You discover the world and its past through the opening cinematic, through brief snatches of dialogue with NPCs (some of whom youmay never encounter on your first playthrough) and in item and spell descriptions.
The mountains shimmer blue when the sun hits the eucalyptus vapors from the trees, at night, the dense star patterns of the Southern Hemisphere sky also shimmer in the clearest skies, and crossing the path to your cottage at night, youmay well encounter a wombat, wallaby or kangaroo the 4000 acres are filled with them.