Altea - an island continent surrounded by a mysterious storm, blocking any entry or exit attempts. Since the beginning of Altea's recorded history, there always were special individuals capable of untold miracles. These individuals eventually were named "mages", and their power to manipulate reality was called "magic". It times before any uniform writing or civilization, they were called witches, priests, shamans, etc. - the names were many, but usually they all signified the awesome power of magic.
As the Folk of Altea started increasing in number and knowledge, so did magic increase in power and magnitude. With pagan deities debunked and forgotten, magic no longer viewed as some kind of divine gift - it was now a tool. And with this realization, human mages of Altea lost any kind of restraint, using magic for their own ends. As humanity's progress continued, so did their ambition. Kingdoms and Empires rose and fell, as those lucky enough to be born mages quickly learned that they can be on top of the society. Eventually, Kings and Emperors became nothing more than figureheads, if they were lucky enough not to get overthrown outright.
In the end, three superpowers remained, each led, directly or in the shadows, by a mage of unparalleled power. Their wars scarred the land, their greed and cruelty. choked the people living under them. And then, suddenly, change, and a sliver of hope came to the oppressed people of Altea. A warrior calling himself Grinnoc wielded power unlike any other - the power to repel and destroy magic. A brilliant white light which was warm and luminous, but burn away magic in any shape or form, included the magical energies within the bodies of mages. Grinnoc lent his power to others, with the goal of ending The Age of Magic. This power was called Luminence, and it's wielders - Luminous Knights.
As the Grinnoc Rebellion (as it was named) raged on, the loss of life was catastrophic. Slowly but surely losing, mages, in their desperation, would try to destroy as much as possible before falling, simply out of spite. In the end, Grinnoc won, but it was a Pyrrhic victory - the vast majority of the continent was rubble, or worse. Around 90% of total Folk population has died in the fighting. The only rather habitable lands were on the far east side of Altea. It is there where Luminous Knights built the capital of Altea - no more empires, no more kingdoms, no more division. Altea was to be in unity.
Or so Grinnoc claims...
Around 300 years later, society has recovered a bit. Nature violently reclaimed most of the ruined land, somewhat aided by the lingering remains of magics that ruined those very places 300 years ago. Slowly, this new society, fully controlled and governed by Grinnoc (who somehow does not age) and his Luminous Knights, is reclaiming the lands they lost.
For these 300 years, the remaining people of Altea enjoyed peace, as the ever vigilant Luminous Knights stood guard against any threat to the people. The future seemed bright, and yet, in the shadows, a storm brews, a storm that aims to shatter this fragile land.
OOC is here, with far, far more info and all the cool stuff.
