Fallen Eagle

Hello everyone, this is a very special post today, and one I think you will all be excited for.

Over on Patreon, we are 20 chapters ahead and have finished Volume 3. With the start of Volume 4, we have reached a point in the story where one of the hallmarks of Fallen Eagle will finally take center stage: Kingdom-Building.

I have long been theorizing about potential advancements Theodorus could introduce if he were to gain a greater measure of influence, and I enjoy exploring the best directions the story could take. At the same time, I recognize that I am not a historian or someone I would classify as having deep historical knowledge. So I wanted to try something with you all: a sort of advisory board where readers can suggest technologies, advancements, or policies they think would be effective and discuss them among yourselves.

I want to preface this by saying that I will be paying close attention to the comments, and you can have a meaningful impact on the storyline. I will, of course, investigate how realistic each suggestion is, and I encourage you to do the same. Try to propose ideas that could plausibly be achieved with 15th-century materials, professional know-how, and constraints. As a rule of thumb, keep in mind that Theodorus is a historian, not a chemist, engineer, or a walking encyclopedia. He may know of certain instruments or concepts, but he will generally have to rely on experimentation and collaboration with local professionals to refine designs. Also, 15th-century metalworking is far removed from the precision engineering we have today.

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And I don't want it to be limited to technologies. It can include administrative breakthroughs as well: tax structures, market policies, immigration, the structuring of privileges, army doctrines, and so on. In this theoretical domain, you can assume Theodorus is highly proficient, so you can go a little wilder with your ideas.

As always, take medieval culture and society into account. Concepts like meritocracy and mass education come with their own drawbacks and would be difficult to implement without significant groundwork. And also that the Principality is a small, basically landlocked country with meagre resources, greatly decentralized due to privileges granted to the clergy and nobility and surrounded by greater, somewhat hostile powers. (and yes, you can suggest potential alliances or treaties Theodoro could try to strike with other medieval states).

Most of all, however, just have fun. Discuss history and kingdom-building with one another. I will be semi-moderating the comments to keep conversations civil and respectful, but I want this to be an open space where everyone can participate, or even just ask questions about history. If there is enough interest, I may even consider creating a Fallen Eagle Discord chat room.

This is very much a thought experiment, and very unorthodox, but I wanted to give it a try. I recognize that I may be somewhat ill-equipped to create a truly realistic and compelling kingdom-building novel on my own, so I wanted to draw on your collective knowledge. I want to give you guys the best story I can, and thought this could be a good shot at it, and at fostering the Fallen Eagle community.

Let me know what you guys think!