The World

Laws of Nature, Physics and Magic
The laws of nature and physics aren't different from real life. Magic, however, does exist and can bend the laws of nature. Magic always has a price, for most magic that price is draining a person's strength. Strength can be recovered through resting. The darker forms of magic have more demanding prices. E.g. when bringing something back to life, something else must die instead. Not just anyone can use magic, one must have the necessary genes in order to be able to wield magic. There are different types of magic which, for convenience, will be categorized into 'schools'. These schools will then be further divided into sub-schools.

Races
The most common races are Humans, Dwarves and Elves. There are different kinds of humans, there are whites and blacks. Both of which see no difference in skin colour. Elves and dwarves are also a part of the world. Elves are nearly extinct, most believe they are. Dwarves are still part of the world. They are usually stubborn and short-tempered. Elves have the best genetics for magic. It is safe to say that all elves could wield magic but not all magic wielders were elves. Which is also why they are nearly extinct now. Witch hunts were (and still are) the cause of that. You see, people are afraid of what they don't understand. They are frightened by that which seems unnatural. This is how witch hunting came to be. Not all humans like dwarves and not every dwarf likes humans.

Creation or Evolution?
How people came to be is not clear in this world, some believe the gods made them and others... Well, they don't know what to believe. People have been on Astralos for a long time. They have only started counting the years from about 1200 years ago.

Magic
All magic in the world gets fueled by ones own willpower or life force. The effects of the wielder are completely dependent on which kind of spells and magic are used. One proficient in illusions might find himself getting a nose-bleed from holding up an illusion for a longer period of time, where one that wields fire magic might find himself feinting after casting one too many spells. There are cults that somehow manage to pull power from the gods and wield it as their own. One such cult would be the Sacred Flame.