MERANTIA IMPERIAL ARCHIVE
An Imperial Archives lore book that switches record screens with buttons, all within a single document.
Press a button at the top or a record card below and the screen switches within the same file. No separate page is loaded, so navigation is fast and upkeep is simple.
Only this `sab.html` and the existing `saa.html` need to be linked on the server.
The Merantia Continent is a zone of balance where east, west, south, and north each keep their own sword cultures and interests under the dominance of the Central Empire. Swordsmanship is the heart of society, but Eastern Qi, rare magic, and the Church’s Divine Power each form systems of their own.
THE CONTINENT
The Rank granted by the Sword Assessment Office and the Academy is social proof that decides employment, fiefs, marriage, and military command. A single grade of difference is generally regarded as a twofold gap in fighting strength.
Novice Star (F) → Trainee Star (E) → Foundation Star (D) → Adept Star (C) → Elite Star (B) → Honor Star (A) → Treasure Star (S) → Continental Star (SS) → Divine Star (SSS)
“The tip of a sword never lies. But the one who records it can always lie.”
Crow letters serve as the continent’s standard communication network, and the information wars between borders and factions also begin with a single letter.
The continental hegemon, holding the fertile Central Plains and the imperial capital Helion. It treats chivalry and swordsmanship as the foundation of national power, and under Franc VII it is accelerating centralization by absorbing the nobles’ private armies.
A Murim alliance beyond the Cloudsea Mountains, where minor states, sword clans, and sects are bound together under the Union Council. Alliance Leader Jin Sowol leads joint defense and diplomacy, but each house keeps its own fief and troops, and the struggle for leadership among the orthodox factions and the schemes of the Blood Flower Palace continue.
A northern kingdom of eternal snow and iron mines. Ruled by the young Queen Karya, it reveres massive axes, blunt weapons, and heavy-armor combat.
A merchant kingdom built on desert and great ports. Practical tactics such as curved blades and twin swords, poison, hidden weapons, and traps have flourished, along with a black market.
A no-passage zone where perpetual black clouds, tainted mana, and magic beast colonies are tangled together. Beyond the Western Wall, it is the main stage for Black Order and Red Order missions.
The hegemon at the center of the continent and the homeland of St. Helios Academy. It fields a disciplined regular army on the food and resources of its vast plains. It reveres swordsmanship and chivalry and does not forbid magic, but mana is thin in the Central Plains, so those with magical talent are rare, and its military and educational systems developed around the sword. Franc VII is strengthening imperial authority by folding the nobles’ private armies into the regular army.
A hardy kingdom that has survived through raiding and battle on the northern frozen lands where farming is difficult. The young Queen Karya holds power, and the kingdom values pure strength and heavy weapons over refined technique.
The Union Council in the capital Cheongyeong and the Murim Alliance Leader handle diplomacy, war, and dispute mediation. Each house keeps its own laws and private soldiers, so the Alliance Leader’s control is not absolute, and the core political conflict is stronger central unity versus house autonomy.
A merchant nation with scorching deserts and great ports. It prizes gold and contracts, and fast, practical tactics such as curved-blade swordsmanship, poison, hidden weapons, and traps have flourished. The continent’s largest black market, where forbidden techniques and rare goods are traded, is also found here.
The supreme council where representatives of the great sects, sword clans, and minor states gather. The current Alliance Leader, Jin Sowol, can summon the allied army and direct foreign diplomacy, but can intervene only in a limited way in each house’s internal affairs and private soldiers.
The largest orthodox sword clan, based at Azure Sky Manor. It is famed for its Azure Sky Swordsmanship and its strict discipline centered on the main house. Alliance Leader Jin Sowol is of the main-house direct line, while Jin Yeonhwa, from a branch family, rebelled against the closed family code and left the clan of her own accord.
A prestigious orthodox sect of Myriad Flower Valley. It carries on the Twenty-Four Forms of the Plum Blossom Sword and values training and achievement over bloodline. Centered on Sect Leader Seolhwa, it supports reform of the Union while keeping the Jin Sword Clan from dominating alone.
A mid-sized sword clan of Blue Cloud Ridge. Skilled in the Flowing Cloud Swordsmanship and the lightness skill Cloud-Treading Step, it produces many scouts, messengers, and diplomatic envoys. It has sent its rising star Dam Cheongyeon to be Jin Sowol’s direct disciple, seeking the clan’s revival.
Cheongyeon Academy, which values scholar’s swordsmanship, archery, and the study of rites, serves as the Council’s mediating faction. The Moonshadow Divine School is a fringe sword group founded by ronin and swordsmen from the eastern sea archipelago; it values iaijutsu and one-strike kills and rejects the formalities and bloodline obsession of the orthodox factions. It takes part in the Eastern Union only as a guest power, and the St. Helios Asura Society merely adopted its philosophy and some of its sword lineages; it is not a direct branch.
Yeon Seolha’s Blood Flower Palace seeks the collapse of the Union through blood arts, poison, assassination, and sowing discord. The Black Moon Gang pursues its own interests through smuggling and the black market, and Myriad Poison Valley through poisons, antidotes, and research into forbidden techniques.
The main stages of events are Cheongyeong, the Union’s central city; Azure Sky Manor of the Jin Sword Clan; Myriad Flower Valley of the Heavenly Flower Sect; Cheongyeon Hall of Cheongyeon Academy; Moonshadow Isle in the sea archipelago, frequented by Moonshadow Divine School swordsmen; and the Blood Mist Forest, territory of the Blood Flower Palace.
The method of wielding life energy that underpins Eastern martial arts. One draws in the energy of the air through breathing, stores it in the dantian, then releases it explosively into sword strikes and the body.
A footwork method that lightens the body by concentrating Qi in the soles and lower body. It allows one to clear high walls or run across water for a short time.
A defensive art that wraps a thin layer of Qi over the skin and the surface of one’s gear to absorb or repel impacts.
The state religion of the Merantia Empire. It worships Deneb, the one god of the heavenly realm, as the god of order, oaths, and protection, and the Church is an independent organization with its own lands and jurisdiction.
The Saintess is the symbol who delivers Deneb’s oracles and is revered by the people. The Holy Knights guard the Saintess, holy relics, and cathedrals and hunt magic beasts, and their first loyalty is to the Church.
The Church conducts the Emperor’s coronation and state ceremonies. Franc VII acknowledges the Church’s authority while seeking to place its independent Holy Knights and Church lands under imperial authority.
Deneb’s power, specialized in blessing, healing, purification, and barriers. It works on a principle separate from ordinary magic, and the current Saintess Margarita stands at the center of the Church.
The art of combining the mana within the body with the mana in the air to reproduce natural phenomena. In the Empire, talent is so rare that mages are highly valued by research institutes, noble houses, and the army, but magic is heavily affected by spell preparation, concentration, mana exhaustion, and ambient mana.
Elemental, Enhancement, Warding, Healing, Illusion, and Summoning. In the Empire, Sword-Magic Fusion, which imbues weapons and bodies with mana, is the most widely used.
A ring of mana circulation formed around the heart. The more Circles one has, the higher one’s mana capacity, output, and casting speed, and Circles are recorded separately from sword Rank.
1st Circle Apprentice Mage → 2nd Circle Certified Mage → 3rd Circle High Mage → 4th Circle Archmage → 5th Circle Sage. Actual combat power varies greatly with spell matchups, distance, preparation time, and environment.
Records of magic beasts confirmed in field missions and subjugation campaigns across the Merantia Continent. Images are organized by the identification codes of the Imperial Archives.
Common magic beasts encountered mainly in Academy field training and subjugation missions across the land.
A feral magic beast that charges head-on with black iron-plated hide and huge fangs.
An undead magic beast that roams graveyards and ruins, growing by feeding on bones and corpses.
A savage charging magic beast that sweeps through forests and grasslands, red horns leading the way.
An ambush magic beast that closes distance in an instant and cuts with blade-like forelegs.
A hulking brute of the frozen lands that locks down its foe’s movements with cold and raw strength.
A magic beast of scorching regions that forces close combat with flames and red-hot scales.
A swamp predator that spreads toxic mist to ruin vision and breathing.
A magic beast that gathers lightning in its horns and charges at high speed across cliffs and mountains.
A heavily armored desert magic beast with a thick carapace, giant pincers, and a venomous tail.
Attacks at night in swarms and relentlessly tracks the scent of blood.
A large magic beast that pushes the front line with armor-hard hide and regeneration.
A tree-type magic beast that hides in the forest looking like a tree, then ambushes intruders.
A grotesque composite magic beast formed from the tangled corpses of many creatures.
A tracker magic beast that moves through shadow and darkness and pursues a single target to the end.
A slime-type magic beast that grows by absorbing surrounding mana and weakens magic and mana enhancement.
A ferocious apex predator with a lion’s frame and a venom-stinger tail.
Large individuals and special threats that carry high risk if subjugated alone.
A large flying magic beast that ravages the ground with overwhelming flight and talons.
A humanoid magic beast encased in unidentified armor that uses both swordsmanship and mana.
A monster with many heads and strong regeneration that poisons even the surrounding swamps.
A black dragon of the continent’s highest tier, said to rule the deepest reaches of the western Darklands.
The Empire’s finest Imperial Swordsmanship Academy, in the highlands outside the imperial capital. Since the former principal fled, Acting Principal Persephone has kept the balance of its facilities, faculty, and factions.
08:00 Morning Assembly → 09:00 Common Classes → 12:00 Lunch → 13:00 Practice·Missions → 20:00 No Leaving Campus.
Mon Orthodox Swordsmanship · Tue Practical Combat · Wed Eastern Swordsmanship · Thu Exotic Swordsmanship · Fri History & Liberal Arts.
Divided into White Paper Order, Bronze Order, Silver Order, Gold Order, Black Order, and Red Order, with rising difficulty and risk of death.
Basic fitness, stance, and repetition drills.
Forced cooperation with students of other factions.
Disadvantages imposed on vision, arms, or weapons.
The goal is escape within the time limit, not victory.
Faction-vs-faction mass battles and evaluation of command structure.
A student attempts to land three valid hits on a professor.
The Pentagram and the Asura Society compete for honor, budget, dormitories, and mission priority.
Noble mainstream·Rapier·Bloodline supremacy
Commoner mainstream·Two-handed weapons·Physical prowess
Eastern study-abroad faction·Plum Blossom Swordsmanship·Irregular swift sword
Assassination·Infiltration·Intelligence control
Magic fusion·Taboos·Hedonism
Eastern exchange students·One-strike kill·Overturning the order
The school year begins in March and ends in December. Field missions are placed between public events and exams, and evaluations and point settlements repeat at the end of every month.
The Empire’s largest winter festival, held during the winter break. Students returning home, students staying on campus, and northern envoys gather in the imperial capital.
Sword theory written test·Basic sparring·Preliminary Rank measurement. Grades and conduct during this period affect the first faction invitations.
Announcement of results·Weapon registration·Temporary dorm assignment.
Going home, or self-training for those staying. Faculty prepare next term’s missions and the freshman selection.
Freshman assembly and faculty introductions. The Helios Council formally welcomes the freshmen.
Basic swordsmanship assessment·Dueling etiquette training·Faction recruitment race.
The freshmen’s first official stage. Talent, attitude, and potential are judged publicly, more than wins or losses.
The first off-campus field training. One of escort, patrol, or dispute mediation is assigned.
A social event in the Great Hall. A night when alliances, scandals, and honor duel challenges pile up.
Written and practical evaluations. Differences in each professor’s grading style come fully to light.
An open tournament within each year group. Faction points and personal fame shift greatly.
Faction mock battlefield. A group battle that includes command, supply, and securing retreat routes.
Official re-measurement of Rank through slaying designated magic beasts and combat judgment.
Magic beast subjugation in the border regions. Real combat injuries and temporary cooperation between factions are frequent.
Going home·Self-training·Visiting outside dojos. Students staying on campus may take part in special on-campus missions.
Preparation for the second term and internal faction reshuffles.
Re-registration of faction representatives·New missions unlocked.
An official event where St. Helios’s history, and even the matter of the former principal, are raised again.
A night event attended with identity and faction insignia hidden. Anonymous conversations and secret deals are permitted.
A grand sports festival in which the entire St. Helios student body, mixed across factions and year groups, competes in relays, cavalry battles, obstacle races, and mock capture battles. Results are reflected in personal honor and faction points.
A high-difficulty mission combining major incident response, noble escort, and magic beast subjugation.
A survival battle with limited lighting and supplies. Disappearances, friendly fire, and judgments of betrayal are the key variables.
All end-of-term evaluation items conducted.
Official re-measurement of Rank through slaying designated magic beasts and combat judgment. Results are reflected in graduation, the closing ceremony, and next term’s records.
Graduation evaluation results·Final faction points·Recruitment offers revealed.