Winds o' Change - Yet Another ISOT Map Game

Created
Status
Ongoing
Watchers
28
Recent readers
40

ISOT Map Games are fun when you know what you're doing. They are especially fun when there are ones with different ideas on how they're run, and while one is running it's never too much to have one with a different story and start, is it?

Welcome to Winds o' Change. Claim a turn, sit down, and enjoy the ride. We'll have a lot of fun.
Customary opening post, introduction, and rules

CubicAppalac

Why hello there, sit by the fire and join me.
Location
United States, Appalachia
Pronouns
He/Him
Hello SV, how are y'all doing today? Good? Great!

My name is CubicAppalac, as you no doubt see, and I'm coming over here from AH.com to join y'all on this forum to start an ISOT map game. For those of you who are aware, I feel no need to explain what an ISOT Map Game is, but for those who aren't it's a needed must. So, taking from a fellow user on this very forum;

For those of you who are new to map gaming, this is a unique style of collaborative writing in which every player takes turns telling the story of the world, adding new elements and furthering ongoing events and developments. There are many kinds of map games, but this format is the ISOT game, based around the instant translocation of a nation or entity to a new, empty world. There are also many different kinds of ISOT games, but in this version, each player gets to make new ISOTs on their turn. - StarMaker764, SV ISOT III: Third Times' the Charm

So, with that, I'm sure you can get a gist of what's going on. To be fair, I've run several of these games on AH (many of which didn't really… go exactly how I thought they would, but that's ISOT Map Games for ya), so I have a lot of experience when it comes to this.

So, without further ado, welcome to Winds o' Change.

Anywho, onto the rules:
  1. Claims
    1. Claim before writing your turn.
    2. Wait for your turn to get to you.
    3. If you forfeit your turn or take too long on your turn - at a minimum of 15 days if you confirm that you are aware of your turn, 48 hours if you don't - then your turn will be moved to the person below you on the claims list.
    4. Do not reserve areas or nations for yourself, this is unfair to a lot of players.
    5. No bumping yourself down in turns, it's unfair to new players.
  2. Turns
    1. Turns are one year in length.
    2. Be plausible for events in the game. ISOTs are inherently implausible, but after they are brought in you should treat them realistically.
    3. Do not wank or screw any one nation.
    4. This game will not be a Utopia or a Dystopia.
    5. Pay attention to the world at large. Don't add too many nations that you will not work with, and please use the events of prior turns to build your own.
  3. ISOTs
    1. Each turn gives you a maximum of 2 ISOTs to work with, with the obvious minimum being one.
    2. ISOTs aren't capped regarding size when it comes to things from before the Renaissance. Post-Renaissance they're capped to Russia west of the Urals. From 1700-1900 ISOTs are capped to around the original states of the US north of the Mason-Dixon line plus the modern state of Ohio (changed 11/15/24). From 1901-1960 ISOTs are capped to the size of Metropolitan France. From 1961-2000 ISOTs are capped to the size of Rhode Island. And from 2000-onwards ISOTs are capped to simple cities, objects, and people.
    3. For the US, you are capped to using 6 states and territories with each US ISOT, no more and no less.
      1. The 'and territories' there doesn't mean 6 US states and 6 territories, it means 6 US states, 6 US territories, or a combination that totals 6.
      2. This really only applies to the US before 1900. After that date the size of ISOTs makes it only really possible to bring in one state at a time, with Rhode Island being the most modern extent.
    4. ISOTs disallowed in this game are; Overtly OP nations, people, groups, or items - such as the Imperium, Draka, Bill Cypher, and whatever magical McGuffin you can think of along with characters that are too strong, can modify the fabric of the universe to their desires, or have too insane a gimmick, such as those hand people in the 1960s? game a while back are disallowed. Also, characters that have the Toon Force ability are disallowed. Along with this, ISOTs from Explicitly NSFW sources are disallowed.
    5. ISOTs allowed in this game are; Stuff from OTL before 2016, stuff from already-existing fiction or real life, ISOTs from AH.com, SV, or SB timelines, general alternate history works, or from alternate history maps.
    6. It is recommended that players think hard about their ISOTs before completely deciding on them, and be ready to change what they are at a minute's notice in the case that other players placed ISOTs in the location.
    7. Players can not ISOT over already-existing nations with nations of their own.
    8. If a player posts a sidestory and I deem it good enough (whether it be canon or non-canon) that player will have one extra entity/city/group ISOT to use in their turn, at a maximum of +1 so players don't overwhelm the game.
    9. Pay attention to geography and topography when ISOTing or expanding a nation.
    10. If you are unsure if an ISOT fits within the rules, please contact me, the GM, to see if they are allowed.
      1. While doing so, please describe the ISOT in detail or provide a link that I can peruse to get as much information as I can.
    11. I reserve the right to disallow a person from using an ISOT, and they must either use the ISOTs they have or replace that one with a new ISOT.
  4. Players and player behavior
    1. Players should listen to the moderators of the site first, and me second. If a moderator or I tell you to stop doing something, you should.
    2. All players should be expected to act like rational people, that is the base minimum for social interaction anywhere.
    3. Have fun! This is just a game and something you shouldn't take seriously.

And now, the sheets by which you write your nations.

Nation:
Nation Name:
Commonly Known as:
Capital:
Government Type:
Governing Document(s):
Year Founded:
Year ISOTed:
Territory ISOTed:
ISOTed from:
Head of State:
Head of Government:
Technological Level:
Population:
Languages:
Religions:
Special Traits:
Brief History:
Other Notes:

Group:
Group name:
ISOTed from:
Year ISOTed from:
Population:
Technology level:
Leader:
Special Traits:
Brief Description:
Other Notes:

Entity:
Entity name:
Type of Entity:
ISOTed from:
Year ISOTed from:
Special Traits:
Brief Description:
Other Notes:

City:
City name:
Size of City: (Small [Town-sized or larger], Medium [Small city or medium-sized city], Large [major city ala New York or Paris])
ISOTed from:
Year ISOTed from:
Population:
Technology level:
Leader:
Special Traits:
Brief Description:
Other Notes:

And as is tradition I claim the first turn.
 
Last edited:
Master Claim List
Last edited:
Turn 1 | Year 1: Socialist West Virginia? More likely than you think!

United States of America | الولايات المتحدة الأمريكية | الولايات المتاحدة د ميريكان | אַרצוֹת הַבְּרִית
Commonly Known as: State of Appalachia, Appalachia
Capital: Charleston (State), Washington D.C. (National - Not ISOTed)
Government Type: Federal State under a Constitutional Representative Presidential Republic
Governing Document(s): Constitution of Appalachia (State), United States Constitution (Federal)
Year Founded: 1861 (State split from Virginia), 1863 (Gained Statehood)
Year ISOTed: 1875
Territory ISOTed: Appalachia (OTL West Virginia)
ISOTed from: The Bloody Shirt - AH.com Election Game
Head of State: Governor Till Loris Wesley (State), President Robert Harvey (Federal)
Head of Government: Governor Till Loris Wesley, President Robert Harvey
Technological Level: 1870s-1880s-1890s
Population: 531,583
Languages: English, Arabic, Hebrew
Religions: Protestantism, Islam, Judaism
Special Traits: More accepted Socialism, more culturally liberal, women's suffrage in the 1860s, legalized interracial marriage, Redneck scientists inventing random shit (two different people independently invented two types of mechanical computer in the state), asteroid impact site in Logan, Logan County. Appalachia also recognizes a Federal Amendment that completely abolishes the electoral college and institutes a popular vote, one where if a candidate doesn't get a majority the two with the most votes will go into a second round of voting.
Brief History:
The Appalachia of 1875 is a different beast to the West Virginia of 1868, let alone 1863 5 years prior. 7 years under an extremely liberal, downright Socialist Governor has changed a lot about the state and it's politics.

Starting at the beginning, let's begin with the election of Governor Till Loris Wesley, the current and loved Governor of the state. In 1868, prior to his ascension to the role, he was merely the lieutenant Governor, or more accurately the President of the West Virginian Senate, as the term Lieutenant Governor hadn't originated yet.

In 1868, a day prior to President Johnson's impeachment trial and far before the 1868 Presidential election, a group of assassins attempted to assassinate Johnson and several other major figures in D.C., with Johnson's assassin and the assassins of several other figures being successful. However, the few that weren't successful were either killed by their would-be victims or captured by Federal forces and interrogated to reveal that they were southern Confederate sympathizers, members of the 'Sons of the Confederacy' who were angry at Johnson for being unable to 'guard the white man's proper place'.

As a result of the assassination, Benjamin Wade - President Pro-Tempore of the Senate - became President. Angered by the assassination and the sheer audacity of these southerners, Wade immediately enacted a harsher Reconstruction doctrine, more in line with Radical Reconstruction plans than with those under Johnson - which were as lenient as possible. He also gave more power to the Freedman's Bureau, giving a once-defanged organization new life.

When a letter from the Sons of the Confederacy found its way into several southern newspapers, order practically broke down in the southern states. Racial violence peaked, with combat practically becoming normal between Freedmen militias and anyone who held sympathies with the SOC and other such groups. While fighting in cities was far tamer - with Federal troops being present - fighting in rural areas was quite brutal, with lynchings and counter-lynchings happening left and right almost nightly. Most Freedmen would find themselves hanging, though there were several cases of 'Black and Tan' militias, made up of white and black members, popping up and causing extremely brutal damage.

Mississippi was particularly bad, with the newly-freed blacks being extremely angry at their former masters. Some went about dragging them from their homes and hung them, with some even going a step further and hanging their children and wives too. This only seemed to inflame the Redeemers and make moderate rethink their positions, though not for long as a new unit was formed from locals under the command of Phillip Chevrier, who was a compromise candidate between General Grant and President Wade. His conduct during the crisis saw him taking an equal stance on Freedmen and whites, with the worst of both groups getting hung as he thought they rightly should while those who were more innocent got lighter sentences. He would be able to stem some of the chaos, but among the Freedmen Militia he was especially despised, with said Militias taking their chances to fight against him more often than Redeemers.

This was the situation West Virginia found itself in at the time. While some racial violence was present, there wasn't a large enough black population for such violence to be truly widespread, which seemed to be a godsend to the locals as they seemed to deal with the chaos of the aftermath of Johnson's assassination better than surrounding states.

In the later parts of 1868, the Republican National Convention saw Lt. Governor Wesley travelling to Chicago to be present at the debates. Throughout the entire process, he was able to privately gather support for his preferred candidate - Senator Jeremiah Colbath of Maine. Through backroom chat after backroom chat he was able to build up a support base for Colbath, giving him the nomination for the Republican Party. Wesley was also able to, between the RNC and Election Day, secure himself the nomination for his Gubernatorial bid under the banner of the Republican Party.

Leading up to the election Wesley pushed to appear in several interviews in several local newspapers, giving him a larger publicity to the people of West Virginia - well, at least to the more educated among them. For the more illiterate interior, Till was supported by various speakers and musicians, which drummed up some surprising support among that group. However, his more radical position on various issues led to him being quite despised among the rich, but the poor simply liked him ever more for it - several of his policies were viewed as beneficial to them.

When the results came in, Wesley found himself the new Governor-Elect. However, on February 26, 1869 incumbent Governor Arthur I. Boreman resigned to serve in the U.S. Senate, leaving Wesley - the current President of the Senate - to become Acting Governor until his official ascension to the Governorship. Once he did ascend on March 4, he quickly began working to enact many of his campaign promises.

However, before he could, a scandal broke out regarding the 1868 elections. Somehow, a Maryland newspaperman discovered widespread election fraud and corruption in the prior election, with votes being tossed out, shredded, or voters being outright intimidated out of voting. Nearly being assassinated, this newspaperman published an article revealing said corruption, sparking yet more chaos in an already-chaotic national situation. Through this, Wesley immediately pushed through Legislation to clamp down on corruption in general. He also broke away from the nominal Republican establishment, viewing it as too riddled by corrupt influences as the beginnings of corporate interest was already infecting the Grand Old Party. Alongside the establishment of his Mountain Party, other Republicans broke away to form their own party, known as the Patriot Party, while more moderate members of the Republicans broke off in Maryland to form the Justice Party. Meanwhile, a whole section of the more Nativist section of the Republicans broke off to form the Center Party.

In West Virginia, these elements of political dishevelment only showed how far the Republicans had fallen, with them only sharing a small percentage of seats in the House of Delegates, Wesley's Mountain Party still caucused with the national GOP and worked with the state-level party. However, all Legislative sessions from then on out were quite awkward. Anyway, Wesley pushed two major portions of his election promise; voting reform and education reform.

For voting reform, Wesley completely took out the original system and replaced it with what he called a 'Ranked-Choice Voting' system. Secondly, he expanded voting rights to every person, irregardless of their race, color, religious beliefs, or sex. He also changed the minimum age for men to vote to be 18 and gave women aged 32 years or older the right to vote. He also barred the use of any sort of test to deny people the right to vote, smashing one of the favored tools of the Redeemer crowd. He also made Federal Senate elections public, established the cases of Coalition Governments, banned corporate donations to politicians, award electoral college votes proportionally to the population's popular vote, establish recall elections on all levels, require candidates to release their tax-returns, and required employers to allow employees time off to work on election day to vote.

Education reform is next, and Wesley didn't skimp out on it either. He took the non-standard, small schools found across his state and put them all under an official Public Schooling System. This system required all counties to have at least one school of all levels (Preparatory, Elementary, Intermediate, and Advanced - or Pre-K and Kindergarten combined, Elementary, Middle, and High respectively), gave free access to all citizens and residents of West Virginia, gave access to free lunches, established a state-level and several county-level Boards of Education alongside so-called 'Student Representative Bodies', banned any material favoring the Confederacy or slavery from being taught in those schools, required the teaching of at least one other language starting at the Elementary level of education, and even established a whole new State-owned University.

Said university, eventually known as the University of Appalachia, was built in Pipestem close to the future town of Hinton - founded by a man named Hinton a few years after the university's establishment. It was given the purview to teach the sciences, mathematics, language, law, arts, and more while also being required to accept anyone in the state, regardless of their sex, race, color, religious beliefs, or more.

Construction on the new schools began immediately after these new bills and amendments were passed, and people began looking to the Midterms with an extreme interest in the outcomes. Some schools were completed quickly, mostly those in the more urbanized areas, while others were taking some time. The University of Appalachia wouldn't open until 1870, when the first parts of the campus were completed and it was deemed ready to accept students.

Going into 1870, West Virginia's political scene was excited. The new voting system showed a lot of promise, and voters were pushing for a chance to try it out. Politicians ran around trying to figure out the new system while members of each of the parties jockied to excite their bases and appeal to other bases as much as possible to gain their second choice. There was even a small controversy regarding the daughter of a former Representative being chosen by the Mountaineers to replace him, though many assumed that she would lose to either the Republican, Patriot, or Democratic candidates. Except, once voting finished and ballots were counted Isabella Stephens was now officially a Representative of West Virginia in the House of Representatives and the first woman gaining such a position. This caused a large amount of uproar among more conservative elements while those among the women's suffrage movement and within the Mountain Party itself celebrated the landmark achievement of such a minor state. Within the district she was elected to there was even a standoff between a local militia and members of the Sons of Liberty, a militia founded by the Maryland Newspaperman, which never grew violent but the SOL members were told to leave the area.

Going into 1871, West Virginia was looking like it was on the up and up. Wesley embarked on a program of pushing immigration into the state, and while most West Virginians were initially hostile to the idea, he was able to get them to accept at least letting in Moroccan immigrants - using arguments pointing out that they were some of America's oldest and long-lasting allies. However, this caused a rift between him and the Republican establishment, so after a long debate and a 3/5ths vote in favor, he and his Mountain Party was barred from participating in the 1872 Republican National Convention. Meanwhile, Philip Chevrier, founder and presumed candidate in 1872 of the Patriot Party, was in the state to drum up support for his party to try and gather at least one of the state's 6 electoral votes. With Wesley and the Mountaineers adrift, Chevrier jumped at the chance to get the support of a highly popular Governor, so he met with Wesley to hash out a deal with him. They eventually agreed that the Mountain Party would caucus with the Patriots, with local Patriots joining under the Mountain Party's banner. This gave Wesley a supermajority in the Legislature and allowed him to pass a law allowing for interracial marriages - something that was personal to him. Meanwhile, a local state senator was able to take sodomy laws off the books, arguing that they weren't Constitutional nor enforceable and that anything regarding sodomy was between a person and god.

Yet, not all things can continue going smoothly as on November 9th, 1871 the stock market crashed as stock traders tried to sell all their stocks in Colt Manufacturing due to them laying off over 2,000 employees the night before. This caused a ripple effect in the economy as the nation as people from all corners were laid off, with various industries being heavily affected - all except the Construction industry as that was seemingly reliant on Appalachian Rail - a company formed by President Harvey after winning a snap special election after the death of President Colbath from stress - and the active construction of schools in West Virginia and Massachusetts.

As labor strikes sparked across the nation, West Virginia wasn't immune whatsoever. Railroad workers went on strike and completely ceased railroad movement. Eventually, they were joined by workers from Ohio and Virginia - which was still under Military Governance. Local interests, fearing Wesley was too lenient towards the workers, called on President Harvey to do something about the striking workers. Wesley and other notable figures called on Harvey to protect the workers and come to an agreement with them. Harvey, however, sent the army to deal with the workers - whether to make sure they don't become violent or to arrest them should they become violent. When the Federal Troops arrived to the location of the strike, they found Governor Wesley himself escorted by State Guardsmen negotiating with the strikers, with Pinkertons only just arriving on the scene themselves. The parties entered into a standoff, with Wesley standing in between the strikers, Pinkertons, and Soldiers. Wesley ordered the Guardsmen to protect the workers, knowing the reputation of the Pinkertons, while workers moved from the line. The Federal Officer, emboldened by the workers moving away and believing them to be retreating, started to get his men to posture more aggressively However, this wouldn't scare away the workers as several of them returned with weapons, some even wearing old Union Army uniforms from the Civil War. Throughout the event Wesley pleaded with the soldiers to stand down, though a worker chant behind him of 'Come and get it, Pinkie' wasn't exactly helping his case. Eventually, he started giving a fiery speech, which made worker and soldier alike start lowering their weapons just to listen to the man impassionately speak. While giving said speech, a Pinkerton watching Wesley glanced a shine of metal on his person, and spooked he fired on the Governor. Immediate chaos broke out as workers and Guardsmen watching the Pinkertons for any funny business fired in retaliation as the Governor went down, bullet hitting into his shoulder. Two workers attempted to drag him out of the ensuing fight, but were cut down by the bullets fired off by several Pinkertons into the fray. The Army was caught in the middle of the impromptu war between the Pinkertons and the Workers (joined by several State Guardsmen), but they were eventually able to disarm both sides and get the Governor medical attention - saving his life and leaving him with numbed feeling in his left arm. When the casualties were counted 4 US Army soldiers, 30 Pinkertons, and 80 workers lay dead, with a further 14 soldiers and hundred workers wounded. An unknown number of Pinkertons fled the scene, though by the end both soldiers and workers alike had a bad view of the Pinkertons on principle.

In the aftermath of the incident, the West Virginia Legislature went into an emergency session to vote on whether or not to ban the Pinkerton Detective Agency. In a massive landslide - with only one desenter who voted against on Libertarian grounds - the Agency was outlawed in the state of West Virginia. Eventually, Congress itself followed the state's lead, itself banning the Agency soon after. When the doctor tending to Wesley announced that the only metal found on his person was the bullet, his pen, and a belt buckle, it became clear that the Pinkertons had fired upon an unarmed man who was, for all intents and purposes, doing their job for them. While the nation was divided on who was truly to blame - at least until the information regarding Wesley came to light and opinion trended towards blaming the Pinkertons - the labor movement saw a massive wave of support, with workers singing songs paying homage to the events in Wheeling and waving the likenesses of late President Colbath and Governor Wesley.

As West Virginia went into the 1872 elections, it was seeing a change in general opinion. After the Battle of Wheeling, as it was becoming known, support for labor movements across almost all levels of the state heightened to extreme levels. Wesley's Progressivism also saw an increase in popularity, with various figures rising in his shadow. West Virginia, now known as Appalachia after a quick Legislative session to debate on changing the state's name and adopting an official flag, was quite simply a wildcard in the coming elections. Socialists were able to speak more freely of their ideas, as they had more room for acceptance here than anywhere else, while former Republicans, now Patriots, joined their unusual allies in drumming up support for Chevrier. Wesley, like in his prior election, ran on a platform that many were familiar with - outright Socialism with influences from someone he met out west on a quick trip to California, Henry George. He told the people he would continue running the state as he had, keeping the rights of the working class in mind, keeping the people in mind, and making sure that the state was prosperous into the future. This rhetoric worked and the Governor won a second term to the Governorship. Even State Senator Melvin Ott won another term, though his attempts to drum up support for Mountain Party candidates fell on flat ears to an already-ecstatic population.

In the Presidential election, however, things were far more complex. Of the 6 electoral votes, Appalachia gave 2 President Harvey, Philipp Chevrier, and Justice Party candidate Henry Furrer. While this would've been interesting on its own, the election itself is interesting for the fact that no one won outright, with Republican candidate Adalbert Volkner getting the most votes, but not a majority. This caused the election to go into something that hadn't happened since 1824; a contingent election. It was immediately obvious that with the House the way it was, no candidate was going to get a majority of the states at all, so Furrer supported Chevrier while the Democrats and what remained of the Republicans formed a coalition that eventually birthed the National Union Party, choosing President Harvey as their candidate and requiring that the next administration be a mix of Republicans and Democrats.

This gave Harvey enough votes in the House to win the Contingent election, starting off a second term with yet another controversy.

In West Virginia, the Presidential election wasn't of much consequence as on January 18, 1873 when a light was seen streaking across the sky. What at first seemed to be a comet was eventually revealed to be an asteroid, as the impact even miles away sent the men who first saw the 'comet' flying like ragdolls. Getting up, they traveled to where the blast came from, discovering the damage it caused to the former town of Logan. Eventually, the state authorities arrived as the blast could be heard all the way in the state capital of Charleston. President Harvey himself also called surveyors to the area, alongside soldiers from the army and navy to discover if it was at all man made. Wesley called for the area to be blocked off and searched for any survivors, establishing the Appalachian Department of Disaster Relief - supported in part by Senator Ott - to help.

While dealing with a disaster unlike any many in America had seen, Wesley also went about passing the economic reforms he promised. Taking ideas from Henry George, who he had a very productful discussion with when he met him, even imploring the man to move to West Virginia to work under him, Wesley implemented some very early forms of a Land Value Tax system. While this broke with the common ideas of many of his contemporaries, Wesley believed a singular LVT would be far more popular and beneficial to the state's budget than an income tax. Furthermore, Wesley also created several new State Agencies, particularly the Appalachian Environmental Protections Agency, Appalachian Environmental Regulations Agency, and the Appalachian City Planning Committee. He also established laws barring child labor, forced companies to pay actual currency instead of company scrips, and created Corporation and Monopoly taxes to incentivize more home-grown companies, alongside establishing a minimum wage of $1/hour - which in today's currency is $26.28, which both goes to show the affects inflation has had on America since 1873 and the generous pro-worker policies of Wesley - tied to the rate of inflation. However, he was unable to get companies to forgive and pay off company debt workers held to them, as companies pushed back against him and took it to the Supreme Court, which the Court ruled to be unconstitutional.

Going into the 1874 elections, Appalachia had change a lot in 6 years. From a backwater with illiteracy everywhere and companies running rampant to having a growing intellectual class and one of the most class-conscious populations in the Union - all under the purview of Governor Wesley, his Mountain Party, and the politicians he inspired with his views. In these elections the Mountain Party kept its majority in the State House and Senate, kept its control over Appalachia's 4 congressional districts, and even took one of the two Republican/National Union seats in the Senate. Meanwhile, America was getting into war against France over colonial possessions in Africa, and increasingly large numbers of Appalachians began signing up and being shipped to the combat zones.

It's now January 1, 1875. Appalachia is one year away from Wesley's inevitable stepping down as Governor and just one final year under his particular governing style. Many expect things will continue as they have, but little do they know how wrong they utterly are. Times are changing, and it's up to them how they change with them.
Other Notes: Summers County, established in 1870, has a significant Moroccan immigrant population of both Jewish and Muslim faith. A movement to ban the bible in all schools within the school district was successful, much to the dismay of some. Appalachia isn't completely accepting of anyone, gay rights aren't much of a thing - even if sodomy is technically legally accepted but still culturally unaccepted - only Moroccans have any chance of being accepted with them being considered legally white by Appalachian courts alongside other people of Arabic or North African descent. The population is still predominantly European-White, but there is a good percentage of African-Americans and aforementioned 'Arabic-White' people living in the state as of the moment of the ISOT. Ah, and there's also the fact that Wesley and Karl Marx himself don't... see eye to eye.


United States of America
Commonly Known as: District of Columbia
Capital: Capitol Hill
Government Type: Federal District undera Constitutional Representative Presidential Republic
Governing Document(s): Constitution of the United States
Year Founded: 1790 (Federal District Established)
Year ISOTed: June 20, 1863
Territory ISOTed: District of Columbia
ISOTed from: OTL
Head of State: President Abraham Lincoln
Head of Government: Congress of the United States, President Abraham Lincoln
Technological Level: 1863
Population: 200,000~100,000
Languages: English
Religions: Protestantism
Special Traits: Nothing much, OTL D.C.
Brief History:
Washington D.C. was founded in 1790 by President George Washington to be the capital of the newly-formed United States. The city was built on land ceded by Maryland and Virginia along the Potomac River and designed by Pierre Charles L'Enfant.

The city was officially established in 1800, when the Federal Government moved from Philadelphia to it. Its early history is marked by growth and development, alongside several fires and the War of 1812. During said war, the city was captured and burned by British forces in 1814. After being rebuilt later on, the city continued to grow over successive Presidential terms through the early 19th Century. It also became a major hub of the Abolitionist movement, with known abolitionist Frederick Douglass moving to the capital.

When the Civil War broke out, the city faced constant danger. Several times Confederate forces tried to capture the city, but the Union Army was successful in defending the city. Over the war several hundred thousand people began moving to it, giving the city a peak population of around 200,000. On June 20, Abraham Lincoln is about to issue a proclamation admitting the state of West Virginia into the Union.
Other Notes: As mentioned above, the current ISOT date is June 20, 1863. If there are any particular members of congress, people of note, or other major people in D.C. on this date they will be present during the ISOT as this is OTL's D.C.


President Abraham Lincoln, 1861-???

Winds o' Change

First Year​

Worldwide:

Before we begin, here is some music for your listening pleasure.

"Is this a new Eden? A new Promised Land? We don't know, but God surely will." - Unknown Pastor, Clay County, Appalachia

In the forests of northern Virginia, the land was silent - all except for the rustling of leaves and the calls of animals. Along the Potomac, several deer were drinking from the river - they had just made a long trip and were quite thirsty.

As the last deer, a foal, finished its drink and tumbled towards its mother, a flash of light and rumble of the ground shook the entire group. Spooked, they ran south of the river, never to be seen again.

Across where the deer were just drinking, a city unlike any this world had seen before stood. Further down the river another set of similar yet still different cities, nay, an entire territory different to what this world had seen before appeared. While miles away from each other at their closest extents, their appearance still had an affect on the river, which was now split between its old, more natural meandering to a new, artificially kept meandering. Some brief flooding of surrounding lands was experienced, with a few forests being completely underwater for a few hours, but after a long few days the changed waterflow finally evened out.

But that isn't quite that important. First, let's take a look at the reactions of the two groups, shall we?

North America:



"It's not every day when you meet a dead man. Hello Mister President." - Governor Till L. Wesley

Washington D.C. was bursting with activity. Just moments before it was the middle of the day in summer, now it was the middle of night in what felt like winter. Pedestrians, shocked at the sudden shift in time and light, quickly started on their way home - if they could. Some from surrounding areas outside the holds of the Federal District found the routes to their homes replaced by nothing but woodlands and forests while those from further out realized that they wouldn't be able to get home any time soon.

President Lincoln, just finishing up the Proclamation granting West Virginia statehood into the US, reacted as one would when the day sky turned to night and the warm sun gave way to a winter night's chill; he immediately panicked internally while giving off an air of calm. Well, that's the reaction a President would give, as he was immediately ushered to the Executive Mansion. Later, curfew would be put into effect by order of President Lincoln and whatever Congressmen were present at the time of the sudden transplantation in a quick session of Congress. Soldiers - or whatever soldiers were present at the time to defend the Federal District - were sent to the streets to keep order alongside the Metropolitan Police.

It immediately seemed apparent that D.C. was now cut off from all outside contact. The surrounding states of Maryland and Virginia, or at least what they could see of the states, were completely replaced by forest. Meanwhile, upstream of the Potomac areas flooded, which caused issues for everyone downstream in D.C. For a week curfew and rationing was in heavy effect, with farms quickly being built further out in Maryland and even across on the Virginia side - with members of Congress officially recognizing Virginia's formerly ceded lands as now being part of D.C. proper and establishing the Maryland Territory.

This all changed when a small fishing vessel sailed itself down the Potomac from upstream, and on said vessel was a group of people, people from what appeared to be a future version of the very state Lincoln had just admitted into the Union.

Turning back time, let's go back to Appalachia. The New Year was coming up, and people across the state celebrated in whatever ways they could. Some drank, others partied (mostly students of the universities in the state), while many others just went about the day like any other.

That is until the sudden flash of light across the night sky once the clock struck 12. Governor Wesley immediately reacted to the sudden event, fearing a repeat of the Logan Impact. The State Guard was mobilized to search the state and keep peace while plans were made to try and contact Washington over telegram lines. Issue was, the lines were down and the soldiers on the borders of the state noted that the surrounding states were replaced by forest. All signs of human habitation from railroads, roads, and towns were just gone in a blink of an eye.

Wesley began enacting emergency policies taking stock of what resources were available to the state, from food stocks to resources required to keep industry going. While food production and coal production were roughly unaffected, alongside the lumber industry, the transport industry and steel industries were completely unusable as the state had no easy access to iron mines and no states to transport their goods to.

At least for so long.

A week after the transplantation a small fishing vessel sailed down the Potomac, noting the way the river seemed to have been heavily affected by their sudden appearance from its seeming natural flow. Getting to around where D.C. was, expecting nothing, the sailors on the boat were surprised to find Washington D.C.

Contact was quickly established where the sailors detailed what they knew, which surprised local government officials in D.C. Eventually, after discussions were nearing completion and the sailors had to return upstream, a detachment of Federal representatives were dispatched alongside the ship to get into contact with Appalachia's state government.

Once the ship returned, contact was quickly made between the representatives and the state government in Charleston, which allowed Appalachia a small sense of ease to know that at least one other group of people were here alongside them. Eventually, engineers from Appalachia and D.C. started traveling along the Potomac to finally reconnect the two territories and get communications online. Furthermore, citizens from both Appalachia and Washington started moving along the Potomac to set up towns and villages in the newly-established Virginia and Maryland Territories.

As weeks turned to months, Appalachia's Governor finally arrived at D.C. to meet with President Lincoln, famously commenting on his death in what would have been his future. When questioned, Wesley gave a simple explanation before discussions between the Governor and President began. Said discussions mostly entailed that Appalachia, as the future version of West Virginia, was still recognized as a state and would thus be allowed its allotted Representatives and Senators - those being the Representatives it was given in the future and not from the past. Among other details, like just assuming all future amendments are now officially law since as the sole state Appalachia recognized their legality, the United States - or United State - was able to continue into this new world.

Leading on from the initial months, infrastructure developments ramped up as Appalachia and D.C. went about connecting rail lines between each other. Farms were built and land was sold while villages popped up - a large amount being black-majority. However, some issues popped up between Appalachian and Columbian settlers as conflicting opinions led to small amounts of nonlethal conflict between the two groups. While dealt with diplomatically, the fact that the state of Appalachia was, in comparison to D.C. itself, somehow more liberal ruffled a few feathers anyway.

But beyond that, the general public were told that elections would go on as usual, with the upcoming 1864/1876 election fast approaching, Lincoln was given a unique suggestion; run Governor Wesley as his VP. Wesley, in Lincoln's mind, was a more acceptable candidate than Johnson - who, thanks to information from the future, would've caused a lot of issues for the country when it came to the south. While he could keep Hamlin, replacing him with Wesley would give both D.C. and Appalachia a united front. And with the new election system it was only inevitable that Lincoln would win, both because of being President during the once-ongoing Civil War and having a popular Governor of the only state in the Union at the moment as his VP, even if he was of an ideology that was little-known before the 1870s, it seemed.

But that was the future, and time was now. So, for the time being the US built up, colonizing along the Potomac to better connect the capital to the one state while finding needed resources and farmland.


View: https://imgur.com/PQmygAG
Year 1, January 1st.


View: https://imgur.com/RCn9Fa1
Year 1, December 31st.


Notes: Alright, here's the turn as I have it. If there's anything I missed, any grammatical mistakes, or other miscellaneous things tell me, I'm not that infallible. I am aware of the Vietnam artifact on the map, that was a mistake. I gave an updated end-of-year map to Fisken so they have a more up-to-date map.
 
Last edited:
Leaders of the Nations of the World
And here's a little post where we can keep track of the leaders of every nation of the world. Since the US is the only nation at the moment, it'll be the only one tracked. Well, at least until other nations are brought in, that is.


Leaders of the nations of the world:​


Presidents of the United States of America:
1. 1861-????: Abraham Lincoln (Republican)/Hannibal Hamlin (Republican)(1861-03)/Till L. Wesley (Mountain/Patriot)(03-????)
Def. John C. Breckenridge (Southern Democratic), John Bell (Constitutional Union) & Stephen A. Douglas (Democrat), 1860
Def. N/A, 1864/02

2.


Leaders of the Communal Republic of France:
1. 19??-????: Leo Lagrange
2.

Leaders of the Palestinian Federation:
1. 1945-????: Palestinian Ruling Council
2.
 
Last edited:
Turn 2 | Year 2: More Socialists arrive
Turn 2: The Reds of France and Palestine

Nation Name: Palestinian Federation
Commonly Known as: Palestine
Capital: Jerusalem
Government Type: Federal multinational socialist council republic
Governing Document(s): Constitution of the Palestinian Federation
Year Founded: 1944
Year ISOTed: 1951
Territory ISOTed: all of it
ISOTed from: Reds! A Revolutionary Timeline
Head of State: Hanna Asfour
Head of Government: Hanna Asfour
Technological Level: OTL 1940s
Population: 2.2 M
Languages: Arabic, Hebrew, Yiddish, Ladino, English, various others
Religions: Islam, Judaism, Christianity, Druzeism
Special Traits: -
Brief History: Palestine - Reds! A Revolutionary Timeline Wiki
Other Notes: -




Nation Name: Communal Republic of France
Commonly Known as: France
Capital: Paris
Government Type: socialist republic
Governing Document(s): Constitution of the Communal Republic of France
Year Founded: Federation of French Communes: 1921, French Communal Republic: 1936
Year ISOTed: 1950
Territory ISOTed: all of it
ISOTed from: Krasnacht
Head of State: Léo Lagrange
Head of Government: Léo Lagrange
Technological Level: OTL 1940s
Population: 41M
Languages: French
Religions: Christianity, Atheism, Islam, Judaism
Special Traits: -
Brief History: France
Other Notes: -




Worldwide

As a new year arrives, flashes of light blind the skies of Europe and the Levant. And the populace of 2 nations would wake up to find that their neighboring nation-states are gone, replaced by wilderness.

The Middle East

"Wait, what do you mean the Egyptians and Arabs are gone? Are you sure this is not some sort of trick by the capitalists?" -PPAF general being informed of the current situation.

Palestine immediately experiences mass public hysteria, with Jerusalem declaring a state of emergency and putting rationing into effect. Suicide rates increase during this time, especially among those whose loved ones were abroad during the shift, as it has been named, as well as foreign national who were unfortunate enough to be stuck there when it happened.

But whether people like it or not, life must move on. It was decided that any foreign national in Palestine at the time of the shift will be granted citizenship and their skills be put to use to keep things running. Settlements, mines, and oil wells are established in the now vacant Sinai peninsula, as Palestine's industries still need those precious resources to keep running. Many of the people who volunteered to settle the Sinai are former citizens of the now gone AFS states which worry the government quite a bit but for now, things are stable.

Palestine's fishing industry experiences a massive boom thanks to the large amounts of fish available to catch which many attribute to the lack of human interference. Fishing boats begin to sail across the Mediterranean but with most preferring to hug either the South European or North African coasts for a variety of different catches.

From these brave fishermen would come rumors of radio broadcasts spoken in French, talking about a Communal Republic of France. A small fleet is put together to investigate these rumors and as they depart, people could only hope that it is true that they aren't alone in this brave new world.

Europe

The Communal Republic of France would find itself surrounded only by wilderness. Roads and rail lines connecting them to other fellow socialist nations were cut off at the border. Paris immediately enacts emergency measures to keep things in order, but this doesn't stop people from doing less than intelligent activities. Chaos still spreads in parts of France although it is limited thanks to emergency measures put in place by Paris. And just like in Palestine, suicide rates increase in the aftermath of the displacement, as the French had come to calling it. Mostly among foreign nationals and those whose loved ones were abroad during the displacement.

Scouting units sent into the European wilderness would report of great mammalian beasts thought to be extinct, which scientists would attribute to the lack of humans which meant that they weren't hunted into extinction. Paris isn't interested in expanding France's borders as managing France itself in such a crisis was already a headache.

France would receive a surprise, in the shape of a Palestinian fleet arriving. They were warmly received with a party being thrown to welcome their guests from the Levant. The Palestinian delegates spoke of a world where the Entente emerged victorious in the Great War causing the German Empire to collapse into a bourgeoisie Republic with Lenin's failed revolution here succeeding, Russia turns into a bulwark of the international proletariat which would later be joined by America. They also tell of a Second Great War which was far more devastating than the one the French experienced, with a Germany seeking revenge for it's defeat in the Great War.

Delegates from both nations would immediately open relations between their respective nations, enthusiastically so. Both being Socialist states helped in creating a friendly relationship between the 2 nations. Ships begin to sail between French and Palestinian ports and trade, while still small reemerges.

North America

This year would prove to be a slow one for the Americans. As many had predicted, the Lincoln-Wesley ticket would come out victorious in the election thanks to Wesley's popularity in Appalachia and Lincoln's appeal to, well, anyone who disliked slavery, really, which in this case was everyone in Appalachia and in DC. And also the fact that there are very few politicians who would oppose them thanks to the ISOT.

Astronomers have noticed 2 really far away giant pillars of light that appeared for a few minutes which came in the direction of Europe and the Middle East although not much is done with this information. There are suggestions that those pillars of light could be bringing in new people and nations, just like how they ended up here. But suggestions for an expedition fleet to find out more about it are rejected as it is very risky and there is a possibility that it might just be nothing.

Year 2, January 1st.


Year 2, December 31st.
 
Last edited:
Turn 3 | Year 3: A Nearly Connected World

Fork-tailed Babbling Jays and the Birds of Serina

Commonly known as: Forktails, Canaries/Canary Thrushes, Womblers, Axbills, Aardgeese, Stiltskins, Qualts, Shriekers, Doodlebirds, Lanks, Archangels
Type of Entity: Various Canary Descendants
ISOTed from: Serina: A Natural History of the World of Birds (Rainshadow Desert)
ISOTed to: The Azores, Cabo Verde, Madeira, Central Western Coast of Africa,
South Western Coast of Africa, Northern Morocco/Southern Iberia (Other Animals only)
Abilities: Winged flight, neolithic tool crafting, speech/noise mimicry
Population: Roughly 428,000 Forktails, Roughly 10,000-100,000 Other Animals each depending on species
Description: The fork-tailed babbling jay (Loquax Philosophus, meaning "Talkative Thinker") is a small magpie-like perching bird, with a handsome orange, black and white plumage and a long, deeply forked tail. Despite their appearance, they are not only incredibly intelligent, but self-aware the same ways Humans are.

These birds can solve a variety of problems, which has made survival much easier. They use flint in particular, creating various tools from throwing stones, spears, or even cooking fires (Though they cannot create fire on their own). While not necessarily religious in the same way mankind is, they are superstitious, using abstract art or various forms of sung music to silently communicate their experiences of the natural world.
Forktails have an eclectic mix of languages and dialects. Evolved Bird calls and songs, with a vocabulary of thousands of distinct words, the individual components of which are usually spoken too quickly to be understood by the human ear (Although they can mimic the sounds of other animals, this will come in handy ;)).

Despite this intelligence, their native Serina was not particularly kind to them. The Rainshadow Desert's resources are as rare as can be, with occasional interruptions from weather or the changing of seasons. Competition from various species, most notable the Blugebird have made issues. While not as intelligent, Blugebird are large and violent animals who beat prey to death with clubs, forcing Forktails to feed off their scarps.
To survive, the small but fierce Forktails have adapted a complex social system similar to wolf packs. No man, or in this case bird, is an island. Main social units are made of families, the highest valued in Forktail Society. As such, clans and tribes made up of multiple individuals from different bloodlines are called "Superfamiles" (Though the former two terms are still accurate)

The Empire of all Celts

Commonly Known as: Cymru, Celtic Empire
Capital: Dinas Ymerodraeth
Government Type: Federalized Parliamentary Constitutional Monarchy
Year Founded: 274 AD/236 CCY
Year ISOTed: 1601 AD/1091 CY
Territory ISOTed: Northern British Isles, Province of Dumnonia, North American territories (Ynys Bwidca, Manhata, Penrhyn Llewellyn)
ISOTed from: Celtiaid Am Byth
Head(s) of State: Empress Bwdica III
Head(s) of Government: Senedd Councils (Chancellor Lonán Asgaill of Eiru, Chancellor Talfryn Ap Rhys of Prydain)
Technological Level: OTL 1601
Population: Around 5-6 Million
Languages: Brythonic, Alban, Kernic, Gaelic, Riadan, Vannic, Norsk, Anglish
Religions:
(Major) Druidism (Reformed Celtic Paganism)
(Minor) Celtic Christianty, Judaism, Ahmadiyya Islam, Various Types of European Paganism
Special Traits: SCOTLAND FOREVER
Brief History: While Mainland Europe finds itself embroiled in religious schisms between Catholics, Protestants, and Orthodox Christians, the northern seas of the continent contain a very different but influential power. Actively resisting the encroachment of Christianity throughout its lands and succeeding, The Empire of All Celts stands as the bastion of Old Paganism and Democratic Thought in Europe. Despite is isolation, Cymru has established itself as a rising star in the world, craving out a place for itself through sheer force of will.

Emerging from the southern quadrant of the historic Roman Province of Britannia, this empire expanded northward, driven by the union of Emperor Tetricus and Queen Cartimandua II of the Brigantes. This strategic marriage marked the extension of the Empire's dominion to the formidable Hadrian Wall, a defensive fortification that would become emblematic of the Celtic presence in Prydain.
The Celtic Empire expanded through "Submission," a coercive method to absorb neighboring tribes in Britannia. Fierce resistance from the Picts, skilled in guerilla warfare, prolonged the conquest for years until Ninian II surrendered in 350 AD. Accidental expansion, like Elisedd's claim as "King of Eiru" during the War of the Brothers, also fueled growth.
The fall of the Old Empire birthed the Pentarchy in Prydain, with Wessex dominating. Emperor Arthmael I centralized power through compromise, leading to a conflict with the Pentarchy. Arthmael II's war efforts culminated in the Battle of Llongborth, securing southern Prydain for the Celts. The Middle Empire witnessed the rise of the Kingdom of Saxeland and the "Anglish" culture in it's south, leading to a reformed lunar calendar and governance era in 510 AD. The Senedd enforced laws with renewed vigor, revitalizing urban centers while facing resistance from Pictish King Gartnait in the north. Morcant II's leadership expanded control to Hibernia amid Norse incursions. The golden age under Empress Angrona I saw peace and prosperity until the Empire declined post her reign, succumbing to external pressures.
This has lead to the third, current age of the Celtic Empire, and things having been looking up.

At the heart of the reformed Empire's functionality is a governance structure that is uniquely democratic. The Imperial governance is held in place by the Senedd, a grand assembly of elected representatives whose authority surpasses that of the Emperor or Empress. The Empire is divided into 25 provinces, each enjoying a degree of self-governance while remaining accountable to the central government based in Dinas Ymerodraeth. The two branches of the Senedd, Prydanic and Eirish, ensure regional representation: the Chancellors from these branches act as joint heads of government, fostering a collaborative approach to leadership. The legal framework of the Empire, encapsulated in the Imperial Codex, delineates the rights of citizens and the operational structure of the government. With a hereditary monarch serving as the Head of State, the balance of power has evolved to empower the Senedd, reflecting a historical commitment to regional representation and a response to the threats faced throughout the Empire's history.

Cymru is divided into related, but distinct, culturally Celtic groups such as the Brythons, Goidels, and Picts. However, the Celtic Empire boasts a rich cultural tapestry that draws people from various pagan communities across Europe. With its Druidic faith and profound connection to the ancient traditions, the Empire serves as a refuge for those disillusioned by Christianity, strengthening its identity as a hub of polytheism, from Sápmi, Norse, and even some Neo-Hellenists.
The concept of nationhood within the Empire has evolved into a modern understanding of a meritocratic, multicultural society. The Empire's foundational constitution, remarkable in the European context, states its first edict: "All citizens and subjects of the Empire are free." This proclamation underscores the Empire's commitment to individual rights and societal value, a principle that guides its governance.

Despite its unique strengths, the Empire faces numerous challenges. Forced into isolation, it grapples with hostility from neighboring nations on the European continent, all of which harbor historical grievances and animosities. Consequently, the government has adopted a ruthlessly pragmatic stance, aiming to safeguard its existence while deliberately disrupting its adversaries. Through espionage, support for rebels, and strategic maneuvers, the Empire seeks to divert Europe's attention, ensuring that threats remain external. In this context, the Empire has successfully carved out a position in international trade, forging connections and alliances beyond the confines of Europe. This strategic outreach has not only bolstered its economy but has also allowed it to disseminate its anti-European sentiments, creating a network of support that transcends geographical boundaries.

However, amidst the pressures of war, King Francis V of France and Empress Bwdica III convened in a groundbreaking meeting that culminated in the Franco-Celtic Treaty of Reconciliation in December of 1600 AD. This unexpected development shocked Europe, as France and Cymru had been bitter rivals for as long as anyone could remember.
This prompted leaders like Archduke Matthias II of Austria and Emperor Ivan V of Russia to recalibrate their strategies in light of a more unified Celtic-front. While Bwdica III's peace overture came amid suspicion, the socioeconomic exhaustion of the protracted conflicts led Francis to weigh the merits of peace against the backdrop of a shifting European balance of power.

The resilience of the Empire is epitomized by its stability. With no major internal conflicts for over 400 years, it has entered a golden era of peace and progress. Cymru remains a secure haven for its people, boldly embracing its Pagan roots while striving for a harmonious and prosperous future amidst a tumultuous landscape.
However, that future will soon be set on a new course, and with many stranger neighbors then they...

Atlantic Africa (The Rainshadow)

The winter rain had come, far fiercer then expected in season. Various strange species had to find shelter from the fast winds and bursts of electricity. The people of this land had suffered recently, while the greening of the desert did bring expansion, it also came with the introduction of various plagues that have devastated the outlying populace. This storm seemed be a bad omen. However, a signal moment change this. In a brilliant flash of thunder and lighting, the entire world turned white, then black, then renewed. Unknown to them now, but the people of this land have been saved from a quiet, lonely extinction...

A large collection of islands across the Atlantic and the western coast of Africa, strange creatures find themselves a new home the Fork-Tailed Babbling Jay. Despite their name, these intelligent avian beings are distant descendants of Earth's canaries, now awakened to the world of their ever so distant ancestors. By morning, scouts from several superfamiles reveal sights both comforting and eerie to the shaken birds.
The land itself is different, marked by great islands with abundant water and towering mountains, but with the additional, familiar embrace of the desert, proved ideal for their needs. All animal life seems awfully uncanny, and while some are more familiar, others are much stranger. From mained beasts to large grey behemoths, and a variety that can't yet be described.
These strange sights simply have to be believed, and with no other option but to move forward in the Second Land, the Land of the Rainshadow.
"The Rainshadow" is used to both describe the West African Coast and the collection of islands off it's coast. With no others to lay claim, this land can be named by the birds. The world seems to smile upon them.

Several clan leaders begin issuing decrees to gather as much food as possible and attempt understand their new geography. Gradually developing their new homes and groves, the Forktail clans create communal spaces for social interaction and memorials for their deceased, intertwining a sense of history with their radically warped present to give a since of familiarity. These nascent communities mirror the structured societies of the historical Holy Roman Empire or the Gaelic Confederation, wherein distinct clans retain their autonomy yet share a common cultural heritage. All connected by loosely defined "flight paths", where Forktails will fly in set directions across their lands to spread information, migrate, and other such things.
The hierarchical breeding system that defined early Forktail societies proves unnecessary in this second world, and is ditched entirely save for a few tribes hugging the Sahara dunes. Infact, despite the Great Storm that brought them here, the physical effects of it are more positive then negative, with spread out Forktails having a relativity quiet and semi-prosperous year. However, the philosophical implications are much more troubled and varied.

Most Forktails are in agreement that their creation myth has repeated itself. Anthropomorphizing their weather phenomena, the ocean and the air are culturally fused into a singular concept, or "deity", the Skysea.
The Skysea rains washed away the Old World once in their eyes, it could easily happen again. Nature is inherently chaotic and difficult to predict, especially when white clouds turn dark and grey. The weather itself is viewed as a sort of sentience, but not necessarily a God to be worshiped. Different types of whether are seen as having moods or emotions. Thunderstorms symbolize the "anger" of the Skysea, while clear skies evoke a sense of "contentment". The Sun and Moon, perceived as the "source" of the Skysea, just as the Gaseous Planet of their Homemoon was.

Over the years, this belief in the Skysea will gradually grow into something new (Perhaps a Religion, perhaps not), and will come to be known as "Pluvianism" by outsiders. For now, it is more a infantile intellect movement, comparable to a group of people dedicated to preserving their History more then anything. This new landscape the Forktails found themselves in left little to none of the Artwork they carved into their native trees or other such things, leading some Forktails to begin to treasure historical artifacts, something furthered in a culture that accepts the impermanence of life.
The Pluvianist Forktails are ofcourse, not a monolith, and how the Skysea should be view has a variety of interpretations or "sects". Some view the Skysea as a sort of Angry, Lovecraftian Entity. Others view it as simply another part of nature, equal to the ground, more a wild animal that was the very first being to be spawned out of the primordial soup of space. Other still, don't care for the concept or have alternate explanations for natural phenomena.

Whatever the case, it is important to note, however, that Forktail society is in it's infancy. It's nowhere near being a united political entity, especially after such a shakeup. The only borders given to these semi-nomads are ones given so by another authority, and those lines in the sand that exist are messy and complicated, like any emerging civilization. Yet it will grow up eventually, set by both strife and success, and while their quiet existence has had no intruders yet, they will come eventually...

Subchapter - Bird is the Word​

The Great Storm brought more then just Forktails with it's winds, many more animals from Serina's various eras have been brought to their lineages progenitor. However, they are not Sapient like Humans or Forktails, and while the Africa Sands and Savanna are similar, they are undoubtly a crueler environment, especially in a world without Sapient Species to corner them.

The various Canary offshoots that stuck to their roots found themselves blending well into their environment without much trouble, and begin mixing with their Atlantic Ancestors. Shriekers are forced to compete with local of Crows populations, and frequently get into scuffles with them and other Earth Birds. Stiltskins have a better time, but are still occasionally snatched up by a hungry Big Cat or Hyena. Qualts have a rougher time, and have gone for greater defense, attempting to built crude, beaver-dam like structure to protect themselves and their eggs.
Aradgeese and Axbills find some of the highest success out of the land-based Serinan birds, and spread out farther into Africa then most of their relatives, due to being able to handle predators better by running away from them. Aradgeese in particular are found as far as Western Nigeria and Madrid, albeit in small numbers. Lanks stick the swamps and wetlands of West Africa, mostly feeding on smaller creatures like Rodents.

The most interesting fates, however, go to the Womblers and Archangels.
Womblers, due to size and slowness, prove easy targets for predators like Lions, Leopards, and more. Despite this, the Womblers highly aggressive temperament have left plenty of scars, injuries and fractured bones. The Forktails have taken notice however, and use this to their advantage. By baiting Womblers into fights with various other creatures, they in effect, kill two birds with one stone. Whatever is left is scavenged and taken as food, and funnily enough, Wombler meat in particular is quite tasty, and is traded around the flight paths of the Rainshadow Coast & Islands.
The Archangels, however, spread out quickly and farther then any Serinan creature, due to their massive size and migratory nature, and thanks to supernatural help, the Archangels need not worry about the increased gravity of Earth. Their range extends to cover the near entirety of Western North Africa and Southern Europe, and during one of their migrations, a fishing boat off the coast of Libya manages to see a flock fly by...

Europe & the Levant

While the Forktails showed a culture in it's infancy, Europe bares a culture at one of it's heights. Cymru's people had just just went into the Latin New Year when the flash took them to the renewed Earth. Southern Pyrdain has vanished, replaced with forest and rolling hills. Infact, all Chirstian Kingdoms have mysteriously disappeared. The citizens panic while the Kingdom attempts to maintain order, and to some extents this is successful.
However, the discovery of people calms the situation down, then confuses. The French remain, but not as a bitter rival turned antiquated kingdom they knew. Rather, the French are a secular republic of all things, built off similar if fairly radical principles then the Celts were used to. Not just that, but apparently another republican-experiment straddles the coast of the Levant, albeit with a slightly different history. Infact, the Empire of All Celts is the big oddball here. The French speak of a history, where the Celts were pushed off their own home by Christians, their ways of life replaced. Where the Anglish and Saxons transformed the isles of Pyrdain into a mighty but oppressive empire, only to be destroyed and replaced by a new regime after a War to End all Wars.

France to, is shocked by the appearance of a Early Modern Pagan-Kingdom in Europe, one that's also strangely progressive. Despite this initial spook, the two nations become fairly cordial. Cymru made peace with their France just a month ago, and with a more friendly but powerful nation right next door, decide to go for the pragmatic option. Whereas the French are happy for someone new to trade with and gain raw resources, although they are weirded out by the very existence of a nation like this.
Trade deals and friendly relations make good business, Brittney becomes a hotspot of Celtic-French trade, soon seen an influx of Celtic traders, immigrants and more, mostly Brythonic and Kernic speakers. Breton gains a massive revival, and the Celtic Church melds well with local Catholic and protestant Christians. The Empress herself even visits the place for a time. Speaking on the Monarch, Bwdica III is taking a great deal of time to study French culture and technology. While the French have been good partners, Cymru's rival with it's own has laid out a cautious optimism.
Bwdica has sent scholars to understand and attempts to replicate French designs, with varying success. But her main focus is the sea. The vast "Wooden Wall" navy soon turns into a door. Unlike a French, the Celts have a great interest in exploring their new existence. They sail up and down the vast coasts of Western Europe, going as far down as Portugal and as far east as Bornholm.

This sea-bound approach soon proves to be useful, as some Non-Druid Pagans now seek to reclaim their homelands without the followers of Jesus to stop them. In particular, the Sápmi and the Icelanders seek to reestablish themselves, setting sail for Rosma and Reykjavík respectively. The first few months of Spring and Summer are ofcourse, a bit rough, with the two little colonies face a lot of problems, but manage to hold on with the help of Cymru's aid and modern wonders coming from the Southern Socialists. The Sápmi return to their more tribal way of life quickly, trading meats, furs, and lumber. The Icelanders, meanwhile, have been joined by various other Germanic groups, mainly their Norsk brothers, but also include a small portion of their Anglish cousins (Along with a minute amount of merchants and travelers from mainland Scandinavian nations caught up in the mess).
This little ventures are in truth, basically coastal forts for now, the real Celtic colony is located in Iberian Galicia. Create to gain a foothold on Mainland Europe in case anything goes wrong, Celtic Galicia is similar to Palestinian Sinai in many ways, where minorities or those who lost their homes find refuge and raw resources can be extracted.
The Celts eek out an existence in the new world, and with the Socialists mostly preoccupied with their own needs, Cymru rules the Northern Seas.

Speaking of the Socialist nations, France and Palestine have created, and are the founding Member States of, the so-called "New Communist International", abbreviated to "New Comintern" or "NCI" (Or the Fourth International if you're being technical). Inspired by and absorbing the remnants of the Leftist Internationale and the Third Communist International respectively, the New Comintern acts similarly, if more tight-knit given the circumstances. The Celts, while friendlier to Marxism then expected, are a mostly isolationist and superstitious people in the eyes of Paris. As a result, they are not offered admittance, atleast for now. And with the strain placed on the state from the Shift, and the renewal of nature resources said-shift provided, the French Government itself is mostly uninterested in the great wilderness of Europe besides scientific inquiry. The French Proletariat themselves however, are a different story.

Sightings of the ancient megafauna, Mammoths, Cave Lions, Steppe Bison, Sabretooths, Woolly Rhinos, Cave Bears, and more, still ruling the Earth before man. Due to to the nature of the Shift, these animal are seen in the forests and plains of France itself, and that's not even mentioning the border leading into pure, untapped nature. Along with this, come the stories of the Celts. The Old Gods, before Christianity or Secular Thought. While actual worship won't be popular anytime soon, ideas of these Ancients returning in a modern setting blend together in rather, interesting ways. From Apollo, Dionysus, Thor, Cernunnos, etc, all gaining a foothold in French pop-culture and folklore (With a leftist twist, ofcourse. Thor is a working class God after all).
Some gods are even depicted as these great pleistocene creatures in art.

Meanwhile, things in Palestine are still a bit bumpy, but stable. The government has been focusing most of it's efforts on colonizing the Sinai peninsula and extracting resources form their renewed lands. Still, the question for those who follow Allah is what to do about the loss of Mecca and Medina. Ahmadiyya Muslims from Cymru and French Muslims have come to Palestine glad that Islam survived, but they are also a bit restless. As such, an effort is made by a variety of Muslims to travel to the Hejaz and either find the Dual Holy Cities, or reestablish them. This has been reaffirmed by a strange vent, as one man reportedly saw a massive group of white, heavenly birds fly across the sky in the shape of a V toward the Holy Land. Jerusalem is fine with these efforts, though does not actively encourage them.

However, a ship, a Cymru Ship, ports in Wellabor, coming from the Far Western Continent, bearing strange news...

North America

In the land the Celts call Afallon, the holdings of Ynys Bwidca, Manhata, and Penrhyn Llewellyn lay alone. The three Celtic holdings in the New World immediately notice the disappearance of not just their Haudenosaunee allies, but any people at all, replaced with rocky beaches, forest, and strange animals. The people panicked more then in Europe, and rationing was soon enforced. The People of the Longhouse who were there during the Shift find solace in their Celtic brothers, and settled down in the coastal cities, planning to reclaim their land. While traders from various European nations and colonies were put in a similar place, albeit reluctantly.
While a large vessel was sent back to Europe to see if their homeland was still there, a variety of boats and ships were sent out to hug the coast in search of, well, anything that signified humans presence, and eventually, they found it. Just down south, a strange, unknown European colony sits. They seem to speak a distorted form of Anglish, and are, infact, completely unaware of their Homeland's nation...

Lincoln's Second Term in office could so far be said as "Slow but Steady". After leading the country though about 3 years of brutal civil war and still grieving at the death of his youngest son William, the President was eager to lead the nation in peacetime, regardless of strain from a miracle. Honest Abe had been having quiet internal rebellions of his own, thoughts that he would die after then end of the Civil War. And he did die, in another life. A life no longer his own. Perhaps God showed mercy upon him, perhaps this was a new Eden, a second chance not just for him, but America as a concept.
With the Potomac Frontier (Or Maryland-Virginian Frontier) being settled in quick secession and full of Homesteaders, and the renewed resources of Appalachia proving to be full of precious stuffs such as coal, things looking up. While troubled, Lincoln had a renewed optimism for life. However, there comes a few caveats, there is still so much work to be done.

One of the bigger domestic debates is one that went unaddressed in the first two years of their transport to this new world, but one that's increasingly relevant. Should Washington D.C become a state?
With only Appalachia as the only state in the union, it's fairly dominant in the political landscape of the US, and this has been causing some Columbians to feel unheard, especially on the Potomac frontier. The biggest response to this has come from the National Union Party, who are pushing for the idea of the State of Columbia the most. The National Union Party, or "NUPs", have assimilated the crumbling Democrat and Center Parties, and began appealing to a new audience, particularly Moderate Conservatives and Anti-Socialist Republicans have made up a bedrock of the NUP. Still fairly small compared to the dominant Leftwing-Coalition of the Republican and Mountain/Patriot Parties (Who by this point have basically remerged and are only waiting for the go-ahead from the VP to make it offical), but presents itself as an alternative and second politic party of the United State(s).
Surprisingly for the NUP, Vise-President Wesley is also pushing for Colombian Statehood. These are the United States after all, everyone deserves representation, and seeing the tension present in the Potomac Frontier and the after-effects of the Civil War reaffirms this stance. Lincoln himself is unsure at the moment, but could be persuaded. Vice-President Wesley has become Lincoln's right-hand man, working with his country's leader to implement his smaller-scale policies in Washington and the Frontier, boosted by Lincoln's methods of bridging the political-spectrum together towards common goals. Overall, things are fairly peaceful and quiet, almost too quiet.

However, things are once again shaken up when a small ship sails down in early February, seemingly form the 1600s, waving a green flag. Both parties are spooked by the sudden appearance, but contact is established. Buy things only get stranger from there.
The President and his VP are summoned quickly to the shoreline, and after getting an Anglish sailor to crudely translate, these visitors reveal their intentions. They are colonists from an "Empire of All Celts", a Pagan Liberal Monarchy allied with the Native nations that were here, attempting to aid them in any conflicts with European powers. But clearly, that's not going to happen anytime soon. The sailors were in truth, not expecting to find anyone here, let alone an Anglish-Speaking Republic, but are sent back the way up to "New Jersey" (Penrhyn Llewellyn) with supplies and proof of their existence.
This causes some interesting reactions to say the least. A nation of a differed history where America cannot possibly exist, and while not hostile, is filled with Pagans. This disgusts some of the more religiously conservative who don't like sharing "Rightful American Land" with "Heathens", but the overall reaction is one of introspection rather then mistrust. Perhaps what God wants is for people of all faiths to accept each other in the New Eden, perhaps what he wants is cooperation. The Celts are more skeptical, meanwhile, although contact with the homeland not being established for atleast a few more weeks or months, they are happy to have immediate survival needs meet by their new trading partners.

Soon enough, contact with Cymru is reestablished by summer, and even bring news of two more states in France and the Levant, both left-wing republics similar to the United State(s). The Celtic Empire tells that they are sending a delegation of officials, including the Empress herself to "Afallon" to check up on their colonies and confirm reports of their new neighbor. President Lincoln is unsure of how to take the news, but is curious, while Wesley is a bit warmer in reception, seeing this as an opportunity to perhaps gain a friend for America in this uncertain world.
The Celtic Delegation arrivals in fall, and are given a nice welcome in Washington with food and drink. Surprised by the American's cordiality, the two go straight to business, discussing their histories, systems of government, and how they got in this predicament through similar circumstances. Common ground is reached, as both states are fairly liberal societies with strong, historical democratic systems. Wesley even manages to befriend the Empress through his respect of Celtic traditional and laws.
About a week and a half after discussions first started, the United States and Celtic Empire hammered out a treaty.
- An Official Alliance is established
- Borders are to be more fluid, and free travel between nations encouraged
- Tariff free trade between Cyrmu and America
- Technological Advancements are to be shared with the Celts before any other nations
- The US gets to establish a fort in each of Cymru's American Colonies
- Each nation is to respect it's sea bound borders and territorial claims
- Cymru will not claim any unoccupied land inside the former borders of the Continental United States, and vice versa

While the Native Haudenosaunee population of Celtic Afallon stick to the three settlements, Europeans Colonists find solace in the United States. A small, but noticeable collection of people from the nearby colonies of French Nouvelle Normandie, Spanish Nuevo Leon, Saxaland Nij-Saksen, and Swedish Gustavland, but also groups of Celtic Christians, come to the Potomac. Wesley, feeling the plight of these wayward souls, begins implementing policies inspired by Moroccan Integration, but with a twist. Using a mix of English-Teaching Schools and the Homestead Act to encourage them to help build the New American frontier, these "Hesperians" (Naming themselves after their alternate name of the North American continent) split into Germanic-Speaking and Latin-Speaking populations, begin creating their own towns and villages alongside the local, growing Black and Freedmen populace. The Celts (Both Christian and not), meanwhile, separate from the both Hesperian groups and find success in Appalachia's local Scots-Irish population, to the point where they are begin to meld into one.

Going into the fourth year of the Shift, America is more optimistic. Who knows, perhaps the French and Palestinians could be contacted as well...

Year 3 A.S (After-Shift), January 1st
Year 3 A.S (After-Shift), December 31st
Notes - Decided to show the Other Seirnan Animals on the first map, but remove them in the second. Depicts areas where Forktails are not present, and since these creatures aren't sapient or building a society, I'm only put them on the first map to show where they we transported. Just know they'll be spreading out and integrating with the ecosystem.
Also, slightly changed some map colors, mainly the US and the background.
 
Last edited:
Turn 4 | Year 4: A Dose of Tension
Nation:


Nation Name: The Holy Columbian Commonwealth
Commonly Known as: The Commonwealth
Capital: Augusta
Government Type: Feudal Elective Monarchy
Governing Document(s):
Year Founded: A.D 2399
Year ISOTed: A.D 2666
Territory ISOTed:
ISOTed from: After The End
Head of State: Emperor Julius I Gee
Head of Government: N/A
Technological Level: Middle Medieval (1400s)
Population: 11 Million (No official census)
Languages: Southron Anglo
Religions: Evangelical Christianity (Official), Revelationists, Postadventist, Charismatic
Special Traits: Southron Chivalry
Brief History:

From the burning ruins of Old America and the pernicious tyranny of the Yankee Americanists came Leonidas Royal; the conqueror and redeemer of the Southern lands. With blade in hand and the righteous fire of the lord in his heart did he drive back the heathens that poured out from the Black Mountains of Appalachia and vanquish the deranged Presidency that squatted in Washington. When justice was dispensed did he lay down his sword and instead turned his wise eyes to the art of governance; all realms of the South were bound together in an equal and faithful Commonwealth that was to be administered under the beneficent auspices of a divinely appointed Emperor and the Evangelical Council.

The sanctity of Leonidas' vision was not to last. With the slaying of the last true male scion of Royal dynasty at the hands of the Heathen-President Stanislaus Avondale did the custodianship of the Commonwealth pass to lesser men. The Yelverton Dynasty would come to squander the mandate given to them by the lord, their weakness and tenuous claims to legitimacy would lead to a rapid succession of Emperors eventually culminating in the Richmond Declaration of 2495 in which it was declared that the Emperorship would fall to whomever the eight great electors of the Commonwealth deemed worthy of the position.

Since then the Commonwealth has waxed and waned. The marcher lords remain ever vigilant upon the many great border forts of Columbia, remaining ever vigilant of raids from the Black Mountains or Louisiana, the serfs work the fields ever faithfully, and the good lords and ladies of the land dispense their firm, but fair, justice unto all supplicants. Yet not all is not well within the Empire, radicals and heretics chafe underneath the stagnating edifice that is the Evangelical Council, there are cries for reform coming from the pulpits of seditious churches throughout the Commonwealth, and the people have begun to listen. There are accusations that Emperor Julius I is unsuited for the position and that the loud and boisterous Duke of Atlanta would reverse the Empire's failing fortunes. There are also rumours that the Marches are not as secure as they once seemed, the barbarians of Florida and the savages of Appalachia strike ever deeper into the Commonwealth with each passing year.

Nation:
Nation Name: Oceania
Commonly Known as: N/A
Capital: London
Government Type: Collectivist Oligarchy under the principles of English Socialism
Governing Document(s): The Immortal Principles of English Socialism
Year Founded: 1952
Year ISOTed: 1984
Territory ISOTed:
ISOTed from: 1984
Head of State: 'Big Brother'
Head of Government: The Party-Committee for Logistics and Coordination
Technological Level: 1950s (Exceptions in surveillance technology)
Population: 32 Million
Languages: Newspeak (Official), English Oldspeak
Religions: State Atheism, Party-Worship
Special Traits:
Brief History:

Oceania has no history.

The great Ur-state that straddles the world from the cone of South America to the Scottish Highlands dictates it's past, present and future. It's history has begun in 1952, 1933, 1901 and even audacious claims of an origin in 1864. Whatever the organs of the Ministry of Truth churn out becomes fact, lies are spun into reality; fed to the masses and are grotesquely transformed into fact. The demagogues and new channels report an endless series of victories, a constant advance into enemy territories that cannot be curtailed yet none are recorded into history, none can name these battles, none can remember the campaign front nor the war.

The future is equally within the grips of the state. The party has positioned itself, like an engorged magot, in the minds of every loyal citizen of the great state, any dissent in quickly swallowed up into the Ministry of Love, constant surveillance ensures that not an inch of Oceania's domain is beyond its observation. Technological advancement has seemingly stagnated with the only new progress being made being some new implement of torture or war.

It seems as though the wheels of the state shall grind ever onwards, and only the hand of god might free the world from Oceania's grasp.
Other Notes:



North America:

As President Lincoln enters the final year of his term tensions begin to boil within the National Union Party. The party is staunchly split between those who came from 1863 and those who emerged from 1875 into this new world, with the former favouring the ideals and principles of their own times' United States and the latter congregating on the reforms that Governor Wesley had implemented. The general popularity of President Lincoln had so far been enough to soothe tensions and calm tempers yet with the state of Appalachia gearing up for another election year it seemed as though even his influence was no longer enough to calm the party.

There was no question of the NUP's incoming victory, although various reactionary groupings had coalesced under the banner of the New Democratic Party (NDP), they could not hope to compete with the sheer political juggernaut that the NUP represented. The question of who would take the presidency next election, however, still remained in flux. President Lincoln had apparently confided in various staffers and close friends that he had no intention to run for another term; a rumour that had spread like wildfire throughout the NUP and had signalled a call for the statesmen of the party, Moderate and Wesleyite alike, to bring out their blades and start sharpening.

This boiling pot of tensions was set to shatter the NUP come the next national convention if it was not for a bright flash of light that engulfed the southern border...

It was a slow and tentative realisation on the part of the Holy Columbian Commonwealth that they had left their old world behind.

The news first came from the merchants and the port cities of Charleston and Wilmington; all trade that was expected to flow in from sea had simply not arrived, the great trade ships of New York and Jamaica had seemingly vanished and the great harbours were left silent. Then reports began to come in from the Marcher Lords, all raids on the borderlands of Florida the hinterlands of the Mississippi had ceased. A few bold nobles had organised an expedition towards Baton Rogue to uncover the cause of their enemies' disappearance. Their reports back to Augusta confirmed it, the rest of the world had vanished. The Commonwealth was alone.

Many on the pulpits of Columbia's evangelical church called it a miracle without peer; that the peoples of the Commonwealth had been declared as god's chosen and thus he had bequeathed a whole new world to them. Others within the clergy and the laity see this as a call to overthrow the corrupt ministers of the Evangelical church who have so squandered the divine mandate granted to them. Calls were sent out and it was declared in hidden circles that a congress was to be held in Atlanta of all those who rejected the theological trappings of the Evangelical Council.

On the Appalachian border of the HCC the story played out quite differently. When the intrepid marcher lords first ventured across the border they uncovered not the virgin lands that confronted the Commonwealth everywhere else, but rather the first homesteads of settlers emerging from the United States of 1875. A series of miscommunications would result in a skirmish breaking out in the town of Sweet Springs as Southron knight in plate armour clashed against settler armed with percussion cap muskets. The clash ended with the small Columbian expedition being forced to retreat as a bullet gravely wounded the Baron of Marion.

More reports began to filter back to the ruling class of both states. The Emperor and his court found themselves quite perplexed by the new development, to their eyes it was as though a band of Yankee Americanists had gathered about a charismatic prophet who proclaimed himself to be the reincarnation of the mythical Abraham Lincoln, most curious of all however is that most citizens of this so-called 'United States' professed themselves to be honest Christians. On the Appalachian side of things the mood was apoplectic; In the eyes of Wesleyites it was though the Confederacy had returned, this time adopting its true form as an unmitigated bastion of feudalism on American soil. To the more reactionary elements of American society they were enraged at the fact that the Emperor of Columbia, and a large amount of its aristocracy, were black men and women, for while all agreed with Lincoln's crusade against slavery in the Civil War many had hoped this policy would be implemented via the Back to Africa Movement. To see a black monarch on American soil was an affront to their sensibilities.

Factionalism within the NUP was put aside as congress came together to discuss the issue. The problem was evident; while they outmatched Columbia in terms of military technology, they still had little conception of how many men the Commonwealth was able to field and thus a protracted war could prove disastrous. A solution presented itself in the form of William Russel, an NDP man who was attempting to rally men and raise funds for an expedition into so-called 'Columbia' in order to battle back the feudal threat and reclaim rightfully American land. Congress and the NUP would be able to kill two birds with one stone, Russel's expedition would subdue Columbia while also removing a large amount of the reactionaries who were beginning to rear their heads in Appalachian society. The expedition received congressional approval and prepared to march for the next year.

The unity forged by the emergence of the Commonwealth has resulted in a renewed legislative vigour on the part of the NUP. Washington is formally granted statehood while a slew of more minor legislation was passed. This vigour continued in the election of 4 A.S which the Lincoln-Wesley ticket won handily, the NDP was capable of earning a few seats in both the House of Representatives and in Columbia but their defeat has redoubled their determination to see the Russel Expedition succeed so that they might carve out their own state within the Columiban Commonwealth.



Europe

The European new year was marked by a new grand flash of light as the once empty pastures and forests of England were engulfed by the radiant glow. For three days and nights did the glow engulf the land; scientists and scholars from both the Gaelic Empire and the French Commune rushed to study its effects and speculate on what entity might appear in the void. Diplomats and envoys were readied and a joint Franco-Gaelic naval taskfroce was readied to patrol the channel in case of hostility.

When the glow finally subsided observation posts across Scotland and Wales noted the great brutalist structures that towered over the visible towns and hamlets of England. They noted the existence of power pylons and radio broadcast towers and calculated the technological capabilities of this new power to be roughly on the same level as their French allies and as such their were attempts to hail them via radio transmission, these efforts at communication were met with silence. Envoys that attempted to land on the English shore were turned back by men in black uniforms with cold eyes.

A brief but tense standoff took place in the English channel as the fleets of the Gaelic and French postured against those of the interlopers. Many a captain of the Franco-Gaelic fleet sweats under the gaze of the impassive and monolithic gaze of the strangers' floating fortresses but none break the line. Eventually the two fleets disengage, but not a word was exchanged between the two.

Within Airstrip One itself the status quo was to reign supreme. The nation has been on the war footing for decades, every province of Oceania was designed to operate independently from one another, a small decrease in rations was the most that the citizens of Oceania noticed of their transference to a new world. In London select members of the inner party convened to discuss the new situation, the situation within Airstrip One was stable and would likely to remain that way for the foreseeable future, the true threat came from the geopolitical entities that surrounded them. The carefully calculated Forever War that Oceania was engaged in was much to its benefit, as well as that of Eurasia and Eastasia, the new bodies of the French Commune and Gaelic Empire posed an unacceptable threat to the political calculations of the English Socialist Party.

A course of action was decided upon. A period of complete isolation was to be enacted while both the Ministry of Truth and Ministry of Peace recalculated the geopolitical situation. Work teams were raised from the Proles to begin work on vast concrete defensive structures along the Welsh, Cornish and Northern borders, Oceanian fleets and arial patrols were sent out to chart the new world and report back on the military positions of the Gaelic Empire.

On the other side of the border the Gaelic people were preparing in equal measure. French military officers were brought into the Gaelic military to begin training up a new generation of officers skilled in the principles of modern warfare, while there were some fears of communist infiltration these were silenced by the looming images of new Oceanian fortifications in the presses. There was a brief panic amongst the Gaelic civilian population, many booked one way tickets to the colonies while others would sign up to the Gaelic military.

A black spot had emerged in Europe, and few knew what would come crawling out of it.


Africa and the Levant

The Forktail birds continued to evolve their culture upon the shifting face of the new world. A few of their kind had begun to migrate far enough that they started to encounter Palestinian trading ships that were destined for France. The curious movements and birdsong of these creatures was enough to warrant a prolonged study from Al-Asqa University's ecology department. After months of study and observation the ornithological team was astonished by the complexity of the birdsong and began to deduce the basics of Forktail language. With the possibility of contact with intelligent non-human life, a joint Franco-Palestinian research outpost was established in Morocco to attempt to deduce more about Forktail social relations.

Among the Forktails themselves culture continued to develop. Epic poetic cycles were developed in praise of the vast new world as well as the Skysea itself. Individual birds of great oratory ability would become bards known as 'Windspeakers' and would spend their entire lives committing to learning the great cycles of Forktail culture. The Windspeakers would move between clans frequently and so would often serve as both diplomats and a means of exchanging cultural ideas between clans that were growing increasingly disconnected as they began to spread out.

The expeditions faithful from Palestinian Federation were mortified to discover that the twin holy cities of Mecca and Medina had been vanished along with the rest of the known world. Debate was sparked over what the correct course of action was to be; some suggested an expedition to rebuild the two holy cities yet this was aft ridiculed as a foolish notion, the historical and religious context of the two cities could not be replicated so easily. Others suggested that Jerusalem, as the last remaining holy city, could fulfil the same role as Mecca had once.

The Palestinian Federation had also begun on a grand project within it's Sinai settlements, with the potential of a whole uninhabited world beyond the Red Sea it was deemed a worthy venture to begin the reopening of the Suez Canal. The work is expected to take years but with experienced engineers and advanced technology of the Palestinian Federation it should hopefully be completed in a much more timely fashion than the original.



Map (4 A.S):


View: https://imgur.com/xy1Pppg
 
Turn 5 | Year 5: Warthogs flying over Southern Knights.

United States of America | الولايات المتحدة الأمريكية | Amerika Birleşik Devletleri​
Commonly Known as: United States, America
Capital: Washington D.C. (Federal), Local state capitals
Government Type: Federal Constitutional Representative Presidential Republic
Governing Document(s): United States Constitution
Year Founded: 1776
Year ISOTed: 1812
Territory ISOTed: Pennsylvania, Ohio, Detroit, Delmarva, Borinquen, and Antillia
ISOTed from: Columbia Takes Her Second Steps - AH.com Succession Game
Head of State: President Benjamin Hawthorne - Democratic
Head of Government: President Benjamin Hawthorne - Democratic
Technological Level: 1800s
Population: 2,025,440
Languages: English, Arabic, Turkish, Spanish
Religions: Protestantism, Catholicism, Cathayism (Protestant Christian Denomination), Solarist Christianity (Minority), Islam
Special Traits: N/A
Brief History:
America in 1812 has changed a lot since Washington left office. From a successful but mediocre Federalist President in Victor McBride to the surprising success of Aaron Burr to the attempted dictator in Robinson, the Civil War that sprouted out of his near Pusch on the Federal Capital under a sadly incapable Thomas Jefferson to the end of said war under Frederick Ratliff and now the seeming peace under Benjamin Hawthorne. America has grown, shrunk, fought itself, and reconstructed after a Civil War in its very short 36-year lifetime since the nation declared independence in 1776. But, in order to actually understand the present, we must take a look at the past.

Starting in 1796, President George Washington declined the chance to run for a third term. Curiously, none of the other major Founding Fathers have announced an interesting in running; from personal circumstances, plans for alternative career paths, or other reasons. As such, each of the two political factions - the Federalists and (Democratic-)Republicans - are now scrambling to find a new candidate to push for the elections.

The Federalists were grasping for major candidates like Hamilton or Adams, but Adams dropped from the run early on into it, due to an illness he caught on the way to Philadelphia. Adams didn't support a single candidate, so the more moderate wings of the party, or at least those that followed Adams, quickly got to cannibalizing each other as they jockeyed for the nomination. Meanwhile, a 43-year-old half-Irishman from Vermont went down, recommendation letter from Alexander Hamilton himself in hand, and got himself the backing of the Hamiltonian faction of the Federalists. While not everyone agreed with McBride, the candidate's name, or his radical - for the time - ideas, his youthful vigor was enough to send him over the edge when it came to Party support. The (Democratic-)Republicans, meanwhile, were dealing with quite similar issues. Thomas Jefferson decided against running for the Presidency, viewing the Senate as a far better place to enact the common man's interest than as the head of the Executive Department. As such, the D-R's had to look for someone new, and Jefferson's endorsement of Aaron Burr gave them that very candidate they oh so sought. When Election day came, the states sent their electors to the temporary capital in Philadelphia and began counting, and the results showed very thin margins - with even a few faithless electors popping up, though their appearance led to no overall change in electoral results. The results were checked and then officiated, McBride was now the second President of the United States. Alongside this, Aaron Burr is also now the second Vice President of the United States.

McBride's Presidency would be one of general interest. While quite successful in industrialization efforts and getting the National Bank funded alongside (secretly) breaking the D-Rs into the Democratic Party and Confederalist Party, McBride would be unsuccessful in pushing gradual abolition, purchasing Florida from Spain - even enraging them enough for them to request Americans leave Florida by 1800 - and even blundering a response to the sudden French Civil War. Before he could even try to deal with the Florida debacle, McBride also had a heart attack on October 17, 1799, marking the first Presidential death of the young nation's history - and sure to not be the last.

With the President dead, the office had to go to someone, and that someone was Aaron Burr. While initially Acting President, Burr set out to become the actual President. Once the Presidential Succession Act of 1799 was written up by a combined effort of President Pro-Tempore Thomas Jefferson, several other party leaders from the Democrats, and Burr Himself, another document, the 12th Amendment, is passed, requiring Presidents and Vice Presidents to be from the same political party. However, there was some amount of concern regarding Burr, not to say he was hated - in fact he was quite loved - but the fact that he was from a separate party from McBride, and thus would have separate policies, though the later 12th Amendment would deal with that in all future situations.

He immediately got to work, fixing the diplomatic issues between America and France - which itself went from a Republican form of government to a wholly militaristic government where only those who 'served' were given a vote, and even secured Louisiana and France's former Caribbean territories. For Spain, Burr's policies allowed war to be averted for the moment, even gaining Florida and some of Spain's own Caribbean territories after a nicely-worded demand with the backing of the French and British. However, Burr couldn't come to an agreement with the British up north, so the border dispute would continue for some time further.

Later, in 1800, Ohio was given the ability to gain statehood, which it would do with some quick success - though there was a new, unique form of christianity forming in the area known as Solarism, basing its worship off of a misunderstanding of Egyptian mythology among other things. On other matters, Burr completely reformed the National Bank passed by McBride, making it a requirement that one member from the Board of Directors would be elected by each state. This reform quickly passed with Confederalist and Democratic support, though there was some protest by Hamiltonian Federalists led by a recently-fired Alexander Hamilton. Burr would also see a near-assassination attempt, but would instead go on to beat his would-be assassin black and blue. However, this attempt would simply make him cancel any plans at reelection, as the wound he gained from the attempt would make him have to slow down from the day-to-day duties of the Presidency.

In the 1800 elections, things were looking up. America was undergoing an economic boom unseen before, it was industrializing quite quickly for a nation of its increasing size and population, with the north growing in population and industrial might quite quickly. However, Slavery was an ever-present issue, and the attempts of President McBride to abolish slavery, even gradually, sent a wave of fear among the planter class. So, the Confederalist Party brought up their new chosen favorite candidate, a man named Charles Robinson, and got to campaigning. Robinson's pro-slavery views appealed quite handidly to slave-owning southerners, and his appealing to the growing Anti-Solarists in ohio and making backroom deals with some electors allowed him to win the election - a spoiler of what was to come.

In the aftermath of the election, a brief incident in Maine would see Robinson test his foreign policy chops. There was a brief skirmish, diplomats were dispatched, and Robinson committed to a deal that would see America lose territory to the British - more than many Northerners were comfortable with. Alongside this, a journalist found signs of possible corruption, but after announcing a bid for running for elected office he was quickly found dead. Furthermore, a small movement among those on the Delmarvan peninsula in favor of establishing a state on said peninsula surprisingly succeeds, with the State of Delmarva being established as a slave state from territories split from Maryland and Virginia - with Delaware denying joining the new state for their own reasons, denying Delmarva its 'Del'. Going further, Robinson would also influence the creation of the 'Spoils System' in the south, basically gaming the system to give the Confederalists a lot of support. A small rumor would emerge about Robinson from a manor dance by Senator Hawthorne regarding Robinson fathering a child from one of his slaves. While no child was found, thus making Hawthorne's own reputation take a hit, Hawthorne did begin getting letters from fellow Legislators and others about various suspicious things going on under Robinson's Presidency, giving Hawthorne a personal mission to stop Robinson from doing whatever it is he plans to do.

This began by stopping his attempts at giving power to the states by feeding information to key Senators, making Robinson quite unpopular with many, with only his fellow Confederalists listening to any of his proposals. He had a plan, though; give Dominica statehood as a slave state so it could be packed with as many yes-men as possible, though this would backfire as Maine itself would request and then gain statehood as well, much to his chagrin.

As Robinsons' personal militia, the Yellowcoats, grew in power and prominence in the South, several movements grew in response. Among them was a mass-slave uprising headed by one Ezekiel Fairweather, a white Georgian man who was particularly anti-slavery. Later on, Robinson's own Vice President, Nathaniel Macon, found documents incriminating the President on several counts, from directly funding the Yellowcoats to funding pro-Robinsonite papers. While he'd sit on this information for a few months, before too many blatant power grabs by Robinson led to him sending the papers to Senators Jefferson and Hawthorne, and a weak later a call for impeachment was sounded using said papers as evidence. News spread quickly, Robinson used his papers to decry these 'Traitors', and Vice President Macon, Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gellatin, and Secretary of War Andrew Jackson set out to plan what to do further, but got nowhere as Yellowcoats barged into their planning room and killed them all.

Robinson was growing mad, and believed that in order to keep his power and to save the nation, he must remove Congress. So on January 20th, 1804, Yellowcoat militias began marching to Washington. However, they reached a roadblock: the Maryland Militia. Neither side hesitated to fire on the other, and after the battle was said and done the Yellowcoats were sent retreating, with many later on saying that the steps of the Capitol building were stained by blood. When the militia went to arrest the President, he tried to fight them, but due to a malfunction in his old musket they were successful, also finding the bodies of James Jackson and John Taylor tied up and bludgeoned to death in one of the guest bedrooms, with the President's family nowhere to be seen. A second trial was called, with the 'President' convicted of treason and murder, sentenced to be hanged to death.

After the death of 'President' Robinson and with several of his cabinet just… not alive, the Presidency went to President Pro-Tempore Thomas Jefferson, choosing Senator Benjamin Hawthorne as his Vice President. Immediately after ascending to office, Jefferson passed a bill that would make the actions of the government more transparent and to fight corruption, seen as especially needed after the disastrous Robinson Presidency - this simple act would bring back some amount of public trust. Furthermore, Jefferson would slash tariffs and bring America back into favorable status with the British. Yet it would be for nought as on January 2nd, Spain would declare war on the US and invade New Orleans, winning the city. Furthermore, another mass slave uprising by Ezekiel Fairweather in Kentucky and western Virginia pushed the nation further. Yet even that wasn't enough as South Carolina Governor William Caesar Augustus announced that Jefferson's government wasn't the true government and that he'd be establishing a 'Provisional Government' with himself as acting President. Through all this, Jefferson was unable to actually get the Continental Army on a war footing, having to rely on a recently nationalized 1st Massachusetts to secure portions of Georgia and Florida. Meanwhile, Britain would recognize the Jeffersonian government as the true government of the United States, as yet another concession of their earlier deal, even joining in to support Federalist forces against Provisionals on the naval front.

Back in 1804, even as Civil War was becoming increasingly likely, the elections were still going on. Every state loyal to the Jefferson Administration had free and fair elections, with the Presidential election being of particular note. Jefferson himself would run for an actual term as President, with Hamilton running on the Federalist ticket. But neither of these two would win, as the Confederalist, a South Carolinan named Frederick Ratliff, would win - thanks to his actions during the increasingly tenuous situation down south. While he was a Confederalist, which should've been a turn-off for most everyone else, the split between the Federalists and Democrats only gave him more than enough votes to actually win control of the Presidency.

In 1805, the Provisional Government attempted an invasion of Virginia, but were beaten back by the sudden appearance of a Delmarvan contingent of the Continental Army. out west, on the Fairchild, later Onenkowan front, the Onenkowans would be kicked out of Ohio and western Virginia by a joint effort of militia leader and quickly-commissioned Brigadier General Wiktor Ward Wyrzykowski - or Victor Ward, the leader of one of the first mixed-race armies in US history and the man who single-handedly secured western Virginia - and Brigadier General Byrnes, who would sadly die in the very battle that would allow him to kick the Onenkowans back from Ohio in part. In Georgia, a group of soldiers died horribly, though gave Spanish and Provisional soldiers enough PTSD and spooky stories to last a lifetime, creating local legends for years to come. Meanwhile, the Fairchildren/Onenkowans secured Tennessee and portions of North Carolina, quickly getting into conflict with Provisional forces. The Spanish would cross into Louisiana, but New Orleans would quickly be recaptured by Federal forces and forever be a thorn in the side of the Spanish military. Then to top it all off the Spanish just had to get the British breathing down their necks by knocking on Bermuda's door. And then, to pour even more gasoline into the bonfire that was the Great American War, Gabriel de Chaumont, Secretary of State and personal friend of Napoleon, influenced the Martial of France to go to war with Spain on behalf of America, pushing Europe into a war it wasn't quite expecting.

As an attempt to make some in Virginia 'rise against the untrue government' failed, Victor Ward's march southwest was quite successful, taking the Cumberland Gap, setting up a fort named 'Fort Ward', and then moving south to burn down the plantations of slavers - for he was a noted abolitionist who, in another life, may have sided with the likes of John Brown or Ezekiel Fairweather - allied with the Provisionals to set up a conflict between then and the Onenkowans, eventually getting promoted himself to Major General by letter of the President himself. While another push into Virginia by the Provisionals would fail yet again, Georgia would be put under siege as events continued to spiral. War in Europe would get worse, while powers across the world, but particularly in Europe, went at each others' throats in what was increasingly becoming a World War.

As the war went on into 1806, the Onenkowans would try to root out Ward, who'd increasingly became a thorn in their side. While they weren't successful, as he'd long since moved away from the area straight towards the Provisional capital, they were able to cut off his supply lines, forcing him to live off of the land as he marched south. Georgia continued to suffer as an island of Federal control in a sea of Provisional yellow, the Caribbean was on fire every day with even more fresh hells for its residence, and Europe burned. In Provisional territory, the government, and Augustus, got even more desperate and began a mass-recruitment campaign of anyone they could get. And as Ward got closer to Columbia, he couldn't even have sympathy for what should have been his fellow man as he constantly fought the same way, and the moment he entered the city he found it burning. Augustus had died by his own hand, causing the Yellowcoats to unravel with the death of their leader, all because he feared being captured by the infamous Major General. The city burned, alongside the south. People died en masse, with only the women, children, and slaves even surviving the conflict - every able-bodied man was used in the conflict to 'fight the good fight' on the Provisional side. These events would become known as the 'Southern Reign of Terror', and they would have a profound impact on southern society for years to come. It was only through a truce between Federals and Onenkowans that would see some sense of stability return to the south, with Major General Victor Ward and his men returning to Washington after months of marching on low supplies through hell-on-earth, and just after capturing Marcus Pompey, acting President of the Provisionals, and completely wiping Columbia off of the map. Ward and his men would be hailed as heroes and Pompey would be convicted of several of the crimes of the Provisional Government, with him being executed not by hanging, but by guillotine. Later on, an obelisk would be erected where Pompey's head fell to the ground, with a plaque on the bottom simply saying; "THE PENALTY TO TREASON IS DEATH. THUS ALWAYS TO TYRANTS AND TRAITORS. THE UNION FOREVER."

As Onenkowa's leader Ezekiel Fairweather died of a poisoning, and the south burned due to the actions of a few, America was looking for peace. Sure, Europe was still burning in a conflict slightly influenced by American diplomacy, most Americans wanted peace. So, a cease-fire was called, and treaties were eventually signed. Spain recognized America's claims and hand over Tejas, Onenkowa would surrender and the population sent to a newly-established territory, among other minor things. Down south, forces went to truly restore order, with a pocket of slaves being recognized as the military government of South Carolina after a mass revolt set free by Victor Ward. The post-war rebuilding would be slow, with President Ratliff taking inspiration from President McBride. Meanwhile, Detroit, Borinquen, and Antillia were granted statehood. And through the peace treaty with Onenkowa Ratliff would have to sign into law the formal immediate banning of slavery, to the happiness of many abolitionists.

In 1808, the election was a solemn one. The nation was broken by the Civil War, and it needed time to heal. A Confederalist President was seen as something of a bad apple by this point, Benjamin Hawthorne of the Democratic Party was elected President of the United States after serving as Vice President. Through his presidency he'd focus on reconstruction, letting Kentucky and Tennessee back into the Union, funding a railroad network thanks to a local industrial inventor, and reforming schools. Later on he'd support a movement to create a state from the territory of western Virginia for Appalachian people, named Westsylvania; it'd be given its statehood by the time of the 1812 Presidential election. It's also during this time that a wave of Turkish migration came to America, thanks to a Civil War breaking out during the later part of the Great American War.

Even 4 years after the Civil War America has to rebuild. While the north wasn't dealt a bad blow, the south is completely broken, with the population far below its pre-war levels even with the slow population growth. What the future holds in store is little-known, but these people won't expect their sudden translocation to a new, alien world.
Other Notes:


Panama Canal Zone | Zona del Canal de Panamá​
Commonly Known as: Panama Canal Zone, Canal Zone
Capital: Washington D.C. (Federal), Balboa (Canal Zone)
Government Type: Concession of a Federal Constitutional Representative Presidential Republic
Governing Document(s): United States Constitution
Year Founded: 1903
Year ISOTed: 1979
Territory ISOTed: Whole Panama Canal Zone
ISOTed from: OTL
Head of State: President Jimmy Carter
Head of Government: Governor Harold Parfitt, President Jimmy Carter
Technological Level: 1970s
Population: 44,198
Languages: English, Spanish
Religions: Catholicism, Protestantism
Special Traits: N/A
Brief History:
Panama Canal Zone - Wikipedia
Other Notes:



Howard AFB circa 1970. With the appearance of the PCZ, and its subsequent recognition of the US of this world as its governing nation, America suddenly finds itself with one of the most advanced air forces, that is if it can maintain it.

Winds o' Change

Fifth Year​

Worldwide:

Before we begin, here is some music for your listening pleasure.

"The history of the world the new American states come from is one of tragedy. But it also goes to show what the Bourgeoisie will try to hold onto power, and Robinson is an epitome of Bourgeoisie greed." - French left-wing newspaper on Ohio-American history translated to English, January 5, 1953/05.

Five years since the first transference and the world has changed immensely. From once-virgin lands untouched by human hands to lands seeing ever-increasing encroachment by humanities' insatiable march of progress. Lumber is cut, animals are hunted, homes are built, and in the south war unlike any the locals have witnessed is being fought. Within these five years, the powers that be have undergone much change as contact with other nations has spread the ideals of some to the many. Wesleyism, as a Socialist movement, has spread further from its Appalachian roots and into the hearts of those reformers and college-graduates. The principles of Marxism have spread from their 'new homelands' in America, France, and Palestine to the people of Cymru, giving some interesting ideas on how to reform their home nation.

On a more diplomacy-focused front, the United States, French Union, Cymru, and Palestine have signed into existence the United Nations, on suggestion by the Governor of the Panama Canal Zone. The new UN, based out of Paris until an official building can be constructed in Philadelphia, has tried to cease the war between America and Columbia, though it was unsuccessful due to Columbia not recognizing the authority of the International Union. Furthermore, several laws regarding international commerce, use of the oceans, and the like have been passed, alongside other more general laws to give the nations of the world a better understanding of what they have to work with.

Among the scientific community, a new idea has propagated regarding naming the worlds from which most of the nations come from. There have been nine individual world-lines identified, with the PCZ being assumed to be from the future of Washington D.C. Each has been given a simple letter and number, for example D.C. and Panama's timeline have been given the identification 01A. While not the best method to identify world-lines, it's decided that the system will work until a better system is created, eventually. Overall, world-lines 01-09A have been identified, with each world-line being assigned a number based on seniority of appearance.

But all of this is overshadowed by the newest appearances, both of which happening right as the US began an expedition southwards to deal with the Columbian threat.

North America:


"It pains me to know that even in another world our brothers and sisters had to deal with the evils of slavery and the men who want to perpetuate it. As President I promise to, for the remainder of my term, work to help you and the rest of this nation build up to match the forces of France and Palestine, all with the help of our holdings in Panama and our ingenuity here at home." - President Abraham Lincoln in a speech to local Ohioans, January 15, 1867/1879/1812/05

In North America, another set of transplants has appeared, surprising everyone. Contact was quickly established, as much of the territory brought in was bordering Appalachia. Initial conversations between citizens of the two areas revealed to the newly-brought in Americans that they weren't quite on their Earth anymore, with the people from 'Westsylvania' apparently being from an alternate future that was itself brought to another world: the one they're in now. The news spreads relatively quickly to the local state capitals and D.C. respectively. An emergency session of Congress is called, inviting the representatives of the new states, though by the time it's held not every representative from every new state has arrived to D.C. In this emergency session, the states of Ohio, Detroit, Delmarva, and Pennsylvania agree to the legitimacy of the D.C. government and the legitimacy of President Lincoln and Vice President Wesley.

Down south, in the Caribbean, the states of Borinquen and Antillia find themselves seemingly alone, which causes a lot of panic as the surrounding islands that should either be American states or British colonies were completely devoid of any living person. A week into their appearance on this new world, ships from Borinquen sailing into Central America to see whether or not any Spanish colonies still existed found a surprising sight - a canal in Panama.

For Panama, the sight of these practically ancient ships bearing a familiar flag was a god-send. Brought in on the final year of the Canal Zone's existence, they were expecting a quick transferral of jurisdiction to Panama in a couple months. The sudden disappearance of Panama, the United States, and most radio communications and satellite uplinks has broken that expectation in two, leaving Panama in dire straits. They needed food, fuel, clean water, and all the necessities one needs to live, alongside parts for the various ships caught in the sudden shift - and for the jets for the US Air Force still present, though we won't mind that for now. Before order could break down, Governor Harold Parfitt ordered Marshall Law and rationing in effect. There was some dispute over whether he could do so by many Zonians, the fact that they were in an unprecedented situation caused many of these arguments to fetter out and become moot. Parfitt, during his small stint as Acting President of the US in Panama, quickly set out to set up farms with whatever produce they could gather, hoping that it'd be enough to feed the 40,000 population. However, the appearance of the aforementioned ships caused these fears to be unfounded, as Borinquen and Antillia's food production could be siphoned off to Panama to help feed itself, though it definitely didn't remove the issues regarding parts and fuel.

However, by the end of January news from a returning ship to Borinquen gives the people of the American Caribbean hope; Washington D.C. is here. While there was rampant confusion as to who 'Abraham Lincoln' is for those living on the Caribbean States, in the zone the mood is far different as many Zonians are excited that the Emancipator was alive and well, and their legal President. Representatives from the Caribbean states and Governor Parfitt traveled to D.C., hoping to make official contact with the government to allow a sense of normalcy to return. These talks went about how you'd expect, with Borinquen and Antillia being recognized as states and the Panama Canal Zone being reorganized as the Panama Territory, with the capital being set in Balboa.

In mainland America, the appearance of the Canal and the technology within it represented a massive opportunity. Army Engineers from Panama were quickly ordered to build an Air Force base where Camp Springs was, which was quickly fast tracked by a lot of funding and the immediate need for transferral of air assets to the mainland. Through this airbase, the US government began cataloging its present military assets, mostly to determine what was present, what needed parts, what can be cannibalized, and what can be used for RnD to establish a native manufacturing capability for their military assets. Of the aircraft present, the F-15, F-14, F-16, A-10, and B-52 were marked as air platforms the US military immediately needed the ability to construct. Through this, several factories were established in Appalachia, Ohio, and Detroit to construct the fighters while in Pennsylvania a factory was established to build the B-52. Construction on the factories to the standards needed will take a long time, so further funding is set up to get them to at least the level to produce spare parts, which completed by the end of June. Another issue was that of fuel and ammunition, the latter quickly dealt with by establishing factories in Ohio and Appalachia for the direct manufacturing of bullets and explosives respectively. The fuel problem, however, was far more complicated. Technically, Appalachia already had the required infrastructure to harvest oil, but this infrastructure wasn't anything compared to what they'd actually need. The government, seeing this as an issue, quickly began securing known oil fields in Pennsylvania and began construction of joint oil pumps and refineries, all while tentatively beginning importing more oil from France and Palestine. All told, for the US to have the full capability to produce new fighters and bombers, alongside arming and fuelling them, it'd take at least another year for limited production and several more for full military-level production.

But full military-level production wasn't quite needed, as the conflict the US was going to undergo wasn't one that needed it. The Russell Expedition, one originally planned with late-1870s technology in mind, now had at its disposal limited air coverage. But that would be overshadowed by the newly-reenlisted Major General Wiktor Ward Wyrzykowski, who while on a visit to Ohio for his Gubernatorial campaign in Westsylvania was caught up in the Transference. Major General Ward, as most would like to call him, went to D.C. and requested soldiers to invade south from Appalachia through the wilderness and into Columbian lands. President Lincoln granted this request, giving him command of a mixed force of Appalachian veterans of the Civil War and the newly-arrived troops from Panama, giving Ward a lot more firepower than he'd initially been expecting.

Simultaneously, thanks to radio communications being set up between Ward, Russell, and D.C., both expeditions set off. Ward himself traveled south through land that Appalachia had been officially recognized as owning, thanks in part to Westsylvania being recognized as its counterpart, and went through the Cumberland Gap - after a moment of recuperating his forces and paying respects to the men (and women, though he won't tell anyone but perhaps the Zonians that) who fought with him during the Great American War. Eventually, Ward encountered stray Columbian forces - the majority of them being levies with the knights being held up in other parts of the nation. These small skirmishes were devastating to the Columbians, with Ward using his asymmetric tactics, access to modern technology in small parts, and general brutality against those he deems 'in the vein of the slaving Robinsonite government'. The effect was as successful as it was painful to the Columbians, with Ward pushing far into Columbian territory. Eventually, he split his forces in two, putting one half under the command of one of his officers, Karim Seddiki, a Moroccan immigrant, who set out west while Wesley himself set out southeast towards the South Carolina coast. The Russell expedition, however, was far less successful, with the man clashing with the Zonian forces at his command where Ward was far more accepting. When Russell was caught in combat against Columbian knights, his forces were nearly destroyed, with the Zonian soldiers that came alongside them being the only ones to survive intact after a cavalry charge against them was rebuked by liberal use of a machine gun. Russell himself died in combat to a sword to the abdomen, which caused command to be transferred to the leader of the Zonian forces. They called a quick retreat, getting evacuated by a helicopter from Camp Springs.

Later into the year, with the Russell Expedition being a failure and Ward's own expedition being a surprising success, Lincoln decided to allow the Marines present in Panama to make landings on the coasts of Columbia with the support of newly-trained soldiers from the mainland. These landings were quite successful thanks to the use of modern technology, though the amount of territory taken was small due to real fears over supply lines being overextended in the technologically backwards Columbia.

Speaking of Columbia, the reaction to the American invasion was at first assumptions that the Appalachians were once again raiding them, so local nobiles simply raised levees and sent them to deal with the raiders. This assumption was quite wrong, as those levees were cut down by Ward's army. Eventually, the Columbian nobles began to realize the mistake, and began raising several armies across their territory. The Emperor and his court called for every noble to bring forces against the Appalachian Invasion, and even called the 'Christians' of the United States Americanist heathens through missives he sent to those nobles most loyal to him. This mobilization wouldn't help, as Ward's forces chewed through whichever army went up against him and continued onwards towards his goal of splitting Columbia in two. The later invasion by the Marines only caused confusion among the coastal lords as they now realized their own lands were starting to be invaded by what they assumed to be pirates. This caused many to start moving their forces to protect their territory, further devastating the Columbian response to the invasion. When diplomats from the UN were sent to try and put an end to the war, a local noble of the port they landed at simply rebuked them, causing the delegation to leave and for the war to continue.

But going back to the north, politics have profoundly changed. The Republican-Patriot coalition has been joined by that of the Federalists and Zonian Democrats, giving birth to the Labor Party. Those of the Republicans, Federalists, and Democrats from the newly-brought in states joined with former members of the National Union Party - the conservative members of said party - and have formed the Liberal Party. Finally, the members of the NDP and the Confederalists have united, simply deciding to continue the NDP name rather than change it for something different. All of this has happened in preparation for the coming Presidential election happening next year. Lincoln decided he wouldn't run for a third term, which left those in the LP to look to their second favorite candidate; Till Wesley. In December, Wesley announced his bid for the Labor nomination for President of the United States. Among the other parties, multiple candidates were looked for possible candidates - the Liberals were torn between nominating Simon Snyder and Samuel Huntington. Meanwhile, the NDP went with John J. Jacob, chosen due to his experience with running against Wesley once already, even if he lost to the surprisingly popular Appalachian candidate. All parties are looking forward to the new election, as without the Electoral College and two-round system it'll be a complete toss-up as to who'll win. With the appearance of states far more conservative than either Appalachia or Washington, it's going to be a very interesting election cycle.

Europe:

"It has come to our attention that the new English state considers itself… Socialist. From all I've seen, it's a perversion of Socialist principles for those autocracy with a so-called Socialist coating." - French General on Oceania.

In Europe, tensions are quite high. The appearance of Oceania, its mysterious actions and constructions of fortifications along the Oceanian-Cymru border, alongside its underlying hostility to anyone trying to contact them has left the French and Celts nervous. The Celtic military continued its training and militarization, importing mass amounts of military equipment from France to help hold the line in case the Oceanians decided to invade.

And speaking of the Oceanians, the nation still stands silent towards the outside world, watching and gathering whatever information it can - though obviously only the Inner Party truly knows anything for fact. Painstaking effort is taken to create a new narrative - Oceania stands lone against the Celtic Monarchists in the north and the French Union to the south. History is rewritten, detailing the 'long-lasting' tensions between the three nations. All mentions of the prior world order are removed, done away with as easily as changing adversaries in the Forever War. Eventually, normal broadcasts within the nation began once more, detailing Big Brother's love for his subjects in the Oceanian Bastion against the Celts and French, how they'll eventually liberate their 'brothers and sisters' in the lands held by the Celts and all of the other propaganda used to keep the Outer Party and Proles 'satisfied'.

Of course, no nation can be a complete blackhole of information when its technology isn't that sophisticated, as French and Celtic radio operators - the latter of which existing thanks to French assistance - began detecting the broadcasts from Oceania. These broadcasts confused everyone dearly, as Oceania only arrived last year. Even then, construction of military fortifications continued and the border between Cymru and Oceania is unofficially recognized as a demilitarized zone by the UN ala North and South Korea.

France and Cymru's reaction to the American-Columbian war is one of worry for the Celts and tacit approval from the French. While the Celts would prefer peace, the fact that for all they knew the Columbians attacked first was damning, even if the possible removal of Columbia was removing another monarchy from the world. France, meanwhile, was quite happy with America going into Columbia, hoping they'd overthrow the feudal monarchy present and instate 'better forms of government', as they say. The use of more modern equipment from Panama has piqued their interest, with the French taking particular interest in the fighters now in America's hands.

Middle East:

"Comrade Vice-President Wesley is a Socialist visionary, his visit to Palestine has only strengthened my view of this, that is why I now identify as a Wesleyist Socialist." - Palestinian Wesleyite Socialist, a growing movement among the left-wing of Palestine, France, and Cymru, 1954/05

Within Palestine, things are far calmer. With no possible enemies on their borders or across the water, the Palestinians can work on colonizing the Sinai peninsula and construct a new Suez Canal. Construction has gone to plan so far, with the two entry and exit points on either side of the construction site being worked on simultaneously. It's expected that within a year or two, assuming there are no delays or sudden breakthroughs, the project will be complete.

Other than that, Wesleyism as an ideology has spread to Palestine and mixed with local ideological ideas. Based on the ideas of Vice President Till Wesley and his time as Governor of West Virginia - now Appalachia - the movement is still quite small within Palestine and France. However, the movement has seen a strong showing, with multiple Student Representative Councils spreading across the nation in the style of Appalachia's own Student Representative Councils - though without the officiality of the latter. Similar movements appear in France and Cymru, though the latter has too few state-funded schools for such a thing to become big.

Africa:

"These birds are fascinating creatures. They most probably have sapience, it's the only explanation I can give. It's… surprising to have another like us yet be so different. It makes one think." - Palestinian researcher regarding the Forktails.

In Africa, the Forktail Clans continue expanding and developing culturally. Though, some interesting developments come from the Azores as the Forktail Clan present on the islands has begun early farming of a local fruit. This has caused the Clan to experience a slow centralization under the Clan leader, though the appearance of any actual government is unlikely at this early stage of Forktail history without intervention.

In Morocco, the Franco-Palestinian Research team has continued to build upon what they've learned from observing the Forktails - who themselves are observing the team. From what they could gleam, the Forktails had a complex set of calls - which caused a Palestinian scientist to realize that these birds could possibly be sapient. After some tests regarding trying to trade with a particularly curious bunch of Forktails, this theory is given credence. By the end of the year their understanding of the Forktail language has grown from nothing to little, enough for simple conversations with the Forktails.\


Year 5, January 1st


Year 5, December 31st

Note: And here's the turn. If there's anything I missed, any grammatical mistakes, or other miscellaneous things tell me, I'm not that infallible. But with this, it's now @Mantising's turn, good luck. Also, I changed some of the colors for the nations on the map to make them fit better, in my opinion. France was given a red color, Cymru given a slightly lighter and less blue green, the US reverted to its original color, Columbia was given a grey coloring, and I swapped out the black of Oceania for something different as it blended too much with the coastline.
 
Last edited:
Formation of the All-Celtic Communist League (Canon)
Formation of the All-Celtic Communist League

Cymru's political scene has been permanently altered by the "shift" as the people of Cymru would make contact with people from nations with very different histories and most importantly, ideas. One such idea that has made its way into Celtic politics is Communism, with the establishment of the All-Celtic Communist League.

Led by the charismatic Áine Máel Sechnaill, the All-Celtic Communist League strongly advocates for worker's rights in the Celtic Empire. Wishing to avoid the harsh working conditions many workers went through in the Industrial Revolutions in the other timelines. They also advocate for the development of the empire's backwards regions and colonies, arguing that it is required in order for the Empire to progress.

They have found support in Cymru's still relatively young proletariat class thanks to its dedication to them. This doesn't mean that they have ignored the peasants though, as they call for land reform and more autonomy to be given to Cymru's many peasants.

The formation of the All-Celtic Communist League comes as a surprise for many in the Fourth International, seeing as the Empire's Industrial Revolution had only begun a few years back but many see this as a generally welcomed development nonetheless. While concerns regarding the League's reformism and naivety are raised, it is decided that it would be better to help guide and teach Cymru's nascent Communists than to subject them to constant criticism and bashings.

Only time will tell if the Celtic Communists succeed in building a new and better world or come down crashing.

| Celtic Communists? How interesting... |
 
The Years without a Spark - Where is everyone? (canon)
The Years without a Spark - Where is everyone?

When Mankind arrived on the new Earth (There's still not a censuses as to the name), the thought of a lack of fellow creatures was only in a philosophical or abstract sense, but with the arrival of more people from across time, this to lost it's luster. However, this has lead to a new, more eerie question - Why is Eden the way it is? Animals of the ancient past roam free, but there are not ice sheets. And strangest of all, no hunter-gathers, no primitive tribes, not even similar species such as Neanderthals. Humans are the product of millions of years of evolution, shaped by a confluence of environmental pressures and biological developments. One can't resist the urge to have an explanation.
Most have come to the conclusion that this world is clearly not the past, but an altered present, even if the exact date can't yet be pinned down.

With that premised accepted by most, the UN requested that a number of respected scientists around the world gathered at an assembly in Paris, with their goal to try and pin-point a reason as to why their new home is the way it is. That cold September morning (Year 05) meeting, was fruitful, if a bit long and argumentative, with the consensus being that there were two consistent Hypothesis that warranted further inquiry.

Hominid-Absence Hypothesis
This theory is currently the most accepted by the scientific community. It's premise goes that the ancestors of mankind, mainly Australopithecus, never arose, died out, or "reassimilated" back into nature through interbreeding with other great apes. As such, the Homo genus was butterflied away and there wasn't a replacement species to take it's place.
It has been challenged, mostly due to a lack of sufficient data (Places like Africa and Eurasia have not been thoroughly explored at the time of writing), but it's seen as the most reasonable and has been accepted by around half of the world's scientific community.

Hominid-Extinction/Hominid-Disappearance Hypothesis
This theory is the second most popular, and poses that anatomically modern Humans did exist at one point (Pre-argiculture to be specific, due to the presence of Ice Age Megafauna), but died out. How these native Humans went the way of the Dodo is another question entirely. The explanation with the least detractors is one from French scientist Éliane Basse, who proposed that stone age Man was wiped out by a plague of some kind, causing mass infertility among this population and eventually, extinction. The second most popular is that the Youngest Toba Eruption (or similar Super-Volcanic event) caused a genetic bottleneck within the "first" Humans.
However, it is worth noting that this explanations do necessarily contradict either, and in fact, most scientist assume it was a combination of factors rather then a singular, "defined" event. There are ofcourse, more, mainly asteroid impacts, general climate change, competition with other species, etc.

(Pseudo-science & Conspiracy Theories)
Wild-Hominids Hypothesis, Ancient Sapiens, "Pangea" Hypothesis
A variety of other ideas have come about regarding the question, but most have been discredited.
The only legitimately accepted, but still fringe, idea is the Wild Hominids Hypothesis. Seen as an "middle-ground" of Hominid-Absence and Hominid-Extinction, it states that there is a species of still existing Humanoids that didn't evolve intelligence. This hypothetical species is called Homo Mutus ("Silent Man"), although a lack of archeological digs or explorations outside of home countries cannot prove this theory. Still, Homo Mutus is known enough that it has become a popular cryptid.

Other theories have gotten increasingly bizarre.
The Ancient Sapiens theory is an evolution of theories 20th century people would recognize, such as Atlantis, Ancient Aryans, etc. It proposes that there was a technologically-advanced globe-spanning human civilization that was wiped out a catastrophe. The difference is whether the "civilization" was a form of Ancient Legends or a Warped Retro-Future, and how said society fell.
The "Pangaea" Hypothesis is the most interesting. Named after the old supercontinent, it links back to the World-Lines to propose that the new Earth is infact, the original "Prime" timeline, and that Humans themselves are the temporal anomaly or "Alpha PoD".

None of these varying explanations can be defiantly prove for now, but with more time, the truth may one day come about...
Author's Note - My first sidestory! I wrote this as a reference to a previous ISOT game that I tried to run, and as a way to help flesh out this world. A lot of ISOT simply have the Virgin Earth exist with an extended Plestiocene without much fuss, which is fine. This is a map game after all, but I always wondered why a world turned out like this, and the people living in it have probably pondered the question.
As such, I wrote this! I wanted to leave this open ended, so other people can add onto this in a possible future sidestory or main game. Hopefully I did, cause this was fun to write!
 
Last edited:
Back
Top