Welcome to “A Side of Beans!”

That was quite the riot of a prologue wasn’t it?

Assistant Bean here.

When I’m not busy pecking away at my partner in a fit of editorial rage, I like to think I’m also creating other things that make the Realms and Realities surrounding the world of Eotera ever more captivating and charmingly complicated.

And that’s what this is! A Side of Beans is (as of now, and hopefully continuing for the foreseeable future) where you’ll find some of the additional of-to-the-side stuff that you might see and wonder about from each chapter of the comics and stories we produce.

[By the way, you haven’t actually ready the pilot chapter of our current main story, do so HERE]

There’s so much to explore, but sometimes so few comic panels to put everything we’d want to show you. That’s part of the fun though when it comes to stories like Maiden in Disguise. It’s the questions left unanswered, and the desire to know “what’s around the next corner” that keeps us coming back for more.

. . . You are coming back for more, right? Ok, good.

Because when it comes to the stories Bitsy and I make . . . just because someone might be the main character, and just because their actions may have world-altering consequences . . . that doesn’t necessarily mean that the entire world just also happens to revolve around them.

There’s so much more to a world! Or universe, even. And frankly, this bean finds it a bit annoying when just a single person seems to be the center of everything. Even if they are the “Chosen One.” 

So, A Side of Beans is here to fill in the gaps and create some new ones that hint at the other larger things happening concurrently in the real and digital realms. 

This is the first of many to come! Buckle in, fellow beans, and enjoy:

People Who Might be Important

High King of Karthion and son of the late King Boehrn Kaycis, Aldric has widely been regarded as a bit of a putz and ineffectual king. While not despised or otherwise thought ill of, this paltry royal wouldn’t exactly be any of his citizens first choice for a ruler. But, he performs his duties well-enough, if a bit stiffly and without fanfare. And he doesn’t seem to start any unnecessary wars, so his citizens haven’t felt any need to forcibly change the crown. Yet. Though, they will snicker behind his back. 

To make matters a bit worse, everyone knows his wife “wears the pants” in the relationship and makes most of the actual decisions of any true weight in the Kingdom. As such, there are some who’ll whisper that it’s actually the Queendom of Karthion. No, general respect for King Kaycis isn’t exactly an abundant resource, but there isn’t any citizen who will directly diss him to his face. Because, at the end of the day, things in Karthion surprisingly seem to go better than expected with him on the throne, despite everyone else’s doubts.

Beautiful, radiant, and a bit prone to wandering eyes. Everyone suspects the High Queen Lerulyn Lleanice is having an affair. With whom? It’s anyone’s guess, but most believe a certain Son of Aggronar may be the perpetrator. Either way, her marriage to Karthion’s crown was an arrangement made to strengthen the ties between the Humans and the Elvyn who reside nearby, but often unseen. This relationship has been favorable, fortunately enough, 

Despite rumors, however, there has yet to be any corroborated evidence beyond rumor as to the Queen’s fidelity. Is she a flirt? Yes. Does she seem to be often annoyed by her husband? Most definitely. Has she been caught in cahoots with someone to whom one could possibly even be cahoot-ing with? Remains to be seen. Perhaps she’s too good at what she does. Or, perhaps it’s something else entirely.

Huge and instigating, this young brawler hailing from the Splintered Tribes of Silderon, has come to Karthion having already made a bit of a name for himself. No one’s quite sure what that name is, except that everyone around these parts has at least heard his name before. It’s not much of a reputation, really, but it’s enough for this arm-for-hire as he seeks out employ and his next fight. 

Word is that he’s currently on a bit of personal quest seeking some unnamed legendary artifact that imbues the wielder with unfathomable strength. Hardly anyone believes it exists, even amongst his tribe members, yet it’s enough of a prize to him that he is currently one of the few Goliaths to be venturing off his home planet in search of it.

Places Worth Remembering 

The Kingdom of Karthion – Ashvoth, Mireth

Though not the largest, nor the most powerful kingdom, Karthion is central to the happenings on the continent of Ashvoth. Incredibly abundant in valuable resources, such as Myrrhlian spice and highly sought after cows, and with a favorable location that makes it a hub for trade, this Kingdom is almost always in the eye of other nearby powers as a country in need of conquering. 

However, despite Karthion being the only true city within its borders, with most of its surrounding plains being farmland and tiny villages, most invading armies are heavily dissuaded from attempting to take over simply due to one fact: The proximity of Aggronar Castle. For generations, the imposing dominance that is the Aggronar name is enough to strike fear in any interlopers heart. So, it goes without saying that the very shadow of their ancestral home’s ramparts arcing across the land acts as an intangible, but no less impregnable wall.

As such, the royals here have always done their best to maintain cordial relations with the Aggronars in the hopes that their mutual goals will always stay in line. However, as of late, there is talk that things are starting to become less-than-friendly between these two powers, and it’s only a matter of time before something happens.

Just as well, Karthion, like most other countries, has a host of its own domestic issues to worry about.

With its few untamed areas being scattered with forests, sudden gullies, and deep underground caverns, it has easily made a home for a violent race of beast-like humanoids called Gnolls, who frequently terrorize smaller nearby settlements, as well as travelers on the road.  They are a pest that seem nigh impossible to eradicate entirely, keeping the kingdom’s guards and intrepid adventurers constantly on their toes. And though the Humans and Elvyn occupying this territory have reached a comfortable alliance, there are hushed whispers of a shadowy group moving unseen, slowly plotting the demise of this tenuous existence.

However, there is one other reason why Karthion has remained unperturbed by outside forces seeking its fortunate position. Not too far from the castle itself, in the forests that seem to hold a preternatural darkness, a gigantic lumbering beast simply referred to as Red Eyes reigns supreme. Solitary, ravenous, and vicious, it answers only to the true king of Karthion, due to an ancient contract from time immemorial. But, agreements don’t always last forever, and there’s no telling if or when such a creature will once again foam freely.

Easter Eggs & Special Appearances

Thank you KittyClara00 for your support on Kickstarter!

Thank you Joselyn Murray for your support on Kickstarter!

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See you next time!