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Description

The image above was created using PixAI.

The image above is a setting in my Kingdom of Erodas universe. It exists as a creative exercise in world building.

The information below is a glimpse into the world of Erodas.

Edit - 1/29/2024 - Made some minor additions.

...

From the Secret Journal of James Miles
1st of Winter's Wane, 1225 ESC (February 1st)

Today is the first of February, or the first of Winter's Wane here in Isekaido. The scene captured before you is the Twilight Ball, a rather special event held here in Erodas hosted by the Royal Family for all of the Holy Knights and their Squires. It is held on the anniversary of an important historical event known as the Twilight Fall, which as I can gather, was a solar eclipse that occurred some several centuries ago and lasted for half the day. The moon here in Isekaido is either larger than Earth's moon or closer or both so it completely blotted out the sun, plunging the entire nation into total darkness. The Twilight Fall back then was heralded as a reminder from the gods on the importance of the sun. It's rather fascinating though in that the Wold Faith, one of the big two religions here, deliberately preaches that the world is round and that the moon rotates around it and most practical beliefs nowadays reenforce that. They still think the sun revolves around the planet though but give it time. But the Holy Knights were said to have proven vital in maintaining the peace in the chaos of the eclipse, so the ball is held annually to honor the Holy Knights and Squires who give their all for Crown and Country.

Naturally, being a Holy Knight and son-in-law to the King, I get an invite every year. But as I looked upon the beautiful arrangement of the ballroom in the royal palace (because honestly this picture doesn't do it justice. It really is rather spectacular how the room looked) I began to reflect upon some of the odd social quirks of this world. This will probably be a "Part 1" as it occurs to me that there are several social oddities and unique behaviors in this world, cultural aspects that are different from back home.

The first that comes to mind is "Wand Etiquette" for when holding a magic wand. As Magic Wands are equal parts tool and weapon in one ten to thirteen inch piece of wood and/or metal, pointing a wand at someone is almost akin to pointing a gun or a knife at someone. Therefore, it is considered threatening, intimidating, or rude to hold a wand with the tip pointed at someone. It is acceptable however to flip the wand around in your hand and hold it backwards, above the handle where the handle and shaft meet. Then should you need to rotate it to hold it and point it at someone it turns just perfectly into your hand. However it's preferred that you keep your wand in a holster or inside your coat pocket (And above all, don't call a case or sheath for a wand a condom. That'll just get you nothing but scolding and cold stares. Oh, yeah, side note, those are still made of animal intestines here. Enjoy thinking about that).

Next is one thing I was worried about when I discovered the Germanic aesthetic of Erodas and that's a concern of a certain ideology rising to power. I refer to Fascism of course. I don't think this is much of a worry given all I've seen though. There is a strong sense of nationalism here and that's fine. But everyone I've asked, including and especially the King and the Crown Prince, have shown disdain for wanting to conquer or force Erodian culture onto their neighbors. The only exception was Illicia but this was more in response to centuries of constant harassment from the latter. The general position can be summed up as "we're proud to be Erodian and if you want to embrace our culture, we will welcome you, but we will not force our culture upon yours against your will." I also want to point out that Erodas has been offered the chance to annex Primassa, a former Erodian provience turned independent nation, an offer made by Primassa's Queen and backed by her own government and people but the King refused, a decision backed by the Crown Prince. We did offer a temporary vassalhood to Primassa, which they accepted, using the opportunity to repair and rebuild their military and economy with some Erodian help but I truly believe we'll be handing full self-determination back to Primassa. Even if I have to flex some Demon Lord power to enforce it (I doubt that I will though as I've been noticing the preparations for withdrawal already being made). Similarly I've not really noticed any racial or ethnic scapegoating save for against demi-humans but even then that's more predominant in countries outside of Erodas. After all, we were the first majority human nation to recognize a nation of monsters as a nation and even were the first to strike up a friendship with them. Partly my doing but it wasn't without popular support overall.

On the subject of "Nazis" though, I did make a startling discovery that makes me realize that this world has had an impact on Earth's history. My grandfather-in-law on my fifth and sixth wives' side is a High Elf named Lucius Faelsong. He reminds me of Lucius Malfoy from Harry Potter. Similar physical appearance, similar hair style and color, similar tone of speaking but far more warmth and friendliness. Like if Lucius had been a loving father and friendly person. He never has looked down on me or anyone that I've seen and shows now kind of arrogance. On our first meeting we spend nearly the entire day talking, discussing all manner of things. At one point, we got to discussing the Elvish language and he mentioned the Elvish name for his species, High Elf, which is, and I quote, "Aryan."

Yes, the same "Aryan" you might've heard of and there is ample evidence to prove that the "Aryan Nation" mentioned by a certain Austrian Corporal and the Aryan race here are one and the same. Lucius even knew what to point to as, it seems, nearly a century ago in Arcanis, a number of High Elf sorcerers in a predominantly High Elf city in Arcanis, Cair Aryanys, experimented with opening a gateway to another realm and encountered several human men in a country that they, at first thought, was Erodas given the spoken language (And Erodian is quite Germanic with hints of Japanese in it). They showed these men some of Cair Aryanys before escorting them back to the gate and returning them to where they had come from. The men all signed their names to a parchment and Lucious promised to let me come and examine it as it has been preserved in Lacris, the Academy City of Arcanis as a curiosity. Well when I got to examine it, it eliminated all doubt as among the names on this paper: Emil Maurice, Rudolph Hess, and Adolf Hitler. A shudder went down my spine when I read those names and the date: 1923, when Hitler was in prison and just before he wrote Mein Kampf.

I confronted Lucius and some of the very elves who had met these men (they were all still very much alive and well) and they were horrified by what I told them those men had done. They recalled that they had been enamored by the Elves and their magic, one of them even calling them a "Master Race" but the elves thought they had done their best to dispel such a notion as Elves are a very open people, with no racial prejudice of any kind. Nationality is a different matter. Ultimately, my impression is that these Elves' intentions were grossly misunderstood, potentially due to the language barrier. I told them about World War II, the Holocaust, and all Hitler had wrought, and they were horrified, nay outraged, as the Arcanis Elves had been subjected to similar treatment by the Sederans centuries ago during the War of Kingdoms. There was nothing they could've done to prevent this really. They thought the three men they had met with were philosophers or performing Thraliar (An Elvish thing where one one person or small groups isolates themselves to contemplate matters of great importance) but this didn't stop them from bringing the matter to the Queen of Arcanis who in turn sent out a decree forbidding using magic to open gateways to other worlds. There's already a sort of hesitation towards such a thing but this made it final so far as Arcanis is concerned, citing a "non-interference" policy in external affairs, only now extending it to other worlds.

One wonders now how history might've unfolded had they never opened that door. I can't really complain too much since my paternal grandparents met because of the war, my grandfather a German defector, my grandmother an American officer's aide. My grandpa was always a kind man and never hid his service as a soldier in the German army from me or my brother, and would scold me if he thought I was straying towards following in Hitler's footsteps. He himself had served only out of love for his homeland but was heartbroken at how vile the Nazis had taken it. By the time he met my grandmother, he'd renounced the Nazis after defecting to the Allies along with a handful of other Germans sometime in 1943. He told me about how he and his friends, all renouncing the Nazis, snuck out of a German occupied town in France in the dead of night on the auspices of being on patrol, snuck to the Allied Camp and gave themselves up, intent on defecting. He'd get shipped to England and spent his time in a POW camp, separate from the other prisoners since they'd kill him if they knew he was a defector. Fortunately he cooperated fully with the Allies and was given better treatment. He even still had his old army uniform and his old Nazi party membership pin, keeping them to remind him of the darkest period in his life so that he would never stray back to them. At his request, his old German uniform and belongings were donated to a museum after he passed away at the age of 93. But thanks to the war, I'm able to exist. He and grandma met in England, fell in love, were married. He took my grandmother's name, Miles instead of her taking his, Engel. He was a devout Christian man, seeking atonement for his sins. Humble and kind. I wonder how he'd feel regarding my actions now. I'd hope I'd have made him proud. It's quite the paradox in my opinion, wondering what might've been. But the Elves here approach such tragic circumstances with a saying. I don't even want to pretend to try and spell it correctly but translated it means "Remember the Past, Learn from the Good, Learn from the Bad, Embrace the Former, Shun the Latter. Thank Time itself for its lessons, remember them always, but always continue moving."

Moving on from this subject as I think I've dwelled on it enough, is a return to magic wands. Now, I remember in some works of fiction, there's some great tool that can do just about anything. Sonic screwdrivers, tricorders, omnitools, you name it. Well, here in Isekaido, a magic wand just about IS this Swiss Army Knife of tools. Welding Torch, cutting torch, flashlight, scissors, screwdriver, corkscrew, knife, lockpick...you name it. You just have to know the magic for what you need. Frankly though you don't need a wand for these as you can use magic with your bare hands, but honestly it's much easier using a wand. Especially if you need to be precise and accurate.

I think that wraps it up for this entry. As I think of more quirks and curiosities to write down, I'll be back with another entry.

Description

The image above was created using PixAI.

The image above is a setting in my Kingdom of Erodas universe. It exists as a creative exercise in world building.

The information below is a glimpse into the world of Erodas.

Edit - 1/29/2024 - Made some minor additions.

...

From the Secret Journal of James Miles
1st of Winter's Wane, 1225 ESC (February 1st)

Today is the first of February, or the first of Winter's Wane here in Isekaido. The scene captured before you is the Twilight Ball, a rather special event held here in Erodas hosted by the Royal Family for all of the Holy Knights and their Squires. It is held on the anniversary of an important historical event known as the Twilight Fall, which as I can gather, was a solar eclipse that occurred some several centuries ago and lasted for half the day. The moon here in Isekaido is either larger than Earth's moon or closer or both so it completely blotted out the sun, plunging the entire nation into total darkness. The Twilight Fall back then was heralded as a reminder from the gods on the importance of the sun. It's rather fascinating though in that the Wold Faith, one of the big two religions here, deliberately preaches that the world is round and that the moon rotates around it and most practical beliefs nowadays reenforce that. They still think the sun revolves around the planet though but give it time. But the Holy Knights were said to have proven vital in maintaining the peace in the chaos of the eclipse, so the ball is held annually to honor the Holy Knights and Squires who give their all for Crown and Country.

Naturally, being a Holy Knight and son-in-law to the King, I get an invite every year. But as I looked upon the beautiful arrangement of the ballroom in the royal palace (because honestly this picture doesn't do it justice. It really is rather spectacular how the room looked) I began to reflect upon some of the odd social quirks of this world. This will probably be a "Part 1" as it occurs to me that there are several social oddities and unique behaviors in this world, cultural aspects that are different from back home.

The first that comes to mind is "Wand Etiquette" for when holding a magic wand. As Magic Wands are equal parts tool and weapon in one ten to thirteen inch piece of wood and/or metal, pointing a wand at someone is almost akin to pointing a gun or a knife at someone. Therefore, it is considered threatening, intimidating, or rude to hold a wand with the tip pointed at someone. It is acceptable however to flip the wand around in your hand and hold it backwards, above the handle where the handle and shaft meet. Then should you need to rotate it to hold it and point it at someone it turns just perfectly into your hand. However it's preferred that you keep your wand in a holster or inside your coat pocket (And above all, don't call a case or sheath for a wand a condom. That'll just get you nothing but scolding and cold stares. Oh, yeah, side note, those are still made of animal intestines here. Enjoy thinking about that).

Next is one thing I was worried about when I discovered the Germanic aesthetic of Erodas and that's a concern of a certain ideology rising to power. I refer to Fascism of course. I don't think this is much of a worry given all I've seen though. There is a strong sense of nationalism here and that's fine. But everyone I've asked, including and especially the King and the Crown Prince, have shown disdain for wanting to conquer or force Erodian culture onto their neighbors. The only exception was Illicia but this was more in response to centuries of constant harassment from the latter. The general position can be summed up as "we're proud to be Erodian and if you want to embrace our culture, we will welcome you, but we will not force our culture upon yours against your will." I also want to point out that Erodas has been offered the chance to annex Primassa, a former Erodian provience turned independent nation, an offer made by Primassa's Queen and backed by her own government and people but the King refused, a decision backed by the Crown Prince. We did offer a temporary vassalhood to Primassa, which they accepted, using the opportunity to repair and rebuild their military and economy with some Erodian help but I truly believe we'll be handing full self-determination back to Primassa. Even if I have to flex some Demon Lord power to enforce it (I doubt that I will though as I've been noticing the preparations for withdrawal already being made). Similarly I've not really noticed any racial or ethnic scapegoating save for against demi-humans but even then that's more predominant in countries outside of Erodas. After all, we were the first majority human nation to recognize a nation of monsters as a nation and even were the first to strike up a friendship with them. Partly my doing but it wasn't without popular support overall.

On the subject of "Nazis" though, I did make a startling discovery that makes me realize that this world has had an impact on Earth's history. My grandfather-in-law on my fifth and sixth wives' side is a High Elf named Lucius Faelsong. He reminds me of Lucius Malfoy from Harry Potter. Similar physical appearance, similar hair style and color, similar tone of speaking but far more warmth and friendliness. Like if Lucius had been a loving father and friendly person. He never has looked down on me or anyone that I've seen and shows now kind of arrogance. On our first meeting we spend nearly the entire day talking, discussing all manner of things. At one point, we got to discussing the Elvish language and he mentioned the Elvish name for his species, High Elf, which is, and I quote, "Aryan."

Yes, the same "Aryan" you might've heard of and there is ample evidence to prove that the "Aryan Nation" mentioned by a certain Austrian Corporal and the Aryan race here are one and the same. Lucius even knew what to point to as, it seems, nearly a century ago in Arcanis, a number of High Elf sorcerers in a predominantly High Elf city in Arcanis, Cair Aryanys, experimented with opening a gateway to another realm and encountered several human men in a country that they, at first thought, was Erodas given the spoken language (And Erodian is quite Germanic with hints of Japanese in it). They showed these men some of Cair Aryanys before escorting them back to the gate and returning them to where they had come from. The men all signed their names to a parchment and Lucious promised to let me come and examine it as it has been preserved in Lacris, the Academy City of Arcanis as a curiosity. Well when I got to examine it, it eliminated all doubt as among the names on this paper: Emil Maurice, Rudolph Hess, and Adolf Hitler. A shudder went down my spine when I read those names and the date: 1923, when Hitler was in prison and just before he wrote Mein Kampf.

I confronted Lucius and some of the very elves who had met these men (they were all still very much alive and well) and they were horrified by what I told them those men had done. They recalled that they had been enamored by the Elves and their magic, one of them even calling them a "Master Race" but the elves thought they had done their best to dispel such a notion as Elves are a very open people, with no racial prejudice of any kind. Nationality is a different matter. Ultimately, my impression is that these Elves' intentions were grossly misunderstood, potentially due to the language barrier. I told them about World War II, the Holocaust, and all Hitler had wrought, and they were horrified, nay outraged, as the Arcanis Elves had been subjected to similar treatment by the Sederans centuries ago during the War of Kingdoms. There was nothing they could've done to prevent this really. They thought the three men they had met with were philosophers or performing Thraliar (An Elvish thing where one one person or small groups isolates themselves to contemplate matters of great importance) but this didn't stop them from bringing the matter to the Queen of Arcanis who in turn sent out a decree forbidding using magic to open gateways to other worlds. There's already a sort of hesitation towards such a thing but this made it final so far as Arcanis is concerned, citing a "non-interference" policy in external affairs, only now extending it to other worlds.

One wonders now how history might've unfolded had they never opened that door. I can't really complain too much since my paternal grandparents met because of the war, my grandfather a German defector, my grandmother an American officer's aide. My grandpa was always a kind man and never hid his service as a soldier in the German army from me or my brother, and would scold me if he thought I was straying towards following in Hitler's footsteps. He himself had served only out of love for his homeland but was heartbroken at how vile the Nazis had taken it. By the time he met my grandmother, he'd renounced the Nazis after defecting to the Allies along with a handful of other Germans sometime in 1943. He told me about how he and his friends, all renouncing the Nazis, snuck out of a German occupied town in France in the dead of night on the auspices of being on patrol, snuck to the Allied Camp and gave themselves up, intent on defecting. He'd get shipped to England and spent his time in a POW camp, separate from the other prisoners since they'd kill him if they knew he was a defector. Fortunately he cooperated fully with the Allies and was given better treatment. He even still had his old army uniform and his old Nazi party membership pin, keeping them to remind him of the darkest period in his life so that he would never stray back to them. At his request, his old German uniform and belongings were donated to a museum after he passed away at the age of 93. But thanks to the war, I'm able to exist. He and grandma met in England, fell in love, were married. He took my grandmother's name, Miles instead of her taking his, Engel. He was a devout Christian man, seeking atonement for his sins. Humble and kind. I wonder how he'd feel regarding my actions now. I'd hope I'd have made him proud. It's quite the paradox in my opinion, wondering what might've been. But the Elves here approach such tragic circumstances with a saying. I don't even want to pretend to try and spell it correctly but translated it means "Remember the Past, Learn from the Good, Learn from the Bad, Embrace the Former, Shun the Latter. Thank Time itself for its lessons, remember them always, but always continue moving."

Moving on from this subject as I think I've dwelled on it enough, is a return to magic wands. Now, I remember in some works of fiction, there's some great tool that can do just about anything. Sonic screwdrivers, tricorders, omnitools, you name it. Well, here in Isekaido, a magic wand just about IS this Swiss Army Knife of tools. Welding Torch, cutting torch, flashlight, scissors, screwdriver, corkscrew, knife, lockpick...you name it. You just have to know the magic for what you need. Frankly though you don't need a wand for these as you can use magic with your bare hands, but honestly it's much easier using a wand. Especially if you need to be precise and accurate.

I think that wraps it up for this entry. As I think of more quirks and curiosities to write down, I'll be back with another entry.