Lirythia A world created for escapism.

Far away from our earthly home exists a realm called Lirythia. Though it's not impossible to get there from here, doors between the worlds open so rarely that only a few have made the journey--and even fewer have returned. This could also be because once someone visits Lirythia, they don't want to return.   Since the dawn of Lirythian time, it has been home to magical, immortal beings called Deities. They watched as the world shifted and changed; populations rose and fell, and eventually the sentient species of the land began to revere them for their power. In due time, Lirythia was home to as many species as there were deities, each species pledging special devotion to their own unique deity.   Although today the various provinces and different species co-exist and generally get along, it hasn't always been like that. There have been periods of war and famine that shaped ancient alliances, some of which still reflect in the global politics. An example of this is reflected in the way the province of Parera is often forgotten about, as the general population has agreed its Nekoki citizens are "less evolved" than the rest of them. Even if they do this as a reflex or afterthought, the fact remains that this is a remnant of a time long past when the nekoki truly were considered of lower intelligence--however falsely.   Of all Lirythia's most notable attributes, there are some that stand out:

• The deities, though revered and worshipped, are every bit as part of the natural world as everything else that makes its home on Lirythia. They may have crafted a sky island for themselves to keep them separate from the other species, but the fact remains that they can walk amongst the very "creatures" they reign over. Indeed, the one thing that truly separates them from other species on Lirythia is that they are immortal--perhaps that is their true claim to divinity.
• In Lirythia, there is magic in the very air, and citizens of the realm are taught to utilize it from a young age. Depending on the species, you may have a different level of power or command; some elements may listen to you while others may not; some magic may come easy while other magic is virtually impossible to master.
• Beneath the surface of Lirythia are a series of caves and tunnel systems that make it possible to trek the entire length of the continent purely from below ground--or at least, they used to. Some of the tunnels have caved in or been closed off with their lack of use in the last few hundred years, though there was once a sprawling underground mining system and then later a transportation system.
• In Lirythia, the different species double as the races of the world. For example, centaurs and humans each come in different skin colors with a wide arrange of different features to their faces and bodies, but there is no distinction between the white centaur and black centaur, nor the white human and black human. Instead, the distinction lies between the white centaur and the white human, and so forth.

  Perhaps the most interesting attribute of Lirythia is its connection to our world. There are hidden doors that allow some earth humans to travel into Lirythia. The Lirythians have only just become aware of these doors in the last few centuries, and they have become the most important topic of research in the realm. Where do the doors come from? How are they found, and why have they only been discovered by the type of humans who live on earth? How is it the deities have never spoken of them unless they've never known--and how can that be? These are some of the questions that plague Lirythia's top scientists today.