Journal Entries

Journal entries are found when you progress through the Campaign and explain the lore behind this game.

## Entries

### **March 3, 1896**

I have just arrived at the barracks, my head numb and my ears still ringing from the shock of the travel. It never gets any easier traveling via the Tesla Machine - though it really is a wonder how we can travel so many miles instantly!

I don't understand the technology, but they say it takes nearly a mountain of coal to produce the energy needed just for one long range jump, as well as some other incredibly rare material - this is why only a Nobleman can use the Machine... it is far too expensive for ordinary soldiers to use!

I must go now to join with the local Militia. We have a daunting task ahead in order to try to take back this state, one city at a time - but we will be victorious...

I am sure of it!

### **March 5, 1896**

On quiet nights like these, I sometimes recall how we ended up here. No one expected a Plague like the one that hit, devastating at least 70% of the country...

The greediest of men used that misfortune to try to seize power. With the government and military in shambles, it didn't take much for the richest corporations to try to force their influence. Feeding off the public's fear and uncertainty, they convinced half the country that the government was the enemy... and here we are.

I just wished there was some way to convince them how misguided they are...

### **March 6, 1896**

I wonder about my dearest Madeline and son, and how they're doing back at St. June. The frightening part of this war is that it has no central front - the enemy is everywhere!

St. June is a Patriotic town, I know, but I still can't help but worry. Civil unrest is everywhere, and sometimes entire states are filled with violent skirmishes. We must crush the enemy, for the sake of our families - how can they not see what they are doing to this country!?

### **March 10, 1896**

I continue to see the fallout of the Great Plague everywhere I go, even now, 6 year later. Deserted cities and towns have an eerie stillness to them, with pockets of people still reeling from the effects of the disease.

We travel with care, as always, and I wish I could help the sick I see... but there is nothing to be done. I can see that morale is low these days... I'm not surprised. War, disease, famine... men on both sides struggle to survive every minute of every day...

### **March 12, 1896**

It all started with the United Corporations, or U.C. for short. As soon as the Great Plague took its toll, they were waiting in the shadows to try and sieze power. At first, the U.C. didn't exist at all - it was just a group of individual corporations vying for economic power.

Realizing it was in their best interest to align against the one thing in their way - the federal government - the U.C. was formed, consisting of G.P. Morgan, Forge Inc., and in the beginning, Rockwell & Company.

Rockwell was the first company to really try and sieze power with the attempted assassination of the president. When the Federals traced the attempt back to Rockwell, their private militia was no match even for the depleted Federal military... but that skirmish is what led the enemy to form the U.C.

Their barrage of propaganda and a slow build up of organized militias began to mount a serious threat to the Federals - and it became apparent how many people were on their side... or at least against us.

And then it just kind of happened, before anyone really knew what was happening... Before we knew it our cities were war zones, and we found ourselves in the midst of a new, different kind of Civil War.

### **March 15, 1896**

The Noblemen... I think about what it means to be one. In a world where most are barely scraping by, and each side can barely equip or pay their armies, it has fallen on us to organize and lead the small pockets of fighters across the nation. In some ways, the loyalty the Noblemen have from their soldiers, and the influence we have over fighters makes us more powerful than Senators, Generals, and diplomats.

It's no secret that we are who we are because of our wealth. We use our fortune to buy the best equipment and weapons - but while many of the rich have already fled the country or cower in fear, we Noblemen have taken up arms and risk our lives on the front lines. That is why there are so few of us... sometimes I even wonder myself how much easier it would be to run... but I truly believe what we are doing is right, and I truly believe we can make this country great again!

### **March 21, 1896**

We continue to push out across the country, using the Tesla Machine to quickly respond to attacks and to take cities held by the United Corporations. Some of the other Noblemen I have met with have seen battle in dozens of States... I can only imagine the toll that has taken.

This war... it's unlike anything anyone has ever seen. A civil war being fought on so many fronts, in so many cities - but if we can take back and organize just a few States, we may be able to start turning the tide!

### **March 29, 1896**

The United Corporations superior manufacturing is disheartening. The Federals only have one manufacturing plant: the one they siezed from Rockwell & Company during the start of the war, so much of the burden of supplying the soldiers falls on the Noblemen.

There was a recent battle where our men fought harder than I've ever seen because they heard there were more shoes in the area... it's quite a sight to behold - fighting for shoes.

### **April 5, 1896**

Many of the older men fighting are Civil War veterans. I met one today, and we talked about our experiences over coffee - something reserved only for the most special of occassions.

We talked about how different this war is, if you can even call it that. Both sides are barely surviving from the fallout of the Great Plague, and what few men we do have engage in these skirmishes acoss the country. It's not like the Civil War... at least that was predictable - you get you orders, you march towards the enemy, and you fight.

In this war, we can barely tell who the enemy is. I mean, we obviously need to crush the U.C., but as far as those we fight on the field, they're just ordinary citizens...

### **April 12, 1896**

We captured a high ranking official of the U.C. today - they are interrogating him now, as I write this. I'm not sure what kind of information we may get out of him, but it could certaintly be of great value!

Most of the executives are not trained for combat, and likely haven't even seen it up close - so it should be easy to get information. Perhaps it can help lead us to actually be able to siege the United Corporations' stronghold and end this!

### **April 19, 1896**

There are so many things I miss from before this war. Coffee is one of them. Even as a Noblemen there is diffculty in finding it. The small reserve I have is reserved only for the most special occasions. Some of the men are so desperate for coffee, they brew potatoes and rye until it is a bitter, black drink that they can pretend is coffee.

The U.C. on the other hand, is in a much better position to work behind the scenes to smuggle in goods from their shipping partners overseas... I can see the jealousy of our men when we find coffee tins or tea after a successful fight. I cannot say that I am without envy either.

### **April 31, 1896**

The Church has grown in prominence since the Great Plague. Many have taken the event to signify something significant... but I'm not so sure - although the precense of the Ghouls have not helped matters.

The 'Ghouls', as we call them, were once ordinary soldiers. A tiny fraction of survivors from the Great Plague are cursed with a fate perhaps worse than death. Their skin greys and their minds deteriorate into savageness - however their speed and strength grow to incredible heights.

Though they can be somewhat tamed, there are many stories of them turning on their own side - ordinarily soldiers stay far away from them... I try to keep my distance as well.

At any rate, the influence the Church is welcome, and their warrior class of Paladins are some of the most fearless soldiers I've ever seen. With the full wealth of the Church behind their backs, their heavy armor is indeed mighty to behold.

### **May 13, 1896**

Today we executed a traitor. The enemy has been meeting our attacks head on for weeks. It wasn't until we intercepted a courier that we were able to track down this traitor and capture him.

There have been many moles recently, and I imagine there are still many more. In a war climate like this, how are we to know who is who?

### **May 20, 1896**

The prison camps on both sides make most men prefer to die in battle, rather than get caught. Disease is rampant in the overcrowded war prisons, and it feels almost ironic that those lucky enough to have survived the Great Plague now perish from such 'ordinary disease'.

Sometimes I think about those prison camps... sometimes I think how its more humane to end my enemies where they stand. It's a terrible thought, I know... but these are the realities of war.

### **May 24, 1896**

Scouting balloons from the enemy today spread propaganda letters across our camp today. There was a quote by the President of G.P. Morgan, the son of the founder Daniel Morgan. It reads: 'You want wealth? You want comfort? You want medicine? You want a better way to live? That is what we are hoping to provide! Join the U.C. and together, we can revive this once great country!'

Of course, it's a lie, but I fear that many of the men resonate with the message. After all, it is a message coming from Daniel Morgan, one of the most vile, dishonorable men I've ever known.

His greed is second to none. Even before the Great Plague, he would climb on the backs of ordinary men to earn his wealth... and now? He wants to trample them.

I understand why the men would like to think that this fairy tale is real, but it is not. If the war were to end with the U.C. as the victors, the ordinary men that fought the war would quickly be forgotten...

### **May 29, 1896**

The president today announced a new draft. He wants to try to mobilize a more centralized army, but I just wonder who is left to draft?

In any case, we could welcome more men. Some say they can feel that we are making headway against the enemy... but until we lay siege to their company headquarters, this will never be over...

### **July 4, 1896**

WIth each passing month our technology grows. I suppose the silver lining of this war is that is has forced us to revolutionize our technology. We have been fortunate enough to have many of the U.C's brightest scientists defect - I think they realize the need to to do what is right, outweights their needs for comfort.

Mind you, I do not wish this devestation on our enemies - I only hope that these new weapons of war will help us end this war swiftly.

### **July 10, 1896**

Vampires - we've all heard the tales. Though they fight for both sides, no one knows much about them. They are not given orders, and often we just hope they do what is in our interest, for if they wished they could most likely destroy us all.

There are rumors of what they are... of course the Church has its beliefs, however most of us heard other tales. That perhaps they are the forefathers of the Great Plague... that perhaps they caused it in the first place. That they are Ghouls from a former Plague that have managed to survive...

I'm not one for conspiracies, and I do not pretend to understand their motives - I am just grateful that at least some of them are our allies.

### **July 12, 1896**

The time has come where I question if this war is even winnable... every time we strike one of their armies down, another rises up. Is there no end?

I think the men can sense it in me... on one hand I feel like we are getting close... but on the other, it's been months and the fighting continues. No... we must stay vigilant. If the men can't cound on the Noblemen, we will never win this war!

## Images of Entries

JournalEntry The Beginning.jpgFirst EntrySecond EntryThird EntryJournalEntry Plague Fallout.jpegFourth EntryFifth EntrySixth EntryJournalEntry Continuation of War.jpegSeventh EntryEighth EntryNinth EntryTenth EntryEleventh EntryTwelveth EntrySeventeenth EntryEighteenth EntryNineteenth EntryTwentieth EntryTwenty-first EntryTwenty-second Entry