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The world itself:

The continents are still in the very early stages of breaking apart and drifting, similar to Pangea. Large bodies of water, either lakes, swamps, or massive rivers divide the continents into three main land masses with archipelagos and smaller islands dotted in between. The three main continents are Polt, Dravern, and Strake (Arc and Nyx reside in Polt). Each continent is roughly the size of North America. There may be other continents that haven't been mapped yet, but ships that try to traverse the oceans to find out are either forced to turn back for lack of supplies, or aren't heard from again.

Kingdoms:

Polt and Strake were taken over by King Vilus, whose castle resides on a large island in the center of the two. 100 years later and his descendent King Jason currently sits on the throne. There are many lesser kingdoms that cover the continents, ruled by those whose ancestors used to be the sons and daughters of King Vilus. Dravern has no kingdom. As it is mostly desert, very few live there and King Jason has no desire to expand his empire.

Ruling system:

The ruling system is a mix of a monarchy, democracy, and oligarchy. The current King decides the overall laws of the kingdom. The lesser kingdoms, ruled by Lords/Ladies, help enforce these rules. However, every major town has a council seat that can create their own lesser laws for that town and any village close enough to be under jurisdiction. Lesser laws are decided by majority vote, and anyone on a council seat can bring up the idea for a new law.

The council seats are made up of: the local religious leader, the Noblemen and Noblewoman living in the town, and the remaining seats are filled by common citizens voted in by the public. There are usually double the commoners in a council as there are Noblemen/Noblewomen.

To recap: the current King creates the main laws obeyed by everyone. The lesser kingdoms, ruled by Lords and/or Ladies, enforce these rules. Major towns have councils that can create lesser laws for that specific town and neighboring villages. A third of the seats are filled by local Nobleman/Noblewoman, including the town's religious leader, and the remaining two-thirds of the seats are taken by commoners voted into office.

Every town must have their lesser laws posted on the entrances and anyone coming into the towns must abide by them or face the punishment corresponding to a lesser law.

Religion:

The major religion in the kingdom, followed by almost everyone including King Jason himself, is the Way of Light. They believe in the Goddess of Light, Iridescence. She resides in Permithias sun, Lestit, while her son, Umbyr, the God of Shadows, resides in the Abysmal Black, or Abis for short, Permithias moon.

The religion teaches how to find purity and enlightenment through light itself. Their temples have glass roofs so everything inside can, at some point, be bathed by the rays of Lestit.

The leaders of the temples are called Brightened. Only females can hold the title of Brightened. They wear single piece long pure white dresses. Thin and made of the finest silk and designed to catch as much sunlight over as much surface area as possible. The tail end of the dresses is usually as long as a Brightened is tall.

The Way of Light members are allowed to act as they see fit, especially the Brightened. Heathens, those that may worship Umbyr or commoners they dub as sinners, they strap to the tallest spite of the temple and let Lestit roast them alive for an entire day. If you happen to still be alive by the time they cut you down, you will be marked as cleansed and set free.

Magic:

Bortalis is a rare ore found primarily in deep caves along coastlines. It can be found inland, but it's very difficult to find. Alchemists have found that by smelting the ore down and mixing it with a few other guarded ingredients, they can create a solution that, when injected directly into the bloodstream, grants someone a unique ability of some sort exclusive to them. The ability can't be passed down through generations.

This solution, named Bortalic liquid by alchemists, or Alchemical solutions by commoners, is much easier to get ahold of because of how it's made. Although it's expensive, it's accessible to anyone with enough money.

The abilities granted are called Alchemical abilities, or Bortalic powers.

There are magic items, raw Bortalis ore can be used to imbue something with magic. The magic has to be bound by etching a marking of some sort in order to seal the magic inside the item and keep it from slowly leaking out. The markings can be anything, any shape or symbol, but it has to be etched and engrained into the object.

Mindless:

Although being injected by Bortalic liquid is safe enough, injecting oneself with more than a single dosage can have devastating effects on one's mind.

People that have taken two doses can wield two abilities but they don't act the same as they used to, more aggressive. Three doses, and you can barely form words or function normally. You'll lash out and anyone close. And at four, you have the mental capacity of a wild animal. These people are called Mindless.

More than 35% of those that get access to a dose of Alchemical solution obtain a deep craving for more. The craving goes away after a week or so, but those without the willpower to resist it seek out smugglers or underground dealings, or raid Alchemist shops, to get more until they turn into a Mindless.

Wildlife:

There are animals living among anthro animal people. No one knows why, but they don't question it much. Alchemists and Scholars hypothesize that Bortalis may have something to do with it, but it's a working theory.

Most of the wildlife on Permithia is the same kind you'd find on Earth. There are exceptions, like Will O' Wisps and large carnivorous plants to name a couple.

Bounty Hunters:

Bounty Hunters are legal mercenaries. While every town has guards and wardens to keep track of crime, Bounty Hunters do more odd jobs.

Anyone can become a Bounty Hunter, but you're required to pass a strenuous physical exam, you have to have an Alchemical ability, and you have to survive a week alone with nothing but your weapon and the clothes on your back.

Every town has a guildhall where the tests are taken, job listings are posted, and meetings are held.

Bounty Hunters can take on any job as long as they follow a set of rules, such as no blatant murder unless it's a convicted criminal or permission is granted by the local Council, and Bounty Hunters must get paid for whatever job they take, and if no pension is being received for whatever reason, they are forced to cancel the bounty.

The town of Remeld:

Remeld is a small town that Arc and Nyx live in. They are two of eight Bounty Hunters that live there. And while most towns have around 10-12 Noblemen/Noblewomen, Remeld only has six.

Although it's small, it rests in the middle of a common trade route, so travelers visit frequently.

Every building in the town is required to either rest in stilts or be built on a hill. A dam up the valley blocks off a large body of water that has to be drained once a month so the dam doesn't break.

It's not enough water to sweep houses away, but it is enough that if a building were ground level and made of wood, the warping would eventually cause structural damage and, in some cases, cause the building to collapse.

The stilts are cheaper and can be easily replaced. Some would prefer to have stone foundations instead of silts, but with no proper stone refineries anywhere nearby, stilts were the easier option for the time being.