The Hemisphere Society

The Hemisphere Society is a commune of survivalists that was originally founded by followers of the prophecies of Sir Remy, whose actions during the fabled Day of Dissolve saved him and his followers from a gruesome death. The former residence of the Hemisphere society, known as Hemispheria, is all that remains of the ancient Kingdom of Gusteau, and the glass dome was recently re-inhabited by a new group seeking to revive the old order.

Despite being a relatively new community, the origins of the Hemisphere Society may predate even the Beanland, one of the most ancient established nations in the realm.

## History

As with many events in the realm's history, the exact date of events leading up to the Hemisphere Society's founding is unclear; what is known, however, has been gathered from a parable -- carved by hand into wood -- that rests inside Hemispheria's dome. The origins of the wooden parable are entirely up to speculation, with some scholars believing the relief was carved by either Sir Remy himself, or his acolytes. Only an excerpt of the parable is still intact, with much of the story it tells having been rendered illegible by ages of wear and decay.

The entirety of the translated excerpt reads as follows:

*In 509 BC, Sir Remy founded the Hemisphere Society after warning King Gusteau of the imminent apocalypse if the UKG's bio-nuclear project wasn't immediately suspended. When King Gusteau had him exiled, Sir Remy secretly [unintelligible] wrote to thanes and lords about his situation, through a guard who worked quietly as his messenger. Sir Remy informed them of what he called the "Day of Dissolve," in which the UKG bio-nuclear team would perform a trial of the weapon under the king's command.*

*Sir Remy, along with the help of a wrongfully-exiled carpenter, devised a plan to save the good people of the kingdom. They called it "Hemispheria," a community within a colossal glass hemisphere meant to shield the people from the king's actions. This would require the contribution of resources from the land of every thane and lord in the kingdom. Hemispheria was constructed covertly, and when the Day of Dissolve came, the Red Man-Melting Gas invaded the kingdom, killing all but those within the dome.*

## Analysis of the Parable

Despite extensive research, the parable continues to baffle the realm's best scholars and historians. Nothing is known about the Kingdom of Gusteau's calendar system, making it difficult to determine how long ago "*509 BC"* must have been. The repeated uses of the term "bio-nuclear" are seen in no other sources of historic documentation thus found, leading theorists to believe the parable --and the kingdom it mentions-- may predate even the Beanland. What these "bio-nuclear" sources the parable is referring to cannot be discerned, as the ability to create "Man-Melting Gas" is not possessed by even the most powerful sorcerers or artifacts in the realm; it's believed, therefore, that the parable may be a record of ancient technology that far surpasses anything currently available, possessing capabilities of apocalyptic proportions. The implications of this have lead to the parable being banned throughout the Beanland, as evidence of a superior ancient civilization directly oppose the teachings of the Church of the Children of the Bean, who believe the Beanland to be the most advanced society that's ever existed in the realm's history.

Very little is known about the ancient Kingdom of Gusteau, as Hemispheria is the only site of the civilization that has ever been found. This leads historians to two conclusions, being:

* Firstly, that Gusteau may have been destroyed entirely by the Red Man-Melting Gas that the king released.
* Secondly, that Hemispheria's glass dome must have actually worked as the parable claims, as everything within the dome has been astonishingly preserved over time.

Sadly, much of Hemispheria's dome has eroded and collapsed, allowing decay and corrosion to take its toll on the artifacts it contains. The search for preserved artifacts still continues underneath Hemispheria, as tunnels and underground passageways were discovered during earlier investigations of the site.

## Reviving the Hemisphere Society

Recently, Hemispheria has been occupied by followers of the parable, who believe that ancient knowledge may yet exist buried within the site. These followers have taken up the name referenced by the parable, and the Hemisphere Society now seeks to recover artifacts and decipher historic texts relating to the Kingdom of Gusteau and the original inhabitants of Hemispheria.