The history of Brunei concerns the settlements and societies located on the north coast of the island of Borneo, which has been under the influence of Indianised kingdoms and empires for much of its history. Islamisation of Brunei started in the fifteenth century, with the formation of the Bruneian Empire, a thalassocracy which covered the northern part of Borneo and the southern Philippines. At the end of 17th century, Brunei subsequently entered a period of decline brought on by Brunei Civil War, piracy, and European colonial expansion. Later, there was a brief war with Spain, in which Brunei lost Manila and evacuated their capital for a brief period until the Spanish withdrew. The empire lost much of its territory with the arrival of the Western powers, such as the Spanish in the Philippines and the British in Labuan, Sarawak, and North Borneo. The decline of the Bruneian Empire accelerated in the nineteenth century when Brunei gave much of its territory to the White Rajahs of Sarawak, resulting in its current small landmass and separation into two parts. Sultan Hashim Jalilul Alam Aqamaddin later appealed to the British to stop further annexation in 1888. In the same year, the British signed a "Treaty of Protection" and made Brunei a British protectorate until 1984 when it gained independence and prospered due to the discovery of oil.
Elric of Melniboné is a fictional character created by Michael Moorcock and the protagonist of a series of sword and sorcery stories taking place on an alternative Earth. The proper name and title of the character is Elric VIII, 428th Emperor of Melniboné. Later stories by Moorcock marked Elric as a facet of the Eternal Champion.
Warhammer 40,000 is a miniature wargame created by Rick Priestley and produced by Games Workshop. The first edition of the rulebook was published in October 1987; the latest edition is the eighth, which was published in June 2017.
Chinese mythology is mythology that has been passed down in oral form or recorded in literature in the geographic area now known as "China". Chinese mythology includes many varied myths from regional and cultural traditions. Chinese mythology is far from monolithic, not being an integrated system, even among just Han people. Chinese mythology is encountered in the traditions of various classes of people, geographic regions, historical periods including the present, and from various ethnic groups. China is the home of many mythological traditions, including that of Han Chinese and their Huaxia predecessors, as well as Tibetan mythology, Turkic mythology, Korean mythology, and many others. However, the study of Chinese mythology tends to focus upon material in Chinese language. Much of the mythology involves exciting stories full of fantastic people and beings, the use of magical powers, often taking place in an exotic mythological place or time. Like many mythologies, Chinese mythology has in the past been believed to be, at least in part, a factual recording of history. Along with Chinese folklore, Chinese mythology forms an important part of Chinese folk religion. Many stories regarding characters and events of the distant past have a double tradition: ones which present a more historicized or euhemerized version and ones which presents a more mythological version. Many myths involve the creation and cosmology of the universe and its deities and inhabitants. Some mythology involves creation myths, the origin of things, people and culture. Some involve the origin of the Chinese state. Some myths present a chronology of prehistoric times, many of these involve a culture hero who taught people how to build houses, or cook, or write, or was the ancestor of an ethnic group or dynastic family. Mythology is intimately related to ritual. Many myths are oral associations with ritual acts, such as dances, ceremonies, and sacrifices.
Väinämöinen is a demigod, hero and the central character in Finnish folklore and the main character in the national epic Kalevala. His name comes from the Finnish word väinä, meaning stream pool. Väinämöinen was described as an old and wise man, and he possessed a potent, magical voice.
The Kingdom of Poland, informally known as Congress Poland or Russian Poland, was created in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna as a sovereign state of the Russian partition of Poland. Connected until 1832 by personal union with the Russian Empire under the Constitution of the Kingdom of Poland, it was gradually thereafter integrated politically into Russia over the course of the 19th century, made an official part of the Russian Empire in 1867, and finally replaced during World War I by the Central Powers in 1915 with the nominal Regency Kingdom of Poland.
In Games Workshop's Warhammer Fantasy Battle tabletop wargame, The Empire is one of three major human factions, along with Bretonnia and Kislev.
In the fictional universe of Warhammer 40,000, psykers are individuals with some form of psychic ability. They draw their power from the Warp, a parallel universe of psychic energy, and can use this energy for a variety of effects, such as reading minds, foretelling the future, healing injuries, or incinerating foes. Because the Warp is inhabited by daemons, all psykers are at a constant risk of being possessed.
The Gods of the Old World are a collection of fictional supernatural beings modeled after real-world pagan deities. In the Warhammer Fantasy setting, there are many fictional deities provided to add color and verisimilitude to the game’s background. Most or all of these entities seem to be analogues of real-world gods, chosen to present a war-torn, grim, perilous, and adventurous world.
Flight of the Nighthawks is a fantasy novel by American writer Raymond E. Feist. It is the first book in the Darkwar Saga and was published in 2005. It was followed by Into a Dark Realm which was published in 2006.
'Master Xiao Po is the title character and the protagonist of the Kung Fu Panda franchise. He is a young anthropomorphic giant panda in his 20s, who is improbably chosen as the Dragon Warrior, champion of the Valley of Peace in the first film. He is the adoptive son of Mr. Ping, and is one of Master Shifu's students. Po is also the prophesied Dragon Warrior, as well as the warrior of black and white. In Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness, Po is revealed to have the ability to be able to learn kung fu at a glance.
A scarecrow is a decoy or mannequin, often in the shape of a human. Humanoid scarecrows are usually dressed in old clothes and placed in open fields to discourage birds from disturbing and feeding on recently cast seed and growing crops. Scarecrows are used across the world by farmers, and are a notable symbol of farms and the countryside in popular culture.
The Lost World is a techno thriller novel written by Michael Crichton and published in 1995 by Knopf. A paperback edition (ISBN 0-345-40288-X) followed in 1996. It is a sequel to his earlier novel Jurassic Park. In 1997, both novels were re-published as a single book titled Michael Crichton's Jurassic World, unrelated to the 2015 film of the same name.
In Games Workshop's Warhammer Fantasy and Warhammer 40,000 fictional universes, Chaos refers to the parasitic entities which live in a different plane of reality, known as the Warp in Warhammer 40,000 and as the Realm of Chaos in Warhammer Fantasy. The term can refer to these warp entities and their influence, the servants and worshippers of these entities, or even the parallel universe in which these entities are supposed to reside. The most powerful of these warp entities are those known as the Chaos Gods, also sometimes referred to as the Dark Gods, Ruinous Powers, or the Powers of Chaos. Similarities exist between the Warhammer idea of Chaos and the concept of Chaos from Michael Moorcock's Elric saga, which also influenced D&D's alignment system. Further similarities can be seen with the godlike extradimensional Great Old Ones of horror writer H. P. Lovecraft's stories.
Explorers of the New Century is the fifth novel by Booker shortlisted author Magnus Mills, published in 2005.
Multiple organizations of the Dune universe dominate the political, religious, and social arena of the fictional setting of Frank Herbert's Dune series of science fiction novels, and derivative works. Set tens of thousands of years in the future, the saga chronicles a civilization which has banned computers but has also developed advanced technology and mental and physical abilities through physical training, eugenics and the use of the drug melange. Specialized groups of individuals have aligned themselves in organizations focusing on specific abilities, technology and goals. Herbert's concepts of human evolution and technology have been analyzed and deconstructed in at least one book, The Science of Dune (2008). His originating 1965 novel Dune is popularly considered one of the greatest science fiction novels of all time, and is frequently cited as the best-selling science fiction novel in history. Dune and its five sequels by Herbert explore the complex and multilayered interactions of politics, religion, ecology and technology, among other themes.
In the fictional universe of Warhammer 40,000, the Primarchs were engineered superhumans created by the Emperor to command his future Legions of Space Marines. Originally twenty in number, they were said to have been created using the Emperor's own DNA. Of the twenty Primarchs, eighteen are known while two remain mysterious, having been expunged from in-universe records. Their genetic material was also used to form the basis of the Legions they would command.
