Post by Empire City Archivist on Sept 6, 2016 11:01:13 GMT -5
In 300 AD Rome had conquered Europe, their empire occupied territory from Africa, to the middle-east to as far as up to Northern Britain and subsequently Scandinavia and Iceland. Under General Superius, the Roman expansion furthered into Ireland and Scotland, ultimately claiming the British isles in the name of Rome. General Superius had been at the head of a massive military campaign that served to reaffirm Roman dominance over the then known world. It was after this conquest and the subsequent trek East into Russia, Superius was said to have encountered Hercules himself in front of hundreds of his soldiers; the god was said to have admired Superius's strength and intellect so much that Hercules imbued him with his own immortality and strength in the name of ensuring the stability of his army and the empire of Rome. With this blessing Superius won over the whole of Rome capturing the hearts of soldiers, senators and the public who had already came to believe their empire had been won through their divine favour with their gods; all of them from the debased Roman slaves, to the freedmen to the politicians, even the newly conquered communities united under the glory of their newly anointed champion, at long last the whole empire had someone to fully believe and put their faith in.
It was this act that ensured Rome would never crumble under the weight of external military force from barbarian tribes that never got to form, demoralized before they began. The Empire eventually solidified it's Eastern borders with immense walls (in some places 20 feet thick and 30 feet high; Taking a page from a long-dead emperor's 'playbook', the walls united with rugged landscape like mountains and cliffs to prove as much a psychological barrier as a physical one discouraging even the most daring of enemies.), that ran from the Barrents Sea to the Caspian sea, effectively sealing themselves off from Asia, and, moreover, sealing themselves in from the threat of abandoning populace. From 376AD - 1261AD Rome expanded itself culturally, enjoying a renaissance in art, literature, science and architecture that would see many of our history's most notable artisans and thinkers born hundreds of years earlier than our textbooks would tell you. Scientific thought reached almost a pinnacle at this time, completely leaping over the dark-to middle ages into a time when new ideas were being crafted constantly about philosophy, astronomy, history, etc.
Meanwhile in the East the Mongol Hordes were beginning to seep across Asia and under the munificence of Genghis Khan (Also rumored to be favored by the gods, he is still alive to this day ruling Mongolia, hence it's long period of stability), East met West not on a battlefield, but under the tent of diplomacy, both cultures merged, bringing about a mass sharing of ideas between East and West that would gradually form a peace. Suddenly all of Europe and Asia were under the control of two empires, and the two behaved like the best of brothers. However, with this newfound stability, Superius whose immortality was proven as he remained the unquestioned Leader of the Roman army throughout this entire period feared that such a peace might reduce his army to laziness, and decided it might be time to explore the waters to the west, having heard rumors of lands in that direction from the Scandinavian and Celtic tribes he had conquered years earlier.
The World in 1232 A.D.
In 1354, with a fleet of almost 15 Warships, and 3 settling ships, Superius set out across the Atlantic ocean; His ships would find land months later, landing on what is now Nova Scotia. They found little there of interest for an army, leaving behind a small garrison of troops and a group of settlers and builders, Superius continued West finally landing on the coast of Maine in June 1354, it was here they found the first hints of what was to be expected from this continent. An historian along for the voyage wrote
"...and as the rowers sped the landing parties along the waves we could almost feel the eyes watching us from the shrouded forests ahead. When we struck land we were not greeted by anything as spectacular as we were hoping. The beaches were devoid of life in general save for the steady crashing of waves. I and several others including our General had been inclined to notice the sudden appearance of nasty weather the very moment our feet leapt from our boats. General Superius was quick to usher us all further onto land, where the weather seemed to calm. We stood some 400 soldiers, masons, artisans, and learned-men. And the General was sure to have reinforcements at the ready as we ventured into the woods, forming a large skirmish line. We had not entered no more than 20 paces when a soldier looked up and saw a giant bird staring down at him through the canopy. It seemed to be blanketing the entire top of the trees with it's body, at once the beast lifted into the air and let out the most monstrous scream that seemed to shake the entire earth beneath us. The horses were bolting left and right and there was not a semblance of order amongst us when the forest came alive with sound, like one long gong of a church bell. And then, as most started to flee in terror, creatures started emerging from the forest, wild dogs and cats, insects and rodents and began attacking any one they found. Men were literally being eaten alive."
The first landing party escaped back to their ships 200 men less than when they came, General Superius was said to have exhibited himself an amazing physical specimen, capable of making the earth itself, move. The entire event had happened so quickly not a single man managed to form a good enough idea of what kind of army they had just fought. Forced to sulk back to Rome, Superius was determined to return. And return he did, amassing a massive combined Roman-Mongol fleet of 750 warships only 2 years later. It was meant as a show of force. A massive army of over 225,000 soldiers all crossing the Atlantic by ship.
However, as they neared the same coastline, again they spotted the giant bird they had seen in the jungle. It would be come to be known as the Thunderbird, and it was strictly under the control of the natives who inhabited this place though no one at this point was even sure there were men on these lands. The weather they received upon entering the coast was unlike any storm they'd seen, and over half the fleet was sunk by bad weather alone. And it was all directly related to the giant bird, that seemed to conjure the wind through the mere flapping of it's wings, and the rain and lightning from it's eyes. The entire fleet was badly damaged and forced to run aground. 225,000 soldiers had dwindled down to 75,000 in a single storm.
And now, the fleet was stranded on this new world. General Superius was able to organize his men, and again, headed deeper onto land cautiously, choosing less forested routes for fear of attack by animals, and constantly they kept lookout in the skies for the terrible giant bird. They managed to make it further in country without incident, making it as far as Lake Ontario before they met animal resistance. The well-trained combined Roman-Mongol force stood their ground against an unorthodox enemy, and survived the onslaught, managing to force the creatures to retreat. Another historian recounts what happened next...
"... and then as if appearing out of thin air we were surrounded by red-skinned men holding the entire army at spear point; only their spears seemed to glow with a demonic green light, that pacified the lot of us instantly. It appeared as if we'd been fighting in the midst of an entire settlement of these people the entire time, they'd simply been unseen by our eyes, waiting for their time to strike."
However, it was General Superius who urged a peaceful approach, realizing the magic of these natives must be greater than anything they'd seen till now. Superius managed an uneasy peace, and actually began to learn their language. Eventually he learned enough over a period of a few months in which the legions were held not unlike prisoners by the natives that he negotiated the armies release. He learned that the natives of this continent had all united under one banner centuries ago. Aztec, Incan, Mayan, Sioux, Iroquois... countless tribes all behaving as one for centuries, all living in pure communion with the land. The native shamans spoke of helping to protect the land, and it in turn protecting them. The shamans were capable of extraordinary feats such as the ability to communicate with all of the animals on the continent, forging an alliance of symbiosis. The Shamans were doctors with abilities of miraculous healing of wounds, as well as altering perception of outsiders as was seen in their cloaking fields.
Though it was uneasy, Superius was able to convince the Natives to allow the Romans to build a settlement on their continent, as far from their tribal settlements as possible. Along the coast where New York is today. In 1360, Empire City was founded, initially titled New Rome. Enormous walls were erected around the entire perimeter of the city that were to act more to keep people within the walls than out as the Natives wished to prevent any form of racial 'mixing'. The peace Superius had managed was an uneasy one, that Natives didn't like the idea of strangers damaging their lands, but Superius had impressed them with his peaceful nature and super abilities and allowed him and his people to stay on the condition they would stay within the confines of their city. Superius would remain here for another 5 years, helping to create a magnificent city, rivaling Rome in size, technology, and grandeur.
Finally, with his ships rebuilt, Superius sailed back home, leaving his new city at the mercy of the natives and the people he left in charge. However, upon his return to the Emperor Diomitian III, Superius was shamed; He had not brought back spoils of war, nor had he done conquest of any true new lands. Despite the dreadful stories of the Native's terrible powers, In the eyes of the Emperor, Superius had done no more than bring back to Rome a mighty failure. He was exiled, completely disappearing as per the Emperor's wishes. It was around this time that the Roman collapse began; Diomitian was said to have abhorred Superius' defeat so much he outlawed anyone exhibiting any form of super abilities. In Rome, and in in fact in the world at the time, since Superius's ascension and subsequent fame, many more super beings had sprung up in various cultures, and suddenly Diomitian had a scapegoat for the Roman defeat in the New World. Entire cults seem to have sprang up across the globe dedicated to the successful deletion of all super beings. But this act added further segregation to an already destabilizing world structure in a combined Asia and Europe.
For the next 2 hundred years (1370 - 1579) Rome and indeed the known world, fell apart, the strain of policing such vast empires, forced rulers to spread their armies thinly, merely trying to keep order amongst their own citizens. The political systems as they had been under previous emperors were held together literally by a thread with politicians bitterly struggling for a foothold with more power; Rome was a kingdom ruled under the whim of emperors for centuries, beneath them was an intricate system of governors put in place as regents over cordoned off sections of Roman territory. During the time of Superius, there was a renewed sense of glory within the empire that had helped to strengthen the disparate communities, who treated him almost like an Emperor even though he had shunned the title formally and publicly on numerous occasions. However, his influence was such that it was practically in his charge who would be the new Emperor, and he'd always seen fit to entrust the actual rulership of Rome to trusted men who could ensure it's stability. However, with Superius gone, the Emperor seemed dull in comparison and various city states broke away from the empire establishing their own colonies, fracturing Rome at first into 2 separate empires, then into 4 the subsequent year (Northern, Southern, Eastern and Western Roman Empires respectively).
Europe in 1563 A.D.
This was not a peaceful extrication by any means, each empire was in fact ruled by a son of the former emperor, fighting bitterly with his other 3 brothers for control of what should have been a unified Rome. Some exploited the super beings within their realms, while others forged alliances with other factions in Asia or Africa; The outcome was a massive world war that lasted nearly 100 years (1598 AD - 1700 AD). Unfortunately peace would never fully come for the various factions who continued to fight amongst themselves long after it had been established no side could achieve any true advantage. It was here that the largest anti-super being group rose to prominence; Known as The Alans, they were able to gain power in Europe through relentless propaganda routines, encouraging the citizens of every known empire to recognize the route of all evils as the 'Supers'. The Alans preached for genetic purity, claiming anyone exhibiting superpowers was genetically impure, and therefore a threat to the complete genetic purity of the human race. The Alans were fiercely technological, (granted a lot of their technology was used for the capture of Super people) and encouraged the broadening of scientific thought. In a sense, a new sort of religion spread throughout the world that embraced science over philosophy, harmony with science and technology was of the utmost importance to any citizen living in any country where the Alans were represented, helping to bring most cultures ahead full tilt in their scientific output, if not for the sacrifice of their protectors...
The following 2 hundred years in Europe and Asia (1710 - 1920) were the years known as The Cleansing. Countless hundreds of humans, either caught exhibiting super powers, or merely accused of harboring super abilities were destroyed through hideous mass-genocides. The Alans were merciless in their pursuit of new devastating technologies to better dispose of their enemies so much so, that their demand in fact fueled most of Asia and Europe's economy throughout most of this time if not all. Those Super beings unable to fight back or escape, primarily children and the elderly were subjected to hideous experiments, pushing their genetics to their very limits. It was said in some of these cases The Alans themselves were able to further their own might through the creation of mindless super beings out of those they captured, though the rumor to this day has not been proven.
There was however, a free zone that most of the super people fled to once The Alans' intentions became clear; New Rome, now known only as Empire city. There they found a booming population, spread across several hundreds of square miles, a port city with massive walls surrounding it. In Empire city, for a few hundred years now since Superius' departure the Romans here had actually managed to form trade routes with their Native neighbors, eventually encouraging free travel between the cities, fostering an influx of new population, and new opportunities. Scientific and religious thought had expanded to encompass all major holy beliefs (save of course, for those followed by The Alans and their supporters.) , the city had grown far beyond anyone's expectations having been left isolated in the New World. As the purging continued well into the 1950's in Asia and Europe, Empire city's population of super-powered beings continued to grow. Over the coming years, Empire City would grow into the largest city in the world, complete with a healthy alliance with the powerful native tribes inhabiting the remainder of the continent, It was a symbol to the rest of the world: The first Free City. An impenetrable fortress of massive walls and super-powered defenders. From 1950 to 1990, the rest of the world continued to grow, and globalize, The Alans began to wane in popularity, as Empire City had become a shining example of all that could be accomplished within a free society.
Today, in the year 2006, Empire City flourishes, , while the rest of the world remains a tightly knit battlefield of commanders and dictators trying to attain a larger empire than others. Empire City's leaders have managed to remain cut off from the world, relying on it's own populace for survival. It's own economy a self-sustaining force rivaling most major world markets. Empire city enjoys a booming fisheries market, lucrative drilling and oil contracts out to sea, gold and silver mines on the outskirts of the city; Empire City's manufacturing and laboring communities churn out massive amounts of exports gobbled up by many major world powers, Empire City citizens bustle about their day to day routine, working in office buildings, scientific labs, restaurants, marketplaces and shops, factories etc. Some of the people harbor secret identities to conceal their super powers and work amongst the common folk, while others actively fight the crime that inherently comes with a big, rich city. Some of the crime comes from the inevitable influx of super-powered criminals that also flocked to the city during The Cleansing.
Empire City's scientific discoveries have also begun to put it on the World map, discovering various forms of new transportation (teleportation, flying cars etc.) that will hit markets relatively soon. As well as breakthroughs in inter-dimensional technologies that has so far led to the thought of other alternate realities of Earth for Scientists and philosophers to explore.
However, in the rest of the world recently there has been grumblings of The Alans possibly returning, stronger, more advanced than before. Native scouts have witnessed strange happenings up in the northernmost reaches of Canada, and the idea of a conflict with the Alans is not necessarily an unheard of one. There technology makes them feared, but the motives that drive that power is what truly frightens most that come across them, human or Super being alike. Whether The Alans do attack or not, it seems likely that if and most surely when a war does break out it will most likely take place not in Europe or Asia, but in the new center of the known world; Empire City. When the war comes, which side will you take? Or will you merely sit back and watch?