Welcome, Ladies and Gentlemen to the Valonian Archives, and the Valonian Explicarium. The Explicarium contains various details about the beings, organizations and inhabitants of our great Empire, and endeavours to answer any questions that visitors may have.
The Valon Explicarium
The Capital
The large city that stands as the economic and political centre of Valon. It is the place where Magefire is used most frequently and where Esoteric Technology is the most common. The shopping, industrial, and richer residential districts all have lights and heating powered by the Magefire grid. The Industrial district powers its factories that way. The poorer areas, mostly inhabited by factory workers, still tend to rely on candles and fires. The City Watch patrols and keeps an eye out for misbehaviour, though their numbers are supplemented by the Golems.
Golems
Golems are metal constructs assembled by the Esoteric Technologists in order to perform menial tasks. They are constructed from a brassy metal and leather joint coverings, and appear to be powered by Magefire. Golems are regarded as non-sentient creatures, though they have some level of intelligence. They are able to follow commands given to them, and will also do their best to protect citizens around them in the event of danger. Normally however they are passive and won't defend themselves against an attack, but can be quite a force to be reckoned with if commanded to take offensive action. They posses immobile masks where their faces would be. Some appear to speak, though only to parrot pre-programmed phrases.
Esoteric Technologists
Known colloquially as Eso's, or ETs, Esoteric Technologists have come to steal the status that benevolent magic users one had. Unlike mages, who had to be born with the gift of magic, Esoteric Technologists can come from any walk of life, but have to study very diligently and display a good degree of intelligence in order to qualify. They are able to build and use Magefire technology to thier advantage, and provide protection to individuals. The majority of Esos in Valon were trained by VEGA, and and as a result are contracted to serve the Empire in their career, though a few regard themselves as self taught and ply their trade freelance. These individuals tend to be looked down upon by those in the pay of the Empire. Most Esos regard magic with a sort of fascination, though it is one of scientific curiosity. They seek to control magic, to look upon it empirically, something that put them almost directly at odds with remaining magic users.
Many are content to simply build, though some Esoteric Technologists take a more active role. Using Magefire weaponry they are able to make themselves quite the force to be reckoned with in battle, though they tend to be in the minority. Most see direct combat as 'uncivilized' and would rather make Golems do their dirty work.
Flightships
One of the new methods of transport invented during the rise of technology. Powered by Magefire, they resemble ships of the sea, but with large, membraned wings, and propulsion which allows them to lift from the ground. These allow travel over long distances.
They are still very much a pursuit of the rich, however. Only nobility and some of the richer merchants can afford them for the most part. Some companies allow passage aboard a Flightship as a passenger for a fee, though the majority of ordinary individuals still travel by horse or by foot.
Magefire
The name given to magical energy when it had been extracted and refined. Magefire is used to power lights, heating, industrial machines, Flightships and golems among other things. It has been seen as one of the greatest advantages that the Empire has...though few are au fait with how Magefire is acquired. The power is obtained through an 'Esoteric Extractor' a machine which is capable of drawing the magical energy out of living things and converting it. The process itself is extremely painful and debilitating to the being subjected to it, tending to be ultimately fatal to the creature. As a result the source has been, for the most part, kept under wraps. The ETs have avoided using humanoid beings in the process out of concerns over the image problem it might create.
Mage
A mage is the name for an individual of a humanoid race whose body can manufacture magical energy. Superficially they tend to appear as a human, though they may have small quirks that mark them out as 'unusual'. Odd hair or eye colour, heterochromia or strange marks upon the skin can often be an indication of magical talent. Mages are very rare individuals. The trait has a chance of being inherited, so in times past the number of magic users was maintained by marriages in between mage family lines. This eventually backfired however, making many of those in later years shortlived and sickly. By the advent of Esoteric Technology, most of the mage families had all but died out, and the turn of public opinion agaisnt them caused the organizaed schools of magic to disband and scatter. As a result, a mage in Valon is a rare sight...and one that attracts a lot of attention.
They tend to be regarded with fear, for a mage's power unfettered can be incredibly destructive. Many of them are 'taken in' by the authority of the Empire at a young age, and raised and educated by them in order to ensure their loyalty...and in order to keep a very close eye on them. Some would be locked away if their power proved to be too uncontrolled, or their manner too unstable to be guaranteed safe.
The Order of the Dragon
The Order of the Dragon was a Valonian Order that was set-up centuries beforehand, when a pact was made with the Dragons of the Northern Mountains. It was agreed that the dragon elders would choose a small number of families from the humanoid races. These families would send forth one child each every generation, and that child would be paired with a dragon. Through a magical ceremony, thier spirits would be chained together through a psychic link, allowing them to speak to each other in thier minds, and feel the emotion of the other. It allowed for the best of both worlds. The comparative weakness of the humanoid was protected by the strength of the dragon, and the animal instinct and raw emotion of the dragon was tempered by the human-type's intellect. The dragon protected the rider, and the rider calmed the dragon. When the pairs came together they formed the Order of the Dragon, brought into being to tackle only the the worst, most openly dangerous threats to the Empire.
For centuries things seemed function well under that arrangement, that was until the final years of the old Emperor's reign. He disagreed with the then-leader of the Order, and, in his paranoia, he began to see them as a threat. The relationship was already shaky, but the rise of VEGA and the Esoteric Technologists sealed their doom. It was announced that they were outmoded, past thier time, that dragon-riders were no longer of use. Many of them took great offence, they left and disbanded. One, Maeve Winterborn and her dragon Rah'von, were not so quick to leave, hoping to persuade the new Empress to reconsider....but they were unfortunate to find that while rider were no longer seen as important in Valon...dragons were very much valued...as power sources.
Dragons
Dragons are large, rare reptilian creatures native to the northern areas of Valon. They vary a great deal in shape and colour, having a number of subspecies, though they are all quite distinct in that they possess a great deal of magical energy. This affords them a sort of psychic ability that allows them to bond with other beings. Despite this, dragons are not a civilized species, not in the same sense as humans or elves. They are often inteligent and wily, but they are beasts and prone to letting their instincts get the better of them. They can fly into rages that wreak terrible destruction on anything around them, and are voracious predators that have no distaste about laying into livestock unless controlled.
Since the advent of Esoteric Technology, dragons have become extremely valuable, though the dragon Rah'von is the only known draconic creature to have been successfully contained. Most quickly escape, or die in the escape attempt.
VEGA
An organization of Esoteric Technology research, backed by the Empress. Many inhabit the Palace, though they are based in Witchfell, a small town a few miles from the capital city. VEGA are at the cutting edge of Esoteric Technology, and dedicate themselves towards furthering the power of the Empire, and researching new ways of acquiring Magefire. The organization acts partly autonomously, though takes its orders from the Empress in theory. Many suspect they retain their own motives beyond public service however.
Most of what they research in Witchfell is kept top secret, to the degree that some are suspicious that what takes place there must be something sinister. Little is said on the matter on the part of those who are members.
