Explanations

Hi everyone !

Let's do a bit of history. As some of you may have noticed, the world of this story is based on true History. Eastern Europe's History to be precise.

However, this is a fiction so many things are different. To help you, here are the main points :

- First, the Cossack Hetmanate, that stood in Ukraine, but was destroyed by the Old Empire.

- Second, the Khaganate, that spans all over Kazakhstan and the north-east of the Black Sea. A Khaganate is divided in Khanates. Simply put, the ruler of a Khaganate is the Khagan. He rules over the Khans. The Khans lead one or more tribes whose territory is named Khanates. They have to obey to the Khagan. And most of the time, Khans are from the family of the Khagan.

- Third, the Old Empire is a fictional Byzantine Empire and englobes everything from Slovenia and Hungary to Turkey. The Old Empire is ruled by a Basileus (or a Basilissa) and a few powerful noble families. The Empire is, much like the Khaganate, built upon federated kingdoms. Such kingdoms are ruled by Despotes. However Despotes have much less independence than Khans. The one to inherit the Empire is the strongest Despote.

- Fourth, we have the Polish Commonwealth. It's a kingdom (Poland) and a dukedom (Lithuania) but ruled by one monarch, named King and Grand Duke (he has both titles). The monarch is elected by and among the nobles of the Polish Commonwealth.

- Fifth, we have the Russian Tsardom. Ruled by a Tsar. The Tsardom is inherited by the Tsar's eldest son.

And that's all !

It will be explained and detailed in the story, but if you want a quick reminder, just read the lines above !