The universe of the Mistreach Academy is a high fantasy world called At-Breith. Besides what you would expect to find in a fantasy world, you can also expect some steampunk and magitech elements as well. However, owing to the cycles of Renewal that the world goes through, you can find a wide swath of variations on the central theme. No matter which Renewal you're most interested in, a few things are fairly universal:
For a majority of people living in the "current day" of Eythallium, the idea of Renewal is a religious one. The dominant faith, the Sanctum Sightless, teaches that the Blind One shepherds souls on their upward path and oversees the Renewal when it is triggered by the actions of mortals.
In reality, the Renewal is a complex spellworking laid down nearly 100,000 years ago. The intention of those mages was to allow their post-apocalyptic world to remake itself into something that would better support life once again. The Renewal has happened eight times so far. See the Timeline for a list of Renewals.
Check out the Renewal Cycle page more information on the specifics of the process.