Anvil Isles are a set of islands in the middle of a massive ocean. It is unknown whether or not there is any other landmass anywhere else in the world. Anvil Isles is all that humanity knows. Legends say that the world was originally the masterpiece of the gods, The Artisans. It was one of their many projects, of which each was made in a similar way, and each was completely unique.
This world was not an exception.
The Smith struck at the primordial energy to create the Cosmos. The Architect designed the sun and the stars, and The Sculptor moulded the cosmic dust to create land. The Dancer’s moves brought water and The Singer’s breath created wind. The Painter gave the landscape a unique look, inhabiting it with plantlife. And finally, The Author wrote life into being.
Individually, their creations were imperfect, prone to collapse; but together they hung in a perfect balance. Everything that rose from the earth eventually returned to it, and then from the earth something rose anew. And so, satisfied with their work, the gods put this world into the universe, and then left, moved on to their next project.
And life flourished until the day The Critic found it.
The Critic looked at the world the gods created and became annoyed by their poor worldbuilding. How can it be so big! How can it be so peaceful and so aimless!
He wanted strife and conflict. So he raised the oceans and reduced the world to just the Isles. He made rainfalls and hurricanes. He created carnivorous predators.
But all that did not satisfy him. There was no moral to the story! No greater meaning to the work! So as his final gift to The Artisans, The Critic created humans. He imparted them with his ambition and his drive for conflict and resolutions. He gave them the knowledge of Magic so they could defend themselves and shape the world to his - or so he thought - will.
With that, The Critic disappeared, and the age of humanity began on Anvil Isles.