The Populace, Vistas and Antiquities of Aÿshra or The Observations of a Wandering Gadabout Authored by: Orzan Menerathrope

The Populace, Vistas and Antiquities of Aÿshra or The Observations of a Wandering Gadabout was copied by hand from the Abbey of the Enlightened Brotherhood of Tirushvoth and these works are protected by the 4th Law of the Scribe Protectorate issued by the Lord Mayor Emenith Torgun, 891, 3A. Any unlawful copies of this manuscript shall lead to immediate prosecution of the lawbreaker, including up to the removal posthaste of both hands if not a swift and immediate execution.

Since the widely misunderstood genius of my last thesis, Orkäens, Enclaves, and the Territorial Disputes of 453 2A: Parts I–VII (a light read, really), I have spent the better part of a decade gallivanting across the marvelous, maddening continent of Aÿshra. My noble quest? To archive its races, languages, histories, holidays, secret societies, questionable cults, political debacles, coinage systems, and more, all compiled with painstaking brilliance into the tome you now clutch, hopefully with the reverence it deserves.

Now, while we shall explore the finer details when necessary, let us be realistic. Aÿshra is a realm so ancient and absurdly populated with countless cultures and clashing timelines that chronicling everything in full would result in a series of volumes so massive they would require their own bookshelf—and possibly their own mule to carry.¹ And so, to spare you the tedium and me the inevitable wrist injuries and ink-stained nervous breakdowns, I’ve selected only the most dazzling highlights and scandalous low points from each kingdom and race.

You’re welcome.

As for geography, we shall be focusing only on the most historically or culturally significant locations. Not, I assure you, because I am lazy (heavens no), but because trekking to every backwater hamlet and goat-worshipping hillside commune would be a lifelong endeavor. And frankly, most of these rustic locales lack even the most basic scholarly essentials; such as hot baths, firm mattresses, and lodging not shared with livestock or the local drunkard (who, I might add, snores like a dying troll).²

So! Let us begin, shall we? Within these pages, you will find the compiled chapters and their respective subsections for your eager perusal. I do hope you enjoy reading these chronicles of Aÿshra’s people, places, and pivotal moments as much as I enjoyed surviving. . . er, compiling them.

Orzan Menerathrope(Former) Grand Historiographer to King Valyn IVOn this day, 18th of Sumner, 782, 4A

— *¹ “On the Burdens of Genius: How Great Minds Must Also Be Great Porters,” Menerathrope, O., Journal of Overqualified Scholars, Vol. 8, Issue 3.