@POOHEAD189@Jbcool I'd just need a yes or a no for the sheet and voila.
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GoldForest
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Not your usual dwarf I guess, but I figure this is worth a shot. If its 'too much' be sure to tell me, I still want to fit in.
If this should ever again be a thing, I'd be curious if I could make a survivor of some lost Lustrian expedition, once again hungry for adventure!
The Realm of Wulfram
Type of Government: Absolute Monarchy under Regency
Head(s) of Government: Patriarch Wulfram, Favored Daughter Hildegund
Economy:
Work specialization has been for many humans a path to salvation and a form of capitalism where being replaceable was seen as being edible by one of the bloodthirsty overlords meant that artisans have always had an easier time than say, your most basic dirt farmer. At the same time however, Strigoi are smart and always eager to make as much people as possible replaceable and as such, despite the Strigoi poor technological level, they have been excellent at establishing basic mass production, simplify and divide work and manage human resources scientifically. Especially to clothe the cattle and provide tools to them, uniqueness has no purpose, it is better to standardize and provide numbers quickly.
The technology operated has thus until recently being almost medieval and the catching up that has began 200 years ago by the new regent hasn't finished yet, but still this makes for a very unequal society. The cities are the center of production for everything and the country side only care about exploiting raw materials as fast as possible, with maybe a single smith per small town to take the city made horse shoes and don them on the horses. This interdependence is by design as this prevents localized civil wars from constantly happening when both parties need each other. Overall however, despite the low technology environement, the Realm remains surprisingly productive.
Notably as the work of artisans become more and more redundant, people still try to make themselves desirable and recently this has begun to take the form of an artistic renaissance as all adults would wish to see their child climb out of the muck by becoming the next sensation in the arts.
Primary Species:
-Strigoi: The children of Wulfram and Adelheid, they consider themselves of the blood of demi-gods due to their incredible strength, speed and boundless stamina coupled with incredible magical abilities they use with triviality. Still, their nature is violent and selfish, most Strigoi despise vampires and the urban 'civilized' ways of life, instead living lives ranging from that of nobles with large estates living in remote castles and manors to that of savage beasts living in caves praying on anything mortal.
-Vampires: Half-Strigoi born from Strigoi wombs. While they are in many ways lesser to their pureblood relatives, they enjoy preferential treatment and amicable relations with them should they be respectful and humble of course. Put simply, they 'Smell right' to their bestial parents. Like mules, these are sterile.
-Daywalkers: Sons and daughters of male Strigoi with female mortals, their vigor and physical qualities overall are superhuman but considerably less so than their fathers and less so than their vampire cousins. Likewise they aren't in the most terrible pain when under the sun, it is merely extremely inconvenient. In Wulfram society however they tend to consider themselves closer to their mortal kins rather than their fathers because said fathers tend to despise their offsprings who 'don't smell right'. Still, many strigoi understand daywalkers are extremely useful intermediaries to use when dealing with mortals and breed them for this purpose, giving them enough fatherly affection to insure themselves loyalty. Like mules, these are sterile.
-Mortals: Humans, elves, Gerudo, Amreans... They are many and varied, but they all share in common mortality, making them apart from those who share the blood of Wulfram.
Population:
Total: 152,000,000
Strigoi: 1,000,000 (??? Impossible to calculate, in especially dangerous areas Strigoi will devour censors)
Vampires: 640,000
Daywalkers: 11,360,000
Mortals: 140,000,000 (??? Impossible to calculate, in especially dangerous areas Strigoi will devour censors)
Culture:
In the backwater areas of the realm, whatever culture the local mortals might have is always centered around the presence of a super predator that wishes for blood. If it wanted them all dead, dead they would be. Some offer sacrifices to be left in peace, others try to fight it and consider themselves even victorious since they aren't all dead but no matter their words, they fear, for the Stigoi tyrant still looms.
The first sign an area is 'Civilized' is that the local Strigoi will mingle in human affairs. This generally begins with the demand that a castle be built for it and progressively, the Strigoi will feel more comfortable making more public appearances and demands such as ordering every woman to always be pregnant, much like livestock. The mortals notice this of course, but woe to those who refuse to comply. This allows for 'normalcy' in the life cycle. The strigoi having the sense to demand blood to quench its thirst and eat the old women or redundant males to quench its savagery. The ruler of this territory may then further increase its involvement to make sure its flock prospers, sometimes investing in infrastructure for they are immortal and thus the benefit of such projects will always be visible within their lifetimes (If something terrible doesn't happen of course).
The next step to become a center of culture is of course, to tolerate the presence of others. Except for mating, Strigoi generally shun the presence of their kin but no matter how powerful, a single Strigoi is just one entity and eventually when their lordship grows, it will become more preferable to accept the presence of others than risk losing control over a massive human population. Back in the days Strigoi did the occasional culling but now its more preferable to sell mortal males to the big cities. The regional lords prefer to keep a maximum of females. This means the big cities of the realm are overwhelmingly filled with males. Prostitution is a big business encouraged by the local Strigoi for who cares who makes who pregnant as long as the herd grows and doesn't rebel? Males are also useful for labor and labor they do, thus gaining more wealth and fabricating more things to sell to the local strigoi lords who don't have this industrial capacity who will sell more males.
At some point, the city might become so big and humans so numerous that administering every aspects of their lives simply becomes impossible. At this point, Strigois need to learn to just... leave the thing going alone. Of course they get involved in the most critical areas of metropolitan life because the point is still to make profit out of everything, but the mortals are left with a lot of liberties at this point and can accumulate considerable wealth. The overlords meanwhile can afford to murder every night in the comfort of large mansions and castles prime pieces of meat bough from the country side, no reason to stir up a hornet's nest. Large cities would thus be theoretically safe for mortals the most and yes, their death isn't scheduled so one might die of old age, but cities also attract the landless newborns who have nothing in life and thus prey on the poor during the night, so death tends to just be random.
Religious and Other Beliefs:
The mythology the Strigoi have and of course, force on their mortal followers, is astrology based, with stories of how the Sun, king of creation, made all the races to glorify him, but made them moral and weak to make sure they could never rebel. The moon was his sister-wife but he never conceived children with her by fear such divine entities could overthrow him, until one day, the pull out method failed him and the moon became pregnant. She managed to hide the pregnancy until it was delivered to term. The sun however, as it looked down on all of creation, saw the twins she had birthed to, named Wulfram and his sister-wife Adelheid, and cursed them with all his might. Never could they prosper under his gaze!
Thus, it is the destiny of Strigoi kind to one day overthrow the sun and rule over all creation as they do during the night. For the mortals of course, parts were added that hey, the vampires are immortal and more intelligent as such, it is their duty to administer the mortals and that also, the whole blood drinking and killing bit is due to the curse of the sun and that once the sun is defeated they'll all be able to live in harmony.
Territories and Climate:
Civilization tends to be found south where the winter is the harshest. Some people have linked this to the presence of... pines. Indeed, Strigoi and their bastardized offspring are all at some degree fond of the scent and taste of pine resin, something mildly addictive to them that seems to sooth their killing urges. The Strigoi living in heavily forested pine areas are thus those who were the more disposed to collaborate with mortals and the rise of civilization in the realm is attributed by some to the mass production and sale of pine resin based candies and 'medical items for the humor'.
Still, not all have discovered the miracle benefit of pine resins and as such, travel within the realm remains difficult by land. This insured that navigable rivers have become the arteries of this nation as the wild Strigoi will rarely attack anyone in the middle of these large water currents that generally border their territories anyways. Slowly however, the infrastructure is becoming more developed.
Military:
-The Questers:
Composed of around 150,000 strigoi and 200,000 vampires, the Questers were founded by Wulfram himself in prevision of the fact that land is finite and as such, they would eventually need to face strong foes to take this land, their greatest success dating to the taking of Amrea where Wulfram led the Questers to a new land of plenty. Simply, newborn Strigoi without territories are expected to find their ways to the Questers and await the next great invasion Wulfram will lead to glory. Still, with Wulfram being in his current state, new members are rare, most prefer to go out in the world by themselves and try their luck alone.
-The Day Guards:
Daywalkers bred for the purpose of guarding their fathers while they sleep, they can be considered the 'professional' soldiers employed as enforcers from the various Strigoi around. They are equiped with the best equipment available but generally are terrible at fighting organized enemies. They tend to rely too much on their personal strength and centuries of weapon mastery rather than tactics and team work.
-The Destined:
Humans with religious endoctrinement, they serve their masters in exchange for special privileges (such as they and their families being spared from any culling or dinner lists) along with the promise that worthy heroes will have the privilege to make an immortal child with a Strigoi. These people are trained professional and their advantage relies in the fact that both they and their commanders are aware of their individual weaknesses. Destined are thus trained to use tactics and such as a force multiplier to make up for this.
-The Rabble:
It isn't rare Strigoi force their cattle to fight in desperate situation and in fact for territorial wars, it is preferable to send barely trained and barely armed cattle first to sap the enemy of their ammunition and energy, soften them up for the real fight where the Strigoi and its professional warriors will charge in. The quality of these troops vary, cities are expected to maintain a trained force to draft for example, but overall with the advent of firearms the idea of mass mobilization over the use of small elite forces has increased.
Magic Prevalence/Usage:
There probably isn't another place in the world where magic is as present as in Wulfram's Realm. Strigoi and their subspecies are all magical users and it is said that the Patriarch and Matriarch, Wulfram and Adelheid, were both capable of commanding every forces of nature to their will. Their offsprings saw their powers divided and from them, all Strigoi carry the power from their mother.
-Solid Magic: These are the more numerous and tend to be found in most civilized areas. The enormous towers and architectural nonsenses that make the metropolis of the realm... they are made and maintained by magic forces for the most part. This design makes that they will always be needed and mortals know that they can't just chase their overlords out of the cities for without them, the stones around them would fall appart!
-Mind Magic: Where most solid mages prefer urban lives, mind Strigoi are more often the savages, those who live in the most recoiled and savage lands. They monitor their territories through the eyes of insects and animals, the very plants hide their every step... Some live in the cities, but more often than not they were the very founders, the ancestral owners of the land it is built on and always know every happenings.
-Gas Magic: They all come from Nantechildian blood, the first priestess of the sky. They have a variety of tricks up their sleeves of course, but they are known for being the harbinger of Strigoi everywhere for they can blot out the sun!
-Liquid Magic: Some use this power to sail the seas and rivers, but overwhelmingly this power is seen as that of the warriors, as the holy power of blood!
History/ Background Info:
The begining of the race is mythological and more detailed in the religion section and if Wulfram or Adelheid know better, they are not telling. History would thus begin when other eyes contemplated it after the birth of their first son, Theodulf. It might seem hard to believe to contemporary people, but at first, relationship with mortals were good and long before Amrea was a thing, they build the first cities of mortals and immortals together, the first traces of civilization. The mortals were afraid and justly so of what lurked in the night and thus, Strigoi were natural protectors all they need was their pound of blood, but blood was cheap in front of life.
For generations the Realm of Wulfram and Adelheid prospered and grew, goblins and dragons all but disappeared from the continent as Wulfram's influence grew for he and his sister-wife were not just immortal warriors, but magical casters of the likes that were never seen. Eventually, the attention of the divine rulers turned to Amrea.
They met like old friends and vanquished the last of terrible enemies together and ultimately, the Emperor of Amrea and Wulfram had a talk. The role of a leader was to protect and guide its flock, the virtue of power was mainly that of strength and as there was the matter of if the realm should join the empire or vice versa, then surely it could be decided by choosing who was the most apt to protect the whole of mortals? A contest of strength. Wulfram won and although history record a great fight, many of his sons would say that they found it obvious that their father was gallant and wanted to give his opponent a fight rather than crush him.
With this, there seemed to be nothing else to unite. The Strigoi influence was at its height and reached everywhere but still... it lasted only about 10h a day. It was then that Wulfram had his 'Great Idea' and sent his people on the path to damnation. Strigoi... they could borrow the strength of mortals through blood! An amazing power and one Wulfram wanted to use to do something that was never seen before. The lesser moon hung in the sky, going back and forth and sometimes it blocked the sun. He wanted to make it so permanently, move a moon between the world and the sun! Accomplish the oldest of prophecy.
Tens of thousands of mages were regrouped to try and achieve this feat and it began. Wulfram honestly thought it would be easy but then, a person died. He felt so close, he only needed to push a little more! Then hundreds and then thousands, he couldn't stop, he had to make their sacrifices worth it! Then, when only he and Adelheid were left he still had hope but his sister-wife was then consumed by the spell, just as he felt himself hanging the moon in place. He stopped everything in vein hope to save her and she disappeared in the cosmos in front of him until moments later, forever to be seen above the sky of what the Imperium would call the 'New World', the moon shattered.
Many of his sons and daughters had accompanied him to Amrea and had tied in the ritual, the road home was long and painful but... he had done something, to his race, to the cosmos. When he came back home it was not to welcoming arm but to a scene of horrors. In magical terms, the plane of thought, that of the Mind, it had forever been altered. So many had told him to stop, begged him as their souls were thorn apart, this hate, this resentment, it forever marked the Strigoi. Callous, brutal, uncaring, evil... these adjectives had become part of all Strigoi, forever and in these few nights, the oldest civilization had fallen to nothingness, the mortals who trusted the Strigoi for protection had all been eaten or had fled into the wild.
Wulfram would weep for the next thousand years as slowly his children were left to try and pick up the pieces. In time, the Realm would begin to recover but it would never be the same. Strigoi would never again be guardians but only Tyrants, ruling through fear and might alone.
He left his eldest, Theodulf, to rule in his name, just as he did when he was gone to Amrea. Theodulf however wasn't a builder, he only ever kept 'things going' while Wulfram was left and so this misery perpetuated itself. The situation couldn't last and when he and his siblings decided he would resign, it was in the hope Wulfram would have no choice but to leave the shrine he had made to his sister wife. They were betrayed however when Wulfram, going down the name of his children one by one, named Hildegund, the childless and loveless, who accepted to take the mantle of regent.
This was 200 years ago and since then, there is no doubt Hildegund's rule brought the Realm back to quite a significant status! Even Amrea no doubt fears them once again. But still her rule is tedious as her siblings have little respect for her.
The Realm of Wulfram
Type of Government: Absolute Monarchy under Regency
Head(s) of Government: Patriarch Wulfram, Favored Daughter Hildegund
Economy:
Work specialization has been for many humans a path to salvation and a form of capitalism where being replaceable was seen as being edible by one of the bloodthirsty overlords meant that artisans have always had an easier time than say, your most basic dirt farmer. At the same time however, Strigoi are smart and always eager to make as much people as possible replaceable and as such, despite the Strigoi poor technological level, they have been excellent at establishing basic mass production, simplify and divide work and manage human resources scientifically. Especially to clothe the cattle and provide tools to them, uniqueness has no purpose, it is better to standardize and provide numbers quickly.
The technology operated has thus until recently being almost medieval and the catching up that has began 200 years ago by the new regent hasn't finished yet, but still this makes for a very unequal society. The cities are the center of production for everything and the country side only care about exploiting raw materials as fast as possible, with maybe a single smith per small town to take the city made horse shoes and don them on the horses. This interdependence is by design as this prevents localized civil wars from constantly happening when both parties need each other. Overall however, despite the low technology environement, the Realm remains surprisingly productive.
Notably as the work of artisans become more and more redundant, people still try to make themselves desirable and recently this has begun to take the form of an artistic renaissance as all adults would wish to see their child climb out of the muck by becoming the next sensation in the arts.
Primary Species:
-Strigoi: The children of Wulfram and Adelheid, they consider themselves of the blood of demi-gods due to their incredible strength, speed and boundless stamina coupled with incredible magical abilities they use with triviality. Still, their nature is violent and selfish, most Strigoi despise vampires and the urban 'civilized' ways of life, instead living lives ranging from that of nobles with large estates living in remote castles and manors to that of savage beasts living in caves praying on anything mortal.
-Vampires: Half-Strigoi born from Strigoi wombs. While they are in many ways lesser to their pureblood relatives, they enjoy preferential treatment and amicable relations with them should they be respectful and humble of course. Put simply, they 'Smell right' to their bestial parents. Like mules, these are sterile.
-Daywalkers: Sons and daughters of male Strigoi with female mortals, their vigor and physical qualities overall are superhuman but considerably less so than their fathers and less so than their vampire cousins. Likewise they aren't in the most terrible pain when under the sun, it is merely extremely inconvenient. In Wulfram society however they tend to consider themselves closer to their mortal kins rather than their fathers because said fathers tend to despise their offsprings who 'don't smell right'. Still, many strigoi understand daywalkers are extremely useful intermediaries to use when dealing with mortals and breed them for this purpose, giving them enough fatherly affection to insure themselves loyalty. Like mules, these are sterile.
-Mortals: Humans, elves, Gerudo, Amreans... They are many and varied, but they all share in common mortality, making them apart from those who share the blood of Wulfram.
Population:
Total: 172,000,000
Strigoi: 1,000,000 (??? Impossible to calculate, in especially dangerous areas Strigoi will devour censors)
Vampires: 640,000
Daywalkers: 11,360,000
Mortals: 160,000,000 (??? Impossible to calculate, in especially dangerous areas Strigoi will devour censors)
Culture:
In the backwater areas of the realm, whatever culture the local mortals might have is always centered around the presence of a super predator that wishes for blood. If it wanted them all dead, dead they would be. Some offer sacrifices to be left in peace, others try to fight it and consider themselves even victorious since they aren't all dead but no matter their words, they fear, for the Stigoi tyrant still looms.
The first sign an area is 'Civilized' is that the local Strigoi will mingle in human affairs. This generally begins with the demand that a castle be built for it and progressively, the Strigoi will feel more comfortable making more public appearances and demands such as ordering every woman to always be pregnant, much like livestock. The mortals notice this of course, but woe to those who refuse to comply. This allows for 'normalcy' in the life cycle. The strigoi having the sense to demand blood to quench its thirst and eat the old women or redundant males to quench its savagery. The ruler of this territory may then further increase its involvement to make sure its flock prospers, sometimes investing in infrastructure for they are immortal and thus the benefit of such projects will always be visible within their lifetimes (If something terrible doesn't happen of course).
The next step to become a center of culture is of course, to tolerate the presence of others. Except for mating, Strigoi generally shun the presence of their kin but no matter how powerful, a single Strigoi is just one entity and eventually when their lordship grows, it will become more preferable to accept the presence of others than risk losing control over a massive human population. Back in the days Strigoi did the occasional culling but now its more preferable to sell mortal males to the big cities. The regional lords prefer to keep a maximum of females. This means the big cities of the realm are overwhelmingly filled with males. Prostitution is a big business encouraged by the local Strigoi for who cares who makes who pregnant as long as the herd grows and doesn't rebel? Males are also useful for labor and labor they do, thus gaining more wealth and fabricating more things to sell to the local strigoi lords who don't have this industrial capacity who will sell more males.
At some point, the city might become so big and humans so numerous that administering every aspects of their lives simply becomes impossible. At this point, Strigois need to learn to just... leave the thing going alone. Of course they get involved in the most critical areas of metropolitan life because the point is still to make profit out of everything, but the mortals are left with a lot of liberties at this point and can accumulate considerable wealth. The overlords meanwhile can afford to murder every night in the comfort of large mansions and castles prime pieces of meat bough from the country side, no reason to stir up a hornet's nest. Large cities would thus be theoretically safe for mortals the most and yes, their death isn't scheduled so one might die of old age, but cities also attract the landless newborns who have nothing in life and thus prey on the poor during the night, so death tends to just be random.
Religious and Other Beliefs:
The mythology the Strigoi have and of course, force on their mortal followers, is astrology based, with stories of how the Sun, king of creation, made all the races to glorify him, but made them moral and weak to make sure they could never rebel. The moon was his sister-wife but he never conceived children with her by fear such divine entities could overthrow him, until one day, the pull out method failed him and the moon became pregnant. She managed to hide the pregnancy until it was delivered to term. The sun however, as it looked down on all of creation, saw the twins she had birthed to, named Wulfram and his sister-wife Adelheid, and cursed them with all his might. Never could they prosper under his gaze!
Thus, it is the destiny of Strigoi kind to one day overthrow the sun and rule over all creation as they do during the night. For the mortals of course, parts were added that hey, the vampires are immortal and more intelligent as such, it is their duty to administer the mortals and that also, the whole blood drinking and killing bit is due to the curse of the sun and that once the sun is defeated they'll all be able to live in harmony.
Territories and Climate:
Civilization tends to be found south where the winter is the harshest. Some people have linked this to the presence of... pines. Indeed, Strigoi and their bastardized offspring are all at some degree fond of the scent and taste of pine resin, something mildly addictive to them that seems to sooth their killing urges. The Strigoi living in heavily forested pine areas are thus those who were the more disposed to collaborate with mortals and the rise of civilization in the realm is attributed by some to the mass production and sale of pine resin based candies and 'medical items for the humor'.
Still, not all have discovered the miracle benefit of pine resins and as such, travel within the realm remains difficult by land. This insured that navigable rivers have become the arteries of this nation as the wild Strigoi will rarely attack anyone in the middle of these large water currents that generally border their territories anyways. Slowly however, the infrastructure is becoming more developed.
Military:
-The Questers:
Composed of around 150,000 strigoi and 200,000 vampires, the Questers were founded by Wulfram himself in prevision of the fact that land is finite and as such, they would eventually need to face strong foes to take this land, their greatest success dating to the taking of Amrea where Wulfram led the Questers to a new land of plenty. Simply, newborn Strigoi without territories are expected to find their ways to the Questers and await the next great invasion Wulfram will lead to glory. Still, with Wulfram being in his current state, new members are rare, most prefer to go out in the world by themselves and try their luck alone.
-The Day Guards:
Daywalkers bred for the purpose of guarding their fathers while they sleep, they can be considered the 'professional' soldiers employed as enforcers from the various Strigoi around. They are equiped with the best equipment available but generally are terrible at fighting organized enemies. They tend to rely too much on their personal strength and centuries of weapon mastery rather than tactics and team work.
-The Destined:
Humans with religious endoctrinement, they serve their masters in exchange for special privileges (such as they and their families being spared from any culling or dinner lists) along with the promise that worthy heroes will have the privilege to make an immortal child with a Strigoi. These people are trained professional and their advantage relies in the fact that both they and their commanders are aware of their individual weaknesses. Destined are thus trained to use tactics and such as a force multiplier to make up for this.
-The Rabble:
It isn't rare Strigoi force their cattle to fight in desperate situation and in fact for territorial wars, it is preferable to send barely trained and barely armed cattle first to sap the enemy of their ammunition and energy, soften them up for the real fight where the Strigoi and its professional warriors will charge in. The quality of these troops vary, cities are expected to maintain a trained force to draft for example, but overall with the advent of firearms the idea of mass mobilization over the use of small elite forces has increased.
Magic Prevalence/Usage:
There probably isn't another place in the world where magic is as present as in Wulfram's Realm. Strigoi and their subspecies are all magical users and it is said that the Patriarch and Matriarch, Wulfram and Adelheid, were both capable of commanding every forces of nature to their will. Their offsprings saw their powers divided and from them, all Strigoi carry the power from their mother.
-Solid Magic: These are the more numerous and tend to be found in most civilized areas. The enormous towers and architectural nonsenses that make the metropolis of the realm... they are made and maintained by magic forces for the most part. This design makes that they will always be needed and mortals know that they can't just chase their overlords out of the cities for without them, the stones around them would fall appart!
-Mind Magic: Where most solid mages prefer urban lives, mind Strigoi are more often the savages, those who live in the most recoiled and savage lands. They monitor their territories through the eyes of insects and animals, the very plants hide their every step... Some live in the cities, but more often than not they were the very founders, the ancestral owners of the land it is built on and always know every happenings.
-Gas Magic: They all come from Nantechildian blood, the first priestess of the sky. They have a variety of tricks up their sleeves of course, but they are known for being the harbinger of Strigoi everywhere for they can blot out the sun!
-Liquid Magic: Some use this power to sail the seas and rivers, but overwhelmingly this power is seen as that of the warriors, as the holy power of blood!
History/ Background Info:
The begining of the race is mythological and more detailed in the religion section and if Wulfram or Adelheid know better, they are not telling. History would thus begin when other eyes contemplated it after the birth of their first son, Theodulf. It might seem hard to believe to contemporary people, but at first, relationship with mortals were good and long before Amrea was a thing, they build the first cities of mortals and immortals together, the first traces of civilization. The mortals were afraid and justly so of what lurked in the night and thus, Strigoi were natural protectors all they need was their pound of blood, but blood was cheap in front of life.
For generations the Realm of Wulfram and Adelheid prospered and grew, goblins and dragons all but disappeared from the continent as Wulfram's influence grew for he and his sister-wife were not just immortal warriors, but magical casters of the likes that were never seen. Eventually, the attention of the divine rulers turned to Amrea.
They met like old friends and vanquished the last of terrible enemies together and ultimately, the Emperor of Amrea and Wulfram had a talk. The role of a leader was to protect and guide its flock, the virtue of power was mainly that of strength and as there was the matter of if the realm should join the empire or vice versa, then surely it could be decided by choosing who was the most apt to protect the whole of mortals? A contest of strength. Wulfram won and although history record a great fight, many of his sons would say that they found it obvious that their father was gallant and wanted to give his opponent a fight rather than crush him.
With this, there seemed to be nothing else to unite. The Strigoi influence was at its height and reached everywhere but still... it lasted only about 10h a day. It was then that Wulfram had his 'Great Idea' and sent his people on the path to damnation. Strigoi... they could borrow the strength of mortals through blood! An amazing power and one Wulfram wanted to use to do something that was never seen before. The lesser moon hung in the sky, going back and forth and sometimes it blocked the sun. He wanted to make it so permanently, move a moon between the world and the sun! Accomplish the oldest of prophecy.
Tens of thousands of mages were regrouped to try and achieve this feat and it began. Wulfram honestly thought it would be easy but then, a person died. He felt so close, he only needed to push a little more! Then hundreds and then thousands, he couldn't stop, he had to make their sacrifices worth it! Then, when only he and Adelheid were left he still had hope but his sister-wife was then consumed by the spell, just as he felt himself hanging the moon in place. He stopped everything in vein hope to save her and she disappeared in the cosmos in front of him until moments later, forever to be seen above the sky of what the Imperium would call the 'New World', the moon shattered.
Many of his sons and daughters had accompanied him to Amrea and had tied in the ritual, the road home was long and painful but... he had done something, to his race, to the cosmos. When he came back home it was not to welcoming arm but to a scene of horrors. In magical terms, the plane of thought, that of the Mind, it had forever been altered. So many had told him to stop, begged him as their souls were thorn apart, this hate, this resentment, it forever marked the Strigoi. Callous, brutal, uncaring, evil... these adjectives had become part of all Strigoi, forever and in these few nights, the oldest civilization had fallen to nothingness, the mortals who trusted the Strigoi for protection had all been eaten or had fled into the wild.
Wulfram would weep for the next thousand years as slowly his children were left to try and pick up the pieces. In time, the Realm would begin to recover but it would never be the same. Strigoi would never again be guardians but only Tyrants, ruling through fear and might alone.
He left his eldest, Theodulf, to rule in his name, just as he did when he was gone to Amrea. Theodulf however wasn't a builder, he only ever kept 'things going' while Wulfram was left and so this misery perpetuated itself. The situation couldn't last and when he and his siblings decided he would resign, it was in the hope Wulfram would have no choice but to leave the shrine he had made to his sister wife. They were betrayed however when Wulfram, going down the name of his children one by one, named Hildegund, the childless and loveless, who accepted to take the mantle of regent.
This was 200 years ago and since then, there is no doubt Hildegund's rule brought the Realm back to quite a significant status! Even Amrea no doubt fears them once again. But still her rule is tedious as her siblings have little respect for her.
The Realm of Wulfram
Type of Government: Absolute Monarchy under Regency
Head(s) of Government: Patriarch Wulfram, Favored Daughter Hildegund
Economy:
Work specialization has been for many humans a path to salvation and a form of capitalism where being replaceable was seen as being edible by one of the bloodthirsty overlords meant that artisans have always had an easier time than say, your most basic dirt farmer. At the same time however, Strigoi are smart and always eager to make as much people as possible replaceable and as such, despite the Strigoi poor technological level, they have been excellent at establishing basic mass production, simplify and divide work and manage human resources scientifically. Especially to clothe the cattle and provide tools to them, uniqueness has no purpose, it is better to standardize and provide numbers quickly.
The technology operated has thus until recently being almost medieval and the catching up that has began 200 years ago by the new regent hasn't finished yet, but still this makes for a very unequal society. The cities are the center of production for everything and the country side only care about exploiting raw materials as fast as possible, with maybe a single smith per small town to take the city made horse shoes and don them on the horses. This interdependence is by design as this prevents localized civil wars from constantly happening when both parties need each other. Overall however, despite the low technology environement, the Realm remains surprisingly productive.
Notably as the work of artisans become more and more redundant, people still try to make themselves desirable and recently this has begun to take the form of an artistic renaissance as all adults would wish to see their child climb out of the muck by becoming the next sensation in the arts.
Primary Species:
-Strigoi: The children of Wulfram and Adelheid, they consider themselves of the blood of demi-gods due to their incredible strength, speed and boundless stamina coupled with incredible magical abilities they use with triviality. Still, their nature is violent and selfish, most Strigoi despise vampires and the urban 'civilized' ways of life, instead living lives ranging from that of nobles with large estates living in remote castles and manors to that of savage beasts living in caves praying on anything mortal.
-Vampires: Half-Strigoi born from Strigoi wombs. While they are in many ways lesser to their pureblood relatives, they enjoy preferential treatment and amicable relations with them should they be respectful and humble of course. Put simply, they 'Smell right' to their bestial parents. Like mules, these are sterile.
-Daywalkers: Sons and daughters of male Strigoi with female mortals, their vigor and physical qualities overall are superhuman but considerably less so than their fathers and less so than their vampire cousins. Likewise they aren't in the most terrible pain when under the sun, it is merely extremely inconvenient. In Wulfram society however they tend to consider themselves closer to their mortal kins rather than their fathers because said fathers tend to despise their offsprings who 'don't smell right'. Still, many strigoi understand daywalkers are extremely useful intermediaries to use when dealing with mortals and breed them for this purpose, giving them enough fatherly affection to insure themselves loyalty. Like mules, these are sterile.
-Mortals: Humans, elves, Gerudo, Amreans... They are many and varied, but they all share in common mortality, making them apart from those who share the blood of Wulfram.
Population:
Total: 172,000,000
Strigoi: 1,000,000 (??? Impossible to calculate, in especially dangerous areas Strigoi will devour censors)
Vampires: 640,000
Daywalkers: 11,360,000
Mortals: 160,000,000 (??? Impossible to calculate, in especially dangerous areas Strigoi will devour censors)
Culture:
In the backwater areas of the realm, whatever culture the local mortals might have is always centered around the presence of a super predator that wishes for blood. If it wanted them all dead, dead they would be. Some offer sacrifices to be left in peace, others try to fight it and consider themselves even victorious since they aren't all dead but no matter their words, they fear, for the Stigoi tyrant still looms.
The first sign an area is 'Civilized' is that the local Strigoi will mingle in human affairs. This generally begins with the demand that a castle be built for it and progressively, the Strigoi will feel more comfortable making more public appearances and demands such as ordering every woman to always be pregnant, much like livestock. The mortals notice this of course, but woe to those who refuse to comply. This allows for 'normalcy' in the life cycle. The strigoi having the sense to demand blood to quench its thirst and eat the old women or redundant males to quench its savagery. The ruler of this territory may then further increase its involvement to make sure its flock prospers, sometimes investing in infrastructure for they are immortal and thus the benefit of such projects will always be visible within their lifetimes (If something terrible doesn't happen of course).
The next step to become a center of culture is of course, to tolerate the presence of others. Except for mating, Strigoi generally shun the presence of their kin but no matter how powerful, a single Strigoi is just one entity and eventually when their lordship grows, it will become more preferable to accept the presence of others than risk losing control over a massive human population. Back in the days Strigoi did the occasional culling but now its more preferable to sell mortal males to the big cities. The regional lords prefer to keep a maximum of females. This means the big cities of the realm are overwhelmingly filled with males. Prostitution is a big business encouraged by the local Strigoi for who cares who makes who pregnant as long as the herd grows and doesn't rebel? Males are also useful for labor and labor they do, thus gaining more wealth and fabricating more things to sell to the local strigoi lords who don't have this industrial capacity who will sell more males.
At some point, the city might become so big and humans so numerous that administering every aspects of their lives simply becomes impossible. At this point, Strigois need to learn to just... leave the thing going alone. Of course they get involved in the most critical areas of metropolitan life because the point is still to make profit out of everything, but the mortals are left with a lot of liberties at this point and can accumulate considerable wealth. The overlords meanwhile can afford to murder every night in the comfort of large mansions and castles prime pieces of meat bough from the country side, no reason to stir up a hornet's nest. Large cities would thus be theoretically safe for mortals the most and yes, their death isn't scheduled so one might die of old age, but cities also attract the landless newborns who have nothing in life and thus prey on the poor during the night, so death tends to just be random.
Religious and Other Beliefs:
The mythology the Strigoi have and of course, force on their mortal followers, is astrology based, with stories of how the Sun, king of creation, made all the races to glorify him, but made them moral and weak to make sure they could never rebel. The moon was his sister-wife but he never conceived children with her by fear such divine entities could overthrow him, until one day, the pull out method failed him and the moon became pregnant. She managed to hide the pregnancy until it was delivered to term. The sun however, as it looked down on all of creation, saw the twins she had birthed to, named Wulfram and his sister-wife Adelheid, and cursed them with all his might. Never could they prosper under his gaze!
Thus, it is the destiny of Strigoi kind to one day overthrow the sun and rule over all creation as they do during the night. For the mortals of course, parts were added that hey, the vampires are immortal and more intelligent as such, it is their duty to administer the mortals and that also, the whole blood drinking and killing bit is due to the curse of the sun and that once the sun is defeated they'll all be able to live in harmony.
Territories and Climate:
Civilization tends to be found south where the winter is the harshest. Some people have linked this to the presence of... pines. Indeed, Strigoi and their bastardized offspring are all at some degree fond of the scent and taste of pine resin, something mildly addictive to them that seems to sooth their killing urges. The Strigoi living in heavily forested pine areas are thus those who were the more disposed to collaborate with mortals and the rise of civilization in the realm is attributed by some to the mass production and sale of pine resin based candies and 'medical items for the humor'.
Still, not all have discovered the miracle benefit of pine resins and as such, travel within the realm remains difficult by land. This insured that navigable rivers have become the arteries of this nation as the wild Strigoi will rarely attack anyone in the middle of these large water currents that generally border their territories anyways. Slowly however, the infrastructure is becoming more developed.
Military:
-The Questers:
Composed of around 150,000 strigoi and 200,000 vampires, the Questers were founded by Wulfram himself in prevision of the fact that land is finite and as such, they would eventually need to face strong foes to take this land, their greatest success dating to the taking of Amrea where Wulfram led the Questers to a new land of plenty. Simply, newborn Strigoi without territories are expected to find their ways to the Questers and await the next great invasion Wulfram will lead to glory. Still, with Wulfram being in his current state, new members are rare, most prefer to go out in the world by themselves and try their luck alone.
-The Day Guards:
Daywalkers bred for the purpose of guarding their fathers while they sleep, they can be considered the 'professional' soldiers employed as enforcers from the various Strigoi around. They are equiped with the best equipment available but generally are terrible at fighting organized enemies. They tend to rely too much on their personal strength and centuries of weapon mastery rather than tactics and team work.
-The Destined:
Humans with religious endoctrinement, they serve their masters in exchange for special privileges (such as they and their families being spared from any culling or dinner lists) along with the promise that worthy heroes will have the privilege to make an immortal child with a Strigoi. These people are trained professional and their advantage relies in the fact that both they and their commanders are aware of their individual weaknesses. Destined are thus trained to use tactics and such as a force multiplier to make up for this.
-The Rabble:
It isn't rare Strigoi force their cattle to fight in desperate situation and in fact for territorial wars, it is preferable to send barely trained and barely armed cattle first to sap the enemy of their ammunition and energy, soften them up for the real fight where the Strigoi and its professional warriors will charge in. The quality of these troops vary, cities are expected to maintain a trained force to draft for example, but overall with the advent of firearms the idea of mass mobilization over the use of small elite forces has increased.
Magic Prevalence/Usage:
There probably isn't another place in the world where magic is as present as in Wulfram's Realm. Strigoi and their subspecies are all magical users and it is said that the Patriarch and Matriarch, Wulfram and Adelheid, were both capable of commanding every forces of nature to their will. Their offsprings saw their powers divided and from them, all Strigoi carry the power from their mother.
-Solid Magic: These are the more numerous and tend to be found in most civilized areas. The enormous towers and architectural nonsenses that make the metropolis of the realm... they are made and maintained by magic forces for the most part. This design makes that they will always be needed and mortals know that they can't just chase their overlords out of the cities for without them, the stones around them would fall appart!
-Mind Magic: Where most solid mages prefer urban lives, mind Strigoi are more often the savages, those who live in the most recoiled and savage lands. They monitor their territories through the eyes of insects and animals, the very plants hide their every step... Some live in the cities, but more often than not they were the very founders, the ancestral owners of the land it is built on and always know every happenings.
-Gas Magic: They all come from Nantechildian blood, the first priestess of the sky. They have a variety of tricks up their sleeves of course, but they are known for being the harbinger of Strigoi everywhere for they can blot out the sun!
-Liquid Magic: Some use this power to sail the seas and rivers, but overwhelmingly this power is seen as that of the warriors, as the holy power of blood!
History/ Background Info:
The begining of the race is mythological and more detailed in the religion section and if Wulfram or Adelheid know better, they are not telling. History would thus begin when other eyes contemplated it after the birth of their first son, Theodulf. It might seem hard to believe to contemporary people, but at first, relationship with mortals were good and long before Amrea was a thing, they build the first cities of mortals and immortals together, the first traces of civilization. The mortals were afraid and justly so of what lurked in the night and thus, Strigoi were natural protectors all they need was their pound of blood, but blood was cheap in front of life.
For generations the Realm of Wulfram and Adelheid prospered and grew, goblins and dragons all but disappeared from the continent as Wulfram's influence grew for he and his sister-wife were not just immortal warriors, but magical casters of the likes that were never seen. Eventually, the attention of the divine rulers turned to Amrea.
They met like old friends and vanquished the last of terrible enemies together and ultimately, the Emperor of Amrea and Wulfram had a talk. The role of a leader was to protect and guide its flock, the virtue of power was mainly that of strength and as there was the matter of if the realm should join the empire or vice versa, then surely it could be decided by choosing who was the most apt to protect the whole of mortals? A contest of strength. Wulfram won and although history record a great fight, many of his sons would say that they found it obvious that their father was gallant and wanted to give his opponent a fight rather than crush him.
With this, there seemed to be nothing else to unite. The Strigoi influence was at its height and reached everywhere but still... it lasted only about 10h a day. It was then that Wulfram had his 'Great Idea' and sent his people on the path to damnation. Strigoi... they could borrow the strength of mortals through blood! An amazing power and one Wulfram wanted to use to do something that was never seen before. The lesser moon hung in the sky, going back and forth and sometimes it blocked the sun. He wanted to make it so permanently, move a moon between the world and the sun! Accomplish the oldest of prophecy.
Tens of thousands of mages were regrouped to try and achieve this feat and it began. Wulfram honestly thought it would be easy but then, a person died. He felt so close, he only needed to push a little more! Then hundreds and then thousands, he couldn't stop, he had to make their sacrifices worth it! Then, when only he and Adelheid were left he still had hope but his sister-wife was then consumed by the spell, just as he felt himself hanging the moon in place. He stopped everything in vein hope to save her and she disappeared in the cosmos in front of him until moments later, forever to be seen above the sky of what the Imperium would call the 'New World', the moon shattered.
Many of his sons and daughters had accompanied him to Amrea and had tied in the ritual, the road home was long and painful but... he had done something, to his race, to the cosmos. When he came back home it was not to welcoming arm but to a scene of horrors. In magical terms, the plane of thought, that of the Mind, it had forever been altered. So many had told him to stop, begged him as their souls were thorn apart, this hate, this resentment, it forever marked the Strigoi. Callous, brutal, uncaring, evil... these adjectives had become part of all Strigoi, forever and in these few nights, the oldest civilization had fallen to nothingness, the mortals who trusted the Strigoi for protection had all been eaten or had fled into the wild.
Wulfram would weep for the next thousand years as slowly his children were left to try and pick up the pieces. In time, the Realm would begin to recover but it would never be the same. Strigoi would never again be guardians but only Tyrants, ruling through fear and might alone.
He left his eldest, Theodulf, to rule in his name, just as he did when he was gone to Amrea. Theodulf however wasn't a builder, he only ever kept 'things going' while Wulfram was left and so this misery perpetuated itself. The situation couldn't last and when he and his siblings decided he would resign, it was in the hope Wulfram would have no choice but to leave the shrine he had made to his sister wife. They were betrayed however when Wulfram, going down the name of his children one by one, named Hildegund, the childless and loveless, who accepted to take the mantle of regent.
This was 200 years ago and since then, there is no doubt Hildegund's rule brought the Realm back to quite a significant status! Even Amrea no doubt fears them once again. But still her rule is tedious as her siblings have little respect for her.
England wasn't made by its people, it was made when the Normans, Vikings by any other name who had been such a thorn in France's side they preferred to capitulate and give them land rather than fight, invaded this island. The French themselves? Gaul became France when german Franks invaded and took over. Russia was no exception to this historical pattern of strong invaders making a land their own when the Varangians invaded and formed what would become the Great Princedom of the 'Rus. Of the Russians.
And today was the day Titania fell to this pattern as well.
This tantalizing crumb of history was lost on most if not all but General Tolstoï as she flew in a gunship above 'Geological Formation B48', a rocky fjor hidden from praying eyes. She watched by the tiny window as bellow in difficult terrain and gray weather the Myr, Vostok and Novoprospekt unloaded its cargo of machines and men and they began a long trek toward 'Mountain 511'. They were tired, they were hungry but they were also ecstatic. This grey landscape with beyond tiny green valleys and white mountains were like paradise compared to the place they came from. A new beginning. "Strela-7 is in flight, I repeat, Strela-7 is in flight, going to M511 from GFB48... So this is home uh?" The pilot said with a smirk.
He turned around to look at the passenger, the general among them. "General!" Inexpressive, Tolstoi turned around to look at the pilot, who continued. "General! We made it! But to you the honor, should we name our new home Veronikagrad?" 'Veronika's city'. Those around her were stressed, she wasn't known for her sense of humor and visibly this pilot didn't know that. She however, smirked, and answered. "This fjor... The Vostok will be disassembled, it will be Vostok harbor. Out settlement... It will be called Holmgard." The pilot turned to look at his copilot who merely shrugged, no one knowing what the hell this meant. "Correction Novoprospekt, we are heading to the settlement of Holmgard from the Fjor of Vostok!"
"Roger that 10/10 Strela-7, onward to Holmgard, good luck and god be with you!"
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Holmgard or... whatever name these 'Dwarves' gave to this city, it would be their new home. From the outside, there was naught but a gate, a large and impressive gate cut in the very stone, no doubt an impressive fortification by all standard, dwarfing most if not all stoneworks of Earth. This mighty fortress however had fallen in a night, its garrison ready and battle hardened after many fights with tiny green monsters the men called 'Goblins', no match for the elite spetsnaz.
As the report went, they infiltrated during the night, they weren't even subtle as they burned out the goblin burrows but yet the stunted folks hadn't expected anything. The entry was violent and made on multiple point on the upper levels as Gunships assaulted the Gate, distracting key elements of the enemy defense. The elite commandos then made their way down, terminating any potential hostile as they went with grenades and flame throwers. No survivors. The lower levels however, had been sealed.
Veronika and her entourage arrived now as she could see the men priming explosives on what was an entrance to the lower levels. They'd send it crashing down and gas everything down bellow, no point in falling in an easy ambush. As the situation was explained however, Doctor Volodin who was admiring the frankly ingenious device they all stood before (This gate was made of solid granite and must weight several tons!) Turned his eyes to what he at first thought was a continuation of this mechanism to see it was something... else. They were in the middle of an enormous plaza with support beams all around but this metal construction held reservoirs of water and a small table with primitive oil gauges and a lever. He was no engineer but simple logic told him this looked like... He pulled on a lever, curious, and the entire 'Plaza' they were on began to move, downward! A massive elevator! Surprised, he stepped away as the body guards of the General pulled him toward the center. "Get back! What have you done?!" All around them screaming as no one quite understood what the hell was happening and the platform lowered itself, the strangers in this city throwing beams of light from their gun's mounted flashlight into the increasing darkness.
Around them, a much more developed architecture! Windows, doors, bridges and... little men with beard. "Target in sight, instructions?!" The elite spetsnaz turned toward their veteran commander who himself seemed about to speak but turned to Veronika, the General and commander in chief, not daring to speak as the, surprised, merely looked in facination at these Dwarves.
Finally the elevator stopped and around them, these little things, some with armors, most with weapons, looked at them. "GENERAL, ORDERS?!" Said a practically panicking soldier but Veronika held up a hand to stop them from shooting. These people... females, young ones, old and unfit to fight and in their eyes... fear. "They are no menace, look at them..." She simply said with a soft voice, the corner of a smile on her face. She stepped forward and looking around, saw one. He was old, with a grey beard and a massively ornamented armor and a crown. Their king. Her heels clicked on the stone floor as she moved out of the group. Her face the dwarf thought, it looked like a snake. Just when he thought to himself he'd move to strike the next step the viper thought, she stopped. "Aslanov!" She screamed. "YES GENERAL?!" A voice answered above their position. Red dots danced on the bodies of the dwarves, some trying to 'get them off' by ruffling their clothes. "Let them learn of the faith of their soldiers, if you would." The sound of heels clicking on the ground and seconds later, an armored body falling on the ground between Veronika and the dwarven king. The dwarves took a step back as she, defenseless in nothing but clothing, moved forward and bent down to take the weapon, a hammer, that this dwarf clung to even in his death. The dwarves could see the holes that had ripped through his heavy armor. Taking the hammer, she looked at the king... and dropped it. It was all she needed to do and quickly, the king did the same, his few servants following quickly.
With a satisfied smile, Veronika turned toward Leonid. "Decypher their language, learn what you can. Put the king under arrest, the others put them to work." The bearded and terrified scientist silently nodded. "And Doctor!" He looked up timidly. "Next time... a warning, before you touch anything suspicious."
_____________________
This city, it had probably taken centuries, millenniums even, to build! So much labor, sweat and blood. Even for humans with their engineering, this would have been no small task. And now, just like that, it was all theirs. The dwarves collaborated. Oh there was a couple incidents, especially when what could only be seen as burial tombs were destroyed as in such a massive hall they would build the foundry, nowhere else would do, but after a demonstration of the Human's awesome powers there was no more resistance. These creatures were smart enough to realize their lives were forfeit the moment they stopped collaborating. At the moment they didn't know the true extend of what they had found, this city, it was connected to rich mineral deposits stretching well beyond the human's imagination! But for now, they'd satisfy themselves melting armor and weapons to shape as drills and other tools... along with the small mountain of gold in the Palace of the King. Though to be honest, General Tolstoï would have preferred an equal amount of food. The dwarves had some agriculture but this couldn't feed everyone. Other methods were needed.
_________________________
And one such method was, well, piracy for a lack of better word.
The man of interest in this particular story however was a Jollian quester, a man of ambition who heed the call of the king in hope to receive riches and notoriety to better his life. What the king wanted right now was information about the World Eaters and this he would provide by going Eastward! The captain of this ship was a merchant who wouldn't risk going to the East most islands where the World Eaters were told to have already established their dominion, but he'd take him some of the way and after, well, the quester was a resourceful man, he'd improvise! What he didn't think though, was that the World Eaters would find him.
"KRAKEN!"
Sleeping under the deck, the man's eyes went wide open as he rushed to his sword and above deck. Krakens in these parts?! Didn't the naga keep them subdued!? He went to the deck with the rest of the crew as around them the sea churned and bubbled. Soon, next to them, a tower of iron emerged. It went higher and higher and higher until suddenly, a fortress of metal emerged! He like the crew stand in awe as forms could soon be seen on the tower. Out of nowhere, a voice boomed, talking to them in a strange language. Someone went to his knees and began to pray, dropping his weapon. Another joined him and then another. When there was the sound of thunder and someone fell dead in a puddle of blood, all did the same, dropping their weapons and kneeling. The figures began to descent the tower...
_______________________
Summary:
-The Vostok is disassembled in the fjor for parts to be brought to the new settlement.
-A minor dwarven hold is subjugated in a night, its warriors slain and population subjugated.
-The food situation continues to deteriorate, becoming critical.
-The Myr and Akula are sent home to fetch reinforcements.
-The Novoprospekt is sent to scour the sea for trade ships that can have anything useful, especially food, and takes a ship with a Jollian questor on it.
And today was the day Titania fell to this pattern as well.
This tantalizing crumb of history was lost on most if not all but General Tolstoï as she flew in a gunship above 'Geological Formation B48', a rocky fjor hidden from praying eyes. She watched by the tiny window as bellow in difficult terrain and gray weather the Myr, Vostok and Novoprospekt unloaded its cargo of machines and men and they began a long trek toward 'Mountain 511'. They were tired, they were hungry but they were also ecstatic. This grey landscape with beyond tiny green valleys and white mountains were like paradise compared to the place they came from. A new beginning. "Strela-7 is in flight, I repeat, Strela-7 is in flight, going to M511 from GFB48... So this is home uh?" The pilot said with a smirk.
He turned around to look at the passenger, the general among them. "General!" Inexpressive, Tolstoi turned around to look at the pilot, who continued. "General! We made it! But to you the honor, should we name our new home Veronikagrad?" 'Veronika's city'. Those around her were stressed, she wasn't known for her sense of humor and visibly this pilot didn't know that. She however, smirked, and answered. "This fjor... The Vostok will be disassembled, it will be Vostok harbor. Out settlement... It will be called Holmgard." The pilot turned to look at his copilot who merely shrugged, no one knowing what the hell this meant. "Correction Novoprospekt, we are heading to the settlement of Holmgard from the Fjor of Vostok!"
"Roger that 10/10 Strela-7, onward to Holmgard, good luck and god be with you!"
______________________________
Holmgard or... whatever name these 'Dwarves' gave to this city, it would be their new home. From the outside, there was naught but a gate, a large and impressive gate cut in the very stone, no doubt an impressive fortification by all standard, dwarfing most if not all stoneworks of Earth. This mighty fortress however had fallen in a night, its garrison ready and battle hardened after many fights with tiny green monsters the men called 'Goblins', no match for the elite spetsnaz.
As the report went, they infiltrated during the night, they weren't even subtle as they burned out the goblin burrows but yet the stunted folks hadn't expected anything. The entry was violent and made on multiple point on the upper levels as Gunships assaulted the Gate, distracting key elements of the enemy defense. The elite commandos then made their way down, terminating any potential hostile as they went with grenades and flame throwers. No survivors. The lower levels however, had been sealed.
Veronika and her entourage arrived now as she could see the men priming explosives on what was an entrance to the lower levels. They'd send it crashing down and gas everything down bellow, no point in falling in an easy ambush. As the situation was explained however, Doctor Volodin who was admiring the frankly ingenious device they all stood before (This gate was made of solid granite and must weight several tons!) Turned his eyes to what he at first thought was a continuation of this mechanism to see it was something... else. They were in the middle of an enormous plaza with support beams all around but this metal construction held reservoirs of water and a small table with primitive oil gauges and a lever. He was no engineer but simple logic told him this looked like... He pulled on a lever, curious, and the entire 'Plaza' they were on began to move, downward! A massive elevator! Surprised, he stepped away as the body guards of the General pulled him toward the center. "Get back! What have you done?!" All around them screaming as no one quite understood what the hell was happening and the platform lowered itself, the strangers in this city throwing beams of light from their gun's mounted flashlight into the increasing darkness.
Around them, a much more developed architecture! Windows, doors, bridges and... little men with beard. "Target in sight, instructions?!" The elite spetsnaz turned toward their veteran commander who himself seemed about to speak but turned to Veronika, the General and commander in chief, not daring to speak as the, surprised, merely looked in facination at these Dwarves.
Finally the elevator stopped and around them, these little things, some with armors, most with weapons, looked at them. "GENERAL, ORDERS?!" Said a practically panicking soldier but Veronika held up a hand to stop them from shooting. These people... females, young ones, old and unfit to fight and in their eyes... fear. "They are no menace, look at them..." She simply said with a soft voice, the corner of a smile on her face. She stepped forward and looking around, saw one. He was old, with a grey beard and a massively ornamented armor and a crown. Their king. Her heels clicked on the stone floor as she moved out of the group. Her face the dwarf thought, it looked like a snake. Just when he thought to himself he'd move to strike the next step the viper thought, she stopped. "Aslanov!" She screamed. "YES GENERAL?!" A voice answered above their position. Red dots danced on the bodies of the dwarves, some trying to 'get them off' by ruffling their clothes. "Let them learn of the faith of their soldiers, if you would." The sound of heels clicking on the ground and seconds later, an armored body falling on the ground between Veronika and the dwarven king. The dwarves took a step back as she, defenseless in nothing but clothing, moved forward and bent down to take the weapon, a hammer, that this dwarf clung to even in his death. The dwarves could see the holes that had ripped through his heavy armor. Taking the hammer, she looked at the king... and dropped it. It was all she needed to do and quickly, the king did the same, his few servants following quickly.
With a satisfied smile, Veronika turned toward Leonid. "Decypher their language, learn what you can. Put the king under arrest, the others put them to work." The bearded and terrified scientist silently nodded. "And Doctor!" He looked up timidly. "Next time... a warning, before you touch anything suspicious."
_____________________
This city, it had probably taken centuries, millenniums even, to build! So much labor, sweat and blood. Even for humans with their engineering, this would have been no small task. And now, just like that, it was all theirs. The dwarves collaborated. Oh there was a couple incidents, especially when what could only be seen as burial tombs were destroyed as in such a massive hall they would build the foundry, nowhere else would do, but after a demonstration of the Human's awesome powers there was no more resistance. These creatures were smart enough to realize their lives were forfeit the moment they stopped collaborating. At the moment they didn't know the true extend of what they had found, this city, it was connected to rich mineral deposits stretching well beyond the human's imagination! But for now, they'd satisfy themselves melting armor and weapons to shape as drills and other tools... along with the small mountain of gold in the Palace of the King. Though to be honest, General Tolstoï would have preferred an equal amount of food. The dwarves had some agriculture but this couldn't feed everyone. Other methods were needed.
_________________________
And one such method was, well, piracy for a lack of better word.
The man of interest in this particular story however was a Jollian quester, a man of ambition who heed the call of the king in hope to receive riches and notoriety to better his life. What the king wanted right now was information about the World Eaters and this he would provide by going Eastward! The captain of this ship was a merchant who wouldn't risk going to the East most islands where the World Eaters were told to have already established their dominion, but he'd take him some of the way and after, well, the quester was a resourceful man, he'd improvise! What he didn't think though, was that the World Eaters would find him.
"KRAKEN!"
Sleeping under the deck, the man's eyes went wide open as he rushed to his sword and above deck. Krakens in these parts?! Didn't the naga keep them subdued!? He went to the deck with the rest of the crew as around them the sea churned and bubbled. Soon, next to them, a tower of iron emerged. It went higher and higher and higher until suddenly, a fortress of metal emerged! He like the crew stand in awe as forms could soon be seen on the tower. Out of nowhere, a voice boomed, talking to them in a strange language. Someone went to his knees and began to pray, dropping his weapon. Another joined him and then another. When there was the sound of thunder and someone fell dead in a puddle of blood, all did the same, dropping their weapons and kneeling. The figures began to descent the tower...
_______________________
Summary:
-The Vostok is disassembled in the fjor for parts to be brought to the new settlement.
-A minor dwarven hold is subjugated in a night, its warriors slain and population subjugated.
-The food situation continues to deteriorate, becoming critical.
-The Myr and Akula are sent home to fetch reinforcements.
-The Novoprospekt is sent to scour the sea for trade ships that can have anything useful, especially food, and takes a ship with a Jollian questor on it.
Гла́вное управле́ние Генера́льного шта́ба Вооружённых Сил Росси́йской Федера́ции
Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation
The G.R.U.
Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation
The G.R.U.
The events that unfolded on Earth were unexpected but far from unplanned. Ever since 1957 and the first ICBM, the Soviet Union, Russia, the Pan-Slavic Union and the many names it had through the modern ages, had prepared for the worst, to insure that long after the world had ended, 'Russia' endured. Russia being of course a small cabal of well connected elite with the hyper competent peons lucky enough to be chosen as 'essential'.
Some people who were in power as far back as during the Soviet Union survived the third war but after they regretted favoring competence over loyalty in the selection process of their grunts. They called it the 'Palace Revolution' when the political and oligarchic elite was overthrown and replaced by the military and then the 'Insidious Civil War' when the unstable military junta was slowly replaced through assassinations and power plays by a single leadership from Military Intelligence.
Russia is doomed, a quagmire of unrest and death, as its government is entirely cynical and uncaring. Those onboard the Russian Expedition are not at all a well mixed group of civilian expert ready to reestablish civilization but rather a bunch of cold and calculating killers that managed to climb on top by ruthlessly crushing its opponents. Still, taming vast territories while they are outnumbered by people who hate their guts with nothing but a technological advantage and the will to destroy is business as usual for these guys, they are confident they'll be right at home in this new world.
____________________________________________
Flagship: TK-209 Akula Submarine, while most of the nations sent surface vessels, the Russians preferred discretion and thus sent an underwater expedition. This submarine, the largest ever made, dates from the cold war as in its current devastated state, the GRU didn't have the means to built something new, but still its been modernized to serve its purpose well, stripping its armament for space.
-1st Module, Extra Soldiers: A compartment loaded with cramped beds with the floors, walls and every surface covered with guns, ammo and other items to deal with 'soft targets'. These elite spetsnaz, chosen for how unquestioning they are of any... 'morally ambiguous' orders are eager to go out and do some exercise.
-2nd Module, Mining Equipment: Exploration and exploitation, they don't intend to go full Robinson on this expedition, this is to serve as the base to build a bunker and begin re-industrialization in the new world.
-3rd Module, Air Cavalry: Gunships and transport helicopter, they assumed from day 1 that conflict with natives would be unavoidable, as such a quick moving force would be essential to maneuver in places lacking infrastructure.
-4th Module, Workers: They all have a lot of degrees and could be considered the best of the best, but they rarely are here by choice. These people were 'conscripted, 2 females for every male, to be simply 'human resources'.
-5th Module, Ballistic Missiles: Not all the silos were removed from the sub and Ivan keeps a card up his sleeves in case things get too heated. These cruise missiles are the ace in the hole, armed with either high explosive or chemical warheads.
Secondary Ship 1: Vostok, large container ship modified to be a modular foundry equipped with older more reliable machinery along with some newer 3d printers and the likes. This ship is to be beached and dismantled to fuel itself at first until the mining operations become viable. Once a base is established, it is then to be taken apart and rebuilt in a more secure location.
Secondary Ship 2: Myr, cargo ship containing people. Soldiers who have proven themselves valuable to the regime have been allowed to bring their families (should they have the potential to be useful of course, no elderly here) and are living cramped and in terrible conditions with rapidly depleting food supplies. These people are desperate and have proven that they are capable of anything to survive.
Escort Ship: K-600 Novoprospekt, Yasen-Class attack submarine, it is a stealthy vessel equipped with better surface optics than the norm. Notably, of its crew of a hundred, a fifth is not navy but a 'Special Group' from the GRU making sure the sailors don't get funny ideas while away from command. They aren't entirely useless however and can also be used as a recon or light attack team since they are trained spetsnaz after all.
Technology: The G.R.U. brought with it the essentials that would be troublesome to manufacture to kickstart long term colonial operations. Machinery and human resources. More basic things like 'food' will have to be acquired at the discretion of the military commanders on the field. Ultimately, the technology of the Russians are like the Russians themselves, not the creme de la creme, but rugged and proven to work under miserable conditions.
Military Might: The only luxury is perhaps the couple of gunships to insure mobility, otherwise the G.R.U. brought itself a strong elite of killers and weapons calculated to have the most killing power on soft targets for their weight and the space they occupy. Notably the 'rabble' that serves as colonist, unless the conscripted technical experts on the Akula, are also tied to the military and thus fit and capable to defend itself even if for now they lack enough weapons to equip them all. Mass production of small arms and ammunition are of course thus a priority.
Veronika Francinova Tolstoï
Rank/title: Colonel General
Capabilities: A bureaucrat capable to slice through red tape at light speed and get things done behind the scene, fantastic with logistics and understanding the needs of an operation and thus allocate resources efficiently but otherwise not a tactician of talent. In adition, she is a trained psychiatrist, psychologist and interrogator well versed in 'enhanced interrogation techniques'.
Background: Outsiders of the GRU wouldn't know anything about her, really she was just another face in the complex web of intrigue that is the GRU. Inside however she became instrumental for the constant purging and counter purging going on, managing to survive way pass the average lifetime people in the upper ranks had. She was about to be purged herself when she jumped aboard the new world expedition as a way to escape retribution for the countless murders and tortures she did, now being out of reach of her former colleagues.
Deus Ex Machina points/ DEM points: 2
Death points/DE points: 0
Гла́вное управле́ние Генера́льного шта́ба Вооружённых Сил Росси́йской Федера́ции
Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation
The G.R.U.
Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation
The G.R.U.
The events that unfolded on Earth were unexpected but far from unplanned. Ever since 1957 and the first ICBM, the Soviet Union, Russia, the Pan-Slavic Union and the many names it had through the modern ages, had prepared for the worst, to insure that long after the world had ended, 'Russia' endured. Russia being of course a small cabal of well connected elite with the hyper competent peons lucky enough to be chosen as 'essential'.
Some people who were in power as far back as during the Soviet Union survived the third war but after they regretted favoring competence over loyalty in the selection process of their grunts. They called it the 'Palace Revolution' when the political and oligarchic elite was overthrown and replaced by the military and then the 'Insidious Civil War' when the unstable military junta was slowly replaced through assassinations and power plays by a single leadership from Military Intelligence.
Russia is doomed, a quagmire of unrest and death, as its government is entirely cynical and uncaring. Those onboard the Russian Expedition are not at all a well mixed group of civilian expert ready to reestablish civilization but rather a bunch of cold and calculating killers that managed to climb on top by ruthlessly crushing its opponents. Still, taming vast territories while they are outnumbered by people who hate their guts with nothing but a technological advantage and the will to destroy is business as usual for these guys, they are confident they'll be right at home in this new world.
____________________________________________
Flagship: TK-209 Akula Submarine, while most of the nations sent surface vessels, the Russians preferred discretion and thus sent an underwater expedition. This submarine, the largest ever made, dates from the cold war as in its current devastated state, the GRU didn't have the means to built something new, but still its been modernized to serve its purpose well, stripping its armament for space.
-1st Module, Extra Soldiers: A compartment loaded with cramped beds with the floors, walls and every surface covered with guns, ammo and other items to deal with 'soft targets'. These elite spetsnaz, chosen for how unquestioning they are of any... 'morally ambiguous' orders are eager to go out and do some exercise.
-2nd Module, Mining Equipment: Exploration and exploitation, they don't intend to go full Robinson on this expedition, this is to serve as the base to build a bunker and begin re-industrialization in the new world.
-3rd Module, Air Cavalry: Gunships and transport helicopter, they assumed from day 1 that conflict with natives would be unavoidable, as such a quick moving force would be essential to maneuver in places lacking infrastructure.
-4th Module, Workers: They all have a lot of degrees and could be considered the best of the best, but they rarely are here by choice. These people were 'conscripted, 2 females for every male, to be simply 'human resources'.
-5th Module, Ballistic Missiles: Not all the silos were removed from the sub and Ivan keeps a card up his sleeves in case things get too heated. These cruise missiles are the ace in the hole, armed with either high explosive or chemical warheads.
Secondary Ship 1: Vostok, large container ship modified to be a modular foundry equipped with older more reliable machinery along with some newer 3d printers and the likes. This ship is to be beached and dismantled to fuel itself at first until the mining operations become viable. Once a base is established, it is then to be taken apart and rebuilt in a more secure location.
Secondary Ship 2: Myr, cargo ship containing people. Soldiers who have proven themselves valuable to the regime have been allowed to bring their families (should they have the potential to be useful of course, no elderly here) and are living cramped and in terrible conditions with rapidly depleting food supplies. These people are desperate and have proven that they are capable of anything to survive.
Escort Ship: K-600 Novoprospekt, Yasen-Class attack submarine, it is a stealthy vessel equipped with better surface optics than the norm. Notably, of its crew of a hundred, a fifth is not navy but a 'Special Group' from the GRU making sure the sailors don't get funny ideas while away from command. They aren't entirely useless however and can also be used as a recon or light attack team since they are trained spetsnaz after all.
Technology: The G.R.U. brought with it the essentials that would be troublesome to manufacture to kickstart long term colonial operations. Machinery and human resources. More basic things like 'food' will have to be acquired at the discretion of the military commanders on the field. Ultimately, the technology of the Russians are like the Russians themselves, not the creme de la creme, but rugged and proven to work under miserable conditions.
Military Might: The only luxury is perhaps the couple of gunships to insure mobility, otherwise the G.R.U. brought itself a strong elite of killers and weapons calculated to have the most killing power on soft targets for their weight and the space they occupy. Notably the 'rabble' that serves as colonist, unless the conscripted technical experts on the Akula, are also tied to the military and thus fit and capable to defend itself even if for now they lack enough weapons to equip them all. Mass production of small arms and ammunition are of course thus a priority.
Veronika Francinova Tolstoï
Rank/title: Colonel General
Capabilities: A bureaucrat capable to slice through red tape at light speed and get things done behind the scene, fantastic with logistics and understanding the needs of an operation and thus allocate resources efficiently but otherwise not a tactician of talent. In adition, she is a trained psychiatrist, psychologist and interrogator well versed in 'enhanced interrogation techniques'.
Background: Outsiders of the GRU wouldn't know anything about her, really she was just another face in the complex web of intrigue that is the GRU. Inside however she became instrumental for the constant purging and counter purging going on, managing to survive way pass the average lifetime people in the upper ranks had. She was about to be purged herself when she jumped aboard the new world expedition as a way to escape retribution for the countless murders and tortures she did, now being out of reach of her former colleagues.
Deus Ex Machina points/ DEM points: 0
Death points/DE points: 0
Leonid Volodin
Rank/title: Doctor, Lieutenant, Chief Science Officer
Capabilities: Certified genius excelling in multiple fields ranging from chemistry to microbiology, he's overall almost the one man science team of the G.R.U. who otherwise prioritized Engineers heavily over other fields of science.
Background: There are many genius in the world, Russia hosts a few of them, but Leonid's secret to longevity and success has been to be smart enough to avoid politics whenever possible. When they were both working in an underground secure complex back on Earth, he lived by that motto when he encountered Veronika Tolstoï who found his love of talking of anything that wasn't politics to be something she'd grow quite fond of. When a chief scientist was needed for this expedition she just didn't consider any other name. People call him 'The General's boy toy', but if it prevents him being bullied like the other 'egg heads' then this is fine with him.
Deus Ex Machina points/ DEM points: 0
Death points/DE points: 0
Ivan Kazanov
Rank/title: Colonel, Commanding Officer of the Novoprospekt
Capabilities: A capable tactician and soldier with the mastery of numerous martial arts, he excels at commanding small units both from a distance and from the front but somewhat lacks the ability to see 'the bigger picture'.
Background: In his youth he was enthusiast about going to the winter Olympics but these hopes were quickly dashed when the third war started. He was naturally recruited into the special forces and made himself a name from an early age. This involved him in the G.R.U. and what he saw scared him. He didn't want to have his head on the chopping block and to survive decided to dehumanize himself. He doesn't have much in term of personal initiative not because he's stupid, but because he knows being reliable and having his superiors know how he'll act in every situation while being competent might allow him to stay under the radar. This is why he was chosen by Tolstoi, because he's always unquestioning and reliably will follow regulations when in doubt.
Deus Ex Machina points/ DEM points: 0
Death points/DE points: 0
Nicolai Ignatyev
Rank/title: Colonel
Capabilities: A superspy working under the cover of being a diplomat, his expertise is 'finding leverage' and grease the wheels of diplomacy with dubious means.
Background: He served as the ambassador of the Russian Federation and then the Pan-Slavic Union to both the United States and the European Coalition and is publicly known to be a friendly face open to team work and who worked a lot to get the UN to the point it is today. Behind the scene however he is soaked in all kind of intrigues and his friendly demeanor is a facade that more than once allowed him to be invited in offices where he pilfered critical informations. For the UN and all others from Earth, he is the face of the Russian operation, the non military authority... His rank of colonel is of course, a hidden fact.
Deus Ex Machina points/ DEM points: 0
Death points/DE points: 0
Boris Orlov
Rank/title: Captain
Capabilities: Navigation, underwater combat, silent tracking, making sure 100 sailors living together in a shoe box for years don't kill each other.
Background: His father was a sailor in a submarine so he became a sailor in a submarine, managing to be good enough at it to be promoted to captain one of the largest ever made. He doesn't want to be here. Irradiated or pure blue water, its all the same, he just wants to keep his head down and see his crew survive, its his only duty since his wife and children left him.
Deus Ex Machina points/ DEM points: 0
Death points/DE points: 0
Alexei Aslanov
Rank/title: Sergeant
Capabilities: Considered the deadliest human in the G.R.U.'s arsenal, he is a deadly warrior familiar with every weapons he could get his hands on, knowledgeable in dozens of martial arts and creator of his own custom 'Aslanov Style', he can run two marathon back to back and wrestle bears to submission while having a record for holding his breath underwater. He's capable at killing.
Background: An adrenaline junky since his youth and suspected psychopath, he 'likes to feel alive' and never feels more alive than when he's taking someone else's own life. The G.R.U. was his natural environment and he considers himself quite at home in this new world, trying to find new ways to kill fun and interesting things and prove humans are still on top of the food chain.
Deus Ex Machina points/ DEM points: 0
Death points/DE points: 0
Sonia Ivchenko
Rank/title: Corporal
Capabilities: They call her 'Houdini' due to her ability to escape from every situation, a useful skill when one is a sniper such as her. Otherwise she is extremely perceptive and for the short time she's been here, has shown the ability to see through unnatural things that just 'don't look right'.
Background: A nobody, a simple human who loves, who hates, who laughs, who cries. She's too unimportant for her character to matter and is probably one of the sanest and most normal in the G.R.U.'s expedition to experience this new world.
Deus Ex Machina points/ DEM points: 0
Death points/DE points: 0
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