History DarthWiki / DarkFantasyX

DFX is a world that started out as a TheMagicGoesAway type of setting that led to MaybeMagicMaybeMundane type of [[{{Demythification}} demythified]] world where magic was rare and was treated as myth, This era was known as "Normalcy". But then TheMagicComesBack and with that the dragon population explodes (previously thought to be extinct, or was going extinct), Atlantis rises from the sea, and low-level magic is about as common as cell phones are today and so on. Most of the protagonists great-great grandparents' in this setting was born during the cusp of this. And their children don't remember the time where none of this existed. It's [[MundaneFantastic fantastically mundane]] to them as they grew up in the world in it's (eventual) FantasyKitchenSink state (at least in terms low level magic, demi-humans would show up much later). When the magic originally left there was centuries where technology (mostly SteamPunk, and DieselPunk) was starting to fill the void that magic left behind creating a PunkPunk type industrial revolution. Scientists was the replacement for sorcerers, witches, and wizards. Before then humans had grown accustom to technology and science. And all the fantastic elements before that era was forgotten and thought of as children's stories, or at best seen as exaggerated parts of prehistory. Interestingly enough {{Expy}} versions of Christianity, Judaism, and Islamic religions started to form as well. But that's where the fantasy and supernatural stuff ended. Unfortunately, there was ''three'' cases of a GreatOffscreenWar (InUniverse known as ''The Three Great Wars'') that destroyed the more advance PunkPunk technologies and civilizations. Creating several instances of BlackBox artifacts. But they mostly became LostTechnology. The wars are also the reason why the world is stuck in a borderline MedievalStasis that they can't quite fully get out of. ClockPunk technology and some SteamPunk tech survived but that's about it. Of course the wars humans raged against each other ''after'' the great wars didn't help either with constant SuccessionCrisis and bickering between noble houses over land, fortune, and slights. Also primitive forms of fire arms exist but only a handful of nations has them, as they're somewhat difficult to mass produce (and by handful of nations we mean three). So they're primarily used as last line of defense for said human empires/nations or special military units. The primary weapons for human infantry units are still [[BoringButPractical swords and shields]].

''Dark Fantasy X'' is basically a SpeculativeFiction, FantasyKitchenSink, RealPolitik, WarIsHell, Dark/Horror Fantasy story, with a dark gritty low fantasy [[{{Masquerade}} facade and veneer]]. For now it's told through the story's tropes. It's best described as ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}}'' (minus the humor) meets ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' meets ''VideoGame/ADanceWithRogues'' meets ''Franchise/TheWitcher'' meets ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' meets ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'' meets ''Franchise/BaldursGate'' meets ''Series/TheWire'' meets ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'', meets ''Film/{{Syriana}}'' meets ''VideoGame/{{Warcraft}}'' meets ''Series/TheWestWing'' meets ''VideoGame/{{Fable}}'' meets ''Franchise/{{Castlevania}}'' meets ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' meets ''TabletopGame/{{Risk}}'' meets ''VideoGame/{{Civilization}}'', meets ''Franchise/DragonAge'', meets ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'', meets ''VideoGame/{{Diablo}}'' meets ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'', meets ''TabletopGame/{{Ravenloft}}'', meets ''VideoGame/DarkestDungeon'', meets ''VideoGame/GrimDawn'' with some aesthetics of ''Franchise/DishonoredSeries''[[note]]Specifically during the normalcy era, and all three great wars[[/note]] with a [[LovecraftLite medium dosage]] of Creator/HPLovecraft. The setting in the work has a lot of low sci-fi elements, but the overtone is most definitely straight forward horror and dark fantasy.

''Dark Fantasy X'' is basically a SpeculativeFiction, FantasyKitchenSink, RealPolitik, WarIsHell, Dark/Horror Fantasy story, with a dark gritty low fantasy [[{{Masquerade}} facade and veneer]]. For now it's told through the story's tropes. It's best described as ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}}'' (minus the humor) meets ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' meets ''VideoGame/ADanceWithRogues'' meets ''Franchise/TheWitcher'' meets ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' meets ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'' meets ''Franchise/BaldersGate'' meets ''Series/TheWire'' meets ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'', meets ''Film/{{Syriana}}'' meets ''VideoGame/{{Warcraft}}'' meets ''Series/TheWestWing'' meets ''VideoGame/{{Fable}}'' meets ''Franchise/{{Castlevania}}'' meets ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' meets ''TabletopGame/{{Risk}}'' meets ''VideoGame/{{Civilization}}'', meets ''Franchise/DragonAge'', meets ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'', meets ''VideoGame/{{Diablo}}'' meets ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'', meets ''TabletopGame/{{Ravenloft}}'', meets ''VideoGame/DarkestDungeon'', meets ''VideoGame/GrimDawn'' with some aesthetics of ''Franchise/DishonoredSeries''[[note]]Specifically during the normalcy era, and all three great wars[[/note]] with a [[LovecraftLite medium dosage]] of Creator/HPLovecraft. The setting in the work has a lot of low sci-fi elements, but the overtone is most definitely straight forward horror and dark fantasy.

''Dark Fantasy X'' is basically a SpeculativeFiction, FantasyKitchenSink, RealPolitik, WarIsHell, Dark/Horror Fantasy story, with a dark gritty low fantasy [[{{Masquerade}} facade and veneer]]. For now it's told through the story's tropes. It's best described as ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}}'' (minus the humor) meets ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' meets ''VideoGame/ADanceWithRogues'' meets ''Franchise/TheWitcher'' meets ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' meets ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'' meets ''VideoGame/BauldersGate'' meets ''Series/TheWire'' meets ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'', meets ''Film/{{Syriana}}'' meets ''VideoGame/{{Warcraft}}'' meets ''Series/TheWestWing'' meets ''VideoGame/{{Fable}}'' meets ''Franchise/{{Castlevania}}'' meets ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' meets ''TabletopGame/{{Risk}}'' meets ''VideoGame/{{Civilization}}'', meets ''Franchise/DragonAge'', meets ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'', meets ''VideoGame/{{Diablo}}'' meets ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'', meets ''TabletopGame/{{Ravenloft}}'', meets ''VideoGame/DarkestDungeon'', meets ''VideoGame/GrimDawn'' with some aesthetics of ''Franchise/DishonoredSeries''[[note]]Specifically during the normalcy era, and all three great wars[[/note]] with a [[LovecraftLite medium dosage]] of Creator/HPLovecraft. The setting in the work has a lot of low sci-fi elements, but the overtone is most definitely straight forward horror and dark fantasy.

''Dark Fantasy X'' is basically a SpeculativeFiction, FantasyKitchenSink, RealPolitik, WarIsHell, Dark/Horror Fantasy story, with a dark gritty low fantasy [[{{Masquerade}} facade and veneer]]. For now it's told through the story's tropes. It's best described as ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}}'' (minus the humor) meets ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' meets ''VideoGame/ADanceWithRogues'' meets ''Franchise/TheWitcher'' meets ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' meets ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'' meets ''Franchise/BauldersGate'' meets ''Series/TheWire'' meets ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'', meets ''Film/{{Syriana}}'' meets ''VideoGame/{{Warcraft}}'' meets ''Series/TheWestWing'' meets ''VideoGame/{{Fable}}'' meets ''Franchise/{{Castlevania}}'' meets ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' meets ''TabletopGame/{{Risk}}'' meets ''VideoGame/{{Civilization}}'', meets ''Franchise/DragonAge'', meets ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'', meets ''VideoGame/{{Diablo}}'' meets ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'', meets ''TabletopGame/{{Ravenloft}}'', meets ''VideoGame/DarkestDungeon'', meets ''VideoGame/GrimDawn'' with some aesthetics of ''Franchise/DishonoredSeries''[[note]]Specifically during the normalcy era, and all three great wars[[/note]] with a [[LovecraftLite medium dosage]] of Creator/HPLovecraft. The setting in the work has a lot of low sci-fi elements, but the overtone is most definitely straight forward horror and dark fantasy.

''Dark Fantasy X'' is basically a SpeculativeFiction, FantasyKitchenSink, RealPolitik, WarIsHell, Dark/Horror Fantasy story, with a dark gritty low fantasy [[{{Masquerade}} facade and veneer]]. For now it's told through the story's tropes. It's best described as ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}}'' (minus the humor) meets ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' meets ''VideoGame/ADanceWithRogues'' meets ''Franchise/TheWitcher'' meets ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' meets ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'' meets ''Series/TheWire'' meets ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'', meets ''Film/{{Syriana}}'' meets ''VideoGame/{{Warcraft}}'' meets ''Series/TheWestWing'' meets ''VideoGame/{{Fable}}'' meets ''Franchise/{{Castlevania}}'' meets ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' meets ''TabletopGame/{{Risk}}'' meets ''VideoGame/{{Civilization}}'', meets ''Franchise/DragonAge'', meets ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'', meets ''VideoGame/{{Diablo}}'' meets ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'', meets ''TabletopGame/{{Ravenloft}}'', meets ''VideoGame/DarkestDungeon'', meets ''VideoGame/GrimDawn'' with some aesthetics of ''Franchise/DishonoredSeries''[[note]]Specifically during the normalcy era, and all three great wars[[/note]] with a [[LovecraftLite medium dosage]] of Creator/HPLovecraft. The setting in the work has a lot of low sci-fi elements, but the overtone is most definitely straight forward horror and dark fantasy.

''Dark Fantasy X'' is basically a SpeculativeFiction, FantasyKitchenSink, RealPolitik, WarIsHell, Dark/Horror Fantasy story, with a dark gritty low fantasy [[{{Masquerade}} facade and veneer]]. For now it's told through the story's tropes. It's best described as ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}}'' (minus the humor) meets ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' meets ''VideoGame/ADanceWithRogues'' meets ''Franchise/TheWitcher'' meets ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' meets ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'' meets ''Series/TheWire'' meets ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'', meets ''Film/{{Syriana}}'' meets ''VideoGame/{{Warcraft}}'' meets ''Series/TheWestWing'' meets ''VideoGame/{{Fable}}'' meets ''Franchise/{{Castlevania}}'' meets ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' meets ''TabletopGame/{{Risk}}'' meets ''VideoGame/{{Civilization}}'', meets ''Franchise/DragonAge'', meets ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'', meets ''VideoGame/{{Diablo}}'' meets ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'', meets ''TabletopGame/{{Ravenloft}}'', meets ''VideoGame/DarkestDungeon'', and some aesthetics of ''Franchise/DishonoredSeries''[[note]]Specifically during the normalcy era, and all three great wars[[/note]] with a [[LovecraftLite medium dosage]] of Creator/HPLovecraft. The setting in the work has a lot of low sci-fi elements, but the overtone is most definitely straight forward horror and dark fantasy.

** The Whitecomb Family; A history of domestic violence, incest, genocide, [[EvilColonialist evil colonialism]], and too many other things to mention. The family spent centuries on subjugation and expansion of their family wealth in the name of Britannia. Dorian Whitecomb III mother is of Aemerian descent and comes from very old money from Aemera, she also has a sexual taste for black tween and young teen males. Even having a harem full of them. In fact she ''bonded'' with Dorian's aunt over their secret shared desire. In Universe this would be a none issue had she not been a high standing woman with the title of queen regent. Which is why it's a sorta-kinda secret. She also had multiple secret female Paramores. Then there's Dorian's grandfather Lord Dorian Abernathy Whitecomb the First (and his men) had a reputation of raping native women from The Dark Continent. There's also Ser Michael Hayworth who's basically a midevel fantasy expy of [[CompleteMonster King Leopold II]]. The commander of the military force for one of the banner-men of Britannia.

** The Current Waller family: Torre's extended royal family consists of 9 uncles and 8 aunts. Including his mom (Dorothy Lee Waller) that makes 18 total. And of that 18, there's countless cousins born. Some of whom was bastads that had to be legitimized by Torre cause his Grandparents didn't bother (especially his Paternal grandmother, more on her later). Of his 9 uncles only three, maybe four are actually responsible, and of those three only two are dependable, and the other selfish and materialistic, but want to be the head decisionmaker for the family. The rest either had substance abuse problems, too many bastards (which the other cousins embraced unconditionally anyway), flaky, aloof, insular or have gambling problems. Of his 9 aunts, the oldest (Shirly Anne Waller) was a manipulative, selfish, materialistic bitch. Of her children only her son (Rashad) and second oldest daughter (May) was nice. Unfortunately, her oldest daughter (Tasha) is bitterly selfish, with a chip on her shoulder, and a overall nasty attitude that got worse after her mom died, but the two younger siblings are prone to following behind her like obedient meek little puppies. Then there's the grand matriarch (Carrie Ann Waller) who was very stern, authoritative, and cold, and sometimes forbade her children from helping each other or other people, or from being too close to each other (or that's the way it seemed). Not to mention she was only ever close to just ''Three'' of her 18 kids. Those being Charles Waller, Shirley Anne, and Mark Waller. Even then it probably wasn't unconditional in the case of Shirley. There's also a nasty rumor within the family that a few of her kids are from infidelity, particularly the twins Mark and Mathew. Either way, because of this behavior the rest of the family formed their own separate family circle for gatherings and holiday get togethers. The extended family grew even further apart after the grand patriarch Walter Lee waller died (who was basically the back bone of the family), and Torre was crowned, and even further after Carrie died. There's also several secret instances of KissingCousins when Torre and his cousins hung out with each other during wild balls, banquets, galas, and orgies when they were tweens and teens. Likely influenced by the decadent, and sexually liberal Starr family, as having trists with cousins wasn't seen as abnormal by them, unlike the older Waller family members who would frown apon it.

** The Current Waller family: Torre's extended royal family consists of 9 uncles and 8 aunts. Including his mom (Dorothy Lee Waller) that makes 18 total. And of that 18, there's countless cousins born. Some of whom was bastads that had to be legitimized by Torre cause his Grandparents didn't bother (especially his Paternal grandmother, more on her later). Of his 9 uncles only three, maybe four are actually responsible, and of those three only two are dependable, and the other selfish and materialistic, but want to be the head decisionmaker for the family. The rest either had substance abuse problems, too many bastards (which the other cousins embraced unconditionally anyway), flaky, aloof, insular or have gambling problems. Of his 9 aunts, the oldest (Shirly Anne Waller) was a manipulative, selfish, materialistic bitch. Of her children only her son (Rashad) and second oldest daughter (May) was nice. Unfortunately, her oldest daughter (Tasha) is bitterly selfish, with a chip on her shoulder, and a overall nasty attitude that got worse after her mom died, but the two younger siblings are prone to following behind her like obedient meek little puppies. Then there's the grand matriarch (Carrie Ann Waller) who was very stern, authoritative, and cold, and sometimes forbade her children from helping each other or other people, or from being too close to each other (or that's the way it seemed). Not to mention she was only ever close to ''Three'' of her 18 kids. Those being Charles Waller, Shirley Anne, and Mark Waller. Even then it probably wasn't unconditional in the case otogether. There's also a nasty rumor that a few of her kids are from infidelity. Either way, because of this behavior the rest of the family formed their own separate family circle and get togethers. The extended family grew even further apart after the grand patriarch Walter Lee waller died, and Torre was crowned, and even further after Carrie died. There's also several secret instances of KissingCousins when Torre and his cousins hung out with each other during wild balls, galas, and orgies when they were tweens and teens. Likely influenced by the Starr family as having trists with cousins wasn't seen as abnormal unlike the Waller family who would frown apon it.

** The Current Waller family: Torre's extended royal family consists of 9 uncles and 8 aunts. Including his mom (Dorothy Lee Waller) that makes 18 total. And of that 18, there's countless cousins born. Some of whom was bastads that had to be legitimized by Torre cause his Grandparents didn't bother (especially his Paternal grandmother, more on her later). Of his 9 uncles only three, maybe four are actually responsible, and of those three only two are dependable, and the other selfish and materialistic, but want to be the head decisionmaker for the family. The rest either had substance abuse problems, too many bastards (which the other cousins embraced unconditionally anyway), flaky, aloof, insular or have gambling problems. Of his 9 aunts, the oldest (Shirly Anne Waller) was a manipulative, selfish, materialistic bitch. Of her children only her son (Rashad) and second oldest daughter (May) was nice. Unfortunately, her oldest daughter (Tasha) is bitterly selfish, with a chip on her shoulder, and a overall nasty attitude that got worse after her mom died, but the two younger siblings are prone to following behind her like obedient meek little puppies. Then there's the grand matriarch (Carrie Ann Waller) who was very stern, authoritative, and cold, and sometimes forbade her children from helping each other or other people, or from being too close to each other (or that's the way it seemed). Not to mention she was only ever close to ''Three'' of her 18 kids. Those being Charles Waller, Shirley Anne, and Mark Waller. Even then it probably wasn't unconditional in the case otogether. There's also a nasty rumor that a few of her kids are from infidelity. Either way, because of this behavior the rest of the family formed their own separate family circle and get togethers. The extended family grew even further apart after the grand patriarch Walter Lee waller died, and Torre was crowned, and even further after Carrie died. There's also several secret instances of KissingCousins when Torre and his cousins hung out with each other during wild balls, galas, and orgies when they were tweens and teens. Likely influenced by the Starr family as having trists with cousins wasn't seen as abnormal unlike the Waller family who would frown apon it.
* BiggerStick: Urbania, Delacroix, and Starr Empire love technological terrors of the PunkPunk, MagiTek variety; Mostly out of distrust of Aemera...And to spite them. During the battle to take back Jaruba Tish introduced her secret weapons, like weaponized airships. The biggest however were ''TANKS''!. It's introduction was a huge frightening shock to the Aemera, and Tomaz high command because it was ''CRUSHING'' their infantry and was in relatively huge numbers, on top of that they had zero Intel regarding the frightening mechanization. It was the turning point that made Tish into a serious adversary and strategist. And solidified the D.S. empire as a force to be reckoned with.

** The Current Waller family: Torre's extended royal family consists of 9 uncles and 8 aunts. Including his mom that makes 18 total. And of that 18, there's countless cousins born. Some of whom was bastads that had to be legitimized by Torre cause his Grandparents didn't bother (especially his Paternal grandmother). Of his 9 uncles only three, maybe four are actually responsible, and of those three only two are dependable. The rest either had substance abuse problems, too many bastards (which the other cousins embraced unconditionally anyway), or gambling problems. Of his 9 aunts, the oldest (Anne Waller) was a manipulative, selfish, materialistic bitch. Of her children only her son (Rashad) and second oldest daughter was `nice.
* BiggerStick: Urbania, Delacroix, and Starr Empire love technological terrors of the PunkPunk, MagiTek variety; Mostly out of distrust of Aemera...And to spite them. During the battle to take back Jaruba Tish introduced her secret weapons, like weaponized airships. The biggest however were ''TANKS''!. It's introduction was a huge frightening shock to the Aemera, and Tomaz high command because it was ''CRUSHING'' their infantry and was in relatively huge numbers, on top of that they had zero Intel regarding the frightening mechanization. It was the turning point that made Tish into a serious adversary and strategist. And solidified the D.S. empire as a force to be reckoned with.

* BiggerStick: Urbania, Delacroix, and Starr Empire love technological terrors of the PunkPunk, MagiTek variety; Mostly out of distrust of Aemera...And to spite them. During the battle to take back Jaruba Tish introduced her secret weapons, like weaponized airships. The biggest however were ''TANKS''!. It's introduction was a huge frightening shock to the Aemera, and Tomaz high command because it was ''CRUSHING'' their infantry and was in relatively huge numbers, on top of that they had zero Intel regarding the frightening mechanization. It was the turning point that made Tish into a serious adversary and strategist. And solidified the D.S. empire as a force to be reckoned with.

* CoolButInefficient: The aforementioned tanks was more or less prototypes that were clunky, hard to maneuver, and ate fuel for lunch!. However the cannon was frighteningly accurate, and the intimidating factor of the metal behemoths made up for it. Eventually they would become more efficient and dreaded on the battle field thanksto the help of Dwarven engineering.

* GreatOffscreenWar: During the early "Normalcy" era there was 3 monumentally huge ''cataclysmic'' wars. It's the primary reason for all of the lost advanced versions of SteamPunk, DieselPunk, SchizoTech, and {{Magitek}}. It's also the reason for the MedievalStasis the world is in.

* MundaneFantastic: Humans eventually got use to Demi-Humans (sorta) by circa 40 AAV, and most low-level magic. In fact Demi Humans like Elves, Dwarves and Tiefling are probably closer to humans than not. With the exception of possible unusual skin tones, horns, and possibly being longer lived. Completely subverted when it comes to high-end white/dark/black magic of mass destruction, and other-worldly monsters.

* AlienSky- A Red Gas Giant, and two moons, one of which is partially ''shattered''! Presumably caused by one of the Three Great Wars, and also might be the source of Celestial Steel/Ore, aka "Starr Metal".

** Tomazville and Aemera don't really trust each other but they do try to use each other when it comes to the Alliance since they both know they're a common enemy/rival.

* Fish People: like the Elves and Dwarves was flushed out by the dark army, the "Deep Ones" flushed out the merfolk. Causing the Atlanteans and merfolk to create a underwater alliance. But eventually they too sent emissaries to the above ground world for help as the enemies incursions became more and more numerous.

* GrimUpNorth: The area of The Viska Empire by far, and even further up into the arctic there's The Land of Always Ice, aka "Frozen Hell". Where there's rumors of huge monstrous deformed white bears, and other weird creatures.

* TheTimeOfMyths: Ancient History was more or less this.

* BiggerStick: Urbania, Delacroix, and Starr Empire love technological terrors of the PunkPunk, MagiTek variety; Mostly out of distrust of Aemera...And to spite them. During the battle to take back Jaruba Tish introduced her secret weapons, weaponized Zeppelins, fighter planes, and submarines. The biggest however were various types of ''TANKS''!. It's introduction was a huge frightening shock to the Aemera, and Tomaz high command because it was ''CRUSHING'' their infantry and was in huge numbers, on top of that they had zero Intel regarding the frightening mechanization. It was the turning point that made Tish into a serious adversary and strategist. And solidified the D.S. empire as a force to be reckoned with.
* BlameGame: After the cluster fuck that was the battle of Jaruba, the loss became a highly controversial political football for Aemera. Mostly over how they miss calculated, and overly underestimated the D.S. military capabilities which caught them ''waaay'' off guard.

* AllTheoriesAreTrue: Anti-matter and/or dark matter, GeneticMemory, Genetic engineering and animal gene-splicing [[spoilers: this is also probably the source for some of the exotic creatures in this world, thanks to TheGreys..maybe]]

* AllTheoriesAreTrue: Anti-matter and/or dark matter, GeneticMemory, Genetic engineering and animal gene-splicing (this is also how Urbania was able to make dragons beasts of battle, right up until the mythical ones started to make a comeback. They trained those too)

''Dark Fantasy X'' is basically a SpeculativeFiction, FantasyKitchenSink, RealPolitik, WarIsHell, Dark/Horror Fantasy story, with a dark gritty low fantasy [[{{Masquerade}} facade and veneer]]. For now it's told through the story's tropes. It's best described as ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}}'' (minus the humor) meets ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' meets ''VideoGame/ADanceWithRogues'' meets ''Franchise/TheWitcher'' meets ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' meets ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'' meets ''Series/TheWire'' meets ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'', meets ''Film/{{Syriana}}'' meets ''VideoGame/{{Warcraft}}'' meets ''Series/TheWestWing'' meets ''VideoGame/{{Fable}}'' meets ''Franchise/{{Castlevania}}'' meets ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' meets ''TabletopGame/{{Risk}}'' meets ''VideoGame/{{Civilization}}'', meets ''Franchise/DragonAge'', meets ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'', meets ''VideoGame/{{Diablo}}'' meets ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'', meets ''TabletopGame/{{Ravenloft}}'', meets ''VideoGame/DarkestDungeon'', and some aesthetics of ''Franchise/DishonoredSeries'' with a [[LovecraftLite medium dosage]] of Creator/HPLovecraft. The setting in the work has a lot of low sci-fi elements, but the overtone is most definitely straight forward horror and dark fantasy.

When the magic initially ca e back it was very low scale, with only a handful of fringe practitioners, but over the decades it slowly growed stronger, and when it got stronger something darker became stronger with it. Dark Magic....

DFX is a world that started out as a TheMagicGoesAway type of setting that led to MaybeMagicMaybeMundane type of [[{{Demythification}} demythified]] world where magic was rare and was treated as myth, This era was known as "Normalcy". But then TheMagicComesBack and with that the dragon population explodes (previously thought to be extinct, or was going extinct), Atlantis rises from the sea, and low-level magic is about as common as cell phones are today and so on. Most of the protagonists great-great grandparents' in this setting was born during the cusp of this. And their children don't remember the time where none of this existed. It's [[MundaneFantastic fantastically mundane]] to them as they grew up in the world in it's (eventual) FantasyKitchenSink state (at least in terms low level magic, demi-humans would show up much later). When the magic originally left there was centuries where technology (mostly SteamPunk, and DieselPunk) was starting to fill the void that magic left behind creating a PunkPunk type industrial revolution. Scientists was the replacement for sorcerers, witches, and wizards. Before then humans had grown accustom to technology and science. And all the fantastic elements before that era was forgotten and thought of as children's stories, or at best seen as exaggerated parts of prehistory. Interestingly enough {{Expy}} versions of Christianity, Judaism, and Islamic religions started to form as well. But that's where the fantasy and supernatural stuff ended. Unfortunately, there was ''three'' cases of a GreatOffscreenWar (InUniverse known as ''The Three Great Wars'') that destroyed the more advance PunkPunk technologies and civilizations. Creating several instances of BlackBox artifacts. But they mostly became LostTechnology. The wars are also the reason why the world is stuck in a borderline MedievalStasis that they can't quite fully get out of. ClockPunk technology and some SteamPunk tech survived but that'sabout it. Of course the wars humans raged against each other ''after'' the great wars didn't help either with the constant SuccessionCrisis and bickering between noble houses over land, fortune, and slights. Also primitive forms of fire arms exist but only a handful of nations has them, as they're somewhat difficult to mass produce (and by handful of nations we mean three). So they're primarily used as last line of defense for said human empires/nations or special military units. The primary weapons for human infantry units are still [[BoringButPractical swords and shields]].

However when the magic came back something darker apparently came back with it. Like the rise of darker forces emerging with the returning magic. Lingering in the air is a sense of dark dread, tension and impending doom. Villages are massacred by roaming clans of werewolves, orcs, vampires, and possibly demons from hell (the former three races was mostly fleeing from the later though). What makes it worse is that the human race has long been factionalize since ''BEFORE'' the magic first went away. Originally humans was one nation/tribe, but split off due to spiteful wars of attrition and bitter ideological sociopolitical differences, and even human on human racism (eventually including xenophobia when demi-human races appeared two and a half decades post Avalon spell). DFX primarily focus on a young group of royals/nobles and their empires who are trying to rebuild the human coalition, as they fear that something terrible will happen if they don't get their shit together. Most human nations and empires hasn't accepted the offer. The young royals hope the coalition that they do have is enough. The fear coming from [[TheEndIsNigh a mutual spiritual adviser sorcerer warning the rational human leaders that if humans don't work together they'll face certain doom by the forces of darkness]]. This was decades post-Avalon and the three founding Alliance empires was still squabbling with Aemera, and Tomazville at the time. The advisor and the eventual arrival of Elven and Dwarven emissaries put a brief hold on the conflict...for now.

* OurElvesAreDifferent: Despite being long lived they're not all that different from humans. Also each breed of elves have different types of ears.