[ericthered]

Question 16 [FRG]
How many worlds is Fragment in regular contact with? How many has it documented but not maintained regular contact with?

Answer 16

Several libraries have sections devoted to tracking the many cosmi. Some are known only in legend, while others are traveled to every day in the course of running the empire. Scholars tracking such things like to distinguish between major and minor cosmi, with minor cosmi being common but small and ultimately insignificant.

Hundreds of Cosmi are well documented but no longer accessible. In most cases, the portal that once led to them has changed its behavior or disappeared. A steady stream of these are provided by the "Passing Cosmi", which are accessible for only a few years or decades. At any given time half a dozen of these passing cosmi will be known and accessible to the empire.

Another rich source of recorded cosmi are tales from imperials who stepped into a portal, found themselves far from home, and followed legend and rumor to their home. These tales tend to be colorful and of doubtful accuracy and briefly sketch or allude to hundreds of cosmi.

The Calledronian empire itself is spread across 6 major cosmi, though it would be a mistake to say it controls all six. The empire currently has contact with four multicosmi neighbors, as well as the passing cosmi and half a dozen major comsi that are considered independent or unworthy of colonization.

The portals seem to mostly form a branching structure, with the occasional loop. The realms on the far side of the empire's neighbors are important if distant economic and political partners. Individual merchants know much of these realms, though it would be an exceptional one that knew them all.

It is difficult to judge the size, importance, and other details of cosmi separated by two or more political units. Even if the source has actually been to such a far-off land, They're almost certainly distorting their tale in one way or another.

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Question [FRG] 33
As per Answer #12 Fragment has had many inhabitants before the imperials. In the seat of governance, which non-imperial people is most prominent, and how numerous is that people in the seat of governance, when compared with imperials?

Question [MV] 34
What sort of civilization exists on the Mother Plains? Is it all from Fragment? Does it have local populations? Why isn't its population greater (current descriptions seem to indicate it produces a very large food surplus)