Reading from Hero of Lukomorye Chapter II

Lukomorian Nobility: Factbook

The modern Lukomorian system of nobility was founded by Tzar Obereg and is a direct development of old Lukomorian noble titles incorporated into a strict table of ranks used by dragons in the Time of Dragon Yoke. Though in 7421, Vsevlast the Regent attempted to reorganize the system, he faced tough opposition not only from the nobility but from commoners and abandoned his reform.

Ranks of Lukomorian nobility

1. Knight (vitez) - granted to everyone who served as an officer in the Lukomorian Army, Navy, or higher officer in the police, or by a special Royal decree. Non-hereditary.
2. Lord and Lady (gospodar, gospodarynia) - the title was granted to landowners who pledged their loyalty to Prince Obereg during the Foundation War. This title is hereditary but can be taken away by the Tzar or, in very rare cases, by the Court of Nobility. There are currently 1032 families with that title (and 561 extinct).
3. Margrave and Margravine (boyar, boyarynia) - the title was given to the leaders of major cities or territories, who joined Obereg in the Foundation War. Often, these people were descendants of local rulers from pre-draconian times. This title is hereditary and cannot be taken away. There are currently 79 families with that title (and 15 extinct).
4. Earl (voevoda) - the title is given only in peaceful time and only for extraordinary merit and at no time could there be more than 12 earls. This title is non-hereditary but descendants of earls automatically become lords and ladies on their 18th birthday (unless, their parents were carrying the title of Margrave before that of Earl). Tzar Obereg granted earlhood to twelve of his closest friends and advisors, including the famed three bogatyrs. Since then the maximum number of earls was 10 - granted by Vsevlast the Regent. Currently, there are 2 earls - the Earl of Pozhar and the Earl of Seversk. The title of Earl was granted twice to women - Olga Beletskaya (by Tzar Obereg) and Vladislava Yermakova (by Tzar Vladimir V).
5. Duke/Duchess (Svetleyshiy Knyaz', Svetleyshaya Knyaginia) - the unique title "Duke of Shapurga" was given by Tzar Obereg to Slobodan, a son of a peasant who died but saved the Tzar's life in the Battle of Belovodsk. This title is hereditary but only an eldest child inherits it (other children become lords and ladies). The last Duchess of Shapurga is the current Tzarina Snezhana. The fate of the title is unclear.
6. Prince/Princess (Knyaz'/Knyaginya) - a member of the Royal family whose great-grandfather was a Tzar or whose spouse bears this title. The Tzar's children also bear titles Tzarevich/Tzarevna meaning "Tzar's son/daughter"). Currently, there are eight bearers of this title.
7. Tzar/Tzarina - a Royal couple. The Tzar is allowed to marry anyone with a noble hereditary rank whose nobility was granted at least fifty years prior to the marriage.

Some non-human subjects of the Lukomorian Tzar bear titles that are translated to the Lukomorian language as noble titles (such as king of cyclopses, prince of forests and water spirits, and archduchess of mermaids) though they are not incorporated into the system.

Excerpt from "History of Deathlesses" by Baba Yaga

…Most likely, this magic technique was borrowed by humans from elves though there is no direct proof of that. It is known that the first Deathless was Garaviel, legendary human wizard who was raised by elves and then participated in the Great Magic War first on elfish, and then on human side. It is said that after 500 years of quiet, boring life after the War Garaviel himself destroyed the container where he put his death, and then died in matter of minutes due to ultrafast aging. However, it is only a legend lacking any documentary proofs.
It is known that to become the deathless the person should be a) a non-Rasvim, b) a very strong wizard, having extraordinary skills in environmental and heal magic, c) a very strong scientist knowledgeable in life sciences and chemistry. Given that wizards very rarely have any interest and any abilities for science and vice versa, the number of candidates for Deathlesses is naturally very small.
The exact procedure of separating death from its own body is kept in secret but what is known that wizards employ numerous techniques to protect their death from being destroyed or damaged. In late Pelasgian Empire, Mnesilochus the Bald hid his death on the bottom of Pellenian Bay (modern Pelny Bay), guarded by a dozen of giant killer sharks. The earthquake of 4380 not only caused tsunami that destroyed Persetha, the city where Mnesilochus lived, but damaged his death leading to his fatal drowning in tsunami (as was told by his spirit several years later). Another sad example happened in Uhaydoku in 6591 when Lasixua Toinon decided that the safest place to have his death would be the planetary orbit but miscalculated the acceleration and now is revolving around our world little bit slower than Moon.
Accroding to historical chronicles, since the Great Magic War there has been total 15 cases of Deathless wizards and 1 case of Deathless sorceress (Clearcha of Oxyathr). Of those 6 were killed by human heroes, 3 killed by elves, 2 eaten by dragons, 2 destroyed their deaths themselves for different reasons, 1 died in tsunami, 1 is revolving around the globe, and 1 is considered missing for past 4500 years (Clearcha)...

The Mystery of St. Kilda's Island

When Prince Obereg liberated Lukomorye from the rule of the three-headed dragon Bezdn and was about to be crowned Tzar, there were three men missing on his Coronation Day. Those men were his closest friends and everyone was surprised not to see them. Only the Tzar and a few of his councilors knew that the three mightiest heroes of Lukomorye, three bogatyrs-Slaven, Dobrynia and Udaloy, had been sent on a special mission to a small island in the Svetloyar Sea, St. Kilda's Island.
Until today it is unknown what they were to do on this island which was known only for a minor women's monastery founded in 6506 by Kilda of Egarev, who was the unloved, childless wife of a Belovodsk prince. The monastery was abandoned a hundred years later.
In 7233, Prince Radoslav organized an archaeological expedition to St. Kilda's Island but his party never returned with the exception of one of his servants, Lozan, who was found severely frightened. Lozan became a monk and reopened the monastery.
Since that day, nobody has tried to solve St. Kilda's mystery. It's an almost deserted piece of rock outside normal seafaring avenues, just an occasional stop for smugglers.
However, in the ancient manuscript 'Life of Dobrynia', his anonymous biographer mentions Dobrynia's words about St. Kilda's Island: 'There will be a day when I'll wake up and tell the next bogatyr what to do with this island.' Some historians consider this quote a fake since the same phrase is included in Udaloy's biography by Procopius Bukvoed written approximately at the same time.
The mystery of the expedition to St. Kilda's Island remains to be solved