Records: Shoshutes-Kaskaskia Connection

The relations between the CMC and the Western Hemisphere tribes had been magnificent, and the control of the maruading megafauna was only part of that equation. One of the keys of cultural communication that was common through the continent included establishing alliances with the natives, including helping them against their enemies. In this case, it had been lending assistance against the dire beasts (rather than competing tribes).

Likewise, Native WestHem tribes regularly practiced gift giving as part of their social relations – and the CMC explorers gave away *Glow Stones* like they were going out of style – *and those were universally considered precious commodities*.

By the time the CMC arrived, they were able to help the tribes re-establish security within their own territory. This extended to the five keys that Europeans might've used to colonize: securing land (and regaining natural resources), labor, capital, entrepreneurship and knowledge. Beyond the local base in Kaskaskia, the Europeans weren't coming as colonists, they were there to make sure they had trade partners and defenseive alliances across the Atlantic. In the process, they became nation-builders for the post Claw-fang Apocalypse WestHem.

Now, well more than a year into the development, and trade with the Upper WestHem was starting to pay off. It was also very different than it might've been in another timeline, where the primary trade was furs. In this case, with low population levels through Europe, but ample native furs, it was food and spice that was in demand. The WestHem trade routes became another version of the Silk Road.

Popular food exports included potatoes, cranberries, blueberries, hominy, cornbread, mush and turkey. Buffalo was a possible future export, but right now, it was too dangerous to get that close. Spices such as ramps, wild ginger, miners' lettuce, and juniper berry were massively popular through London and Bordeaux, but nothing topped the popularity of WestHem "tree honey," the maple syrup and maple sugar that had become a regular in King Rick's Royal Court.

### **13 months of Upper WestHem Progress**

The last year of recovery and development of the three Imperial Federations (and all their recently-minted kingdoms) had adopted and adapted RANP/OM magic and engineering. it didn't matter if they were foundational or nomadic tribes, after enduring being hunted by the megafauna, they'd all taken well to the *Book of Learning*-taught science and engineering. Just as it was on the other side of the pond, access to magic had accelerated them into quick gains.

Among the foundational groups, those who sunk roots and built structures, there were some that adopted the construction techniques and philosophies with a joei de vivre that was hard to put into words. They were everywhere, but among those carrying the banner the highest was the Ocmulgee Principality in the Cherotawa Imperial Federation, the Hopewell Archduchy in the Illaminis Imperial Federation, and the Allamakee Marquisate in the Aranosages Imperial Federation. They were building structures that Europeans would not only recognize but would be in absolute awe.

Even among the previously nomadic groups, they kept their ecological sensitivity even as expressing engineering harmony with nature. It wasn't unusual to find areas where they dug into the ground rather creating structures that stuck out. Still other groups had adapted to life in the megaflora, now finding ways to build more secure structures high above the ground-level megafauna threats that they'd grown used to avoiding.

### **The Word Had Spread**

Through the great plains of the Upper Western Hemisphere, the rumors of the Commonwealth had spread west to pockets of less-isolated survivors. Those more western refugees of the Claw-Fang Apocalypse didn't even make it to Kaskaskia – *because they didn't have to*.

The very same engineering in the Aranosages Federation that was turning the tide in the monster attacks was inspiring refugees from further west. While the SA made it to the coast already, there were still plenty of areas where they'd missed survivors. Those pockets, though, were now communicating.

### **Future Groupings**

In the continued mapping and surveys of the RANP, two cultural areas were found as they moved into the mountains of the central western region of the Upper WestHem. A bit southwest, there were a collection of tribes with a fair level of survival, while the Great Basin just north of them had been ravaged by both giants birds of prey and massive wolves. With the limited rainfall of the Great Basin area, the megaflora couldn't match what it had been in the central plains or eastern areas.

Where there was megaflora, and that alone was a major impact on the ecology and even the prevailing weather, the truck-sized buffalo had stumbled and stampeded into dominance over most of the supersized apex predators. There were occasions of mega-mammoth and ultrasized sabre-toothed tigers that had islands of dominance, but in the Great Basin, it was mostly the Great Buffalo.

But there were human survivors – and the connection was made with the CMC.

### **The Shoshutes Imperial Federation**

By April 1382, the surveys and local coordination had stabilized the area enough for the foundation of another CMC-based *Imperial Federation*, complete with kingdoms within it. This newest Federation was a moderate overall footprint, close in size to the Cherotawa Federation, but covered incredibly diverse ecologies, from high plains to alpine mountains to dune-filled deserts and rocky badlands. Likewise, the Great Basin peoples were just as diverse.

One of the anchor kingdoms was the Nuuchi'u, nearly due west of Kaskaskia, on the far side of the Great Plains Aranosages. Comprised mostly of what might otherwise been Spanish-ized into the "Ute" people, with some linguistic holdover of that effect during the *Book of Learning* common-language Latinization. That "Ute" commonality was part of the defining cultural glue for this Federation; enough to make it part the Federation's diplomatic-portmanteau name.

While the Nuuchi'u bands had originally leaned nomadic, surviving the megafauna had turned them defensive-foundational – a trait they held tight as they adopted RANP/OM tactics, techniques and procedures.

Moving northwest of the Utes in this newest federation were the kingdoms of Paiute, Shoshones to the north side of this Federation, the Mono in the southwest (nearly to the western coast), the Gosiute in the middle, and then some of the other pockets of survivors that rated their own polity, such as the independent Washo Principality.

### **The Divine Magic Already Present**

Arcane magic was as novel to the WestHem as most anywhere else outside of Merlin's circle, but there were active traces of human-wielded divine magic long before the Jesuits arrived. In some cases woven through their tribal identity, the interaction with the totems and the spirit world, they had a high sensitivity and awareness.

This had worked both for and against them, just as it had the Jesuits, in particular where the great spirits had helped – or even more significantly, turned against them. To hear the RANP/OM restate the megafauna as part of the world-wide set of *Incidence of Incidents* made sense, but did little to heal the sense of betrayal they felt from some of the greater spirits (what some might translate as the archangels).

Medicine men and shamans had taken to training in both arcane and divine disciplines. While there were those who took to specialization, that was seen as a very European division (and not necessarily in a good way). A great deal of the more spritual leaders in the WestHem tended to blend the arcane and divine that was rarely done to the distant east. Rarely, yes, but not never – as the celtic druids had been leaning into this as well.

Separating themselves from the celtic druids, the WestHem druids tended to lean more toward nature magic.

### **Command-Magic Adaptation**

Similar to the magically-driven oaths that were sworn upon as a point of ensuring peace, and upon entry to the CMC, that was used with the same regularity and consistency in the WestHem. The ability to calm formerly raging foes into a cooperative ally was immediately seen by the WestHem natives as a potential tool against the irrational rage of the megafauna.

One of the keys these new druids identified – and were working on – was learning how to adapt the command-magic. Where the Plantagenets used for binding magical oaths, the western shamans to working applying it to animal brains and soothing whatever evils the turncoat great spirits had placed to generate the rage of the animals.