Provinces of the Empire - Esserland

*"Oh lady fair lady!" Cried the people, throwing themselves at the Saint Robin's feet. Then they did grovel, so grateful for her graceful precense that they could not stop themselves from sobbing. Thusly they begged, "Please, grant us respite from the eternal dark."

And the Lady Saint did smile a kindly smile; a motherly smile. She spoke, "Worry not dear ones, I shall grant thee that which you seek." She then glanced up at the sky, unbothered by matters of distance or the danger lurking in the shadows, and she did pluck from the sky a brilliant white star. Her hammer then rang, singing like a thousand choirs as she fashioned what seemed to be a cage of glittering iron, leafy and feathery were its adornments. She held this vessel aloft, and then she plucked another bright star and set it within the vessel. The light did glow, bathing all around in warmth and light. The darkness fled in terror, leaving the shadows thin and sickly.

"What is this?" the people asked the great lady, who laughed gayly.

"It is a lantern! Lo!" She then tossed the lantern up to great heights into the sky. The lamp hung there, growing into a great disc of flame. The darkness was then driven further, huddling under the shade of trees and shrubs. "This is the Sun. It shall keep the night at bay for many hours every day, plenty of time to work and make merry." Her words were melody manifest, yet she it was impossible for any mortal to find the rythym, "But be ware, ware my dear ones, all must be in balance. Such was the world when it was young, so it is now. This lantern shall light the earth all the long day, it grows weary, so it must rest to gather its strength, else the shadows swallow it whole. So the day shall be followed by night, and this is when you fashion lanterns of your own for your homes, to keep the night away from your babes til the sun returns."

They thanked her with great thanks. They praised her with great praise. Thusly was the Sun first cast into the sky and the world was made whole, and the most blessed land of the world was ever more blessed by the new dawn.

• The Book of the Rose, 12-4, Seventh Edition.*

Esserland is the land of the dawn, the easternmost province of the empire. It's an ancient land of stringent tradition, a land of aspen forests, a land of bumpy fields and soft beaches strewn with many rounded stones. It is a land of people, the closest province to the Heartland both in geography and spirit. The Empire's oldest allies, the Esserlanders willingly aligned themselves with the Empire's founder, Barwick the Great during his great unification campaign.

Esserland is a rugged region primarily comprised of shield rock, with a smattering of eroded mountains and tranquil coast lines. It is a land of cities, vast cities of narrow townhomes, of great manses; it is a land of walled fortresses turned into bustling market places. Gaggles of tall houses huddled around the skirts of the old fortress. It is a land of ever growing urban clusters linked by many-bridged highways of dark cobble.

It is the most populous province in the Empire, the Administrative Deparment estimates that forty six percent of the Empire's population is crowded into this province. The land is almost entirely settled, or incorporated in some capacity. Great companies own greater swathes of the territory. Some are for factories and facility, some are aggressively developed into great big housing towns. All are filled with row upon row of nearly identical townhomes, fashioned of bricks and iron bars. The shingles are orangey-red tile. Windows are shuttered, traditionally forgoing glass windows entirely in many cases.

The province has moderate natural resource production, but its output pales in comparison to any other province. So too is the province industry-poor. Yet the people live in surprising comfort, this is because they produce specialized products. Commerce is Esserland's primary means of work. Many companies are based in Esserland, with headquarters that have entire towns built around them.

The province's greatest claim to fame is the Printing Guild, which has the only printing-presses in the entire world; and has capitalized printing out holy texts and governmental communique.

Indeed, a bulk of the province's income is from the manufacturing and maintenance of these wonderous machines. They are leased to various governmental departments, guilds, organizations, and other entities. The proceeds are split amongst the work-town's denizens who produced and maintain them. Folks not directly working for a company, the government, or the Guild earn their bread by supporting these enterprises though goods and services. Bakeries, shoemakers, butchers; often using imports from the other provinces, and selling back the results.

Esserland is also a province of worship, great churches dedicated to the Rose take many odd and unorthodox shapes. The carvings of the revered saints are sleek and new, contrasting with the ancient weathered things that house them.

A tradition of note amongst the province's stormy season are the lanters of iron, fashioned in the image of their oldest myths. They bring them out and light them when the winter storms reach their worst. These are left on all night, changing every street into an ever shifting dance of light and shadow every night. These dancing lanterns have spawned a whole festival that is celebrated across the empire, and the lanterns are ever the source of fascination to travelers in person too.

Many of the Church's greatest clergy members originate in Esserland. Many an aspiring priest has been reared in these easterly and ancient reaches of the empire. Great academies dominate the towns not owned outright by companies, the bell towers clang out at every hour; six times to signal bi-weekly sermons; they are harbingers of candle-light vigils and obscure ceremonies. When they ring thrice, with a second's rest inbetween each, it signals the coming dawn.

All in all, Esserland is a province of eager submission, of faith and service, where the eldest of each house is expected to be in the Church, and the youngest is expected to join the Guild or a prominent company. A province of prosperity and density. A province of enterprise and invention. A province where imperial power is apparent in every intersection and every square via statues or monuments. Where company flags fly proudly.

A province in bliss.

-Excerpt from "The Many Places of the Fourth Empire" Fourth Edition, by Barnabus Fleek of Kant Marie.