Elerian Order: An ancient order of warriors, healers and others who serve to protect the people of Parvain against the aftereffects of Calamities. The Elerian Order was founded by a band of warriors from all over northern Erebia; in the early history of Parvain, Calamities were far more commonplace, and cities were ravaged on a constant basis by Calamities if they were not within Alphinite-rich areas, and the Great Calamity of 924 in particular ravaged the entirety of northern Erebia, leaving thousands dead. As such, the warriors decided to pool together their resources, putting together their men, money, property and weapons to protect people from the Calamities and Fiends. The Elerian Order thus began small, clearing out the bands of Fiends that had made new homes in the various nations, before expanding as kings and nations began to give the Order their support, with the Order beginning to fight Calamities and Fiends proactively. In particular, they pioneered the embedding of Alphinite foundations in architecture all around the world, reducing the amount of Calamities that struck cities and reducing damage from Calamities that did, as well as advancing the teaching of Arcana, which had great effects on Fiends. Their duties also expanded to doing relief work and medical work to treat the victims of Calamities, as well as doing research into the effects of Alphinite exposure in-utero. In recent times, the Elerian Order has met with greater criticism, in part due to their handling of the Volskaya Disaster and due to modern national forces being able to pick up the slack where the Order cannot, but still maintain their duties as a humanitarian aid organisation.

- Elerian Academies: Academies where the Order train prospect students. In the past, Elerian Academies were restricted only to those selected by the Order and family members of Order members, and would train children from a very young age in the ways of the Order. However, as time progressed, Academies gradually opened up and became less strict, as the Order became less and less necessary. Most Academies will now take anyone who passes their strict entrance tests. In addition, they now only take students older than 19 years of age, though they have been known to take students of 18 years as prodigies. Education at Academies take 3 years, where students are trained in combat techniques and the history of the Order, in addition to mundane subjects such as business studies and philosophy. Elerian Academies are also no longer exclusively feeder schools to the Order; the high standard of education at the Academies have given them an air of respectability equal to prosperous universities, and many graduates end up in civilian posts as much as they do in Elerian posts. Many rich families send their children to the Academies, whether or not they descend from Elerian families. Many of these children also end up being weeded out by the entrance tests, and those that do get through are whipped into shape. Artes were also a traditional requirement to enter an Academy, due to the utility of Artes in combatting Calamities and Fiends; however in recent times, they have become an optional requirement, albeit one that is highly recommended; the issue has become moot however with the fact that Artes have now become more common as a result of the proliferation of Alphinite-based technology. One of the most important academies and among the oldest is Solrise Academy, established in the 15th century near what was then the town of Barminster as one of the first formalised Academies; previous Academies were adapted from previous institutions instead of being purpose-built.

- Ranks: The Order's combat wings have their own ranking system separate from the relief, science and medical wings.
- Prospect: The lowest rank, belonging to freshly-inducted Order members who apply to the Order directly instead of through the Academies or from military programs.
- Novice: The second-lowest rank, belonging to Elerians who have engaged in at least two major operations or served for one year.
- Knight: The rank of most Elerians, belonging to those who have participated in five operations or served for three years. Ranks above Knight are gained through promotion by the higher echelons of the Order on recommendation. Elerian Academy graduates also enter the Order at Knight rank; in practice, however, they are treated like Novices, as they are unlikely to have witnessed more than two major operations and are relatively green. 
- Knight-Officer: An intermediate rank between Knight and Knight-Lieutenant, Knight-Officers are often in charge of a single squad of Knights. This rank is somewhat unofficial in that it does not exist as an official rank, but Knight-Officers are given respect and unofficial authority as leaders among their peers.
- Knight-Lieutenant: The lowest commanding rank of the Order, often placed in charge of a battalion of Knights and presiding over part of a region, often with two or three Knight-Lieutenants per region.
- Knight-Captain: The penultimate commandring rank of the Order, placed in charge of multiple Knight-Lieutenants. Knight-Captains run entire regions, with one Knight-Captain for North Erebia, South Erebia, West Lyria, East Lyria, North Emeria, South Emeria and Aethia. Knight-Captains who retire are often put in charge of the Elerian Academies after retirement or given high civilian posts.
- Knight-Commander: The highest rank of the Order, Knight-Commanders oversee the entire Order. There are only five Knight-Commanders at any time; four Knight-Commanders and the High Knight-Commander who presides over the entire Order's operations. Knight-Commanders are often drawn from the most experienced of the Order, who have overseen years if not decades of Order operations.

- Great Calamity: The incident that began the Order. In 924, a series of Calamities struck northern Erebia, creating an entire line of Calamities from Ruthenia to northern York. These Calamities ended up combining into a single, gigantic Calamity, bringing a wave of destruction and Fiends across northern Erebia, spilling even into southern Erebia and Rheinberg. The combined destruction left entire villages and towns depopulated and in ruins, and the northern parts of the affected countries were left empty for several centuries as a result. The aftermath of the Great Calamity threw the countries of north Erebia into chaos, as much of the nobility had died either during the Calamity or in the chaos afterwards dealing with the Fiends. The Great Calamity sparked the existence of the Elerian Order, however, as various warriors, displeased with the lack of response by their lieges and desiring to hasten the recovery of their lands, put the Order together.

- Volskaya Disaster: One of the most controversial incidents to have ever wracked the Order. Sixteen years ago in 1810, the Volskaya region in northern Ruthenia was among the most Calamity-prone populated areas in Parvain, with Order supplies constantly tied up to protect the inhabitants; the Volskaya region is both Alphinite-poor and lacking in Alphinite-reinforced structures, leaving the inhabitants endangered. A massive Calamity struck multiple settlements, including the city of Novograd. However, much of the Order's supplies in northern Erebia were tied up dealing with a Calamity in neighboring Saari involving a volcanic eruption, while the rivalry between the three Knight-Lieutenants in charge of Ruthenia broke communications as all three refused to cooperate or deploy their units without significant concessions to themselves and left the Elerians in northern Ruthenia without leadership. As such, supplies were not distributed and Knights were not deployed in Volskaya. However, several Knight-Officers in the region broke protocol, ignored orders to stay put and deployed of their own accord to aid the inhabitants, which due to the miscommunication and bureaucratic mismanagement took several days to fully transport all available men and supplies to the region. By the time a full-scale response was mounted, the Calamity had passed and Fiends had already killed off multiple settlements. The death toll reached over one thousand, and many villages were wiped out entirely, with the few survivors of the Disaster being moved out of the region. As a result, the Knight-Lieutenants in charge of Ruthenia were forced to resign, the Order was excoriated in the press and multiple investigations were launched into the Order's inner workings, with the Order changing its structure to ensure that something similar to the Volskaya disaster would never happen again, while the Volskaya region still remains uninhabited save for minor Order outposts and intrepid housing projects hoping to bring back refugees of the region to their homes.

Alphinite: One of the most ubiquitous materials in Parvain. Alphinite often manifests as an iridescent crystal found in veins underground around Parvain. Alphinite crystals have the unique quality of 'seeding'; when non-depleted Alphinite crystals are left to expand in underground spaces, Alphinite crystals slowly grow and expand to fill the space, with new crystals growing out from the original seed crystal. This has been exploited to create Alphinite "farms" of sorts, with Alphinite crystals being guided into easily-mined veins. This has also been used to create Alphinite-reinforced buildings by seeding the walls and foundations with Alphinite crystals. Alphinite-reinforced buildings have a similar durability to reinforced concrete, with the added bonus of resisting Calamities and acting as repellent to Fiends. Its most useful quality, however, is the energy contained within Alphinite that can be used for many things; Alphinite generators are used to generate electricity and power technology such as airships. This energy is also used for Arcana, with Alphinite crystals used to power magic spells. Exposure to Alphinite in-utero, however, results in another interesting side-effect of Alphinite; the development of Artes. Due to its usefulness, the origins of Alphinite have been long speculated, with the three prevailing theories being that Alphinite may be the result of extraterrestrial landscaping due to its seeming convenience and versatility (the Extraterrestrial Colonisation Theory), that Alphinite may be related in some way to the wellbeing of Parvain (the Lifestream Theory), or that the Sculptor created it using some form of unknown Arcana or Arte (the Deific Origin Theory). The final theory is the most fringe, as convincing arguments have been forwarded for the former two.

- Arcane Crystallurgy: The magical system that governs Parvain. At its core, it involves three components; mental direction, a focus and an energy source. A focus is often a small rod or wand embedded with some Alphinite, and the energy source is an Alphinite crystal. Mental direction is required to allow the energy to be channeled through a focus and turn it into a spell. Crystals have limited amounts of energy depending on their size; depleted crystals have to be carefully discarded.  Tomes are used to properly direct the user's mental processes to properly manifest a spell, "loading" it into a wand; a wand may use several "charges" of a spell this way before needing replenishment.  Staves are focii that allow the user to skip the step of having to concentrate and visualise the spell, at the cost of only being able to cast one type of spell. Staves are also reasonably difficult to use for offensive magicks given that offensive magicks channeled through Staves have the tendency to shatter or corrode the Staff entirely. Arcana produced by Crystallurgy have deleterious effects on Fiends; for this reason, Arcanists, or people skilled at using Arcana, are prized members of the Elerian Order and other national Calamity response forces.

- Artes: Magical abilities conferred upon those exposed to Alphinite in the womb. Artes were rare in the past, as the races of Parvain were rarely exposed to Alphinite in that way; individuals with Artes were thus revered for their power and prized among various communities. However, with the advent of Alphinite-based technology and reinforced building materials, Alphinite exposure became more and more common, and Artes also became more common, reducing their relative value. Artes are not automatically active in those born to them, and activate either in times of extreme stress or when the possessor of the Arte attempts to first use an Arcana by Crystallurgy. Artes, like Arcana, have deleterious effects on Fiends, and the Elerian Order have historically prized members of the Order who have Artes. Different races have different levels of sensitivity to Alphinite that also determine their likelihood of developing an Arte. Scientific studies of individuals who possess Artes have found the development of unique biological features that produce similar energies to Alphinite.

- Depleted Alphinite: Alphinite drained of its energy. Depleted Alphinite is an chalky gray, unlike normal Alphinite, and cannot be used to power Arcana or anything else; depleted Alphinite is also useless for seeding. However, it maintains its anti-Calamity qualities; where normal Alphinite is unavailable, depleted Alphinite is often used to reinforce walls. Depleted Alphinite, however, does not automatically repel Fiends unlike active Alphinite, and so it is often only used in conjunction with active Alphinite to reduce costs. It is also sometimes found used for cutting weapons, albeit rarely due to its brittle nature; it is instead often used for fine cutting tools, such as surgical scalpels used for neurological surgeries. Depleted Alphinite does not possess the same mutagenic effect as active Alphinite; exposure to depleted Alphinite does not increase the risk of the foetus being born with an Arte.

- Automata: Automated constructs powered by Alphinite and a recent innovation by the Yamajiman scientist Hiroshi Toshiba. Automata are often non-human in design and have been adopted by the Order due to their ease of deployment into Calamity-prone areas; their inorganic nature and their Alphinite cores render them impervious to the dangers of Calamities, but due to the inordinate expense in creating sophisticated Automata, they are rarely deployed. Simple Automata are used on a regular basis by the Order to aid operations, as well as in civilian society to aid factory work.

Calamity: A supernaturally strong storm. Calamities are distinguished from cyclones and typhoons in their size and severity, as well as their supernatural qualities; Calamitous rainstorms can erode non-reinforced stone structures in the span of hours, and Calamitous thunderstorms can blast apart stone and metal with lightning. The conditions within Calamities are so dangerous to life that most advice to surviving Calamities boils down to seeking shelter underground or within Alphinite-reinforced structures; the only race on Parvain capable of surviving outside in a Calamity are the notoriously hardy Andvar. The most dangerous part of Calamities, however, is their ability to mutate wildlife and even some plant life into the murderous Fiends, demonic creatures that seek to kill anything that isn't itself a Fiend. Before the modern era, Calamities often forced people to live only within Alphinite-rich areas; Alphinite, for reasons that are still poorly understood, is immune to the effects of Calamities, toxic to Fiends and building materials reinforced with Alphinite can weather a Calamity with ease. 

- Fiends: The mutated spawn of Calamities, born from animals and some plants that do not seek shelter when a Calamity strikes. Often perverse and mutated shades of what they used to be, with autopsies finding toxic blood and other mutations, Fiends are driven only by an urge to kill anything that isn't a Fiend, so utterly enraged by the existence of non-Fiends that they forgo all bodily needs, such as eating and sleeping, to kill non-Fiends. Strategies for Fiend management often involve simply waiting for the Fiends to starve themselves, and killing those which are still alive and thus pose a threat. Fiends are known for having higher-than-average intelligence than the organisms they mutate from. However, Alphinite, Artes and Arcana notably have a toxic effect on Fiends, stunting their ability to recover from wounds caused by Alphinite and Alphinte derivatives, and Fiends instinctively avoid large quantities of Alphinite. 

- Calamity Forecast Office: A global organisation devoted to the prediction and study of Calamities, akin to the national weather services of various nations, and founded in 1750 by the scholar Nicolaeus Thrysus in the east Yorkian city of Loire, where the head office still remains. The Calamity Forecast Office often works in conjunction with the Elerian Order, to the point that the uninitiated often conflate the Office with the Order. However, the Calamity Forecast Office is restricted to predicting Calamities as well as studying their aftereffects; in particular, they have conducted studies into the biology of Fiends, the effects of Calamitous weather on various materials and the conditions that predict Calamities.

The Sculptor: A legendary, deific figure that appears in almost every culture in Parvain, often worshipped under different names as a god or goddess of protection, gardening and Alphinite. Stories about them vary in cultural folklore, but the general gist of the stories is as follows; prior to the appearance of the Sculptor, Parvain was a deadly place to live, with no areas safe from the permanent Calamities that plagued the world and Fiends constantly roving the land to kill anything else. The world was changed upon the appearance of the Sculptor who, upon seeing the sorry state of Parvain, changed the very landscape of Parvain itself. The blasted landscape was filled with trees, the world filled with Alphinite everywhere to repel Calamities and Fiends alike, and once desolate lands turned to beautiful, scenic places, such as the Floating Islands in Saari, or the famously beautiful Ben Maeve mountain range in western York. The scientific community is divided on the existence of the Sculptor; while fossil and geological records support the fact that a massive event happened millennia ago that rapidly increased the presence of Alphinite around the world and the population and variety of living things in Parvain, as well as every culture seeming to have a Sculptor legend tradition, the evidence for the actual existence of the Sculptor is very scant. Theories abound, from the Sculptor being descended from some sort of proto-god figure that was simply transmitted as the races of Parvain distributed themselves around Parvain, to parallel development of similar legends, to the fringe theory that there was a Sculptor figure and that they were simply an abnormally powerful Kamuy using abnormally powerful Artes.