The Micro-Fauna of the Geyserlands

A Study on Organisms in Harsh Environments

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W R I T T E N  B Y
LOCUST

P U B L I S H E D  B Y  T H E
N O R T H E R N  G E O G R A P H I C A L  S O C I E T Y

O N  T H E
7T H  O F  THE AMBER COLD ,  2076

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The Ecology of the Geyserlands

History & Biology

THE GEYSERLANDS ARE, AT FIRST glance, a hostile environment to life itself. Not only is its water toxic, with its flora desaturated, and its ground unstable, it is also surrounded by uniquely lifeless environments on its north and east side. However, it is precisely because of these conditions that life is able to adapt and thrive in this biome. To accurately describe the geyserlands, a theoretical explanation of how it formed is in order. The geyserlands can be reasonably assumed to have first been a forest comprising the flora of its adjacent southern and western biomes, the black forest and highlands. To explain why this can be inferred, the steps in which this forest became the geyserlands as it is known today must be described. At some point in time, the glacial ice of the boreal mountains began to melt, flooding the proto-geyserlands with water. Then, ash from the volcano region infused into this water, forming lye. This made the water highly basic and, combined with its already high saline content due to the glaciers of the boreal region being composed of frozen oceanwater, the caustic waters began to corrode the rocks and minerals around them, further increasing their salt content.

SPECULATIVE ORIGINS OF THE GEYSERLANDS

IT CAN BE THEORIZED THAT the high amounts of ash required to make the water toxic and corrosive was due to a volcanic eruption, not only because that would be the only event to create such a large amount of ash, but because the geological conditions that would cause an eruption are also shown in the formation of the biomes titular geysers. As the ground split open and water from beneath boiled onto the surface, the caustic waters began to circulate throughout the land, quite literally salting the earth. So, why can it be assumed that the geyserlands was a forest beforehand? Because of the simple fact that there are species of trees, grass, and other flora capable of withstanding the highly basic toxic waters, something that can only be explained by a gradual increase in salinity and lye in the water. Other than geological evidence for the geysers and volcanic eruption, there is also evidence that the geyserlands were previously a forest that can be found in the lake furthest east. This lake is, quite literally, a flooded forest recess. Trees grow from under the water, half-submerged yet still alive. This submerged glade could not possibly have occurred after the water, as the seeds would be unable to germinate in those conditions. Instead, the trees must have already been there, not only before the large amounts of water, but before the change in caustic waters and geological events. Because of the geyserlands gradual change into what it is today, both the plants and animals are highly adapted to their environment. However, the organisms that experienced the greatest change were the microfauna of the geyserlands; the small invertebrates and plants that help preserve their habitat. Perhaps it is because of their greater contact with the dangers of the geyserlands such as its toxic lakes, salty earth, and pools of boiling water that they, in turn, have changed to match it the most.

THE SUB-BIOMES OF THE GEYSERLANDS

THERE ARE  FOUR MAIN SUB-BIOMES that form the geyserland ecosystem as a whole: the plateau, the pools, the lakes, and the cliffs. The plateau is the least hazardous of the sub-biomes, consisting of the grasses and forests that remain close to the ground. Other than its highly saline soil and mainly inedible plantlife, the plateau is generally a normal grassland. The pools host the namesake of the geyserlands, that being its titular geysers and raised basins of caustic boiling groundwater. Often found at the base of the cliffs along seams that highly suggest past geological activity, the pools seem the most hostile to life around them, however, that simply isn’t the case, as even along the very edge of their walls will plants and animals thrive. The lakes are more dangerous to the denizens of the geyserlands due to their larger quantity of caustic water. This additional mass of fluid makes the gasses passively emitted by the concoction of sulfur, salt, and lye much more problematic. It is for this reason that surrounding most of the lakes in the geyserlands is bare rock, as the plants and animals adapted to the corrosion and heat of the pools cannot bear the additional stress of prolonged exposure to toxic gasses. Finally, the cliffs themselves seem to be not too dissimilar to the plateau other than the fact that they are raised above the ground, however, it is because of this greater elevation that life can thrive more plentifully than the plateau. The increased distance from the toxic gasses of the lakes and decreased salinity of the soil make for a more lush environment, making it the safest sub-biome of the geyserlands. The importance of the sub-biomes lies in not only the unique micro-environments that surround them, but also in demonstrating the increasing severity of the adaptations for the organisms that live in them. There is a clear difference of hazardous factors between the sub-biomes, with the cliffs being the least dangerous, then the plateau’s, then the pools, and finally the lakes. However, while the severity of the changes that the organisms living within these environments are varied, the presence of life does not change. Life adapts to the harshest of environments, and has done so in every area of the geyserlands. 

THE GEYSERLAND CLIFFS

THERE IS NO GREATER VISUAL example of the danger of the geyserlands sub-biomes than the transition from the plateau to the cliffs. As the distance from the ground increases, so too does the population of rupicolous (rock-dwelling) plants. This is mainly due to the salt content difference of the soil above the ground, versus the soil at ground level. As wind blows sediment, the sediment settles at the lowest points of land, naturally concentrating the salty sediment at the plateau. This, combined with the leaching of salt from the soil in the event of rain, makes a meaningful difference in salinity. The winds of the cliffs also affect how life dwells in them. For the purposes of this study, one key difference is the lack of flying insects. While dragonflies and butterflies litter the ground below, they are lacking in the cliffs above, mainly due to the stronger winds that impede their flight. This is shown in the greater presence of predatory beetles that make up the main predators of the micro-fauna in this sub-biome. These beetles, specifically the Spiny Basilisk Beetle (Belua acutilus), are not only smaller than their low-altitude cousins, but also lack the greater resistance to saline and caustic conditions as found in other organisms in the geyserlands. To make up for this, they steal the ability to do so from their prey, most commonly various springtails, moth larvae, and even different species of beetles. Their prey concentrate the salt and basic alchemical compounds in their exoskeleton due to their blood drawing it out and depositing it. So, the Spiny Basilisk Beetle takes advantage of this by exhibiting a form of hematophagy (blood-eating). They specifically consume the blood of their prey, leaving the organs and flesh alone, allowing them to harness its properties to a lesser extent.

THE GEYSERLAND PLATEAUS

ON THE SURFACE, THE PLATEAUS of the geyserlands seem the safest of all. However, as previously described, it is because of its lower elevation that it concentrates the salinity and, to a lesser extent, the caustic alchemical compounds found in its water. It is due to this that the plateaus retain a slightly higher level of danger to them as compared to the cliffs. Every organism that calls the plateaus their home must be adapted in some way shape or form to this combined alchemical offense. One organism that is not only adapted to these conditions but also significantly reduces the effect these conditions have on other organisms is the Ebony Planarian (Salesus aterii). This species of flatworm consumes the residual algae and detritus that is concentrated on the top-most layer of soil. This upper layer of soil, however, also naturally contains the greatest amount of salt. The Ebony Planarian has gained the ability to absorb salt at an extremely reduced rate, allowing for a majority of the salt consumed to be excreted. When this happens, the salt is deposited at a lower depth, decreasing the overall concentration of salt on the surface and making it more uniform. While this gradient of salt concentration is generally beneficial for all life in the plateaus, this is especially noticeable in the tall grasses that populate the lowlands. The forests of the geyserland plateaus can bypass the salt and caustic alchemical concentration by having roots that reach deeper into the soil, avoiding the higher concentrations of salt in the upper layers. However, the many species of grass in the plateaus do not have this luxury, as even their largest taproots do not reach far enough to bypass this layer. The Ebony Planarian plays a crucial role in the upkeep of these grasses, reducing the burden of expending energy to avoid reaching critical levels of internal salinity. Without these flatworms, the grasslands would not exist, and the menagerie of insects, molluscs, and rodents that occupy them would be unable to do so as well.

THE GEYSERLAND POOLS

UNLIKE THE REST OF  THE sub-biomes, the fauna that surround the geyserland pools are more isolated from the rest. There are seamless transitions to the various organisms that inhabit the other sub-biomes, but it is because of the pool's shape and functionality that the ecology surrounding them differs so greatly. Most of the organisms that inhabit these pools are extremely small or are colonies of small organisms. Plants do not inhabit these pools, with most of their structure consisting of bare super-heated rock and near-boiling caustic water, however, there is another form of producer that actively thrives in these pools. Grey Rock Algae (Stoma atilus) make up the majority of producers found in pools, and are commonly mistaken for inanimate rock. This is because of their unique adaptation that allows them to survive in their extreme environment. Not only do the algae have a thick shell around each individual, the colonies of algae also move dead algae toward the outside of their congregations, forming rock-like layers. It is only by removing one of these colonies and breaking them open that the green, live algae can be observed. These algae serve as the base trophic level for the geyserland pools, feeding the other small organisms that live in these pools, the largest among which is the larvae of them being the Greater Tiger Mosquito (Aedes gilia). These mosquitos, other than having a base natural resistance to the heat and corrosion of the waters, not only consume the algae and other small organisms within the pools, but use the dead algae in the same way that its colonies do. In their infancy, the mosquito larvae exclusively consume the algae, layering the dead algae onto their adhesive skin. As they molt, they keep their discarded exoskeletons, adding them to the armor they form around themselves. Once they are nearing their adulthood, the larvae attach themselves near the surface of the water, bursting from their makeshift shells as fully grown mosquitos.

THE GEYSERLAND LAKES

THE LAKES ARE  A DICHOTOMY of danger and life. The sheer amount of caustic water emits toxic gasses on the surface, which pose a danger to most descendants but, alternatively, many of the flora and fauna seem undeterred. There are plants around the perimeter of these lakes that can grow simply by not being directly above the water, avoiding growth on the sheer sides of the lake but growing on surfaces above and adjacent to them. However, there are plants that seem to defy this, growing directly above the surface of the water and in direct contact with these hazardous gasses, and these are the submerged trees of the far eastern lake as well as some species of grasses. It would be easy to explain that these plants simply keep their leaves above the short distance of the heavy toxic gasses, allowing them to respirate clean air, but that doesn’t seem to be the case as many have leaves almost directly above the water. Instead, the answer seems to lie in their roots. All of these toxic gas-breathing plants seem  to have incredibly deep roots that reach depths at or above their height. This, along with the fact that lakes with large quantities of these plants seem to be constantly aerated, leads me to believe that they have some mechanism to not only separate the toxic alchemical compounds from the air, but also move those compounds downward, expelling them at the roots. This byproduct then floats back up in the form of small bubbles. There is one lake in which life seems to be the most plentiful, that being the furthest west lake. It is not only the lake with the greatest amount of life in it, but it is also the largest lake due to its water being directly fed from the boreal mountains. Perhaps because of this source of water, the boreal mountains having frozen saltwater from the ocean, that this lake functions more as an inland sea. It is the coral within this lake, the Stony Gas Coral (Anomastraea ignes) that make up the majority of life in it, growing in extremely large colonies beneath the water's surface. So, how do these coral grow in such large amounts? At first glance one might assume that they are feeding on the chemicals produced by the heat vents within this lake, however, their patterns of growth do not indicate this. In fact, it seems that the coral actively avoids the heat vents. Instead, the coral photosynthesize as any other species of hard coral, but have developed a way to not only concentrate the toxic alchemical compounds, but make use of them in a way that contributes to a majority of their diet. These corals have the ability to produce their own light, and I believe they do this by igniting the alchemical compounds naturally found in the water. By doing this, they not only get rid of a byproduct of their environment, but also feed themselves in doing so.

CONCLUSION

THE IMPORTANCE OF STUDYING THE geyserlands lies in the fact that life thrives in it. By researching these highly adapted wildlife, more can be understood about how organisms change and colonise actively hostile environments. They may also provide clues as to how descendants can adapt to these environments as well, not by somehow changing our bodies in accordance to the habitat, but instead by utilizing technology or techniques that mimic nature. Many of these adaptations are poorly understood, and require a greater understanding of not only the very nature of biology and science but of alchemy and the material world. The mechanisms in which these creatures isolate, concentrate, and disperse these toxic alchemical compounds is not yet understood, and the ways in which they formulate their own alchemical compounds to combat other hazardous conditions is even less understood. It seems that, as an environment becomes more and more hostile, its inhabitants utilize some sort of alchemy within their bodies to greater and greater degrees. 

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SIGNED,

LOCUST, AUTHOR AND RESEARCHER
@invertacreator 

Her Ladyship, DAME MANON YVAINE VON VOLKRICH, SUPERVISOR
@esotericas

Dame of Arts, Lady of Deguise,
Baroness of Guise and Distrugestadt,
President of the Northern Geographical Society

P U B L I S H E D  U N D E R  

T H E  A U T H O R I T Y  O F  T H E  

N G S

“ A D  T E R R A S  N O V A S ”

THE VIEWS AND INFORMATION CONTAINED WITHIN THIS DOCUMENT ARE THE SOLE RESPONSIBILITY OF ITS AUTHOR(S).

THE NORTHERN GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY IS NOT RESPONSIBLE OR LIABLE FOR ANY CONTENTS.

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JV: “First, would you like to introduce yourself?” 

“Ledicort de Senna, First Magrave Mount Santa Lorina. Emeritus, now, the title's defunct. Née Ledicort Alexander Vuiller.” 

“Born 'pon this very saint's day eighty-four years ago, in the Duchy of Aquilae on the shores of Balian. Must've been… nineteen-eighty-two. My father was Marcel Elio, the Duke of Aquilae, my mother a commoner.” 

JV: “What was your father's role in Balian?” 

“He was one of King… Citizen Alexander's most favored advisors, his foreign affairs minister. They called the position Legate, and served as its final appointee before the Kingdom's dissolution.” 

JV: “Did you intend to follow in his footsteps?” 

“They were best friends, as they liked to pomp about all the time,” he purses his lips to the query, “At that point, yes. I sought to serve my nation. I was once loyal to that state and its institutions, and to my father as a defender of them.” 

TV: “What was your relationship to your father like? And your mother as well, if you please, sir. Both parents tend to have an influence on the child, I think.” 

“Mm. Indeed,” - “Strained, as regards my father. A mutual resentment. He despised the Temple, and was never one to express his emotions with vigor. Always held them tight to his heart, to himself, except critiques.” 

“All of my siblings suffered from this. I was an easy sacrificial lamb, for I was Owynist, and he opposed the sect.” 

“My mother died in childbirth. I was five, or six.” 

TV: “You mentioned she was a commoner, sir. How did your father come to meet her?” 

“He had loved another woman first. Some… Temesch? I forget her name. Though she was wed away to a Ravenmirian, so he settled for a common-woman. I believe one in the Duchy's employ.” 

TV: “And what of your childhood, sir? Your siblings?” 

“I never met her nor heard of her aside from her name, Isador. I was the thirdborn son of the old Duke, of six. My elder brothers Harald and Duncan, and younger sisters Laurelie and Johanna. As well as Beanyx, though I never met him either. He was sent away. Boarding school in Rhen, I think.” 

“I'll admit, shamefully and regrettably, that I was a rowdy young man. I resented my brother Harald for his inheritance, and my father garnered a highly competitive dynamic among his children.” 

“It was the primary drive behind most of my work, at the beginning. Proving something. To my father and Harald both. It is not always easy on the mind to be a spare's spare. That very ambition.” 

JV: “How did you come to be Owynist?” 

“I must provide some context, I believe, first. You lived through much of this, James.” 

“You recall the excommunication of John Casimir and Alexander the Humiliated. I was too young to see it myself, but I grey up in my teenage years through the regency of Cardinal Ivan over the kingdom after the sedevacante. I first ran for the senate at sixteen, got in at seventeen. My work there caught the attention of Ivan. Ivan Cardinal Lotharia, that is. He took me along to meetings of the Curia as a sort of ward.” 

“I became Callahan's pupil at roughly eighteen thereafter. I joined almost all of his pilgrimages at the time, and took care of his sheep on the Hill. Along with Sir Prize and the other herders. Under the Pontiff's education, I converted.” 

JV: “Can you explain the circumstances of the excommunication, for the record?” 

“Phoo. All of the context could make your head spin, but I'll tl;dr it,” - “After Deunoro's death, Callahan's election into the Pontifical seat was highly controversial amongst Danielans and Jorenics.” 

“They sought to oust him, to schism. Alexander was one of the primary conspirators, along with the bureaucrats of Haense.” 

“One of Alexander's children, my brother in law Hadrian Novellen, now Ser Nathannenel- that's Nathan-Nenel, ousted the conspiracy before Númendil and the Church.” 

“John Casimir, Alexander's heir, participated in the manipulations. They were called to trial at the Apostolic City and excommunicated.” 

“The compromise to avoid open war with Balian at the time was Cardinal Ivan's regency,” a bob of his head. He returned to the seat, tired of pacing. 

TV: “Beg your pardon, Your Excellency, and please forgive me. I left the continent during the early part of Almaris and I have only returned recently.” 

TV: “So I haven't much context for, well… anything at all that you mentioned. I shouldn't ask you to expound on it.” 

“No issue at all, of course. Make as many queries as you'd like.” 

TV: “I would ask you how it affected you personally and how you felt about it. It sounds like a dramatic series of events, and ones you witnessed personally, yet you described it in a rather objective and distanced manner.” 

“It was before I was sentient, in earnest. I was a toddler when the trial happened properly.” 

TV: “Ah, well, even if you were a child, you must have had your perspective? Children can be perceptive too. And how did it affect your youth?” 

“They are not the happiest memories. Our people bled from its irreverent, unqualified leadership. The House of Novellen-d'Atrus had fallen into much disrepair, and lost its honor.” 

“We struggled to get a foothold. I remember playing outside, in empty streets. Some moved away, the rest remained as hermits. Ivan was no good as a regent, but I had the chance to springboard into the Temple thanks to him.” 

TV: “Was it observing that dismal situation that made you aspire to politics?” 

“Isolation was common for most Balianese youngsters during those times. Perhaps it was… opportunism, but I believe in my heart that it was a genuine belief to do good, that then motivated me toward the John-Casimir fiasco.” 

“Yes! Stole the words from my mouth.” 

TV: “Ehehe, you seem like that type.” 

“The Senate was good practice, but change was slow. They still treaded the micro-rump state like a Petrine administration, overbloated and understaffed. But the biggest issue yet was the regency.” 

“My first big break was doing the impossible. I was bolder, in my time. Better at keeping my mind on the goal of politick. I sought my big break in returning the crown to John Casimir. Cardinal Ivan, useless as he unfortunately was, failed at every bump to convince Callahan to yield. And the Pontiff would not yield, he though John wicked and never intended to return the crown to him.” 

“I agree with him now, in retrospect. Though I was naive, and given the vacancies, I was made Auditor of the Tribunal at just nineteen.” 

“Of the Church's tribunal, that is.” 

TV: “Nineteen, sir? That is astoundingly young for such a position.” 

TV: “Did you feel prepared for it?” 

“No, in the slightest. I was afraid. But I was a close confidante to the Curia, and could prove my loyalty. I don't know what made the administration at the time heed my words of advice, but I had a voice among them.” 

TV: “There must have been something about you that compelled them, even at so young an age.” 

“Speech has always allowed me to get into places you wouldn't expect me to be in,” he rolled his shoulders, “The crown's return to John was seen as impossible, even by those who believed in him. The House of Lords of Balian had made an extraordinary vote demanding he be King, which angered the Pontiff.” 

“He was not asked for his permission. A very dangerous act, against a man such as Callahan.” 

“I'm unsure if you ever met him, Lady Tanith. Many unexpected folk have.” 

TV: “No, sir. I have been away from the continent for a significant number of centuries. My expertise lies in the early Empire, the age of Godfrey.” 

“Albeit, he has lived his fair share of centuries himself,”

JV: “Could you describe him?” 

“Not accurately, nor in any way that'd do him justice. But I could try.” 

“Wise beyond all years, old beyond all wisdom. He carried the burden of a whole Tribe. Of a great many Tribes, for a great many reasons, and for this he suffered. He was alike to Saint Caius. A man of laughter. Though vengeful, very much so, and at times wrathful.” 

“He was more of a father to me than my own. I know the world because of him.” 

JV: “How did your efforts to return the Crown to John proceed?” 

“The particularities behind it are private. Temple matters, you see, but it took much work. Haggling, negotiating, and some begging.” 

“I believe it was resilience that eventually won it. I kept at the matter until there was nothing more to give. Ivan tried to claim all the glory of it, but if it had been for him, the Crown would've never returned to Balian at all.” 

TV: “Well, perhaps we can talk about the results? This was your big break. What happened after, and what ramifications did it have for your career, and your life as a whole?” 

“Balian didn't… thrive, but it got some revival. The streets weren't as empty. The people needed their King, and all the other claimants were lame ducks or overseas. I tried to get the second born daughter, Helena Casimira, denounced from the line of succession to up John's odds. Bookmark that particular tidbit, it'll be important later.” 

“She was overseas at the time. In Rhen, also, ironically.” 

JV: “Denounced by whom? The senate?” 

“It earned me some respect in Balian, though they are a thankless people, Lady Tanith. No matter how much good you do for them, they shall never thank you earnestly. They expect you to give them the world selflessly, and receive nothing.” 

“The House of Lords. They had some control over the succession given the nation was leaderless. They entertained, though never followed through, with the idea. Most were opposed to it. Alas, I digress.” 

TV: “It sounds very much like the Petrine era in that regard.” 

“It makes sense. Balian was a successor state to the Petrine Holy OE.” 

“About the time the Crown was returned, I married my first wife, Emilija Sofija Whitewood; with her I had five children, four girls and one boy.” 

TV: “I loved the Petrine very much, but… it too had a habit of extracting the best out of its people and leaving them empty.” 

“That progressed into Balian, trust me. The very same manner of thinking.” 

TV: “Oh, do tell us about your family.” 

“Since Emilija was the only - at the time - living heir to Whitewood, we agreed to split our surnames. Half our children would get Vuiller, the other half Whitewood.” 

“My daughters Lenora, Aurelia and Eirene were Vuillers. Arowyn and Leif were Whitewoods.” 

“I had a comfortable marriage with Emilija, until her death. She passed away in my late twenties.” 

TV: “I am deeply sorry for your loss, Your Excellency.” 

“Sixty years ago, now. I've grieved enough. It was a grave illness, some sort of infection.” 

“Between then, I helped the Temple in all its doings. Especially in the Pontifical States, which I helped administer along with James and Enrique.” 

TV: “Brought about by childbirth or something else? Forgive me for prying, sir.” 

“I was also in my mid-twenties. Albeit, I ran the Churchly courts, so I was mostly in matters of law.” 

“Something else. Self inflicted wounds is what I was told.” 

TV: “Oh, I see.” 

“It may be inaccurate. She never had a tendency to hurt herself in the slightest.” 

“In any case, my reputation increased in the Church well into my thirties, when I was made Callahan's Chancellor of the Curia.” 

Tanith nods and does not press more on that particular line of questioning…. 

JV: “Would you like to outline how the Pontifical States came about?” 

“Of course. I love telling the story.” 

“Another name: Pontiff Deunoro, Callahan's predecessor, had refused to involve himself in an ongoing petty feud between the then state of Ravenmire and the Kingdom of Aaun. It lead to a crisis, where a large coalition supported Tiberias van Aert and the Blackvale levy against the Aaunish, given that Aaun had a bad reputation from the end of the Heartlander Confederation.” 

“The Pontiff caught an illness and died, leaving the Church in Cardinal Rhosyn's trust. She's now Saint Rhosyn of the Petra.” 

“The resolution to the matter left Aaun in a regency after their previous monarch, Charles the Second, conspired to schism against the Church as well and was held accountable.” 

“The Church became the stewards of Aaun. When the little heir never came about, the former state of Aaun was left permanently within the Church's complete administration. It became the Pontifical States thereafter.” 

TV: “And where were you during this time, sir?” 

“The former part was before I was born, and its formation was in my infancy. I got involved some time into its existence.” 

“I handled the courts until they failed to prove their worth, moving to more direct Churchly administration while James and Enrique toiled at the temporal.” 

“I helped in writing Callahan's bulls, oversaw appointments, the typical for a Chancellor. I was ordained shortly before the war.” 

TV: “I must admit this is of some personal interest to me, since I really have no clue what my son has been up to in my absence.” 

“He has done quite a lot!” 

TV: “Ehehe. I was shocked to see he'd become a holy man. And that he had a beard.” 

TV: “But yes, please tell me more about how the Pontifical States operated?” 

TV: “Were they quite controversial?” 

“It was a loose confederation of states, in truth. Not controversial but heavily disliked by Callahan's typical enemies, Raevs and the like.” 

TV: “I imagine some protested against the Church taking authority over a kingdom like that….” 

“Many did. It was this reason why Alexander and John had tried to schism, aside from their hatred of the Pontiff.” 

“Rumor has it Haense was behind the entire affair. Though don't quote me on that.” 

“Anyhow. Ivörians, Ravenmirians, Albans and Enswerpians, and all those who didn't particularly fit anywhere else came about to make home in the Heartlands.” 

“Callahan was a very forgiving Lord, and they were given high autonomy.” 

TV: “Was there a certain political motivation for that?” 

“Somewhat. In truth, the state existed mostly to slowly rally banners. It worked quite well, the Pontifical Army was disconnected but huge.” 

“Tiberias was made Captain-General of it, before his initial disappearance. He was gone for a few decades. It was his return that sparked the whole mess thereafter. The Blackvale folk had moved down from Ravenmire and settled in Grense, just under Lemon Hill.” 

TV: “And were there whisperings about the reformation of an Empire?” 

“Not quite. Some assumed, but most thought the Pontifical States would only be a warmongering nation.” 

“And that war was mongered, indeed. Quite dramatically.” 

JV: “I want to circle back briefly on something, you said the courts failed to show their worth, how was that?” 

“They oversaw a few cases. The ones we did, we handled them with care and with law. It was a very sophisticated system. Perhaps… a little too sophisticated.” 

“The Pontifical States demanded faster justice. Sometimes valued the deliverance of it over what was necessary right. Alas, it fell to disrepair and neglect and was eventually disbanded as I was promoted.” 

JV: “What led up to the war?” 

“Vinovia. The Pontifical States and Haense were stuck in a sort of political war beforehand, a… passive war, so to speak.” 

“That entire period was mostly diplomatic isolation from one another while trying to gain as many third party allies as possible. Folks called it the possibility of Hyperwar, the war to end all wars, you understand.” 

TV: “Hyperwar, I've heard that term used before a few times. And what were your own, personal thoughts on it?” 

“This escalated slowly but steadily, until it exploded with a bang. Haense had hired a mercenary group dubbed the Vinovians, who acted as proxy operatives for Haense.” 

“They were trying to get the war going. Haense wanted its Empire as well, but the biggest roadblock was always Callahan and the Church.” 

“Mine? Unfortunate. Perhaps not strictly necessary, but not without reason. An inevitable tragedy.” 

TV: “So you felt there was no way to avert it?” 

“Not with the Haensers actively trying to spark it, no.” 

“That brings back the Vinovians, as they had been heightening tensions by attacking our borders. It was until one day they attempted to raid the Holy See and assassinate the Pontiff that it boiled over.” 

“He was thankfully not home at the time, nor was I. We had a meeting just before and could've very well lost our lives that day. Thankfully, the Vinovians were late.” 

TV: “A stroke of luck indeed!” 

“Perhaps, perhaps. That, of course, was intolerable. There were rumors of Haense's involvement with Vinovia, their very public dealings with them, so forth.” 

“There were some attempts at detente, at alternative deals, but none fell through. Karl the Impious, the then King of Haense, went to sea and died of some illness. Scurvy, I think.” 

“His brother Joren took over after that. He was a meeker man, never meant to be King. Karl had left no issue, you see.” 

“The tensions rose so much they ended up in an ultimatum. Either Joren abdicate and hand over regency of Haense to the Church, as had happened with Aaun, or all-out war.” 

“Callahan wasn't available that day so I had to lead the gathering where he gave his response. When he said no, I excommunicated him before the gathering. War was declared a few days after.” 

TV: “My goodness, and how did you feel on that day? What was going through your head?” 

“Hope that he'd say yes. Fear that he'd say no. Resentment when he did.” 

TV: “Did the prospect of war frighten you at all?” 

“It did. Not because I didn't think we'd win, but because of what the cost would be.” 

“My whole family was in Balian, after all. They would forsake me. They did.” 

TV: “Would you elaborate on that, sir?” 

“Many of the canonist nations yielded to him. Petra, Aaun, Hyspia, Balian as I said, and other sellouts who preferred Haense's cushy Pax over the Temple and Faith. Only Númendil and the Pontifical States stood by Callahan, as well as the myriads of other allies we had.” 

“John Casimir and I had a difficult, personal relationship. I had helped him greatly, after all, and we were indebted to one another. I had him swore an oath before me, to never transgress the Temple.” 

“This is related, don't be afraid…-”

Here a short interruption occured

“Ah, yes. John. We'd gotten into a sort of… rivalry. He hated my guts as much as I did his, and as per, he was motivated to join with Haense and make me the scapegoat. He blamed me for the war and had me banished from the realm. My father, the loyal dog that he is, followed along by disinheriting me and denouncing me from the Vuillers.” 

“It split my family. Half my children remained in Balian, the other half joined me in the Pontifical States.” 

TV: “My God! How awful!” 

“It was the choice I had to make. To keep true to my Temple, or to submit to my nation. It's obvious which one I went with.” 

JV: “Were here… difference with Balian similar to your own?” 

“How so?” 

JV: “Was she also also siding with the Temple over her nation, or was there a different conflict going on?” 

“Ah! Helena's- she had some issues with her family. Private, for the most part. She chose a better life for her and her child.” 

“The war raged on. She fought in some battles, as did I. Nothing too dramatic however. She captured Kathryn of Rhen, John's consort, some… two or three times?” 

JV: “Very impressive.” 

“Burgundy was founded about that time as well, and the States dissolved, as you remember.” 

“The Kingdom. Once Balian was conquered and John died, the Empire was founded.” 

“Helena and I married and went on to have some… eleven children? I forget.” 

JV: “I do. Before that, how did the war go?” 

“The war went as all wars go. Death, destruction, incredibly annoying opposition. The beginning was uncertain, but after our first few victories, it was pretty much decided.” 

“They tried raiding the Holy See a few times, once with my children about. Could've hurt them. Thankfully they didn't do it again.” 

JV: “It must have been hard on your family life.” 

“Yes… though some of my children who remained in Balian came along to join me in the States, especially after the Whitewoods settled Silasia.” 

“Once it was won, the Empire was founded, and due to a friendship with Tiberias I was made his Archchancellor.” 

“Then came the Druscan fiasco.” 

JV: “Hold on, how did the Empire come about?” 

“Humanity was, for the most part, completely united. The natural state of a united humanity is an Empire. Therefore, it was pronounced shortly after.” 

Here, a more serious interruption occurred, causing the rest of the interview to be postponed to a later date 

“Well, where were we?” 

JV: “We had just gotten to the rise of the Empire. A good point to have recessed at. I'd like you to tell how exactly it came about. This will be a period of great interest, I think.” 

“I believe I gave some of the context in our last session, would you like me to go about all of it again?” 

JV: “I think that would be good.” 

“Very well! Well, the only history prior to the war of two emperors is only relevant as in the line of Augustus, the second of the Emperors of Man of the first Pertinaxi dynasty.” 

“Augustus had a child. Quite a few, in fact, but one of them was a boy who would go on to create the house of Vilacz.” 

“Vilacz became Vilac which became van Aert.” 

“The Burgundians had direct agnatic ancestry straight to Aurelius Canonius. Tiberias, son of Gaspard II - who was Captain-General of Veletz - knew this.” 

“Tiberias and his host, a large levy of soldiers of Blackvale and Burgundy, marched with him out of the Middle-lands and up into Ravenmire.” 

“When James was first made bishop, Ravenmire was his diocese. He himself can speak on how brutally cold and isolated that place was. Almost fell to Aurelianist heresies, if it weren't for the good shepherding of the Church.” 

“A man named Charles Alstion was crowned Charles the Second down in Aaun, after the death of his father John of Aaun. Charles cannibalized the union-state of Aaun and Petra and caused the dissolution of the Heartlander Confederation.” 

“He was a terrible, horrible man.” 

“So much so that he murdered his own brother, whose name escapes me. Something James? I believe?” 

“The death was related to some claimant issues. Aaun was a rump-state of the eighth empire which maintained legitimacy only through its Alstionite roots.” 

“Though more importantly, the kinslaying was discovered. The royals of Aaun weren't very bright and decided to discard of the body inside of… I think a cistern, or a basin of holy water in the chapel. After a raid to the Hand of Horen, which was a massive tower the Alstions inhabited as a palace, Tiberias' host found the dead body of that Prince.” 

“That's when Tiberias made his first and very important move. He revealed the death and declared an ultimatum against Aaun, backed by Ravenmire and a miscellaneous gang of orcs and dwed.” 

“Aaun was highly unpopular, though. The general canonist community hated them with a passion, especially Númendil and Petra.” 

“Though, they hated Tiberias more.” 

“Haense had just defeated Tiberias' father, Gaspard, in the Veletz war. They saw the return of the Blackvale host as a dangerous resurgence of Veletzian ideology, especially from what was at the time a radical. Tiberias was much more Burgundian than his republican forefathers.” 

JV: “What does burgundian mean in this context?” 

“Of Burgundy, which was the main military backbone of Veletz Somewhat derived from Pertinaxi. Certainly Pertinaxi in nature, at least.” 

“Veletz as a whole was less so, and focused on Dumacratic ideals of elective autocracy. Semi-republican. In any case, Haense saw this as a threat to their order. The Church maintained a neutral stance, not openly backing neither Tiberias who sought against Aaun, nor Haense who sought to defend it.” 

“Many believed it'd be all-out war.” 

“Though it wasn't. An important summit took place at Numenost, the capital of Númendil, where basically all world leaders met with their hosts, including Tiberias. There, Saint Rhosyn of the Petra and then-Cardinal Callahan, who were acting in the old Pontiff's stead while he was dying, managed to broker an important deal.” 

TV (to ED): “Were you there, llir?” 

ED: “It is as he said, it was a very… passionate meeting, as I recall.” 

TV: “Passionate? Indeed? How so? Do tell.” 

“Incredibly so. I read the transcripts, believe it or not, the Church kept extensive records.” 

“There was… a lot of shouting. King Alexander of Balian was a complicated man who hated Tiberias.” 

ED: “Complicated man is a simple way to describe Alex.” 

“But Saint Rhosyn, through expert and dare I say God-given negotiation skills, managed some impressive maneuvers and maintained peace. Charles the Second had been excommunicated prior, so Aaun was under further crisis.” 

“He was excommunicated on grounds of kinslaying, by the way.” 

ED: “But to merely be present in the room was an almost deafening experience.” 

“His son, whose name I don't remember… Godwin? I think? Was just nine, or ten.” 

“So, the brokered deal saw the release of the Treaty of Minas Aranath, which gave the Church essentially complete ownership of Aaun as stewards and regents while ensuring no invasion from Tiberias' forces.” 

“Then came quite troublesome days….” 

“The aforementioned King Alexander hated Owynism as well. With a passion, more than he did Tiberias.” 

“And the face of Owynism at the time was Callahan, who was elected as the next Pontiff after the death of the previous.” 

“So you can assume that an openly Owynist Pontiff wasn't all too appealing to King Alexander or King Marius of Haense.” 

“They plotted to schism, though the Haensers didn't commit. They were clever and had the Balianoids as scapegoats, deliberating with some old Aaunic authorities; the Chancellor and other such folks, and conspiring with them to openly schism.” 

“However, this ploy was revealed by the second son of Alexander, Hadrian the Hero Novellen. My brother in law. Ironically, my wife's twin, Hadrian, who attended the meeting, fled to Numendil where he told the Church of the ploy.” 

“Alexander II, Queen Lavanya his wife, and John Casimir his heir were all excommunicated… as well as the Aaunite chancellor and other officials.” 

“They were all sent to THE ISLAND: Also known as, the Citizen's Island, where some of them remain to this day.” 

TV: “The island?” 

“Yes. THE ISLAND.” 

TV: “Would you elaborate on that, please?” 

TV: “THE ISLAND, ti. Begging your pardon.” 

“It was a little Island just south of Almaris where the Church sent all of its enemies it had excommunicated.” 

“Charles II, Alexander II, their wives, their heirs.” 

TV: “Was it a very fearsome place? A prison?” 

“No, just a monastery. They were forced to become monastics.” 

“A monastery and a nunnery on opposite sides of the island, if I recall correctly.” 

Tanith nods. “Ahernan, I was just curious. You made it sound rather terrifying, pronouncing it that way. THE ISLAND. Quite foreboding.” 

“THE ISLAND.” 

TV: “THE ISLAND. It's a little fun to say, actually.” 

“Yes. It was foreboding, two nations essentially ceased to exist thanks to it.” 

“Balian was also entrusted to the Church, what we discussed our last session, with the whole deal of Cardinal Ivan and my struggle for John's crown.” 

“That heir to Aaun, little… Godwin, I think, yes, he failed to show up. He didn't meet by his end of the deal, so Aaun was dissolved. That line of Alstion ceased to exist there. And in its stead were founded the Pontifical States, headed by the Church as its only sovereign. Tiberias was made Captain-General, the head of its armies, as per his covenant with Callahan. Though he disappeared. He went away for many years.” 

“And so commenced a very long, very tense cold period. The one I grew up in. The Pontifical States and Idunia on one side as one superpower, Haense and its lackeys- Petra, Hyspia and Reinmar on the other. None daring to war one another, but both hoping to eventually.” 

JV: “You had moved to the Pontifical States by this point.” 

“I had.” 

“I got work in the Church so I worked where the Church was. I lived at Lemon Hill and was one of its few permanent residents.” 

“After Lemon Hill ceased to be Sir Morgan's little plot and instead became the Church's headquarters, as the Holy See.” 

“Then that waiting period, yadda-yadda, nothing very interesting happened until the Schism war.” 

“I believe I spoke on it last time, did I?” 

JV: “Yes, I believe so, briefly." 

“I may elaborate, if you wish.” 

TV: “Please do. The Schism War I am personally familiar with is… uh… much older.” 

“Yes… this newer one is typically referred to as the war of Crown and Crozier.” 

“Awful name, if you ask me.” 

“That's why us who lived through it refer to it as the Second Schism War, or the Vinovian War.” 

JV: “I always called it the Vinovian War.” 

“Yes. It was a huge, bloody affair.” 

“Started with the Vinovians, who appeared out of nowhere as mercenaries. They were hired by Haense on the down-low, but not down enough, to conduct partisan operations against the Church.” 

“One day they went too far. They raided Lemon Hill in hopes of assassinating the Pontiff, but instead gravely injured Tar-Anorhil and murdered innocent priests and monastics.” 

“This initiated the Vinovian Crisis. The Church's coalition fought against them while Haense observed as a proxy.” 

“Then the Vinovians went quiet, and at almost the same time, Tiberias returned.” 

“The connections between Haense and Vinovia were made apparent, and a large meeting - also at Númendil ironically, gave way to an ultimatum made before the Haeseni. Either have their monarch Karl the Impious abdicate and cede regency to the Church, or face war.” 

“A bunch of other demands were made at the same time. They were ordained by the Angel Saint Raguel, you know, who I had the blessing to meet and converse with a few times. The actual, real Angel who came down from the Skies. Such prophetic times, they were.” 

TV: “I imagine that went over well with the Haenseni?” 

“- Hah, not at all, Lady Tanith. Not at all indeed.” 

“I was the one to give the terms. I had to face down King Joren, as King Karl the Impious had died. Joren was his younger brother, by the by. He was a meeker and more reasonable man. But not reasonable enough, unfortunately.” 

“So I provided unto him the demands, and he denied me, so I excommunicated him. And that was how the war began.” 

TV: “What was that like, having to deliver those terms at the meeting's conclusion?” 

“The terms were at a secondary meeting. The first one was at Numendil, the second that actually started the war was at Lemon Hill.” 

“Haense had been summoned. The room was quite packed.” 

“After the excommunication, the war started proper. The Pontifical States, Númendil, orcs, dwarves, and Caurost against Haense, Hyspia, Petra, Reinmar, and Balian. A true world war, everyone duking it out.” 

“It ensued for… quite little, surprisingly. Haense gave up after the third, fourth battle?” 

“Their land got annexed and they fled to become a Norlandic vassal rump-state called Karoslund. Which is now, itself, gone.” 

“Reinmar is now an Imperial vassal, Petra under Idunia, Hyspia became Viru, and Balian………….” 

“Balian lasted longer. The only one who didn't capitulate. They fought until we sieged their capital. Honorable, but foolish.” 

“I hated them, I'll admit. Hated my father, my brother in law, that halfwit John Casimir, after so many olive branches I gave him he still refused.” 

“But, in the end the line of Novellen was abolished there, to never return.” 

“Balian was dissolved, and I even got to marry John Casimir's sister!” 

“Your rival marrying your sister. Eheh.” 

TV: “I bet that made the wedding a little awkward.” 

“Oh, he wasn't invited. Though we did marry in Balian, secretly.” 

TV: “What are your feelings on your brother in law now?” 

“I'm glad he's dead. That's about it. To say anything else would mean he's still got a smidge of power over my life, which he thankfully doesn't.” 

TV: “Ah, that's a very healthy attitude to have.” 

“Anyhow, Balian became Lotharia under the orcs, similarly to how Beleth is now.” 

“Prior to Balian's capitulation, I crowned Tiberias as King of Burgundy. I wasn't given a script and dare-I-say I did VERY well. It was quite the spectacle.” 

JV: “How did he go from King to Emperor?” 

“When Callahan couldn't or didn't want to make it to a coronation, he'd make me do them. I crowned the Prince of Reinmar, the King of Petra, the Queen of Hyspia….” 

“Thus why I said prior to Balian; when Balian fell, humanity was (for the most part) united.” 

“Everyone under the Imperial banner.” 

“So, Callahan crowned him Emperor on the basis of that agnatic succession I mentioned earlier.” 

“Through Aert through Vilac through Vilacz to the Pertinaxi.” 

JV: “There was no Imperial Banner before there was an Emperor.” 

“The proto-Imperial banner. Technically the Burgundian banner. Which was also technically the Pontifical States, given the States later became Burgundy which later became the Empire.” 

JV: “I don't recall the States becoming Burgundy.” 

“I know it's a touchy subject for you, James, but in broad strokes that was what it was. All Pontifical vassals swore to Tiberias that day, under Callahan's instruction.” 

JV: “Did you automatically join the Imperial Government?” 

“No. I was Lord Chancellor of Burgundy prior to that, I'd become friends with Tiberias and my work as the Church's Chancellor impressed him. I helped him found the Imperial state when the time came, and have been Archchancellor ever since.” 

JV: “There must have been much work to do.” 

“An excruciating amount. Vassal negotiations, forming the first government and the state as a whole. If it weren't for my wife, my sweet Helena, I wouldn't be here today. She gave me the courage to continue, and helped me much in legal work.” 

“Though she was made to step down after a controversy. One that was grossly overblown, may I add.” 

JV: “Would you like to elaborate on that?” 

“She was the first Lady Justiciar, and set the foundations for current Imperial legal procedure. Though some rumors were spread of her involvement in the death of some noble-lady or other. She had to step down to avoid further controversy on the Crown. Alas.” 

JV: “How did you go about forming a brand new government?” 

“I studied older Imperial forms of governance. We maintained a more Pertinaxi flavor while keeping the general Imperial cabinet shape.” 

JV: “What's a Pertnaxi flavor?” 

“Think old Empire of Man, expressing titles and ranks in a similar way to that of the first Pertinax.” 

“Given the historical differences with the Helane-Novellen side, it's natural not much was taken from the eighth empire's form of council.” 

“That is a short and somewhat convoluted history of the Empire's creation, Lady Tanith.” 

TV: “It's very strange and funny to hear your speak thus, Your Excellency. The last time I was in Oren was under the reign of Joseph II and I departed shortly after his passing. Back then, our understanding of the Pertinaxi was that they were horrific tyrants and their example should be shunned.” 

TV: “To hear you say you emulated them purposefully is very strange to my ears. But - I will admit my understanding of the Pertinaxi was likely colored due to the political propaganda of the time….” 

TV: “I heard many diverging opinions on them.” 

“Why, of course. And the old Empire of Man was quite brutal indeed, though we must respect the culture of our forefathers.” 

“The Petrines hated the Pertinaxi because they won against them in Two-emps.” 

TV: “Naturally. History is written by the victors, as they say.” 

“Not always! Sometimes it's written by independent third parties, like yourselves.” 

“And I find those histories to be much more interesting to read.” 

“Have you any further questions?” 

JV: “What do you see as the major events under your Archchancellory?” 

“Phoo… too many. The Margrave's war between Ivoria and Drusco, then the Druscan war between Drusco and Numendil, the integrations of Norland, Caurost, and Iryalen, and now this war. I think they're calling it the Badlands War?” 

TV: “Oh my, I didn't know it had a name. Everyone I've spoken to has merely called it 'the war'.” 

“That's what they'll continue to call it until it ends, I reckon. Which shouldn't be long at all.” 

TV: “Well, I suppose, what's next for you, Your Excellency? Where do you see yourself in five years?” 

“A series of reforms, mostly to the legislative and judicial processes.” 

“And then, well… death.” 

TV: “…That's rather grim, Your Excellency.” 

“Oh, not at all. I lived a good life, Lady Tanith. A human is made to return to His Lord eventually.” 

TV: “I would think a more cheerful answer is… retirement to someplace tropical.” 

“And in my old age, and with these old bones, I can only aspire to make good on that covenant and make way home. That's the blessing of Man. Mortality gives perspective. I did all I needed to do to provide to the Tapestry.” 

“I loved and was loved, I worked for and was worked for.” 

TV: “Well… I should hope you will get to enjoy retirement for a few years before the Lord calls you home. You've been an awfully busy man. It's important to rest too.” 

“Alas! My contract doesn't end until my passing.” 

“I'm to serve in office until I keel over.” 

TV: “Oh dear… well, let us hope your final years in office won't be so hectic. A swift conclusion to the war and then peace in the realm.” 

“Hah! They ended in a regency and a war, quite hectic indeed, though I love the work I do.” 

JV: “Wrapping up, how would you characterize the situation of the Empire, and what would you say are the greatest challenges ahead of it?” 

“The Empire will soon be everything. There won't be a thing on this continent that doesn't happen within its borders.” 

“… In a way, paradoxically, the Empire's challenges will be every challenge at once. From every corner of the realm. From every vassal, every thinking mind, every creature. It will have to survive. Kick and fight and gnaw, like an animal. It'll have to overcome everything, all the time, all at once.” 

TV: “You… don't sound optimistic.” 

“I am optimistic. I never said it wouldn't triumph. I worry for the sanity of Marcus and his little heir, I do. But if they labor, then there'll be peace. Long lasting peace.”

JV: “And Hadrian?” 

“The Emperor will prove his own strength with his war. It'll be his magnum opus. He will have been the conqueror of everything that crawls and walks. That is legacy enough, I believe.” 

JV: “Any closing words to history?” 

“I was of service. To love, to Empire, and to God. I pray my wife Helena is as remembered as I am. If I am to be remembered at all.” 

JV: “Very good. Before we go, I'd like to give you an opportunity to put something on the record to be released only at a much later date.” 

“Mmm… only that my hope for my successor was my son Ezra, and I'm sure he'd do splendidly. I'd ask that… most of my opinions and takes be left off of an biographical material. I'd like to be known for the things I did less than for the things I thought, you understand.” 

JV: “I don't plan to do much editing of the transcript, my friend.” 

“Ahah! Oh well. I said nothing I regret, anyhow.” 

H E R B  D R I V E

DONORS WILL BE REWARDED!

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AN ALCHEMIST RETURNS FROM GATHERING REAGENTS.

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AS THE WORLD FALLS INTO peace once more, our minds return to the simpler, more practical concerns of the everyday - and to the replenishment of reserves spent. In our service to our beloved patrons, the NGS’s stores of Alchemical herbs have been entirely depleted, and as a charitable institution, we have not the resources to procure more. It is thus that we at the NGS extend a humble request to the world at large, that those with charitable souls may consider donating their botanicals for our use. This request for donations does not come without an offer of exchange, of course. The following prizes will be awarded to the top donors:

To the GREATEST DONOR:
Junior Membership (or promotion) within the NGS,
Pending an interview to verify character and intent.

To the SECOND GREATEST DONOR:

A collection of introductory Alchemical texts,
Perfect for the budding scholar.

To the THIRD GREATEST DONOR:
A private guided tour of the NGS museum and library.

Donations may either be delivered in person to one of our DIVISION CHIEFS (Those being, Manon Volkrich, Vincente Volkrich, Elizabeth Brae, Tanith Vursur,) or dropped in the DONATION BOX with accompanying proof of identity. 

[ OOC: You can either give herbs irp, or leave them in the dono box outside the museum.

Either way, screenshot your donation, and put it in a comment on this post. Please use this format: ]

IGN:

RP NAME:

HERBS DONATED: (Screenshot of herbs in your inventory, plus a list of herbs and amounts)

DONATED TO: (Donation box / Which Division Chief) 

Dono box is at (1168, -1011)

Donations will be open for the extent of TWO SAINT’S WEEKS, closing at the following time:

Sunday, April 5th, at 6pm EST / 11pm GMT

After which donations will be counted, and winners determined. Should the first-place donor be determined unworthy of NGS membership, that prize will be given to the second-place donor, and the books to the first.

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SIGNED,

Her Ladyship, DAME MANON YVAINE VON VOLKRICH

Dame of Arts, Lady of Deguise,
Baroness of Guise and Distrugestadt,

Imperial Court Alchemist,
President of the Northern Geographical Society

P U B L I S H E D  U N D E R  

T H E  A U T H O R I T Y  O F  T H E  

N G S

“ A D  T E R R A S  N O V A S ”

THE NGS RESERVES THE RIGHT TO REFUSE ANY PRIZE FOR ANY REASON.
THE NORTHERN GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY IS NOT RESPONSIBLE OR LIABLE FOR ANY HARM THAT COMES TO HERB-HUNTERS.

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C H I L D R E N ’ S
E X P E D I T I O N

AN INTRODUCTORY STUDY IN NATURE
AND BOTANY FOR THE YOUTH OF TODAY

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AN ASPIRING BOTANIST BRINGS HOME HER FINDS.

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AT LAST– ‘TIS SPRING!

AS THE ICY CHILL OF winter melts into springtime warmth, the NGS invites the youth of the Empire - and beyond - to journey out into the more rural reaches of the Crownlands, in order to make an introductory study of the local flora, as well as to best make use of the balmy weather. Parents are permitted to attend, though the event is to be oriented toward children, and a careful eye will be kept upon them at all times. Drinks and snacks provided. Bring a notebook!

SUNDAY, MARCH 22, 6:30 PM EST. MEET AT NGS HQ

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SIGNED,

Her Ladyship, DAME MANON YVAINE VON VOLKRICH, SUPERVISOR
@esotericas

Dame of Arts, Lady of Deguise,
Baroness of Guise and Distrugestadt,
President of the Northern Geographical Society

P U B L I S H E D  U N D E R  

T H E  A U T H O R I T Y  O F  T H E  

N G S

“ A D  T E R R A S  N O V A S ”

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FROM THE CELOSIAN COURTS’ MASTER OF ARTIFACTS,

I M P E R I A L  

M A T E R I A L 

C U L T U R E 

GENERAL ARTIFACTOLOGY 

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W R I T T E N  B Y
L A T R A  

R O C A S O L A N O

P U B L I S H E D  B Y  T H E
N O R T H E R N  G E O G R A P H I C A L  S O C I E T Y

O N  T H E
7 T H  O F  T H E  G R A N D  H A R V E S T ,  2 0 7 1

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IMPERIAL MATERIAL CULTURE

AN INTRODUCTION INTO THE STUDY OF ARTIFACTS

AFTER MUCH DELIBERATION, it has been decided that publishing this course, although primarily Imperial in nature, will help art and history amateurs as well as inexperienced curators attain a general understanding of how objects acquire, sustain, and transmit authority within - and beyond - the Empire of Man. What lies here is a syllabus originally intended to be privately taught to the Wards of the Celosian Courts, structured across three modules that move from defining what distinguishes an artifact from an ordinary object, to examining how provenance, succession, and institutional power shape meaning, and finally to understanding how behavior and handling reinforces (or desestabilizes) that same meaning. 

DISCLAIMER: This document was originally created as an internal reference text for Imperial students, and was not initially written for a global audience. While the language utilized is Empire-centric, it is my hope that the knowledge within will be useful in a broader context. The Imperial focus of this document is not intended to be representative of the Northern Geographical Society’s values, and has been left as-is for the sake of authenticity.

ON SIGNIFICANCE

WHAT MAKES AN OBJECT MATTER

The purpose of this lesson is to establish a foundational distinction: not all objects are equal in meaning, and not all objects that survive are artifacts. Before one can study Imperial material culture, you must understand why certain things are preserved, restricted, and/or revered while others pass unnoticed through daily life.

First, an object, in its most basic sense, is anything shaped, owned or used by human hands. Most objects exist to serve a function; they are created, employed, worn, handled, and eventually discarded or replaced (rarely repaired). Their value, then, lies primarily in use, and their loss is inconsequential beyond immediate inconvenience or personal sentiment. An artifact, by contrast, is an object that has ceased to be defined by its function alone. It has acquired meaning beyond itself, meaning that persists even when the object is no longer useful, wearable or even operable. What distinguishes an artifact, thus, is not craftsmanship, expense or rarity; it is significance. And significance arises when an object becomes tied to events, authority, memory, continuity...

An artifact matters because it anchors narratives, legitimizes claims, and connects the present to a recognized past. Once an object reaches this state, it is no longer interchangeable, and its loss would constitute something more than inconvenience: erasure. In other words, an object becomes an artifact at the moment when it can no longer be replaced without consequence, and this difference is clearly relational. The same object may exist as mundane in one context and as an artifact in another; this transition depends on association, not material. 

An object remains mundane when: its value lies primarily in function; its replacement would not alter historical understanding; and its meaning is private, limited or transient. It however becomes an artifact when: it is linked to authority, collective memory or institutional continuity; its history matters as much as its existence; and its handling, placement or interpretation becomes regulated. Therefore, artifacts demand care because they are charged, they carry accumulated meaning that ought to be preserved and controlled, at times.

CRAFTED AND SYMBOLIC VALUES

At this stage, it is essential to distinguish between the two forms of value that are often confused when working with either objects or artifacts. On one hand, crafted value refers to the qualities inherent in an object´s making (the skill of an artisan, the refinement of materials, the expense of production...). It is visible and measurable. It can be replicated, improved upon or surpassed. On the other, symbolic value arises from use, context and recognition. It is not embedded in the object itself but in what the object represents, and as such it cannot be manufactured on demand for it accumulates through time, association, and acknowledgment by institutions or communities.

For example, an object may possess high crafted value and little symbolic value. Conversely, an artifact may be materially plain while symbolically irreplaceable, and confusing the two leads to superficial judgments and in some contexts serious error. Within our Imperial court, the ability to recognize symbolic value is a form of literacy, a tool for governance because it, too, relies on symbols, and artifacts are among those.

AGE, USE AND ASSOCIATION

Furthermore, having established the distinction between object and artifact, there is another misconception that often follows... that age alone confers importance, and that use diminishes value. Both assumptions are false, and both obscure how material culture actually operates within our Imperial systems. An object may be ancient, yes, and yet meaningless to historical understanding if it lacks association, context, consequence or any type of recognition. Conversely, an object of recent origin may already function as an artifact if it is tied to foundational events, authority, transition... The Empire itself contains numerous examples of objects whose symbolic weight was immediate rather than gradual, one of these being the small golden tiara attributed to the former Imperial princess Livia Caseonia; her disownment gave that object enough significance to elevate it to the status of artifact.

Age becomes meaningful only when it intersects with: continuity (links multiple periods together); authority (legitimizes or embodies power); and memory (preserves an event, decision or rupture). Without these, it remains a neutral condition and never a qualifying one. But then, if age does not define significance, what does? One of the most decisive factors is association, which is often reinforced through use. Contrary to common intuition, use does not necessarily erode an object's importance; in many cases, it is precisely what produces significance. Objects can gain meaning through repeated presence in rituals, governance, inheritance, daily practice tied to authority... Through such repetition, they cease to be neutral.

Association operates on several levels: personal association (linking an object to a specific individual of note); institutional association (binding it to a court, office or legal function); or event-based association (where the object becomes inseparable from a historical moment), among others. Once an object accrues these associations, its meaning no longer belongs to the individual user/owner and instead becomes shared, regulated, and preserved. 

It is also worth noting that at a certain threshold, continued use may threaten than reinforce significance; excessive handling can introduce physical degradation, normalize what should remain exceptional or even undermine the object's symbolic gravity. This is why artifacts are often withdrawn from ordinary circulation once their meaning has solidified, because their authority depends on both what they represent and on how rarely and deliberately they are encountered. Thus, the transition from object to artifact often culminates in restricted use, because its meaning has become too dense to risk dilution. 

Ultimately, taken together, age, use, and association reveal a central principle of what we are studying, of Imperial material culture: significance is cumulative and rarely inherent. Artifacts are not born; they are made through repetition, recognition, regulation... and their value lies not in what they are but in what has gathered around them.

ON HISTORY AND AUTHORITY

EMPIRE OF OLD AND EMPIRE OF NEW

The purpose of this lesson is to move from what an artifact is to where it comes from and why it carries authority. Having established that significance is relational rather than inherent, we now turn to the structures, the foundations, that produce, recognize, and transform that same significance over time. In other words, this lesson is about the narratives attached to objects and artifacts as much as both of these themselves. Within Imperial material culture, the distinction between the Empire of Old and our Empire of New goes beyond chronology… it is symbolic, too. The Empire of Old refers to the prior Imperial formations whose authority has long since collapsed, fragmented or transformed, while the Empire of New refers to the current sociopolitical body that claims continuity and legacy with that past while simultaneously redefining itself.

Artifacts inherited from the Empire of Old are often burdened with excess meaning; they may embody legitimacy, grievance, nostalgia, rupture… all at once, so their authority is retrospective because it derives from what they once represented and from how they survived their empire’s dissolution. As such, they are rarely neutral. For example, an old piece of regalia may be revered, contested or deliberately suppressed depending on whether it supports or undermines our New Empire’s claims and values. By contrast, artifacts of the Empire of New are often in the process of becoming… their significance is not fully settled and in many cases is actively being constructed. Objects associated with coronations, new offices, reformed institutions or even foundational moments may acquire symbolic weight rapidly, even if they lack age. As such, their authority is prospective rather than retrospective; they matter because they are meant to endure, to be remembered, and to anchor renewed continuity going forward.

This distinction matters because it shapes how artifacts themselves are treated. Objects from the Old Empire are frequently conserved as ‘evidence’, whereas objects of the New Empire are curated as instruments. One preserves memory and the other produces it.

PROVENANCE - WHERE ARTIFACTS COME FROM

The term provenance refers to the documented origin, custody, and transmission of an object, and it answers not only where an artifact comes from but how it arrived here and under what authority it changed hands. Without it, without provenance, an object’s meaning is unstable (and with it, even a modest object may carry considerable symbolic weight). Artifacts may originate in several ways: institutional origin, such as items commissioned by Imperial offices, courts, or religious authorities (royal ornaments, for example); personal origin, where an object becomes significant through its association with a specific individual of note; event-based origin, when an otherwise mundane object becomes inseparable from a decisive moment; and recovered origin, where objects from the Empire of Old are excavated, seized, inherited, or reclaimed, and recontextualized.

In the Empire of Old, provenance often fractures, meaning that records are lost, custody is or has been interrupted, and thus meaning itself becomes contested. An object may pass through many hands, accruing competing interpretations. And in the Empire of New, provenance is frequently formalized with urgency, i.e. inventories are compiled, archives established, narratives fixed precisely to prevent ambiguity… Therefore, provenance is something more than descriptive. It is an act of control, for to establish provenance is to assert authority over interpretation, and to deny it is to weaken an object’s claim to significance.

WHO DECIDES SIGNIFICANCE

So, then, who decides significance? Well, it is never decided by the object alone. It is conferred through recognition, as you may remember from the first module, and recognition itself is exercised by power. In Imperial contexts, significance is most often determined by institutions: the Celosian Courts, the Imperial Crown, the Holy Mother Church of the True Faith, and other legal bodies or sanctioned scholarly offices like the apolitical Northern Geographical Society. These entities decide which objects are preserved, displayed, restricted, destroyed… You name it. Their decisions are reinforced through decrees, ritual use, documentation, and of course physical placement. 

However, authority is not absolute, and significance could also emerge from collective memory, popular reverence or even persistent tradition, sometimes in tension with official narratives. In other words, an object dismissed by these entities may still function as an artifact within a community, while an officially sanctioned artifact may fail to command genuine recognition. This is why disputes over artifacts are rarely about materials themselves; they are about legitimacy, because to control an artifact’s meaning is to control the story it tells and, by extension, the past it represents. 

WHAT CHANGES AN OBJECT’S MEANING OVER TIME

And with all that, one essential question remains. What is it that changes an object’s meaning over time? We know significance is not fixed at the moment it is recognized, that meaning can shift as contexts change, authorities rise or fall, and narratives are rewritten. Let us highlight a few forces that alter an object’s meaning: political transition, such as regime change, succession, reform…; reinterpretation, where new scholarship or ideology reframes an object’s role; displacement, when an object is removed from its original setting; and silence or revival, where an object falls out of use and later returns with altered significance. For example, an artifact once associated with unity may come to symbolize oppression; and in other cases, an object once mundane may later be revered as something foundational. Importantly, loss of function does not imply loss of meaning and sometimes it is precisely when an object is no longer used that its symbolic weight intensifies. This is why artifacts must be studied diachronically rather than statically, because to understand what an artifact is, one must understand what it has been and what it is being made to mean now.

ON CUSTODY AND HANDLING

WHAT HANDLING REALLY MEANS

This is the last lesson and its purpose is to tie everything together: in the first module we established what an artifact is and in the second we explored where authority and meaning come from. This third module is meant to address how we behave in the presence of artifacts, of significance. Within Imperial material culture, to handle and to care for an artifact is to arbitrate its interpretation, authority and meaning. Therefore, artifact regulation is not just about physical fragility as much as it is about preserving hierarchies and controlling narratives and symbolic gravity. 

So, what is handling really? It is commonly misunderstood as physical contact when, in truth, it encompasses four dimensions: physical contact itself; spatial proximity; interpretative framing; and ceremonial use. On the other hand, to lift an artifact without authorization is an obvious violation, but misidentifying it, to joke in its presence or make a mockery of its meaning; these are forms of mishandling. Handling, therefore, is also relational because through it one acknowledges that artifacts carry accumulated meaning and that such meaning can be reinforced (or diluted) through behavior. There are objects in daily life that may be grasped and touched without thought… artifacts are not among them, for even when physically robust, their symbolic value demands control and restraint. Improper handling risks both damage to the artifact and erosion of the structure or narrative it supports.

PHYSICAL HANDLING PROTOCOLS

As to who may touch what and when, in Imperial contexts access is stratified. This means that the right to touch an artifact is barely on curiosity or proximity and more so on authorization, and that authorization may derive from: office (Emperor, Crown Royals, Court Officials and other appointed custodians); function (restoration, archival work, ceremonial preparation); and ritual necessity (coronation, legal affirmations, etc.). Outside these conditions contact is absolutely restricted. There are also temporal conditions. Certain artifacts may be handled only at specific intervals (anniversaries, ceremonies, rites of passage or succession) while remaining withdrawn from public view at all other times. Their rarity of contact sustains their gravity because constant exposure would normalize it, and normalization diminishes meaning. Gloves, supervised environments, documentation of movement and transport, and witnessed transfer itself may appear as bureaucratic excess but prove vital as they formalize accountability and reinforce the seriousness of custody over an artifact. 

STORAGE, DISPLAY, AND CONCEALMENT

Artifacts are stored because controlled preservation (specific conditions of light, humidity, containment, and, of course, restricted access) ensure their physical survival, but also because their storage also signals that their authority does not depend on visibility or exposure. Some artifacts maintain cultural power precisely because they are rarely seen. Display, by contrast, is declarative. It is meant to make a statement about what the artifact is chosen to foreground; when an artifact is placed in a hall, treasury, gallery… it is also being positioned within a specific narrative. Display frames meaning through: placement height and orientation; accompanying text or inscriptions; spatial relation to other artifacts; and context of ceremonies or audiences. 

Improper display can and will distort significance, however, as for example an artifact of solemn authority displayed as a bejewelled ornament would lose weight… whereas one contextualized with precision would gain further “clarity”. Furthermore, concealment is sometimes necessary to strategically regulate those artifacts whose extreme visibility could destabilize, provoke dispute, complicate succession... Because not every artifact must be visible to remain operative within our collective memory; some function as latent, passive, authority (acknowledged but withheld and controlled).

LANGUAGE AND COURTLY COMPORTMENT 

The final dimension of handling is linguistic and behavioral, the words used around an artifact shape perception and as such to refer to Imperial regalia as simply an “ornament” diminishes it. It must be referred to as a “symbol”, so as to clarify its function. Thus language must be extremely precise, measured and appropriate to each context. Courtly comportment itself requires formal titles where applicable, avoidance of casual/dismissive phrasing, recognition of institutional ownership and a clear distinction between opinion and (documented) fact, FOR speech itself is a form of contact, and flippancy erodes as surely as careless touch.  Posture, tone, silence… They also communicate acknowledgment and recognition. 

Therefore and to conclude, if the first modules taught us that artifacts are defined by accumulating meaning and that such meaning is structured through authority and provenance, then this last module teaches that artifacts must be handled in ways that preserve the very systems and cultures that made them significant. In Imperial material culture, discipline around artifacts goes above and beyond aesthetic refinement, it is a necessity, and the Celosian Courts, for example, do not regulate access because artifacts are delicate, but because meaning itself is. And meaning, once diluted, is far more difficult to restore than gold trinkets or woven silks.

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SIGNED,

Her Ladyship, DOÑA LATRA ROCASOLANO, ARTIFACT CURATOR
@Songwitch 

Hija Legítima de Cantacuervos, 

Master of Imperial Artifacts of the Celosian Courts, 

Historian & Fashion Revisionist of the Northern Geographical Society

Her Ladyship, DAME MANON YVAINE VON VOLKRICH, SUPERVISOR
@esotericas

Dame of Arts, Lady of Deguise,
Baroness of Guise and Distrugestadt,
President of the Northern Geographical Society

P U B L I S H E D  U N D E R  

T H E  A U T H O R I T Y  O F  T H E  

N G S

“ A D  T E R R A S  N O V A S ”

THE VIEWS AND INFORMATION CONTAINED WITHIN THIS DOCUMENT ARE THE SOLE RESPONSIBILITY OF ITS AUTHOR(S).

THE NORTHERN GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY IS NOT RESPONSIBLE OR LIABLE FOR ANY CONTENTS.

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I N T O  T H E  W I L D

A STUDY OF 

THE FAUNA OF

RITTERSBERG

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W R I T T E N  B Y
O L Y M P E  O F  L O R R A I N E

P U B L I S H E D  B Y  T H E
N O R T H E R N  G E O G R A P H I C A L  S O C I E T Y

O N  T H E
17 T H  O F  S U N ’ S  S M I L E ,  2 0 6 9

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OPENING

TO THOSE OF THE IMPERIUM who are interested in the wildlife surrounding the Imperial Capital Rittersberg, I have ventured long and far to compile a written collection of what dwells in our forests and waters. May my work shed light on the life that lives in the lands surrounding our great capital. 

It is important to remember that there are countless creatures beyond Rittersberg, which may not be listed here. 

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FOREST CREATURES

TREE SQUIRREL

THESE NOBLE CREATURES, KNOWN COMMONLY as tree squirrels, often spend time feasting upon acorns atop the branches of Rittersberg’s forests. The food they most consistently feast on are wild nuts and seeds. 

These particular squirrels have very unique characteristics. One of the most notable are their strong front teeth, which allow them to eat hard foods with ease. Their sharp claws aid them in easily climbing trees, allowing them to hide from other fauna such as hawks and raccoons. Furthermore, it is not easy to spot a tree squirrel. That is because their brown and white fur blends in with the tree bark, allowing them to remain well hidden.

It is important to be mindful of suddenly approaching these creatures, as they are easily frightened and will run if you get too close.

DEER

DEER ARE OFTEN POINTED OUT by their white tail and spots. Although deer can look different depending on their gender. The female, known as a doe, does not have antlers like the male, known as a buck, does. The does also appear smaller in stature compared to the buck.

Deer often eat plants within the forest, and sometimes fruits such as apples. Both does and bucks tend to be particular about their choices, but there is a variety of plants they consume.

These creatures are very alert. When frightened, they freeze to look out for danger.
 

RACCOON

RACCOONS OFTEN DWELL IN THE forest, usually found in trees or in rock crevices. It is common for them to linger near ponds or lakes to hunt for fish, insects, and drink water. 

It is not unusual for raccoons to wash their food before eating it. They have a very diverse diet, usually eating berries, insects, acorns, frogs, fish, and fruits.

These creatures are well known for their intelligence, quickly able to solve problems that may come their way. When they feel threatened, they quickly resort to violence, hissing, or biting.

To avoid getting sick, one should always keep their distance, as raccoons carry diseases.

FOREST RABBIT

FOREST RABBITS ARE FOUND ALONG meadows and woodlands within the forest. They usually have light brown or gray fur. They are well known for their long ears and hind legs, which allow them to jump and run long distances.

These rabbits feed on berries, grass, and leaves. Because their front teeth never stop growing, they have to chew on bark to wear them down. Furthermore, their burrows are often found under fallen logs, sheltering them from the weather or other animals.

FOX

FOXES HAVE A STRIKING APPEARANCE. They have reddish-brown fur with white spots and a thick tail. Their pointed ears give them an alert appearance, while their thick tail gives them balance as they run. Foxes often hunt birds and insects, occasionally feasting on berries and other fruit.

The forests allow foxes to easily hide and hunt. Their dens are often in hollow trees or burrows, which allow them a safe shelter to raise their babies, known as kits.
 

WOODPECKER

WOODPECKERS ARE KNOWN FOR DRUMMING on tree bark repeatedly. They do this to locate insects and sap, which is their main diet. To reach through crevices to get sap, they have long tongues that stretch outwards. The drumming is also used for communication. Their beaks are made to withstand the constant drumming, allowing them to stay consistent.

Woodpeckers are persistent creatures, sticking to their well-known habits. They are very solitary, usually living alone and protecting their territory. Despite this, woodpeckers can be found all over the realm.
 

FOREST OWL

AS STATED IN THEIR NAME, these owls live in the forest. It is not usual for them to be near water, as they prefer dry and grassy areas. Their nests can be found in tree hollows, which allows them to be safe from the weather and serve as a sturdy home.

Forest owls have a unique appearance in comparison to other owls. Their feathers can be a variety of colors, from brown to gray or white, and allow them to blend in with the tree bark.

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WATER CREATURES
 

WATER EEL

WATER EELS LOOK VERY DIFFERENT compared to other water creatures, with a snakelike form. This unique form allows them to wiggle into tight places and move quickly. 

These creatures can be found in rivers, lakes, and the sea. When water eels are first born, they start in the sea and are transparent. As they grow older, they will go to the rivers and lakes, and their backs darken in color. They tend to eat all that they can find, using their great sense of smell to hunt other species.

TROUT

THERE ARE MANY KINDS OF TROUT, such as rainbow trout, brown trout, and lake trout.

Rainbow trout, to no surprise, are the most colorful trout out there. They can be found in rivers, lakes, and the sea, making them easily adaptable creatures. They typically eat small fish, snails, and leeches.

Brown trout have black, red, and orange coloring. Additionally, they tend to be larger in size, like the lake trout, compared to other trout. Their diet consists of small fish and insects, but they are also able to adapt.

Lake trout are the heaviest trout, making it hard for them to be caught. Their colors are typically gray with some green spotting. These large creatures tend to stay at the bottom of lakes to remain cold. Unlike many other trout, they can eat bigger fish, while also eating insects.

PIKE

PIKE ARE KNOWN FOR THEIR long bodies and have dark green and gray colors. They can be easily spotted in the shallow waters of rivers and lakes, although they can often blend in with the riverbeds and rocks to avoid being seen by other fish.

Pike are aggressive hunters with sharp teeth that allow them to strike quickly; furthermore feeding on small fish. They are very solitary creatures, meaning they will not hesitate to protect their territory. Additionally, they can thrive in different environments.

RIVER FROG

RIVER FROGS ARE BROWN AND olive, with a white or gray stomach. Their skin is rough to the touch, unlike that of other frogs. They are typically found by river streams, sitting on rocks or logs.

These creatures are more active at night, hunting for insects and other small plants. Their webbed feet allow them to swim quickly, and they are also capable of jumping very high on land. Because of this, they can adapt to their water environments.

SNAPPING TURTLE

SNAPPING TURTLES ARE AGGRESSIVE CREATURES that live in ponds, lakes, and rivers. Their dark-colored shells allow them to blend in with their muddy surroundings. Additionally, whenever they feel threatened, they can deliver harsh bites.

Because of their strong limbs, these creatures are fast swimmers, but are slower on land because of their heavy shells. They are often seen enjoying fish and plants as a part of their diet.

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CLOSING