Not a Chapter - Vol 1 Glossary

I just released this glossary after Chapter 6 on RR a few days ago, and I thought that many of you may have missed this. It's nothing important and you can skip it if you're not looking for a background story. 

But some wanted more info about the world and I'm happy to share. ❤️

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Part 1 - Chapter 2 Background

Elven Calendar 4422

In an era marked by rising tensions and escalating raids, Viscount Karius, the formidable Lord of Inglesia, committed the ultimate act of aggression. He crossed the Great River and launched a large-scale attack on the jewel of the Arvena province - the city of Riverstead. Despite Lord Maurice of Arvena’s attempts to fortify the city, even sending his own son to bolster its defenses, Riverstead fell prey to Karius’ surprise assault.

The High Lords viewed this as an overt act of hostility and aimed to censure the Lord of Inglesia. However, the Imperium’s archaic bureaucracy, slow and unresponsive, sought to label the incident as a minor border squabble among its vassal lords.

This attempt was a bid to preserve a semblance of peace within a realm already besieged by wars, particularly the Western front’s ongoing struggle against nomadic incursions.

Unwilling to wait for the Imperium’s response, Lord Maurice rallied his forces and marched them to Ceresia on the eve of winter. There, he waited and launched a winter attack, which took Karius’ men by surprise and turned the tides of war. Karius was swiftly dislodged from Riverstead and forced to flee, with Lord Maurice’s men hot on their heels.

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This is the map of the Promissia Continent. (Lore is in Volume II, Chapter 45)

The Third Human Imperium is everything (starting from 9 o’clock) from Sarmatia, Centuria, Arminia, Brigandia, Arvena, Rhomeia, Midlandia, and Lowlandia, including also Nicopola, Halicia, and Ekionia.

For Scale, each Province is vast. Some, like Midlandia, are as large as almost the whole of Western Europe. So they don’t have resource or living space issues. The Imperium operates more as if the Roman Imperium survived into the Medieval Era.

Each Lord who governed a Province acted more like a Roman Governor who should have at least a legion, six-thousand men ready at his disposal. In the story, because of the relative peace for 1300 years, a high lord like Earl Maurice of Arvena has two-thousand at his disposal.

Nomadic People, Mercantile Kingdom, and Navalnia Empire are human but not part of the Imperium.

Beastman Confederati is self-explanatory.

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Part 2 - Chapter 6 Background

Elven Calendar 4423

Last year, Viscount Karius, the formidable Lord of Inglesia, had crossed the Great River and launched a large-scale attack on the jewel of the Arvena province - the city of Riverstead. Despite Lord Maurice of Arvena’s attempts to fortify the city, even sending his own son to bolster its defenses, Riverstead fell prey to Karius’ surprise assault.

The High Lords viewed this as an overt act of hostility and aimed to censure the Lord of Inglesia. However, the Imperium’s archaic bureaucracy, slow and unresponsive, sought to label the incident as a minor border squabble among its vassal lords.

This attempt was a bid to preserve a semblance of peace within a realm already besieged by wars, particularly the Western front’s ongoing struggle against nomadic incursions.

Unwilling to wait for the Imperium’s response, Lord Maurice rallied his forces and marched them to Ceresia on the eve of winter. There, he waited and launched a winter attack, which took Karius’ men by surprise and turned the tides of war. Karius was swiftly dislodged from Riverstead and forced to flee, with Lord Maurice’s men hot on their heels.

With the arrival of spring, the tensions remained unresolved. Lord Karius stubbornly resisted all offers of truce, seemingly engaging in negotiations merely to buy time. Lord Maurice, in contrast, secured a fortress to guard against any potential reinforcements. However, he failed to foresee the alliance that had formed between Karius and Margrave Gottfried.

The formidable Margrave, the ruler of four northern Brigandia provinces, had previously clashed with Karius, making their sudden alliance a surprise. The specifics of their agreement were unclear, yet one thing was certain: Karius had set a trap for Maurice.

Karius successfully lured Maurice out of Riverstead, allowing Gottfried and his formidable army to cross the Great River and launch a devastating flank attack. The situation rapidly escalated into a crisis for Maurice and his men, who had their escape route effectively cut off.

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The World, Aqua Terra

The biodiversity of this world varies greatly from that of Earth, making the local flora and fauna rather unique. To avoid confusion, I've largely omitted these details from the narrative, as they don't significantly impact the plot. Moreover, Lansius, our protagonist, is neither a botanist nor an avid animal expert. So, he didn't know the subtle differences.

However, one noticeable difference that he is aware of is the duck and chicken of this world. The birds here are enormous, about half the size of an ostrich. They're dangerous, cruel, and almost demonic in nature. Imagine a wild ostrich or cassowary.

I can't hyperlink on the main page, but look them up :

https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/news/2019/4/why-the-cassowary-is-the-worlds-most-dangerous-bird-568931

In the story, their eggs are large and rich in nutrients, but their meat is tough and difficult to prepare. These birds are typically slaughtered at a young age and their meat is primarily consumed by the nobility.

As for the commoners, they mostly consume lamb or mutton and occasionally goat. Beef is also a staple, albeit less frequent.

Also, the carrots are mostly purple and the banana is unappetizing because of the lack of selective breeding.

https://ferrebeekeeper.wordpress.com/2014/08/07/carrots-changed-color-in-the-sixteenth-century/

banana picture is from Wiki.

Lastly, despite rumors of fell beasts lurking in ancient forests on the Promissia Continent, there's no report of such creatures walking in the plains or urban areas. There are no goblins or trolls for thousands of years. Because, over the course of 4,000 years, humans have hunted these creatures, pushing them to the far corners of the continent.

Contact with goblins and other fell beasts predominantly occurs on the Old Progentia Continent, which is separated by vast oceans.

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Regarding magic.

Magic is scarce and highly regulated, meaning only the high nobility employs these powerful individuals. Most commoners don't know about the extent of what Mages can do aside from them being powerful.

What commoners do know is about the Healers Guild's existence in big cities. The Guild cloisters gifted individuals they name Saint Candidates. These people can cure injuries and maladies with healing magic. However, the healing process takes a lot of time and effort, so their services (naturally since this is the feudal era) are reserved for nobility and patrons of the Guild.

The price for healing is a donation, and it starts at multiple gold coins worth of donations. So, it's mostly off-limits to commoners.

Also, there are no wizards or witches in their lore. They have different lore with dragons, mage-knight, and Saint Candidate with real magic.

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PS: Work wanted me to do extra, my co-worker is sick, and I'm not feeling all that well these past two days. But I'm trying to write so I can push for a new chapter on Monday. Wish me luck.

As always I thank you for your support and I hope you all have a great weekend! ❤️