Well, here’s what I’ve been chipping away at a while now! While I’m certainly no artist, it’s been fun to work on and a useful reference for my own writing, and I hope you all enjoy it too! I hope it’s clear and readable, I’m not sure if the file will be too large for the game itself as I plan to include it and some smaller versions, so I might need to compress it down further.
This is an in-universe work from a Iudian cartographer (with all the biases and inaccuracies one might expect…) and not a ‘authorial’ view of the Empire and the lands surrounding it. There are quite a few areas I haven’t explored in the text yet, which I plan to append brief explanations (also in-universe) for as well.
If you have any questions, please feel free to ask!
There doesn’t appear to be any land routes to Midyan that don’t traverse through Pharia. Naval supremacy will probably dictate resupply of any troops in the region. This may also go for food. That being said, large sections of land that can’t support themselves agriculturally is really a modern consequence of global trade via massive container ship, so perhaps Midyan will follow the real Levant and manage to sustain itself with its own bounty and trade from Pharia. There’s also no land routes to the Seyet-Hadat continent at all, assuming that water east of Cyrene is in fact a strait.
You can kind of see Italy, Greece, and Gaul in this map, though Roman Britain seems to be not-Roman and an archipelago, Spain is significantly narrower, and Pharia controls most of what appears to be an analogue of the Anatolian Peninsula.
On balance, Iudia seems to be weaker than the classical Roman Empire (perhaps it would line up well with a map of Rome circa 400 AD) and the world appears considerably more marine than Earth.
Will we be regent until Augusta comes of age (since I’ve read that male emperors reigned in their underage daughters’ stead), or is that exclusive to the stepfather path (even if we’re her real father), or will Augusta be the reigning empress even though she’s underage, with us simply advising her?
There is no known land connection between Midyan and Seyet, though the Straits of Cybene are quite narrow so as to make ferrying easy. Naval power is key in the Inner Sea, the Iudian of which was forged through successful campaigns against Hadat, Attika, and Pharia. The existence of ship mounted firesiphons in particular led to crushing victories. Nonetheless, the confrontation between Pharian and Iudian ships is still a factor in the channels south of Cybene, as if the Pharians could ever break through, they would be able to disrupt the shipping activity between Attika and Midyan, Seyet and Kyro and more.
As for supplies, Midyan reaps a plentiful crop itself, the proximity or even bordering of the rich twin rivers (known as Amehuon and Abahayoun) yields enough to feed the province, though the bordering of Seyet does allow for plentiful commerce.
In many ways, Midyan acts as a shield for Seyet, a primary reason for Iudia’s investment of so much blood and treasure in keeping it from Pharian attack (which has caused the border to recede west over the years) and internal rebellion (such as Cadanu). The border is often in flux, with cities swapping hands, client states changing masters and skirmishes commonplace, though the recent treaty won after Julia’s war 14 years ago has kept any major clashes from erupting. The Pharians may hold a territorial advantage on the riverbanks, but still pay an indemnity of gold and other goods, as well as the captivity of their Prince Darius.
Well, it is ‘Fall of an Empire,’ after all…
It’s a complicated question. Iudia has had a few child empresses, some of whom came to better fates than others. Often, what occurred was that the deceased empress mandated in their will that their husband serve as the legal guardian of their daughter until she comes of age. However, the child empress was still empress here, and depending on the power of the father and the age and willfulness of the daughter, whether the father truly ruled or merely acted as an advisor varied.
Do my eyes deceive me or is the city of Ruxus+adjacent zones under Iudian control? Would its origins be that of a colony ala Ancient Greece? Something similar with Koht? I would assume their role in a potential Iudian strategy to be one of projecting power into that portion of the sea.
As for Svekia, how does it fit into Iudian worldview? It got at least two noticeable settlements, so that’s a start.
They are indeed under imperial control. Ruxus is one of Iudia’s client states, which has a mix of both Attikan culture and systems (it is ruled by a trio of archons, for instance), and local steppe cultures such as the Isiguli. It has a particularly strategic location upon the north shore of the Inner Sea, able to both project sea power and interdict hostile forces seeking to ride south of the Emon Mountains into Attika.
However, Ruxus’ isolated position on land has meant that it has continually retreated from its zenith of power, which once bordered the province of Attika itself. Primarily supplied by sea now and mostly protected by its narrow, marshy peninsula rather than a core of legionaries, the Ruxuns are in a very precarious position.
As for Koht, it too was once a Iudian client city before being sacked by a Masyaka incursion three decades prior. There are musings about reclaiming the city, but for now it is portrayed as a ruin for good reason.
Svekia is one of the few regions that Iudia has not attempted to conquer, owing seemingly to its remote location north of what is already a porous frontier. Bleak, cold, rainy and more impoverished than the Gruthungian mainland, Svekians have nonetheless developed a seafaring culture, trading with and raiding Iudians and Gruthungians alike.
In this regard, Iudia generally has friendlier relations, if stiff and transactional, with the Svekians. For example, the Slaga gang are mercenaries who hail from Svekia, hired originally by Empress Scilla to protect her from what she saw as an unreliable city watch. Disputes over pay led to their violent dismissal from imperial service, and though many Svekians have died or left since, a core of them remain in Kyro offering their services to the highest bidder.
It’s mentioned that the Empire’s borders have been in retreat for some time, such as in the east against Pharia and in the north as the barbarians push Hevernica westward. What are some areas of the map that used to be in Imperial hands but are no longer? Did the Empire ever control Vestarr or Vastorf, and the displayed river network in that area? What about Simbir or Elana near Midyan?
Correct! The Empire has made numerous attempts to conquer Gruthungia and Pharia over the past centuries. Ultimately, it failed. At its greatest extent, the Empire controlled as far east as Vastorf and the surrounding lands, as well as reaching the very gates of Kanzak itself.
However, the Empire could not adequately supply its forces in Gruthungia and protect them from sustained local resistance, especially during the winter months. It was forced back gradually to the River Rhive, where the current frontier stands, at least on paper.
In the east, Simbir and Elaha are great, ancient cities which have often been exchanged between Pharia and Iudia. Vasukanne is a client state which often changes loyalties between Iudia and Pharia depending on which way the winds blow. Currently, it serves more as a supposedly neutral buffer between the two embittered rivals based on the treaty Julia won, and pays tribute to Kanzak and Iudia alike. If war breaks out anew, it may or may not change masters once more.
Closer to east of the lands of the Ongi, but well off the map. East of Pharia lays Ynde, which is partially under the control of the King of Kings. Connected to them both is Khitay, which is on the same continental mass. Iudians have trade with the east, but it is mainly maritime in nature with a few more dangerous caravan routes which run through the steppe. The naval route crosses through the straits of Cybene and to the ports of Ynde and Khitay, rendering Seyet both a breadbasket and a key global trade hub.
Awesome. Also love the addition of having your family more fleshed out in the name section. Are the prefect’s parents still alive? Interested to see how a prefect’s sister and mother would interact with them. Perhaps some kind of sabotage or command from a senate-supporting Prefect Materfamilias could happen and deals a blow to your reputation if you don’t accept whatever ultimatum they send. Super pumped to interact with them regardless!
Thanks! I will actually pepper in a bit more this week through the chapters, as I’ve considered that it would be best to build up to the appearances a bit. Nothing that much, just a letter or two. I want to strike a balance between having background (even if it’s a small role, it can be conditionally important) and giving the reader room to imagine their own past.
That’s why I added some more family information to the first chapter. I also had to add in a few different choiceblocks asking how your family name would be defined if you typed in a custom one. I hope those weren’t too intrusive.
The Prefect’s mother passed away some years ago, but their father is still alive. As such, the household passed to the Prefect’s sister and her family. Don’t worry, I’ll give more context around this in the game, it won’t just be a couple blocks of dry exposition saying “here’s your family history.”
Would the prefect actually tell his father that augusta is his granddaughter (I suppose not) and would they even let her meet their family, if youre on that specific path? Afterall the prefect doesnt seem to have that good of a rapport with his family
Well, the Prefect’s family will be appearing in Kyro in the coming chapters. That may very well entail meeting the reigning Empress, regardless of what greater relation those two may have (something that will be touched on if such relation is the case).
The Prefect and their family are distant from one another, but you will be able to choose why that is the case, which will affect the dialogue between them.
On a different note, it’s interesting to compare the Iudian concept of materfamilias with the Roman paterfamilias. By the early Principate of Augustus, let alone the late Empire, a wife actually entering the paterfamilias of her husband was quite rare. Usually, they remained under the paterfamilias of their father. Once the father died, they were usually legally free. And traditional Roman custom suggests that the cultural norm was for women to be deferent to their fathers as much as their husband. They remained attached to their prior relations and kept their maiden names. Meanwhile, Iudia appears to regularly transfer materfamilias from mother to wife.
I don’t think the materfamilias could really affect the Prefect, though. If Iudia holds true to Rome, the Empress is the mater familias of all Iudia, and loyalty to her would supersede any command the Prefect’s female relatives could hope to give him. All hail Augusta Vitallia Hevernica, Empress of Iudia, Regent of the Mother Goddess upon this earth!
A couple notes. First, be careful to use terms precisely. The paterfamilias is the head of the family — the wife would not enter him, unless… anyway. You’re probably talking about marriage sine manu vice marriage cum manu, in which case we’re talking about the patria potestas of the wife’s paterfamilias vs transference to the potestas of the husband or his paterfamilias. Whether or not the wife was transferred depended on the type of marriage — patrician conferreatio used to be exclusively cum manu until there was a crisis in the priesthood and they hsd to adapt to get more ppl eligible.
Also, legally free is… stretching it a little. Widowed or divorced women were sui iuris but they were NOT free of tutela, the requirement for male guardianship over all transactions in property. Only vestal virgins or women who’d had five children under the Julian laws were well and truly free to do as they wished with contracts and property.
Edit:
Yeah that’s not a thing in Rome lol. The Pater Patriae was symbolically the father of all and could legally stand in the place of the father in certain instances such as the prosecution of adultery, but he did not displace or supervene paternal authority. That would be grossly unroman lol.
That is what I meant, yes. I should have said entered the paterfamilias’ familia as part of a cum manu marriage, which was relatively rare by the Principate.
I was intending it in a symbolic sort of way. I meant to reference that the authority of a materfamilias is certainly inferior to that of an Empress giving an order to her Prefect. Certainly it couldn’t be used to compel the Prefect to act against Augusta, and any attempt to use the potestas against the Prefect as punishment for his politics would be quite easily overridden by Imperial decree.
