[IC] FALLOUT: The Northern World

In the Winter of 2066, Anchorage was fought over and taken by the Chinese. It was taken back on January 10, 2077, then abandoned almost completely. Those who remained struggled to rebuild their broken society, and the first major faction within Anchorage was born. The loyal band of followers, formed under the care of the Fairview family, was aptly named the Fairview Followers. This band of wanderers thrived in the few months before the Great War, and even after the radioactive dust from the nukes in the southern states cleared, the people of Fairview continued to live happily in their little corner of the world, occupying much of downtown Anchorage and providing people a safe place to rest on their journey, or even make their home.
Alaska remained mostly untouched by the nuclear fallout that ruined the rest of the country, why that is is certainly not a mystery. Anchorage had already been beaten into the ground, and most of the buildings had been reduced to not much more than piles of rubble, so it’s no surprise that China decided not to waste any more of their precious weapons on an already ruined city. Shockwaves from the bombs hit Anchorage, but most people in Alaska are no strangers to earthquakes, though these were, decidedly, a bit higher on the Richter Scale than the normal quakes.
It was in the months to come that the dangers of post-apocalyptia became apparent. Though radiation levels in the very center of Anchorage were moderate, the rest of the city remained relatively safe from rad damage, until the rain began to fall. Throughout the month of November the entire state was submerged in a torrential downpour of black rain, which came up from the south and saturated the soil in radiation, increasing the radiation levels throughout the land.
When the radioactive downpour finally ceased, Anchorage had lost many more citizens, and -save for a select few that were preserved from the rain- those who hadn’t perished were so soaked with radiation that they would be transformed into ghouls over time.
Years after the rain had washed the rubble of the once bright beacon that was Anchorage, a new creature began to make it’s presence known among the townspeople. It crept in the shadows, preying on unsuspecting citizens, both human and ghoul alike. The bodies were never found, but many have ideas on where in the wastes they may have been taken away to. Vault 113, one of two vaults around Anchorage, seemed to be the most popular opinion, though none were brave enough to make the journey and find out. Rumor hinted at the vault being off the west coast of Anchorage, on what used to be Fire Island, back before the war.
The island sure was a fiery one during the battle. The entire landscape could be seen from the mainland and was engulfed in a glowing red haze of smoke with the occasional lick of flame visible amongst the burning timbers. Embers, still hot from the fire, drifted from the island all the way to the mainland, littering the ground in ash, and causing miniature blazes in dry patches on the coast. When the fires faded and the smoke cleared, the only thing that seemed to remain of the island was a blank black landscape, speckled with the skeletons of trees and piles of charred lumber from what used to be cabins used by hunters.
The island seems to be uninhabited now, but it's unknown if creatures still roam there.

[Ktyhrea]

M A D D I E G R A C E

The board member's decision to include Maddison Grace Green as one of the two members from Providence on the city-wide discovery team was hardly unanimous. While a handful of people on the board were actively against sending her, or any other members of the faction, on a journey which most of them deemed as a suicide mission, the rest of the board remained as unopinionated as possible until Samantha Green, Maddison's aunt and the board's most prominent member, voted in favor of the idea. It was because of her Aunt Sam's decision the make her a sacrificial lamb for the faction that Maddie was now trudging through the city, headed towards the Fairview faction's base of operations, with little more than the clothes on her back and a combat knife strapped to her hip.

Though she left fairly early in the morning the Alaskan sun was shining high overhead when she finally made it to the center of Fairview's territory. The outskirts of the faction's land were quiet and lifeless, but here the air buzzed with activity. Throughout the central part of the city humans, ghouls, and even some super mutants wandered through the streets, occasionally pausing to trade supplies or chat with passers-by. After bumping into a handful of particularly grumpy folks Maddie made her way through the faction's self-dubbed 'market district' which surrounded what was Anchorage's museum in the pre-war era, then pushed her way through the large double doors into the building.

Inside was not nearly as crowded as the market, and the noise from outside was just a hum in the background. Along the entire front of the building the windows were boarded up, but light through the grimy upper windows cast a dim glow through the open space. Maddie was greeted by a decrepit ghoul with a walking stick in one hand and a satchel on its shoulder. Before she could say anything the ghoul held a hand up and motioned her towards a doorway at the far end of the room.

"Uh, thanks," she mutters as she passes the ghoul with a shrug and heads through the doorway. It opened into another large room, and even with the lower lighting she could see masses of people huddling in small groups and speaking quickly in hushed tones. While the scene did seem a bit odd Maddie tried not to think too much of it. Instead, she found an open corner and leaned back against it while making a half-hearted attempt to listen to the group of folks nearest to her.

From what she could hear it seemed the group was waiting for the faction leader who was supposed to speak to them within the hour, though they didn't give a particular subject matter of the speech Maddie had to assume it was about the team going to Fire Island. Specifics hadn't been given to anyone who had been chosen to go, but the heads of each faction knew the general idea of the mission and divulged bits and pieces of the information to their members at their discretion. All Maddie really knew about the trip was that she was going to be documenting the journey, providing medical care as needed, and that the team was heading to Fire Island, off the coast of the mainland. How they were supposed to get there was a mystery, but she was sure the faction leaders had already come up with a solution to that issue.