>>6200286As you watched the ships disappear one after the other, you knew you were reaching the final bend of this chapter. It had been good, life had been good and had rewarded you for your efforts, but you did feel a slight sadness watching it all end, it would not merely be an end to a chapter in history, it would end a chapter in your life. You were a man now, the <span class="mu-i"> Wanderjahre </span> would be behind you now, and Greifswald would eagerly receive you, of that much you were certain.
The day was a glorious one, under loud and joyful cries the new Emperor was confirmed by the senate and the people, then ridden over to the great basilica were he was coroneted by the patriarch. From there, he had invited you to watch the horse-races with him. You found it quaint, but a proper tourney would be much more entertaining, though apparently this was serious business, as nobles would wage great fortunes via the bookmakers. Ioannes himself was a lanky man of middle age, with a crooked nose, glinting eyes and wry mouth. He would not be a great conquer, or master statesman. He wasn't a restorer or a renovator, he would be a conservator. He would build upon the slate you cleaned for him no great palace or fortress, but a humble, well build house, upon which future generations could build and expand as was necessary. The empire would survive, as it always has, but for the first time in centuries, the stagnation it seemed to find itself in had been broken. It would be the first and last time you would meet him. For you would depart within the next week.
But first you must agree upon a route to go along.
>The first route, the one on which you came, through Castana.>The second route, landing upon a country known as the Tsardom of Ortreska.>The third, most eastward route, through the Principality of Taslaudavia. 