>>43310451It's a not!XVI-century setting. Turmoil is a-brewing as the good emperor of the Marhabean empire (an ancient empire, slowly rebuilding after getting wrecked about 150 years before) is very old and his heir is an asshole with too much ambitions who doesn't even hide disdain for the neighbors. Another problem is recent raids done by mysterious people coming by sea from the south - an unknown land, presumably cut off from the region by the magical jungle. They don't use firearms, but their mages are much more numerous and powerful. Recently they've captured a stronghold on one of not!Italian (Western peninsula) islands.
Meanwhile not!Slavs north of the Empire are doing their Slavic things, mostly quarreling between themselves (especially Zemlania, that is not!Commonwealth) and competing for blackpowder market (Stampia controls the only sane trade route with eastern powers who used to be the sole source of sulfur; now Naskran <one of the not!Italian states> developed an effective way to produce it from horse urine).
Empire recently started colonization effort across the sea, but as far as anyone is concerned those lands are just huge forests with nothing of value.
On the north there are steppe people who stopped being a threat 100 years ago when they finally lost technological battle. Northeast is occupied by elves; they are mysterious, keep to themselves, only rarely trade with humans on the borders of the forest. People are usually sane enough not to trespass on their lands, those who are not are eliminated from the gene pool.
The only thing I didn't flesh out is the western empire. I want it to be exotic, weird and inhabitated by nonhumans - but I have no idea how they could contribute to the plot.
