Kip asked Sofiya Pasternack:

I am so curious about your ninth century research! Where did you begin? What is the strangest thing you needed to look up?

Sofiya Pasternack (Technically it's the 10th Century but shhh)

I started with my source material: the byliny (oral epic poems) that are the basis for some of my characters. Once I figured out the approximate time period, I looked into significant events of the time, fashion, farming practices, whether candles existed yet, blacksmithing, how to build a Russian oven, and food glorious food.

The strangest thing? I don't even know. I lost track. Probably the strangest thing to develop was the names for all of Ivan's brothers. I would ask my Russian friends their opinions and clarify with, "But they're *supposed* to sound stupid."

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