The universe began from the thought of a being far superior to any, who was bored with nothingness. The Gods then arose from its mind, glowing brighter than the youthful stars which covered the empty void akin to a carpet. As time went on, those Gods, through methods of their own, began to attract and subdue world upon world, bringing them into their empires.

  However, this story is not about them, nor about the worlds under them, for independent planets were still present. No, this story takes place on one of the independents, whose populace was unaware of the bigger picture, focusing their lives into trivial matters that they deemed important. This story takes place on the planet Wheat, as it was much later named by the scientists of this world.

  The planet itself, made up of big lakes and big continents, was, at this point, home to over a billion people, concentrated into small kingdoms, duchies and republics. The most massive continent would later be named, by the same scientists, Katche. But, if you were to ask the people of this era, you would find many answers, for, though they had little diversity in the languages that they spoke, they gave different meanings to different things. Such is the phenomenon of cultural diversity! And so, I suggest to jump in where our story is meant to begin, in Aky-Ut, where Katche was called Landhut.

  Aky-Ut, an independent Republic dominated by its Merchant Families whose main source of income is trade and transport. The legend of the creation of Aky-Ut is known by the majority of its inhabitants, even among the peasantry. It states that the Republic’s origins began 500 years ago, in the year 190 After the Fall of Hesos, when a small group of merchants, loyal to the betrayed Emperor, founded the town on the coast of lake Xezer. The town was named Aky-Ut after the murdered sons of said Emperor, Aky and Ut. The mission of the loyal merchants? To safely transport any loyalist to the other side of Xezer and far away from the betrayers of the Emperor.

  Now, whether this legend is more legend than real is up to personal preference, however, if you were to say that to one of the ruling families’ faces, you might get more than just a tap on the back. That is, if you have the means to speak to anyone among the Merchant Families. And if you do have some connections, the Luzza Family might still be your only chance. Unless you are within the “power circle”, there is no way that you would ever have the chance of speaking to the Styo and Bova Families. For the sake of reference, let us say that you are a mere worker of a trade within the outskirts of the city. Then, my recommendation would be to go, if you have an issue, to the King of Aky-Ut. Yes, you read that right. KING! It is quite unknown why the REPUBLIC has a KING when he is usually a puppet of the Families. Nonetheless, the King would be more willing to listen to you than any Merchant Family and, if enough people raise an issue, you might have a chance of making the King stand up from his throne and tell one of the Families about it. Then, you might get a reform or an official document that tries to resolve the issue. Whether the document or “reform” does anything is up to the interest of the Families.

  You might be wondering, “Why is Aky-Ut, a merchant republic that deals with trade and transport, the focus of the story?” Well, dear reader, in the year 690 A.F.H. (After the Fall of Hesos), a war was about to break out between Aky-Ut and a rival Merchant Republic, located on the other side of the great lake Xezer, the Republic of Nyvaz, over the right to dominate the lake’s Trade and Transportation. And this war, over this right, while minuscule in comparison to the grandeur of the Universe, proved to be the most important thing in the lives of those residing in both Merchant Republics. But not only, for the Duchies and Kingdoms that resided deeper inland and that needed the lake’s resources and services were also deeply interested in helping one of the main combatants. Who will come out on top? Whose navy and strategy are better? Who will dominate the Trade and Transportation of Xezer? Those answers may follow as the story unravels and as we follow the thread of a couple of “witnesses” within Aky-Ut.