The World
New Trago takes place in its own world set in the technological and societal level of around the 1970.
This setting has its own countries, religions, politics and rules which it operates on. There exists vampires, occult sorcery, laws that are enforced by blood and more.
The Occult
Vampires
Vampires are the dead brought back to a pretense of life through the power of Night. They look human but are unaging, unchanging and must feed on blood to sustain themselves.
The existence of vampires is shrouded in secrecy, they keep their nature from the rest of the world through deception and brutal violence. To remain unknown is their most central law called the Masquerade.
Vampires are creatures of Night, a property which comes from outside Reality. This grants them their existence as well as potential to develop otherworldly abilities beyond that of mortals.
Everything that vampires can do is however only possible during the night, when the sun rises all vampires go back to being the corpses of long dead humans. Sunlight is said to be reality reaffirming itself and it as well as fire destroys or suppresses everything otherworldly.
Sorcerers
Night is more than just something which can raise the dead. It is a property which carries power and will which can also be controlled by some few humans called Sorcerers.
Human existence is not meant for the powers of Night and the very being of those brandishing it gets fractured by its nature. Sorcerers suffer a disconnection from what is real when they use the powers of Night and they are plagued by strange and dangerous dreams when they recover from this Fracture.
Sorcerers are rare. To be a sorcerer is precarious and taxing. They are part of the masquerade of the vampires, but are oppressed within it. Most sorcerers never learn enough to contend with even a fledgling vampire.
Most who begin any of the paths to Sorcery leave them, and many who stay on them die. Sorcerers still exist and gather in cults, although almost never in such number or force to become a political contender of vampires.
The Midnight Society
The hidden world of vampires and Night is generally referred to as the Midnight Society. It exists in some form all across the globe and is unified by the Masquerade.
Normally the Midnight Society follows a very hierarchical structure where every city becomes its own little sovereign state. Vampires have difficulty traveling far and tend to stay in one place.
Vampires exist all over the globe. The one thing that unifies them is the Masquerade, the pretense that they and anything occult does not exist.
The Masquerade is the most central edict to vampire lords and they will take to any measure to ensure it persists.
There are many occult factions and interests in the world, but none have become so influential and impactful as the Blue Court and the Grey Court.
Both courts have their seats of power in New Trago and have for years been in a conflict of varying bloodiness regarding the fate of the city and its importance for world politics.
The Blue Court
The Blue Court is the archetypical vampire court. It is organized in a strict hierarchy with conservative values and all power being ultimately managed by their Queen, Victoria Mabel.
One of the main vampire factions in New Trago.
- Strict hierarchy and bureaucracy
- Nobility, privilege of the strong
- Led by Victoria Mabel: The Blue Queen
The Grey Court
The Grey Court is the counterpart to the Blue Court, they are still traditional in many regards and they strictly manage the masquerade. However they are very distributed and work more in the shadows. They are led by the Grey Queen but no one apart from the most high ranking of the court knows who she is.
- Distributed across the country
- Secretive
- Values results and efficiency
- Led by the Grey Queen, her identity is unknown
The Pale Court
Followers of the Pale man and his objective to destroy the moon.
- Focus on research and technology
- Stays out of most conflicts
- Ruthless when they need to prove themselves
- Led by Manfred Constantine: the Pale man
Night
Night, also known as Occult, Lyre or Realms, is the power that defines vampires and sorcerers and what fuels their hidden world.
Night is named so since it is an intruder in the world and is destroyed by fire or the light of the sun, it can only exist at night and is dormant during the day.
Night is mystical but consistent, it generally has effects that characters can manipulate for abilities and spells.
Night is to many scholars great chagrin a word that encompasses too much. Night as a resource is actually a property that anything in the world can have. Anything that is infused by night is changed in some ways by the process, in some cases dramatically. A vampire is arguably a corpse infused with night.
Infusing something with night is not consistent, it only has a chance to happen during moonless nights. Transferring night from one item to another can be possible but can get complicated.
Night properties can also be used as fuel for night events or abilities. In game this is not referenced, the characters are assumed to have access to what they need for their abilities, but in world it is important since trade and the limited access to night is one of the things which limits the amount of occult events possible in the world.
Fate
Fate, also known as Ur or Reality, is the ‘soft’ magic of the world. The very existence of Fate is extremely obscure. And even among the few who know about it almost nobody understands the full scope of it.
The premise of Fate is that the fundamental parts of the world are patterns of events, everything else such as particles and forces follow from those patterns rather than the other way around.
Fate can be used to predict and manipulate the future but it can also when twisted create items or people who can do things seemingly supernatural as well.
Fate however is not something easily utilized, no character in the world has true control over it and there are no skills or abilities that let you manipulate it directly.
Other factions
Lancea et Sanctum
The Vampire Church.
Lancea et Sanctum are vampires who believe in the Kratic faith with the addition of the teachings of the Aught prophet.
It teaches that the Vampires are corrupted by the Darkness, they are forever lost to Krati, but can still choose to aid him.
It teaches that Challenge is the only true virtue that grows a person's soul. They see their task in the world as supervisors of the systems that will one day let Krati overcome the Darkness.
Lancea et Sanctum is led by the Cardinals, three elder vampires in Il Gano.
Carthian movement
The Vampire revolutionaries.
Carth was one of the philosophers of the Divine Perspective religion from Serres, he had ideals which revolves around focusing governance around systems rather than people. The Carthian movement is originally the idea to bring this modern rule to occult society.
In Hjero however it is mostly a faction of vampires who hate other vampires.
Followers of Abyss
The cult of the Demon Abyss.
- Infiltrates most factions
- Initiated the revolution
- Led by Mist
Ordo Dracul
Vampire researchers of occult and vampirism. Practices an effective and intimidating form of surgery which through vampire blood can accomplish many things modern medicine is incapable of.
Circle of the Crone
The cult following the realmic force known as the Crone. The Crone is known to be malevolent and rewards cruelty and dominance.
The Circle has no formal leadership but is instead composed of many small groups who all follow the same force.
The Night Road
The main traders of the occult in Hjero. The Night Road are composed of both Vampires and Humans who seek wealth. They have a front company named Shard which represents their mundane business.
The Night Road is the largest cult of the Contract in Hjero.
Ya accord
A common front, representing the main sorcerer factions in New Trago.
Twilight Cabal
Cult of sorcerers of the Obscure. Most senior members are distributed but the cult serves as initiation and teaching grounds and a contact point to the rest of the occult world.
The Library
Main cult of the Arcane. They keep and study all manner of old and eldritch texts. Collecting rituals, artifacts and most importantly remnants of the Host.
Gate
Cult of the Alchemy descended from the Sha. The cult of Sha is an order of martial monks of the Alchemy who inhabit the temples of the night pools in the north of Hjero.
Gate themselves is the cult in New Trago who, with the help of Sha members, are trying to deduce and study the ways of Alchemy in a scientific manner.
Mystical beings
Devils
Strix
The darker cousins of vampires. Strix are creatures purely from the realms. They are disconnected from Fate and have many limitations and powers in this world. Their objectives tend to be hard to grasp and sinister in nature.
Demons
Nobody seemingly knows what a demon truly is, they are some sort of powerful creature from the realms.
Angels
Angels are the leaders of the Angelic church. They look like humans but their skin is as if made by flowing gold. Many of them have powers ascribed to them but those are rarely seen.
The Mundane
Hjero
Hjero is one of the largest countries of the world and the main economic and military superpower of the east.
Law
Hjero applies a form of magic to its law system. In the world there is an inherent force to signing something in blood, when you do Fate will just so slightly bend to make that reality. This is a force which Hjero has started taking to its extreme. By having every person of Caste sign the citizen contract in blood there is an immense amount of power that backs up the law and what is written and accepted into it.
This power is primarily seen through the complicated bureaucratic processes with papers being able to fly by the power of the law, transporting themselves throughout cities, and sometimes the country.
This power is also what creates the Justicars. Justicars are people who agree to become vessels of the law. They gain powers and restrictions based on their specific roles and are counted as an auxiliary to the law. This process also limits them, making them less human.
Justicars are the judges of the supreme court as well as the arbiters within most significant affairs of the country. Justiciars also act as police or military at times when their influence is needed.
Justicars
Blood carries Fate in it. That is what some think Vampires actually feed on.
Blood however has additional properties in the real world and one of the most notable ones is its effect on agreements. A deal signed in blood is harder to break and impossible to lose. The country of Kelshia has been able to harness this power by signing every part of their Caste system in blood.
This has enabled them to empower their foremost Lawbringers as Justicars, vessels of the law.
Justicars have power over citizens of Hjero and over the contracts and agreements that they have signed. They are the highest judges as well as enforcers of the law in the country.
The utmost human authority in New Trago.
- Part of every government institution
- Represents the law
- Led by Justine Ytterum
Caste
Hjero describes itself as a meritocratic democracy. This takes the form of 5 castes of society which any person can advance through based on their accomplishments and role.
The government of Hjero are decided through vote, the value of each vote is weighted by Caste. A 5th Caste vote is worth roughly 100 1st Caste votes.
Hjero's executive power is ruled by the supreme council (known as the ten). It has ten members who lead separate important questions for the country. There are two members representing each Caste and they are voted on within those Castes.
5th Caste
The most vital to the country. Fifth Caste is never granted permanently, it is only obtained as long as the person holds an important enough position for society. The state handles expenses and services for those of fifth Caste so that they can focus on fulfilling their function.
Less than 0.01% of the population are of fifth Caste.
4th Caste
The social elite. Fourth Caste is often associated with the wealthiest of the nation. It is granted to those with higher education who distinguish themselves. Such as specialists and important managers.
It is the highest Caste which can be inherited.
Less than 1% of Hjero are of fourth Caste.
3rd Caste
The educated. Third Caste requires higher education of some sort. You can be born with it but it will be reviewed for those that are not part of or have finished a higher education program by the age of 25.
About 10% of Hjero’s population are of third Caste
2nd Caste
Proven and efficient. Second Caste is granted to those who work well or take on responsibility. Companies are granted a number of second Caste promotions each year based on their earnings, worker count and other factors.
About 25% of Hjero’s population are of second Caste
1st Caste
Workers. Every citizen of Hjero can (and should) be granted first Caste by signing the citizen contract.
About 55% of Hjero’s population are of first Caste.
Casteless
Those who do not sign the citizen contract of Hjero are Casteless and are excluded from voting, most social and public services and are not allowed to stay in many major cities, New Trago included.
About 10% of Hjero's population are Casteless
Marbia
Marbia was a country which after being one of the main losers of the great war was subsumed by Hjero.
There are still large tensions because of it and ethnically Marbians are still oppressed while their culture is slowly changing towards that of Hjero's.
The Revolution
Due to the unrest between Hjero and the remnants of Marbia as well as Caste differences and meddling by Kelshia and the followers of Abyss a revolutionist movement started in Hjero in 851.
It was violently suppressed, but remnants of it continue to spark and die out long after.
The Church of Krati
The Kratic faith is the main religion in Hjero. It believes in Krati, the one God who fights ‘the Darkness’. To win, Krati must become stronger and does so by sending pieces of itself into the world to grow. These pieces of Krati are what manifests as humans.
In the Kratic faith humans grow by embodying the five virtues.
- Challenge
- Mastery
- Unity
- Ingenuity
- Compassion
The Kratic church follows the teachings of the five prophets.
It is signified by its grand projects and buildings as well as the golden hexagon.
The Kratic church has their seat of power in the city of Il Gano in northern Kelshia. There they are ruled by their council of cardinals and their figurehead the Archic
New Trago
New Trago is the new capital city of Hjero. It has ~12 million citizens and is the fastest growing city in the world.
New Trago was before the war named Darcia and was the prosperous border city between Kelshia and Marbia. It was made the capital since it was situated as a unifying point between the previously separate nations.
Rumi Isle - Financial District
The heart and center of New Trago. Rumi Isle is where the famous skyline is located with its skyscrapers and ever busy life that doesn't stop at neither high noon nor the latest of night.
Rumi Isle is also the financial center of Hjero and most of the eastern world. It is home to many banks and most large corporations have a headquarters there.
Eastview
Mostly known for the renowned Eastview hospital. Eastview is also the location of the supreme court and Justicar headquarters and houses a large part of the New Trago 4th caste population.
Westview
Home to the Westview university, the largest and quickly becoming the most reputable site of higher learning in Kelshia.
The rest of the district is shaped by learning and art and a central point for young people of 3rd and 4th caste.
Volun - Freemarket
Once known as the gathering point for casteless, bazaars and free trade. Now Freemarket has been gentrified. It houses people who are well off and is home to large malls, clean shops and restaurants.
Farrun
A calm suburban district which is home to families and many elderly. It has good connections to the rest of New Trago through subway and trams.
Kurun - The Docks
There is always good pay for first and second caste members in Kurun as long as one works well and follows the district's curfews and limitations on drink and rowdiness.
Irun
Irun is distinct in its Marbian population and visual identity, it is a crowded place, home to those of first caste and even casteless if they illegally take occupancy in the city.
Northtown
One of the poorer parts of New Trago. A hotly debated area, if it is the next district in line to be renovated since the ongoing push to bring the country together within the caste system.
Northtown is home to many of the worse of, ethnically Hjeran people in the city.
Fastend
Fastend is unofficially seen as the international district. It once was an industrial sector but as the city grew it was eventually rebuilt.
Now many people who move to New Trago from other parts of the world settle there. It is most common there to hear a wide range of languages from all over the world with small communities from all parts of the world settling into their own little blocks.
Addara rise
Home to the Parliament and many governmental institutions of New Trago. Addara rise is populated by large impressive buildings such as manors and castles owned by the wealthy of the country.
Addara front
One of New Tragos most growing district's home to primarily first and second casters.
Tobi Isle
The industrial center of New Trago.
Ymi Isle
A bit of calm in the busiest city on the globe. Ymi Isle is home to families of all castes and is notably quite removed from the rest of the city while still being part of it.
Other places
Kelshia
The major geographic superpower of the west.
- Nuclear arms race with Hjero
- Camarilla is the main faction of vampires in Kelshia
- Led by the Archangel Mercy
Kelshia is the second main superpower of the world, ruled by the archangel Mercy. It has a dictatorial capitalistic ruling system and since the World War has been one of the main driving forces in the political world all across the globe.
Angelic faith
Kelshia as well as the Archipelagoes revere and are ruled by Angels. The Angels are believed to be the chosen messengers of the three gods.
The Archipelagoes
The Archipelagos are a collection of thousands of islands where much of modern civilisation originated from.
The Archipelagos consists of 43 countries which are all to some degree ruled by Angels and the Angelic church.
Although the Archipelagoes are still relevant political forces to be reckoned with, they have lost a lot of their former imperial power after the World War.
Serres
Serres is the southernmost continent of the world. It consists of seven countries and two city states which are all part of the Seres Union which is mostly what the rest of the world knows them as.
Serres is known for its cold climate and socialist democratic governance.
Divine Perspective
In Serres people believe in the religion of Divine Perspective. It has its foundation in the 11 philosophers who each wrote a book about how the world functions. The religion then revolves around all members to write their own ‘12th’ book to have them think about the world and how it works.
History
-3812: Madrog Sot becomes a vampire
-1531: The 1st and 2nd prophet establishes Kratic faith
-977: The 3rd prophet: Istris the conqueror
-132: The 4th prophet: Boroi the Scholar
-103: The aught prophet: Longinus
0: The Archangel Victory conquered and unified the Archipelagos under the Angelic faith.
392: The 5th prophet: Nura the Healer
647: The burning of Losara, the city of Losara was wiped from history after full masquerade collapse in a conflict involving Abyss, Victoria Mabel and the Pale man.
651: The Blue Court forms
701: The industrial revolution
788: The Grey Court is first heard of
829: The world war starts in the Archipelagos
845: The world war ends
845: All Marbian territories becomes part of Kelshia
855: The events of New Trago takes place
855: Caste revolution and the Kurun incident
876: The events of New Trago 2 takes place