"The younger kin wouldn't recall the days before the rifts. Gigantic rips in the fabric of reality, they started appearing in the days of the Civil War. A few soldiers reported a series of mighty explosions, and when the dust settled, a swirling blue light, spanning across the air like a pulsating web. Afterwards, strange creatures emerged in the region.
To be clear, I did not serve in the Civil War. Did my duty in that land grab from Mexico a few decades prior. Been here in Arizona ever since I was a soldier in '46. After the war, with no family to go back to in Georgia, I stayed out west. Traveled some, but always ended up back in Arizona territory. Been living in these parts for nearly 40 winters now. I was here when Pestilence was founded and built. And I've seen strange things in this land too. Being a gateway town to the Cactus Valley reservation (or The Wasteland as some folks call it), we get a unique perspective. The year is 1885 and things have changed forever on planet Aerth.
Through the years, I've known a few veterans who'd fought in that costly war between the states. Some said, even before the rifts, there were rumors of vampire riders leading armies of undead soldiers. One night at Gettysburg, whole battalions rose up out of their howitzer-shelled craters and marched again, under the banner of the Crossed Stars. It was ghastly and most sane folks ran away. Those few brave souls who did stay and fight were cut down. They too, rose up as zombies or wraiths. All the while, vampire riders led the charge.
Not to be outdone, the Union army soon unveiled their own secret force, Araen Cavaliers. Horsed riders and brave fighters who were noble and stern. They seemed as knights of long ago. Armed with sword and musket and bayonet, they fought with courage and cunning against the undead rebels. Within several months, their forces had decimated the legions of undead.
So for a while, the escalation stagnated and the bodycount diminished. Then the rifts appeared. They began in the North. New York was hit hardest. A few riftbombs went off in the territories as well. Then some appeared in the South. Soon, rifts were appearing all over the globe. Some folks said the cause was a group of saboteurs, perhaps wielding alien technology or dark magic. Others spoke of an ancient chaos lord, one of the elder gods perhaps, that started it all. Whatever the cause, when those giant swirling blue holes appeared, life forever changed on our humble world.
I don't dabble much in politics, especially these days with Uncle Sam's secret police spying on every dude and hombre from the Delaware to the Colorado. There seems to be forces in Washington these days who got no inkling about the principles this nation was founded on. I reckon the government has been overrun with foreign spies and infiltrators. Old Honest Abe would probably roll over in his tomb if he knew what had become of this fine country. After Lincoln was assassinated at the theater, then Andrew Johnson took over. He was impeached, and our good president Ichabod "Hawkmoon" Andyn came in. He has managed to stay in power for over a decade. This is his fifth term.
The war dragged on for several more years, and the Texans finally called it quits. They succeeded from the confederacy and have been a lone republic ever since. That happened a short time after the "big one" hit California and sunk much of the western coastline. After the rifts, many other countries were interested in putting a stop to the war. With so much support, the Union finally crushed the Confederate armies.
Since the war, things have not improved much for the southern states. In some places, it's like they're prisoners in their own land. Brick walls and barbed wire fill up the landscape. Union troops patrol the streets. Most towns have a curfew enforced from dusk till dawn. The gallows in town rarely sits empty. Federal secret police are known only as Uncle Sams (for the feds have never officially admitted to such an organization) and like bugs, are crawling everywhere. Children have been known to report their parents and neighbors turn in one another. It's a sad state in this once "land of the free."
A man can still find some liberty though, in the western territories. Sure there are spies still, and some districts are tough on gun owners, but after the prolonged war, this country was ruined economically. Eying the vast territories and resources available in the west (and ignoring the fact that most of these lands were already occupied by tribes of the First Ones), the feds have opened up the west to any entrepreneurial souls hoping to score big. Since the war, it's been a mad contest for pillaging mother nature's treasures.
In the west, there is danger beyond wild men, savage beasts, and an unforgiving climate. Since the rifts, things have gotten downright weird. Strange folk walk abroad these days. We call them the Outlanders. The feds have stayed pretty hush-hush about the whole affair, but I've got ears for strange news and some say the outlanders aren't even from this planet.
I ain't as naive as some folks, and it's tough to keep your head in the sand in a place like Pestilence, Arizona. Let me tell you, not all them outlander folks is trouble-makers and ruffians. We've got one here who's been sort of adopted by the community. Even made the fella town marshal. Despite his serpentine condition, a finer lawman you couldn't hope to find anywhere else.
Well, now I'm parched and need a drink. Y'all come back for a drink or a tale anytime. I'm just the local barkeep, in the twilight of his years, looking forward to retirement, and doing my best to stay sane."
-Buford McGillicutty, Bartender of the Sun Dog Saloon, Pestilence, Arizona Territory
To be clear, I did not serve in the Civil War. Did my duty in that land grab from Mexico a few decades prior. Been here in Arizona ever since I was a soldier in '46. After the war, with no family to go back to in Georgia, I stayed out west. Traveled some, but always ended up back in Arizona territory. Been living in these parts for nearly 40 winters now. I was here when Pestilence was founded and built. And I've seen strange things in this land too. Being a gateway town to the Cactus Valley reservation (or The Wasteland as some folks call it), we get a unique perspective. The year is 1885 and things have changed forever on planet Aerth.
Through the years, I've known a few veterans who'd fought in that costly war between the states. Some said, even before the rifts, there were rumors of vampire riders leading armies of undead soldiers. One night at Gettysburg, whole battalions rose up out of their howitzer-shelled craters and marched again, under the banner of the Crossed Stars. It was ghastly and most sane folks ran away. Those few brave souls who did stay and fight were cut down. They too, rose up as zombies or wraiths. All the while, vampire riders led the charge.
Not to be outdone, the Union army soon unveiled their own secret force, Araen Cavaliers. Horsed riders and brave fighters who were noble and stern. They seemed as knights of long ago. Armed with sword and musket and bayonet, they fought with courage and cunning against the undead rebels. Within several months, their forces had decimated the legions of undead.
So for a while, the escalation stagnated and the bodycount diminished. Then the rifts appeared. They began in the North. New York was hit hardest. A few riftbombs went off in the territories as well. Then some appeared in the South. Soon, rifts were appearing all over the globe. Some folks said the cause was a group of saboteurs, perhaps wielding alien technology or dark magic. Others spoke of an ancient chaos lord, one of the elder gods perhaps, that started it all. Whatever the cause, when those giant swirling blue holes appeared, life forever changed on our humble world.
I don't dabble much in politics, especially these days with Uncle Sam's secret police spying on every dude and hombre from the Delaware to the Colorado. There seems to be forces in Washington these days who got no inkling about the principles this nation was founded on. I reckon the government has been overrun with foreign spies and infiltrators. Old Honest Abe would probably roll over in his tomb if he knew what had become of this fine country. After Lincoln was assassinated at the theater, then Andrew Johnson took over. He was impeached, and our good president Ichabod "Hawkmoon" Andyn came in. He has managed to stay in power for over a decade. This is his fifth term.
The war dragged on for several more years, and the Texans finally called it quits. They succeeded from the confederacy and have been a lone republic ever since. That happened a short time after the "big one" hit California and sunk much of the western coastline. After the rifts, many other countries were interested in putting a stop to the war. With so much support, the Union finally crushed the Confederate armies.
Since the war, things have not improved much for the southern states. In some places, it's like they're prisoners in their own land. Brick walls and barbed wire fill up the landscape. Union troops patrol the streets. Most towns have a curfew enforced from dusk till dawn. The gallows in town rarely sits empty. Federal secret police are known only as Uncle Sams (for the feds have never officially admitted to such an organization) and like bugs, are crawling everywhere. Children have been known to report their parents and neighbors turn in one another. It's a sad state in this once "land of the free."
A man can still find some liberty though, in the western territories. Sure there are spies still, and some districts are tough on gun owners, but after the prolonged war, this country was ruined economically. Eying the vast territories and resources available in the west (and ignoring the fact that most of these lands were already occupied by tribes of the First Ones), the feds have opened up the west to any entrepreneurial souls hoping to score big. Since the war, it's been a mad contest for pillaging mother nature's treasures.
In the west, there is danger beyond wild men, savage beasts, and an unforgiving climate. Since the rifts, things have gotten downright weird. Strange folk walk abroad these days. We call them the Outlanders. The feds have stayed pretty hush-hush about the whole affair, but I've got ears for strange news and some say the outlanders aren't even from this planet.
I ain't as naive as some folks, and it's tough to keep your head in the sand in a place like Pestilence, Arizona. Let me tell you, not all them outlander folks is trouble-makers and ruffians. We've got one here who's been sort of adopted by the community. Even made the fella town marshal. Despite his serpentine condition, a finer lawman you couldn't hope to find anywhere else.
Well, now I'm parched and need a drink. Y'all come back for a drink or a tale anytime. I'm just the local barkeep, in the twilight of his years, looking forward to retirement, and doing my best to stay sane."
-Buford McGillicutty, Bartender of the Sun Dog Saloon, Pestilence, Arizona Territory
Last edited by Robyo on Sun Nov 18, 2012 8:26 am; edited 1 time in total