Hi everybody! Apologies again for the delayed page – but the good news is I [Rachel] was able to put in a solid week of work and catch back up to my schedule. I’m actually planning to put up Chp1 pg46 tomorrow to make up for last week’s delay, so stay tuned! :D We’re reaching the final act of Book One, and the grand story is just beginning! Back to you, Alex!

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This week’s page introduces a few elements into the larger world at large that observant readers will want to keep note of. Specifically that the Vulpin capital of Nessa is the only reliable source of water in the entire Vulpin capital, making anywhere else in the kingdom of Navran less-than-hospitable for races that rely on it (such as the water-loving Lutren).

Because of this, and the Vulpin’s rather outgoing attitude towards accommodating the other races of the world, the capital city itself has become a prime melting pot for the Four Kingdoms. Every culture, race, creed – all thrown together into a relatively small area of urban landscape in the middle of the desert. This makes Janik’s role as a diplomat that much more important, and as the story evolves, we’ll see more of how cross-kingdom politics really factor into the proceedings.

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This week’s page also allowed me to start sowing in a few idioms into the world of the Four Kingdoms. I do love the idea of natural sayings evolving in these worlds themselves, and the idiom “Like a Tamian without a tree” really does feel like it fits into the lexicon at large, being a kind of equivalent to “a fish out of water”.

For the record as well, Janik is eating a steamed vegetable medley of local Sunsgrovian origins, while Quinlan’s got a noodle dish made with local starches (likely a kind of buckwheat). Chances are pretty high that he’s got some vegetables diced up in there for some additional nutritional value. Dakkan, meanwhile, is eating a seafood soup, likely flavored with a broth derived from local vegetables. The bread is going to be a simple recipe, but loaded with seeds (as most Sunsgrove breads are). Kenosh, meanwhile, is eating a classic cedar-plank salmon. They’re all drinking a local ale – likely the last remaining harvest of spruce beer (a winter specialty in the Western Deep derived from – yes – spruce buds!)