The Marks

**The Aarhus Union** (Danish: Aarhus Unionen), commonly known as **The Marks** (Danish: Markerne), is an country located in northern Europe. The country spans from Skåne to Slesvig-Holsten and borders Neubrandenburg and the Kingdom of Germania (Legion). The country is a confederation of territories controlled by nobles. A wave of unrest is going through the country after the end of the Hamburg War.

## Etymology

The Aarhus Union was named so due to a desire to stay away from revolutionary Danish nationalism, fueled by the Holmist Movement. The commonly used name, the Marks, comes from the Danish word for field (Mark) and is also thought to come from foreign accounts of Danish society in the 2070s. Legionary Explorer Londan Vult mentions the countryside of the Marks in *The Book of the East*: "We left the forest at dawn and before us our eyes witnessed Danish farmers working the fields. We asked the farmers of their language; the Danish word for field? They responded with "Mark". Ionis named the country, Land of the Marks.".

## History

### The Great War and Formation 2020-2084:

During the Great War, Odense and Copenhagen were completely destroyed by nuclear fire. Odense is believed to have been hit because of the 34th and 37th European Regiments that were stationed in the city, preparing to be sent to the front. Chaos reigned up until the 2080s as many people died and what would later be the Adel (the Danish term for the nobility) carved out their territory. The Great Northern Winter ravaged the rest of Scandinavia and most of the Swedish & Norwegian populations fled to Denmark. Most scholars agree that this is what stopped the Denmark region from being almost completely uninhabited today. During the 2060s, the people began to have enough of the constant wars between the Adel. Many writers and ideologues spread ideas of revolution against the nobles and the restoration of a united Danish state or an creation of a united pan-Scandinavian state located in Denmark. The most influential of these would be Peter Buch Holm. His writings would go on to inspire mass revolts during the 2070s. Holm, who was not in control of these many unorganized revolts, began talks with the Adel and proposed a "Greater Danish State". In 2083, the Aarhus Summit took place and the Aarhus Union was proclaimed as a confederation of 24 territories. The Union wasn't exactly the "Greater Danish State" Holm wanted. Many parts of the original constitution, written by Holm, were stripped out, such as the name of Denmark, the flag and a powerful elected leader. The Råd (the parliament/government) was established in 2084 after the country's first round of elections. Holm and his followers would go on to dominate the Råd and Holm would serve as Rådsformand (the Head of the Government) until his death in 2091.

### Danish Expansion and The Treaty of Rostock 2084-2104:

After the formation of the Union, both the Adel and the Råd wished to expand the Union. Holmists wanted to unite all of pre-war Denmark, including Scania and Schleswig-Holstein. Nobles owning land near the border were also quite expansionist, wanting new land and slaves. The Union easily took control of Jutland, Funen and Zealand through conquest and, in some cases, peaceful integration. In 2092, the Union conquered Scania from the local inhabitants and renamed it to the territory of Skåne. From 2093 to 2097, the Union conquered parts of northern Germany, until the Marks stretched from Jutland to Poland. However in 2101, much would be lost in the Second Rostock War between The Marks and Neubrandenburg. Over 200.000 men would fight in a bloody 3 year long war. The war showed how outdated the Danish military was, as Danish hussars were blown to pieces by heavy Rhine artillery used by the Neubrandenburger troops. The Treaty of Rostock was signed in 2104, granting Neubrandenburg most of the Union's German possessions. However, Rostock remained in Danish hands and today is a heavily fortified city, but has effectively devolved into a popular outpost for German smugglers. The Adel blamed the Råd, or rather the Holmists, for the defeat and the Holmists would later lose much of their support from the Adel. New parties would enter politics.

### The Redrawing of Politics 2104-2107:

Two new parties gained prominence in the Råd: the “Forening” and the “Kongeparti”. The Forening (English: The Union) wished reform the confederation. They especially wanted to improve the living conditions and rights of the Følger and Bønder classes and centralize the Union, taking power away from the Adel and empower the Råd. The Kongeparti (English: King Party) was originally a small of group of disgruntled nobles, but expanded then Christian of Bornholm-Oldenburg took leadership and former Holmists joined. The goal of the group was centralizing the Union and in the end establish a monarchy. They were mostly inspired by the pre-war Kingdom of Denmark. The Forening ended up having a majority in the Råd, not because many of the Adel liked them, but because of nobody trusting the Kongeparti and hating the Holmists, who now called themselves the "Holmistiske Parti" (English: Holmist Party). The Forening declared a "decade of peace", in which the Union would focus inwards and improve the living situation of the country, especially for the Bønder and Følger. In 2106, Rådet introduced their biggest reform yet: required wages for Følger and Bønder. Though most Adel were content with paying the Følger (in fact most were already payed), wages for Bønder were seen by some as unacceptable. The Råd could do nothing to enforce the wages as they technically had no power to do so according to the Aarhus Constitution. The Råd also introduced limited education for the Bønder, something which had been unavailable before.

### The Hamburg War and the Dawn of the BRF 2107-2126:

The "decade of peace" was betrayed in 2107, then Danish Adel in Slesvig-Holsten proposed a declaration of war on Hanover to the Råd. The Adel in Slesvig-Holsten wanted to take control of Hamburg which would allow the Adel to effectively tax trading going through the Elbe. The Råd declined the proposal, as they feared this would anger the Bønder population. The Adel ignored this and raided Stade, effectively starting the war. The Hamburg War, as it would be known, would be the first time the Marks used their new partly-modernized army. The Danish armies would initially achieve some success, pushing a Hanoverian counter-attack back to the other side of the Elbe. After this most of the fighting would happen in the ruins of Hamburg. Many died on both sides because of the use of trench warfare. The war ended in 2110, then the Hanover king was killed by a Danish artillery strike, followed by a successful, while

costly, offensive pushing the Hanoverians out of Hamburg. A treaty was signed with what was left of the Hanover nation and control of Hamburg would be transferred to the Marks, Hanover would be forced to pay war reparations and Hanover would be disallowed from having armed forces near the Elbe. The Marks suffered heavy casualties after the war with 36.700 dead, most of whom were conscripted Bønder infantry. The Råd, which had promised paying the veterans after the war, never got the Hanoverian war reparations from the collapsed nation. This, combined with a small famine in 2113, caused a massive Bønder revolt in western Jutland. The revolt was led by the new “Bøndernes Republikanske Forbund” (English: The Farmers’ Republican Federation) led by their charismatic leader Mikkel Esper. The revolt was put down, but the BRF was not destroyed and their presence could still be felt all over the country as they went underground. Some smaller revolts and “liberations” would be carried out by the BRF during the early 2120s. By 2126, the country is more divided than ever and Neubrandenburg still has the reclamation of Rostock and the annexation of Slesvig-Holsten on their agenda. Will the Union survive?

## Society

### Class System

Since the 2050s, Danish society has been divided in three distinct social classes:

* **Adel**: Circa 13% of the population. The Adel (English: Nobility) consists mainly of wealthy landowners. All citizens over 17 who own land, own at least 40,000 krones and employ more than 5 workers are considered part of the Adel and they're the only citizens allowed to vote. The Adel are granted many additional rights and privileges compared to the other classes. The Adel are, among other things, allowed to own slaves (and cannibalize them if desired), punish Bønder, or even kill them, and choose to not follow laws not stated in the constitution.
* **Følger**: Circa 23% of the population. Følger (literally means "Follower" in English) are the closest to the pre-war middle class. While they lack some of the same rights as the Adel, they are not bound to their land and can travel freely. Some Følger work small businesses while others work for the Adel (I.e. administrating farms/factories or serving as guards). Some also hold posts in the Råd or other government institutions.
* **Bønder**: Circa 64% of the population. Bønder (English: Peasents or Farmers) are workers, farmers and slaves. The Adel gives them shelter, food, water and in some cases money in exchange for their servitude. Their rights differ from territory to territory; some Bønder are bound to their land/town and can't leave their master/employer. Some earn wages while others are slaves treated like property. Most Bønder are illiterate however recent reforms have granted limited education to the Bønder class. Class consciousness is beginning to develop.

### Politics

The Aarhus Union can considered a parliamentary democracy. Every 10 years the Adel vote in the *Rådsvalg* (English: Council election) which determines who will hold the seats in Råd and the who will be head of the Government, the *Rådsformand* (English: Chairman of the Council). The Adel can currently vote on 4 parties which make up the 40 seats in the parliament, known as the Råd:

* **Foreningen** - Currently the party with most seats. The party seeks to expand and protect the rights of the Følger and Bønder classes. The party is split into two factions; the Traditionalist faction and Reformist faction. The Reformist faction wants to abandon the class system entirely and granting universal suffrage to all citizens as soon as possible. The Traditionalist faction also wants this to some extent, but desire a different approach. The traditionalists wish give the Bønder more options to become Følger and slowly take power away from the Adel and in the end abolish the class system. Both factions believe in centralizing the Union and giving more power to the Råd. Currently, Traditionalist Jonas Rask is the leader of the party and Rådsformand. The reformist faction is currently led by Rasmus Clausen.
* **Holmistiske Parti** - Holmism has been prevalent though most of the Union's history. The ideology of Holmism has changed though the years since the death of the father of the movement; Peter Buch Holm. Holm was a democrat and nationalist, somewhat inspired by the pre-war right-wing. After his death, the movement increasingly came out in support of authoritarianism. This trend was a result of rebellions, most of which took place in German-majority territories in the south of the country. The movement was slowly influenced by the pre-war ideologies of fascism and nazism. After the defeat of the Second Rostock War, the party lost much of it's support from the Adel. The movement was in chaos, divided between different ideas and factions. The radical far-right faction of movement, known as *Danneskjold* (which also acted as a paramilitary) and led by Thor Hjort, took power. While many opposed Thor Hjort, he was able to reunite the movement and officially created a party in 2105, something Holm has originally had been opposed to. Thor Hjort, while loved by the Bønder and Følger, is unpopular among the Adel. While the Holmist party slowly loses power in the Råd, their influence among the common folk grows.
* **Kongepartiet** - Formed by ex-holmists, Kongepartiet primary goal is to establish a strong centralized kingdom with Christian of Bornholm-Oldenburg as it's king. The party believes in the principle of "Alle er Adel" (English: Everyone is Nobility) which states that all citizens are equal and should have equal opportunities and responsibilities. The only thing to hold one back from becoming successful should be one's ability. The role of the state is to protect the monarchy, enforce the law and to protect and expand the kingdom.
* **Nykristen Alliance** - A small party formed by Nykristen nobles. The party was formed in response to the rapid spread of Arossism in Jylland and wishes to ban the religion as it poses a threat to the dominance of the Nykristen Church. The party is led by Allan Dall. The party can be considered political wing of the Nykristen Church and is allied with Holmist Party.

 There is also parties/movements not allowed to participate in the Rådsvalg:

* **BRF (Bøndernes Republikanske Forbund)** - The BRF was created by escaped Bønder veterans of the Hamburg War. They gained massive support from the Bønder population with their calls for "liberation" and "death to the Adel". The BRF does not follow one ideology, but they are all united by one cause; revolution! They wish to completely destroy the Aarhus Union and establish a new state in which all men and woman are equal. They use violent methods to achieve this.
* **Schleswig-Holsteinische Front** - Originally a party supporting autonomy within the Union, the party turned to radical separatism during the Second Rostock War. The party is split between nationalists (who want a independent Schleswig-Holstein), pan-nationalists (who want to join Neubrandenburg) and legionaries (who wish to join the Kingdom of Germania).

### Culture

The culture of the Union is a melting pot. In the aftermath of the Great War, almost the entire population of Norway and Sweden fled their homeland. Denmark, Southern Sweden and Gotland were the only places in Scandinavia to survive the nuclear winter. Swedish and Norwegian cultural influences can be seen especially in the Bønder and Følger population while most of the Adel keep to primarily Danish traditions and culture.

### Military

The Råd has the task of mobilizing armies if it is needed. The Adel control the armies of the Union and get to choose if they want to join the war effort or not. Much of this hasn't changed, but after the disastrous defeat in the Second Rostock War, the Råd began efforts to modernize the military. The introduction of artillery changed almost all previous tactics used by the armies. The army is still in the progress of being modernized and debates will soon begin on how the new army is to be organized and if the Adel or the Råd should have the most control.

### Religion

Since 2094, Nykristendom (English: New Christianity) has been the official religion of the Aarhus Union. Nykristendom is an evolution of old Danish Protestantism. Nykristendom advocates for the preservation of the class system, traditional societal roles and loyalty to the Nykristen Church. Nykristendom has most influence in Fyn, Sjælland and Skåne.

During the 2040s a new religious movement began to gain influence in Jylland. They called themselves *Arossists* (Danish: Arossister). They worship their god; Aros, god of the rainbow. According to Arossists, God, or Aros as they called themself, arrived to earth in 2020. The pre-war governments were the only ones to know this and wished to kill Aros as he was opposed to their false gods. The governments fired all their nuclear weapons on Aros, but they failed to destroy the god. Instead their nuclear weapons reflected off Aros and almost destroyed the earth. Aros managed to save some of the people of Europe, created the *Temple of Aros* and vowed to return once again to transcend the human race. Rainbows act as link between Aros and people of the earth. To this day, followers of Aros occupy the Temple of Aros and seek to spread the religion. They are known as the Disciples of Aros (Danish: Aros' Disciple)

Many scholars and intellectuals have pointed out the fact that many pre-war records show that the Temple has existed since before the war. This has fueled a deep rivalry in Aarhus between the scholars of the *Aarhus University* and the Disciples. The Disciples are also deeply opposed to the Nykristen Church.

The German regions of Slesvig-Holsten are heavily influenced by Teutonic Christianity promoted by the Teutonic Cult based in Neubrandenburg.