The Telian Chronicles

[Shankbot de Bodemloze]

Good update mate!

The maps were really helpful, and I'll look forward to when he arrives.

+rep

[Princess Cadance]

Well initially he's heading to Enclavi province,as that is the closest to Rzevor. This will put him in the very middle of one of the most urbanized and developed of the Empire's provinces and will set the stage for how the Empire is presented throughout this world. Thankfully I do have a scene in mind which will hopefully show off the image I want to convey of a powerful,rich,and decadent nation. Plus it'll be my first chance to describe the militaries and soldiers of this world and that should be fun!

[Princess Cadance]

An idea I've had for a while. Inspired by the master Tolkien.

Long ago when the world was young and the Golden Age was still in flower,the Divine ruled all the lands in peace and harmony. Magic was there's alone and they used it to shift and change the world at will and when needed. At this time,in the 289th year of the First Age,Drascus Prince of the Darkness and god of Night began his experiments. He loved the creatures of Telia as all the Divines and he wished to forever make them better to create in them perfection. He bent and twisted aether to his will. He wished to make in them the ability to bend magic as common as the will to breath. He wished to give to all the power of life,regardless of our will or intentions. This was Drascus'es mistake.

At first his creatures excelled. The Divini,Gristhins,N'rith,Cryais and the lesser animals found magic second nature. They were taller,stronger,faster. They ate less,grew sick never,and found no need for food or drink but pleasure. But when the Divine's left behind our world and the Golden Age came to pass Drascus was forced to leave his children. And so the darkness took them.

Without the guide and help of God's divine they grew twisted and broke. There skin shriveled,there bones snapped,eyes no longer saw the light nor ears the sound of life. They became monsters and the darkness of being outcast as demons as failures turned there hearts cold. And so they became the dark races. And so they were cast out.

Waren-(Werewolves) The descendants of wolves and foxes,dogs,bears and canips twisted by Drascus. They molded into one race named Waren,vile dogs and beasts. They walked like man and stood as tall,yet were but wolves at heart. They live as scavengers,as the predators of flocks and herds. They have the intelligence of the Divini,yet cursed to live in the twisted bodies of gaunt and dying wolves,until there end.

Krall-(Orcs,but more dog like faces and probably best described as reptile-men in a way. Imagine them as men,with there flesh and skin torn,ripped,and falling apart. There faces that of a dog almost,yet all flesh removed with only the thinnest skin across it.) These were men and Tauls,crossed together as one. They were once fair and tall,beings of light and joy. Yet when the Divines left the world,these men broke. Without Drascus to teach them the ways of controlling the corrupting influence of his twisted aether,they became vile men as like the snakes and lizards of marshes and bogs. There flesh sunk in and there hair tore away. They became reptilian shells,fanged and clawed. There minds turned dark and morals no longer hold there mind as fully as once it did. They live scraping by and hating the Divini who exist in decadence around them. They still call themselves men yet there broken bodies remind them otherwise. And there minds ever more so.

Shanen-(Wraiths)These were men who were given aether purest into them and made more spirit then flesh. They were able to perform the greatest feats of magic and twist the world to there whim in a way that only the Divine exceeded. Yet when the Divine's left there power became there curse,an intoxication of want and need. Darkness,hate,rage,pain powers there broken bodies and they live longer then men should ever do. There physical self is broken to but blackened bones,the thinnest pieces of flesh,and the tattered skin which holds it all. They wrap themselves in the blackened robes of trash and what they can craft from there small fields. They live on the edges of forests,in the marshes,and the wastes of Masrin. These are shadow people,who need but the very smallest to live,yet even this barely keeps them alive.

There exists shade races of all things that live,all broken and in a constant state of dying. They exist unnaturally within the margins of the world and it's darkest corners and stay away from all,but criminals and animals. They stay alive through the black aether that flows through them,yet they too like normal creatures will die. The "Shattered" as they are called are imperfect monsters,twisted by darkness and left to die. They live on though,but it is often wondered why.

[Shankbot de Bodemloze]

Very good Kind of gives you a way to portray an antagonist(s). Were just a few humans transformed this way? Or were most?

[Princess Cadance]

35% of the population at that time. Then it would have been about 3,500,000. The population of the world at the time was about 10,000,000. Today that's about the population of the Empire. However even today the population of the Shade races is low,due to a susceptibility to disease and death greater than the "whole" races. So in the Third Age(The Age of Reconciliation),the population of the Shade races(Also called the Broken,the Shattered,or the Dark races) is about 5,000,000.

[Princess Cadance]

This had ensured Thilo Arthur a sizable inheritance, which he used to purchase the ship we now stood on. He had commissioned a prominent ship builder to craft the ship and had owned and run the Resplendent as a luxury cruising ship for wealthy Imperial citizens of the Enclavi and Icria provinces. The craft was a sleek ship, which resembled the military dromons of the Imperial navy. Like many vestiges of the Empire’s wealth and decadence, the ship had many trappings of needless opulence. The pure white sails and scarlet hull stood out amide the more modest and practical ships of the local fishermen and lesser trade ships.

We were shown our quarters, a rather large room at the back of the ship, and for the final night at Zith we enjoyed a liaison with Arthur at the tavern. Thilo was a silent man and for the majority of the night sat in silence as Hilr told of the wonder’s we would see within the Empire. Thilo retired early, saying something about how he needed to rest before the journey. In the morning we boarded the Resplendent and watched the shores of Rzevor fade away in the early morning mist of the Zithian coastline.

The path we were to take was not the most direct one. This was due to the necessity of the Thousand Shards. The Shards were a complex system of small, rocky islands an archipelago, directly off the coast of Rzevor. These islands had been mostly uninhabited for years and had long posed a dangerous obstacle to ships leaving Rzevor. The fact that almost the entire Rzevorian coast across the water from the continent of Celisia, was shielded by the Shards had long been a danger, then merely inconvenience to trading. We were to take the accepted route of heading around the largest shard, Jasp, and then circling back in front of the Shards and across the sea to the province of Enclavi, our destination.

It struck me rather quickly was that there was little to do onboard sea vessels. The deck was mostly open, yet besides staring at the endless sea or watching the small chores and tasks of the crew there was little to do. Most passengers were drawn to the ships tavern, styled with the same formulaic and simple style of the Resplendent’s passenger cabins. It was here that Hilr was quickly drawn, like the moth to the proverbial flame of light. He quickly struck up a friendship with the ships bartender, a hardy man of the name Lindel, who allowed him to begin to run up a rather large tab which I thoroughly doubted his ability to pay off. Besides this there was but gambling with the few other passengers who partook of that sort of activity. The rest of the ship, besides the bar and gambling hall was the cargo hold and rooms. Nothing but quiet sea and the solidarity of our rooms to comfort us. Nothing.

It was easy to see the waters from our room. I slept in a rather spacious bed, at least for a ship, underneath a large window at the stern. From here I was able to view the emptiness of sea and sky which we left behind. After the first few days, the clouds dimmed, and the sky refused us a leave of endless gloom brought upon the vessel by the grey and dreary skies. It was under these skies that I first saw one of the wonders of the lands of Telia.

The third night we had been upon the waters, I sat quietly contemplating the aged wood of the ships upper deck and our ceiling, above me. The ship swayed, ever so slightly, but I had been on ships enough before to find no problem in adjusting my body to the rigors of slumber whilst being constantly moved in a rocking position.

The ship was quiet by the mid of the moon’s flight across the sky and so, the noise of the gentle lapping sounds of water across the hull’s side being disturbed waked me, always a very light and easily disturbed sleeper.

I opened my eyes and lay, lightly breathing staring at the ships curved wall in front of me. For the longest time, hours I felt, I continued to abide in this position and neither moved or thought of moving. I in curiosity, sat up at last to inspect the sound outside. In the glimmer of faint moonlight the undulating shape of a vast sleek…animal glided across the water’s surface. I sat up and peered out of the open window, to see if this was really one of those exotic creatures of the mainland, or as the maps I had seen at home called it, Celisia

This was a rinsh, a snake of the seas and waters. Its skin sleek like that of the seals that fishermen hunted at times in Rzevor, blended into dark waters standing out only ever so slightly. I was made aware of someone up above on deck moving forward and watching for several minutes the serpent’s path, before it disappeared into the distance out of our ships sight. I watched with earnest much of the rest of the night hoping to spot it again, before falling back into bed about an hour after the creature had first appeared. I realized that our ship had no defenses.


I talked of the rinsh enthusiastically the next morning over a breakfast of eggs and salted pork with Kresor. He ate through most of my description, yet he did pay attention and once finished told of what he knew about them. “They eat whales; don’t like ships because they find them strange. Don’t worry about them.” It seemed that his enthusiasm for the unknown and undiscovered was much more tempered and well…practically nonexistent.

Little else happened of importance or notice upon this trip. I do remember some brawl that Sir Hilr got into after one too many pint of beer in the tavern. He ended up staying in bed all the next day, with a headache from a combination of the large amounts of ruddy and warm beer he had drank the last night and a gash across his forehead from having it smashed into the counters of the ships bar. Repeatedly. By a man twice his size. He never really liked to talk about it.

We saw a few glimpses of the infamous Shards. The first day of the second week of our trip, I spotted a large, rough shape jutting straight out of the flat, dark, and calm sheet which was the Itrin Ocean. The ship was far away from them, as I was told we had to be lest a gale strike up suddenly and dash the Respledent’s fragile frame against the crooked “monster’s teeth” as some of the older crew called them. After that night I saw them but once more as we were leaving the edge of the Shards reach, towards our port and destination of Eliath, the stepping –off point for Norh who wished to enter the Empire.

They reminded me of sails that final night. Large and rigid sails which came flowing straight out of the decks of unseen ships beneath the waves. The moon shone through them that last time, as if dancing with each in turn.

Chapter 3:Welcome to the Empire

[Shankbot de Bodemloze]

Great update! I thought the description was good, and I'm looking forward to their arrival.

Thanks for explaining about the Shades.

[Princess Cadance]

The Flag and Imperial Standard of the Immortal Empire. The Shard is emblazoned in white,to show the purity and goodness of the Empire in a corrupt world. The scarlet is to show the valor,bravery,and proud tradition and heritage of the Empire.



The simpler flag of Mastra. The symbol is a letter "ma" one of 23 within the Divini language.

[Princess Cadance]

The Respledent’s sleek shape inched its way slowly out of the smothering fog, which had enveloped the Itrin Ocean in the night hours. The sun’s light was just beginning to climb out of the water’s upon the horizon, before spilling out as beams of feeble light. The sun now gave illumination to the coastline of Enclavi and revealed the smooth cliffs, chipped away at for centuries by the ever present waves.

The light also revealed a far less natural and much newer structure, that of carved rock and stone. Reaching into the sky and setting itself above all other structures stood the twin towers of the harbor of Mastra. Mastra was once one of 678 Divni cities which once ruled the divided plains of Enclavi. It had also been one of hundreds which foolishly rejected the Imperials’ offer of alliance and independence and had with the other 670 cities been conquered and absorbed as a city of the then newly formed Enclavi province. Mastra was, in hindsight, one of the luckier cities as it had simply been forced to give away independence and allow its army to be reconstructed as one of the Empire’s legions. Other cities were less lucky and had been razed to the ground along with having their armies abolished through a process of forced disarmament. The forges which had once made Mastra’s armor and weapons had been torn down and there mines of military-level metals had been declared the personal lands of the Emperor himself.

This was more than 1000 years ago, in the Age of a Thousand Kings. Since the beginning of the Third Age Enclavi, and the Seven had known peace which was unheard of for many of the other lands of the world. Mastra had been allowed to grow into a bustling trade and mining center, the ores hidden within the recesses of the earth were brought up through the power of Divini labor. Conditions were hard yes, but by Imperial decree the mining guilds of Enclavi province were forced to ensure the protection of their workers. Work was long and hard, yet the pays were kept high, artificially even by Imperial taxation and wage requirements.

It was of this rock, extracted from the ground, which was used as material for the lighthouses which stood on either side of Mastra’s port. The towers stood out as simple black columns, bent forward at the tip a small “neck” walkway leading to the top of the tower. Here sat the large fire pits which at night were ignited by aether fire to create the scarlet light which illuminated the coasts of Mastra for the merchant vessels, Imperial naval cruisers, and luxury passenger ships like ours which traveled at night. Now, of course, their fire was dying down after the long night during which the fires had burnt through. I watched them with interest, as we began to move closer I spotted the Imperial banners draped over there sides. The flag of the Immortal Empire was a thin strip of scarlet within the middle of which lay the image of the Immortal Shard the ultimate symbol of the Empire’s glory and pride a simple white pattern of lines. The shard was further encased within a star, symbol of the sun and the lights of heaven, white to symbolize the purity and goodness of the Divine who gave the Empire legitimacy and hope. Seven of the star’s arms represented the 7 Divine and the 8th arm, at the bottom the Emperor and the Empire, one and the same.

“Blessed Immortal is the Emperor Divine, the Empire united, and the holy Seven Divine.”- Pliser’s 39th praise

These banners were immense in size, stretching down the towers length from there “heads”, ending in the air adjacent to the middle of the tower. They hanged, unmoving, as if sending out to the world the symbol upon their face, attempting to emblazon the shard and the Empire upon the minds of those who saw them, just as they themselves were emblazoned upon the enormous scarlet flags. Our ship, joined by others of diverse make and size, slipped in between the towers.
From here we entered the natural port of Mastra, a city built into the walls of the cliff side and leading out onto the plains of the land away from the shore. Upon either side of us, within the cliff walls further buildings and towers were built within and jutting out, of the cliff walls. These buildings were of sloping design, as rigid as the rock they were made from, yet made to mold and conform into the landscape and the cliffs. As we passed the towers, we were soon cast into darkness as above us stood, but one of many bridges built to link the two opposing walls of the harbor’s natural cove together. Upon these hung yet more Imperial banner, smaller in size. They had a very simple pattern, an Imperial banner hanging from the middle of the bridge and on either side of them the standard of Mastra, the inverted first letter of its name in white Divini script, upon the same scarlet background of the Empire’s flags.

This was…amazing. I had been told that the Empire was decadent, was rich, but this was unthinkable! And this was but a simple port city? Not a provincial capital or home of a Lithin. What did the rest of this Empire look like? What of the capital of this Empire, Ilumina? If a simple trading city was this luxuriously adorned and displayed, what would the very gem, the heart and soul, of this nation look like. Rzevor paled in comparison to the harbors of Mastra alone, the rest of the city made Zith look like a simple fishing village made of shacks and huts, hobbled together out of mud and wood. I began to truly understand how little of the world I knew or could even comprehend.

///

Our ship came to rest within one of the many docks the Mastran harbors

[Princess Cadance]

My system of time.

Times is done in ages. There have been three ages,each age a 1000 years. It is currently the Third Age or the Age of Reconcilliation. The Second Age was the Age of a Thousand Kings. The First Age was the Age of Gold or the Immortal Age.


The Immortal Age-From the creation of the world,to the Divine's gift of magic to the Inthri.
The Age of a Thousand Kings-From the shattering of the Empire,to the final victory of Emperor Achils Immus the Divine.
The Age of Reconcilliation-From the restablishment of the Immortal Empire,to modern times during the reign of Emperor Celthorian IV Celes,476th Immortal Emperor.

Thyren,Asher,Creen- The First three seasons. Thyren is spring. Creen is summer. Asher represents the middle point between the “rebirth” of Thyren and the “fruition” of Creen.

Milth,Hasus,Thrine- The Last three seasons. Milth is autumn. Thrine is winter. Hasus represents the “empty” period after nature’s death in Milth, yet before the coming of the snow and ice of Thrine.

Each season is 4 "months" long. A month is 25 days. A week is 5 days. 5 weeks a month. The days are named after the Gods. Tel,Anath,Drasc,Stilin,and Eath. Season's start at roughly the 19-20th day of each three months. There are 24 months.

As of now it is the 789th year of the Third Age,the 2789th year since the beginning of the Golden Age. Written down it is "The Third Age,of Reconcilliation,the 789th year,in the 10th year of Immortal Emperor Celthorian IV"

This is the official styling of the Immortal Emperor.

His(Her) Divine Imperial Majesty, Immortal Emperor(or Empress) (Name of Emperor) Emperor Eternal,Protector of the Seven,Guardian of the Shard,child of Celisia,and brother(or sister) of the Changelings.

[Princess Cadance]

The Banner of the Kingdom of Nrithia

[Princess Cadance]

The Empire has a military made up of 1000 ships(Generally made up of caravels or carracks.) along with an army of 1,500,000. this army is subdivided into 15 legions,one from each province.

Icria Legion
Welit Legion
Ilumis Legion
Kyl Legion
Paccri Legion
Alanin Legion
Veznia Legion
Skyris Legion
Adjencia Legion
Desther Legion
Tanith Legion
Calsius Legion
Manar Legion
Enclavi Legion
Riz Legion

Each province provides 100,000 soldiers. In effect at any one time 1/10 of the Empire's population will be serving in it's military.

The 15 legions are further divided into 10 auxiliary of 10,000 men which are then divided into cohorts of 1000. These are divided into battalions of 100,then into squads of 10. 30,000 of a legions forces are cavalrymen called dragoons,along with 20,000 men who serve as archers and crossbowmen,10,000 each. Along with this a special force of 100 men,known as the selrs who act as special agents and spies. Standard legionaries will be equipped with an arming sword(The stereotypical one handed "medieval" sword.),chainmail armor,open faced sallets,and scarlet tunics emblazoned with the Immortal Shard. These legionaries make up 40,000 men within a legion. Archers and crossbowmen are armed with small daggers,cable-backed bows,and usually 50 arrows. These archers also wear sallets or capelines. The 30,000 dragoons are armed with lances and estocs. Dragoons wear plate armour. The last 10,000 men within a legion are knights,minor lords below and including the Lithins. These men,fighting in full plate armour are the richest members within a legion,and form the hierarchy of the army. There armor is not the standard,mass produced legionarie army,but is personalized and custom made for each noble,paid for by there own fortunes. This also makes them the least uniform of the Empire's troops.

Within the Ilumis legion,100 of the province's 100,000 is selected as the "Immortal or Illuminated Imperial Guard." Referred to officially as the Celesian Guard. There armor is the most extravagant and decadent,equipped in full plate armor,made of plintheium(An imaginary metal more easily forged than steel and as light as a cotton shirt.). Upon there chest and faces are gold engravings of the immortal shard,while the rest of there armor is a pure white. They are considered invincible and are more of a ceremonial unit,but they have failed before...


The military of the Seven and One is organized along similar lines,but adjusted to there smaller numbers.

[Shankbot de Bodemloze]

The banners are good, and the update was brill as well.

The explanation about the time and military were really helpful - although first you say 20,000 Dragoons, and then you go on to say 30,000?

Also what actually are the Lithins?

As usually a lot of work in this. Defiantly rep when I'm able.

[Princess Cadance]

I fixed it. The dragoons are 30,000.

The Immortal Empire


Anthem: Desthey Ether Celthoria(All hail Emperor Celthorian) Anthem changes with ruler's name

Capital(And Largest City): Ilumina population:1,670,533

Official Language: Divini

Demonym: Imperial

Government:Absolute Theocratic Monarchy

Immortal Emperor: Celthorian IV

Grand Lithin: Jasthur Ilis

Legislature: Un-elected Grand Council of the 72 Lithins,descendants of 72 men who originally served the Divines at the end of the Immortal Age

Independence:None. Has existed since time immortal and directly established by the 7 Divine

Area: 10,675,900 square miles

Population: 10,435,812

Currency: Imperial gold coins. Higher denomination for purer gold content. Rethen base currency. Thesen,Athern, and finally Ilthen

At first we rejoiced. We used our power to glorify Ilumina and tame the wilds of the Castli plains, the Tesern desert, the Northern Wastes and the other wilds of our world. We grew and prospered, under the just and fair rule of the Immortal Empire. Yet as time went on this peace fractured and cracked like glass. The Sons of the Divines turned upon one another in greed and hate. Distrust and rivalries between kingdoms and city-state boiled into war. Warlord and conqueror rose, promising that there vision, there dream would guide us through the shadow of the future. The lords of the Empire, the Lithins they who made up the first Grand Council bickered over each minor duchy and scrap of land. This was the Age of a Thousand Kings and brought onto our world a suffering which it had never known before. And may it never know so again. 1000 years, a 1000 years when a man’s life was but a soldier’s pain. The plains and fields burned and set the sky as black as night.

The Lithins are the descendants of 72 Divini men,who were the mortal supervisors and advisers of the 7 Divine during the Immortal Age. The descendants of these men continued to hold power after the Divine ascended and they fought each other fiercely for control of the Empire. Emperor Achils Immus the Divine,a minor lord would with the god's blessing unite the majority of the world under his dynasty. He then retained the Lithins as a Grand Council of advisers,generals, governors,and administrators.

[Shankbot de Bodemloze]

Thanks for that, so is 'being' a Lithin a purely descendant based thing?

[Princess Cadance]

Thanks for that, so is 'being' a Lithin a purely descendant based thing?

Yes. Meaning that a fat,obnoxious,lazy,and uncaring idiot can be the man in charge of the entire nation's treasury,army,and commerce. But hey,it's not a sexist position. There are female lithins(Which means roughly "Lord" or "Lady.")

[Princess Cadance]

The previous one was a banner or standard,meant to hang from a hall or being placed on a pole. This is an actual flag.

[Princess Cadance]

This flag which I'm still working on,is the flag of the Chrysalin royal family,the family who holds the title of King or Queen of Nrithia. The other flag represented the nation itself.

[Princess Cadance]

Our ship came to rest within one of the many docks the Mastran harbors. The sailors quickly tossed ropes over the sides and we were pulled into position. We had already been prepared for the stopping off, and we waited patiently until a crew member knocked on our door and helped us carry our trunks off. Soon we stood upon the harbor, Hilr leaning against the largest trunk fiddling with a pipe and a small plug of tobacco.

“So what exactly do we do now?” I asked the burly man as he absentmindedly fiddled with the curved piece of wood. He sighed and looked up, staring at the crowded waters before us. The docks of Mastra were filled with what seemed like every ship in the world. I watched several curved, black vessels flying banners of brilliant green and black move swiftly out of the harbor. There weren’t trading vessels that I could easily tell and I racked my brain with what naval terms I had learned from father that would fight the curved prows of these ships.

“There caravels. Used as military vessels mostly. Based on the standards, there from that Changeling kingdom the Empire is constantly trying to woo to their side. Nirisia or Nirith, or something like that.” Changelings? Those old fable monsters in the tales my mother used to tell on long winter nights? The way I remember her stories Changelings, were some kind of fairy or something of the like. And apparently fairies could own and operate navies. I was probably more wont to believe in these stories then before however. Everything about the mainland had lived to be far above expectations and as Kresor left to go arrange transportation at the nearest carriage house, I sat atop the trunks staring at the spiraling towers of solid rock and hundreds of sleek and swift ships, trailing through the dark waters. The sun glinted off the polished surface of the carved towers and, in the humidity and mugginess of the Asher sun I dozed off to sleep.

“”””

“Wake up, boy!” Pulled from my reverie by the harsh sound of Kresor’s shout I sat bolt upright from the slumping position I had assumed along the crates. Kresor huffed and hefted up in his arms the smooth, wooden trunk I had been resting on. He hefted it up into the back of the carriage he had apparently hired during my nap. He then turned to me and extended his hand to me. I reached up and with a gentle yank; I was pulled to my feet. I looked up at the sky, noticing that it was now darkened by grey clouds stretching across the sky’s immense length. He then turned from me and climbed into the carriage. I followed him and closed the door behind me.

We set off and, Kresor quickly settled down pulling the woolen cap he had brought over his eyes and lighting his pipe. I sighed and opened the window of my side of the carriage attempting to create a flow of fresh air to drown out the acrid and bitter smoke. Watching the landscape pass by, we made our way up a series of cobbled ramps, one of several which were carved into the rock walls of the Enclavi coast. We began to climb higher and higher and I watched as the port beneath and the ships which were still sailing in and out diminish in size.

We passed by more of the carved towers, lighthouses and beacons, which had first announced our approach towards Mastra. Finally, after warehouse after warehouse, we came up onto the level ground of the inner city giving Mastra yet another chance to amaze me. Towers of curved white marble covered the plain for miles. The ones nearest the harbor stood several lengths above even the largest building in Zith and these were the smaller ones. Further on I saw towers far outflanking them, along with curved ivory arches and bridges, many of them flying the large scarlet ribbons and banners of the Mastran and Imperial standards. We moved through a cobbled road, flanked by crowds crammed onto the sidewalks of the city and far above us lanterns hanging every 10 stories upon the buildings illuminated with stark white fire.

I watched as one of these fires flickered out several stories above us. A small figure, at least from this angle and distance, clad in brilliant scarlet walked out upon the walkway above our heads. He stopped; apparently looking around his surroundings with a flick of his wrist in the direction of the lantern a flash of white flame came, as if from his fingertips, for in truth it did, and illuminated the stand again. The figure then looked downward, the white flame giving the faint impression of a helmeted and armored figure with a sword and scabbard around his waist. The man, as it probably was then turned sharply and resumed his march across the walkway high upon the air.

“What was that?” Kresor looked up from his cap and when he his expression appeared blank, I motioned to the now stoic figure, idly standing in the glow of the healthy-looking white flame.

“Imperial legionnaire. There the average foot-soldier in the Empire’s army. There draftees, mostly. Every province has a quota. Volunteers usually fill half of it. The pay’s good though. 30 rethens a month, makes up to be 720 rethens a year or just about 7 ilthens a year. Good pay, especially these days. Of course it can also depend of what legion you join. Ilumis legion, the capital’s or Enclavi legion, the one stationed here are good. You’re in the middle of the Empire’s core region, its homeland. You won’t see the frontlines, at least not for months, what with the complicated reserve and cycling system. However it’s not the same for each legion. You do not want to be in the Welit or Manar legions. Those soldiers get chewed through like dry and brittle parchment in a roaring fire place. Unlucky sons of ” he remarked crudely. He sat back, apparently done with his little “cultural lesson” and continued to smoke his pipe.

The reason for fires lit during the day soon became clear, as the deeper we moved into the city, the less light from the sun, blocked out as it was by the towers, bridges, and walls of Mastra the darker it got. Another observation to be made was the very prominent presence of the Imperial army. Atop the pedestrian bridges between several of the towers and along the walkways besides the carriage roads, Imperial legionaries mingled and mixed with the crowds making a stark contrast with the colorfully and extravagantly dressed natives.

In Rzevor luxury was obtainable, desirable, and respectable yet it was not the most commonplace of things. Riches and wealth was mostly restricted to the old noble families and the children of the smaller guilds that dominated most business and commerce within the Principality. Here however I saw that at least half of the city’s population would be called “well-off” by a Rzevorian, others were extravagantly wealthy. Gilded carriages, women in flowing scarlet, white and gold lace dresses, and the presence of such a large number of what Rzevorians called “luxury shops” added to my impression of this “Immortal Empire” what with the massive towers and harbor facilities, the hundreds of merchant vessels, and the impressively equipped soldiers, why this Empire must be the most powerful nation in the world. Ilumina must not only be the capital of the Empire, why it must be the capital of the entire world.

[Shankbot de Bodemloze]

The flags are good.

Great update, and it's good to see how you're incorporating some extra information into the story. Although with the amount of Imperial troops about, do I sense a whiff of discontent?