RUMORS IN THE WEST

Rumors in the West…
1. Clarent Wyeth is known to dismiss the necessity of marriage as a crown ruler. It is believed or at least rumored that he fancies himself quite the Lothario with the ladies of the realm, and has a penchant for those hailing from the “lesser classes.” How this bodes for the future is yet to be said.
2. No state has attempted to integrate magic into mundane, daily life more than Ludvoskan. Certainly, Varuum has its open pleasure of magic, but this is yet reserved for wondrous occasions and purposes. Likewise, even fell Lentokk tends to reserve its wizardly expenditures for matters of state and conquest. In an odd irony, they likely understand better than any the dangers inherent in over-extending their arcane reach.
3. Ludvoskan is also at the vanguard of material advances and new inventions. Their proximity to lands under the sway of the Houlon Empire likely plays a part in this, and they were the first (and still one of but a select few) state to gain access to the fire powders of that most mysterious and cloistered realm.
4. Speaking of, another irony presents itself. Though seemingly caught in the fervor of imperialist expansion, the Houlon Empire is almost a total contradiction, with its own well-known and inherent insularity. At least with regards to the core of the nation.
5. Not jingoistic in the large, the average Houlon follows their emperor in holding a healthy dose of national pride, and a smaller (but not insignificant) dash of xenophobia. They seem to believe that they alone have the wisdom and will to advance humanity on the world stage. They take this responsibility rather seriously and feel that most (if not all) “rival” nations are dangerously frivolous with their attentions.