“It is often remarked that the balmy lands around the Mediterranean are living through a second renaissance. The spirit of Galileo certainly seems to endure, in this new era of mechanical and architectural splendour.”

“The churning gears of commerce and extravagant consumption drive the city’s headlong expansion. Skyscrapers reach into the clouds while businessmen and socialites make merry in underground speakeasies.”

“On the high seas, smugglers and buccaneers fight for treasure and glory. Life is cheap, and rum is even cheaper. Landlubbers in port towns dread the day that black sails appear on the horizon.”

“Long-lost civilizations are rumoured to live on in the deepest, darkest rainforests. Many intrepid explorers have attempted expeditions into these uncharted lands, but none have yet lived to tell the tale.”

“Life beyond the frontier can be a dangerous endeavour. The few brave sheriffs responsible for law and order are hard-pressed to keep track of the banditry and vice that runs rife in these territories.”

“Only the bravest dare to take to the skies, borne aloft in experimental flying contraptions. More sensible folk look up in awe at the soaring machines, wondering which will be next to come crashing back down to earth...”

“Revolution is afoot in the land of the rising sun. The shogun’s power is fading fast, while rival warlords muster their troops as they plot their ascent to the throne.”

“Using the latest steam technology, the hardy inhabitants of the northern lands have found ingenious ways to survive and thrive in the frozen wastes. Travellers to the region must face snowstorms, avalanches and even greater perils.”

“The leaders of every nation have raced to apply new technologies to their armaments industries, equipping their militaries with terrifying weapons of doom and destruction. War, they say, is inevitable.”