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PREMISE
This is an anime-style story that will be broken down into several story arcs along the way, this is an adventure fantasy that will focus just as much on character interaction and development as it will combat. It will begin with a sort of introductory arc and following that there will be successive arcs that will be plotted with the help of the players, possibly in respect to their characters. However, there actually IS an overarching plot that will be slowly touched upon as the story goes on and eventually will take the center stage at a later date. Though this won't exactly be gritty and will actually be quite fun, expect there to be darker themes or elements in certain places.
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AURELIA
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THE MAGES
Aura is an incredibly powerful form of energy that is naturally formed in Aurelia. However, it is unique to Aurelia itself and is only generated from the core where it radiates outward. Though Aura can be captured and used by certain technologies, there is a type of Aura that is generated naturally within all living things, referred to as Mana. In essence, Mana is simply a watered down version of Aura, created by living things converting the Aura in the air into something they can use. While all life has Mana, some can manipulate this energy. Those born with especially high Mana levels are called Mages.
Mages can be detected at birth by their high levels of Mana. There are four classifications of Mages. Arcane Mages make up 70 percent of all Mages. An Arcane Mage can use their Mana to manipulate or create one specific element. Such examples would be a fire Mage, an ice Mage, a flower Mage, etc. These Mages are capable of performing such magic on themselves, such as a water Mage turning into water. The other 30 percent are split equally between what are classified as White Mages and Black Mages. White Mages can use their Mana to not only heal injuries but to assist other Mages such as speeding up their Mana regeneration. Black Mages have more destructive skills, being capable of raising the dead or spreading disease. While Arcane Mages can possess similar ability as a White or Black Mage, it is never to the degree of the "higher power" category. Neither White or Black Mages can use their magic on themselves. The final category is incredibly rare, being that there are only five recorded Mages of this type in history. They are called Time Mages. Their Mana and ability are so powerful they can bend space and time around them. The extent of their power is largely unknown, but what is recorded implies that Time Mages are the ultimate beings on Aurelia.
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THE CRUCIBLELLIA EMPIRE
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THE FREE WIND AND THE LEAGUE
The League of Free Skies, often shortened to The League, was an organization of sovereign navies led by ten commanders that allied to protect the sovereign islands from the Crucible. However, ten years ago, The League was mostly crushed in a series of debilitating battles with the Crucible Navy. Though the sovereign nations that composed the League still exist, they were mostly destroyed and are shadows of what they once were. It is common knowledge that The League still exists and those that are oppressed by the Crucible cling to the idea as their hope of salvation. However, it is a fact that there have been no efforts to fight since their crushing defeat ten years ago. The League is shattered, and it is almost improper to say it is a thing. Though the original leaders are all alive, they are unknown to the general public and have made no attempts in ten years to protect anyone.
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RIFTS
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THE BEGINNING
The story will begin with the present crew of the Free Wind being forced to land on the small, rural island of Krukow due to mechanical problems. Coincidentally, the Crucible Empire's Scouting Legion has come to annex Krukow. The majority of the cast will be native to Krukow and will have little knowledge of the world (though of course variety and non-native characters are to be expected). The chaos that will ensue will leave the player characters with a choice. Join the Free Wind and escape from the Crucible's grasp or stay in their homeland and suffer.
It would be foolish of me to make the players create characters in a setting they know nothing about. So here's a little bit on the island of Krukow, for the characters it will be relevant to.
The island of Krukow is relatively small, being only 30 miles across. It is mostly flat, though heavily wooded. The town of Krukow, creatively named after the island it inhabits, lies toward the north end of the island by a large lake. Guess the name of the lake. Anyways, the primary industry of Krukow has always been lumber exports, but lately has been shifting to more agriculture due to the land opening up from the deforestation. While it is a small place, it is well kept. The community is mostly tight and it seems that everybody knows each other. The town mayor, Vladmir Maximus, is also the leader of the Rift Hunter business in town, Maximus. Due to the small population, there is only one school that children of all ages attend, where the education is divided up by ability rather than age. Neighboring the island of Krukow is the island of Kuiper. Often considered sister islands, Kuiper is just as small but much more modern. The entire island is one large city. The two islands are only 50 miles apart, so it is not all that uncommon to see Krukow natives make weekly trips to Kuiper with a skiff or perhaps their own personal air vehicle. Air vehicles aren't exactly rare on Krukow, but due to their expensive nature most people on Krukow don't care to own one. After all, they can just ride a hovercraft to wherever they need to go on the island, and those are much cheaper to operate. Krukow itself doesn't have much on it, making it the more boring or drab of the sister islands, but most of the community doesn't mind that. It is typically the younger folk, especially teenagers, that aren't content with their home.
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OTHER STUFF
