Setting

Persona Animus takes place primarily in and around the Jewel Cities, a group of city-states unified under a single sovereign and parliament. To the north lies Scotia, a rugged land of boggy lowands and craggy highlands.

Inhabitants

Nonintelligent animals are called wilderkin. The people of the world were uplifted from wilderkin by the gods, and in many ways retain the form of their wilderkin counterpart. Not all wilderkin were given a human form, but no one is quite sure how many human 'races' there are.

There are also unnatural creatures in the world, generally called 'demons.' It is not publicly known from where these creatures come, but they can appear anywhere in guises ranging from nuisance to world-threatening. Traditionally they are sought out and challenged by priest-warriors of Mesque, the goddess of the Realm of Nature.

Magic

There are two main types of magic in the world, 'high' magic or Wizardry, and 'low' magic or Sorcery.

Wizardry is the art of manipulating the fabric of reality by a thorough understanding of the laws upon which the world is built. It requires a great deal of intelligence, a great deal of study, and its effects tend to be very specific, precise, and powerful.

Sorcery is a natural talent that anyone may possess, not unlike a recessive genetic trait. it is elemental in nature, manifesting as aeris (air), pyris (fire), terris (earth), aquis (water), or, most rarely, animus (spirit or essence). This type of magic usually manifests weakly; strong sorcerers are rare. Animus magic is extremely rare and not well understood-- it is known to have healing properties, but its other qualities are matters of folklore and legend.

The five elements are also part of a common astrological system, and are used to describe personality types. Belief in this system is strengthened by the fact that people who possess sorcery are usually of the same astrological type as their gift, though it's not clear which direction the cause and effect runs.