Books, ballads and plays

Ser John of Bryten was originally a Bryten knight, but later pivoted his career to a traveling minstrel and a diplomat, eventually earned his knighthood in Galicia. This way, he managed to travel across the whole of Laurasia, seeing a fair share of stories he immortalized in his ballads.

Ballad

During the Ragnarian‐Lynxian war, perhaps the most famous conflict was the the battle of Westfort. Ragnarian battalion overextended and was driven back. A dozen of mages managed to escape and barricaded themselves in one of the captured Lynxian fortresses. Lynxian army had them surounded within hours and sent a envoy to negotiate a surrender. Part of this envoy, allegedly, was Ser John. Of course, Ragnarian archamges were having none of it and did not yield. The envoy was sent back, but John chose to remain with the mages.

The siege was long but the Lynxian victory was inevitable but the mages made them work hard for it. Lynxian suffered heavy losses, but a dozen of mages, however strong, eventually had to succumb to the never ending waves of Lynxian soldiers. All but one - saved by the Ragnarian cavalry set out to save the survivors.

Ser Soteire is a quintessential lynxian author. He has written a staggering amount of plays and novels and his works are everything that Galician culture (and art) represents - love, romance, tragedy and heroism.

Play

The most famous love-story in Galicia, if not the whole of Laurasia. A classic tragedy of forbidden love - a maid fell in love with a nobleman. This love was mutual, but given their difference in status, many did not approve of their love. While they endured most of the hardhships and made love in secret, they were eventually seperated...

Novel

Part murder mystery, part moral debate, part tragedy. A ghost claimed they solved a murder case, but of course, such claims were dubious at best. Young Will has to solve the murder himself, deploying rather unorthodox methods.

Infamous pirate captain John Firebrand was, for a while, perhaps the most wanted pirate in the Southern waters. He always seemed to know where the Bryten kingdom dreadnoughts are, and any other ship that would try and capture him was terribly surprised by being rammed by a burning wreck of a ship.... and having their ship be set on fire (hence the name).

It took years of coordinated efforts, but eventually, a certain mercenary company managed to get him for good and sank his ship. Though John might be dead, his legacy lives on in the sea shanties that spread in his wake.

Shanty

A shanty about John's hay-days. Features almost everything - from John's slight craziness to burning down ships.

Shanty

Retelling of the John's final days. The shanty ends with John's flagship being sank by the Shield with John on board.

However, true to his character, John accepts his defeat with humor and grace and the shanty continues in rather hopeful and cheerful manner, despite his supposed death.

Setinsky is a professor of natural philosophy at the Lynxian university, but he has studied (except of his true domain) history as well, which became his hobby. He often asked a lot of what-ifs and why-s and often finds very interesting answers. Having written a lot of fictional history at this point, many think he got a knack for this and should do this full-time, but Setinski himself is not convinced, and claims he throroughly enjoys his current occupation.

Regardless, as mentioned, his works are generally historical fiction. Generally, his topics are fairly well-researched where possible, but he definitely is not afraid to jump head-on into the uncharted territories.

Play

A fictional retelling of a well-known event - a failed heist on the Empirial bank of Lynxia. Features a brilliant planning by a shadowy entity only known as The Invisible eminence, breath-taking chases along the corridors of the vaults and concludes with the perpetrator caught in the very last moment.

Novella

Perhaps one of the most famous works of Setinsky, this is the story of a great fight, loss and heroism based on the very scarce records we have on the final moments of the Gate. This is one of the many speculations about the fate of the gate and the mystery of the blue rain. Setinski did his best for this one, but we almost no record of those events and he still did not answer the important questions around the conception of the rain.

Unlike many of the stories about the Boarstall tower, this one is told from the point of view of the Junior officers. It begins with the members of the gate returning from some kind of a mission and starting their preperation for a great battle, and later on get overrun with undead. Throughout this whole ordeal, the Senior officers were locked up in a tower and it turns out they were fighting a battle of their own. Battle that our heroes, the Junior officers, had to finsih.

Philip Seering is a pseudonym for a certain author who publishes novels centering around the Ragnarian intelligence agency. Usually, they publish a beletrized retllings of events and files that have recently been declassified and open to publice. However, many wonder how they can write a book so quickly after declassification of certain files, and how are their description so vivid and accurate. Indeed Seering is surounded by many rumours and theories, usually claiming that they are one of the higher ranking agency members, or that they are a field agents themselves - witnessing some of the events first hand.

Novela serries

Usually a simple retelling of a specific Scarlet file from the point of view of the agent. The current serries consists of the following books so far:

• Scarlet files: Silent step - an agent so stealthy, some doubt that he even was on the missions they claimed to be on... but the results were undeniable
• Scarlet files: Watchful eye - no detail went unnoticed in their presence. His observations turned the tide many a time and averted a war once
• Scarlet files: Ever alert - an agent that survived a lot of fighting and assassination attempts. But none were successful.
• Scarlet files: Thought through - a great strategist and planner. His complicated maze of back-up plans was unbreakable. Everything was accounted for.

Novela serries

Unlike the scarlet files, you need to do a little digging to get hold of them. But sometimes, what you find is worth it - it wouldn`t take a bard to compose an epic out of them... The current serries consists of the following books so far:

• Operation: Letter not sent - complicated web of fabricated blackmail, that held armies at bay... and the diplomatic turmoil that it entailed.
• Operation: Book never written - a fake magic item, that Ragnarians used to distract Lynxian forces during the wars
• Operation: Woman that wasn't - a woman, whose body Ragnarians used to plant fake intel and left to be discovered by the enemy.
• Operation: Forgotten lies - story of a sleeper agent, with their memory wiped, waiting for the signal to spring back... or nor
• Operation: Twice dead - a rushed effort to fake the casualty counts and turn the course of a battle
• Operation: Victorious defeat - a battle that was won, but nobody was supposed to know.

Published by unknown author, these stories are the classic who-dunnits and how-catch-ems.

Novel serries, who-dunnit

Murder mysteries told through a perspective of RID officer. Although the book claims the whole serries is fictional, many doubt this claim - certain names and facts are eerily similar to the real counter-parts... Notable book in this serries is Redcoats of Jantai - The case of peculiar normalcy.