United Interstate of Humanity

*"The Patriot stands with his Country... and in doing so, he will never stand alone."*

- A phrase commonly repeated on the Aurean news show, Sunday Morning Cartoons.

## History:

After the destruction of Aridia by the Absolution and the subsequent collapse of the Lux-Ferous Empire, human civilization lay in waste for nearly a century, until the Aureans (the descendants of what remained of the Lux-Ferous, cursed with a twisted form of magic) began to reconquer the wasteland using technology left over from their Lux-Ferous predecessors. Facing only weak opposition from the shattered "nations" surrounding them, it wasn't long before the Aureans had achieved what their ancestors' had long dreamed- conquering a great majority of humanity and uniting them under a single banner, the United Interstate of Humanity. The Aureans (now known as the Old Bloodline) split into six "families", each of which was given charge over their own state.

During the next century, the Old Bloodline only grew in strength, turning the Interstate into a world power that not many could hope to stop. It was during this time that the land began to regenerate itself from the decimation it suffered in the Absolution (aside from the Frozen Forest and the Crystalline Sea). If it had been allowed, the greenery of life might have returned to the land, and Aridia could have returned to the monolith of nature it once was. Unfortunately for the trees and animals and shit, the success of a nameless corporation brought its proprietors immense wealth; and with it, a spree of copycat companies, hoping to emulate its success. Thus began the First Corporate War- a mostly nonviolent conflict between the various corporate giants of the Interstate, all trying to outdo one another with increasingly large factories and new technologies. The companies began to form alliances with the families of the Old Bloodline in order to solidify their power, therefore mixing industry and government and forever intertwining the two. Industry boomed in the Interstate, and technology advanced tenfold- but with this advancement came destruction. Gargantuan factories spewed waste into the air, and the ever-increasing spread of the Interstate destroyed any chance the natural world had of recovery.

The Second Corporate War, unlike its predecessor, was *very* violent. After it was over, every company in the Interstate had merged into one, creating an amalgamation that eventually becomes the Halcyon Group.

## Culture:

The importance of belonging to the Old Bloodline (or, at the very least, being as wealthy as them) is greatly emphasized in the Interstate. Anyone who isn't a member of the "Families" is treated as a second-class citizen by the Government (which consists entirely of members of the Old Bloodline). The only hope for someone of inferior blood to gain any kind of power in the Interstate is joining the Cavalan and enforcing the Old Bloodline's laws, or working for the Halcyon as a scientist or engineer.

The Interstate holds a mix of capitalist and fascist ideals, where innovation and competition are encouraged, as long as the innovation benefits the powerful and there's no actual competition. Although religion has no official place in the Interstate, and it's even discouraged by the Halcyon, worship of both the Three and even the Old Gods is prevalent, especially in poorer outskirts of the states.

The concept of patriotism is also extremely important, and most citizens of the Interstate are taught to be "Patriots" from an assortment of propaganda throughout their lives.

## States:

### Aurea:

The smallest and most densely populated state, Aurea is the capitol of the Interstate. At its heart lies The Spire, a massive palace designed in the likeness of what many believe the Black Tower of the Old Gods looked like. From the within the Spire the Bloodline families rule, the most "pure" members of each family rarely leaving the tower walls. One of the Halcyon Group's major headquarters is also located here, though their true base of operations is massive space station orbiting the planet, Serenity.

### Carn:

One of the oldest states, the city of Carn was named after the twelfth Lux-Ferous Emperor, Carnan. Carn was once nearly wiped off the map by a horrid plague, one that killed half its population. In modern times, the ancient plague has recently resurfaced, causing much chaos throughout the city. The Halcyon and the Bloodline have both mostly abandoned the city, leaving the place run by corrupt Cavaliers, the plague, and the ruthless Axe Clan gang. Described as a tangle of wooden skyscrapers, some of them actually built sideways or diagonally *through* their neighboring towers, with so many massive buildings clustered together so tightly that the sun doesn't reach the streets below.

### Shelcia:

Shelcia is the easternmost state, and the last region to be forcibly assimilated into the Interstate. Built upon the petrified Frozen Forest, much of the landscape is trapped in stone, with cities built throughout. Shelcia is a grey and dark place, used by the Halcyon Group as land for their factories. Most Shelcians wear gas masks at all times, as the pollution has corrupted the air and simultaneously weakened and mutated their bodies, forcing them to rely on the same technology that twisted them.

### Screa:

Screa is one of the only city-states of the Interstate that does not actually exist on the Aridian mainland, as it is a large island off the coast of Taur. It was first colonized during the Lux-Ferous era, when Emperor Carnan bought it from Etheria for two-hundred gold coins. The first colony on Screa soon became a major port for the Empire, and it was transformed into a massive imperial city. But the island was soon struck by a massive earthquake that buried most of the city underneath the earth and left few survivors. Against the advice of his court, the now aging Carnan ordered a new city to be built above the old. By the time New Screa was complete, Carnan had died, and his son Gayis was now in power. This had little effect on the island's growth, which had stagnated, and then another earthquake destroyed the city again. Gayis then just said fuck it and the island's been shit ever since.

The Interstate later rebuilt Screa once again atop both its buried predecessors, calling the city "New-New Screa".

### Taur:

Taur is the coastal state I'll think of something cool to write here later maybe.

### Remillo:

Much of Remillo consists of flat, endless plains, most of which were turned into plantations. Because of this, Remillo provides much of the Interstate's foodstuffs, a fact which is not fully appreciated by the citizens of the other states. Remillo is the only state to actually border the Scar of the World, and is also the site of Gandara. The Governor of Remillo is the Duchess Illia.

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