The Kingdom of Arland

The Kingdom of Arland is a prosperous nation within the world of Arcanum. In Arland, just a time marches on to a regular beat day-by-day, industrialization and technological progress marches forward in step, bringing regular advancements in technology that improves the lives of its regular citizens. Unfortunately, it is often the irregulars of the Arland Kingdom who are overlooked and left behind. While other nations may prize their magicians, the few magical folk of Arland remain hidden to avoid ostracization, for Magic and Technology do not mix well. While Technology relies upon the mastery of natural laws and physics, Magic manipulates and distorts those natural laws to make the impossible possible. So Magic may empower an individual to fly with weightlessness, or manifest fire from the air, the very presence of Magic may also distort the delicate balance of a pulley system or change the path of least resistance for an electrical current. So as the presence of Technology proliferated across Arland, so did the risk of Magic. Nowadays, there's simply no need for court magicians or sorcerors-for-hire, as anything that can be done by a magic user of ten years expertise can be accomplished by an engineer for a tenth of the price.
 
To my family's misfortune, even non-magical labor has been impacted. The cheap textiles created by the shop could not match the quality of the mass-produced textile mills. Had it not been for the specialized commissions of my father, I'm sure the family store would have closed early-on during my childhood.
 
During my short stint as an actor in the Arlandian Troupe, special effects or lighting would often misfire.