About Terre'noire

Terre'noire

Magocracy - Mages rule in Terre'noire. Magical bloodlines are very closely tracked, those with the most pure bloodlines being held to high esteem. Those who have never had magic in their bloodlines are worth little more than trash. At the head of this system is the Archmage, Uria Dubois. He acts as the king, holding absolute power over his lands.

The central metropolis, "Ville des'rêves Noir" contains three million people.

Terre'noire is a land of oppression, where the aristocrats, referred to as the Magi, those born with a talent in magic, live in decadence while everyone else labors and works their fingers to the bone to survive in this world. The climate around is usually overcast and rainy. Even during the day, everything looks dreary and gray. In the immediate area around the city is a thick forest, the canopy so thick it blocks out all light. There are many ruins that once housed the ancient magi, most of which are incredibly well-hidden (as are their secrets). While some people live in this forest, up in treehouses, there are more people living on farms in the plains outside the forest. While everything outside the city looks like it's from the late 1800's, the technology in Ville des'rêves Noir is comparable to the 1930's, but the main source of power is magic instead of fossil fuels.

Ville des'rêves Noir itself is divided into five districts.

The Reaches: The rich part of town, where the elite reside in their elaborate mansions. The Archmage's tower is also found here. Non-mages are not allowed to live in this part of the city. The Royal Arena is in the center of this district, where the Archmage holds the Grand Games. Typically, it is used for public executions and demonstrations of his and his army's magical might.

The Apartments: The residential area of the city, where non-mages and mages of low standing live. There are various apartment buildings that reach up a couple dozen stories. The condition of these apartments range from large and comfortable to tiny and squalid. There are also general stores, magic shops, and, if you know where to look, arms smugglers.

Manufacturing Sector: A thick, heavy smog hangs over this massive district. Home to all of the city's factories and plants where those without magical talent work. There is a meat-packing plant, a vegetable processing plant, a garment factory, and several arms factories where magitek and non-magitek items are made. There are also several power plants that provide the city with its power.

Research Sector: Home to all of the various science labs and research facilities in the city. The Archmage has a secret lab here where he has his best scientists and sorcerers working tirelessly on weapons, spells, and other projects to make sure that he maintains his iron grip on power.

The Undercity: The sewers beneath the city, where the undesirables live. Orphans, criminals, those with no magic at all in their bloodline, and others who society has swept aside. Most illicit businesses have their bases of operation here. Unless you are well-armed or come with a group of warriors, this place is best avoided.

Magitek. There are guns, cars, massive artillery-like weapons, and simple airplanes, though they are rather large and bulky. On top of this, there are even a few Magitek armors in existence that can augment a mage's power when they wear it. One is given to the Archmage, of course, but the others are split among the Archmage's bodyguard and a select few high ranking officials in the army, referred to as Witchhunters, for the purposes of hunting down rogue mages. The city has electric lights and indoor plumbing, but people are on their own outside of it, lacking any of these comforts.

Terres'noire is a world built on war and military might. For this reason, they are most skilled at crafting weapons of war using the Magitek technology. Beyond that, there many talent mages who dedicate themselves to the field of science, which in this world is a mix of actual science, pseudosciences, and magic. A decade ago, there was a secret project going on to combine the soul of a pureblood mage and a Daephlim, dark creatures from the Shadowlands at the edge of the world, to imbue them with great power beyond anything a normal mage is capable of. They call these creatures Battlemages, mages capable of of rivaling any swordsman in hand-to-hand combat, capable of tanking even the mightiest of blows... they are veritable superhumans. The project had a 99.8% failure rate, however, only ever having produced one successful Battlemage. The rest became monsters with a shattered psyche that destroy all in their path.

While the city of Ville des'rêves Noir itself is free of monsters for the most part, outside the city, it is a daily struggle to survive. Giant animals are quite common in the forests and plains, but the magical experiments of Ville des'rêves Noir have given rise to even worse enemies. Twisted animals, humanoid abominations that are failed experiments of the Battlemage Project, goblins, dragon-like monsters both humanoid and not... it is easy to see why most choose to live in the city and those who do not try to save money or breed with a mage to do so.