Blood Gulch

**Blood Gulch** is a desolate box canyon in the middle of nowhere. It's located on a halo ring in the middle of space... somewhere. The canyon's existence serves barely any purpose, yet people fight for control over it and almost never fully succeed.

The two major landmarks of Blood Gulch are its two circular bases: Red Base and Blue Base. They stand opposite each other with roads, hills and new constructions in-between. Around the edges of the canyon are two cliffsides and a cave system that goes deeper than it should.

## History

### 1st Generation (The Blood Gulch Chronicles)

The first known inhabitants of Blood Gulch were a small group of colorful soldiers now known (in)famously as the Reds and Blues. They lived in the canyon for an unmeasured amount of time prior to the chain of events that would be just the beginning of their long journey through the rest of the universe.

During their start in Blood Gulch, the Reds and Blues senselessly fought each other over control of the canyon based purely on their armor color. Wearing full suits of solid-colored armor almost constantly, they were each easily identifiable due to their separate colors. With very little backstory and seemingly no prior military experience, they failed numerous times to kill each other or win any sort of battle at all.

Through their journey, they eventually discover that their war is useless and that "Red" and "Blue" are the same. The war turns out to be a simulation for a branch of the UNSC called Project Freelancer (PFL). PFL's purpose was to experiment with artificial intelligence and giving supersoldiers named Freelancers said AI as well as armor enhancements and very advanced training. The "simulation" in Blood Gulch was to simulate a "real combat zone" for Freelancers and also conceal a smart AI known as "Alpha" once PFL almost completely fell apart and was halted for major law-breakings.

Soon after some crazy developments and fighting for their lives, the Reds and Blues eventually left the canyon, going their separate ways only to be reunited later on in a new journey. They left two behind, and one of them attacked the other before making his own way out alone.

### 2nd Generation

Immediately following the last soldier's departure, the "UNSC" (PFL) dropped two new soldiers in for a repeat of the project: Meredith and Wilcox, the new leaders of Red and Blue team, respectfully. There, they lived and fought each other for years with no backup or additional assistance.

### 3rd Generation

One day, dozens more soldiers started arriving on not just Red and Blue team, but also as Neutrals. This almost instantly got out of hand, as the two armies (led by the 2nd generation) launched attacks on each other, taking prisoners and (just like their predecessors) never successfully killing anyone. Eventually they had far outgrown their bases, which were built to house only a handful of soldiers comfortably, so they made extensions both internally and externally.

The initial constant warzone started to die down as people got to know each other more, getting comfortable with the idea of being stuck with nowhere to go and nothing better to do. People started constructing additional buildings for use by Neutrals and all factions together where fighting was forbidden.

The idea of peace didn't come as much of a shock when the canyon's first common enemy was discovered. A religious cult of aliens were living in the cave systems below the canyon, claiming to be natives to the land, and vowing to remove the occupation by force. That didn't turn out well for the aliens at all. When they attempted to invade, the canyon fought back with full force and destroyed their submerged holy ground.

After that, the peace didn't last long, although friendships and relationships did. Conflict resumed, and more soldiers were pouring into the canyon.

During this conflict, the Red leaders tried to establish contact with their "Command" and discovered that they might be an enemy to them. They then took weeks to track Command's signal to the underground cave system and discovered that Red and Blue are the same. Command threatened to wipe out the canyon, and they tried to, but strength comes in numbers. The people prevailed.

Soon after, a mysterious soldier came through Red Base's teleporter and immediately fell unconscious after multiple injuries. He was treated and weeks later identified himself as an ex-Freelancer named Oregon, then proceeded to explain to the canyon that they have been used for a simulation by a splinter group of Project Freelancer. Oregon then planned out missions to play offense against the Splinters. With him at the helm, some missions succeeded and others failed, as the canyon fought back.

## Factions

### Red Team

Red Team, led by both/either Meredith or Filch, is one of the two main factions of Blood Gulch. Red Team was socially constructed as part of an experimental simulation, along with Blue Team. As expected, this faction has seemingly no reasons for their conflict with Blue Team other than the color of their armor.

However, there are a few characteristics that (parts of) Red Team embodies. These include a higher thirst for their opponents' blood, general spontaneity and craziness, as well as a select few who are lower-key and more chilled.

There are also quite a few unique qualities in the team's base. These include an arcade, a wine cellar, a tiny gym, a lack of private quarters and office for the SIC, and numerous storage spaces.

### Blue Team

Blue Team has been led by Wilcox, Campbell and Blaise historically. They are the other side of the simulated conflict in Blood Gulch, and while they seem to have even less stated reasons to fight their opponents, they've started the battles between the two teams most times. Interestingly enough, more people have switched from Red to Blue than vice versa, likely due to Blue Team's status as aggressors, but also possibly due to their more social nature.

Blue Team's members seem to have stronger relationships with each other, usually keeping themselves from being too sarcastic or angsty. Some of them also seem a lot more awkward, shy or lonely than their teammates and opponents.

Blue Base has less rooms than Red Base, but as a result of this the rooms are much spacier. This can be noted in their gym and mess hall/kitchen. Blue Base also has private quarters and an office for its SIC, as well as a personal office for a missing teammate and a closet-sized space that changes ownership and purpose every once in a while.

### Neutrals / Unaffiliated

The Neutrals started as mostly medical personnel dedicated to healing injuries, performing field surgery and the occasional unethical experiment. However more Neutrals arrived with less or different purposes and specialties; engineers, mercenaries, and scientists.

A large amount of neutrals live in Stonehold (also known as the Magnus Bunker), a subterranean village constructed by Magnus to house Neutrals without a home. Most other Neutrals have settled in their own homes (see Wade's Pelican) or moved into either of the Team Bases with a significant other.

Neutrals have always done a good job of bridging the uncomfortable gap between Reds and Blues (while it existed), since their work goes to both sides and most of their land is open to use as long as there is no fighting.