Becoming a Villain to save the world sounds like a joke, or an excuse a Villain would give during a Monologue, but for Eric Fontaine, it's the truth; his people are dying, and he needs to do something about it... but the best methods to revitalize a civilization require a lot of destruction.

Haven has always had luck on her side. Skills were something she learned quickly, but luck, chance, coincidence, those were her true Abilities. However, luck was made to run out, and running away may be her best option... if it's still an option by the time she notices she needs to flee. - Ryan has always had a singular, sacred duty: Protect the Moon Stone. Simple, really, as it was the source of great power, amongst the Were community, and not many would dare to harm one. Except maybe an outsider, who happens to accidentally shatter the Stone, on Ryan's watch.

Magic: amazing, powerful, extravagant, mysterious necessary for the survival of the universe,... and ridiculously difficult to learn. Without a proper teacher, you could never even reach for the lowest hem of your own true Mage's Robe; that's the common knowledge of how Arcata, the once-great Mageocracy that ruled enough of the civilized world to call themselves the Dominant Political and Military Force on the Planet Nonith, came to be. With the decline of Mages, however, as the elder mages die out without any promising students, the memory and knowledge of magic became duller and duller with every passing generation, and the Ultimate Mageocracy itself faded alongside it. Muradin, Deity of Magic, finds themself running out of options, trying desperately to grip the fraying threads of their home dimension, delaying the inevitable as long as possible as they do the work of hundreds of thousands of mages, supplying the Mana that holds the dimension together... until one bronze-haired opportunity shows herself to them, and they find themselves in the unique position to perhaps fix everything, with only a small investment of time and energy to kick off the chain reaction... with a dose of some good old fashioned, ever-dependable, elitist mercantilism to fill in the gaps. Laura 'Morgana' D'Artagnan is a certified expert on all magics, from conjuration to artificing, enchanting, and even divine magic. Well, as far as the Arcana from Dungeons and Dragons is concerned, at least. After all, she makes and sells custom spell cards, monster cards, and custom Pre-made One-Shot Modules for dungeon masters all across the world, one hand-made batch and *edEx package at a time. To see one of them suddenly *work*, though, is the start of the craziest campaign that she's *ever* seen.

In the Shattered World, the leftovers of humanity have adapted to the encroachment of the Supernatural into their lives. Building new cities anywhere they can find peace, such as canals and plateau's, they and the supernatural beings that escaped to earth work to clear off the evils that followed, that which drove the majority of sentient life to either the Sky, and certain cities, raised up above the ground. One such surface dweller, a Halfling, works amongst the multiple Corps to fortify and protect his Home, the Ravine City of Hart's Cove. Life is dangerous, but remarkably fulfilling. Now, if only he didn't have that pesky Roc following him around...

Victoria Holborn has a shadow looming over her head. She was born with it. It's been there all her life, and it's never gotten any easier to get rid of. With a Blessed Healer for a Mother, and a Blessed Craftsman for the other Mother, the first child actually Born on the Half-Mountain, She's expected to be Amazing. Always. Extraordinary, Grand, Awesome, Powerful, that and more is expected of her. But she's not a 'Blessed' anything. Victoria is simply seen as a young woman with a knack for crafting Magic Items and Magic Crystal Relics like her uncle James, though her real talent is the War Magic her aunt Medea teaches her when her mothers aren't looking. And, like all young women when told she CAN'T do something, not only is she going to DO IT, she is going to be the VERY BEST at it.

When Finnegan's Soul was plucked from the burning wreckage of his home in 1890's England and reborn in another Realm, he expected life to not be too frightfully different. He was still a Smith's Son, and though people looked a bit different, they spoke the same language as he, and their town didn't seem that different from his, so it shouldn't have been too terribly difficult to adjust! Until Magic got involved, that is. Through some odd coincidences and somewhat-helpful misunderstandings, Finnegan stumbles his way through life and adjusts to the new way of things, searching for the one thing that'll make everything alright, and make it all make sense again: Glass.

Being given a chance to go to a different world doesn't happen often, (or ever, really,) so Alice isn't stupid enough to say no. Despite her relatively good life laid out ahead of her, (heir to a quite profitable mercantile family business, with one younger brother,) the promise of magic is too enticing. After all, no amount of money can buy you a Unicorn, you know?

Waking up in a mysterious room, in a forest I didn't recognize, after I was sure I was dead, was deeply disturbing. But it was when the first monster attacked me, that was when I realized... I was well and truly fucked. - The skills I'd had during my life were translated here as literal Skills, which were apparently the system of 'Magic' in this place, or something close to that. They could be learned, and they could be given, making this world even more different than I'd expected. But one big thing hadn't changed at all: In this Place, Rich people had the best stuff, which included skills, and they weren't shy about taking what they wanted from others.

The Alchemist is considered the most useless of all the 5 classes offered in the Virtual World of 'Hell's Gates'(Warrior, Archer, Mage, Cleric, and Alchemist). Having little to no Combat Skills, and relying on real-world Chemistry Knowledge (a Lost art of sorts,) to make anything more than the most basic potions, they are very rarely seen past the first or second level, because most people change their class after seeing its uselessness. Still, this class allows Sam to spread her literal and proverbial wings as a Chemist and Inventor in a world where such a skill set is actually very valuable! Of course, with the rarity and value of their skills comes a plethora of problems, and most don't last very long at all, but Sam is determined, damn it! Hopefully, being stubborn and lucky in equal portions will be enough to survive and thrive in the world of Hell's Gates? (((Complete!!! Perhaps there'll be a Book Two if this gets enough attention???)))

Magic: a common ability, in The Radiant Isles, the advanced society of light and knowledge, and Home of the Elves, and most Humans; but not so in Ulfavir, The Deep, the Lands of darkness and chaos, Home of... everything else. Magic: personal in nature, unique to a point, though usually identifiable and trainable; until It's simply... not. Magic: all-powerful, industrious, intricate, and challenging; and also flawed, full of weaknesses, chaotic, over complicated, uncontrollable, and dangerous. That's all magic really is, after all... semantics, and two sides to a coin that decides the fate of the world, every day.