Reality 9

## Overview

Reality 9, sometimes referred to as the Fire War reality, is a reality in which humanity never invented guns, instead creating weapons based upon fire and explosion.

## History

In this reality, gunpowder was never invented in China, and other flammable substances like oil instead began taking off. In fact, copious amounts of flammable oil were discovered in underground cave systems around the world. This was used primarily in combat, where enemies would shoot flaming oil at each other, as well as small devices comparable to Molotov Cocktails which would spread fire upon impact. This would also be combined with existing weapons like bows and arrows, swords, and eventually crossbows. Such flaming weaponry would be traded around for high value, and those nations which were closest to supplies of oil would begin developing a much stronger military presence. This was mostly the case in England, parts of Africa and South Asia, and Russia.

### England's dominance of oil and The Half-Century War (1080 ~ 1609 AD)

England had a difficult time colonizing the other nations which also possessed such capabilities as them, and the nations they did not colonize they instead entered neutral trade relations with. This was not helped by the Black Death which swept a large portion of Europe, carried on the ships which traded the oil. Not only did the plague take many lives, but many cities in Europe dealt with the spread of it by setting infected citizens and houses ablaze, costing millions of lives.

Over time, however, England gained a much stronger and more dominant political presence in those nations, especially when it entered war with France in 1559, which would come to be known as the Half-Century War. This gave England an excuse to commendere their allied nations' supply of oil to gain the upper hand. Following the end of the war, however, England maintained control of the oil supply in such nations, explaining that they would need to ensure the oil was not misused and that they had a good supply of it in the event of another conflict. This meant that England kept a strong hold and dominant presence in those nations' economies, plunging many into poverty.

### The Age of Exploration and the discovery of a new continent (1611 - 1703 AD)

Following their victory over France in the Half-Century War, England decided to occupy the surrounding territories around it. France, however, determined to match England's power, began The Age of Exploration in 1611, where France and some of its allied nations such as Spain and Italy set sail into the sea, exploring undiscovered territories in the hopes of getting to them before England and potentially discovering more oil supply. This is where a whole other continent across the ocean was discovered by French sailor Jean Vordeaux. French and allied colonists would begin rapidly colonizing and expanding across this land, turning native populations into slave workers who would begin mining for oil, as well as tending to crops to boost the colonialists' economic presence in Europe. While Vordeaux was the one to first discover this territory, Joseph Forenze would be given greater credit and fame for leading the colonial efforts across the land. This continent would later be called Northern Vodunn. Colonialists soon ran into trouble, however, when they found out that Russians had populated a good chunk of Northern Vodunn on the northwestern side. Apparently Russia as well had learned of England's growing military presence, and wanting to ensure they had proper defenses and superior power, branched out to a land mass across the Pacific Ocean a few decades prior. They therefore decided to split the northern continent between them, where Russia would gain control over the northern section and France over the southern. From there, word of this new land spread like wildfire, and it wouldn't be long before England would learn about it in 1703.

### England invades and colonizes Northern and Southern Vodunn (1710 - 1773 AD)

England sent a fleet over to Northern Vodunn, as well as a few ships to the barely-colonized Southern Vodunn, and quickly began battling with the French and Spanish colonialists there. The conflict ended in a stalemate, with the two sides deciding to allow England control over a southern portion of Northern Vodunn, as well as choice sections of Southern Vodunn. However, they only allowed this if England would allow them also to set up southern colonies and begin trading with England, to which England agreed. Russia, however, was less enthusiastic about this decision, and so set up a blockade between their territory and the others' in case a conflict ever arose between them as well. England and France became largely neutral with each other from then on, but certain people living in the English territories became increasingly frustrated, not only with the English political system but also with England's dealings with France in the Vodunns. These citizens were unsatisfied being so complacent with France's demands and their domination of the new lands, and criticized the English government for this, leading to a rebellion.

### The Vodunnian Revolution (1825 - 1857 AD)

A group of rebels, led by revolutionary James Backshaw, raided several English trade ships and armories, forming a militia known as The Independents. They did not want to be stuck serving England and abiding by the rules of other, rival nations, and so took matters into their own hands instead. They then spoke with English King Vincent IV in 1827, demanding that England either take military action or grant The Independents freedom to form their own nation. Vincent was unwilling to allow either of those things to happen, for fear of setting off a greater conflict than ever before between them and France and pushing France to advance even further, and giving these people Independents would be detrimental to their reputation and economy. Displeased with this, The Independents stated that they did not need the King's permission to achieve independence, it would have simply been easier and less violent. As such, The Vodunnian Revolution began on 1833, with The Independents forcefully rebelling against the English monarchy and forming their own small nation. It was a difficult and tenuous military conflict, but in 1841, it was discovered that oil could be used as more than just an incendiary attack or as a source of light, but also as a fuel source for rudementary machines. This was discovered by Henry Francis, a close ally of Backshaw. They quickly began utilizing this advancement in the conflict, and gained a very important upper-hand. They demanded that a sizeable portion of Northern Vodunn be given to them, which was granted to them, ending the revolution in 1857 and forming The United Federation of Vodunn.

### The Expansion of the UFV (1857 - 1919 AD)

Having gained independence and their own territory, as well as a leap in military technology, the United Federation decided to begin growing their economy. They originally entered into the trade business trading natural resources like cotton, sugar and oil, but quickly realized that trading their weapons and technology was much more economically progressive. In the mid 1860s, they even began trading certain weapons and machines for land and territory, gaining control over one third of Northern Vodunn by the end of the century. They developed themselves as a society as well, forming 17 smaller states within their territory, with each state having their own independent government, not needing to rely solely on the decisions of the federal government as had been the case with England. There were unfortunate and minor conflicts with the developing states, however, and a growing slave conflict came to prevalence as well.

### The United Federation Civil Conflict and growing tensions in Europe (1920 - 1929 AD)

The Civil Conflict of the UF, sometimes called the Civil War, came about when certain states within the UF began battling with each other over whether or not slave labor was not only ethical, but economically superior. Many states had begun inventing machines which would do the work of slaves much more efficiently, and as such inventions would grow and spread, the need for slaves would diminish. This greatly displeased other states, mostly states in the southeast, who believed that such technological advancements would only harm the economy, plummeting the value of the goods which were harvested due to their growing commodity and efficiency. What started as a social and political dispute quickly grew into a fiery, bloody conflict between "The Great Federation" and "The New Federation." The Great Federation was formed with the southeastern states separated from the United Federation, fearing that the government would quickly mandate the use of advanced technologies and take away their slaves. This was especially exasterbated when certain southeastern slaves began escaping and moving to the northern states, both to escape the clutches of slavery and to aid the development of new technologies to hopefully abolish slavery altogether. As such, the United Federation was known as "The New Federation" by those in the Great States. The conflict only lasted a few years, however, with the superior technological advancements of the New Federation quickly wiping out the competition. The Great Federation then decided to be absorbed back into the federation to avoid any more conflict and damage to their resources.

During this time, however, several European countries began advancing technologies of their own, using the weapons traded from the UFV to their advantage. By 1929, England and France had developed military technologies would could easily rival other nations. This led to a growing fear and distrust among each of the nations, however, with societies becoming particularly tribalistic and paranoid that the other side would begin invading or stealing their weapons to some degree.

### The First Global War (1947 - 1960 AD)

The First Global War, also called Global War I and The Devastation, began on January 25th, 1947, when a group of English extremists went rogue in the UFV and utilized England's newly-advanced wartime technology to try and overthrow the government and thereby overtake the UFV. The man's name was Mason Petterling, having served in the Royal Military for most of his life. He and other extremists invaded the capitol of the UFV at Backshaw, D.F. (District of Forenza). The UFV took this as a declaration of war by the English, and so shifted their focus once more to military efforts. Over the course of the war, many other nations would join the conflict, with France joining the UFV against England, and certain English-colonized nations like Inja and Royal Egypt joining on the side of England, as well as the newly-formed nation of Dutchia. It was through this war that the UFV and other nations would discover just how much more brutal and destructive the technologies of England and Dutchia had become. Explosives with unrivaled power and large war machines which would wipe out entire squadrons were seen during GWI, which led to enemy nations needing to rethink their strategies a bit. The war ended when England and Dutchia entered a political dispute and the then-King of England suffered a stroke. This crippled several of the nations' economies, except for Dutchia which quickly became a hub for weapons and technological development, which it largely kept to itself.

The war was also able to highlight certain flaws in the war machines which had been used by the UFV for some time, as they switched to non-explosive alternatives for fuel. They had discovered that the enemy would very often take advantage of their fuel source's combustible properties, and their machines would either explode or simply burn up their fuel much more quickly. As such, the UFV began turning to other approaches, such as coal, steam, and electrical power.

### An economic scar and great innovation (1961 - 1995 AD)

With the war having greatly harmed the economies of all involved nations, the United Federation suffered especially. Being one of the newer nations with a lot of social and economic instability, the involvement in such a large-scale war where they were terribly unprepared meant that a huge chunk of their funds were spent on armaments and fuel sources. However, the furtherance of newer technologies and energy sources brought a hopeful light upon the society and economy of the UF. They were able to create new machines and inventions unlike anything seen before, with automatons and mechanical enhancements for humans being developed. However, it was very difficult to sell many of these things to others due to the economic depression, and much of the agricultural business had also suffered from the numerous fires wiping out crop fields. Dutchia, however, was doing quite well for itself, making some technological advancements of its own and having suffered very little during GWI.

### The Second Global War (1995 - present)

The Second Global War, also called Global War II, began on August 14th, 1995, when Dutchia attempted to overtake a large portion of England. Dutchian dictator, Basilius Herschel, believed that Dutchia's unofficial victory in GWI and its subsequent economic and technological superiority meant that it deserved rulsership more than England. England was terrifyingly unstable and weakened following the end of GWI, and Dutchia decided to take advantage of that by invading the heart of England and overtaking the nation, which it did successfully. That is, in Europe at least. The English colonies in the Vodunns remained unconquered and were all that remained of the original England before Dutchia overtook it. Russia, which had mainly focused on trade and expansion across Asia for the past few centuries, also got involved when Dutchia attempted to invade it as well in 2001. The UFV decided to join the conflict as well in order to aid the French and English nations and hopefully gain economic benefits.

## Important Countries

### The United Federation of Vodunn

The United Federation of Vodunn, also known as The United Federation, the UFV, or the UF, is a democratic government in Northern Vodunn and consists of 17 different states. It is a nation which split off from England in the mid-1800s, when James Backshaw and his militia known as The Independents demanded to be independent from English rule. The UF is a very important force of technological advancement in Reality 9, having continually made great strides in the way of inventing and implementint different weaponry, machines, and energy sources.

### England

England is a monarchy originating in western Europe. It was one of the first countries to start developing powerful incendiary weapons back in the early to mid-1100s. While it maintained its power and control across several different nations for some time, and made impressive steps in military technology in the mid-1900s, following Global War I, England fell into a terrible economic depression and political vulnerability, which is what allowed it to be overtaken so swiftly by Dutchia.

### France

France is a European nation which served as one of the primary rivals to England. France, having allied itself with Italy and Spain, wished to grow to such global political and economic power that they would become one of the dominant nations in the world, which was threatened primarily by England for much of their history. This is what led to the Half-Century War and various other conflicts. France was also the leading nation in the discovery of Vodunn in the 1600s, with French sailor Jean Vordeaux being credited for its discovery.

### Dutchia

Dutchia is a relatively recent nation in Europe which came to prevalence in the mid-1900s due to its involvement in Global War I. While it was allied with England during that conflict for a time, a political and military dispute occurred between the two nations, where England wanted to use Dutchia's large supply of metal and turn Dutchia into a nation which manufactured weapons and military technology for the English during the war. However, following the death of the English King, the war fizzled out and Dutchia gained much economic prosperity, which they then used to fund and motivate their efforts in Global War II.