Sunday, April 22, 2012

Nation 2: Grimdark

I'm not sure if anyone's reading this stuff, but updates is updates.  Next nation on the list, prototype-named "Grimdark," so you can guess that it's not the happiest place on Earth.  The nation encompasses a large area, and has a history of conflict, turmoil, and internal strife, although it is now something approaching a unified whole.  It's likely got some influences from WWII-era Germany, and maybe a bit of Russia/USSR.  With no friends amongst its neighbors, the nation has learned to be independent.  Its large territories, coupled with an extreme drive toward technological and industrial advancement has placed it as one of the strongest global powers, and made it well able to defend its own borders.  Except from huge rocks falling from space.  The meteors blasted much of their territory, causing widespread loss of life and infrastructure and plunging the entire country into a state of turmoil.

Although territory has been lost to the mist, infrastructure has been shattered, and refugees have poured into the more hospitable parts of the country, the military continues to flourish.  In the past, multiple armies have tended to exist at any given time, backed by large factions within the nation.  A civil war eventually settles who is in charge, and the various groups align under a single banner.  A draft is often in effect to help fuel the fires of war, at least if it can be justified.  With the sudden restructuring of the borders and alien threat, it's been reinstated once again.  Dodging the draft has thus also become a common and storied practice.  Unfortunately, forcefully recruiting people is also on the rise, and often for less savory positions, such as experiments to create the newest and greatest front-line soldier technology can offer.  The military tends to lack a stereotype on the whole, or even within its divisions.  Personnel of similar background or personality tend to band loosely together whenever possible, so one can easily find the group of civilians horrified to see what they've gotten themselves into, or the hardened soldiers so out for blood they continually test themselves against each other.  The dress uniforms were designed by a famous fashion designer, and thus look really nice, at least.

The national propaganda mill is operating at full capacity, to keep the citizens happy and in high spirits.  Patriotism is running high, and many are willing to do their part to help the war and reconstruction efforts.  Times are tough, and many of the people are overworked and poorly-educated.  The refugee population has it even worse, as proper housing or work is sometimes scarce.  For many, this is something as a shock, as just a generation ago, the healthcare was better, policies were less draconian, and education was pushed as important for the nation's future.  Many see the past as a symbol of what must be restored to their people. 

Even propaganda-bolstered nationalism can't save the military from distrust and fear, although it does lessen the impact. Some areas are practically under martial law, and tales of soldiers returning from the front are often mentally unstable, and capable of violent outbursts.  Enough of which happen to make he average citizen a little uneasy. 

So...yeah, not a happy place.  Working hard to be stable and preserve what it still has, and in many ways on the front lines of a war with an incomprehensible enemy.  They probably develop a lot of the methods for reclaiming mist-affected areas or treating people affected by it.  I see the place as desperate, and going to great extremes to avoid suffering a worse fate. 

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