In a miltaristic nation, the ownership of proper (improvised don't count) weapons and armor is mandatory for all citizens under penalty of inprisonment or death.
“ Woodrats - In a fantasy realm of cooshee (elven dogs/cats) it is to be expected that there is some sort of elven vermin. These mercurial rats are lightning quick, and are capable of hiding in plain sight. Other than this, they have no special ability.”
“ You find a book in the library, then when you start to read it, seems to change from pages of words to pages of images that seem to live and move. If you touch the page after the images appear, you travel into the story and now live in that world.
There is a book on that world, that leads back to this one.”