The Chronicle of Karguun · Chapter 1

The Realm and its Days

Every real hour is a day in the realm, and the realm never waits for you. A province is protected for its first 72 days; use them to build. An age lasts about 2,184 days, and at its end the greatest provinces and kingdoms are carved into the Hall of Legends.

Your province

You rule one province: a stretch of land, the people who live on it and the army that guards it. Your province belongs to a kingdom of up to 25 provinces, and every kingdom stands on an island. A kingdom's place is written as two numbers, kingdom and island: (3:7) is the third kingdom of the seventh island. You do not choose your kingdom. The Elder Thrones place you where there is room, and the kingdom you find yourself in is the company you keep.

Every province begins the same:


Land	280 acres, 30 of them Homes, 30 Farms, 30 Banks, 5 Guilds and 5 Towers
People	6,000 peasants
Army	300 soldiers, 10 thieves and 10 wizards
Stores	690,000 gold coins and 45,000 bushels of food

Time

One day passes every real hour. Buildings rise, soldiers train, land is settled and your people are paid on the hour, whether you are watching or not.
One month is 24 days: one real day.
One year is 7 months, January to July: one real week.
Dates are written like April 4th, YR6. The Paper and the Throne keep the realm's own calendar; your local time is shown beside timers.

The life of an age

The Gathering. Before an age begins, the realm gathers for about 48 hours. You may found your province, give orders and talk with your kingdom, but no day passes and nothing moves.
Protection. Every new province is guarded by the Elder Thrones for its first 72 days, until April 1st, YR0 for those who begin on the first day. No one may attack you, cast spells on you or send thieves against you, and you may not do so to anyone. You may build at double the price for half the time.
Growth and war. When protection lifts, the realm is open. Kingdoms grow angry with one another, and anger leads to war.
The end. After about 2,184 days (thirteen years) the age ends. The realm stands still, and its greatest provinces and kingdoms are carved into the Hall of Legends.
The next age. A few hours later a new age gathers. Your account remains, but every province begins anew. In your Preferences you may choose to stay with your kingdom, which is then carried over under new coordinates and keeps a place for you.

Your first day

Read the Throne. It shows your province, your army and everything that has happened since you last looked.
Build. Land without buildings is of little use. See Land, Buildings and Gold.
Set the draft. Your army grows only if some of your people serve. See Raising an Army.
Vote. Every kingdom needs a monarch; your vote is on the Politics page. See Kingdoms and their Monarchs.
Say hello on the Moot. Your kingdom-mates are your allies. A kingdom that talks is a kingdom that survives.

The menu is grouped as rulers of old knew it: your Throne and Council; the work of your province (Explore, Growth, Sciences, Military); your reach beyond it (the Mystics, Thievery, the War Room, Send Aid); the voices of the realm (Couriers, the Moot, Politics, Relations); the wider world (the Kingdom, the World, the Paper, Dragons); and your Preferences, this Chronicle and the Questions.