So for this post, I want to refer back to the original creator, Minna Sundberg, the creator of the really spectacular webcomic Stand Still, Stay Silent. The series made me wonder more about what the world would look like in some future post apocalypse in which magic, demons, and a few survivors battle in an attempt to either reclaim the world for mankind or to be driven into extinction by monsters that defy all science and reasoning. So I created several new maps and lore based on or inspired by the SSSS story to widen the view of this post apocalypse world. Also, each map is labelled as the Known world as each region does not have communication with the others.
Part One, The North Pacific
This is a map of the Known world, or at least the Known World to the survivors of the Great Plague or the Uzhas as the Russians call it. In this world one nation reigns dominant above all others, that being the Tsardom of Kamchatka. Based around the great city of Petropavlovsk, this the great remnant of what was once the Russian Far East. Thanks to the natural isolation that the Far East had, the Great Plague was able to be contained and the former Russian civilization was allowed to prosper on the Kamchatka Peninsula. Founded after the Admiral of the Russian Pacific Fleet declared himself to be Tsar, the Tsardom now has over 70% of the population in the world that they know. Some fifteen years after the Great Plague, the Tsardom expanded to reclaim lands that had survived in Sakhalin and eighty-five years after the Great Plague, the Tsardom finally ventured into former Japanese lands, annexing the few surviving communities. The Tsardom has focused on growing their immune population as fast as possible, primarily through artificial means. The remnants of the Russian Pacific Fleet still remain and dominate the waves of the icy, Northern Pacific. The infected humans that inhabit the silent world are known as Babay to the Russians. The Tsardom struggles internally with different old world religions and lost pagan faiths all of which claim to be the only true progenitors of mages.
The second largest nation is the Alaskan Republic, the claimed successor to the United States and the leader of the Kodiak Pact. The Alaskan Republic is built upon the few remaining safe areas in the large Alaskan wilderness and its primary focus has been wiping out the infected (known as Sasquatch) every winter in large raiding parties, slowing reclaiming the great frontier that was once America. The other nations of the world, those being the Inuit Nation, Alaskaq Nation, Canadian Liberation Army, and New Cascadia are all members of the Kodiak Pact and work with one another in trade and in fighting off the Sasquatches that haunt the night. Expansion into the silent world has been very difficult for New Cascadia as the heavy rain blocks the sun, making the Sasquatches more active and the low immunity of the New Cascadia population has led to many outbreaks and the loss of much life. The Native populations in Alaskaq Nation and Inuit Nation have proved vital in cleansing new lands with their highly skilled mages.
Part Two, The New Dynasties of China
China is gone, the vast number of people who once lived in its fertile lands have now become the very thing that keeps the survivors at bay, any venturing into the mainland will entail large casualties and months of grueling city warfare to drive out and destroy the infected (known as Yeren). On Hainan, successful attempts to control the spread of the Great Plague proved successful, by the mass burning of the infected and any infected city. The Nanfang or the Southern Dynasty was founded by the local island official who went about building up the most populous nation in the known world (both their known world and the world that they do not know of). Thanks to their large population, the Nanfang Dynasty sells off its armies to aid the other nations in conquering the silent lands, making them an economic powerhouse.
The Largest competitor is the United Kingdom of Jeju-Dalian, built from the remnants of the Chinese communist party and survivors of the Island of Jeju, this nation has the most expansive colonies and successful reconquest efforts of any of the nations around China. Jeju Island has grown into a wealthy and heavily protected center of power for the nation which possesses the largest navy in the land. The embracing of the old religions of the land has aided the UKJD in creating great orders of mages who undergo special training on Tsushima Island.
The Jingtu Dynasty was founded by a former communist party leader who escaped to Zhoushan during the Pandemic. There he established the most authoritarian government in the known world, with the people living under the iron will of the emperor who has thrown thousands of lives away in an attempt to recapture the former heartland of China.
The Philippine Republic has a high immunity rate due to the mass death of the non-immune during an outbreak, they remain a relatively weak nation, albeit one with a high concentration of mages. But because of its precieved weakness it is constantly bullied by its much more powerful neighbors. Then there is the Ryuku-American Republic. This nation is built from the remnants of the native Ryuku Islands population and the American service personnel stationed on the Islands. The American military presence has led to the Republic being the most militarily advanced, however the nation is very isolationist and working to improve its agriculture to sustain a larger population for a future reconquest of Japan.
Part Three, The New Greek Polis
The ancient Greek City States have been revived as new forms of tribalism and regionalism take hold of what was once a unified Greek State. Many of these states work tirelessly to recapture land from the Silent World, while others find it more profitable to wage war with one another such as the Kingdom of Sparta, the militarily dominant power in the Aegean Sea. The Holy State of Athos is built upon the sacred monasteries of Mount Athos who use the magic and holy power that they abound in to keep back the silent world and slowly expand. The Aegean Island nations such as Rhodes and Lesbos are recapturing the land in Turkey, reclaiming what was once Greek lands from a thousand years ago. The Republic of Crete and Kingdom of Naxos both specialize in fishing and their use of magic in warding off sea beasts and capturing great bounties of fish.
The super power of the Eastern Mediterranean is the New Kingdom of Judea. This superpower is built from the former State of Israel, which survived the pandemic through strict early measures against the spread and who created bunkers to protect the population. Now Judea spreads abroad with their highly immune population that has grown from selective reproduction programs. With their old religious centers restored, a great growth in the number of mages has occurred, giving the NKJ an edge over the infected that stand in its way of glory. The primary target of Judea is to acquire military technology from bases in former Turkey and Syria, with the hopes of using the weapons stored there to further expand their great nation.
Part Four, The Central Mediterranean States
While only a short distance from the Greek City States, the nations of the Central Mediterranean do not have much interest in communicating with their neighbors, they know of their existence but are primarily focused on controlling the regions around them, specifically the lands around Italy. The Anglo-Italian Kingdom is built upon refugees from Britain, including the Royal Family and much of the British navy and Air Force. They arrived in Sicily and Malta as conquerors, taking over the lands to ensure the survival of their national identity. This Kingdom has successfully retaken all of Sicily and has begun expanding into Italy proper. The military might of the Anglo-Italian Kingdom has cowed the other nations into recognizing the hegemony of the Crown.
The Republic of Sardinia is the second great power of the Central Mediterranean, while they lack the military authority of the Anglo-Italian Kingdom they make it up in their produce and economic activity that enriches the authorities and that keeps the Anglo-Italian Kingdoms military machine up to date and well financed. The Slavic nations of Croatia and Slovenia are both closely modelled on their pre-pandemic governments and both are major producing nations for the Hegemon with Croatia providing oil and natural gas to be shipped to Sicily. The Austrian Reich is a resurrection of a two century old nation that once caused war and death to be spread across Europe, they are very militant and resistant to outsiders. The hatred they have towards others is said to be a reason for their lack of mages.
The Apennine Republic and the Legions of Lugano are the successor states to Italy, they are both based in the Italian mountains where there is a lack of infected and where the wintery cold keeps them at bay. The Apennine Republic is working with Sardinia to recreate the old Italy while Lugano works to create a new Fascist state based on the one found in Italian history books.
The Kingdom of Azur is a nominally independent nation, but in reality it is almost entirely under the thumb of the Union of the Swiss who use the Kingdom's access to the sea for trade and communication. The Swiss also exploit the Kingdom for its highly skilled mages, something that the Swiss are in short supply of. The Union of the Swiss originate from survivors who escaped into the many bunkers of the Swiss Alps, but some of the bunkers became infected and now serve as vile nests for the infected inhabitants. The Swiss are not ones to be bossed around and there has been high tensions between them and their Austrian and Italian neighbors.
Part Five, South American Remnants
The South American continent has some of the most cleansed land on the planet. The Vigorous efforts of the survivors have led to vast swathes of land being open to settlement. In the far south lies the United Kingdom of the Southern Isles. A spinoff state of the former United Kingdom made up from remnants of refugees and survivors who escaped the plague and evacuees from the Mid Atlantic islands. They brought with them a large section of the British fleet and thousands of survivors. This military force made contact with survivors in Terra del Fuego, creating a united government. Due to the lack of human settlement in the south, expansion has been easy and without much loss from infected (called Jokers). Currently the UKSI is working in Antarctica to search for resources to bring back to the islands. A surviving member of the former UK Royal Family was crowned King and he and his descendants have ruled over the island ever since then with the aid of a little bit of magic in their blood.
The immediate rival of the UKSI is the Patagonian Republic which seems to hold onto old world grudges and rivalries towards the British led nation. The Patagonian Republic has also had a very easy time cleansing the lands plagued by the infected (also known as the Diablos) and the infected wildlife. Allowing it to double its land area.
To the North is the Uruguayan Republic, practically an exact copy of the Old World nation that once bore its name. They are a major food producing nation that keeps the nations to the south well fed as they work to expand their borders. The Andean Federation is built upon multiple isolated communities and cities in the high and unforgiving Andes which provide an excellent oasis from the infected life below the mountains. The Chaco People's Union specializes in raising livestock such as cattle but it's only link to the outside world is through the Andean Federation, leading the Chaco People's Union to be a very isolationist state that does not seek to cooperate with the other nations.
To the Far North lies the Triple Duchy of Galapagos, a union of the three major Islands of the Galapagos with three noble leaders who govern the nation. The Galapagos sailors are the most intrepid in the known world and are willing to travel up and down the continent in order to trade. the Republic of Amazonas is centered almost entirely around the Amazon river, using the river for trade and communication. The thick jungles all around are filled with infected wildlife. The magic of the Amazonians is strong though and they are able to keep these evils at bay, however they dare not venture too far into the jungle, for there are distant cries of horrible monsters that not even the mages can handle. Finally there is the Rupununi Tribal Confederation, a nation of far flung and lightly populated villages. It has the highest immunity rate anywhere in the known and unknown world, it also has a significant number of mages who specialize in spoken magic. The Rupununi Tribal Confederation has little contact with other nations, but nations like the UKSI are working to built bases near the RTC in order to trade and to gain access to the natural resources of the area.
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