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The World
The overall feel of the setting can best be described as a steam punk with fantasy and sci-fi elements set in a Victorian/Renaissance era. Instead of magic, they have ‘mancy, which is discussed later. Science and rationality is considered high virtues and any ‘noble’ or ‘educated individual’ will be versed in the laws of ‘mancy, which are much like our laws of physics. Any progress of any kind – be it technological, biological, etc – will go hand-in-hand with the progression of ‘mancy. So, the majority of the world’s technology is based in ‘mancy.
The world is primarily a sea-going one. There are a handful of significant landmasses and countless islands. The largest of these is about the size of Australia and is called Alannis, the superpower of Langley’s world. They control much of the world’s trade and politics. Their government is a monarchy with a secondary council to make sure their crown doesn’t screw up too badly. The largest school for ‘mancy is also in their possession, the Academy, which trains the ‘mancers and serves as an unofficial recruiting ground for talented students into the ranks of the Cadre. The Cadre itself is the Alannis governments law-enforcement agency, acting much like a more benign secret police. The Cadre doesn’t care what methods are used as long as the stability, safety, and dominance of Alannis is ensured, but for the most part, stays out of normal citizen’s lives.
The ocean is vital to life in this world. As such, their entire culture revolves around the sea – myths, stories, entertainment, and captains can reach legend status with enough successful adventures. Skimmers are the height of ‘mancy and technology, being ships that float over the waves rather than in, aided by boiler-powered ‘mancy engines and side-sails for propulsion and the boiler-powered gravimancy skimmer drive at the bottom – hailed as the greatest invention of the era. All skimmers try and have a ‘mancer on board, whether as crew or captain. Skimmers range in all sizes, from the massive cargo ships complete with gunship escort (usually belonging to a large merchant firm) to the small pleasure skimmers owned by nobility (think sailboat size). On the ocean, the line between pirate, privateer, and merchant is a blurry one. Often, a skimmer finds itself in neutral waters where anything goes and to make it to port, a captain has to sometimes engage in ‘pirate’ behavior. Large merchant firms often obtain permits to act as privateers as well as merchants so that their cargo and reputations will stay intact. The Cadre patrols the sea in the privateer role, although they sometimes infringe on a captain’s rights enough to merit them the pirate title as well. Genuine pirates often don’t live long and have to take up a merchant cover to last more than a couple years. A significant portion of the skimmers belong to freelance Captains, people willing to be hired by anyone with suitable work and pay.
The northern part of Alannis is dominated by the Stormrider family, an ancient line of renowned seagoers from before the days of skimmers. It is a tightly knit family with good political connections and a large base of wealth. Anyone with the Stormrider last name is considered part of the family and many of them go on to become captains or ‘mancers (or both). This in turn only enhances the legends of the family and the wealth and prestige. In short, Stormriders are THE nobility of the northern provinces. However, this is not unearned. Stormriders are large in number for a reason – they have a lot of children to account for the fact that a lot die young. The northern coast is wracked by storms that come in fast with little warning and are intensely devastating. The Stormrider family took it upon themselves to watch for and save people from these storms long ago, and the tradition continues. Stormrider children learn to sail when very young and upon reaching adulthood are expected to continue the tradition of protecting the northern coastlines. While the family produces excellent captains, few firms will hire one into their fleet. Stormriders are fast thinkers, able pilots, and hopelessly unreliable. A Stormrider captain is just as likely to take a sojourn to some seemingly deserted island to investigate some strange lights they saw as they are to deliver the cargo on time. As such, most Stormriders freelance and cause trouble wherever they go. The Stormrider name is only inherited along the male line, leaving the females with a nice hefty inheritance but none of the influence of being a Stormrider. Due to the large number of Stormriders, many people claim that they had a Stormrider female somewhere in their family. This has given rise to the adage “Everyone’s grandmother was a Stormrider.” For the Stormrider’s part, with so many relatives to keep track of, a very simple system has been developed. If they look like a Stormrider (varying shades of brown hair, green or gray eyes) and have a last name of Stormrider than they are an uncle or aunt if older, or a cousin. The only other relatives that retain their official names are those directly connected by blood, like grandparents.
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