The World of Dimidium
MAGIC & POWER
Water Magic: The Fundamental Energy
In Dimidium, water magic flows through all things like an unseen current, connecting the deepest trenches to the highest mountain peaks. It is the primary magical force of our world—ancient, powerful, and ever-changing. Before the Separation, this energy moved freely between depths and surface, between species and environments. The oldest artifacts and weathered texts speak of a time when deep creatures traveled with ease, when reality itself seemed more fluid, and when those with the gift worked together regardless of origin.
The Separation changed everything. Artificial barriers disrupted natural flows, deep routes were blocked, and the strain on reality manifested physically—most notably in the perpetual maelstrom known as the Stormwall. What was once a single flowing power became fragmented, forced to find new channels, new expressions.
In our current age, water magic manifests differently across environments but remains the same essential power. Some are born with the ability to sense or manipulate this energy directly, while others find ways to harness it through technology, artifacts, or pacts with entities that exist beyond our understanding.
Regional Manifestations of Water Magic
Coastal Water Magic
Along the Living Coast, water magic manifests in its purest form. Here, where the boundary between land and sea blurs, humans with water affinity develop passive abilities that serve them well in maritime life. They sense approaching storms before the first clouds appear, read currents invisible to others, and hold their breath far longer than seems natural when diving beneath the waves.
For sirens and those with hybrid bloodlines, the connection runs deeper. They don’t merely sense water magic—they command it. Sirens shape currents with graceful gestures, communicate through dreams carried on ocean waves, and preserve memories within crystalline structures that pulse with the rhythm of deep waters.
These natural expressions stand in stark contrast to the Guild’s approach. Their crystal matrices attempt to capture and direct water energy through artificial channels, creating standardized effects that can be replicated without innate ability.
“The Guild celebrates their crystal matrices as humankind’s crowning achievement,” an old siren once observed, “but they’re not mastering the sea’s power, they’re stealing it—and one day, the sea will notice.”
Desert Water Magic
In the crimson expanse of the Scorched Frontier, water becomes precious beyond measure. The desert tribes understand that scarcity creates power; what is rare becomes concentrated, focused, potent. Their water magic works through ancient binding traditions, utilizing the moisture in air, the water within blood, and the hidden aquifers beneath the sands.
The Amber Hand Tribe creates binding circles with copper, silver, and crystal fragments arranged in precise patterns that have remained unchanged for centuries. These circles capture and direct water energy for protection, containment, and power. Their blood binding rituals recognize that the human body is primarily water—a vessel of magic itself.
Perhaps most remarkable is their mastery of mirage magic. Where others see illusion in the desert’s wavering air, the tribes recognize windows to another realm—places where the thin moisture in desert air creates boundaries between realities that can be crossed by those with knowledge and courage.
“Water is currency, blood is bond, secrets are power,” goes the saying among the Amber Hand. Outsiders who dismiss desert water magic as ‘primitive’ fail to recognize that these traditions were containing and channeling power when coastal ancestors were still huddling in caves, afraid of the depths.
Mountain Water Magic
In the towering peaks of the Dragon’s Spine, water magic expresses itself through extremes. Snow and ice capture and hold magical energy in crystalline structures that can remain unchanged for centuries. Thermal springs tap into the planet’s deep power, bringing ancient magic to the surface in steaming pools that never freeze, even in the harshest winters.
The mountain clans have developed unique approaches to working with these forms of water magic. Their weather workers read patterns in snowflakes, sensing the gathering power of storms and sometimes turning them from villages or guiding them toward parched valleys. Steam shamans commune with the spirits of the hot springs, drawing healing properties from waters that have passed through the heart of the world.
The resonance workers of the mountain temples have perhaps the most unusual approach. They use water’s acoustic properties to create sounds that carry for impossible distances, allowing communication between isolated villages and serving as warning systems when avalanches threaten.
While all these practices fall under the domain of mountain water magic, they manifest differently from their coastal and desert counterparts, adapted to the unique environment where they developed in isolation.
Other Sources of Power
Crystal Matrix Technology
Humanity’s proudest achievement—and perhaps its greatest hubris—crystal matrices represent an attempt to harness water magic through artificial means. These sophisticated networks of specially prepared crystals can be found in every modern vessel, channeling water’s natural energy for enhanced speed, stability, and power.
Unlike those born with natural ability, matrix technology requires external tools and constant maintenance. The basic principle is deceptively simple: specially harvested crystals, precision-cut and arranged in specific patterns, capture energy from natural water movement. In practice, the complexity is staggering, with each matrix custom-designed for its vessel and purpose.
When functioning properly, matrices provide remarkable capabilities. Ships withstand pressure that would crush ordinary hulls, navigate through waters too dangerous for conventional vessels, and resist storms that would tear standard craft apart. The most advanced matrices even store energy for emergency use, allowing ships to maintain power when natural sources are disrupted.
But progress comes at cost. Each enhancement requires more energy, driving ships into deeper waters seeking more powerful crystals. Maintenance becomes increasingly complex as matrices grow more sophisticated. And throughout the Living Coast, whispers spread of strange occurrences—unexplained matrix fluctuations, ships disappearing in calm seas, and crystal formations growing in patterns no Guild engineer designed.
Some say the matrices’ true price has yet to be paid. The sea gives nothing freely, and what is taken must eventually be returned.
Innate Magical Beings
Not all power in Dimidium derives from active manipulation of water magic. Some creatures possess inherent magical qualities that interact with but remain distinct from the fundamental energy.
Dragons, ancient and terrible, carry fire within their bodies that never extinguishes, defying water’s natural dominance. Their innate magic allows them to soar despite their massive size, and those who form bonds with these creatures gain access to abilities beyond human understanding.
Deep Dwellers, rarely glimpsed by surface folk, manipulate pressure in ways that create architectural marvels in the crushing depths. Their crystal-growth acceleration allows them to construct living buildings that change and adapt over time.
Tide Hunters, once content to remain in their territories along the continental shelf, possess natural predatory magic tied to currents. Their hunting packs coordinate through bioluminescent signals that carry meaning no human has deciphered, allowing them to take down prey many times their size through perfect coordination.
These beings don’t channel water magic as humans or sirens do—they embody magical principles that exist in harmony with or opposition to water’s dominance.
The Mirage Realm
Where the thin moisture of desert air meets the ancient power beneath the crimson sands, reality itself grows permeable. The Mirage Realm exists as a liminal space connected to our world, accessible primarily through desert gateways that appear and disappear with changing conditions.
Time flows differently there, and reality shifts like sand in a storm. It is home to entities that lack physical form but crave sensation—the beings desert tribes call sand demons. These entities offer power through binding contracts, creating warlock-like abilities in those willing to bear the cost.
The desert tribes understand the dangers of such pacts and regulate them through ancient traditions. Outside their territories, those who attempt similar bindings rarely survive to report their findings. As one desert guide warned a Guild researcher, “A bound demon is still a demon. The binding doesn’t change its nature—it only gives it focus.”
“The mirage is not illusion,” teaches the Amber Hand. “It’s a window.
And windows work both ways.”
What watches us from the other side remains a mystery to most, but the desert tribes maintain their vigil, ensuring that what belongs in the Mirage Realm stays there.
Ancient Binding System
Long before the Separation, when water magic flowed freely between all domains, the original builders created a system to contain powers too dangerous to roam freely. This network required three vessels—one from each domain—and used paired binding discs as control mechanisms.
Though fragmented after the Separation, evidence of this system remains in ancient sites across Dimidium. The seventeen original binding circles in the Scorched Frontier form part of this network, as do certain temple structures in the Dragon’s Spine and underwater ruins along the continental shelf.
The Guild’s Project Vessel represents early attempts to understand and potentially recreate this system, though without the knowledge preserved by desert tribes and mountain clans, their efforts remain dangerously incomplete.
A prophecy attributed to the Ice Sirens warns: “The binding weakens. What was bound stirs.” Whether this refers to specific entities or broader forces remains unclear, but reports of unusual crystal formations and current disturbances near ancient binding sites have increased in recent years.
As a restricted Guild intelligence report notes: “Recent advancements in matrix technology have yielded unexpected results. Crystal resonance patterns show increasing instability near ancient binding sites. Recommend immediate allocation of resources to Project Vessel and increased monitoring of known artifact locations.”
The water magic that flows through all things in Dimidium has sustained civilization for centuries. As boundaries between domains weaken and ancient powers reemerge, the question becomes: will humanity continue to force this power into artificial channels, or learn to work with its natural flow once more?
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Welcome to Dimidium.
BEINGS & CULTURES
The Sentient Beings of the Known World
Dimidium hosts a diverse array of intelligent species, each with their own cultures, abilities, and relationship to water magic. While humans dominate the coastal regions and surface waters, the depths, deserts, and mountains are home to beings with profoundly different adaptations and approaches to power.
Sirens of the Depths
Ancient masters of water magic, sirens once built wonders in harmony with the depths. Their inherent connection to water magic allows them capabilities humans can only mimic through technology.
Now divided between surface, middle, and deep water territories, they watch as humans drain more and more power from their ancestral waters. Some seek cooperation, others isolation, and a few plot vengeance.
Upper Sea Sirens
In the sunlit waters where human and siren worlds meet, Upper Sea Sirens have developed cultures centered around light, commerce, and diplomacy. Their iridescent scales capture and reflect sunlight in patterns that form part of their complex communication system, complementing spoken language with visual elements no human can fully interpret.
Their water magic specializes in light manipulation and communication. They craft navigation tools that guide vessels through dangerous waters, create memory crystals that store knowledge in patterns of frozen water, and maintain the ancient beacon network that once connected all siren territories.
“They say Upper Sea sirens are the most human-like,” goes a saying in Port Theora, “but don’t be fooled. They just wear their alien nature more gracefully.” This wariness persists despite centuries of trade and cooperation, perhaps because humans recognize, consciously or not, that Upper Sea Sirens represent a bridge between worlds—a reminder of what was lost in the Separation.
Their society operates through complex councils rather than single rulers, with representatives from major family groups gathering to make decisions that affect their territories. Though most visible to humans, they remain deeply connected to their deeper-dwelling kin, serving as intermediaries in the rare instances when Mid or Deep Sea sirens need to communicate with the surface world.
Mid Sea Sirens
Guardians of the twilight realm where sunlight fades into eternal dusk, Mid Sea Sirens have developed a culture centered around protection and balance. Their powerful forms, adapted for life in the crushing pressure of middle depths, make them natural guardians of the boundaries between worlds.
Their scales range from deep blue to rich purple, with metallic silver patterns that catch what little light penetrates their territory. Multiple fin arrays allow for complex maneuverability, while their bioluminescent markings serve both communication and hunting purposes. Their water magic specializes in current manipulation and pressure control, allowing them to create powerful vortices or calm turbulent waters with equal skill.
The Mid Sea Warrior tradition trains from birth to defend the boundaries of their realm, developing martial skills that make them formidable opponents. What remains unclear to surface dwellers is exactly what they’re defending against. As one Guild researcher noted in a private journal: “The Mid Sea Warriors train from birth to defend the boundaries. The question is: are they keeping us out, or keeping something else in?”
Their society operates under a complex tribal confederacy structure, with warrior leaders elected based on merit rather than birth. The strongest alliances form between groups specializing in complementary skills—current shapers working alongside pressure manipulators to create defensive systems of remarkable complexity.
Deep Sea Sirens
In the eternal darkness of the abyss, where pressure would crush unprotected humans instantly, Deep Sea Sirens maintain the oldest traditions and most powerful secrets of their kind. Their stark white or pure black scales bear spiral ridge patterns that serve sensory functions beyond sight, while their complex bioluminescent organs create communication displays of bewildering complexity.
Their water magic reaches levels unseen in shallower waters. They shape crystal formations through precise pressure control, create permanent memory structures in the deep trenches, and maintain ancient temples that existed before the Separation. Some stories suggest they can communicate across vast distances through deep water currents, sending messages that travel hundreds of miles without diminishing.
“The deep ones do not speak as we do,” explained an Upper Sea diplomat to a Guild representative. “They think in patterns of light and pressure that our minds cannot comprehend.” This fundamental difference makes meaningful communication rare and difficult, contributing to the mystery surrounding Deep Sea culture.
Their society appears highly structured, with ancient family lineages maintaining specific responsibilities for generations. The oldest and most powerful serve as keepers of knowledge in the great trench libraries, preserving histories that predate human civilization. What they know of the world’s beginnings, few surface dwellers can imagine.
Ice Sirens
In the frozen north, where glaciers meet sea and eternal winter grips the land, the Ice Sirens have adapted to conditions that would kill their warmer-water cousins. Their crystalline scales display fractal patterns reminiscent of snowflakes, while their specialized thermal regulation abilities allow them to thrive in waters cold enough to freeze most creatures solid.
Their water magic specializes in thermal manipulation and ice crafting. They create permanent structures within glacier caves, develop unique power-preservation methods that store energy for the longest polar nights, and maintain ancient temples hidden beneath ice shelves that have remained unchanged for millennia.
The most isolated of all siren tribes, Ice Sirens rarely interact with humans or even other sirens. Their society emphasizes bloodline purity and tradition, with elaborate ceremonies marking each stage of life. Young Ice Sirens must complete a thermal control trial, maintaining body temperature while surrounded by freezing water for days, before earning adult status.
“Recent reports of unusual crystal formations in northern waters warrant investigation,” notes a restricted Guild intelligence report. “The Ice Sirens’ adaptation of traditional matrix technology demonstrates concerning advancements in power manipulation. Their isolation makes accurate assessment difficult.”
What the Ice Sirens know—or what they protect in their hidden temples—remains one of Dimidium’s greatest mysteries.
Human Cultures
Humans have spread across Dimidium’s coastal regions and inland territories, adapting to diverse environments through innovation and determination. While lacking the inherent magical capabilities of sirens, humans have developed various approaches to harnessing water magic, from passive affinities to complex technological systems.
Coastal Dwellers
The majority of Dimidium’s human population lives along the coast, where the boundary between land and sea creates natural concentrations of water magic. Coastal cities range from the vertical marvel of Port Theora to the elegant merchant havens of the Jeweled Coast.
Coastal humans often develop passive water affinities—subtle magical abilities that enhance maritime life rather than providing direct manipulation powers. A harbor pilot might sense approaching weather days before clouds appear, a fisher might read currents invisible to others, and a diver might hold breath far longer than seems possible.
These natural abilities have been supplemented and sometimes replaced by matrix technology. The Guild’s emphasis on standardized, reproducible magic has transformed coastal society, creating dependencies on crystal matrices for everything from navigation to water purification. Markets trade in harvested crystals, specialized cutting tools, and matrix patterns, while Guild representatives maintain tight control over the most advanced applications.
“The coast breeds pragmatists,” observes the Harbor Master of Port Theora. “When you live between mountain and storm, with depths below and sky above, you learn to make your peace with powers beyond your control.” This practical approach extends to religion and philosophy, with coastal humans developing flexible belief systems that accommodate both traditional spirituality and modern technological advancement.
Their societies range from the stratified levels of Port Theora, where elevation directly correlates to social status, to the more egalitarian fishing communities of the northern coast, where ability outweighs birth in determining leadership.
Desert Tribes
In the crimson expanse of the Scorched Frontier, human adaptation has taken a different path. The Amber Hand and other desert tribes maintain ancient traditions centered around binding circles, blood magic, and careful water conservation.
Desert humans rarely develop the passive affinities common in coastal regions. Instead, they learn elaborate ritual techniques that allow precise control over limited water sources. Their binding magic predates Guild matrices, drawing on traditions preserved through oral history and careful apprenticeship systems.
The tribes mark status and magical affinity through complex facial tattoos, with patterns indicating both family lineage and personal abilities. Water priests and priestesses hold positions of particular respect, their full-face markings indicating complete mastery of binding techniques and deep connection to desert power.
“In the desert, water is currency, blood is bond, secrets are power,” goes an Amber Hand proverb. This principle guides tribal interactions, with water sharing representing the highest form of trust and blood oaths creating unbreakable obligations. Information flows carefully through desert society, with certain knowledge restricted to those who have proven worthy through initiation rites and years of service.
Desert society operates through a council system where merchant families and magical practitioners share authority. The Copper Dome in Sarkhet, last reliable water source before the deep desert, serves as both temple and government center, its water rituals forming the foundation of desert law and commerce.
Mountain Clans
High in the Dragon’s Spine, where air grows thin and weather turns deadly within moments, the mountain clans have developed a unique relationship with the dragons that give the range its name. Their dragon-bonding traditions and weather manipulation abilities have kept them independent from coastal politics for centuries.
Mountain humans develop weather sensitivity beyond even coastal affinities, with clan members able to predict storms, avalanches, and temperature changes with remarkable precision. Some develop deeper connections through dragon bonding, sharing consciousness with these ancient beings and gaining access to their innate magical capabilities.
The harsh environment has shaped mountain society into tight-knit, clan-based communities where mutual support ensures survival. Each clan specializes in particular skills—weather working, dragon bonding, or acoustic magic—with apprenticeship systems preserving knowledge across generations.
Mountain settlements cluster around thermal springs, using the natural heat and magical properties of these waters for survival in harsh winters. Their architecture integrates naturally with mountain features, creating homes that appear to grow from the stone itself.
Their isolation has allowed the preservation of traditions lost elsewhere, including ancient knowledge of the power network that connects all domains. The mountain temples, with their remarkable acoustic properties, form part of this network, though their full purpose remains unclear to outsiders.
Other Sentient Beings
Beyond humans and sirens, Dimidium hosts several other intelligent species, each with their own territories, abilities, and relationship to water magic.
Deep Dwellers
In abyssal trenches where no light penetrates and pressure would crush surface vessels instantly, the Deep Dwellers create architectural wonders that blend organic and crystalline elements. Rarely encountered by surface folk, these ancient beings predate even siren civilization, with histories stretching back to Dimidium’s earliest days.
Their natural abilities focus on pressure manipulation and crystal growth acceleration, allowing them to shape their environment in ways that seem magical to outside observers. Deep Dweller cities form living entities, with buildings that grow and adapt over time according to the needs of their inhabitants.
Their society emphasizes knowledge preservation, with complex crystalline artifacts storing information across countless generations. Deep Dweller scholars maintain records that document events from before the Separation, though the form this knowledge takes remains incomprehensible to most surface beings.
“The Deep Dwellers were ancient when the first sirens descended to the trenches,” claims a fragmentary Deep Sea Siren text. “What they know of the world’s beginnings, none can say.” This mystery surrounds all interactions with Deep Dwellers, their motivations and true nature remaining obscure even to those who trade with them.
Communication with Deep Dwellers occurs primarily through sirens, with Upper Sea translators interpreting the complex pressure and light patterns that form their language. Direct interaction with humans remains extremely rare, limited to a handful of specially equipped Guild exploratory vessels.
Tide Hunters
Once content to remain in their territories along the continental shelf, Tide Hunters have become an increasing concern for maritime traffic as their hunting patterns change. These predatory beings, with humanoid torsos and serpentine lower bodies, possess natural abilities that make them formidable threats to unprepared vessels.
Their appearance combines grace and terror—multiple retractable fin arrays provide incredible speed and maneuverability, while bioluminescent markings allow pack communication across significant distances. Multiple rows of teeth and powerful tails capable of punching through hull planking make them fearsome opponents when threatened.
Tide Hunter society centers around matriarchal hunting packs, with Hunt-Matriarchs guiding their groups through complex hunting grounds defined by current patterns rather than fixed territories. Their coming-of-age rituals require young hunters to demonstrate mastery of current riding and pack coordination before earning adult status.
Traditional agreements once maintained peace between Tide Hunters and other sentient species, with sirens negotiating hunting rights and territorial boundaries. Recent disruptions—particularly from Guild vessels harvesting deep-water crystals—have damaged these arrangements, leading to increased Tide Hunter aggression.
“They’re not mindless predators—that’s what makes them dangerous,” warns a siren diplomat in correspondence with Guild authorities. “They’re calculating hunters with complex social structures and territorial claims we’ve been ignoring. The attacks on shipping lanes aren’t random; they’re responses to specific provocations.”
Understanding this distinction may prove crucial as tensions rise along the continental shelf, with both Tide Hunter packs and Guild vessels increasing their presence in disputed waters.
Sand Demons
In the Scorched Frontier, where the thin moisture of desert air creates windows to another realm, sand demons seek influence in the physical world. Native to the Mirage Realm, these entities lack physical form but desire sensation with an intensity that drives them to seek binding agreements with desert dwellers.
Sand demons vary widely in appearance and capability, from minor entities that can only affect small amounts of sand to powerful beings capable of manipulating perception across vast areas. The desert tribes categorize them by function: sand demons influence physical matter, binding demons specialize in contracts, voice demons excel at possession, and ancient demons—the original powers that were bound—remain largely theoretical to most practitioners.
Interaction with sand demons occurs primarily through binding circles, with copper and crystal components creating controlled connections to the Mirage Realm. Desert tribes maintain strict protocols for these interactions, with water priests overseeing all bindings to ensure proper containment and fair exchange.
“A bound demon is still a demon,” cautions a desert guide to visiting Guild researchers. “The tribes understand this. The Guild researchers who try to replicate their binding magic without proper training rarely live to report their findings.” This warning reflects the fundamental danger in demon binding—these entities see agreements as opportunities for freedom rather than limitations on their power.
The relationship between sand demons and desert tribes represents a careful balance maintained through centuries of tradition. As Guild interest in binding magic increases, that balance faces unprecedented challenges.
Archives classification notice:
“The true extent of civilization in our world remains largely unknown. While our understanding grows with each expedition and research effort, the deeper mysteries—particularly those beyond human-accessible regions—continue to elude conventional research methods.”
As exploration continues and boundaries between domains weaken, Dimidium’s full diversity of sentient life may yet reveal itself. The known peoples represent merely the visible portion of a much larger tapestry, one woven through with the water magic that connects all things in our world.
WORLD DOMAINS
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The Crimson Desert
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