The Provinces

[Content Note: This adventure contains themes of paper-pushing and bureaucracy.]

Drat. You must've pissed off the wrong person somewhere up above you. Your new assignment is somewhere off in the backwards, empty, godforsaken Provinces.

You thought you'd be able to live a comfortable life, signing one paper, marking the next for perusal by your superiors. Nothing too exciting, nothing too eventful. That was why you signed up for a job with the Civil Service. But now you're going to have to jump on some not comfortable train and ride out of the Capitol City and stay in some not comfortable farmhouse or something.

You seethe to yourself as you walk home from work.

But first things first. What is your name?

Assine Aqui

Avadine Lente

Your parents named you Assine Aqui. Sometimes you've wondered if it meant anything - it's a little unusual as a name. You've pored through lists of baby names and their meanings at the library, but all to no avail.

Your parents are shopkeepers, living in the crowded, bustling commercial district of the Capitol City. You grew up in an apartment bulging with stuff everywhere; lamps, exotic rugs, strange wooden carvings, old books. They still live in the same apartment above their shop; you, though, moved out when you got the Civil Service job.

It's summer, and a hot and humid evening. You pass by a large public park named after a military hero of the last generation. You're barely paying attention to what's around you, though; your thoughts are all on your upcoming departure.

Okay, everyone, let's name this Empire and Capitol City! Tomorrow you'll meet with your superiors and learn more about your upcoming assignment.