Personal System Calendar: Year 00015, Day 1-28, Month IV: The Imperium
Imperial Calendar: Year 6859, 1st to 28th day of the 4th Month
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The Summoned Kingdoms
By the fourth month of Year 6859, thirty-five of the thirty-six free-reigning kingdoms had confirmed that they would attend the Empire's convention.
The thirty-sixth was Arwen. Arwen no longer existed as a functional kingdom. What it had become was a collection of warlords holding pieces of it, some with more territory than others, but none of them with a legitimate claim to represent the whole. So thirty-five it was.
Sixteen came from the central-western divide. The remaining twenty from the central-eastern side of the central subcontinent. The venue was not the Grand Assembly Hall where the Empire typically hosted these gatherings, with the Grand Advisor presiding in the Emperor's place. This time the Emperor himself was involved. The meeting would be held in Aethelgard, in the Great Imperial Hall, at the throne room directly. That detail had traveled faster than the formal invitations and it was what convinced most of the leaders to come in person rather than to send only their representatives. When the Emperor of Elms-Arkanus decides to address you himself rather than through his staff, it is best if you would come in person.
Getting there was its own challenge. The Empire's warp portal network did not extend to every free-reigning kingdom. Some of them would have to travel overland or by river to reach a portal station, then jump from there. Even with portals available the jumps required a minimum three-day rest between each one, and Master Rank users were the only people who could chain as many as four consecutive jumps without serious physical consequences. For most of the delegations the journey was a matter of weeks rather than days. The estimate for all thirty-five to converge in Aethelgard was two to three months from the date the invitations were received.
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Warp Portal Network — Central Continent Reference
Prepared by the Imperial Bureau of Transport, Central Subcontinent of Arkanus
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Warp Portals are ancient constructions from the early days of the Empire of Elms-Arkanus. They allow instantaneous travel between fixed points, reducing journeys that would otherwise take months into days. The Empire maintains exclusive control over the technology. Allied and free kingdoms may host portal facilities within their territories but do not own or operate the portals themselves.
Operational Rules
Travelers require a minimum three-day rest between consecutive portal jumps. Master Rank users may endure up to four consecutive jumps before serious symptoms develop. Portals are heavily guarded with limited entries and exits per day. Carrying massive loads of goods through is impractical — so normal trade routes remain the primary method for cargo movement. Portal frames stand fifty feet high and twenty feet wide, constructed from light-absorbing materials covered in glowing blue runic patterns. Powered by an unknown mana source known only to the Empire's highest authorities.
Total Portal Count — Central Subcontinent
| Zone | Imperial Regions | Portals Per Region | Total Portals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Central-West North | R1–R4 (4 regions) | 2 each | 8 portals |
| Central-West South | R21–R24 (4 regions) | 2 each | 8 portals |
| Central-West Imperial Total | 8 regions | — | 16 portals |
| Central-East North | R1–R5 (5 regions) | 4 each | 20 portals |
| Central-East South | R26–R30 (5 regions) | 4 each | 20 portals |
| Central-East Imperial Total | 10 regions | — | 40 portals |
| Grand Total (Imperial) | 18 regions | — | 56 portals |
Free-Reigning (Allied) Kingdoms Portal Stations
One portal per assigned location. Empire-built and maintained, hosted by an allied free kingdom.
Central-West
| Portal Station | Host Region | Serves |
|---|---|---|
| The Gentle Giants' Rest | R11 — Kingdom of Ogind | R8 (Federation of El), R9, R10, R11 |
| TBD | R15 — Kingdom of Talvasia | R13 (Kingdom of Zapata), R14 (Duchy of Kirios), R15, R16 (Duchy of Swolenburg), R17 (Duchy of Heran) |
Regions R5, R6, R7 access Imperial portals in R1–R4 to their north. Regions R18, R19, R20 access Imperial portals in R21–R24 to their south.
Central-East
| Portal Station | Host Region | Serves |
|---|---|---|
| TBD | R10 | R8, R9, R10, R11, R12, R13 |
| TBD | R17 — Kingdom of Rolin | R14, R15, R16, R17, R18, R19 |
| TBD | R21 | R20, R21, R22, R23, R24 |
| TBD | R25 | R25 + shared access with Imperial R26 to its south |
Summary — Free Kingdom Portal Count
| Zone | Portal Stations | Regions Served |
|---|---|---|
| Central-West | 2 | R8–R17 (with R5–R7 and R18–R20 using Imperial portals) |
| Central-East | 4 | R8–R25 |
| Total Free Kingdom Portals | 6 | — |
Named Portal Stations
| Name | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| The Gentle Giants' Rest | Kingdom of Ogind, R11 Central-West | First confirmed portal station used by August's group en route to the Imperial Capital. The town of Bob is the nearest settlement. Serves as a military transport hub between Central and Western subcontinents. It also hosts an Imperial garrison. |
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Maya's Own Delegation
With the Xavior Bloc having sent an envoy to them, the village agreed it was time to return the gesture properly.
This would be the first time Maya Village sent a formal diplomatic party in person to a southern destination. Previous contact with Arwen had been limited to a message sent through a passing merchant — a written protest delivered by proxy. That wasn't considered formal diplomacy. But this would be.
Before the party could be organized the discussion turned to a structural gap the village had been quietly outgrowing for years. The volume of incoming envoys and dignitaries had increased to the point where handling it through the existing administrative framework was becoming inefficient. The council agreed in principle that a dedicated Department of Foreign Affairs and Diplomacy needed to be established. For now the formal structure would come at a later date. The immediate task was getting the envoy party prepared and on the road.
The party itself would be Chief Red alongside August as his chief bodyguard. Talon One and Talon Two serving as escorts. A small enough group to move quickly but has enough authority to carry the weight of the will of the village.
August also raised a separate matter during the same discussion — the question of providing dedicated escort personnel for the elders and Chief Red when they received or made formal visits. That level of protection didn't currently exist in a structured way. It would need to eventually. He flagged it as a future proposal and moved on.
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Security Division — Updated Requirements
The conversation about escorts led naturally into a broader update on the security division's current recruitment standards, which had been revised since the original founding.
Joining the security force now required at minimum of two years of permanent residency in the village. Candidates had to have completed both basic and advanced martial combat training through the school. Minimum age of entry into the program was thirteen, though at that age recruits were restricted to village duties only. Any deployment outside the village required an adult-to-junior ratio of at least five to one. Actual deployment age was twenty.
Recruits in the junior grades were primarily students. They worked limited hours either as substitutes or as part of their practical training while continuing their studies. Their ranks ran parallel to the permanent security force structure but began at the lowest grades. Advancement followed the established promotion track.
With the expected opening of the dedicated military academy changing the upper end of that track. Academy graduates were immediately eligible for the lowest senior officer grade. The top performer in each graduating batch received promotion to the next senior officer grade directly. That was a significant incentive and it was already attracting candidates who were thinking seriously about a long-term career in the division rather than just completing the minimum requirement to join the force.
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The Journey South
The envoy party had two route options to reach the Xavior Bloc's territory.
The land route was technically open. Traffic through the former Arwenian territories had not been completely stopped. But the current state of the region, thirty-something factions holding disputed ground with active skirmishing between some of them, made the land route a significantly riskier and slower proposition than it would have been in more stable times. Not many merchants were willing to risk the significantly dangerous journey right now.
The second option was a combination of both water and overland. Travel north from Maya Village to Kirka Village, approximately eight hundred kilometers, then board a river vessel at Kirka's docks and sail south down the Great Central-Western River to the Xavior Bloc's river territory. The water leg would bypass most of the dangerous overland stretch through former Arwen and deposit the party directly at the ports of Xavior's capital. Faster overall and considerably safer given the current situation on the ground.
The water route was the obvious choice.
For the land leg Maya Village to Kirka the party would take one of the new large wagons. Two had recently been completed, bringing the total fleet to six. This would serve as the maiden journey for one of them. The vehicle would also need to be ferried across the Great Central-Western River at the crossing point, so getting in contact with Baron Kirka about water transport was the first practical step. Baron Kirka was a legitimate merchant in the kingdom of Ogind, which is based primarily in Gremory the Capital City of the Principality of Ogind with substantial export operations. He would know someone with a vessel capable of ferrying the wagon and the party across and down the river.
The planning would happen in the remaining weeks of Month IV. Departure was set for Month V.
August was comfortable leaving the village. This time the village was in a good state. His child Adessa was healthy and had more than enough household support around her. The party communication system also meant that he could stay in contact with the village even at that distance — his range on the system was confirmed to reach as far south as the Xavior Bloc's territory. He checked before agreeing to the timeline.
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The Kingdom of Rolin
On the other side of the continent, across the great divide of the central subcontinent, something was already well underway that most people in the central-western kingdoms hadn't fully registered yet.
The Kingdom of Rolin, Region 17 of Central-Eastern Arkanus, had entered a civil war.
Rolin's situation was different from Arwen's in its geographic context. It was isolated to the west by a great forest. To the north sat the Kingdom of Glorie at Region 15. To the south was Rinburey at Region 19. To the east was its neighbor Marbol at Region 18, which also controlled the shared river trade route between the northern and southern portions of the eastern divide. Northeast of Rolin was Himeni at Region 16 and to the southeast Barbanas at Region 20.
The critical difference from Arwen was that Rolin closing its borders would not cut off the land trade between the north and south. Marbol has both control over the eastern river route and another land route and that route remained functional regardless of what Rolin did internally. So the immediate disruption to regional commerce was significantly lower than what Arwen's collapse had caused.
That said, a civil war was still a civil war. The pattern was the same. The escalation followed the same shape that people who had been watching Arwen closely would recognize immediately.
The news was slowl in reaching the western side. The great rivers connected the two divides through the greater sea in their north and south but information still took time to travel that distance. Merchants who moved between east and west carried what they knew but the whispers were slow and by the time they reached intended ears on the western side things in Rolin had already progressed considerably.
For Maya Village specifically, the news wouldn't arrive until the war was already at its worst. And when it did arrive, one of their own residents would have personal stakes in what had happened there.
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Veera Richmond
Veera Richmond had not had the welcome to Maya Village she had expected.
She had arrived with her butler Mr. Davis and her two maidservants Letti and Pren, it was a small entourage, but she also had a significant amount of money, and the assumption that people with money could generally arrange most things if they asked the right way. What she found out when she tried to use it that way in Maya Village was that money moved differently here than where she had lived before. Her first attempt to lease land had been refused. Her subsequent attempt to accelerate the process through an unofficial payment (bribery) to a village official had resulted in her being removed from any hypothetical land lease queue entirely which at that time was nonexistent. The official had reported it immediately after their meeting and the village had acted on the report immediately.
So after staying at the most luxurious part of an inn, she and her servants had decided to rent an apartment in Zone 2 instead. Herself, her butler, and her maidservants were all in a shared space. It was comfortable enough given that she had the funds to cover it, but it was not what she had come here for.
What surprised everyone in her household, including herself, was the following decision she made next. She took a contractual job.
She had never worked a day in her life in any technical sense. She was a daughter of the Richmond family, a merchant house from Rolin that operated at a level where their children were raised with the assumption that the family's commerce would take care of them. She had learned about trade from observation and conversation, not from labor. But here in the village where nobody's status from outside carried weight and where the path to what she wanted required demonstrating that she could function as a member of the community rather than someone who tries to operate above it using money.
She instead chose to work as a seamstress.
She came home from her first day with wounds across her fingers and a face that worried her household. Her butler and maidservants, watching their mistress return haggard from physical work while they had spent the day doing nothing, felt the specific shame of people who understood that an imbalance existed and that they were responsible for correcting it. Within a week they had all found contractual work of their own.
Veera got better at it as the days passed by. All learners did eventually if they kept at it consistently and she kept at it. By the time the current fourth month came around she had been in the village long enough to know how it worked, to have made genuine acquaintances among her work colleagues, and to have picked up fragments of information that were circulating through the community in the way that fragments always circulated in a place where people talked while they worked.
One fragment had caught her attention specifically. The land lease. Not the village's internal land allocation — but the imperial settlement arrangement. Something about an agreement with the Empire for a settlement inside the forest. She had heard an elder mention it in passing to a colleague. She hadn't caught the full context. But the word land lease had been enough to excite her.
So she went to the elder council to plead her case to be heard.
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Inside the Council Chamber
The elders agreed to hear her out. As they did hear from anyone who came with a genuine case and she had made the effort to present herself properly this time.
She opened with an acknowledgment of what she had done before and an apology for it. Then she got to the point.
"I couldn't confirm nor deny this but I have heard it from one of the elders in passing about a land lease, yes, and that ties directly to a planned settlement you have in agreement with the Empire. I don't know the full context of how it came to be or what its progress is. But the fact that it has been talked about opens another opportunity. I am talking about it from a business perspective. As a daughter of the Richmond family our main staple is the merchant world. And as I did before, knowing the customs of my own kingdom, I overstepped my boundaries not knowing that this place still has some honor and unwavering dignity left to not bend its rules or bow down to the sight of money. I apologize for that again. But still — the fact is there when it was not even possible before. I see an opportunity here for businesses to raise investment from external investors. Your current economy works because you have made it work, but it is still in its infancy. If this opportunity is opened up then more revenue would flow to the village than what it currently produces. You could even raise the tax for outsiders to twenty or twenty-five percent of their revenue."
The elders and the Commerce Department representatives looked at each other. It was Andy who spoke first.
"Miss Veera Richmond. You are a citizen of the Kingdom of Rolin, correct?"
"Yes sir, that is correct."
"In the months you have been here, what have you noticed about this place?"
She gave it real thought before answering.
"The village is a solid organism that works cohesively. I see a lot of camaraderie. The people here aren't quick to judge and would help others when they need it. Most don't even ask for monetary value in return, which I found odd at first given the effort involved. But the prices here are reasonable when you account for what people earn and how much the village invests in its permanent residents. The economy is balanced. Tax rates are low. People are happy, their needs are met, their work and life are balanced. I think this place is truly wonderful and should be emulated anywhere. In a short sense of the word — this village has genuine unity, a single shared purpose, and it is surprisingly self-sufficient."
"I see. That is a concise and accurate description, that even I would agree, not to be bias but because of my genuine belief of it. Then even after that, you still believe that the village lacks the financial power to pursue its projects? As you have said yourself, this village is already well off and projecting well for years to come. So do we really need to open up land leases for external investors?"
Veera took the question and sat with it for a moment. She had already answered it herself in her own description.
"No sir," she said. "But I am still hopeful that even if the village doesn't need it, the possibility might become a thing here in the future. Not now. Maybe not ever. But hopefully."
She felt deflated saying it. It was a more honest answer than she had walked in with.
Marcus Fernando stepped in from the Commerce side. "I don't think it is necessarily a bad thing either. But even if we do allow outside investment, how do we secure it properly? That framework doesn't exist yet." He paused. "Though there is an argument that the Gremir's Workshop arrangement is already a similar case to a land lease in practice."
One of the elders clarified. "Sir Gremir's employees went through the vetting process and became permanent villagers. We didn't lease the land to Gremir himself — we instead accepted the people who work for him and gave them land for the workshop."
"I agree with you elder, in that case, could we at least run a single pilot? One land lease as a test case."
The chamber discussed it briefly. And Andy closed the conversation.
"Very well, Miss Veera. A groundwork still needs to be developed around this since it isn't a current priority for the village. For now, send my office a draft of your business proposal — what you would actually do as an external investor and what space you believe you would need for it. We will look at it. Do not raise your expectations too high yet. This is still very much a discussion to be had."
Veera thanked them and left.
She walked back to the Zone 2 apartment and told her butler and maidservants what had happened. It wasn't a yes. It was the possibility of a yes, handled through a proper process, which was exactly how this village operated. She had known that for months now.
She sat down and started thinking about which market she could enter that wasn't already covered in the village. For that she would need to ask around. Actually ask people, the way she had been learning to do here.