The official jurisdiction of the Victorian Empire spans a fair chunk of Old World British Columbia; The bulk of its development focused around the Twin Cities of Vanover and Victoria. While the official legal range of the Empire spans from Dawson to Calgary, the government proclaims itself as the successor state to the Pre-war government, and asserts that it is the only legitimate government of all of Canada.

As soon as the United States made their ultimatum for protection for the protection of the Trans-Alaskan Pipeline, Canada was nothing more but another one of the ruining world’s battlefields. As the Pacific shoreline was the most direct route from Seattle to Juneau, it was without question that British Columbia would be at the forefront of the Canadian-American War.

By 2068, the United States would already be well underway in the quasi-legal use of Canadian resources, much like they had with Mexico only a decade prior. The minds and hearts of Canada’s people, naturally, had their qualms over the sovereign right to their lands, and an already wary Chinese minority wouldn’t idle any longer. Local figureheads in Vancouver’s Chinatown doubled down on the already fierce anti-American rhetoric, lighting fires into the Chinese populace with their citation that the United States had become as Japan did when she invaded China in the 1930s; A belligerent, resource-starved empire, willing to commit mass murder if it meant their advancement.

Vancouver was, prior to the Great War, certainly among the most impressive of the Canadian metropolises, and of note to the occupying Americans, housed one of the largest populations of Chinese descendants aside from their own San Francisco. The bulk of them were from the Guangdong region of China - and accordingly, within the hands of British Hong Kong - yet, suspicions could not be undone with the Red Menace pushing so just miles above. Canada was set in motion to be annexed, and with that decree, any subterfuge, too, had to be removed. The last thing that needed to happen was more compromise in their security. Canada was, of course, left uninvited to this proclamation, and only a few hours after, the entire country was again engulfed in war.

A coalition consisting of members from the Canadian 39th Combat Engineers, 4th Royal Grenadiers, Chinese-Canadian partisans, and civilian militias formed the bulk of what was a meandering and awkward front line. For years, the resistance movement waged war on the occupying American forces, short of technology, mind, but never short of valor. 2068. 2069. 2070. All the way right up to 2076 with the announcement of the capitulation of the Canadian government. Even as the occupants had already pilfered far more than their fair share of Canada, the only thing they had left to take from them was their semblance of sovereignty. Yet, what the invaders had been, perhaps, too early to celebrate: None of Canada’s armed forces were ever given orders to stand down.

And they would continue their war, just as ordered. Right until the bitter end.

On the morning of October 23rd, 2077, the decade-long warfare between Canadian and American forces had come to a screeching conclusion. In the earliest hours of daylight, warning sirens blared across bases, radar towers would ignite with pings, and the worst possible nightmare of all good-minded people on Earth had become a bone-chilling reality. At that moment, they knew that 30 minutes would be all they had left for Canada to exist as they knew it, and the partisans with it. Yet, it was a strange bout of inspiration - or perhaps, desperation - that forced the late Captain Connor Evans to make a call that would seal the fate of their movement, and all they had with them. He gave the call, and looks were exchanged, a hazy silence even in the screech of the sirens pervaded the army so that it seemed as impregnable as their salvation itself:

Captain Evans gave the order to raid a Vault, commencing immediately. They would fight tooth and nail against those seeking shelter in what was a nearby Vault, for the Captain knew that his army was going to be victorious, or it was not going to be at all.

Half an hour passed. The army had made their headway into the Vault, a scrambling hodgepodge of civilians as desperate as the attackers to find refuge in the US Army-held Vault, and after a swift and intense firefight, a partisan sealed the Vault before it could be secured. As nuclear hellfire rained outside, within the Vault rained bullets and shells. Gruesome room-to-room fighting lasted for days, with who controlled what sector of the vault being unclear at many moments. Yet, after a week, on November 1st, 2077, the last of the US Army would be wiped out, leaving the vault in the firm hands of the Canadian Remnants.

As the years slowly passed whilst they waited for the All-Clear, an unsteady muse befell the partisans as the inevitable question of what was to come came closer into question with each passing year. They had won their war, and the Americans cleansed from their homes, but at what price? Could they truly call it their victory? Furthermore, who would they be when it was time to step out into the New World? Would they be farmers, or scavengers? An autocracy, or a republic? And a more pressing question...how would they make it until then?

The Vaults in Canada were...functional. They served their primary purpose of being resistant to the thunderous nuclear blasts, true, but beyond that, the Vault inhabited by the Canadians was, to say the barest, incomplete. For the basic essentials, the Vault had covered such things like a cistern and power generator, but the entertainment was entirely limited to educational holotapes, a few board games, and whatever the inhabitants had brought into the vault with them. Coupled with a very lengthy stay, and the new vault dwellers had many, many hours to foster in the development of the world. The children of the vault had little to amuse themselves with, save listening to the rise of empires such as France and Britain. And, of course, the question of their home country would inevitably come into being; An integral part of a globe-spanning Empire which was, perhaps, the paragon of human civilization at the time. What was surely a golden era in an age of discovery and wonder, and Canada, it seemed, was at the forefront of it all.

When the time had come to emerge from their vault, its inhabitants set out into the new world, witnessing it as a husk of its former self. A withered, battered landscape, torn from the greatest war to scorch the Earth. It was a hellscape born from American recklessness, they full well knew, and as they had spent the decades within the vault, they, too, knew they were going to need to change, just as the wasteland had changed. Perhaps it could one day be restored to the land they could proudly call home, but knew to reiterate the past was, too, to reiterate their mistakes. The children of New Canada knew that, much like their British ancestors, they would need to adapt and incorporate the unfamiliar into the familiar, in its wake, creating an inseparable commonwealth of vastly different ideologies and peoples.

In its formative years since leaving the Vault, the remnants of Canada's army fancied itself as protectors and guardians of the new peoples of Canada, offering assistance to the dwellers of Victoria and Vanover - once Vancouver - in exchange for lodging and service alike. The command structure of the army slowly blended together with an integrated citizenry, and eventually, the title of "Captain" would be proclaimed "King". Weathering constant prying attacks from bandits from Cascadia, the strengthening of people and force only grew stronger, until it was so proclaimed that the now-titled "Twin Cities" of Victoria and Vanover were home to among the most impressive force in the BC Wastes.

Slowly, the Twin Cities grew in size and strength, yet, the young Empire was not spared growth pains, for internal squabbles were more often than not only hushed by a much greater external threat, only to resume to the infighting that defined much of the 22nd century. Its holdings waxed and waned through much of the 2100s, eventually stabilizing come an extensive period of aggressive political, civil, and military reform. Under the power of what came to be known as The Kelly Reformation, the Twin Cities and its surroundings greatly developed from squabbling trade post and sin city to Havens of the BC Wastes. By the 2270s, Vanover and Victoria were perhaps the most impressive cities of the West Coast.

The new decade has brought with it the reign of Queen Eliza Victoria LII, and the Empire grows more confident towards their march into the 24th Century. Their recent streak of rapid growth has left them assured they might overcome any obstacle, no matter how grand their goals. And the nascent Queen's ambition to reunite Canada is a grand one, indeed...

324,826 (2285 Census)

A general rule of thumb in regard to what is permissible in the eyes of Imperial Law is to ask one’s self, “Is it specifically outlawed?” The Imperial government at large employs a laissez-faire approach to civil law, preferring to allow its citizens free reign insofar they do not upset the day-to-day affairs of the state. Prostitution, recreational drug use, public assembly, and press rights are all fully legal, and are a widespread feature of the Empire’s urban areas. Capital punishment - oddly enough for a nation which favors the adjective “Empire” to describe itself - is outlawed in favor of prison labor.

The Empire itself finds itself employed under a dual-power system, divided between the Commons and the Monarchy. The former operates via a Common Assembly, in which any citizen above the age of 15 is able to participate and wager their votes for administrative positions and current issues alike. Most Common Assemblies are centered around their respective city, thus forming a rather diffuse hierarchy. Debates in Assembly continue until 2/3rds majority consensus is reached...which often results in debates hotly raging for weeks on end until one party grows weary of all the arguing, and finally concedes to the wishes of their opposition. Detractors from democracy, be warned; Lying before Assembly is counted as High Treason, and offenders punished by 40 years’ hard labor.

From Common Assembly elections is formed the Commons proper, composed of mayors and governors of their respective Common Assemblies. Responsible for the administration of the various bureaus within the Empire, Commons assigns taxes and tariffs, reviews Assembly debate topics, and reviews laws.

The Monarchy is a different affair, largely composed of members of the Royal Court. Antagonistic to its name, the title of “King or Queen Victoria” is not a hereditary title, but one appointed as current head of the Royal Court. However, membership of the Royal Court has been largely hereditary, if there does exist the possibility for extraordinary Imperial citizens to gain entry into the Royal Court. Legally, entry for a new member into the Royal Court requires, “Outstanding acts of courage, loyalty, or ingenuity to the Victorian Throne and People.” Ownership of the title of King or Queen Victoria lasts until life or ineligibility to fulfil one’s position, whichever comes first. In the event of the monarch’s resignation, it is up to the Royal Court to come to an agreement as to who shall lead as the next monarch. Particularly unpopular monarchs within the Empire are allowed to be stripped of their title by decree of 2/3rds of the Commons and 1/3rd of the Royal Court...though, historically, this has only ever been achieved through the use of violence.

Queen Victoria:
The young Queen Victoria springs forth with confidence and steadfast determination to see her country prosper. Although she was but 14 when she was called upon the Victorian throne, the Good Queen is one never to take the words of her close advisors faintly, often consulting members of Commons or the Royal Court before making an Imperial Decree. She remains a popular focal point through the common people of the Empire - much like her predecessors before her - and is known for giving inspirational speeches throughout the radio waves. An avid supporter of Victorian primacy, Victoria has given unwavering support to development projects...as well as employed a hawkish rhetoric that might even make the likes of Caesar Lucius blush.

From her very birth, the Queen has witnessed the rapid growth of the Empire from its days as the Twin Cities to seeing hamlet after hamlet slowly swear fealty to the Throne, as too did she see men in rags grow rich under the wise reign of the late King Victoria. Coming into office, Queen Victoria has few reasons to suspect this growth will halt anytime soon, and has aptly pitched her prize: To pacify the countryside, unite the Canadian people under one singular banner, and usher in a new golden era as the rightful heirs to Canada herself.

These are lofty ambitions, indeed, but if the Good Queen is capable of putting her words into actions, Canadian historians will forever recall her as, “The Queen who restored order to Canada in her darkest hours” for centuries to come.

General Gerald Isaac Hemingway:
A longstanding member of both the Royal Court as well as the Royal Army, Hemingway served extensively as an officer in the Gendarmerie in Cascadia and along the Purcell Range. Well-mannered and rather keen, Hemingway is known for his stressed importance on intelligence in the armed forces. Although he is certainly experienced, Hemingway has grown rather stubborn in his advanced age, often being a staunch opponent of tasks where he deems the risk is too great. Currently, he has offered a much more gradual plan towards expansionism, proposing a strengthening of the Western Frontier toward Calgary before further Westward expansion into Saskatchewan.

Sir Ken Ford:
Sir Ford is the leading member of the Victorian Science Committee, and the one in charge of the oversight of all manner of Victorian governmental research projects. In addition, Sir Ken Ford has long been a proponent of the Oregon Clause, citing the "Wrongful strongarming of the Oregon Territory" away from Canada some centuries ago. Naturally, Sir Ken Ford strongly advocates for the southward expansion of the Empire into Seattle and Portland to acquire resources, living space, and security for the Victorian Empire. His supporters are few, but compensate in their enthusiasm and loquaciousness.

Admiral Markus Jackman:
Jackman is a keet, yet cautious man well into his fifties. In charge with the command of the Royal Navy, Jackman has long been critiqued for his lack of definite position, leading to many dismissing him as a "Yes-Man". While this is not without clause - as the man has expressed interest in both expansion plans - his lack of commitment perhaps stems from belief that there is equal merit to both propositions...or his disdain for both, yet having no alternative to sate the Queen or Commons.

The dual economies found within the Victorian Empire are aptly divided between the original Twin Cities and the vast Victorian countryside, for the development and economic activity vastly varies from locale to locale.

Vanover was, prior to the war, quite easily the largest of the Western Canadian cities, housing perhaps several million souls. Although it once fell into a steady decline starting with American pressure toward Canada - to say nothing of the nuclear holocaust that ravaged all of Canada - a determined effort has seen the once decimated city grow into what is named, “The Gem of the Pacific. Though it might lack the technological prowess of San Francisco or the sheer mass of The Boneyard, what draws so many to it is, in many ways, a cultural and artisanal renaissance which has seen the city blossom into beauty. Vanover is a city of sin and virtue, where the frontier meets civilization. Although in decades prior, the city almost exclusively subsided on sex, liquor, and questionably-organized gambling, a series of reorganizations have shifted production towards the production of specialized industry, opting to exchange raw industrial output in favor of ellusive and high-quality manufacture.

Smaller factories and manufactorums dot the British Columbian coast, steadily giving way to the farms and ranches beyond. A thin stretch along the old Sunshine Coast Highway is defined by such industry, where each workshop and mill provides the industrial heart of the Empire, crafting textiles, cloth, metalworks, electronics, and glassworks. Small deposits of tungsten and iron inside the Cascades are mined, whereas the plentiful sands along the Strait of Georgia provide all the silicon-rich sands to create glasses, which in turn is often used in creating jars, glassware, optics, and windows. Due to the scarcity of high-conductivity metals, copper, silver, and gold are often prioritized for use in electronics rather than jewelry or instruments.

Vancouver Island houses the eponymous capital of the Empire: The city of Victoria herself. Victoria houses the Royal Palace wherein the residing Monarch dwells, in addition to being the city in which the majority of the Royal Court too live. After years - if not decades - of continuous construction efforts, the city has once again been re-imagined as a true, Victorian-styled metropolis, complete in its Neo-baroque styled architecture, sweeping (if mutant) gardens, and intricate masonry. The rest of the island is developed with a leisurely quaintness to it, sprinkled with fishing villages and small estates. The various distilleries and wineries of Vancouver fill the glasses of Vanover’s many taverns and bars; Tarberry Wine in particularly is highly sought-after.

Beyond the highly-developed Vancouver Island and Sunshine Coast, the lands to the west are substantially less impressive. Populated with tribal villages, farming towns, or trading posts, the overwhelming majority of the economy is sustained by animal husbandry and agriculture, with bighorners, sheep, and horses constituting the most common choices for animal husbandry, while shrimp, crickets, and redhares being substantially cheaper and easier to raise alternatives for those who seek more protein in their diets. Infrastructure in much of the Western Empire is only nominally superior to unclaimed wastes, with inhabitants still relying mostly on combustion and candle for light and heat. While the Empire has long planned to expand the infrastructure throughout the western fringes - namely improvements to the rail system - progress remains slow.

Although the laws of the Empire strictly prohibit slavery, due to what could be called a “flexible system”, a sizable portion of infrastructure construction is done with convict labor. The most common labor of prisoners involves paving roads with stone or gravel, with the more “docile” servants being allowed to work on locomotive or electrical infrastructure. Corrective courses in electronics, logistics, and foremanship are offered to prisoners with a record of good behavior.

The fundamental establishment of the Empire was one born of fierce anti-American sentiment and strong commitment to the idea of Canadian sovereignty. Two centuries of nuclear hellfire were certain to wash away lesser commitments in the world, but instead, as the world came under the heat of a baking oven, the residual commitment to seeing Canada once again a reunited nation instead glazed upon the huddled partisans, as if to say the end of the world was merely a test of their resolve. After all, these valiant men and women had been willing to go to the ends of the Earth to see the Americans driven from their home. What was the End of the Earth to those of such resolve?

Much like their pre-established ancestors, the denizens of the Empire have long paraded themselves as the true successors of Canada. Nothing less than a complete rejection of American culture and hegemony have been established in those days long passed of the occupation, in its place has come something of an...ironic renaissance of the British Commonwealth.

Even from the most basic aspect of how the Victorian speaks, those from the coasts or the Twin Cities speak in a juxtaposed accent, a close yet murky ancestor of the famed English accent. It is a hodgepodge combination of the countless tongues of British Columbia prior to the war, combining the poise of the British, the lax nature of the Canadian, and the oddly-precise lisp of the Cantonese. Into every aspect of life does this faux-complexity bleed into Victorian culture, from their emulation of high society in their frock coats and bustiers, to even the commoner’s love for the written word. Poignancy and punctuation are virtues when a Victorian speaks, if sacrifices in politeness must be made to get their point across. There, among Victorians, exists a conundrum in “delightful dishonesty”, at which many will say is the best and only way to disappoint someone: It is to turn your story into one so absurd to the point where your superior cannot help but mire in the buffoonery on display.

In spite of the commonly-established decorum experienced throughout all urban Victoria, there is, too, plenty of diversity to be had, and from this oxymoron will arise in the face of mutations not quite a melting pot, and not quite a cultural mosaic. It is an anthropophagy of faces and minds, conjoining together in union to create an image that is uniquely Victorian. Ghouls have, to this end, etched out their niche in Victorian society, but do expect to hear quite the number of self-demeaning jokes in your time spent. Super Mutants are a rare sight, but one most Victorians share an odd curiosity toward. Spared of the horrors of The Master’s hellish rampage, those few Super Mutants to come this far north find themselves paraded about as amusing, if dull, strongmen. Though the vast majority are far too hampered to answer the common question of “Whereabouts did you come from?” with any reasonable precision, the Super Mutant is put into an irregular, yet interesting place in Victorian society. While their vast body systems dull the regular effects of chems and liquor, a good number of Super Mutants have found a place as entertainers, splitting logs and hurling tree trunks before crowds of cheering Victorians.

Few who practice religion in the Empire possess a coherent ideology. More often than not, religion in the Empire consists of a hodgepodge of totemist, animist, shamanist, Christian, and ancestor-worshiping faiths into a syncretic theology. Practices are based more upon belief that they will provide some direct benefits to the practitioner rather than out of adherence to creed. Accordingly, charms and other similar tchotchkes are ubiquitous throughout the populus.