History of Avalon and the City of Arcadia

For eons, mankind, both magical and mundane lived together peacefully. Occasionally, mages became respected by their mundane peers, as seen in the legacy of those like the magician-priests(esses) of Ancient Egypt and the Ancient Celtic Druids. For generations upon generations the ability to work magic was seen as no different than the ability to sing or hunt or any other talent, and all was well.

Then, the world fell into the middle ages, and there came inquisitions and witch-hunts and crusades. Suddenly, magic was feared and loathed rather than seen as a natural gift, and magic users knew that they needed a new place, one that was safe for them, to escape either a life spent in hiding or else certain death (but even then only after being tortured).

At the same time, it was becoming increasingly apparent that, eventually, even the most remote wilderness would not be unreachable by humankind forever. Those with a talent for divination foresaw a time when humans would produce machines that could see everywhere over the whole surface of the Earth. If these mages were to be safe, they would need to leave this world behind.

Faerie has often been reachable by those that have the Gift. And with so many mages focusing on getting there, pooling their talent and power, it wasn't long before they were able to reach the place. Time works differently in Faerie, only tangentially related to how humans measure it, so that one could spend a week's time in Faerie before returning and be gone anywhere from an hour to a century on Earth. The decision to flee to Faerie was fraught with danger, but these magic users were desperate. A few of them had ties to the Fae and asked for asylum.

At first, there was no trouble. The Fae themselves had noticed troubled relations with mundane humans. Once revered by humanity, occasionally even worshipped, the Fae found themselves now reviled, taken to be demons and monsters.

However, as more and more magic users poured into Faerie, the Fae grew restless, fearing that humans would overwhelm them with sheer numbers. The Fae found themselves split into two factions: those who wished to continue granting magical humans asylum from a world that clearly meant them harm, and those who resented this new human intrusion into their homeland.

The second faction attacked, again forcing the magical humans to flee for their lives, this time to a floating island over Faerie they named Avalon. Once there, they lay powerful protective enchantments over the whole island, so that no Fae could ever set foot on the place.

This separated them not only from their attackers, but also their protectors, and in a few cases, even split up families.

But, even this protection was not enough. The wicked Fae who resented human presence, any human presence in their lands, devised a most insidious plan: they kidnapped humans freshly crossed over from Earth and used their magic to twist them into the beasts and horrors that haunted the nightmares of humans. They tried many different forms, but two beasts in particular proved the most effective: vampires and lycans.

Because these beasts were born human, they could pass through the barriers which kept the Fae out. These monstrosity wreaked havoc in the human settlements, until a noble hero, Agiel Firefox, used his great magical talent to cause a great citadel to spring up, giving humans a place they could defend themselves. Over time they pushed the monsters into the wilds of Avalon and built Arcadia City around the fortress.

Firefox University, the site of the original fortress they built on Avalon, was converted into a magical school, in order to train up those with the Gift so that they, in turn, could defend their home.

Unfortunately, the spells used to enter and leave Faerie from the human world have been lost long ago, leaving many people trapped in Faerie every year.  With no way to return home, the fortunate ones are rescued and brought to Avalon.  The unfortunate ones don't live long enough to complain about it.



Those who arrive from more modern decades complain about the lack of technology.  Unfortunately, the magic often interferes with electronics in any number of ways.  Although some wealthier citizens deep with Arcadia City have built a few houses with electrical wiring, the result is generally unstable, and this electrical system cannot be relied on for more than half an hour at a time before magic makes it blow a fuse.  Since technology acts so wonky in this world, most people opt to use gas lanterns or magical light sources instead.