The Allomantic Metalhead

Okay, so basically, Geddan, the world in which Judgement for the Dead is set, is a semi-generic MEF (Medieval European Fantasy) world (though it is slightly colder than earth due to being slightly farther away from its sun). It is divided into three regions: the Southlands, the Northlands, and the Icelands (basically the uncivilized far north). It has been in medieval stasis for about 487 years due to various reasons.

50 years ago, the bodies of the recently deceased began returning to life and attacking the living (yes, they are zombies, like the ones on the Walking Dead). They were dubbed "the Risen", and actually didn't do that much damage (zombies wouldn't do that well in medieval Europe, population density was much lower, the weapons and vehicles were a lot quieter, and more people knew how to use weapons). then, 10 years later (40 years ago), a plague came through. It left the sparsely-populated Icelands almost completely untouched, dealt a large but reparable blow to the Northlands, and caused the collapse of the warm, fertile, densely-populated Southlands as they were overrun by the newly-deceased undead horde. Now, a world that knew  little change for 437 years is suddenly finding itself changing in new and often alarming ways.

Note: The risen aren't actually the only type of undead on Geddan. Ghosts, wights, and ghouls (among others) also exist, and are much stronger and smarter than the risen. They're also much rarer, and tend to mind their own business unless provoked.

History - Before the 437 years in which very little changed, there was and event called "the Severance". What the severance was has been lost to time (possibly in part due to the rumored efforts of the Church of the High Dawn, which refused to acknowledge that any such event ever happened), but it left a lasting legacy of superstitious fear of any new technologies or uses for magics. The Church of the High Dawn (a sort of fantasy-counterpart Catholic Church) took control of the Southlands roughly 10 years post-severance (by that time, civilization had mostly recovered), and had taken over the Northlands by 50 years post-severance. After that, very little changed (save the conquest of Ginskell roughly 230 years post-severance) until 50 years ago, when the risen first appeared. Borders changed, the names of the leaders changed, and sometimes the names of Northlander countries changed, but very few significant changes occurred. Fortunately, this trend of few changes and technological stagnation ended when the Southlands were overrun.

Regions - The known world of Geddan is divided into three regions: The Southlands, The Northlands, and the Icelands, with a massive mountain range to the east, the sea to the west and south, and uninhabitable (even for hardy Icelanders), unexplored arctic wasteland to the north.

The Southlands are the warm and fertile south in an otherwise tough, cold world. Pre-plague, they were the center of civilization and held the seat of power of The Church of the High Dawn. Unfortunately, being the center of civilization meant that the Southlands were the most densely populated region, which was ultimately their downfall. Their culture is loosely based on a combination of renaissance era Spain and Italy, with a little bit of France mixed in for good measure.

The Northlands were the barely-civilized northern region of the known world. They were known for frequent wars and a standoffish attitude, and were looked down on by Southlanders. They only grudgingly went along with the church's will, and retained their own holidays, traditions, expressions, and even a half-remembered second language (now refered to as "old Northlander" despite repeated attempts at cultural cleansing by the church. Now that the Southlands (and with them, the church) have fallen, the Northlanders have their much-anticipated freedom, and with it, the rather unwelcome and unanticipated position as the new center of civilization. It is notable that the post-plague Northlands is actually much more peaceful than the pre-plague Northlands, if only out of necessity. Now that the Southlands are overrun, many Southlanders fled north, only to find the same scorn and derision that they exhibited to pre-plague Northlanders directed at them, and added to by centuries of resentment caused by church control of the Northlands. In the post-plague Northlands, Southlanders (who are distinguishable by their slightly-darker-though-still-white-by-our-definition skin) are often called fernat (pronunced ferr-gnat), a derogatory term which, in Old Northlander, literally means "from nowhere". The Northlands are the largest of the three regions, though not by much, and their culture is loosely based on a mix of dark ages era-Germanic and English culture.

The Icelands are the uncivilized far-northern reaches of the inhabited world. Icelanders tend to live in small, isolated settlements, with only a few small cities to each Icelander nation's name. They have their own pagan belief system(s), three separate (though extremely similar) languages (very few Icelanders speak the common tongue), and generally keep to themselves save for the occasional raid. They were never conquered by the church (save Ginskell, which is now a Northlander nation). It is notable that all of their nations' names end with the suffix "skell". They were virtually unaffected both by the advent of the risen and the plague. They are based loosely on viking-era Scandinavia, only with isolationism and without ships.

Major (non-spoiler only) Organizations:

The Church of the High Dawn - The Church of the High Dawn is basically sort of like fantasy counterpart Catholicism, and was the religion that ruled most of the known world before the plague. It was interested in control of the world (minus the Icelands, which were considered more trouble than they were worth) and cultural unification. They ruled from an autonomous region in the Southlands; basically a single city, a few large towns, and a few square miles of rural land. The church fell with the rest of the Southlands, and now several splinter sects (each claiming to be the "true" Church of the High Dawn) squabble among themselves.

The Northlander Church - The Northlander Church is a splinter sect of the Church of the High Dawn, and also pretty much the only splinter sect to 1) Have any actual power, and 2) Not claim to be the "true" Church of the High Dawn (instead claiming to be what the Church of the High Dawn should have been). They are based on the bastardized version of the beliefs and ideology of the Church of the High Dawn that most Northlanders believe in. It is much less power-hungry, and also much more tolerant of things like grey essencewielding, technological advancement, homosexuality, and cultural diversity (though not everything about the Northlander Church is good, although nothing about it is in the official doctrine, many Northlander Church priests discriminate against Southlanders).

The Duskwatchers - The Duskwatchers are a group not affiliated with any nation or religion, though they are centered in the Northlands. They are sworn to hunt undead that pose a threat to humans (mostly hordes of risen, though the occasional wight or ghoul becomes a target) and to protect civilization. They are all grey essencewielders, trained from the age of seven in the arts of war, ways of the wilderness, and the use of their powers, and are a formidable foe to face. Though they command much respect in the Northlands, they are rarely arrogant, as they consider arrogance as a fatal flaw and spend most of their time on the road anyways (think of them like rangers from LotR with magical powers). Though they have a sigil, they are usually are identifiable by their black cloaks. They often have antisocial tendencies, a sad side-effect of spending so much time on the road.

Essencewielding is the magic of Geddan. It is based on the use of three separate magical energies: white essence, grey essence, and black essence, which are omnipresent, though more of one essence may be available in an area than another. Grey essence is the rarest and the most powerful, and black and white essence are of roughly equal power and rarity. To use any essence, one must have the innate ability to do so (a person can only have the ability to use one essence, there are no mistessencewielders), and must have either learned (either on their own or with the help of an instructor) how to wield it or have had it come naturally to them when the time was right. There are two types of essencewielding: holding and manipulating. Holding is the easiest and always the first of the two learned, as it is literally just drawing the essence into oneself and holding it until you either release it or it leaks out due to various reasons. Manitulation is harder, and is sort of like weaving with the One Power in the Wheel of Time. I should also inform you that which essence you use has no effect on your moral or ethical decisions or mental state. Your will is still you own, as are your decisions.

White Essence - White essence is the magical energy of creation, life, and preservation. It is universally accepted by every known religion and culture. When held, it slowly leaks, heals you of any wounds you sustain (leaking faster while healing you), staves off physical fatigue, and increases your endurance (though you still have to sleep). It can be held while asleep, though not while one is knocked unconscious (by things such a head trauma). The easiest manipulations include healing the living, harming the undead, and creating light. Harder manipulations include healing the undead, harming the living, and controlling the elements. Holding can either be learned or come naturally. Manipulation cannot come naturally and must be learned.

Grey Essence - Grey essence is the essence of balance, of creation that breeds destruction and destruction that breeds creation. It is accepted by Icelanders and the Northlander Church, but the Church of the High Dawn viewed it is exactly the same thing as black essence, and thus (in their minds) inherently wrong to use, and many Southlanders view it with superstitious fear and hatred. When held, it usually does not leak, heals you if you are wounded (which causes it to leak until it is finishes healing you), and increases reflex speed and physical strength, dexterity, and endurance, as well as dispelling fatigue (though you still need to sleep). It cannot be held while asleep or unconscious. The easiest manipulations include controlling the elements, making yourself or others able to see better in bright or dim light, and curing oneself of a risen bite (though it is impossible to cure another of a risen bite using grey essence). Harder manipulations include directly healing or harming another person (living or undead) and directly creating or destroying things. Holding can either be learned or come naturally. Manipulation cannot be learned and must come naturally.

Black Essence - Black essence is the much-stigmatized essence of entropy, destruction, and decay. It is accepted by Icelanders but viewed as evil by both Northlanders and Southlanders, although, to their credit, Northlanders believe in killing only black essencewielders that use their powers instead of killing them all. When held, it does not leak, and increases reflex speed and physical strength, dexterity, and endurance, as well as staving off physical fatigue (though still need to sleep), however, if held for too long, it will damage the essencewielder's body, and the more you hold, the shorter the time until it gets dangerous is and the more damage it deals once it gets dangerous. It can be held whether awake, asleep, or unconscious. The easiest manipulations include harming both living and undead, curing risen bites (both in oneself and others), and creating darkness. Harder manipulations include healing both the living and undead and controlling the elements. Holding cannot be learned and must come naturally, but manipulation cannot come naturally and must be learned.

Endon fer Cendar is a Duskwatcher recently into his 17th year (yes, he is only 17 years old), and has so far lived a relatively unremarkable life for one of his skills and profession. However, after he saves a minor Instrom nobleman's caravan from suspiciously well-equipped and well-trained bandits, this changes, as he is drawn into a world of intrigue, politics, war, and conspiracy, and his actions suddenly mean a whole lot more than they did before...

Sorry, it sounds a lot better in my head.