Luca Pertico
via Wikimedia Commons. Public Domain.
Likely the most famous traveller and explorer, Luca Pertico is known for his lengthy travels across the eastern continents of Laodike and Solar.
Born into a family of merchants in the Republic of Valico at the height of its power and prestige as a transcontinental trade power, Pertico’s first expedition to Laodike came as he accompanied his father, uncle, and aunt on a trade mission to one of Valico’s colonies in Laodike.
Several decades later, when the majority of both Laodike and Solar were unified under the rule of Khatuu Khan, leading to an extended period of peace and stability, Pertico once again accompanied his family east on a mission intended to reach all the way to Khatuu Khan’s capital city, where several other Valican traders had already established a presence.
This is where Pertico’s famous account begins, with the family’s departure from the Archipelagian capital of Chrysokeras and he describes both the geographical and cultural features of the lands through which he passed on the way to Khatuu Khan’s capital.
Upon reaching the capital, the Perticos quickly came to the attention of Khatuu Khan himself after his aunt began a relationship with one the Khan’s trusted bodyguards, precipitated by her overpowering and subduing a thief attempting to steal his horse. Notably, she would marry him and remain in the capital after the rest of the family departed.
The scholarly and intelligent Luca soon impressed Khatuu Khan, renowned as an enthusiast of foreign cultures and learning and was ultimately granted a position as a minor magistrate in the capital, one of only a handful of Realmgardian travellers granted such privilege in Khatuu Khan’s court. In this capacity, Pertico travelled through much of the heartland of Khatuu Khan’s empire, continuing to document his experiences during his travels.
He remained in Khatuu Khan’s court for about a decade, departing and returning to Realmgard after the death of Khatuu Khan and being granted permission to depart by his successor. Whereas his journey east was primarily overland, the return voyage west was taken mainly by ship. While Pertico himself did not personally visit the island realm of Yamatai, what he learned from Khatuu Khan’s sailors and soldiers who had recently been repulsed in their attempts to invade Yamatai are the earliest references to Yamatai in a Realmgardian source.
Indeed, Pertico was likely the first — and perhaps only — Realmgardian to witness many of the places and phenomena he documented in his writings.
Upon his return to Valico, Pertico’s mother is said to have fainted with surprise and relief at the return of her son after more than a decade absent.
Luca Pertico’s account of his travels were published within his own lifetime and instantly proved both enduringly popular and endlessly controversial. Given some of the outlandish things described in his accounts, his reliability continues to be debated by scholars, even as the most salacious aspects of his writings continue to be enjoyed by the general public. Nevertheless, these writings remain among the most thorough accounts of the lands of Laodike and Solar ever written by a Realmgardian author, surpassed only by fairly recent travellers as Realmgardian trade routes across Terrace expand.
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