The world of Tala—where Volaire takes place—is one of beauty carved by trauma. Magic once brought prosperity, but now lingers as a dangerous inheritance. Nations rise from ash. Empires fracture. Every character who steps into Volaire does so with the weight of history pressing behind them.

This page introduces the current state of the world, including cultural forces, power structures, and recent upheavals. It is a foundational resource for players writing backstories or immersing themselves in the greater setting.

Tala is the largest known landmass on the planet, surrounded by oceans and punctuated with smaller island chains. Its geography includes:

• Vast deserts, deep forests, highland ridges, and mountain ranges
• War-scarred cities and crumbling arcane ruins
• Borderlands haunted by shadowspawn, corrupted ley lines, and undeath

Magic is both a tool and a threat. Civilization teeters between innovation and collapse.

The balance of power in Tala is fragile. Most regions operate autonomously, ruled by city-states, baronies, or ancient bloodlines. Two dominant factions define the current political landscape:

—

Once a true empire, Ariad now functions more like a coalition of baronies, each with its own values, goals, and approaches to power. The Empire prioritizes survival, strength, and the reclamation of knowledge—regardless of the cost.

• Magic is embraced, including necromancy.
• Undeath is not universally condemned.
• Political power is localized under barons and baronesses.

Key Regions:

• Barony of Seshtau – Ruthlessly necromantic and power-centric.
• Barony of Forsetidale – Seeks balance and communal strength, healing from a faerie occupation.
• Barony of Tuatha – Deeply druidic and nature-bound. Fierce opponents of undeath.

Each barony operates semi-independently, making the Empire a powder keg of contradictions held together by history and ambition.

—

Situated to the east, Leib-Olmai is a rigid, militarized nation built on rationalism and secular law. It upholds the Principles of Illumination, a civic doctrine that governs thought, speech, education, and magic.

• Necromancy is forbidden.
• Magic is highly regulated and secular.
• Debate and logic are used as weapons just as often as swords.

Leib-Olmai is known for:

• Verasi – A geometrically structured capital of law and civic pride.
• The Dawnguard Legions – Elite, disciplined military forces.
• A hidden civil conflict brewing within the royal family.

—

The game’s namesake and primary setting. Volaire is a neutral city-state located on the edge of Imperial and wild lands. It was once a hub of magical progress but now sits in disrepair.

• The Guild of Light, Mage’s Guild, and Artisan’s Guild have all fallen.
• The city is surrounded by arcane fallout zones, cursed graveyards, and unstable ruins.
• The Wards keeping the city safe are weakening.

New arrivals—refugees, scholars, mercenaries, and wanderers—make their way to Volaire in hopes of safety, answers, or a second chance.

The world is under siege from within and without. Magic has not stabilized since the collapse of the Guilds.

• Shadowspawn – Born from the rupture of the Weave. Some say they are sentient. Others say they are echoes of guilt.
• Skeletal Undead – Raised by corrupted rituals or tethered to cursed objects. Their numbers grow in lands touched by magic gone wrong.
• Arcane Instability – Old spellfields still pulse. Portals open without warning. Magical items hum with unintended power.
• The Food Crisis – Crops spoil unnaturally. Livestock vanish. Some suspect magic—or sabotage. Volaire is slowly starving.

The Age of Light ended in collapse.

Once, guilds held everything together:

• The Guild of Light offered healing, justice, and moral clarity.
• The Mage’s Guild curated spells, rituals, and magical discipline.
• The Artisan’s Guild developed alchemy, trade, and production.

Their fall was not a single event but a sequence of betrayals, disasters, and forgotten decisions. Some say the guilds turned on one another. Others believe an external force—still unnamed—tore them down from the shadows.

Their ruins still shape the political and magical landscape.

Questions to consider:

• Which power do you trust: the Empire, the Kingdom, or none?
• Was your homeland destroyed in the Collapse?
• Are you fleeing persecution, investigating ancient magic, or seeking someone lost?
• Do you see undeath as an abomination—or as a tool?

You might come from:

• A ruined border town between baronies
• A state-run academy in Leib-Olmai
• A wandering tribe or hidden refuge untouched by politics
• A baronial court, serving or betraying a noble family

• The Pale Ridge – Militarized borderlands. Frequent skirmishes. Ideal for ex-soldiers or spies.
• The Blight Ranges – Mountains still burning with dormant rituals. Few return.
• The Palewood – Forest older than records. Some call it alive.
• The Ashen Lowlands – Salt-cracked soil and empty villages. Home to scavengers, liches, and exiles.
• The Halix Steppe – Public forums, war games, and civic speeches of Leib-Olmai.

Volaire is not just a city. It is a wound. A crossroads. A promise. Your character enters a world on the brink—what part will they play in its unraveling or redemption?