This article lists the various countries and ethnic groups in the world of Every Inch a King. While some have been given separate articles, most are inconsequential to the plot, and have been gathered together on this one page.
Countries[]
Aenean Empire[]
The Aenean Empire had been defunct for over a thousand years at the time of the War of the Kingdoms, but traces of it could be found throughout the continent. The Aenean heartland was located in Torino.
Literary comment: The Aenean Empire is based on the Roman Empire. Aeneas was a minor character in Homer's Iliad, who was reimagined in Vergil's Aeneid as a founder of the proto-Roman state.
Albion[]
Albion was an island kingdom off the northeast coast of Narbonensis. It was a proud, powerful nation, whose people took pride in never learning other countries' languages. Cities in Albion included Caledonia and Baile Atha Cliath. Albion had a famous police force based in Caledonia Yard. The national coat of arms depicted a lion and a unicorn.
Albion had a reputation for sticking its nose in other kingdoms' affairs, leading to the expression "Albion, perfidious Albion!" However, the Albionese shilling was the most universally accepted currency in the world.
During the War of the Kingdoms, Albion entered the war to defend Narbonensis and Bruges from Schlepsigian aggression. Alongside Vespucciland, Albion was one of the victorious nations.
Literary comment: Albion is based on the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Albion is a medieval poetic name for England, Britannia, or the British Isles in general.
Baile Atha Cliath is the Irish Gaelic name for Dublin. Caledonia is the Latin name for Scotland, so Caledonia Yard is an analog of Scotland Yard.
The expression "perfidious Albion" comes from the writings of French poet Augustin Louis de Ximénès in the 18th century. It was used in numerous subsequent contexts, including German propaganda during World War I, on which the War of the Kingdoms is based.
Belagora[]
Belagora was a kingdom to the north of Shqiperi, bordering Vlachia and the Dual Monarchy. It was dominated by Vlachs. Its currency was the dinar, which was heavier than the Vlachian dinar.
Literary comment: Belagora is based on Montenegro.
Bruges[]
Bruges was a tiny kingdom bordering both Schlepsig and Narbonensis. It had been decreed a neutral zone for all wars, an agreement which the Schlepsigians violated on their drive to Narbonensis at the start of the War of the Kingdoms. The rape of Bruges caused Albion to enter the war. The Brugeoisie put up a greater fight than anyone expected.[1]
Literary comment: Bruges is based on Belgium, which has a city called Bruges.
Dacia[]
Dacia was a kingdom bordered by the Dual Monarchy and Vlachia to the east, and Tver to the west.
Literary comment: Dacia is based on Romania, a nation carved from the ancient region known as Dacia.
Dual Monarchy[]
The Dual Monarchy was centered in the Schlepsigian-speaking region of Eastmarch, whose monarchs also held the crown of Yagmaria. Vindobon was the capital. A number of other peoples were within the Dual Monarchy's borders, including a number of Vlachs. Its currency was the thaler.
Tensions with the Vlachs and nearby Vlachia led to the assassination of the heir to the two thrones, which touched off the War of the Kingdoms. The union dissolved at the end of the war, with the old dynasty remaining in power in the Eastmarch only.
Literary comment: The Dual Monarchy is based on Austria-Hungary. Eastmarch is a literal translation of Ostmark, a name which has been used for Austria in certain historical contexts. Yagmar is an anagram of Magyar, the dominant ethnic group of Hungary. Vindobona was a Roman town on the site of Vienna.
See also, Inconsistencies (Every Inch a King).
Fyrom[]
During the ancient wars, Fyrom invaded Lokris to the south. A few Lokrians appealed to the Aenean Empire to intervene, and the end result was the conquest of all Lokris by the Aeneans. The Fyromians were sometimes considered to be country cousins of the Lokrians.
By the modern era, Fyrom's historical territory was split between Lokris, Vlachia, and Plovdiv.
Literary comment: Fyrom is based on Macedonia. FYROM is a United Nations-sanctioned acronym for the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, aka North Macedonia.
Gdansk[]
Gdansk was a kingdom in the distant past, until it was completely conquered, and its territory divided between Tver, Schlepsig, and the Eastmarch. After the War of the Kingdoms, a new kingdom of Gdansk was created.
Literary comment: Gdansk is based on Poland, and named for the Polish port city of Gdansk, which is sometimes called by its German name Danzig.
Great Vlachia[]
Great Vlachia was formed after the War of the Kingdoms, by placing the Hrvats and Voslenes (newly removed from Eastmarcher rule) in a union dominated by the Vlachs of Vlachia and Belagora. It swiftly sought to be a great power, but lagged behind the other kingdoms.
Literary comment: Great Vlachia is based on Yugoslavia.
Hassockian Empire[]
See Hassockian Empire.
Hrvatsk[]
Hrvatsk was the homeland of the Hrvats. It was absorbed by the Dual Monarchy, and long defunct by the time of the War of the Kingdoms.
Otto of Schlepsig supposed the kingdom must have collapsed from a lack of vowels.
Literary comment: Hrvatsk is based on Hrvatska, known as Croatia in English.
Leon[]
Leon was a kingdom at the eastern end of the Middle Sea. Its people had a very strange lisping accent. Leon remained neutral in the War of the Kingdoms.
Literary comment: Leon is based on Spain. León is a Spanish province.
Lokris[]
See Lokris.
Narbonensis[]
Narbonensis was a powerful eastern kingdom with borders on Leon, Bruges, Schlepsig, and Torino, and a short sail away from Albion. Lutetia was the capital. Its currency was the livre. Eliphalet was the primary prophet worshipped by Narbonese people.
During the War of the Kingdoms, Narbonensis became the centerpoint of fighting when Schlepsig invaded it by way of Bruges. The Narbonese defended their homeland vigorously with help from Albion and eventually Vespucciland, in a brutal stalemate that lasted four years.
Schlepsigians regarded the Narbonese as depraved, sex-obsessed, and decadent.
Quadrate God worshippers from the Hassockian Empire referred to any eastern Prophets worshipper as a "Narbo," regardless of actual nationality.
Literary comment: Narbonensis is based on France. Gallia Narbonensis was a province of the Roman Empire in what is now France. Lutetia was a Roman town on the site of Paris.
Plovdiv[]
Plovidiv was a kingdom in the Nekemte Peninsula.
Literary comment: Plovdiv is based on Bulgaria and named for that country's second-largest city.
Sassania[]
The Sassanid Great Kingdom unsuccessfully attempted to conquer Lokris in the distant past.
Literary comment: Sassania is based on Persia during its Achaemenid phase (550-330 BC), although it takes its name from a much later Persian period (AD 224-651).
Schlepsig[]
See Schlepsig.
Shqiperi[]
See Shqiperi.
Tharpia[]
Tharpia was an empire during the days of the Two Prophets. Eliphalet faced off against the Tharpian King of Kings.[2]
Literary comment: Tharpia appears to be based on Persia and/or Parthia.
Torino[]
Torino was a peninsular kingdom jutting out into the Middle Sea, with the Tiberian Sea separating it from Vlachia and Shqiperi. After his brief "kingship" of Shqiperi, Otto of Schlepsig fled to Torino.
Torino had been in a military alliance with Schlepsig and the Dual Monarchy, but did not fulfill this alliance during the War of the Kingdoms, because neither of those two nations had been attacked. Torino remained neutral for a while, but later joined in the war on the side of Albion and Narbonensis, against its supposed allies.
A fearsome secret society called Our Thing was based in Torino.
Literary comment: Torino is based on Italy, which has a city named Torino. Our Thing is based on la Cosa Nostra, aka the Mafia, which allegedly originated in Sicily.
Tver[]
Tver was a massive kingdom in the northwestern part of the continent. Its proximity, and its close historical connections to Plovdiv and Vlachia, alarmed Schlepsig.
Literary comment: Tver is based on Russia, and is named after a lesser-known Russian city.
Vespucciland[]
Vespucciland was a large nation across the eastern ocean, whose people had historical connections to Albion. Its currency was the shekel, which portrayed an eagle and the caption "In the Prophets We Trust."
Vespucciland was drawn into the War of the Kingdoms fairly late, joining Albion and Narbonensis, and provided the crucial push to defeat Schlepsig.
Literary comment: Vespucciland is based on the United States of America. Both America and Vespucciland are named for Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci, a contemporary of Christopher Columbus.
Vlachia[]
Vlachia was the central homeland of the Vlachs. Its currency was the dinar, which was lighter than the Belagoran dinar. Its southern province of Polje, however, was home to more Shqipetari than Vlachs.
Literary comment: Vlachia is based on Serbia. The Vlachs are an ethnic minority in Serbia and Romania.
Ethnic groups[]
Dalmatians[]
The Dalmatians were a group that had colonized parts of the Nekemte Peninsula in the days before the rise of the Aenean Empire, and founded the Shqiperian state.
Literary comment: Dalmatia is a traditional region of Croatia's coastline, which also gave its name to the popular breed of dog.
Geez[]
Geez was the liturgical language of the Quadrate God's worshippers. Otto of Schlepsig was puzzled as to why the God's followers regarded him as too ignorant to understand any more recent tongue.[3]
Hrvats[]
The Hrvats were an Eliphalet-favoring people in the southwest part of the Dual Monarchy. Although related to the nearby Zibeon-favoring Vlachs, the Hrvats had no love for them. Their Kingdom of Hrvatsk had been defunct for centuries.
Literary comment: The Hrvats are based on the Hrvati (Croats), the people of Croatia.
Kalmuks[]
The Kalmuks had been a threat in the past, but were then bundled back into the Tverski steppes.[4]
Tzigany[]
The Tzigany were a stateless people on the fringes of society. A popular rumor held that the showman Dooger had sold his own son to the Tzigany.[5]
Literary comment: The Tzigany are based on the Romani, who are also called the Tzigane.
Vlachs[]
The Vlachs were centered in the Kingdoms of Vlachia and Belagora, but a large number of them lived in the Dual Monarchy, much to the displeasure of Vlach nationalists who sought a unification of all Vlachs. This discontent led a Vlach werewolf to assassinate the heir to the Dual throne, touching off the War of the Kingdoms.
Literary comment: The Vlachs are based on the role of the Serbs in World War I.
Voslaks[]
The Voslaks were a people within the Dual Monarchy. Outsiders often confused them with the Voslenes.
Literary comment: The Vlachs are based on the Slovaks.
Voslenes[]
The Voslenes were a people within the Dual Monarchy. Outsiders often confused them with the Voslaks.
Literary comment: The Voslenes are based on the Slovenes.
References[]
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