This sounds like a ball. :D I'm a fan of pretty much everything you mentioned/linked to: The Three Musketeers, A Count of Monte Cristo, A Tale of Two Cities, Prince of Persia, Assassin's Creed, Empire: Total War, the various historical eras and cultures—everything! The prospect of playing in a world inspired by it all is very enticing indeed, so I pretty much can't pass this up.

I would echo FernStone's question about the permissibility of multiple characters; if approved, this would make arranging deaths more feasible and we could tell the story from many different fronts and wildly varying viewpoints.

Since the issue of patriarchy was brought up, would it be possible to play a female character who poses as a man in order to enter the army (or what-have-you)? Historically, this has happened many times over and has also occurred frequently in fiction, such as in Shakespeare. Relatedly, this has also gone the other way: Take '[url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevalier_d%27Eon]Le Chevalier d'Eon[/url],' who was a real person, as well as the name of a very good [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Chevalier_D%27Eon]anime[/url] set in a magical French Revolution. ;)

Also, could you give us some idea as to the culture & relations of the other nations (Vectis, etc.)?

Just FYI, my availability over the next several weekends is highly mutable, so best to assume I'll be unable to participate during those times (though I may occasionally luck out). Otherwise, I'm free.