Wanted: Topics for April

This is the voting topic for April articles.

Select one topic from each of the two lists below, and reply with the respective letter and number of your two chosen topics in the comments below. Voting ends on  11:59 PM PST on March 21st.

Topics marked with the asterisk (*) have been chosen by backers at the $10-a-month tier. They will be available for voting this month only, unless they are suggested again for May.

This month also marks the debut of my third column: A Creator's Guide to Writing and Worldbuilding, which you can vote for, as usual, in the comments below.

Note that the voting system's gotten a little clunky with the addition of a third set of votes. I'd suggest spacing out your votes for each column (ex: "A, 2, A2") to avoid confusion.

A Soldier's Guide to the Infinite Sea

A) Trade and Commerce: A description of the major trade routes in the Infinite Sea, as well as an overview of which power imports and exports what, and how this shapes their foreign policy.

B) Garing, Gutierrez, and Truscott - A History: A brief history of GG&T, from its humble beginnings during the Petty Kingdoms era, through its establishment as a major armsmaking firm during the Wars of Unification, to its current status as the Unified Kingdom's largest gunmaker.

C) Antagia's Rebellion: An overview of the last years of the Octovian Empire, the rising of the houses of Antagia and Khorobirit, and the final fall of the Heirs of Saint Stanislaus.

D) The Saintly Martyrs: An overview of the worship of the Saints in the Northern Kingdoms, including biographies of selected Sainted Martyrs, iconography, and cosmology.

E) The Curtain of Storms - A Primer: Very little is known about the Curtain of Storms, mostly because there have been no successful attempts to explore it. This pamphlet, printed by the Halford Foundation, ties together shards of fact with webs of speculation, but that is more than what most can offer.

F) Old Calligia - What We Know: The Kian poet J'eanne Lieux once said that "The only thing we know about Old Calligia are the lies". While not entirely true, very little of the long-gone northern realm has survived. This essay from the University of San'heu attempts to put together the pieces.

G) Warfare Then and Now: A relatively broad overview of the history of war and warfare in the Infinite Sea, taken from a part of a Callindrian children's book.

H) Edmund Garing, In His Own Words: An autobiographical account of the junior partner of GG&T, edited by the Countess of Welles for her report on the War in Antar.

I) Instructions to Traders and Travellers (Pt 3): The third part of a series of pamphlets issued by the Takaran Ministry of Barbarian Affairs, this one covering some of the minor powers in the Infinite Sea, including Azulae, Callindria, and Rathkurin.

J) A Selection of the Unified Kingdom's Noble Houses: Consisting of entries from Fernandescourt's Great Armourial, this article would offer short histories and profiles of relatively minor baronial houses, much like that of the player character of the Dragoon Saga.

K) Clerks and Commoners: Selections from a children's book written for the scions of the Tierran nobility, meant as their first real education in the classes and dynamics of the Baneless classes.

L) Intelligence Assessment - the 4th Duke of Cunaris: An Imperial Intelligence dossier collating basic information about Sir Johannes d'al Findlay, 4th Duke of Cunaris.

M) Tierra - Her Peoples and History: A "brief" overview of Tierra's ethnic groups, and how they have influenced Tierran history since the days of first settlement.

N) A Report on Tutors and Tutelage: Commissioned by the Royal University of Aetoria, this report investigates the education baneblooded children receive before they are admitted to the University itself.

P) A Call to Arms to the Faithful of the Tree: A religious tract summarising the worship of the Tree of Life, and calling for a renewed age of religious devotion in an age of Takaran secularism.

Q) The Compleat Knight: A somewhat tongue-in-cheek guide to the behaviours expected of a Knight of the Red.

R) The Senior Service: A rather self-serving pamphlet extolling the virtues of the Royal Tierran Navy in the context of the army's new prominence following the Dozen Years' War.

*S) Observations - The Royal Dragoons: A rather less-than-well-researched assessment of the Royal Dragoons, by a junior officer of the Takaran 16th (Rusch) Dragoon Regiment.

*T) Remonstrance to the Officers of the Grand Staff: A circular condemning certain uncouth behaviours then-popular among junior members of the Kian bureaucracy.  

*U) Marching Songs of the King's Army: Lyrics to some of the Tierran Army's favoured marching songs, including The March of the King's Chosen, The Bloody Straight Silver; and Brandy, Whisky, and Wine.

An Adventurer's Guide to the Fledgling Realms

*1) Lords of the Fledgling Realms Pt 2: More of the political leaders of the Fledgling Realms, this time, focusing on the government of the Nizam-i-Khazar

*2) The Testament of Milius Black-Clad: The personal diaries of Kendrickstone's former Court Mage, after being driven into exile.

*3) Sex Work in the Fledgling Realms: How does the oldest profession function in the Fledgling Realms?

A Creator's Guide to Writing and Worldbuilding

*A1) Building Character: A story can live or die on the backs of its characters. This is how I build mine.

*A2) Rolling With the Punches: How do you respond to a character which proves unexpectedly popular? How do you deal if the fans hate your protagonist? How do you handle feedback to make your characters better?