Flame • hereditary boons that are specific to bloodlines and individuals, supplementing their natural magic with various unique powers. Most mortals of this universe have Flame too weak to use.

Heat • how "hot" a Flame burns; dictates how powerful it is and how often its powers can be called upon. From strongest to weakest, the heats are: Dominion > Harbinger > Throne > Glory > Pillar > Wings > Servant.

Passion • the unique powers of a Flame - what its conceptual wavelength resonates with, broadly describing the powers it bestows. Passions can be incredibly specific, or very broad (ex. the Blue Flame of Victory). Every passion has a unique color associated with it.

Stoking • the act of making a Flame stronger, potentially enough to increase its heat into another. Not all Flames can be stoked. 'Stoking' generally involves doing things that align with the Flame's Passion (ex. a Flame of art is stoking by creating, appreciating, or collecting art). 

Shearing • the act of passing a Flame on, usually by having children (though there are other means of separating someone from their Flame). The process 'shears' and weakens the original Flame, usually almost completely.

Soot-seeing • the practice of reading an individual's internal Flame to understand its color, and therefore its Passion. Soot-seers can also vaguely tell if a Flame is capable of being stoked. It is a difficult and imprecise art.

Tine Lumes
The long-standing ruler of Passane, a strong military nation on Bivve. His various conquests and inability to be injured have made him into a formidable warlord. Interested in bolstering his army with children who inherit his Flames' powers, though, he has temporarily become a bit of a homebody.

Ionsyl Lumes
A mysterious Dominion Flame with the power to randomly copy Flame onto children he bears, without shearing either of the parents' Flames. Currently living in Passane, as Tine's wife.

Zellere Lumes
One of Tine's children, serving as ambassador to the Vaervan Kingdoms and negotiating favorable contracts for Passane. Inherited a lesser form of Ionsyl's Flame, that lets him copy other Flame's abilities temporarily, and was deemed useful enough to receive education but not fit for military service.

Oprimena Lumes
A stroke of luck meant Oprimena was born dual-Flamed, with a fraction of both of his parents' power - the ability to consume others' Flames and create enchanted artifacts with their power. He lives solely in Passane's capital, under Tine's watch, who is careful not to let information regarding Oprimena's power leak.

Minyuv Lumes
At birth, the royal soot-seer saw no Flame within Minyuv, and so he was slated for death fighting at Passane's borders. But when reports returned of his seeming invulnerability, it appeared that he had inherited Tine's Flame after all - only completely hidden to anyone attempting to read his Flame. As the first successful child, he has whatever he pleases.

Hime Lumes
A failed child of Tine and Ionsyl, with a Glory Flame that improves his reflexes and reaction time. Though deemed useless, his Flame has allowed him to survive on Passane's border wars, and elevated him enough that he can comfortably marry a fellow general and forge his own life, away from the Lumes dynasty.

Peritie Lume
One of Tine's children, close in age to the cherished Minyuv. As Minyuv grew attached to Peritie and found solace in him, he protested when Tine moved to send the Flameless Peritie to Passane's borders. More interested in Minyuv's loyalty, Tine permitted Peritie to remain in the castle, so long as Minyuv desired his company - a precious position.

The Ardor
One of the major belief systems of the world, which believes that ten Dominion-Flamed individuals crafted the world from their Flame and bestow their blessings on certain individuals.

Fervor
One of the major belief systems of the world, which says that four creator deities unite to defeat the world-eater at the end of days. Pleasing one of the four creators can ensure a beneficial reincarnation in the next era.

Bivve
The smallest continent, though war and conquest have torn it apart again and again. Its nations include Passane, the Federation Union of Alleria, Vollan, Tashen, the Western Dominion, Vaervan Kingdom, and Callawen Island.

Passane
A small nation comprising Bivve's western coast, infamous for its unkillable king and many warfronts. A formidable army defends its borders and conquests diligently. With dozens of spies at the table of the other nation's governments and constant intrusions, it continually asserts its dominance over the rest of Bivve.

Federated Union of Alleria
The central nation on Bivve, currently the holders of a tenuous ceasefire with most of the others, exporting water to the warring neighbors and allowing their armies free passage so long as citizens remain unharmed. Its military looms over the government, comprised of many small countries overtaken by a warlord ages ago.

Vollan
Once a part of Passane, it seceded from the nation after a dismissive snub by the Passane royal family. Sharing a river as their border, the two countries often come to blows over it, each laying claim to its banks. Elaborate magical wards have been erected to protect the castle-capital, which has been sacked dozens of times.

Tashen
The southernmost Bivven nation, boasting one of the strongest navies and closest allies with Alleria. Tashen subsists off trade, with its fleets protecting trading ships travelling to Lacraya and Moondown. Fear over being conquered has led many citizens to purchase houseboats for quick escape, though the government is quick to assure safety.

the Western Dominion
A loosely-allied group of nations, situated in a valley north of Passane. With only one mountain pass - the Dorvaen - leading in or out, they have temporarily combined their militaries in an effort to keep Passane's armies at bay. Each civil government has retained its independence, though the struggle of holding the pass is on everyone's thoughts.

Vaervan Kingdom
An isolated nation on the eastern coast of Bivve, comprised of large cities burrowed into the sides of mountains. They have perfected the art of compressing Magninium into cores, and distribute these energy sources to the warring nations below, using the funds to bolster their scientific communities and experiments.

Callawen Island
An independant, large island off the western coast of Bivve, protected from its wars by the Celfoss. Unique plants and animals flourish on its safe shores, assisted by an ample supply of exotic fruit and low mortal population. Seven cities dot the landscape, each venerating a different Celfoss member.