World
The public-safe foundations of the Arcanum universe — no story spoilers: how the Interreality holds together, its key location, the rank hierarchy, and the schools of magic.
The Interreality
The Interreality is the space between worlds, where the paths of every reality meet. Here stands Arcanum: neither a world nor a planet but the ancient citadel of the Keepers of Balance. Its mages shield the peoples of the worlds from what they cannot face alone — the predators of the Interreality, cruel tyrants and cults, wars of conquest, the disasters of nature itself. They keep the balance of good and evil: not by imposing a flawless order, but by guarding the living while leaving them the strength to grow and stand for themselves.
Key location
The Citadel
The Citadel of Arcanum has stood at the crossing of worlds for thousands of years and has never fallen. Here the mages of every rank live and train, here the Council of Elders convenes, and from here the Keepers of Balance ride out to defend the peoples of the worlds against threats they cannot meet alone. The Citadel is the heart of the Arcanum universe and the entry point into its story.
The world in focus
Tarven
Tarven — a world of swords and stone walls: towers, war-bands, walled towns. For two hundred years it stayed quiet — until, in a single night, the graves in its cemeteries broke open. A whole town walked out into the dark and never came back: smoke still stood over the chimneys while nothing living remained inside. Here the rising of the dead began — and here the Keepers of Balance came to protect those who were left and to learn who had raised the army.
The Seven Ranks
A closed hierarchy of seven ranks, from lowest to highest. Every rank commands all sixteen schools of magic — the difference is depth and density, not access.
- 7
Neophyte
The entry level. Recruited from the worlds, their gifts recognized at once, they pass through the academic cycle.
- 6
Warrior
A full combat unit. Universal magic, clear discipline, subordination to the command structure.
- 5
Guardian
The connecting tier. Commands small units, the link between officers and warriors. Deeply trained.
- 4
Legate (Officer)
The officer tier. Magic, combat skill, and analysis all at a high level.
- 3
Archon
The highest active tier of power. Universal mages of the greatest density, strategists who act autonomously in crisis.
- 2
High Archon
The Council of Elders. Having risen through the whole hierarchy from neophyte, with centuries of experience and a strategic horizon.
- 1
Supreme Archon
The summit of the hierarchy. Keeper of the Source, interpreter of the balance. The final word is his.
The Sixteen Schools of Magic
The magic of Arcanum is divided into sixteen canonical schools. Every mage is trained in all of them; the primary is the one a practitioner leans toward.
- 1
School of Air
Wind and lightning: the movement of air, pressure, flight — and the discharge. The fastest school: it wins by speed and precision rather than by force.
- 2
School of Fire
Heat and combustion, from a spark to a wall of flame. It demands a cool head: fire obeys and escapes control just as easily.
- 3
School of Water
Water in every state: current, ice, vapour. A school of patience — it works by pressure and persistence, not a single blow.
- 4
School of Earth
Stone, soil and root. It gives footing and cover: raising walls, holding vaults, stopping what moves.
- 5
School of Light
Light and sight. It illuminates, blinds, and reveals what hides — an illusion, a substitution, a false trail.
- 6
School of Shadow
Dusk and shadow. It muffles sound, sight and presence — a school of concealment, not of evil: here darkness is cover, not the mage's nature.
- 7
School of Destruction
Directed breaking: shatter, collapse, sever. The bluntest school and the most demanding of judgement — breaking is easier than stopping.
- 8
School of Illusion
False images and reflections. It changes not the thing but what is read from it: making one see what is not there, or miss what is.
- 9
School of Mind
Thought and perception: telepathic contact, suggestion, and mental defence. In Arcanum the training starts with the last of these — keeping one's own mind closed.
- 10
School of Wards
Barriers and resistance. It absorbs incoming force and holds a line — the school group operations are built on.
- 11
School of Morphing
Turning one's own body into a weapon: claws, wings, jaws, tentacles, stingers — up to a full transformation into a deadly creature.
- 12
School of Healing
The restoration of the living: wounds, exhaustion, the aftermath of magical overload. The most needed school in the field and the slowest to learn.
- 13
School of Space
Distance and its bending: transfer, shortened paths, held boundaries. A mistake here costs more than in any other school.
- 14
School of Time
Tempo: to delay, to hasten, to stretch a moment. The narrowest school in practice — the cost of the effort grows faster than the result.
- 15
School of Necromancy
The work of dead matter: bones and remains rise, obey and hold formation.
- 16
School of Bioforms
The making of living creatures from nothing. The mage grows organisms to purpose — from the simplest forms to war-beasts — setting their structure, their properties and their obedience to the maker. Armies of artificial creatures rest on this school.
The Enemy
The dead of Tarven rise not as a wild horde but in formation — and each wave hits harder. These are what the Keepers met in Episode 2; the list grows with every episode.
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Skeletal Warrior
The line
The village dead raised into ranks: spears, swords, teardrop shields. Weak alone — but they hold a line as if someone drilled them.
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Skeletal Reaper
Reapers
Larger than the rank and file, in tattered shrouds, wielding war-scythes. Dangerous at a sweep's reach: they don't charge in like the rank and file, but hold their distance and cut on the backswing.
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Swarm-bearer
Carrier
A hulking bone-beast that carries a swarm of lesser dead on its back. Burn the carrier first — or it drops its load and the swarm spills across the field.
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Skeletal Legionnaire
Elite
A bone soldier in heavy plate, with sword and great shield. Not a raised peasant but drilled troops: they hold formation tight, and such a line won't break piecemeal.