Jesdask

Jesdask is a state in the mid-mid-midwestern region of the United States of America. It is bordered by Tyirs in the north; **Jesdask**, Jaquop and Tendir in the east (formerly Upends); Loste and Discland in the south; and Herds in the west. The state is predominantly forested and hilly in the east, leveling out and drying as one moves west. Jesdask is notable for its unique geographical features, its diverse population, and its ongoing civil war.

Since 1997, the state has been affected by the 14th Jesdask Civil War, a complicated conflict that has led to the deaths of an unknown number of people. Despite this, emigration from the state is relatively low with a surprising number of people choosing to remain and fight even after more than 23 years of continuous warfare. The US Department of Backstate Travel warns travelers to avoid the entire state due to the violence.

## History

### Early History

Jesdask has a diverse and fascinating history. The area of Jesdask was for millennia home to numerous Native American tribes and was dominated by the Archonship of Discland. The region suffered immensely under their rule, being compelled to send thousands of tribesmen to serve the Disclanders as slaves and sacrifices to the Ancient Depths.

In 1304, the chieftain of the Jasadaka tribe asked the king of Hestirs to assist them in breaking away from the domination of the Disclanders. This led to the Great Plains War (1304-1355). This war resulted in the destruction of the First Discland Imperium. In the ensuing peace treaty, all vassals of Discland were allowed to declare independence. Though liberated from domination of the Archonship, the region experienced a series of tribal wars until the Jasadaka Tribe emerged as the dominant chiefdom. The region was relatively stable until the Jasadaka Tribe split into numerous warring factions, leading to a bloody civil war that devastated the area.

This instability allowed the land to be colonized by White settlers migrating west. After the original Jesadia Republic descended into civil war in the late 18th century, a large number of French emigres fleeing the French Revolution settled here, gradually assuming control over the state and setting up the first Kingdom of Jéssdasque. This kingdom developed into a feudal aristocracy dominated by French aristocrats. During this period, the monarchy under King Jean de Gaillardbois encouraged French immigration with many immigrants seeking to escape the chaos of the French Revolution (1789) and the Haitian Revolt (1791). Other immigrants came from former French colonial possessions in Canada and Louisiana.

The kingdom fell into chaos after the Famine of 1816 (the Year Without a Summer), triggering a period of revolt, civil war, Indian raids and migration. This chaotic era, which lasted from 1816 to 1830, saw the second large influx of American settlers. These new arrivals eventually settled in a state largely depopulated from war and famine.

### 19th Century

After the disaterous "Hungry Wars," the kingdom prospered under a new dynasty under King Georges I, the entire de Gaillardbois royal family having been wiped out. During this time, many enslaved Africans were imported by the aristocracy to work their feudal manors. This caused tension between the largely White and Protestant peasant class and the French Catholic aristocracy and their Africanizing workforce. In 1859, this tension boiled over into a large scale peasant revolt against the kingdom. This conflict, which is considered a part of the US Civil War, lasted until 1865 and ended with the abolition of the monarchy and the establishment of the First Jesdask Republic. This period also saw the widespread slaughter of black slaves who had fought on the side of the French aristocracy.

The Second Jesdask Republic was short-lived and fell into chaos as competing political factions vied for power. After a series of civil wars and military coups, a restorationist revolt led by several noble French houses saw the re-establishment of monarchy in Jesdask in 1878.

King Jacques I immediately set about returning the feudal rights and privileges of the former French aristocracy. This led to a brief civil war in 1880. However, this time the monarchy prevailed and English Protestants were stripped of rights and returned to serf status. Interestingly, it was under King Jacques I that the kingdom formally submitted to overlordship of the United States in 1881. An agreement was reached where the US government would not interfere in the internal affairs of the kingdom. This is not abnormal for Backstates as a clause exists within the US Constitution to allow for Backstate sovereignty. It is the only way that Washington DC is able to rule over so vast an area.

### 20th Century

King Jacques I died in 1918, being succeeded by his son Sébastien I. The kingdom-state experienced a period of industrial growth in the late 19th and early 20th century. The capital city Chauvoy saw a great expansion and rose to become one of the most beautiful cities in the Backstates. Its ornate style of Baroque architecture and many marbled fountains made Chauvoy the cultural center of the entire Backstate region. World War 2 saw the regrowth of the black population in the urban centers around the Nagonadaka River.

King Sébastien I died unexpectedly on March 4th, 1955. However, his eldest son Jacques II and heir to the throne was both unpopular with a large number of the nobility and was away in Discland on a diplomatic mission in March. This allowed the second eldest son, Charles de Rouen to usurp the throne, becoming King Charles I. By the time Jacques II de Rouen was aware of the coup, he had no chance of returning in time to lead a counter-coup and instead went into exile in the kingdom of Hestirs. He died there in 1982.

The reign of King Charles I is considered by many historians to have been a uneventful period in the history of the Kingdom-State of Jesdask. The late 20th century saw continued economic growth. However, the vast majority of people in Jesdask lacked even basic constitutional rights. All non-nobles were barred from owning land and were effectively the property of the French landowners. Meanwhile, the rapid growth of the urban centers of Laurdésmount, Valvrault, and Crâild-en-Renault led to a large and diverse underclass. Almost all the land in the Kingdom-State was owned by either the Feudal French noblemen or by the Catholic Church. Though the nobility were pre-dominantly French Catholic, a sizeable portion of the landless peasants were Protestant, particularly of the Western Baptist branch. A significant number of African Americans also inhabited the urban centers, working as laborers in the many industrial factories. Despite all social organizations being illegal for non-nobles, numerous peasant peasant political organizations developed in the early to mid 20th century. Tensions which had been building since the 19th century would explode into the titanic and ongoing series of civil wars known simply as the 14th Jesdask Civil War.

## 14th Jesdask Civil War

### Dynastic Civil War (1997 - 2006)

King Charles I was assassinated on June 33rd, 1997 while he was out hunting along the Nagonadaka River near the border with Discland. The assassin's name and motives remain unknown as he was allegedly an escaped permanent intern from Discland and he immediately killed himself before King Charles I body guards could apprehend him. Why an escaped intern of Discland would want to assassinate the king remains a mystery as well as how he knew that the king was going to rest at the secret lodge on that day. This has led some conspiracy theorists to speculate that the assassination was engineered by the Archonship of Discland, with the assassin having been brainwashed in the torture chambers of Ywazakkanathul for years before being released with just one task.

However, this is merely the unhinged screed of racist, fascist, neo-nazi conspiracy theorists. [3]

After the king's death, his son, Étienne de Rouen prepared to succeed his father. However, on July 5th the Kingdom-State was plunged into war when Jacques III, son of Jacques II and cousin to the heir presumptive, entered Jesdask with a mercenary band from the neighboring state of Herds, just above the border with Discland.

Upon entering the Kingdom with an army, different lords took sides and split the Kingdom into warring camps. A bitter dynastic struggle took place, culminating in the Battle of Marlyone in 2006 in which Étienne I was killed in combat. Facing no other dynastic challenge, Jacques III declared himself king of Jesdask on August 9th, 2006.

However, his reign was short lived because he was assassinated just 3 weeks later on August 30th, 2006.

This plunged the Kingdom into chaos because Jacques III lacked children. A military coup d'etat took place a few days later when General Bernard de Reibons stormed the royal palace in Chauvoy. Despite a living heir to the son of the defeated king Étienne I existing, the generals decided to abolish the monarchy and proclaim a Republic. The Third Republic of Jesdask.

### The Third Republic, the First Socialist Republic, and the Native American Uprising (2006 - 2011)

The Third Republic was instantly plagued by problems. The entrenched noblemen and church clergy refused to cooperate with the upstart republicans. Then a large-scale Native American uprising occurred in the northeastern corner of the state. The Jasadaka Indians sought to exploit the chaos to form a breakaway state ruled by Jasadaka Natives. The military government responded to this by sending in the National Guard to crush the uprising, starting the First Jasadaka Genocide.

With a large portion of the Jesdask National Guard deployed in the northeast, there was little to stop the largescale rioting in the capital and cities along the Jesdask-Discland border. On February 31st, 2007, the Leftwing "*Fédération des Socialiste des Citadins Partie*" launched a coordinated assault upon the barracks of several cities in Jesdask, seizing the capital, assassinating many of the military leadership, and proclaiming a Socialist Republic of Jesdask. Now known as the "First Socialist Republic of Jesdask."

The socialist insurrectionists entered into an alliance with the revolting Native tribes and quickly defeated the disorientated and leaderless National Guardsmen, sending the POWs to re-education camps or executing them.

However, the FSCP soon turned on the Jasadaka tribes when the Natives demanded full independence from the Socialist Republic of Jesdask. The new socialist armed forces were sent to pacify the reservation area in 2010, beginning the Second Jasadaka Genocide. Over the next year, the FSCP also fought a low intensity war with the rural regions in the east and south of the state.

### The Coup of Emmanual Goldman and the Socialist Civil War (2011 - 2012)

In 2011, largescale black rioting in the urban centers led to the Second Socialist Coup of Jesdask when a radical wing of the FSCP, the "*Front Révolutionnaire Égalitaire Radical*," led by Emmanual Goldman, launched a second coordinated coup d'etat and seized control of the capital. The grievances of this second socialist faction were the racism of the socialist leadership of the FSCP, given that the majority of the leaders were White and Protestant. Many soldiers disillusioned with the FSCP defected or deserted to the FRER Peoples' Guard.

The armed forces of the FRER and FSCP began fighting all across the western half of the state. Once again, the new socialist government made an alliance with the Indian tribes against the old socialist government. After 2 years of fighting, the radical FRER had largely defeated the former government forces. Then the new government began a policy of genocide against the White population of Jesdask. Roaming columns of black revolutionaries were sent out across the state with license to kill all White racists.

This genocidal campaign led to the revolt of the largely White counties of northern Jesdask, which had long proclaimed their intention to secede from the state and become independent. The FRER People's Guard and their allied Indian militias then attacked the separatists, committing random massacres of civilians accused of sympathizing with the rebels.

### Rural Uprising, North Jesdask Secession, and Defeat of FRER (2012 - 2013)

In 2012, peasants in eastern Jesdask rose up in revolt against the anti-White policies of the FRER. Forming the "*White Revolutionary Front,*" a right wing political organization. The largely English and White WRF was immediately joined by remnants of the original supporters of the Third Republic as well as Protestants disillusioned by the anti-Protestant policies of the FRER. Though the WRF was ostensibly secular in outlook, a large portion of its members were lower class Catholics. The North-Jesdask Separatists also allied with the WRF.

The revolt caught the socialist regime off-guard and the rebels were able to seize large swathes of the country before assaulting the capital. Taking up positions around Chauvoy, the anti-communist forces shelled the city for weeks before storming the capital. The WRF has been accused of committing numerous atrocities against the largely pro-FRER black population of Chauvoy. In the northeast, the WRF forces worked with the North-Jesdask Separatists to defeat and then destroy the Jasadaka Reservation Guard, beginning the Third Jasadaka Genocide.

By mid 2013, the anti-communist forces had largely defeated FRER, with only a few holdouts along the Discland border and among the Jasadaka Tribal Area. The new right wing government began to implement several land reforms as well as pursuing a policy of expulsion against Jews and blacks in Jesdask. The land reforms sought to redistribute land held by nobles and the Catholic and Western Baptist Church to White farmers. This was popular among many of the landless former serfs, however this caused a rift in the formerly united front.

### Religious Civil War and Attempted Monarchist Restoration (2013 - 2018)

Some Catholics who had been allied with the WRF soon broke away under Father Jean Rébart to form the "*Ordre de Saint Géréon*," seizing territory in the southern and western portions of the state and triggering a new surge in religious violence. Protestants in Catholic areas were massacred and soon Western Baptist militias formed to conduct similar terror attacks against Catholics. The White government in Chauvoy attempted to control this conflict whilst simultaneously fighting the Native American insurgency in the north and recalcitrant communist and black forces in the west.

In late 2013, a bomb exploded in the All-White-Peoples-Assembly building, killing much of the leadership of the WRF and sending the country into chaos once again.

Religious violence exploded while the remaining WRF sought to maintain control over the state. The *Ordre de Saint Géréon*, joined by loyalist monarchists and landowners then proclaimed that they would restore the monarchy. The WRF initially maintained control over the situation, but a number of mysterious airstrikes from an unidentified faction began to weaken the right wing government. A renewed terrorist offensive from communist insurgents within the country further undermined the WRF, allowing the Catholic-Monarchist forces to approach the capital in September of 2014. The WRF chose to evacuate their forces from the capital, declaring it an open city on October 7th and retreating to the hills and ironblade lands of central and northern Jesdask.

Upon seizing the capital, the monarchist faction of the OSG proclaimed a restoration of the monarchy. However, the current heir to the throne, Étienne II de Rouen refused the offer. He elected to remain in exile in Herds, stating;

> *"I would rather hurl myself into a giant meat-grinder than throw myself into the hellscape that is Jesdask."*
>
>

This moral blow destroyed the power of the monarchist faction of the OSG, allowing Catholic Theocratic faction under Father Jean Rébart to seize full control. They immediately began a policy of Churchland restoration and genocide against Protestants. Seeking allies, the OSG offered amnesty to communist insurgents in exchange for conversion to Catholicism. Thousands of communist rebels took the offer and blacks were allowed to return to the western cities of Jesdask in exchange for conversion.

This influx of battle-hardened fighters allowed the OSG to launch an offensive against the Protestants, Separatists, Republicans, and Fascists. They then turned on the Jasadaka tribes who refused to submit and convert, beginning the Fourth Jasadaka Genocide.

Interestingly, the Jasadaka tribes then entered into an alliance with their former enemies, the White Revolutionary Front as well as the North-Jesdask Separatists. The brutal civil war that followed saw more sectarian violence increasingly taking on religious character rather than ethnic or ideological.

### Third Socialist Coup d'Etat, Christian-Socialist Civil War, and Second WRF Siege of Chauvoy (2018)

In early 2018, WRF forces outmaneuvered and annihilated a black division of the Theocratic government, massacring the prisoners before seizing the heights around the capital and cutting off water to the city.

Feeling that the government had not done enough to protect black interests and fearful of the loss of water, the urban population then began to riot again. On March 14th, Father Jean Rébart was killed whilst trying to minister to an angry crowd. Rioting continued in in the capital for weeks, eventually spreading to all western urban centers. Member of FRER who had been slowly infiltrating the theocratic organization staged a coup d'etat on May 1st, seizing control of the government and proclaiming the Third Socialist Republic of Jesdask. Despite this, numerous units remained loyal to the original Theocratic government of Jesdask, leading to another pro-Catholic faction in the fighting.

Meanwhile, the WRF siege of the capital continued. Water and food could only be shipped in through a narrow corridor from the west. This corridor was under constant artillery attack.

### Tyirs Intervention and Civil Wars Within the Civil War (2018 - 2019)

On June 28th, a pro-FRER coup d'etat occured in the Jasadaka Indian Reservation. This was followed days later by a counter-coup by the pro-Fascist faction. Forces loyal to either FRER or the WRF began the 7th Jasadaka Civil War, a sub-conflict of the 14th Jesdask Civil War.

Exploiting the chaos caused by the collapse of the Theocratic government, North-Jesdask Separatists expanded their control over northern counties in Jesdask. Seeking to escape the unending warscape, the provisional Separatist government voted to join the northern state of Tyirs and invited their forces to protect the counties. Interestingly, this is exactly how Tyirs acquired East-Bucktail County from Upends.

Tyirs forces entered the disputed counties and began to attack non-Separatist forces such as remnants of the OSG forces, units of the FRER Second Peoples' Guard, units of WRF, and pro-FRER & anti-FRER Indians. Thus beginning the Fifth Jasadaka Genocide.

Many members of the North-Jesdask Separatist faction disapproved of the betrayal of their long-standing allies of WRF and rose up in revolt against the Separatist government, joining WRF forces and attacking the Separatists and Tyirs forces in the region. This conflict is known as the North-Sesdask Separatist Civil War and is a sub-conflict of the larger 14th Jesdask Civil War.

Despite the entrance of Tyirs into the conflict, their comparatively green soldiers were no match for the thoroughly battle hardened soldiers fielded by the various combatants of the Jesdask Civil War. In the early stages of the conflict, Tyirs suffered disproportionately high casualties and is generally considered to have had little effect upon the war.

### Second WRF capture of Chauvoy and US-UN-Intervention (2019 - 2020)

On March 28th, pro-White forces of the WRF assaulted the capital, seizing large portions of the city and killing non-Whites as they advanced. The FRER forces began to collapse before the assault, allowing WRF forces to seize large swathes of territory and drive communists from the capital and beginning to push FRER forces back towards Discland.

It is on April 3rd when the US Congress passed a secret resolution to send a peacekeeping force to prevent WRF from retaking control of the state. Many have pointed out that this resolution is a violation of the Backstates Clause of the US Constitution. Curiously, the United Nations also passed a resolution to send a peacekeeping force to Jesdask on the same day.

US-UN peacekeeping forces landed in communist controlled Jesdask on May 6th and immediately began an areal bombing campaign on right wing forces to drive them back from the capital. The WRF lacked an airforce and were unable to respond effectively to the areal bombings. Despite a determined resistance, WRF forces once again evacuated the capital, now in utter ruins, and retreated back to defensive positions in the hills and ironblade rift lands surrounding the capital. However, as US-UN forces entered the remains of the capital, a series of massive explosive charges were detonated in tunnels underneath the city, leading to the complete destruction of the capital and the deaths of 325 US-UN peacekeepers.

### Current Situation

The Destruction of Chauvoy event severely hindered further US-UN ground operations in the state. However, the joint operation attempted to set up a defensive buffer zone between the WRF and the predominantly black FRER forces, led now by commissar Michel Bernheim. FRER once again began an ethnic cleansing campaign in the territory behind the US-UN Jesdask Buffer Zone, massacring any Whites who had remained in the area after the withdrawal of WRF forces.

Morale among US-UN peacekeepers is reportedly low due to constant attack by WRF forces and a lack of clear objectives in the endless conflict. Though the US-UN forces maintained unchallenged air superiority, WRF forces employed guerilla tactics learned from decades of war to mitigate the effect of the bombing campaign. The state's vast labyrinthine mazes of ironblades have proven an effective defense against areal bombardment. Similarly, black rioting in the ruined cities led to US soldiers returning fire and killing several black citizens. This resulted in more riots and eventually firefights between US-UN solders and black nationalist militias.

Despite these setbacks and mounting casualties among US-UN peacekeepers, the US and UN leadership remain committed to maintain the buffer zone indefinitely, no matter how many soldiers need to die. It is a sacrifice they are heroically willing to make. The conflict remains ongoing to this day.

## Geography

Jesdask is moderately hilly in the east, leveling out to grassy Nagonadaka River basin. The state is also notable for its large and unexplained ironblade rifts, relatively thin yet tall "blades" of very hard stone jutting from the surface and forming labyrinthine formations in the central, eastern, and northern regions of the state. Despite many being only 5 feet in width, many of these ironblade formations are dozens of feet tall. These tall and almost indestructible ridges make navigation in the state difficult for outsiders and often cut off one community from another. These maze-like formations have played a large role in the ongoing civil war. Providing refuge for soldiers and acting as a natural defense against NATO air-strikes.

## Culture & Demographucs

Before the civil war, Jesdask was largely rural with industrial centers along the Nagonadaka River basin. Subjects of the state were divided into numerous classes with numerous restrictions on economic and social activity.

In the eastern counties, most subjects worked as landless serfs on the many feudal estates. Counties were divided into numerous village communes centered around a parish or church. In the more industrialized regions of the state, serfs were leased or bound to factory owning lords, who held a title to their factory leased to them by the king.

After many decades of war, much has changed within the state. Almost every region has experienced multiple forms of ideological reorganization along republican, socialist, communist, fascist, and theocratic lines. The old feudal structure has been all but obliterated by the trauma of war. Virtually every citizen is armed and engaged in war-production or fighting.

Despite the unending conflict, relatively few Jesdaskians have fled the state as refugees. Most are either unwilling to abandon their roots in the state or are directly engaged in the unceasing struggle for victory.

The state is known for its rich blend of American, French, Indian, and African cuisine and culture.