Setting

TDA/ZERO takes place in a setting similar to medieval japan, sometime between 1200 and 1400. There are various warring factions that are all fighting for rule over the entire country, all for different reasons.

• - Fighting to unite the country as allies, and increase the overall millitary power of the country.
• - Fighting to end fighting, and regain the country's original peaceful nature.
• - Fighting to reset the country's economic state, increasing employment rates, and advancing technology.
• - Fighting to convert the country to their religion, and punish the worshippers of false gods.
• - Fighting to experement with new weapons that are in development, and educate the country academically.

Magic exists, but it isn't very popular, being considered dishonorable, and worthless in certain parts of the country, as there are specific zones in which the magic itself doesn't even work. Swords, spears, and axes are far more popular, and archery is at least seen in large scale battles. Although assassins, scouts,and thieves are frowned upon by most warriors, they are largely impactful in the strategy of the generals they are hired by. Without the warriors however, assassins would be nearly invincible, and could exterminate armies by themselves.

No-magic zones are aura fields created by powerful sorcerers to prevent the land from being destroyed when it was first discovered. You cannot dispell a no-magic zone without a magic power greater than that of the caster, which is nearly impossible since the founders of the island are archmages who have lived for at least two hundred years each, all studying magic. Because of this, almost all battlefields take place in no-magic zones where physical strength and strategy are a necessity. Otherwise, an army could simply cast several large fireball spells at the opposing army, killing them instantly. Castles, villages, and towns are also built in these zones.

Although war strategy and politics are not the main focus of TDA/ZERO, they are a pretty big aspect of it. As Kazuya travels to various factions around the country, I hope to show how each society functions in terms of economy, govornment, millitary, human rights, and social systems. Every society will have pros and cons to living in them, and I want to make it difficult to decide just one faction you would want to live in without having second thoughts afterwards. If one society were perfect, there would be no reason to go to war, but it's very difficult to make that kind of system work, which I will emphasize in World of Gray.