Brukheim

From whence Wotan smote the heavens and man fell from bliss to the world below to the year of our lord 1468, the lands of Brukheim were inhabited by animistic, primitive savages. From Halberd-Tor to Gottes Straße, these creatures, not so far removed from animals, roamed the land. They did not but frolic on the verdant earth and harass the animals of the forest with their brutalistic screeches. Estimates made by Staatsgeograph Keitel in 1736 place the primitive population at some 817 hundred thousand prior to 1468. Cultural records state that the population believed in a smattering of local animistic religions without any sort of uniform beliefset. Governance was all but impossible for these primitive creatures with the largest organization noted by our intrepid explorers being a coalition of two to three tribal villages. Agriculture was noted to be in its developing stages. Domesticable draft animals were mostly absent save for the sheep which was used to great effect by the natives. However, the primitive lifestyle of the natives came crashing to a halt in the glorious year 1468.

On Thursday April 7th, 1468, Siegfried von Bruk, who launched his expedition from Kaiserburg in the old world empire of Schwazia at behest of Kaiser Fredrick II to discover the riches of the west, landed at what is now Siegfrieds Haven on the isle of Heligoland with three ships. Siegfried established the trade post and fort of Fredricksburg at the mouth of the river Orynx. Leaving most of his crew and supplies at Fredricksburg, Siegfried departed back to the fatherland on his flagship, Seeadler, to inform the Kaiser of this momentous discovery. Siegfried would receive twelve ships, hundreds of men, and immense quantities of supply to reinforce the colony. Upon his return, Siegfried was filled with immense horror and disgust at the sight of Fredricksburg in ruin. The causes of the fall of Fredricksburg are still unknown but records made by Siegfried indicate that the settlement was found charred and burnt with broken skeletal remains strewn about. No survivors were found. The preeminent theory is that a horde of native savages assaulted, overwhelmed, and slaughtered the crew. Siegfried became incensed upon discovery of the massacre. Leaving a large portion of the settlers and crew behind to rebuild the settlement, Siegfried set off down the Orynx river with a small vessel and fifty sailors and marines. Siegfried would never be seen again nor would wreckage of his ships be found. The only clues to his fate were a series of great plumes of smoke far off inland seen by settlers. Though their intrepid leader had perished, the colonists would not falter in their duties. Fredricksburg would be rebuilt as Neu Fredricksburg within the span of weeks. A flow of supplies and eager colonists fleeing religious and social discrimination in the old world would pour into the colony.

From Neu Fredricksburg, expeditions were launched both inland and across the strait of Dunia to the Dark Continent and south across Der Meer von Geister to the peninsula of Kalter Hafen. Primitive resistance was fierce yet short lived. Brave colonial soldiers would find village after village already dead upon arrival. A grave pestilence had torn through them and reduced their civilization to ashes. Those who survived the disease were disorganized and altogether unable to resist the staunch march of the imperial army. By 1489 the island of Heligoland was under the complete control of the Kaiserreich and trade ports had been established in the west across the Dunia strait.

In 1490, as local dissent began to mount and communication between the fatherland and the colony became tediously slow due to warfare, the Empire designated the lands in the New World as the Westliches Autonomes Kronland. While still subservient to the Kaiserreich, the colony would now be governed by a Governor general appointed by the Kaiser and a parliament elected by the people. In order to maintain order, the colony was reorganized into a strict social hierarchy: Die Bestellung. The order was organized into four tiers: Oben (Colonists from the fatherland and the descendants of purely old world colonists), Ausländer (Colonists and immigrants from nations other than the fatherland), Gemischt (Children and descendants of Oben and Unterseite), and Unterseite (Natives and slave laborers). Only Oben were allowed to hold seats in government. Oben and Ausländer were given the right to vote. Oben, Ausländer, and Gemischt were allowed to own land, hold administrative positions, and start businesses. Unterseite had no legal protections or rights until 1750.

Along with the establishment of Die Bestellung, the colonial government established the first two branches of the armed forces: Das Kolonial Heer (army) and Das Graueflotte (navy). Das Kolonial Heer was organized into several subsections: Wachregimenter (Comprised of Oben exclusively, these units were elite infantry formations), Allgemeine (Comprised of Oben, Ausländer, and Gemischt, these units were the bulk of the armed forces and served as standard line infantry, grenadiers, artillery, and support companies), and Verschwendung (Comprised of Unterseite exclusively, these units were little more than cannon fodder and forced laborers). Das Graueflotte is only open to Oben, Ausländer, and Gemischt recruits. The Graueflotte was and is primarily tasked with defense of the colony’s territorial waters and maintaining the safe flow of trade, however it does possess offensive capabilities. The Heer was and is tasked with three major tasks: to repress Unterseite revolts, to maintain the peace, and to defend the colony from external invasion. Oben and Gemischt are required to serve 4 years in the Heer or Graueflotte.

The third great innovation made by the colonial government was the introduction of plantations. Large communal farms owned by Oben and staffed by Unterseite laborers were erected across the colonial domain. These institutions cultivated crops such as tobacco, indigo, rice, and all manner of other foodstuffs.

The colonial period saw the expansion of the domain to its modern borders with the colonization of Kalter Hafen and the coastal regions of the mainland. However, this era did not last forever. Since the founding of the colony, tensions had been growing between the colony and the fatherland. The Kaiserreich would raise taxes and cut amenities for the colony during times of war, enraging the population. Additionally, the Fatherland continuously pushed for the abolition of slavery and the liberalization of the colony, two things that would upend the now centuries old social order and send the current establishment into chaos. The immense physical distance separating them only contributed to feelings of isolation and abandonment. Finally, in 1650, the Kasierreich entered into a war with their neighbors in the Old World. In an act of divine providence, the imperial armada was wiped out by a hurricane while at sea. However, the Graueflotte, which had yet to set sail due to poor weather conditions, was completely intact. Orders were immediately sent demanding that the Graueflotte return to the fatherland and aid in its defense, however, Admiral Wolfgang von Tirpitz, an ardent secessionist and plantation owner, refused to put his ships to sea in what would be known as the Tirpitz Mutiny. Several units of the Heer defected to Tirpitz and stormed the loyalist Governor’s mansion in the capital city of Herrlich, put him on trial for treason, and hanged him by the neck until dead. The revolution had begun.

However, not all were in favor of secession. The merchants, businessman, and, most importantly the Unterseite, were ardently in favor of maintaining loyalty to the crown. The relationship between the colony and the fatherland was extremely lucrative and generated extensive wealth for the merchant class. If the colony did receive independence, any dreams of the end to slavery and Unterseite independence would die. Given the choice between slavery and death, the Unterseite chose death and counter-revolted beginning the Bürgerkrieg.

A coalition of liberal, loyalist forces revolted across the former colony against what they saw as a military coup. The Heer was split along socio-economic lines with nearly the entirety of the Verschwendung remaining loyal to the fatherland and counter-revolted, 75% of the Allgemeine revolted for independence, and all of the Wachtregimenter rose up for independence. Nearly all of the Graueflotte followed Tirpitz and rallied behind his secessessionist banner.

With the fatherland engaged in a losing war and unable to send help, the poorly equipped and outnumbered counter revolutionaries were massacred. Incredible amounts of blood were shed on both sides as slave populations across the nation rose up and killed their masters only for Heer units to arrive and put them down. Fighting raged on for about a year before those counterrevolutionaries who could, fled. Nearly 285,000 counter revolutionaries, 87% of which were Unterseite, were killed. Roughly 57,000 revolutionaries died during the conflict.

Yet it was all in vain. The Fatherland suffered a catastrophic defeat resulting in its total capitulation and annexation by surrounding powers. Few maps remain that depict the extent of its borders.

Following the end of the Bürgerkrieg, Admiral Tirpitz temporarily assumed the reins of power with a mandate to restore order to the nation. He would never relinquish said power. Tirpitz sidelined parliament and reduced it to a mostly ceremonial rubber stamping committee. In response to the Unterseite uprising, more guards were assigned to keep the peace and concessions, such as keeping families together and mandating humane living conditions, were made.

Now that the colonial period was over, a new government had to be made. Emulating the governing system of the fatherland, a Großherzog was declared with Tirpitz crowning himself the first Duke. In a move to gain legitimacy and connect with the nation’s roots, the land would be named after the man who found it, Siegfried von Bruk, as: Brukheim. The country was carved up into fiefs for plantation owners and military officers who were granted noble titles.

Under the new regime, the military would become essential to the sustainment of stability. The Staatsordungspolizei was established as a branch of the Heer to maintain order on the homefront. They would function as a law enforcement body across the entirety of the Duchy.

However, the nation faced serious issues on the homefront. The economy had been left in shambles after the Bürgerkrieg. Immense amounts of money, skilled labor, and industry had been evacuated out of the country and its #1 trade partner was no more. Furthermore, the majority agrarian nation had lost not only its much of its workforce but the capacity to produce weapons to subjugate its remaining workforce.

Unparalleled economic devastation wracked the country as thousands went hungry and nearly all were short on essential goods. In order to remedy this dire situation, Tirpitz opened trade with anyone who was willing to barter. Soon money and trade came pouring in from across the globe from those lusting for the cash crops of Brukheim. This influx of cash allowed the government to begin what would be known as the Brick Century as textile mills, arms workshops, roads, shipwrights and all manner of other industries were developed across the nation.

By the year 1750, the nation had completely rebounded and become a beacon for industrial progress. The duchy system had continued to function with Tirpitz’s nephew, Gerd von Ivarstead, assuming the role of Duke in a peaceful transition following Tirpitz’s death in 1726.

The industrialization and diversification of the economy led to a lower dependence on slave labor. In addition to this decrease, nigh constant small revolts and popular discontent with the practice was rapidly eroding national stability. Faced with a choice between a second Bürgerkrieg and liberalization, Ivarstead chose to liberalize. A bill of inalienable rights for indentured laborers was drafted and put into law in 1750 giving all slaves rights to a 10 hour maximum work day, trinket pay of 5 Marks a day, a retirement age of 70 upon which they would be freed with a pension equal to their sale value, a right to a basic education, and a ban on physical punishments for unproductivity.  This would be the first step towards freedom.

Ivarstead’s rule also saw the reintroduction of the parliament as a formidable institution with power to make and draft laws. Ivarstead would be remembered as a beacon for progress whose reign saw the liberalization of the nation and a great increase in quality of life. Ivarstead died on Thursday April 7th, 1768, on the tri-centennial of Siegfried’s landing. Having no children, he would be succeeded by his own nephew, Klaus Von Himmel.

Klaus Von Himmel can only be described as a tyrant. Under the reign of Klaus, the nation suffered immensely. A brutal reign of terror descended as the Staatsordungspolizei was expanded and given jurisdiction to enforce work quotas by any means necessary. The plantations were expanded 5 fold and slaves were worked to death. The only goal was profit and growth. By the end of his 60 year reign, the country’s economy had more than doubled in size but its population had dropped by nearly 10% due to purges and manufactured slaughter.

All his life, Klaus had trained his son, Heydrich, to continue his work and grow the state. However, Heydrich Von Himmel was all but indifferent to economic matters. He was fascinated with the occult from a very early age. He read into tales of great heroes such as Siegfried and their magnificent adventures. He longed to discover lost cities and ancient magic, to uncover the mystical elements that lay beneath this Earth . . . and to expand his domain. Heydrich was fiercely militaristic. He fantasized about military campaigns and the expansion of the Heer. He lusted for power. Yet the parliament was not blind to this. Upon Klaus’s death, the parliament refused to coronate Heydrich as Grand Duke, instead giving the crown to his cousin, Wihelm von Grun, a liberal and passionate administrator. While legally allowed this power, parliament had never exercised it.

This brings us to the current era. Grand Duke Wihelm now reigns over our most serene nation in a period of unprecedented growth.