Story

Before the Shatter

 * There was The Veil.
 * There are two worlds: Daljyr, the world of humans, the world our story takes place in, and Ozar a world less understood, filled with powerful creatures, and beings that humans could barely comprehend. The divide between these worlds was the Veil, a thin line that kept them connected yet definitely separate
 * There was Magic.
 * It was small in effect, grounded in rituals and objects. It was believed that this magical power came across the Veil from Ozar.
 * Most of it revolves around what we might think of as superstition, but in this world it works, a prayer might have an answer, the future to be scried and so on. This magic was never very powerful, but it was effective, and infused the daily lives of the citizens of the Daljyr.
 * Anyone can perform these magics, and the risks are relatively low, certainly some people become more proficient at certain kinds, but it’s only really a matter of practice and aptitude.
 * There was War
 * There were two nations, Kothari and Eze. These nations fought back and forth for generations, sometimes there was a tentative peace, but it would inevitably fall apart, tensions were always high, lines were always drawn, and war was always on the horizon.
 * Both nations fought to dominate over the other, better weapons, better tactics, more power; which became a never ending escalation.
 * There was Plague
 * A virulent disease raced across the continent: contagious and deadly. The Plague on its own killed at least a third of the population of Daljyr. The lucky few that survived though, even they were forever changed.
 * Soon after the Plague spread is when they sky shattered. Like a brick thrown against glass, the sky broke, cracks racing out form the epicenter above Sayrem.
 * There were The Ozar
 * With the Veil separating the worlds now damaged, the Ozar came. Many of these creatures were dangerous and monstrous, they made quick work of another third of the population of Daljyr.

After The Shatter
Now 100 years on, the world has come to some sort of equilibrium. All that remains of the once massive country of Kothari is now just the city of Sayrem and its smaller outlying states. It is dangerous to leave the city, across the land the creatures and monsters roam, looking for their next quick meal. People have learned to live, to move forward, and though the world may have seemed like it ended 100 years before, humans have a remarkable way of moving on.

Old magic
Old, non-Shatter, magic is still present. The runes of the weapons Sault's Keepers of the Veil use imbue them with old magic power:"It's old ritual, it's much slower, it's much less powerful than Shatter magic but, over time, it still can be very substantial. "

The Plague
The Plague is still a scourge:"It's very virulent; it's basically like magical flu, because those that survive are changed: they end up being a little bit more Ozar-like; they have typically animal-like features and that confers some sort of special ability [...] typically a heightened sense or something that is a non-human ability [...] But the Plague is very contagious and people don't want it in the city; people don't want to be exposed to it."You can mitigate that potential exposure, but it is still a risk. The rare survivors of the Plague, in addition to gaining abilities, become immune to it.