Setting

Unnatural Magic and The Ruthless Lady's Guide to Wizardry are set in a world of magical and political intrigue against a socioeconomic and cultural backdrop similar to Earth's late 1800s.

Magic
Magic is accomplished by those with the capacity for it through willpower and intention. Wizards are academically trained and rely on carefully defined Parameters, while Witches rely on instinctive or self-taught applications of magical power. Neither term denotes gender.

There are two major approaches to magic: Natural Magic and Academic Magic. Natural magic is instinctive and can be difficult to control. Academic magic requires the use of Parameters to define its target(s) and effect(s).

Types of magic are grouped according to category, such as Illusion, Necromancy/Body Science, Fire Magic, and Chemicastry.

Technology
The technology level of the world is similar to that of Earth's late 1800s. Trains and gas lights are relatively new technologies during Unnatural Magic, and have proliferated further by the time of The Ruthless Lady's Guide to Wizardry. Print publishing is sufficiently common that books, newspapers, and so on are readily available at all levels of society.

Religion/Philosophy
The primary religion of Daeslund is Elgarism, a faith emphasizing community, evangelism, and denial of worldly desires.

Other belief systems include Troll Philosophy, ancestor worship, and atheism.

Races
Humans are the most common race, populating much of the world. Their culture and appearance vary much like real-world humans, depending on geographical and ethnic origin.

Trolls are less common than humans, remaining mostly in their racial enclaves such as Cwydarin, though they form a notable minority in human lands. Trolls are masters of magic, and have an advanced matriarchal society based on philosophical principles and emphasis on the community. Trolls are much larger and physically stronger than humans, and are sufficiently andromorphic that most humans have difficulty distinguishing the sexes, assuming any given troll to be male. Troll gender is not tied to physical sex, instead representing the individual's chosen role in their community.

Fairies may be the least common of the races, believed by many to have died out. Trolls refer to them as Fair Cousins. They have the ability to mentally influence humans.

Language
The people of the world speak a variety of languages, some of which appear to be patterned after real-world languages from similar cultures.

The people of Leiscourt speak Daeslundic, which functions as a lingua franca in many places due to the wide influence of Elgarism. Most people of Monsatelle speak Esiphian. Most people of Hexos speak Nessoran, though many speak other languages in addition. The people of Awa speak Awati.

The trolls of Cwydarin speak Dacyn/Cwydacyn. The geographic origin of Nasener, which is linguistically similar to Dacyn, is not defined as of the first two books.

Sexuality and Gender
Bisexuality appears to be the most common sexual orientation, with strict preferences for one sex or the other possibly being less common. See Householdry.

In human societies, gender is linked to physical sex in much the same way as it is in the real world.

In troll societies, gender is separate from physical sex and is declared by the individual rather than permanently assigned at birth. Reig loosely correspond to "female" gender, and are expected to be dominant and act as leaders and providers. Vahn loosely correspond to "male" gender, and are expected to be submissive and perform childcare and domestic tasks. An individual may choose to switch between reig and vahn periodically.