The World of Anfang

The World of Anfang is the birthplace of mankind and the many other forms of life that inhabit it. Anfang's axis of rotation is tilted, such that its revolution around the Sun once every 360 days, creating four seasons of ninety 24-hour days.

There are four main continents on Anfang: Uropa, Ifrania, Amerrisque, and Wassia.

= Uropa = Uropa is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere of Anfang, sharing a landmass with the continent of Wassia to form the combined area of Wassopia. The dividing line is often stated to be a series of mountains and rivers that run through the Rossiyan Federation. Uropa used to be far more divided than it currently is, with several major nations having formed out of political unions due to recent wars.

Grienzland
" Main article: Grienzland "The most powerful among these at the moment is the young empire of Grienzland, formed 43 years ago out of various smaller states.

Gallian Republic
Previously the largest nation in Uropa before the unification of Grienzland, the Gallian Republic is the center of political power for the Ascendancy of Man. Known for its high culture focused mostly on culinary pursuits and luxury wines, the Gallian Republic used to have an illustrious history of military conquest, having claimed most of Uropa in the past before eventually losing ground and being driven back. In recent years, the might of the Gallian army has deteriorated, with some saying its death knell took place with the Gallo-Preusvian War of 1870, when the Grienzen state of Preusvia lead a united effort to soundly crush its military.

For a long time after their defeat and the loss of the territory of Alraine, Gallian citizens put their effort into building infrastructure and preparing for an inevitable war. In addition, during this time a great degree of violence filled the nation as the Ascendancy of Man firmly established its hold on the countryside beyond just the large cities.

Some of the more recent key historical events include:


 * 1886 Failed Vengeance Coup: The leader of the Gallian army, General Baudelaire, had amassed widespread support from soldiers, remaining holdout Synenolic congregations, and more rural Gallians who still bore resentment toward the cosmopolitan nature of the Ascendancy of Man and it's brutal policies. General Baudelaire was pushed into making an attempt to overthrow the government by his own men who maneuvered into position to blockade Paree. He agreed, but on the decided upon night of the coup, General Baudelaire fled the country and the soldiers loyal to him were betrayed, rounded up, and executed en masse.
 * 1889 Canal Uprising: After investing an enormous sum of money into the purchasing of the thinnest point in Central Amerrisque for the creation of a series of canals, the Gallian government was rocked by corruption due to a complete lack of progress. The official construction expedition failed to deliver any progress on the excavation and the diplomats had pocketed the money instead of buying the land. Claiming harassment by locals, the company brought in mercenaries to massacre the indigenous non-humans, who were supposed to be compensated for ownership of the land. An investigation later revealed that the money had been embezzled by Cassumite intermediaries, the resentment of which spurred the Halévy Case.
 * 1892 Halévy Case: In 1892 Alain Halévy, a Gallian cavalry officer and Cassumite, was accused of espionage and feeding military information to the Grienzen embassy in Paree. An overwhelming amount of evidence had been collected against him, and multiple court cases convicted him before being over turned by increasingly higher up members of the Ascendancy of Man government. This began with the initial military court martial being thrown out, but lead all the way up to the highest court in the land, the Court of Justice, which also had its ruling dismissed. The reason given was that the judges were said to be persecuting Halévy due to his Cassumite heritage. Since the Cassumites were the most actively involved and highly positioned members in the Ascendancy of Man, the Court of Justice had marked itself as an enemy of humankind through convicting Halévy. This all came to a head in 1898 with the mass execution of the judges of the Court of Justice, and the formation of a new Court of Liberty and Equality staffed largely by Ascendancy of Man officials. The former judges were put to death by beheading. Their corpses were displayed in front of the new courthouse, and any who rallied behind avenging or respecting their deaths were rounded up and executed as well.
 * 1899 Lois Héroïques: The 'Heroic Laws,' a trio of laws passed in 1899 and 1900 to combat the festering Anti-Cassumitism that blighted the Gallian Republic. The first of the three laws ended the freedom of the press and instituted a mandatory licensing system for the right to print newspapers. The second law instituted harsh prison sentences and fines for anyone found to be disobeying the first law and widened the scope to include those found possessing unlawful newspapers or magazines. The third and final law explicitly made it legal for citizens to form mobs to enact justice upon anyone found advocating for or protecting non-humans, denouncing the Ascendancy of Man, promoting religion, or criticizing the Cassumite people, through print or speech, in all of the Gallian Republic.

Grand Breteyne
Although technically a peninsula, the jagged mountains at the southern land bridge between Grand Breteyne and the rest of Uropa have effectively made it an island. For most of its history, Grand Breteyne has been an isolated nation cut off from the rest of the world except by naval expeditions. Now, even though there are perilous and frigid winding mountain passes to reach the peninsula by foot, the majority of traffic to and from the island is still done by boat. Naturally the Bretish have a longstanding seafaring culture and have built up the largest of all Uropan navies.

The Bretish have long quarreled with the rest of the Uropan continent over matters of hereditary claims and land disputes. Their historic enemy has been the Gallian Republic, with a record of warfare spanning back over a thousand years. Before Grand Breteyne took the title of ruler of the seas, they had a lengthy, century-long struggle with the Kingdom of Hispalia which also plied its trade and economic influence overseas. This conflict seemed ready to last forever until a single resounding naval victory propelled Grand Breteyne to the unchallenged position of naval super power that it has held ever since.

In the recent decades, Grand Breteyne has been conducting an arms race with Grienzland regarding naval power. Bretish Naval Command's policy of maintaining a continuous, active fleet consisting of twice the tonnage of the next two national navies has been the cause of constant consternation. The Imperial Grienzen Navy began a program of naval buildup in 1882 to develop a fleet that could rival Grand Breteyne's maritime superiority, but this only spurred Bretish ship building to greater heights. The construction and material costs combined with the manpower requirements has place considerable stress on the Bretish economy, but the cultural pride on the strength of their navy has left the policy unchallenged.

Of all the Uropan nations, Grand Breteyne lead the charge to conquering large swaths of Ifrania to establish colonies for natural resources. Much of the metals being drudged up from Ifranian mines go into Bretish fighting ships and it is the food grown in Ifranian fields that fills Bretish markets.

Rossiyan Federation
A vast expanse of forests to the south and eternally frozen wastelands to the north, the Rossiyan Federation is the state that now occupies the tundra and taiga and forests north of the mountains and desert that separates them from the Khitan Union to the south. These rugged lands have proven difficult for every kingdom or nation that has tried to call them home, but they imbue a resilient toughness in those who have managed to thrive there. Those people are the Sclaveni, named for their early encounters with emissaries from Western civilization who noted the scattered nature of their settlements, small and distant, spread out through the wildlands.

Now they have come a long way and through eager trade with the advanced civilizations of Western Uropa have begun to industrialize. They are not an inventive race, but adept at wielding tools given to them with enough instruction, and as such they have undergone a shocking effort to build railways across the enormous distances of their country of late, leaving the bodies of fallen workers under the rails. They still lack in manufacturing and infrastructure, but the Gallian Republic has been working closely with them in the past decade, to elevate the Rossiyan Federation to a proper military force within Uropa, as well as to spread the Eminence of Man, the atheistic secular religion that paves the way for the Ascendancy of Man to claim power shortly after. There has been considerable resistance from the folk religion of the Unnoticed Life.

The Rossiyan Federation is currently under the rule of the young, easily-influenced Itor Mikhail who has has begun preparing for war under the advise of his older generals and advisors in the Federal Council. Chief among them is Nicolai Rubashkin, a powerful mystic who preaches the value of mass bloodshed and a foolish crusade to spread the Holy Winnowing across the world. As such, it is no surprise that their eyes are set on Grienzland on their border, as well as Ledzianie and the Principality of Bielajaros, which had both formerly been its territory before splitting off during past upheavals.

Della
Della is a small Uropan nation situated between Grienzland and the Gallian Republic. Della is largely made up of reclaimed land. Situated largely below sea level, the land is kept dry through an elaborate drainage system of sluices and an extensive series of levees and dams.

Although a small nation, Della has its proud history of overseas trade and transport that is third behind Grand Breteyne and the Kingdom of Hispalia. Della also has its colonialist pursuits and has established the large territory of Kinshasa as its claimed land in Ifrania. Reports of brutality and ruthlessness on the parts of Dellan mercenaries in the region have spurred outrage all across Uropa in the past ten years, but Della has refused to change the way it runs its colonies, insisting on national autonomy and the legitimate claim it has to ownership of its slice of Ifrania.

Alemannia
A small and mountainous country, Alemannia has a long history of pacifism and independence, refusing to participate in the many wars that have raged around it throughout the centuries. Several times throughout its past, neighboring nations have tried to invade and conquer it, but between difficult terrain and the fierce defensive fighting for the Alemans maintain, each time has resulted in total failure.

Now Alemannia is known for its esoteric magical research in its large, underground Essence concentration facility, as well as being home to quite a few private banks that wealthy individuals from all across Uropa utilize.

Nation of Umbria
The island of Umbria was once the most powerful empire in the world, controlling most of Uropa and much of Northern and Eastern Ifrania. This victory came due to the well-trained and expertly organized nature of its army which marched across most of the known world and met little resistance it could not crush. But eventually their empire collapsed to decadence and apathy, splintering into the many squabbling realms that slowly and eventually solidified into the nations and kingdoms of today.

Now Umbria is known as the seat of the Synenolic Church, the Pellucian, the Golden City on the Anointed Hill, where the first Heavenly Masters established the Council of God in the early days of the Synenolic Church. There was a time when all of Uropa paid fealty to the Golden City. Now its influence is waning due to negligence and overindulgence, and the Church of Ortues has split into several bickering branches that stand at odds against each other, more out of political distrust than theological difference.

Nordia
A small (and recently even smaller) nation to the north of Grienzland, Nordia is referred to by the rest of Uropa as the Clinging Man of the North or else the bastion against Grienzen expansion. In 1864, the King of Nordia violated an ancient promise to respect the independence and self-determination of the two southern protectorate provinces of Dansvig and Schleissmag, collectively referred to as Danmag. In response to the attempted annexation, Preusvia and Kierstia declared war on Nordia in defense of the sovereignty of Danmag, and the resulting Danmag War of 1864 saw the Nordian army outmaneuvered by Kierstian strategic positioning and crushed by Preusvian artillery.

Nordia abandoned their claim on Danmag after their surrender to the Kiersto-Preusvian alliance, and failed to step up and try to reclaim the provinces during the multiple conflicts that followed. Sensing that they lost their chance as a result of the formation of the Grienzen Empire, Nordian nationalists slowly seeded the grounds for a patriotic revolution to depose their hermit king. In 1909, the death of the old king proved the perfect opportunity, and through a swift and bloodless revolution the previous monarchical dynasty was forced to flee to Grand Breteyne. Grienzen Intelligence believes this coup may have been backed by agents of the Ascendancy of Man, but this is unconfirmed.

The resulting constitutional parliamentary monarchy left the king as a symbolic position without any powers, so as to stave off any legitimacy claims or inheritance disputes. The parliament runs the country now, and has been building up military preparations for a war that it desires as much as the Gallian Republic, to reclaim what it declares was an illegitimately transferred province.

Seruiani
Seruiani has a longstanding history as being a nearly ungovernable region. Every neighboring country throughout the millennia has tried to subjugate Seruiani and found it too costly a piece of ground to hold onto due to the willingness of every citizen to fight those they see as outsiders. Made up of ethnic Sclaveni, they share a natural bond with the Rossiyan Federation which sees them almost as a protectorate, despite the fact that they are- on paper- currently a vassal state of Karpania. The waning power of the latter has lead to many agitating for independence of official membership with the Rossiyan Federation, but the princes of Karpania wish to avoid that so as not to be encircled by their historic ally of Rossiya.

Karpania
Not long ago the greatest empire in Uropa, Karpania has fallen far since then, and its latest attempt to reclaim that former glory ended with the short-lived Kiersto-Karpanian dual empire. Now with Kierstia having joined the Grienzen Empire, Karpania stands stoutly independent and still has eyes on pushing out its borders, including its expansionist aims in the Hellenic League and Seruiani. The conditions within Karpania are notoriously tenuous due to its ethnic diversity and cultural mélange and multitude of languages spoken within its borders. This makes it very difficult to manufacture any sort of consent, as the country is constantly being torn and tugged in many different directions due to each group desiring its own betterment over the others.

Hellenic League
The Hellenic League was a once proud empire of many Isle-States which came together to form a single united body for defense, and later military conquest. Then conquered much of what is now modern day Deglarus, Karpania, and the Osmaniyan Empire, but have since splintered and been beaten back to their small peninsula state. The Hellenic League is a mostly quiet nation now, which does little with its cultural and philosophical heritage, only roused from neutrality to defend its borders as needed. Things have been quiet as of late though due to its relatively good terms with the monarchy of Karpania.

Ledzianie
Called the 'Crossroads State,' Ledzianie sits in the center of four other nations: Grienzland, the Rossiyan Federation, the Principality of Bielajaros, and Grand Breteyne. What's more, its borders have changed possibly more than any other nation in existence due to the constant assimilations and insurrections and territorial disputes and inheritance claims. To the north, the mountains that separate it from Grand Breteyne are nearly impassable, and both nations prefer it that way, so no major excavation efforts have been undertaken. The Rossiyan Federation and Grienzen state of Preusvia have both laid claim to much of Ledzianie in the past, though in 1865 a number of revolts caused both to relinquish much of their claims, especially as Preusvia was busy with its war with Kierstia.

Ledzianie now sits in a precarious position. Its current borders are filled with ethnic Grienzens in the west, Sclaveni in the east, and Cassumites in all the major cities establishing secular temples of the Eminence of Man. The state is in cultural turmoil and it is not clear if any united defense could be rallied against an outside invasion, or if the local populations would side with their ethnics. Already internal pressure calls for regions to split off and petition to join the Grienzen Empire or the Rossiyan Federation, though for now patriotic Ledzianian sentiment is holding those voices at bay.

Principality of Bielajaros
A cold and seclusive land, Bielajaros was once half of a greater empire alongside Ledzianie. After the successful uprising in 1865 against the Rossiyan Federation, Ledzianie's neighbor state began to pursue a series of gradual petitions and pleas with the Itor for its own independence. Although reluctant to give up a state under his control, the Itor knew that Rossiya was in no condition to put down another rebellion. As such, the Federation made Bielajaros a protectorate, giving it semi-autonomy in the hopes of placating local desires for independence. It did the opposite, and made enough room for Bielajaros to declare its independence bloodlessly a mere five years later. Currently, Bielajaros is ruled by Princess Valancina II, an Ice Dragon Daughter beloved by her people for her careful diplomatic efforts to maintain their independence from the grasp of the feeble Itor Mikhail and his greedy, pushy advisors.

Kingdom of Hispalia
Once the largest of naval super powers in the world, the Kingdom of Hispalia took settlements in Ifrania and Amerrisque before clashing against the upstart Grand Breteyne. In 1622, the Hispalian Invincible Fleet set forth with intent to raid Grand Breteyne and destroy its shipmaking capabilities and raze its ports. Due to a combination of bad weather, brilliant tactics, and help from Dellan allies, the Bretish fleet utterly annihilated the Invincible Fleet, and in one fell swoop ended all notions of Hispalia as master of the seas, supplanting them from then on.

After that, Hispalia focused primarily on economic pursuits and developing its colonies, though even those began to lose the military edge and protection they had enjoyed previously. Hispalia has seen considerable influence from the Ascendancy of Man due to its lone geographical neighbor being the Gallian Republic. However, the form the Ascendancy of Man has taken within its borders is considered too 'sleepy' and lazy to push the sociopolitical fervor that it possesses in much of the rest of Uropa.

= Ifranian Colonies = There are many regions within Ifrania that have been claimed by the major Uropan powers.

Hikuptah
Home of an ancient civilization that has long since fallen away, Hikuptah is now a colony of Grand Breteyne. The imagery of pyramids and sandstone statues has captivated the Bretish for many decades, and extensive research has gone into digging up the remains of this once great, now eroded kingdom. Much of the symbolic art and pictographic written language that decorate the ruins hint toward there possibly being some validity to old Fey Cat folktales.

Kinshasa
A recent formation, the region known as Kinshasa was formed under the direct supervision of the Dellan King Willem Valentin Lambert. The land was claimed during the 1883 Conference on the Future of Ifrania meeting in Buchou, Grienzland. King Willem had employed explorer Niels De Vleeschauwer to survey the land and report back with the limits of available land. Devolved men occupied the land, living as ghouls and consuming recently deceased flesh like carrion scavengers. There were other creatures there, first and foremost the Maleogma as well as some Fey Cats.

De Vleeschauwer employed a number of mercenaries from all over Uropa, including Alemannian sharpshooters and Gallian criminals to pacify the area. They killed many ghouls but imprisoned plenty more. The Devolved were used as guard dogs, hunting dogs, and as a means of executing colonists that did not obey commands or work hard enough to mine or gather local plant materials. This culminated in the Razing of Munawgiri in 1903 after the local workforce held several days of protests over dangerous working conditions and harsh quotas expected of them. De Vleeschauwer ordered the unleashing of all captive ghouls in the area, and the entire population of the town - consisting largely of economic migrants and former convicts from Uropa - were killed and eaten as a result.

During the act of capturing or killing the ghouls who haunted the savannas, Niels De Vleeschauwer and his private mercenary company also enjoyed hunting the various non-human races that occupied the land. In the Gallian Republic and Della, the demand for lion fur pelts ballooned as they became status symbols among the wealthy.

Kamenda
Kamenda has plentiful fertile land and was settled by Grienzen farmers from Bayernia who purchased the rights to the land from the International Ifranian Assembly and began setting up plantations in 1874. By 1885 they elected a representative to go back to Grienzland to petition the Grienzen Empire for protection due to encroaching Bretish claims to the north. By 1886 the terms were agreed upon and Kamenda officially became Grienzen Kamenda. The area is still being aggressively farmed for the food stocks that allow for population growth and might allow for greater colonization in the rest of Ifrania.

Grienzen West Ifrania
Established in 1880 by a Grienzen adventurer named Bernhard Vargrimler, a curious individual who personally established the borders of this region by hiking through the dangerous, ghoul-infested lands, dodging necrotic wastes and navigating sulfur swamps to set down Grienzland flags. He ventured from coast to coast, encompassing an enormous area that he then returned to Buchou and in 1882 he personally presented the entire colony as a gift to King Friedrich, who knighted him for his selfless efforts. And then Sir Vargrimler vanished, presumably to another part of Ifrania, but he has not been heard from since.

The area was stalked by large, warring tribes of the Devolved which killed and ate each other, without end. Initial expeditions to make good of the colony ended in destruction with most losing their lives. After two such failures, the Grienzen navy deployed five dreadnoughts to sail up the Jifuri River to Lake Rewmu where the largest den of the ghouls was built into an enormous cliff face. They bombarded the carved hive of the Devolved for a full day, at which point a division of soldiers came up to mop up those who had escaped the devastation. From that point on colonization continued slowly, methodically eradicating ghouls until the area was relatively safe.

Grienzen West Ifrania has been an invaluable colony for Grienzland, with fertile soil and rubber trees as well as the discovery of gold and other metal deposits to mine. As such, a number of Cave Burrowers joined in with human miners to explore the area and extract its riches.