Major places, at their own scale
The almanac follows major worlds, realms, countries, districts, cities and towns at different scales. Gazetteers identify smaller places and connect them to fuller accounts.
A planetary entry describes the sky, environment and distribution of societies. A country explains its government and neighbours. A district describes local powers; a town brings the account down to streets, households, markets and services.
Aveline’s homeland can be explored through the Orinthian Empire, House Orinth, the imperial provinces, the court and the lives of people in its cities.
Finding a subject
The subjects below connect the location entries. Tarsenne’s fuller country profiles give science, public works, defence and leisure their own sections. Shorter entries concentrate on the place and direct readers to related subjects.
| Section | Coverage |
|---|---|
| 1. Overview and identity | Names and etymology; symbols and their history; status and territorial scope; principal places; languages; currencies; calendar and clocks; a concise reference profile. |
| 2. Geography and environment | Location and extent; terrain and watersheds; climate and seasons; native and introduced life; resources and hazards; the environmental reasons for settlement and land use. |
| 3. History and chronology | Earlier inhabitants; settlement and development; dated turning points; rulers or local leadership where relevant; treaties, charters, disasters and contested memories. |
| 4. Demographics and society | Population with its date and counting area; migration; languages and social distinctions; household life; belief; education, health, care and unequal access. |
| 5. Government, law and politics | Actual authority and its limits; succession or appointment; councils and courts; rights and obligations; administrative divisions; disputes, diplomacy, defence and local security as appropriate. |
| 6. Economy, infrastructure and industry | Work and production; military and civilian industries; supply chains; trade, wages, prices, taxation, credit and debt; water, waste, energy, transport, communications, learning, repair and arcane practice. |
| 7. Culture, arts and daily life | Food, clothing, homes, manners, festivals, literature, music, art, sport, recreation and ordinary pleasures; internal differences and recurring citizens who make these subjects tangible. |
| 8. Appendices and reference material | Dated statistics and their limits; a practical gazetteer; offices and institutions; map legends and location registers; chronology notes, cross-references and significant changes during the stated reference period. |
Maps and images as part of the reference
Planetary and regional diagrams establish the relationships between major places. City and town plans identify selected streets, districts, important houses, government buildings, markets, industry and defensive works.
Interactive city and town plans support zoom and pan. Their controls and written directories identify streets and landmarks. The system and district diagrams show relationships rather than surveyed distances.
Illustrations accompany local observances, work, households and heraldry. Architecture varies with materials, climate, wealth and history.
Map legends state the extent and conventions of each plan. A selected street network is not a complete property survey.
From the sky to a household
Light, seasons, geology, atmosphere and water affect food, materials, settlement and transport. Those conditions reach into livelihoods, institutions and individual households. Follow the related entries to trace these connections across different scales.
Statistics and dates
Rounded estimates remain rounded. A city’s population is part of its country’s population, and a marine claim is not added to land area. A wage requires a currency and a pay period. A table of prices cannot be compared across countries without considering local earnings and what goods are available.
The Tarsenne reference period is the opening of SR 683, before Aveline’s departure. Completed-year accounts refer to SR 682. Imperial correspondence for the opening period uses CR 412; this correspondence does not supply a universal conversion for historical dates.
Lives that keep the reference honest
Citizen accounts connect work, household decisions and relationships to the places described elsewhere in the almanac. Longer recurring accounts appear in the Lives section.
Rulers, councils, firms and settlements have purposes of their own. Related entries follow the trade, obligations and conflicts that connect them.