Guide: Life in the Central Continents

Before we begin the latest campaign, I believe it is necessary to provide me a background from which your character comes from, as well as how your characters came to live in Arapaima at the onset of the adventure. While some of you might already have backgrounds in mind, I encourage you read this article in order to finetune your story to fit with the world as a whole, drawing from sociopolitical, historical and geographical sources. Additionally, there are a number of overarching restrictions I'll place on your characters and their background:
 * 1) They must have been born and raised on the Central Continents. This means they have probably not been to the Far Lands, although if you are enthusiastic about a particular idea concerning the Far Lands, please speak with me.
 * 2) Characters are born one of three "races": human, Blessed or godling.
 * 3) Gods as you have known them do not exist; there is no "Astral Plane" from which the divinity of gods is filtered into the world. Their counterparts in this world were the god-spirits.
 * 4) They know little about god-spirits (if your character is a learned scholar or something similar and wishes to specialize in this study, speak with me.)

Creation of a Background
Your characters are all denizens of the Central Continents, having lived their lives somewhere among the vast land masses. Following the broad restrictions listed above, you are free to create a background for your character. In this spirit, you are allowed to create new features of the world wholesale. Some examples that come to mind include: Among many, many others. Feel free to create as you please, be keep the following in mind: the bulk of the campaign will NOT take place on the Central Continents. Everything you write in your character backstory will merely be to inform the types of choices your character would make, and for me to draw on as story elements. For this reason, don't expect to play in a land ruled by a king which happens to be your father (although I have faith in you all, and don't expect this to be the case).
 * Kingdoms or nation-states;
 * Religious orders and attendant deities;
 * Cities, towns or villages;
 * Historical figures;
 * Myths & legends;

Additionally, there are a number of general aspects of the Central Continents politically, socially and economically. You may want to use these aspects to guide the trajectory of your character's life, although these are by no means true for all characters. Please take the time necessary to think about your character's history. I'm not expecting a 7-page essay of your character's backstory, merely something that I can draw upon when creating challenges for the three of you.
 * The nation-states of the Central Continents are embroiled in complicated political conflicts; some are in open war with one another, while others engage in cold wars. Still others are navigating tricky diplomatic waters. Some nations are ancient (Rhodia being the first and foremost), while others are nascent, merely a few centuries old.
 * The ages have been unkind to the natural splendor of the Central Continents, especially after the extinction of the guardians of nature. While pockets of natural beauty remain, deforestation and over-farming abounds.
 * Due to the extinction of the god-spirits, faith is rare in the Central Continents. Divine magic is still practiced, although practitioners are few and far between.
 * On the topic of magic, arcane magic is rarely used outside of traveling sideshows and warfare. The most rare form of magic is druidic magic, or forms of magic that manipulate nature.

Arrival in Arapaima
The introduction to the adventure takes place primarily in and around the city of Arapaima. Some way or another, the three of your characters ended up in Arapaima; how did this happen? What brought the characters to this dusty corner of the Central Continents? Were they searching for peace, or perhaps grew tired of their home's constant bickering? Were they searching for a life of adventure, or were exiled? Did they know each other, or merely end up in the same place coincidentally? It's unnecessary that your characters know each other, so when constructing a reason for your character to have ended up in Arapaima don't worry about collaborating with the other players.

Some things to keep in mind:
 * Where will your character be staying? Have they been staying at the Smiling Piranha, or have they been boarding with one of the families in the Farmer's District?
 * How long have they been in Arapaima? A few days? A few weeks? Months? This is up to you, but depending on your answer, you might want to also answer how your character has been getting by; have they been helping people? Working for a living? Or do they have a nest egg into which they've been slowly eating away at?
 * If your characters know one another, how? Are they staying at the same place, or working alongside one another? Or is it just more of a passing familiarity with another face?