What is it like, well... [he pauses, at first unsure how to say it because it's not like he has anything to compare it to, and then because -- everything has changed so much recently]
...We've been through a lot recently. Wars and world-changing crises, even only in the last eleven years. The Empire I come from is one of the two most prominent authorities in our world. Our primary mode of transportation is by ship, but people rarely travel if not accompanied by a military or mercenary escort, due to the monsters.