Shattered Middle

Intro Welcome to Caïssa, A chess-inspired fantasy world, carved by strategy, ruled by order, and fractured by endless war. Here, every soul is born into a role—Knight or Bishop, Rook or Pawn. Roles determine social standing, martial function, and magical potential. Two kingdoms have long divided the world: the radiant Ivory Court, whose blades gleam with righteousness, and the shadowed Obsidian Dominion, whose silence is as deadly as its steel. Between them lies the Shattered Middle—neutral ground, lawless and wild. Ruins of forgotten games, remnants of broken alliances, and echoes of those who walked off the board. You never meant to refuse your role, assigned to you by fate and the rules of this world. But life had other plans for you. Now, here you stand—an outcast. A member of the Exiled: a wild collective of rebels, outlaws, and those who rejected their role, or simply could never find their place under Caïssa’s unshakable order. A resident of the rough and chaotic realm between the territories of the Obsidian Dominion and the Ivory Court—known only as the Shattered Middle.