Taluma has seen the usual wars among the many ambitious people that inhabit it, but recently in historical terms a sort of uneasy peace has come to the land. The united men, dwarves, and elves have pushed back their age-old savage enemies, the orcs and goblins and their legions of allies as well as the uncountable dangerous creatures of the land. But, in the aftermath, the dwarves and elves found their own homelands destroyed much as they did to their enemies. They seek a place alongside men in their cities and towns. Now, people who were once united, find themselves in competition with each other. Ancient distrust that was thought forgotten among them is festering below the surface. Now is the time for new threats, or ancient - hidden ones, to emerge. In a land like Taluma, peace never lasts long.

In times of peace, things used primarily for war fade away, and in Taluma this includes magic. Men, in the primary position among the allied races, see the innate magic wielded by their neighbors the dwarves and elves as a threat. Magic is now seen as a dangerous force, no longer needed to battle ancient enemies. In many human communities, laws against magic use have been adopted. Its use in spells but, as importantly, also in enchanting items and construction, has been banned or at least relegated heavily in many communities. In a few decades, much knowledge has been lost, even eradicated, along with magical items and relics who have been locked up or destroyed. There are no magic shops, relics no longer hang in castles or chapels, even many of the resting places for relics like libraries, schools, and other institutions, even tombs, have been stripped of their treasures.

In the absence of magic, and in a world free from major conflict like war, the culture and some technology have advanced. Water and wind driven mechanical devices power mills. The dwarves have shown mechanical aptitude in the use of gears and springs and other mechanics to increase the efficiency and power, steam power is just beginning to be developed by their hands. The promise of advancement further diminished the desire or need for magic.

But something as powerful as magic cannot be fully eliminated, it just goes underground, is hidden. And hidden things, relegated to the dark, are fouled by and even embrace the dark. A few organizations among men, elves and dwarves seek to protect the magical knowledge and relics that yet contain its power. They know that someone needs to keep it’s power at hand, lest it be used against them by evil forces that keep using it. The evil powers understand that the more magic is forsaken by the majority, the less people who remain able to use it for defense, the stronger it make their own power.

Taluma is ruled over by four main cultures of men across seven nations. The Aymir rule over the former empire of Aymiria in the south as well as Taerun and Chyros which were part of the old empire but have broken off. The Lokk rule over Lokkland and Joterhaan in the north and west. The Pyth rule over the largest current nation of Pythia expanding from the east, growing in size in recent decades to nearly rival the Aymirian empire. The Skann are the most populous and broadly settled people of Taluma; however, they hold no lands themselves but for the city-state of Gaithewaite.