History Literature / LordDarcy

* AlternateHistory: As discussed in the introduction, the two chief points of divergence are Richard the Lionhearted's survival of the crossbow wound that killed him in our history, and the development of magic as this universe's foundational science. Other major differences: Poland continues to be a major European power and in fact is the Angevin Empire's main rival; the Moorish Kingdom of Granada survives to the present day, as does the Byzantine Empire; the Western Hemisphere is entirely controlled by the Angevins with better outcomes for various native peoples (the Aztec ruling dynasty survives as the ducal family of Mexico, here called "Mechicoe"); and at least some African nations have retained their independence into the present day instead of being conquered by Europe (one story refers to the Ashanti kingdom having an important shipbuilding industry). The Angevin Empire itself seems to be an idealized, modernized feudal society in which the aristocratic class is motivated more by duty than by power and wealth; in "A Case of Identity", it's strongly implied that the barons - the base-level governors of the Empire - have as one of their primary duties providing what we would call "social services" for the less fortunate members of society, and that they can, and will, be called on the carpet by their superiors for failure to do so.

* AuthorityInNameOnly: The King's power over the Angevin Empire is very real, but it's more tenuous in the German and Italian states. Despite being Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire and therefor technically their sovereign, the German states are all ''de facto'' ruled by their own local nobility without any central government to speak of. The King knows that if he ever tried to use force to assert direct authority the Germans would seek aide from the Kingdom of Poland to resist him, so he lets them govern themselves and in turn they offer symbolic obeisance. The Italian states do seem to have a central authority of some sort, but it is overseen by one of their own princes as 'representative' of the king.

** A preservator box (i.e. a refrigerator) is invented that could replace iceboxes, but it is so expensive that it is only seen once in the home of a Duke. The local salesman, a journeyman sorcerer, explains that they also require frequent upkeep by a journeyman like himself (And that's where he had hoped to make his money on the affair).

** North America is known as New England, and South America is known as New France. Some territories have similar names with minor spelling differences since they are named after indigenous peoples, while others have completely different names given by the Empire.