as far as the general area goes, this is a land that has fallen away from Ye Olde Ways in favor of developing rudimentary man and water-powered machines and artifice.
at some indeterminate time in the past, the understanding of magic faltered

although there are the rare few who still hold the gift of magic, fewer still know how to do itsorcerers are rare, wizards mind-meltingly rarer(pretty much anyone who goes digging for magic tomes and starts reading them to become wizards either dies or goes insane) (a pointed cap is the mark of a person who has played with fire and lived, which makes him either insanely stupid or insanely smart; and if he were stupid he wouldn't be standing in front of you with all four limbs)

This presents a ripe world for adventurers who seek the old arts for various means; old tomes from the days where magic was common are valuable, magic treasures are stored away just waiting to be found

old magic tomes are a little like elder scrolls in that it takes a certain kind of mind to both A) learn from them and B) Not become a gibbering/blind/deaf/mute madman

it's not called "Land of the Gods" for nothing. frankly, most people wish the gods would shut up. most people don't dedicate themselves to any one particular god; they pay tribute to the gods when they are in their domains, much like you would an earthly king while passing through

they pray to the god of travel when travelling, the god of life when there's a baby comingsome gods literally decide they want to be kings over lands and install themselves as theocratic leaders. others prefer just to wander around doing whatever. there's probably quite a few rivalries, like Athens V. Sparta, but the average peasant doesn't concern themselves much with this

Response Order: UrsulaMajor, Wonk, Rick, NateTheSquid, Aesculus, babayetu83, Flourish, Awfulworldkid, Wire, Grumpchkin, ErikHanson, Studenterhue, (blank)