protagonist; main character; hero; head (of a household); proprietor (of a store)
close aide (of a powerful person); close associate; entourage; attendant; retainer
selection (from many people for an important position); exceptional promotion
outline; summary; argument
adjacency; contiguity; being adjoined
neighboring countries; surrounding countries
great war; great battle; world war
imagination; supposition; virtual; potential (enemy)
record of war; war chronicle; commentaries of war; military history
to support; to prop; to sustain; to hold at bay; to stem; to check
loyal retainer; loyal subject
insurrection; mutiny; rebellion; revolt; uprising
to instigate; to tempt; to entice; to incite
new; neo-; newness; novelty; Gregorian calendar; Xin dynasty (of China; 9-23 CE)
(fictional) character; character; personality; persona
highlight (scene); high point; climax; show-off scene (of an actor in a play)
to do someone in; to bump someone off
origin; birthplace; descent; lineage; ancestry
route; path; channel (e.g. sales, distribution)
to branch; to fork; to separate; to split; to disperse; to scatter
middle; midway; middle position; moderate position; interim; intermediary
whole book; whole volume; whole story
wartime fire; war; wartime destruction; horrors of war
getting mixed up in; getting embroiled in; involvement; entanglement; by-blow
to kill (a human) using a blade (sword, machete, knife, etc.); to slice (off); to lop (off); to cut (off)
hate; hate crime; hate speech; hate; threat
whatever way; any way; either way; one way or the other
divergence; ramification; bifurcation; branching off
seasoning; flavoring; flavouring; addition; inclusion; taking into account
being in love with each other
otherwise; if not; or else
this world; this life; current epoch (i.e. the Holocene epoch)
to lose (something); to get rid of; to eliminate; to remove
to manage (all by oneself); to control; to run; to take charge of
way of saying (something); way of putting it; wording; phrasing; language; expression
realm of the dead; the other world; underworld; hell
reincarnation; rebirth; transmigration; metempsychosis
to die a natural death (at an advanced age); to live out one's allotted span of life
accident; incident; trouble; circumstances; reasons
ghost; specter; spectre; apparition; phantom
person killed in action; the war dead
impure; adulterated; foul; mixed; dishonest