From the introduction: In the year 1972 YC, the continent of Djorde has entered a gilded age. The recent discovery of arcane magic has ended the age of technology, formerly ruled by the steam engine, firearms, and electricity. As the first generations of arcanists supplant electric lights with spells of continual flame, the world trembles between those who cling to old ways and those who embrace the new. Self-made people are the movers and shakers of the modern day, despite those who still cling to archaic titles such as nobles or queens. Saints send divine blessings over telegram wires; explorers roam beyond the world to seek extraplanar wilderness; adventurers wield guns and magic to wrest secrets from a lost age; and mercenaries brave the afterlife to bring souls back from death. Djorde balances at a precipice, and the right push might send it tumbling in any number of directions.