Hey, so I was beginning to wonder what a plane would be like if its denizens never used magic. ....
[gestures at the surrounding landscape]
CKY did a good write up a while back.
Earth is a world where everything is connected and nothing is sacred.
In a universe devoid of the centering qualities of mana, Earth's chemists make use of a foul black ichor called petroleum - the distilled essence of ancient death extracted from the lightless depths of the earth - to sustain their creations. When burned, this concoction provides unimaginable raw power, but irrevocably poisons the land with its stain. Petroleum and its ilk power all manner of industry, from the endless grinding tide of automotives that ferry Earth's people, to the titanic foundries and incinerators that move a planet-spanning economy.
Indeed, Earth is a land where tools of death have been elevated to an art form. With the deadly accurate ballistic weapons known as firearms, killing is as simple as point and shoot. The armored juggernauts called tanks can crush traditional cavalry under their treads, while helicopters and bombers wield the firepower of a dragon with the speed of a thunderbolt. Most fearsome are ICBMs - intercontinental ballistic missiles - which can strike across oceans and obliterate cities at the push of a button.
There are no longer secrets in this world. Earth is ringed with artificial satellites that ceaselessly monitor every square inch of its surface, and which sustain a worldwide web of information that transcends geographical borders. Earthmen have set foot upon the moon of their world; their servitor constructs have charted planets far beyond the one they inhabit. And with the touch of a smartphone screen, a message can slingshot across the plane and reach billions of viewers across the world.
In this world, then -- this ceaselessly burning sphere, teeming with the chatter of billions -- there is magic, of a sort. It is the magic of human ingenuity and centuries of exploitation. But there are no fairy godmothers here, no heroic tales or happy endings. There are only causes and consequences.
Make your choice.