Once a towering empire that spanned countless kingdoms and continents, the Old Kingdom has since dwindled in strength and prestige to the polished museum piece it is now. Countless ancient legends have their origins in the Old Kingdom, with historical mores and cultural tropes spreading through the ages. It is suggested by some historians that the world culture that exists today is largely a byproduct of the Old Kingdom. I, of couese, don’t know any facts of the matter. What I do know is that the Old Kingdom is a place of deep historical significance.

Personally, I have an awkward relationship to the historical. I am a person who tries to concern themselves with the present. While I do not dispute the importance of history, much less its impact on current events, I find myself somewhat ambivalent when standing in front of ancient artifacts or visiting the locations of important historical events.

Getting to Morlastig’gna and the Achinean Spire is surprisingly simple, given its inhospitable location. The Green-Ridge Flier branch-line departs from the Logoruun Spike in the evening, and arrives at the Morlastig’gna Tail at lunchtime the following day. Tickets will likely run you up to F200, though there are sometimes seasonal specials for local holidays and festivals, and sometimes bulk rates.

The Green-Ridge Flier doesn’t have seats, but rather cubbies for passengers to sleep and recline in. The Flier doesn’t serve evening meals, leaving late enough that passengers are expected to settle dinner on their own. They do, however, offer breakfasts from simple to hearty, and a small midday snack to tide you over until you can find lunch in Morlastig’gna.

Winterkesh is one of the larger regions in Flororenghashst, and yet is one of the most difficult to reach. Winterkesh is an isolated place with only one reliable method of ingress: the Icepick Engine in Esquan.

While there are several ways to reach Esquan, the simplest starts in Fhanna, which is relatively easy to get to from any of Flororenghashst’s urban centers. Once there, purchase a ticket to New Dally on the Dingrun Flyer for F50 a seat. Trains leave twice a day; late morning and early afternoon.

When you reach New Dally, you will have to cross town to the Stables, a caravan meet-up point where you can purchase a seat on any caravan heading for Esquan. There are no train lines connecting the larger cities to Esquan, due to the mountainous topography and inhospitable climate. This is the longest leg of the journey, and may take up to a day if the weather is bad. Remember to bring warm clothing and snow-gear.

The Akcriskkap is a region of over five-thousand square lengths in the Egralpian sea. Easily reachable by ferry or flight, your best bet for cheap and reliable transit is the Barkwater Ferry. Operating out of Hamllerdad, the Barkwater Ferry travels to and from the Akcriskkap four times a day. Tickets run 100F to 130F, and the journey will take about three hours to reach Nightgroan. For 50F more, you can purchase a private cabin.

Alternately, chartered flights disembark from Gromswik Local at semi-regular intervals. Prices are steeper, ranging from 200 to 300 face, and the trip will only take about three-quarters of an hour. The flights will drop you on a small island just off the coast of Akcriskkap, from which you will have to charter a river-boat to get you to Nightgroan proper, for only 20F.

Travel to and from the Ironbar Cave Forest is largely hangled by the Fhanna Ranger service and their guides. While traveling to the forest on your own is certainly doable, either via charter-bus service or rented vehicle, the Ranger service discourages entering the forest without a properly accredited guide.

The Fhanna Ranger Guide service operates out of Moortla City, which has several available train lines and plane routes to various travel hubs across the world. Prices will vary based on your origin and travel-line of choice.

Purchasing a trip to the Ironbar Cave Forest will cost anywhere from four to ten face, depending on which hicking path you wish to take, which guide service you purchase, and how much equipment you need to rent.

Called the Land of Errant Hopes, Flororenghashst is not a land for the timid wanderer, nor the inexperienced tourist. I don’t want to frighten you away from visiting this rich and savory land, full of wine-dark shadows and smokey forests. While it may be an acquired taste for some, the land of Flororenghashst is well worth experiencing.

All the same, I’ve been told Flororenghashst is like an exotic meal. If you don’t know how to hold the utensils or what sauces to dip different bites in, you won’t get the full experience. The people of Flororenghashst are a sturdy and humble sort, with a rich history centuries in the making. There is a deep reverence for history and the education of children in the country, and tourists are expected to show an interest in the history of any town they visit, restaurant they eat in, and even people they meet. It is not uncommon for a simple “hello, how are you” to turn into a long folk-tale about the surrounding region and how the building you stand in was built.

This story is fan-fiction made in the Grimdark Future universe, by One Page Rules.

They met on a small hill a full league from the city’s wall. The land was barren, with only a few dried husks of trees and sparse tufts of weed drifting in the wind. The lazy drone of alien insects filled the chill air, and the bright blue spot that was the planet’s sun beat down on Pwanji’s head.

She met with a monster. It was half-again as tall as her, covered head-to-toe in ancient metal armor. She recognized the design as one of the ancient battle-suits from when humanity first came to the Sirius sector, and it looked well used. That it still functioned at all was impressive, given its age, but she had no doubt that the Battle Brothers of the Founder knew how to maintain even the oldest equipment; given their lifespans, it was likely this was the Battle Brother’s original battle-suit.

“Hail,” she said as the giant walked closer. “I am Mother Pwanji Truevoice of Freecity Arpescious. Whom do I have the honor of meeting?”

This story is fan-fiction made in the Grimdark Future universe, by One Page Rules.

Heresy.

The being that would one day be known as Vradhez sat in its pod, slowly spinning in its personal eddy, separate from the overwhelming current of the Flow. Its caste was one of the few among the Living who had this ability, much less the permission. The Living had long ago realized that in spite of its incredible benefits, the Flow brought with it its own challenges and obstacles. The unity of the Living was powerful, but so too could it be limiting.

So a new caste had been created from countless strands of DNA and mitochondria collected from a thousand different species across the Living’s territory. In spite of their physical similarities to the Prime castes, they had more genetic material in common with the great minds, the caste devoted to the Living’s memory and logistical instincts. They were not only able to see the Flow, but to escape it; to not just analyze and assess, but to imagine and explore.

It was this ancient foresight that meant the Living could survive the great awakening, the sudden awareness of their entire race that they were not the only sentient species in the universe. But how could they have imagined otherwise? Of all the animals they had ever met, none of them were truly alive. How could they be?

Poshlin Parade is the large mountain range on the eastern edge of Eddling. Visible from across the country, Poshlin Parade extends from the Gorland Plains to the south, all the way to the Eddling border and Silver Lake to the north. The White Needle is its tallest peak, at 2,400m, and contains a total of 27 peaks higher than 1,000m. Reaching Poshlin Parade is as simple as catching a train or bus to either Loreidell or Grumwei, the two closest towns, and chartering a bus-service to one of the several base-camps from there.

Hiking the Poshlin Parade is best done with a guide. While the paths are generally safe, they are not easy to climb, and there are several places where passage becomes dangerous without suitable experience. Hiring a guide is simple enough, as there are multiple tour-groups and guide-services in both Loreidell and Grumwei for reasonable prices.

The southern edge of the Adamant Cliffs is accessible by Lopna-drawn cart, and a semi-regular taxi-service operates out of Loreidell. The northern edge will require hiking to reach, due to the narrow passes.

Nottish Ins is one of the largest principalities in Eddling, and the Rutile City is one of its largest urban centers. Most major train-, ship-, and airlines offer service to the Rutile City; check your company of choice for their schedules.

Travel within the Rutile City is made slightly more complex than usual due to the city’s different eras of construction; the central district is made of curving roads and angled corners, while the outer streets are placed on a more common urban grid. This makes travel in the outer districts predictable, while the inner-city is a bit more organic.

In the outer-city, trolleys and rolling-trams travel down every fourth street, and cost only a Qua-Tin to ride. Most of the trolleys serve one street only, while the outermost streets are served by “ring-trolleys,” or trams that travel a circular route around the city, rather than back and forth. These trolleys are labeled by letter instead of street-name; the A-Line, for example, instead of the Grimsby-Street-Line.