(Copied from the old board, with a few updates.)
This thread shall contain a number of first-person essays from the vantage point of Kalos Mer, the first great literary celebrity of my world of Tasothilos.
Though Kalos is exceedingly hyperbolic and overly romantic in his descriptions, the fundamental truth of anything that he describes is rarely altered, with the possible exception of his descriptions of his own exploits.
I shall not reproduce in full his works, only those parts most interesting to the reader. I do recommend that before anyone tries to read the stuff here, they take a cursory glance at my thread on the Wizards boards. - the summary of nations and a few of the really early thematic posts should be enough.
Kalos, for those who wonder, is a corpulet drunkard, a vain blowhard, and fabulous story-teller. Born into the ranks of the lesser nobility in Philstaros, but quickly disaffected by the sheer discipline required of him by his austere family, Kalos seized his part of the family inheritance and went off wandering. His travels took him to many of the 'hot spots' of the Sea, and on this journey he happened to 'discover' the printing press, a brand new invention. His three books represent the universal 'best sellers' of all time - there is a rumor that the fourth is in the works.
(Interested parties can see his full character information here (http://boards1.wizards.com/showpost.php?p=6127371).)
Kalos writes in Late Ekeusian, the lingua franca of the nobility. He has more familiarity and ease of use with the language than most, owing to the fact that LE is very similar to his own native tongue of Philstarian (which is a direct descendent). He also peppers his books with terms, quotations and catchphrases in a number of other languages. These foreign quotes generally serve one of two purposes - either they help to make the work seem exotic, or (through use of highly cultured languages like Andozian) they help to make Kalos seem more artistically elite. In my translations of his work, I shall handle quotations of the former type by leaving them untranslated. But in order to capture the same feel of the latter variety, I will 'translate' them into French, long the language of Culture for Western Europe.