the empire

After so long, time still seemed like a trick of the mind. How much had passed, how little? Did it really matter? The sun rose and then fell again, but the desert was forever in this place. He grasped at it, and as he raised his hand the sand slid through his fingers. It fell faster as his grip...

Varsa was a small, though wealthy city. It boasted an army that, while outnumbered by Nymeasha’s forces, was quite renowned for its exceptional training. Her spies had reported a significant contingent of minotaurs among their ranks too, formidable warriors who could turn the tide of any battle...

Amol-Kalit Salitra Sunset in the city was a marvelous time. Shops set up lights, the sound music and laughter rose up louder into the air, and the streets became more and more empty. Yet, at the docks, there was still a bustle. Business there often ran late now-a-days, and more and more it...

The Temple of Korabayir - Eastern Amol-Kalit A gentle breeze swept through the valley, the soft kiss of its whisper a cool escape from the scorching heat of the savannah. It seemed to carry with it the faint aroma of burning incense, the scent mixing with that of dried grass to craft a perfume...

Tell Arran - The Empire It was intriguing perhaps, how sometimes the smallest, seemingly most insignificant of events could have the deepest repercussions down the line. In Tell Arran, for instance, it had been rather surprising how the death of a small silk merchant some months prior had...

Tell Arran - The Imperial-Anirian border. It was nearly twilight. The Sun, though well past its prime, still shone brightly over the horizon, glimmering in-between the clouds and intermittently casting its rays upon the city below. Tucked away in one of the many narrow mountain valleys that...

The Mchaw'Nymbani are famous along the coastline for many things; rum, sugar, spices, but most famous of all are the Lungs. In the past the serpent like dragons were confused with the monstrous sea serpents who could destroy whole fleets with their razor sharp fins and terrible teeth. They...

Iskandar Estate: Alliria - Main Hall It was such a different thing, Petrus thought, to hold court and receive foreign dignitaries than it was to hold his more... personal gatherings. In one sense it made him feel powerful, deservedly so, but on the other a small part of him wondered if all...

Wisteria was wrapping up for the night, dawn was only a few hours away. Her feet were weary from dancing, her body felt heavy from the evenings activities. She stowed her coin carefully on her body, she had never felt unsafe, but there were rumblings. Others were claiming to be robbed more...

The sun was high, and the market called to her. Coin had almost rained upon her the night before, and the need for new silks and fans pulled her out of bed. The fox girl stretched languidly as she slid out of bed. She stifled a yawn, her ears giving a flick as she caught the sounds from the...

Somewhere near the Seret Mountains... A lizard cautiously poked his scaly head out of a small gap in the hoodoo and tentatively let his tongue taste the hot air. It hesitated for a second then scurried out, clinging to the tall spire and lettings its eyes roll around its surroundings. Nothing...

It had been months since things had returned to what could be said was a relative normal. The whole of the Empire had a tightened grip upon it, and as the Red Sun it was by his doing this had been done. What had taken place in this very palace, despite the particular circumstance, was...

She was in the midst of a great crowd of people, all of whom circled round about the great orange light of pyres, which stretched out into the dark around and above them. Some wept, some chanted beneath their breath, but she stood silently. And while the eyes of many were upon the ground or upon...

Empress Most High, Holy Divan, It is with great humility and excitement that I write to you in acceptance of your offer of appointment to Imperial Scribe. However, it would seem that my predecessor was somewhat... lax in his tending of imperial records. It will take me some time to sort out...

Akka-Yur. Jewel of the deep desert. Oasis city with endless mines. Akka-Yur was a myth. A fable. A place made up to trick the foolish to seek out impossible treasures within the ever shifting sands at the heart of the Amol-kalit desert. The founder an equally mythical figure: Hero King Naram...

In the middle of the desert something strange had appeared. Out of nowhere, from thin air, something strange had come from the hot sands. The first person to notice it surely thought they were hallucinating. Whatever made them actually go up to it and touch it was beyond comprehension, but...

A lovely day in beautiful Maraan. For many the city was the Jewel of Amol-Kalit, the Heart of Trade, or the Gateway to the Empire. For Nisreen, this particular morning, it was a place to get an exquisite cup of coffee. Maraan, as always, had been a lucrative locale to ply her trade. And why...

The sky cried fire, and it fell harshly upon those weary and worn Kalitian souls. Even their great emperor had been struck, thrice upon, with arrows from above. Were he not of the righteous flame, surely he'd have been scorched - damn those wretches, those pike men of the south, mocking the art...

So much to be done, yet so little time. Balancing one's efforts between running a country and performing perhaps the greatest magical feat in the history of Arethil was certainly a weary task. In fact, if she had to do it all herself, Medja knew it would be positively overwhelming. Thankfully...

Brotherhood. Camaraderie. Family. That was what had been promised to Rahma in exchange for his service. Well, that and a subsubstantial paycheck. Rahma had said that the only reason he was joining was for the latter, a convenient lie that he had told even himself, but...well, a lie was a lie...