One of the defining traits of Fuin Arđon is that it's a historically inspired setting.
Please note that, intentionally, this does NOT mean historically accurate.
History is a very complex subject, quite hard to tackle within its own limits, and even harder to flex out of them. Even minor advancements - be they social or technological - can only be historically justified within their context.
The presence or disappearance of a weapon, a tool or a political charge cannot be taken out of the context. For instance, there was a big difference between Charlemagne and his descendants, or between them and their counterparts on the British Islands, even if we call all of them 'king'.
Granting the same title to a character in a fantasy setting does not, and can not, transfer identical context - and therefore powers and traits - of an historically accurate sovereign, unless the match is complete.
But then, again, would that make sense from a narrative point of view? If the context is fixed up to the single detail, how can we expect a different outcome? And of course, in a World including fantastic creatures, how is at all possible to keep a full context?
Thus, the matter at hand changes from striving to be 100% accurate to finding 'how much' you are accurate.
This setting strives to be 'quite' accurate, or - better - inspired. The purpose is not to act as a history lesson, of course, but to exploit the information we have from history to create fully rounded, believable cultures. In some cases, this means aiming to a specific time frame that may not have been synchronous with another one. For instance, one may prefer a technological level comparable with the crusades for a certain region (namely the Central Kingdoms) while other areas (e.g. The Reaver Coast) are inspired by events that in our history line took place a few centuries earlier. By the time of the crusades, viking age was ended, scandinavia was Christian and norman knights were fighting side by side with the descendants of Charlemagne.
In this respect, portraying these two cultures together is a blatant anachronism.
With this awareness, and knowing that it is important to choose an imagery that evokes the maximum amount of narrative inspiration - a story set in Norway in the XIII century has less appeal than one taking place at the apex of the viking age - it is important to choose carefully the various setting, and give appropriate justification.
For instance, when it came to choosing the theme of the Central Kingdoms, I was faced with a choice. I knew I wanted a 'standard' European middle-ages setting, but how much 'medieval' was this supposed to be? Middle Ages lasted - by the book - about a thousand years, in this time frame Europe evolved from the shattered remains of a fallen Empire being overrun by foreign populations with new ways and customs, to the rising commercial power that led to the age of exploration. The first idea was very similar to the Empire of the Warhammer setting, but this was quickly abandoned. I wanted a dark setting, not one inspired by late renaissance. That left me with the choice between a 'Hundred Years' War' and the Crusades. I chose the latter as it felt it merged smoother with the idea of a world with vast areas still divided in language and culture, superstition, religious intolerance, and with commerce just starting to grow. It seemed, overall, less anachronistic.
That is what I mean with 'historically inspired'.
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