can not participate in politics or serve the military. Even men in royal families must stay home and tend to children while their wives oversee the matters of court. Men are allowed to work in crafts but since businesses can only be owned by women they never labor far beyond the watchful eye of a female.

Under Daedran law, the woman is the property of the Father until married at which point she becomes the property of her husband. Daedrans see this as a necessity since the inherent magical abilities of women make them dangerous and unpredictable. Any open display of magic warrants immediate and serious punishment. First time offenders are often placed in stocks while women who continually flaunt their arcane abilities face banishment or worse. Women are not permitted to own property or hold political offices though they are accepted as factory and assembly line workers.



As with any society, there exist those who do not submit. In Thea most renegades are men who live double lives. At day they may play the role of husband or dutiful employee but at night they join an underworld of secret bars, brothels, and even libraries. Upstanding Theans refer to these men as 'strays' meaning those who have strayed from the conservative traditions of their culture. But not only men reject Thean orthodoxy, some women too, particularly those born with little magical talent, spurn the world which treats them as inferiors. Some, sadly, get sucked into prostitution rings run by criminal gangs, others become feared bosses ruling the men of the shadows as their sisters rule them by light of day. A minority of the underground is devoted to smuggling wanted men out of Thea and north to Daedra. These same smuggling rings make the majority of their profit by moving liquor, tobacco, science books and other contraband between the two states.

In Daedra most renegades are unsurprisingly women. They organize themselves into secret 'covens' motivated by a desire to unlock their oppressed magical talents. The Daedran authorities pursue these witches without mercy and even have a special government bureau, the The Central Bureau of Inquisition (CBI) devoted to exposing covens and bringing their members to trial. In reality, Inquisitors mainly persecute innocent women on the basis of circumstantial evidence. Licensed to torture, the Inquisitors rarely find their subjects not guilty.



Vary rarely men are born who possess magic. Such men are what we would call transgender. Both Daedra and Thea view them as dangerous deviants. Labeled aberrants they are hunted mercilessly by both powers and must hide their talents at all costs. Likewise women are occasionally born without any magic. Though venerated as symbols of purity in Daedra, these women are outcasts in Thea, disowned by both family and country. Like their male counterparts women without magic are always transgender.



Allegiance is paramount in character design. The wilds of Mylura are too dangerous for anyone but a powerful sorceress to survive on their own. With the exception of a few such hermit witches, all people live in one of the two nations, Daedra or Thea, and must abide by or somehow circumvent their laws. I will make circumvention difficult for each state is quite effective at stamping out resistance within their borders.

You must play your actual gender. If you are transgender you can play as transgender and be one of the rare women without any magic or one of the rare men who possess magic (I will allow only one such exceptional character [two if I get 10 or more players]).

Below is a brief list of the things you should cover in your character submission.

Name (include any relevant titles: Senator, Princess, Priest/Priestess, etc.)
Sex (rather important for this one)
Gender (usually the same as sex but not always)
Nationality (Daedran or Thean. Anyone wishing to be from the Wilds needs to PM me with a really good idea)
Religion (If you are a religious Daedran remember to specify which God you worship)
Background (Brief history of your character up to the present)
Personality (Behavior and motivations)
Physical Description
House (Applies only to Theans of noble birth, needs to specify the type of magic the family is known for.)
Sorcery (Female gender only. Don't drown me in a list of spells, instead describe general style of your magic: flame weaving, animal empathy, matter transmutation, etc.)
Equipment (Important for Daedrans in particular)
Allies (Includes both humans and beasts)



The story will involve a common threat to both Thea and Daedra which will either demand cooperation between the two sides or provide the opportunity for one side to gain the advantage. My RPs are sandbox and as such the story's content and conclusion will be largely the result of player choice. I will provide the sand and toys, it's up to you what you build with them.