Backgrounder Main Page

==Welcome to the Vicendum Wiki==
Hello. This is the Backgrounder Main Page for the Vicendum Wiki. It, along with the other pages in the "Backgrounder" category, will be the only OOC ("Out of Character") posts on this Wiki. Everything else will be written "in-universe".
== Authorship ==
=== OOC ===
The OOC author of the Vicendum project is Daniel Arnold. I am a Canadian with Italian heritage. I graduated from York University with Honours with a degree in history, which is where I get the inspiration for much of the project. Vicendum began during my university days and has gone through several different versions since then, with the current iteration of the project beginning in 2014.
=== In-Universe ===
The in-universe author of the Vicendum project is actually unknown. The project is tied to the Epic of Vicendum (where the project gets its name), a journalism project that purports to discuss "the truth" about the world through various different means, the main one being The True Virus blog. The Epic is a polarizing tome in the Vicendum world, with its supporters noting it has a thorough research style and has minimal bias, while its detractors dismiss it as a mere "tabloid" because of its propensity to give print space and air time to known conspiracy theorists. 
== The Story ==
Vicendum is officially the setting for the story series The Virus, available at the eBook store at Payhip. The Virus is a story about the criminal underworld of Vicendum, highlighting various criminals and not just why they've committed their crimes but why they've resorted to crime in the first place. It is a series that will challenge conventional views on heroism and villainy by highlighting the nuances of the struggles between the "establishment" and those left on the margins. It keeps with Vicendum's overall theme, asking the question, "what does it mean to do the right thing?"
Other stories and works included in the official canon of the Vicendum narrative are as follows:
* The overall Vicendum store at Payhip
*Pictoral Stories and Historical Maps at DeviantArt
* The in-universe pages of the Wiki.
*The True Virus blog.
*The True Virus Etsy portrait and comic shop.
* The Twitter Profile
* The Facebook Page
* The Instagram Profile
== The Virus ==
Main article: The Virus
The Virus are Vicendum's main figures, serving as the world's de facto protagonists. They are a movement that operates primarily online, communicating across the various social media platforms and other forums via hashtags, messages, groups and other social media tools. They do not have a formal structure, organization or any kind of actual standards, as anyone can declare themselves a member, but, generally speaking members of The Virus are united by the common animosity towards governments and "the establishment" as a whole. This has meant that police efforts targeting Viral activities is labouriously difficult, as members have no "tell tale" markers signifying their membership in the movement.
That said, The Virus' de facto leader is the group's founder, Danforth Grayson, a polarizing and divisive figure worldwide. He is universally despised within law enforcement circles and other "establishment" circles, but he has become a folk hero among the world's marginalized groups and (after his arrest in 2020), he has increasingly been seen as a martyr. Many Viral members also tend to use the hashtag #thetruevirus when communicating, with the phrase being seen as graffiti in numerous places worldwide.
Since Grayson's arrest, a (mostly) female-led group with a strange tattoo (speculated to represent the Carthaginian religious symbol the "Sign of Tanit") on their chests have emerged as leaders of The Virus. Since the group is still relatively new, not much is known about them or their motives.
== Setting ==
The Vicendum world follows the old trope, "the federation vs. the empire", where the world is split politically between one dominant megapower ("the empire") and a confederation of states set up to oppose it ("the federation"). In this case, the empire is the Roman Empire, which has survived from ancient times to the modern day. Opposing them is a federation of states known as the Virtue Federation. In a twist on that tale, the Romans are actually the more liberal and democratic of the two, with Virtue being the more oppressive and authoritarian group. This is because while Virtue's systems give the illusion of operating as a democracy, their system is set up so that all the power is concentrated on their core group of nations- "The Family"- who dictate policy to the rest of the Federation. In addition to this, Virtue uses fear of the Romans to further indoctrinate their people and ensure compliance with Virtue policies.
Other areas of note include:
* North American Union: Officially a Roman protectorate, this was set up after the collapse of the United States of America in 1994. It basically covers the entirety of real life Canada and the U.S. as well as northern Mexico, except for Florida, northern New York state, the Niagara region of Ontario, New England, British Columbia, Alberta, the Yukon and Alaska, which are direct Roman possessions. It is ostensibly an economic and political confederation similar to the real life European Union, but systemic corruption and mismanagement have meant that the NAU is horribly dysfunctional. The Romans- who finance it heavily- set it up as a means to fill the power vacuum after the USA collapsed, but public support for Roman involvement in the NAU is dwindling as more begin to see the NAU as a "money pit" that provides little actual value to Rome.
* Casara: A major power occupying almost all of northwest Africa, the Casarans are technically neutral in the Rome-Virtue conflict. They mostly stay out of their conflict, but when they do tend to pick a side, it is Rome they side with. Their society is highly communal, with the government providing its populace with free shelter and food with the expectation that each Casaran works or pursues a project of some kind. The Casarans pay for these programs by nationalizing its mineral resources as well as investing in a share of each company that operates within its borders and trades with the country. They are known for their festive and friendly spirit- the name "Casara" even means "friends" in their native language- and some see them as a "model" nation for others to emulate.
* Birea and Australia. The Birean Empire- a member of Virtue- occupies the Indonesian archipelago in southeast Asia, dominating the Australian continent to its south. The Bireans are known for their religion, an extreme patriarchal form of Christianity known as Nathanism. Nathanism asserts that women have no rights at all, with their only role to be that of being the eternal slave of men. Because of their status, those Birean women that can leave do, and female infanticide is common. The latter is exacerbated by the Birean Emperor imposing a "one child policy" on Birean families, done to curtail exponential population growth in the 1960s and 1970s. This has led to a demographic situation where the vast majority of Birean men cannot naturally find wives, forcing them to resort to many different human trafficking operations to find one. Though they are technically illegal, secret deals with various different nations allow Birea's human traffickers to operate unopposed, with the largest operations run by the Nathanites' militant wing, the Soldiers of the Lord. Australia is a chief source of women for the Bireans, although they do have operations elsewhere in the Virtue Federation as well as operations in the NAU, which they try to hide from the Romans.
* The City of Buffalo: Called the "capital of the world", Buffalo is where the landmark "Treaty of Buffalo" was first signed in 2017. It is technically a Roman possession, but because of its status as the site of the landmark treaty, it has embassy offices from each country represented in the Treaty. Because of its international nature, it is the most diverse city in the world, being seen as the most vibrant, prosperous and important city in the world behind Rome itself.
* Byzantium: The Byzantine Empire- centred around Constantinople (RL Istanbul)- is a small but influential nation as it is the site of Virtue's headquarters. Technically, the Byzantine Empire was the "eastern" half of the ancient Roman Empire (with the nation more commonly referred to as "Rome" representing the "western" half of the Empire), but, since the last division in the 6th century, for all intents and purposes, the Byzantines are an independent country. Their society is predominantly Greek with Eastern Orthodox Christianity being the official state religion. The Byzantines are ruled by Empress Alexia Comnenus, who uses her cunning and political savvy to wield enormous influence over not just Byzantium and its environs but the entire Virtue Federation, so much that she is seen as its de facto ruler. Alexia came into power in 2012, when Byzantium was in the midst of a deadly global norovirus pandemic that became known as the Byzantine flu, as it was first discovered there. Alexia was instrumental in eventually stamping it out and she has been popular in Byzantium (as well as Virtue) as a result, a popularity she exploits for her own purposes.
* England: England is the successor state to the British Empire, which from the 17th century to the late 20th century was Rome's chief geopolitical rival. Despite being the world's second largest economy (after Rome), England projects only a fraction as much as its predecessor did. Thus, it is no longer seen as Rome's rival, but it still harbours deep animosity towards Rome, especially since the Romans played a key part in the British Empire's dissolution in 1970. England has seen its global influence rise in recent years because it has established itself as the No. 2 power within the Virtue Federation, which has increased its prestige considerably. Technically, England is a constitutional monarchy, but the Conservative Party has held an iron grip on Parliament since 1970, with the Party accused of passing laws that further cement their ability to stay in power. England's most important figure is its Foreign Affairs Minister, Jack Kent, an incredibly influential worldwide figure who has been in his position since 1986.
* Ireland: Ireland is the world's most dysfunctional state, being in a state of total anarchy since 1993. That year, the civil war that currently engulfs the island- known as the "Beer Wars" because the various factions involved are (mostly) financed by beer companies- erupted after dubious and contentious election results sparked massive protests. Because of the chaos, the Irish diaspora is the world's largest ethnic minority, with the group facing massive amounts of discrimination in just about every country they are present in. Racism against the Irish is widespread, highlighted by the numerous and often humiliating stereotypes developed about the people. In response, the terrorist organization Eirinn Go Brach was formed, with the group proclaiming themselves the "sole defenders of the Irish nation", having committed numerous atrocities as a result.
While not nations, other important figures are:
* The Mundiali: They are the worldwide police force, created by the Treaty of Buffalo. They serve as supplementary forces for the national police forces, intervening on invite or whenever international crimes are involved. They were created in response to the growing threat of The Virus, and containing that movement is still their overarching priority. They made their mark when their investigative unit- led by Galla Claudia- secured the arrest of Danforth Grayson in 2020, which dealt a blow to The Virus' morale. Claudia retired soon after, though she and the Mundiali note they still have work to do with The Virus still. They are led by the Dux, David Wilcox, with their investigative unit now led by Donald Diego.
* Thomas Rotler: Rotler was the dictator of Germany from 1930 until 1967, officially serving under the title of "Chancellor". Rotler and his Falken ("falcon") Party gained their opportunity after the assassination of Adolf Hitler in September of 1930, which was later revealed after Rotler's death to have been orchestrated by Rotler as he saw Hitler to be incompetent. Rotler proved to be a skilled statesman and tactician, being instrumental in Germany's rise to world dominance which saw the Germans romp to victory in World War II and culminated in the formation of the dominant alliance with the Soviet Union known as The Roc. However, after Josef Stalin- whose close friendship with Rotler formed the basis of The Roc alliance- was assassinated in 1955, Rotler became increasingly unstable, believing more and more that almost everyone was conspiring against him. This led to the atrocities of The Holocaust, where estimates vary between 20 and 100 million may have lost their lives, and eventually led to Rotler murdering his own ministers. He was finally arrested in 1967 after his actions exhausted the support of the other government officials, leading to the creation of the Edmonton Trials in 1968 to adjudicate his crimes. In 1969, Rotler would be convicted and sentenced to prison, serving out there until his death in 1973.
== Maps ==
For detailed maps of Vicendum, see the following:
Map of territories officially recognized by the Treaty of Buffalo.
Map of all countries- de jure and de facto.
== Other Pages ==
For more detailed, OOC explanations of Vicendum, please see the following "backgrounder" pages:
* A Note on Alternative History
With that, happy trails and hope you enjoy this wiki.
-Daniel Arnold