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Columbia is a young nation in Terra's northwest, neighboring Bolívar and Kazimierz, founded by Victorian frontier settlers who won independence in the Columbian Revolutionary War (the Frontier Turmoil). A Parliament-sponsored expedition in 990, using Royal Academy of Sciences equipment that detected deep-level Originium, led to the "Boot Declaration" and colonization funded by the Duke of Gododdin. Parliament's Responsibility Act of 1011 raised taxes and forced the frontier to fund its own defense, fueling an independence movement led by Maylander Selene. After the Duke of the Frontier, Tybalt, invaded in 1016, the revolutionaries—aided by Gaul and by the mysterious Mark Max, who reorganized the army—defeated him; his fleet was broken at the Battle of Babbage in 1018, and Victoria recognized independence.
Columbia rejected becoming a duchy and instead became a federation with an elected president. Mark Max, the eccentric Liberi war hero, proposed the presidency and became the country's first and only president. Government is divided between the federal administration, the Federated Congress, and the Department of Defense, which lost its commander-in-chief powers to the president after the failed Bolívar intervention of the 1040s, under the Federation War Preparation Act of 1056. The doctrine of "pre-containment," proposed in 1058, became Columbia's basic security strategy.
Columbia comprises ten states, the capital district, and free states such as Siesta, which joined by referendum after Victoria's pressure in 1066. Its population of 16 million (1083) is growing through the Great Expansion and immigration. The Infected hold equal citizenship under the Articles of Federation but face high insurance premiums, quarantine zones, or Pioneer contracts that shift risks onto them.
The economy is driven by goods movement and technological progress, with corporations like Rhine Lab and Raythean Industries wielding major political influence, though ordinary people see little benefit. Culture is a melting pot; a government "Culture War" deemphasized immigrant traditions, reducing communal conflict but breeding hostility among the young.
Siesta, once a settlement on the Southern Trail linking Columbia to Iberia, survived the Profound Silence, thrived on Obsidian and tourism, and became a fully autonomous free state—prosperous yet fragile amid great-power pressures.
A century ago, the Victorians believed they were on the right side of history, expecting Gaul's decline and eventual Victorian dominance of the Core countries; any war was expected to come from the Witch King. The author's great-grandfather Erik, as Chancellor of the Royal Academy of Sciences, scoffed at this: "the ground beneath our feet is not as immutable as we think it is. Geopolitical circumstances and historical trends can be turned on their heads in the blink of an eye." Half a century after his death, the Columbian Revolutionary War, or Frontier Turmoil, proved him right. Victorians were stunned when forced to recognize Columbian independence, and Leithanians were shocked by a new nation backed by Gaul on the borders of Bolívar.
The Columbian Union is a young nation in the northwest of the known reaches of Terra, neighboring Bolívar. Once uninhabited wilderness, it became one of Victoria's most important frontier regions through nomadic cities, the Frontier Army, and immigrants. It split from Victoria in its Revolutionary War, supported by Gaul, becoming a society of immigrants, merchants, and soldiers. Today it is a highly influential political and economic power, but its people still seek a seat at the table of the Core nations.
In 990, a Parliament-sponsored team of explorers headed north through wilderness and mountains. Leithanien's court Messengers had claimed only barrenland lay east of Bolívar, fit only for exiles. The Victorian explorers, undiscouraged, carried secret Royal Academy surveying equipment that could detect deep-level Originium, letting them seek treasure beneath the barren surface. Seven months later a letter reached Parliament at Londinium, the famous "Boot Declaration": any plot of land that fits a boot belongs rightfully to Victoria.
They found Originium veins deep beneath the great plains. Columbia's deep deposits are not on par with Rim Billiton's, but it has a relatively stable surface Originium environment, less frequent Catastrophes, and strategic value—placing a boot between Bolívar and her eastern patron. The Duke of Gododdin funded mobile mining platforms and assembled the Frontier Army, going around the snowy mountains toward the frontier.
For fifteen years immigrants flocked to Columbia. Mining platforms dragged cities built from scrap iron; furnaces and refineries ran 24/7, spewing poisonous gas; herders, mostly immigrants from Bolívar and Kazimierz, sat around campfires. Gaul sent Messengers to exert influence on "Victoria's Boot." Merchants and scholars came seeking opportunity, though it was all built upon the persecution and deception of the weak.
In 1011, Parliament passed the Frontier Taxation, Security, and Infection Management Responsibility Act. It increased taxation, replaced local tax collectors with Victorian-appointed envoys, levied heavy takes on Frontier Army businesses, and granted "high degree of autonomy" in defense and Infected control—meaning the frontier funded its own defense. For twenty years, wild beasts, bandits, and harsh environments killed many pioneers while Victoria rarely answered calls for aid. Tensions rose, dissent spread, and the independence movement gained momentum under leaders like Maylander Selene, later the Founding Father of the Federation. In Victoria, the Act meant Duke Cannon of Gododdin had "generously" relinquished his gains; he emerged virtually unscathed from the Turmoil, which cost the life of his rival, the Duke of the Frontier.
In 1016, a tax envoy and two guards were brutally beaten by armed thugs. The Frontier Army captured the suspects but refused extradition to Victoria; matters escalated into bloody fighting between the envoy's guards and the Frontier Army. Since the Responsibility Act, the Dukes—especially the Duke of the Frontier—had reinforced their presence, which from the Lion King Frederick III's perspective kept the Duke of Gododdin in check and prepared against the Leithanian threat. Relations between royal garrison and Frontier Army deteriorated rapidly. Before Parliament reached a conclusion, Tybalt, Duke of the Frontier, denounced the frontier as rebellious and led troops into Columbia. Frederick III forced a consensus; with Gaul encroaching and Leithanien massing troops, the Lion King chose to wait and see.
The revolutionaries—Frontier Army defectors and militia—were initially helpless, outnumbered and lacking means to counter battleships. Tybalt refused surrenders and used any means to crush the rebellion. Immigrant merchants bought mercenaries; Gaul sent military advisors and helped modify four large nomadic cities into fortresses with heavy guns able to breach battleship armor. Still the revolutionaries lost ground—until the arrival of Mark Max.
Columbian textbooks call Mark Max the right hand man of Maylander Selene, who after the war declined office to found the Maylander Foundation, an NGO protecting Columbian citizens' welfare. Max's background is shrouded in history. He joined the command staff in the war's second year with Selene's endorsement, claimed to be a mining actuarial consultant who had served the Duke of the Frontier, and communicated only through speakers, saying he had family in Victoria. Gaulish advisors thought him a spy, but he predicted several failures with uncanny accuracy. Under his advice the army was reorganized, tactics changed, and the Infected were permitted to participate in production behind the lines in exchange for better conditions. His victories rebuilt confidence; the Duke's intelligence network stopped functioning around the time of his arrival.
The revolutionary army, now agile and flexible, raided and retook areas the Duke had captured, throwing a wrench into his strategy of quick victory. By spring 1018 Tybalt was stuck in a quagmire, forced to choose between long detours, destroying mines entirely, or heavy losses. He sent Messengers to Londinium and tried to reopen negotiations with Duke Cannon; nothing came of his pleas, and Victoria remained eerily silent, as it had for twenty years.
After defeats in autumn and winter 1018, as the revolutionaries built earthworks with heavy artillery, the battlefield no longer belonged to battleships. In six months the Duke lost a dozen battleships; his flagship was boarded and captured in the Battle of Babbage that November, and he was forced to abandon ship. In that battle an anonymous soldier uttered the words that became Columbia's national motto. The Duke's armies retreated south. His wounds never healed; in fevered hallucinations he believed he had contracted Oripathy and died trying to cut the "stones" from his body with a knife. Parliament then sent an envoy requesting a "dignified end to hostilities." The Lion King agreed to repeal the frontier's obligations, recognize Columbian independence, and settle remaining Victorian assets. The eccentric Liberi Mark Max was voted Columbia's first president.
Corsica I became Emperor of Gaul the year Columbia declared independence. Many expected Columbia to seek Gaulish protection, but tensions rose after President Max personally persuaded several Gaulish advisors to settle in Columbia; Columbia would not trade one overlord for another. Whether successful is hard to assess, as Gaul fell twelve years later.
Geographically, Columbia has Bolívar to the west and Kazimierz to the east, with territory comparable in size to Victoria. The Kjerag mountains block southeastern humidity, creating plains and rocky canyons in the east. Multiple rivers converge in the middle, feeding great lakes spanning the country north to south. The west is wasteland, the Bolívarian plateau growing dry and barren; the Kolossal Prime Vein passes through, the largest underground Originium deposit in Columbia. The Bleached Wasteland, a southern desert known for erosion features and massive skeletons, was believed to be part of the dried southern Great Lakes, but latest surveys indicate it dried in a much shorter time as part of sudden environmental change. Folklore claims Gaulish revivalists hid the Emperor's body there, or that an ancient Sarkaz bloodline went extinct there leaving a curse.
When the war ended, some thought the Lion King would create a Duke of Columbia; that was among the Londinium envoy's proposals. The founders rejected it—we could not go back on the same path. Columbia became a federation led by a democratically elected president. Maylander Selene believed the frontiers needed an entity stronger than an alliance of cities to fend off the Victorian threat; Mark Max proposed a president, a "Governor General of the Federation," to replace the royal governor general. The frontiers' autonomous tradition carried into the new nation—a political system very different from Victoria and the other Core nations.
The government consists of the federal government in the Max District of Columbia (Max D.C.) and state governments in major nomadic cities. The federal government has three branches: the Federal Administration, the Federated Congress, and the Department of Defense, exercising administration, legislation, and defense.
The president heads the Federal Administration, with the cabinet and executive departments beneath; the president is head of government, Governor General of all states, and commander-in-chief of the armed forces. The cabinet consists of the vice president, executive department heads, and presidential advisors. Executive departments like Agriculture and the Treasury are run by civil servants.
The Federated Congress, formally the "Free Cities' Federated Congress of Columbia," is the highest legislative body. It drafts federal laws, oversees executive departments and the Department of Defense, and represents citizens' collective will; it can veto departmental proposals and impeach officials. Its bicameral structure closely mirrors the Victorian Parliament. The vice president presides over the Senate; senators represent states and nomadic cities, while House members maintain quiet links to social institutions and corporations.
The Department of Defense inherits the revolutionary army's legacy. Its secretary was commander-in-chief until 1056 and even decided foreign affairs, but the failed intervention in the Bolívarian Civil War in the 1040s—attributed to the incompetence of the Bolívarian Coalition Government—forced the DOD to relinquish these powers. The Federation War Preparation Act of 1056 handed commander-in-chief powers to the president. Today the DOD's powers are the "Power to Prepare for Military Actions": mobilizing forces after a presidential declaration of a state of war and maintaining a force for pre-containment in peacetime.
Mark Max is the first and only president, with consistently high approval ratings; citizens have stopped paying attention to presidential elections, focusing instead on heated vice-presidential races. Many see the Liberi on their screens as the living embodiment of the Union's spirit, and his humorous monthly addresses are must-see TV.
One section presents a firsthand account from a federal armed forces veteran of twenty years, interrogated by an agent, about the Horizon Arc Project in Trimounts. He calls the DOD's treatment of contractors Raythean Industries and Union Military Industries Group "shameless betrayal," giving the most important project to "kids straight out of TIT"—Kristen Wright of the Arc-01 demonstrator prototype. Though calling her "a nutcase and a damn traitor," he admits she was a genius. Her H.A.M.H.H.R. would automatically detect and attack all ground targets within its firing arc from five thousand meters, and could potentially be scaled down for battleships; without her betrayal, he claims, Columbia would have won absolute military supremacy in three decades. But those who saw the sky that night, he says, will never sleep well again.
"Pre-containment" was first proposed in the DOD's Federation Defense White Paper of 1058, understood as a review of the Bolívar failure and an olive branch to president and Congress. The strategy involves layered active intervention in "hot spots" beyond military means, curbing threats before full-scale war. Approved by president and Congress, it has been Columbia's basic security strategy for half a century, significantly affecting Bolívar and Sargon.
The book also reprints a Pioneer recruitment advertisement promising adventure, salary, and full federal medical insurance, thanking "Susanna" for pointing out fine print: insurance premium and income tax automatically deducted, state subsidies paid in kind as medicine, and no responsibility for accidents leaving signatories unable to honor their contracts.
The Columbian Union comprises ten domestic states, the capital district, and free states—non-contiguous, fully autonomous independent cities, Siesta the most well-known. State governments, the top local administrative level, do not answer directly to the federal government, unlike Yan's or Gaul's arrangements, maintaining limited autonomy in legislative, administrative, and judiciary matters. As of 1083, Columbia had 16 million people, half in nomadic cities, growing rapidly through the Great Expansion and immigration.
Columbia's legal system is built on precedent and Supreme Court rulings, with the Articles of Federation its most important legal document. The Federal Supreme Court is the final court of appeal; local courts rule under state laws. Federal agencies like the "Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Arts Units, and Originium" enforce federal law; local agencies enforce local laws, with delegated enforcement allowing federal intervention in cross-state or federal crimes.
Despite a small population, Columbia maintains a large professional standing army—one in five eligible citizens has served. The Frontier Army, predecessor of the Union Army, bore the brunt of the revolutionary war and became a symbol of patriotism; its leaders became DOD leaders, and the Old Frontier Army faction remains a major political player. The army implements pre-containment with strong first-strike capability, combining a professional standing army—equipped with standard-issue gear, fighting mostly as mechanized infantry supported by battleships—with private military contractors providing logistics.
The Articles of Federation recognizes equal citizenship for those with Oripathy, in recognition of their contribution to independence, but sufferers must enroll in medical insurance with much higher premiums; those unable to pay are forced into government-managed quarantine zones, or sign Pioneer contracts to join the Great Expansion. The freedom is enticing but costly: Infected pioneers see only a small part of the fruits of the Expansion while shouldering most of the risks.
The Mobile Cavalry Unit is a power armor-equipped elite force for quick, surgical strikes in sensitive environments, key to pre-containment and used against threats conventional units and contractors cannot handle. Unlike Victoria's Tempest Platoon, it recruits from the entire citizenry. Candidates undergo weeks of selection before the Federal Cavalry School, "Iron Bridge," with access to the best equipment, including C-series Cavalry Power Armor, unmanned platforms, and classified experimental gear.
The section includes a soldier's ballad about Bolívar: Robert McKesson told the Federation "There is no war in Bolívar, just wild dogs out their cage," but "for O Columbia, I sent the battleships, to save Bolívar from Bolívar." The singer describes shoveling mines and mud for landships, trading cigarettes and cluster bombs with guerillas, ambushes awaited "like a bunch of blind gloompincers," and returning from San Sophie with 151 boys where 150 went out—his only trophy a bottle of Feedos.
A Londinium economist once said Columbia's economy is driven by two forces: highly developed movement of goods, and an obsession with technological progress. After the war, Columbia secured trade channels between Bolívar and Kazimierz, establishing an east-west route that became a tool for exporting economic influence to both markets. Technological development—through private research organizations like Rhine Lab and manufacturers like Raythean Industries—gave Columbia the lead in turning science into economic benefit, giving corporations massive political influence. Yet wealth largely lines entrepreneurs' pockets; the author wonders how many people are forced into the Pioneers each year after failed startups and heavy debt.
Columbian culture is a melting pot of Victorian frontier legacy and immigrant influence—a box of fast food combines Gododdin potatoes, Taran-descended fried fowlbeast, and Bolívaran sauces. Culture that becomes part of Columbia signals acceptance into society. Inspired by the federal government, popular culture from "factories" like Wrankwood spreads influence abroad. To manage conflicts between immigrant communities, the government defined contemporary culture as the most Columbian and best; the "Culture War" proved highly effective, with new generations proudly embracing "Columbian culture" within a couple of generations. However, the younger generation has taken to attacking other communities' cultures under the banner of progress, and pressure is gradually building.
The section reprints a review of a film about Jack Scotner and the "Winged Legend" militiamen—ordinary Pioneers who fought against an evil tax collector, epitomizing Columbia's founders and the Revolutionary War—and a Mark Max address celebrating the frontier as where the Columbian spirit was born. An interview with an Infected immigrant family, who came from Victoria to avoid jail and signed frontier contracts without seeing problems, and a financial report on Tower Mountains, whose Great Expansion contracts grow despite complaints about medicine quality, round out the frontier materials.
Siesta, a relic independent city-state on the southern coastline, receives extended treatment. One of the few coastal places unscathed by the Profound Silence, it became a leading tourist destination and now rides into a new era as the nomadic city of New Siesta. The old Southern Trail, originally a Sargonian military road discovered by Jannie Michelle, became Columbia's economic lifeline when mountains blocked Victoria's fleet. In 1020, facing post-independence hardship, Columbia sought trade with Iberia; from 1025 it built upon the trail under cover of the mountains, founding settlements. In 1035, "retired" revolutionary veterans and settlers, supported by the Columbian military, founded Siesta with a "Senate Conference" town assembly imitating Iberian city-states.
When Iberia went quiet in the Profound Silence in 1038, the Southern Waterway closed and Siesta lost strategic value; the military pulled out the veterans, and subsequent plans were scrapped. The calamity pushed the coastline back, leaving Siesta—some distance from shore—adjacent to the sea, and rich Obsidian deposits fueled recovery. Siesta remained a key hub, especially for the Victorian-Sargon route, becoming the most powerful independent city in the area and drawing attention from the Victorian Dukes. In 1066, Siesta received an invitation to join Victoria. Assemblyman and businessman Herman Doykos proposed reestablishing ties with Columbia instead, arguing the city had enough bargaining power to win protection while keeping local self-administration. After protracted negotiations, Siesta's leadership voted to seek Columbia's protection, and a referendum made it a fully autonomous free state. Herman reformed the Senate Conference into a City Hall and City Council and became first mayor. Victoria's pressure had produced its worst nightmare—a Columbian outpost on its border—prompting a shift to conciliation.
Siesta's government consists of the City Council and City Hall; officials are elected annually, regular decisions made by citizen representatives, and important matters put to referendum. Sitting on a hot, humid seaside plain subject to seasonal storms, bordering Victoria's southwest and east of the Sargonian Empire's de facto territory, Siesta maintains no standing army—only a small professional police force. Obsidian mining is now banned for environmental reasons; tourism, once the main income, has given way to trade as the pillar since the coast became distant after the nomadic city's completion. Of 800,000 total population, only 300,000 are permanent residents; the rest are traders, tourists, and workers. Siesta boasts a robust educational system, with research outposts studying the volcanic environment, giving it top programs in geology and ecology.
Beginning in 1097, Siestans reluctantly abandoned their home, bringing imitations of seaside scenery and volcanic hot springs to their nomadic plates. The elderly still find places to view the volcano and tell listeners where their former homes were. The plates of New Siesta do not feel like part of Columbia; tourists see a paradise of freedom and independence, but the lone coastal city continues juggling pressures from multiple great powers. The freedom of the free city is as fragile as it is precious. The Obsidian Festival, held every summer for two weeks or more, attracts artists, music lovers, and tourists from across Terra for beach, sun, music, and beer; attendees vote for their favorite artist, with ranking honors and milestone rewards.
A margin note by an unattributed writer claims Mark Max is one of PRT's siblings, an ancient relic of the Mindframe & Think Tank service system unearthed in 1017 by Maylander Selene's team, with the Maylander Foundation born from their collaboration; another unattributed margin note describes the Bleached Wasteland's skeletons as ancestors of Columbia's burdenbeasts and claims the Maylander Foundation's expedition to its ruins suffered heavy losses before the project was frozen and sealed, with the wasteland holding the ancient heart of the Teekaz civilization.
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Terra bless us. —Columbian national motto
My great-grandfather, Erik, lived in an era that seems distant now. A century ago, the Victorians believed that they were on the right side of history. Gaul was on the decline, and there would come a day when Victoria took over the dominant position in the Core countries. It should have been a peaceful and gradual process. If war did come to Victoria, it was expected to come from the Witch King. My great-grandfather scoffed at this view, and criticized it roundly during his time as Chancellor of the Royal Academy of Sciences, “the ground beneath our feet is not as immutable as we think it is. Geopolitical circumstances and historical trends can be turned on their heads in the blink of an eye”. Half a century after his passing, the Columbian Revolutionary War, sometimes known as the Frontier Turmoil, stands in vivid testimony of his view. It was not just the Victorians who were stunned by the war and its outcome, when they were forced to recognize Columbian independence; the Leithanians were also shocked by the emergence of a newly independent nation backed by Gaul on the borders of Bolívar.
The Columbian Union is a young nation located in the northwest of the known reaches of Terra, neighboring Bolívar. The land underneath the nomadic cities was once an uninhabited wilderness, until explorers funded by the Dukes reported the existence of this undeveloped expanse. Towed nomadic cities emerged as Frontier Army and immigrants moved into the area. Caravans delivered materials to the Victorian border, and Columbia soon became one of Victoria's most important frontier regions. The frontier region split from Victoria in its Revolutionary War, supported by Gaul, becoming a lively but risky society formed of immigrants, merchants, and soldiers. Today, Columbia is a highly influential political and economic power, but the descendants of the pioneers will not be satisfied until they have a seat at the table of the Core nations.
The Columbian Gold Certificate comes in many denominations. The streets of Trimounts are depicted on the one-dollar bill, while other places in Columbia appear on other bills, underneath the national motto. "May Terra bless Columbia, all her cities, and all her citizens."
In 990, a Parliament-sponsored team of explorers set out towards the north, through vast wilderness and rugged mountains, to the land known today as "Columbia". Once, Leithanien's court Messengers had claimed that there was only barrenland to the east of Bolívar, making it the ideal place for exiling undesirables, but had no value otherwise. The explorers of Victoria saw the same thing: the bare, cracked plains to the northwest of the Kjerag mountains, with the occasional strange plant rolling past them. Far from being discouraged, the explorers brought with them a secret weapon developed by the Royal Academy of Sciences, a set of surveying equipment that could detect deep-level Originium. This allowed them to go where the Leithanians had not gone before, and seek the treasure buried deep beneath the barren surface. Seven months later, a letter was presented to the Parliament at Londinium, which became the famous "Boot Declaration": Any plot of land that fits a boot belongs rightfully to Victoria.
The explorers found Originium vein deep beneath the great plains. Today, we know that Columbia's deep Originium deposits are not on par with Rim Billiton's, but she has the advantage of a relatively stable surface Originium environment and less frequent Catastrophes. Most attractive, of course, was its strategic value, allowing Columbia to place a boot between Bolívar and her eastern patron. The Duke of Gododdin dipped into his considerable wealth to organize a fleet of mobile mining platforms and assembled the Frontier Army, going around the snowy mountains towards the unknown frontier.
For the next fifteen years, immigrants flocked to the new frontier regions of Columbia. Mobile mining platforms dragged cities built from scrap iron; Oriron furnaces and Originium refineries ran 24/7, spewing glowing clouds of poisonous gas that illuminated the herds of stockbeasts below; herders sat around campfires with knives in their boot sheathes, most of them immigrants from Bolívar and Kazimierz. Not to be outdone, Gaul began to send Messengers to this land, trying to exert an influence on the 'Victoria's Boot'. The vitality of the new frontier attracted entrepreneurial merchants and scholars, who came to seek new opportunities in business and academic ambitions, even though it was all built upon the persecution and deception of the weak.
A modern Columbian Pioneer. The century-old Pioneering tradition continues to bring wealth to Columbia.
Frederick III and Parliament were pleased with the progress of the new frontier. In the face of Gaul's geopolitical ambitions, Victoria needed every tool she could possibly grasp. In 1011, the Parliament passed the Frontier Taxation, Security, and Infection Management Responsibility Act, popularly known as the Responsibility Act. The Act increased taxation of the Columbian territories, replaced local tax collectors with Victorian-appointed tax envoys, and levied heavy takes on businesses owned by Frontier Army members and their families. The bill also granted a "high degree of autonomy" to the frontier regions in matters of defense and Infected control. In other words, the frontier regions had to fund their own defense. For twenty years, wild beasts, bandits, and harsh environments took the lives of many pioneers. The frontier regions had sought Victoria's aid to deal with these problems, but rarely received a response. The Act heightened tensions between the frontier regions and Victoria. Dissent amongst the Frontier Army spread throughout Columbia. The independence movement gained momentum under its leaders, most prominently Maylander Selene, later known as the Founding Father of the Federation.
Back in Victoria, the Act also meant that the greatest beneficiary of Columbia, Duke Cannon of Gododdin, had "generously" relinquished his gains. Interestingly, the Duke of Gododdin emerged virtually unscathed from the Frontier Turmoil, which cost the life of his chief rival, the Duke of the Frontier.
In 1016, a Victorian tax envoy and two of his guards were brutally beaten to within an inch of their lives by armed thugs. The Frontier Army captured the suspects quickly, but refused to accommodate the tax envoy's demand that the suspects be extradited to Victoria to be tried. Matters escalated quickly, leading to bloody fighting between the tax envoy's guards and the Frontier Army. Since the passage of the Responsibility Act, the Dukes of Victoria, especially the Duke of the Frontier, had been reinforcing their presence in the frontier regions under the justification of protecting their assets. From the Lion King's perspective, this served the dual purpose of keeping the Duke of Gododdin in check and preparing against the Leithanian threat. In any case, the relationship between the royal garrison and the Frontier Army had deteriorated rapidly, conflicts between them growing increasingly bloody.
Before the Parliament reached a conclusion, Tybalt, Duke of the Frontier—eager to seize the spoils of war—, denounced the frontier regions as unforgivably rebellious, and led his troops into Columbia. When the news reached the capital, Frederick III forced Parliament to come to a consensus—with Gaul encroaching on Victoria's cities, and Leithanien amassing troops on the border, the Lion King chose to wait and see.
At first, the revolutionary forces, consisting of Frontier Army defectors and local militia, were completely helpless against the Duke's advance. They were outnumbered, disorganized, and lacked the means to counter a battleship. All that the colonists knew was that the Duke of the Frontier was not a magnanimous conqueror; he refused to accept surrenders, and he was willing to use any means to
crush the rebellion. Behind the front lines, immigrant merchants sent Messengers back home, buying up every pair of hands that could hold a sword, enlisting foreign mercenaries to fill their ranks in the fight against the Duke. Seeing a golden opportunity to deal a blow to Victoria, Gaul sent military advisors to Columbia and helped modify four large nomadic cities into fortresses, equipped with heavy guns able to breach the armor of a battleship. Even so, the revolutionary army continued to lose ground, until the arrival of Mark Max.
Columbian textbooks describe Mark Max as the right hand man of Maylander Selene, the Founding Father of the Federation. After the war, Maylander declined an offer for government office to found the Maylander Foundation, an NGO dedicated to protecting the welfare of Columbian citizens. The background of Mark Max is shrouded in history. It was not until the second year of the war that he joined the revolutionary army's command staff with the endorsement of Selene. He claimed to be a mining actuarial consultant who had served under the Duke of the Frontier, and offered his military experience and talents to the revolutionary army. He said that he could not show his face in public, as he still had family in Victoria, communicating exclusively through speakers installed by Selene. Selene's decision baffled many. Few were willing to accept the advice of this mysterious figure, and Gaulish military advisors were convinced that he was a spy. Attitudes changed, however, after he successfully predicted several failures with uncanny accuracy and detail. Under his advice, the revolutionary army was reorganized, along with its tactics and strategy, and the Infected were permitted to participate in production activities behind the front lines, in exchange for better conditions. More importantly, the victories that Mark Max delivered helped rebuild the revolutionaries' confidence. The Duke tried to rid himself of this nuisance, but the Duke's extensive intelligence network had stopped functioning at about the same time as Mark Max's arrival.
Under Mark Max's command, the revolutionary army, more agile and flexible than before, began to raid and retake the areas that the Duke of the Frontier had taken control of over the past year. These setbacks seemed small on the surface, but they threw a wrench into Tybalt's strategy of quickly quashing the rebellion. He was unable to focus his fleet on breaking the lines formed by fortress cities, and his control over the occupied areas began to erode. By the spring of 1018, Duke Tybalt had to accept reality: He was stuck in a quagmire. At first, he could order his troops to go into the tunnels and risk Oripathy to clear out the revolutionaries. Now, he had to make a choice between taking the long way round or destroying the mines entirely, or risk losses several times his adversary's.
Tybalt set aside his pride and sent Messengers to Londinium. He even attempted to reopen negotiations with the Duke of Gododdin, hoping that Cannon would set aside personal differences and send help. Nothing came of the Duke of the Frontier's pleas for help. Victoria remained eerily silent, just as they were in response to the frontier's calls for help for the past twenty years.
■ The vice president of Columbia (left) with a doll of the president (right). No one knows why Mr. Conrad Jackson always carries a doll of the president with him. Some believe it to be a publicity stunt to increase his connection to the president, akin to a politician interacting with young children to build an image connected to youth, hope, and the future.
The Duke of the Frontier's situation grew grim following a series of defeats in the autumn and winter of 1018. As the revolutionary army built more and more earthworks equipped with heavy artillery, the battlefield no longer belonged to Victoria's battleships. In the span of just six months, the Duke's fleet had lost a dozen battleships; Tybalt's own flagship was boarded and captured in the Battle of Babbage that November. The Duke fought the boarding party valiantly, but was eventually forced to abandon ship. It was in this battle that an anonymous revolutionary soldier uttered the words that would become Columbia's national motto:
Terra bless us.
■ The first revolutionary army soldier to board the Duke's flagship and shout "Terra bless us". Neither he nor his body was ever found, but the image has become immortalized in Columbia's spirit of independence.
Following these defeats, the Duke's armies were forced to retreat south from Columbia. The wounds that the Duke of the Frontier suffered in the Battle of Babbage never fully healed. In his fevered hallucinations, he believed that he had contracted Oripathy, and died attempting to cut the "stones" from his body with a knife. After Tybalt's death, the Parliament that had ignored his appeals sent an envoy to the revolutionary army, requesting a "dignified end to hostilities". The Lion King agreed to repeal the frontier's obligations and recognize Columbian independence, and began negotiations to settle remaining Victorian assets. Columbia became an independent state, and an even brighter spotlight now shone upon Mark Max when the eccentric Liberi was voted Columbia's first president.
Columbia is located in the northwest of the known expanses of Terra, with Bolívar to the west and Kazimierz to the east. Her current territory is comparable in size to Victoria. The towering Kjerag mountains keep humidity from the seas of Victoria from the southeast out, creating vast expanses of plains and rocky canyons in eastern Columbia. The middle parts of the country, with lower elevation, offers a different kind of scenery. Multiple rivers converge here, providing rich water resources for the great lakes that span the entire length of Columbia from north
Corsica I became the Emperor of Gaul in the same year that Columbia declared its independence. In the days before the former frontier regions fully asserted their sovereignty, many believed that Columbia would seek protection from Gaul, and the young Emperor was quite interested in building closer ties. Tensions began to increase after President Mark Max personally persuaded several Gaulish advisors to settle down in Columbia. It was clear that Columbia was not willing to trade one overlord for another; she wanted to deal with Gaul as equals. It is difficult to assess whether the strategy was successful, as the Empire of Gaul fell just twelve years later.
to south. Wastelands once again have the upper hand in the west. The Bolívarian plateau becomes less and less green as it stretches towards the east, becoming dry and barren due to the effect of continental weather. The Kolossal Prime Vein passes through this region, making it the largest deposit of underground Originium in Columbia.
The Bleached Wasteland is a desert located at the southmost part of Columbia, known for the distinctive erosion features and massive skeletons scattered across its surface. It was traditionally believed to have once been part of the southern Great Lakes, which dried up due to changes in river flow. The latest surveys indicate, however, that the Bleached Wasteland dried up in a much shorter period of time than previously believed, as part of a sudden and dramatic change in the environment around the Great Lakes region. There are many stories about the Bleached Wasteland in Columbian folklore. Some say that Gaulish revivalists have a bunker there where they hid the Emperor's body. Some say that an ancient Sarkaz bloodline went extinct there, leaving a curse upon the land.
Columbian scholars have yet to formally give a name to this ancient creature whose bones litter the Bleached Wasteland, first discovered in the 1060s. The Bleached Wasteland takes its name after these bones as much as it does the eroded terrain.
When the war ended, there were many who thought the Lion King would create a Duke of Columbia and let us govern ourselves. In fact, that was one of the proposals that the envoy from Londinium brought to the table. The title of Duke was alluring to many, but we rejected the proposal in the end. Maylander and the founders say we cannot go back on the same path. Columbia could, and should, be something else. Looking back on it, we placed our trust in the right men.
-A Distant Lone Star: Interviews on the Revolutionary War
Columbia is a federation led by a democratically elected president. Maylander Selene, the Founding Father of the Federation, believed that the frontiers needed an entity stronger than an alliance of cities in order to fend off the Victorian threat. Mark Max proposed the position of president, a "Governor General of the Federation" to replace the royal governor general, who would serve the newborn nation as its head
of government. The frontiers' autonomous tradition carried over to the new nation, which elects its president through a democratic process. These are the foundations of Columbia's national institutions, a political system that is very different from Victoria and the other Core nations.
The government of Columbia consists of the federal government, located in the Max District of Columbia (Max D.C.), and the state governments located in major nomadic cities across the states. The federal government has three branches: The Federal Administration, the Federated Congress, and the Department of Defense. As the central authority of Columbia, the federal government is the highest policy organ in matters of administration, legislation and defense, the powers of which are exercised by the three branches.
The head of the Federal Administration is the president, with the cabinet and subordinate executive departments under him. The president of Columbia is the elected head of Columbia's government, the Governor General of all its states, and the commander-in-chief of Columbia's armed forces. The cabinet consists of the vice president, the heads of the executive departments, and president-appointed advisors, assisting the president on policy-making at the highest level. The executive departments of the federal government consists of functional departments such as the Department of Agriculture and the Department of the Treasury, which are run by civil servants.
The Federated Congress, formally the "Free Cities' Federated Congress of Columbia", is Columbia's highest legislative body. The Congress has three major functions: drafting federal laws, maintain oversight of federal executive departments and the Department of Defense, and representing the collective will of the citizens of Columbia. The Congress has the power to veto proposals by federal executive departments and the Department of Defense, and to impeach federal officials. Whether Columbians would admit it or not, the bicameral structure of the Congress closely mirrors the Victorian Parliament. The vice president of Columbia serves as president of the Senate, and senators are representatives of their respective states and nomadic cities. The president of the House of Representatives is nominated by its members, who maintain quiet links to social institutions and corporations across the various sectors of Columbia.
The Department of Defense represents the Columbian military in the federal government, and inherits the legacy of the revolutionary army. The secretary of defense served as the commander-in-chief of Columbia's armed forces until 1056, and even had the power to make decisions on foreign affairs. However, the Department of Defense was forced to relinquish these powers following its failed intervention in the Bolívarian Civil War in the 1040s, a failure attributed to the incompetence of the Bolívarian Coalition Government in managing its own jurisdiction. The Federation War Preparation Act of 1056 redefined the powers of the Department of Defense, handing over the powers of commander-in-chief to the president. Today, the powers of the Department of Defense are defined as the 'Power to Prepare for Military Actions', the authority to mobilize the Union's military forces following a declaration of a state of war by the president, and to maintain a military force that would provide the capability for pre-containment in peacetime.
Mark Max is the first and only president that Columbia has ever had, maintaining a consistently high approval rating. This has caused the citizens of Columbia to stop paying attention to the presidential elections, instead turning their attention to the heated vice-presidential races. Many Columbians believe the Liberi on their screens to be the living embodiment of the Union's spirit, and his popular and humorous monthly addresses are must-see TV for many Columbians.
■ Drawing of a Columbian family watching the presidential address, by Gerald the Messenger in Max D.C. Children watch the presidential address to hear the humorous and amiable Liberi, while adults watch it to make sure they do not fall behind at dinner conversations later in the month.
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Do you know why the generals of the District have trouble sleeping at night? Don't you interrupt me, agent. I've served the federal armed forces loyally for two decades. You're not about to shut me up. You think it's a cushy job, working on a strategic military project in Trimounts, working with the cutting edge of Columbia's tech sector, and putting icing on the cake of the Vice President's term? Do you want to know what my military contractor friends say about the Horizon Arc Project? They call it shameless betrayal. The DOD and contractors have always gone hand in hand; one needs equipment, the other orders; one needs to lobby Congress, the other needs pressure on the administration. You know what ends up happening? The generals break the rules they made, casting their partners aside unceremoniously. Goodbye Raythean Industries, goodbye Union Military Industries Group. We gave our most important project to some kids straight out of TIT, had them dig a well, then put a flying lid on it. You have no idea how incredible this is.
Yes... I meant Arc-01, the demonstrator prototype that the DOD placed so much hope on. Why, you ask, would the DOD give Kristen Wright this project, knowing all the risks, knowing it would piss off their own allies? Simple. We had complete confidence that she would surpass the wildest dreams of the generals, rather than deliver yet another six-wheeled battle platform after a year's delay that's no different from all the previous ones except for the serial number. Don't look at me like that, agent. Kristen Wright was a nutcase and a damn traitor, but I never said she wasn't a genius.
Her brainchild, H.A.M.H.R.R. would automatically detect and attack all ground targets within its firing arc from an altitude of five thousand meters. She told the generals that the system could potentially be scaled down to fit on smaller mobile platforms, even battleships, for quick deployment into a warzone. If she hadn't stabbed us in the back, Columbia would have won absolute military supremacy in three decades, and we would've won every medal the President and the Congress could come up with.
Now, take a guess why the generals have trouble sleeping at night. Congressional inquiry? Public opinion? Military contractors catching the chance to pour Originium dust on the wound? All beast-shit. We wagered too much to pick up that medal of honor, all dirtied up in Bolívar. Who knew you could roll a seven on a six-sided die? It doesn't matter how many stars you have. If you saw the sky that night, you'll never get a good night's sleep again.
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The concept of "pre-containment" was first proposed by the Department of Defense in its annual Federation Defense White Paper of 1058. It is generally understood to be the DOD's review of lessons learned from the failed intervention in Bolívar in the 1040s, and an olive branch to the president and Congress in the post-Preparation Act era. The strategy involves multiple layers of active intervention in "hot spots" that extend beyond military means, curbing potential threats before full-scale war breaks out, ensuring the security of the Union. With the approval of the president and the majority of Congress, pre-containment has become Columbia's basic security strategy for the past half-century, and it has had significant effect on geopolitical circumstances in Bolívar and Sargon.
Pre-containment doctrine expenditure, Federation Defense White Paper, 1094
Bolivar Sargon Others (10)58 61 64 67 70 73 76 79 82 85 88 91 94 (YEAR)
Supplementary Material
Looking for the opportunity of a lifetime? Want to be the first to plant the union flag on new frontiers? City life getting you down? Columbia needs you! Sign up with the most adventurous enterprise in Columbia, bring any other troubled friends you have, and become of the brave Pioneers!
New citizen? Welcome! Long-suffering Infected? No problem! From Maylander the Farmboy to President Max the Mine Accountant, the Union was built by Pioneers like us! You will have adventures a-plenty, a respectable salary, and full federal medical insurance coverage!
(I would like to thank Susanna for pointing out the fine print: Insurance premium and income tax automatically deducted from monthly salary. State government subsidies paid in kind as medicine.)
Make a weekend visit to our frontier community with your family! Convenient transportation, the freedom of the outdoors, delicious frontier cooking, fresh air, and the wilderness just waiting for you to tame it! All that you need to do is sign your name on it! You won't know what you're capable of until you've come here! Plant crops, hunt wild beasts, discover ore veins worth a fortune, own your very own truck and mobile platform, and invest in your own enterprise! Forget contracts and numbers: It's your own smarts and hard work that decide your value out here on the frontier!
(Another line of fine print: We are not responsible for any accident or force majeure circumstances that result in the signatory being unable to continue to honor the terms of his or her contract.)
Call the number below right now or write to us to join the Pioneers! Freedom, community and opportunity that you won't find anywhere else! It's now or never! A future of wealth and prosperity awaits you, future Pioneer!
The Columbian Union comprises ten domestic states, the capital district, and a number of free states. A state is a political entity as well as the first-level of administrative divisions. The states of Columbia generally consist of several major nomadic cities and other settlements scattered around them. Free states are non-contiguous territory outside Columbia proper, generally independent cities with full self-autonomy, Siesta being the most well-known amongst them.
State governments are the top level of local administration institution. While the state governments of Columbia exist on a lower administrative level than the federal government, they do not answer directly to the federal government, unlike Yan's Secretary of Administration and Gaul's Département. Inheriting the tradition of local autonomy from the pioneer era, state governments maintain a limited degree of autonomy in legislative, administrative, and judiciary matters.
As of 1083, Columbia had a population of 16 million across its vast territory, half of which lived in nomadic cities. Columbia's population continues to increase at a rapid pace thanks to the Great Expansion and immigration, infusing new blood into this young nation.
Columbia's legal system is built upon legal precedent and Supreme Court rulings, with the Articles of Federation being its most important legal document. Like its administrative arm, the federal judicial and enforcement arm is also divided into two parts. The Federal Supreme Court is the final court of appeal for all cases in Columbian territory, while local courts rule on civil and criminal cases within local jurisdiction in accordance with state laws. Law enforcement agencies under the federal government, such as the "Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Arts Units, and Originium", enforce federal law across Columbian territory, while local state and city law enforcement agencies enforce the laws of their respective states and cities. For cross-state and cross-border crimes, as well as crimes on a federal level, federal law enforcement agents may invoke the principle of delegated enforcement to intervene or take over a case.
Despite its relatively small population, Columbia maintains a large professional standing army. One in five eligible Columbian citizens has served in the Union Army. The Gododdin Frontier Army, predecessor to the Union Army, bore the brunt of the fighting in the revolutionary war, and became the symbol of Columbian patriotism and independence after the war. The experienced and respected leaders of the Frontier Army became the leaders of the Department of Defense, and the Old Frontier Army faction remains a major player in Columbian politics.
The Columbian army implemented a doctrine of pre-containment following the enactment of the Preparation Act. With strong first-strike capability, the Union Army's influence as an instrument of security policy helps prevent Columbia from being dragged into an all-out war without adequate preparation. To achieve this, Columbia boasts flexible armed forces that combine a professional standing army with private military contractors. The standing army is equipped with
The Articles of Federation recognizes equal citizenship for those afflicted with Oripathy, in recognition of the contribution they made to Columbian independence. However, Oripathy sufferers are required to enroll in a special form of medical insurance with much higher premiums. Those unable to pay for insurance are forced to move to government-managed quarantine zones. Oripathy sufferers who do not wish to spend the rest of their lives in a quarantine zone have one other option: sign a Pioneer contract with the government and enterprises to join the Great Expansion. The freedom is enticing, but it comes at a price. The harsh environment of the barrenlands could, perhaps, be overcome by force of will, but the government- and corporate-friendly contracts that the Infected have signed means that they only ever see a very small part of the fruits of the Great Expansion, while shouldering most of the risks and uncertainty.
Ride, damn it, you sons-of-burdenbeasts! We're all dead in two hundred years anyway! —Anonymous lieutenant, 1079
The Columbian Union Mobile Cavalry Unit is a power armor-equipped elite unit, tasked with making quick and surgical strikes in sensitive environments. They are an important part of the pre-containment doctrine, and the Union's preferred solution for threats that conventional units and private contractors are not equipped to deal with. Unlike Victoria's Tempest Platoon, the Mobile Cavalry Unit recruits from the entire Columbian citizenry. Candidates go through a rigorous selection process lasting several weeks before they are admitted to the Federal Cavalry School, known as Iron Bridge, where they endure a tough-as-nails training program. As Columbia's foremost special operations force, the Mobile Cavalry Unit has access to the best equipment available to the Union, include the C-series Cavalry Power Armor, unmanned weapons platforms, and other classified experimental equipment.
Oh I got a letter from old Robert McKesson, "Send my best regards to your dad," it said. He was a mortar-bearer for the revolutionaries, the kind Duke couldn't take it no more, told his ships to fire, and now his son's going to Bolívar. Robert McKesson told the Federation, "There is no war in Bolívar, just wild dogs out their cage." But for O Columbia, I sent the battleships, to save Bolívar from Bolívar. They sent me to La Unidad, put me in a mud-yellow uniform, with a hundred and fifty lads from San Sophie. The Captain kicked us to the landship's tracks, to shovel away the mines and mud, and put on a good show for the DOD. Robert McKesson told the Federation, "There is no war in Bolívar,
just wild dogs out their cage." But for O Columbia, I sent the battleships, to save Bolívar from Bolívar. Every night we were marching west, Coalition Lopes stood watch for us, Takin' the TB (True Bolivarians Liberation Movement) behind our backs by day. He took our best cigs and booze, plus a few crates of cluster bombs, that's all the guerillas gave us back. Robert McKesson told the Federation, "There is no war in Bolívar, just wild dogs out their cage." But for O Columbia, I sent the battleships, to save Bolívar from Bolívar. We sailed with the battleships, like a bunch of blind gloompincers, awaitin' the next ambush on deck. The Singases left a letter in Leithanian, to have a cup of coffee, nothin' but mines on the Coffee Plain now.
Robert McKesson told the Federation, "There is no war in Bolívar, just wild dogs out their cage." But for O Columbia, I sent the battleships, to save Bolívar from Bolívar. I wrote to Old McKesson, told him to call me 'CPT', 'fore we sail back to Columbia. Hundred and fifty one boys came outta San Sophie, all their daddies was revolutionaries, but all I took back was a bottle o' Feedos. Robert McKesson told the Federation, "There is no war in Bolívar, just wild dogs out their cage." But for O Columbia, I sent the battleships, to save Bolívar from Bolívar.
Columbian army recruitment posters. Power armor is a key part of the imagery, in addition to the President's image. "Join the Union Army and fight with Power!"
standard-issue equipment and fights mostly as mechanized infantry supported by battleships. Private military contractors, under contract with the military, provide logistics support.
A Londinium economist once said that Columbia's economic development is driven by two forces: highly developed movement of goods, and an obsession with technological progress. While this statement glosses over the negative impact that Victorian governance had on Columbia's economy during the colonization era, the conclusion itself is accurate. Following the Revolutionary War, Columbia began to secure trade channels between Bolívar and Kazimierz. Federal lobbyists convinced the Bolivarian Singas regime and Kazimierzian businessmen to establish a trade route that stretches from the east end of Columbia to the west. It began as a shortcut to transport goods between the two countries, but Columbia
Volvert Kochinski's Automatic Popcorn-a-Tron Max Pro, a prime example of the commercialization of technological research. Other models include the Max, Pro, Ultra, and Mini. Max models seem to sell particularly well, perhaps because of its link to the President's name.
Supplementary Material
The fallout from the "Doughnut Case" continues as mid-term elections draw near. An anonymous source tells us that federal prosecutors are planning to convene a jury this week to review evidence of the case, which includes twenty documents, seven audio recordings and a box of doughnuts, to determine whether to formally press charges against Councilman Ben Crison.
D.C. Telegraph previously reported Ben Crison's illicit transactions with Mama John's head sales manager for the District, channeling funds to his private foundation through a series of scams, money laundering, and fraudulent tax records. Federal prosecutors are considering persecuting him on the charge of corruption. In August of last year, Crison's foundation ordered thirty thousand boxes of doughnuts and a shipment of medical supplies, claiming that it was part of charity work to support Pioneers afflicted with Oripathy. The "Doughnut Charity" campaign enjoyed significant media coverage, playing a big part in Mama John's success in winning supply contracts on the frontier.
However, new evidence has revealed that the timing of the Crison Foundation's movement of money does not match his "Doughnut Charity" claims, and audio recordings have surfaced that indicate the doughnut purchases were made with bribe money from Mama John's head sales manager for the District. One of these boxes of "special doughnuts" was recovered from his office in a raid by the authorities.
Analysts say that the scandal threatens to jeopardize Crison's campaign to run for congress in the mid-terms, where he was campaigning against Leiden Stray, former campaign aide to Vice President Jackson for a seat on the House of Representatives budgetary committee. In addition to potential corruption charges in Max D.C. courts, Crison is also facing heavy pressure from those associated with the foundation, potentially spelling the end of his political career—a shocking fall from grace for one of the rising stars in Columbian politics.
A Department of Justice spokesman denied that the DOJ has formed a task force to investigate the Doughnut Case, and said that there is no federal investigation into the incident at this time.
—The Bunkerhill Messenger
soon began using it to export her economic influence to the two markets, profiting massively from the exchange.
Rapid technological development is another aspect of Columbia's economy; it is hard to fathom that this country was an impoverished backwater a century ago. Private research organizations such as Rhine Lab and advanced equipment manufacturers such as Raythean Industries have given Columbia the leading position in transforming science and technology into economic benefit. Columbia's primary industries have benefitted greatly from the commercialization of technological development that big tech has pushed, giving corporations massive influence in Columbian politics.
Yet the massive profits and incredible economic growth seem to have had little impact on the lives of the ordinary people. Immeasurable wealth ends up lining the pockets of entrepreneurs, and the government encourages every Columbian to start their own business. I would be very interested to know how many people are forced to join the ranks of the Pioneers each year after racking up a heavy debt following the failure of a startup enterprise. I have no doubt it would be a shocking figure.
"It was Columbia that brought fried potatoes to these lands, so the potatoes fried here should fly the Columbian flag."
Columbian culture and society is a melting pot of Victorian frontier legacy and the diverse influence of immigrants from all across Terra. This is apparent when one opens a box of fried fast food from a Columbia caravan: Gododdin potatoes that the Frontier Army brought to Columbia, marinated and fried fowlbeast invented by the descendants of Taran immigrants, dipped in Bolívaran style sauces.
If your culture has become part of Columbia, that is a good sign you have been accepted into Columbian society. Columbian art and culture likes to draw inspiration from a variety of sources, producing popular products on a large scale in "factories" such as Wrankwood. Encouraged by the federal government, Columbian popular culture is increasing her influence abroad, from food to music to film.
Columbia began to attract immigrants from all over Terra soon after her independence. These immigrants had a multitude of different backgrounds, spoke different languages, and differed greatly in their habits and ways of thinking. Immigrants that came from the same place began to form communities, which regularly came into conflict with one another. To deal with the problem, the Columbian government defined contemporary culture and its characteristics as the most Columbian, and, therefore, the best culture. By elevating the collective identity and deemphasizing the traditional culture of other countries, the authorities aimed to influence the next generation of Columbians, reshaping their self-identity. The "Culture War" proved highly effective. While it did not fully eliminate these communities, it only took a couple of generations for Columbia's new generation to become proud of breaking free of their cultural communities and embrace "Columbian culture". Conflicts between communities were much reduced. This has, however, given rise to another problem—the younger generation has taken to attacking the cultures of other communities, under the banner of promoting progress. Things have not deteriorated into full-fledged conflict, but pressure is gradually building.
Any Columbian citizen will tell you that the Columbian Union is the greatest country on Terra. The Columbians are proud of their democracy, of citizenship for the Infected, of their technological progress, and of the Columbian Dream. Behind the lone star and lamp, however, an age-old path awaits the young country.
CHAPTER 5.10.1
One cannot talk about Columbia without talking about Pioneers and the frontier, the influence of which is felt in every aspect of Columbian society. There is often a romanticism associated with the Pioneers who overcome and conquer the dangerous barrens. What is the truth really like, though? I have assembled a collection of materials from the frontier, so that the reader may come to their own decision.
The hero, Jack Scotner, was not an idealistic revolutionary. From beginning to end, he was always a down-to-terra, tenacious Columbian Pioneer of the early days. The same goes for the other militiamen, known as the Winged Legend, who helped the hero in his fight against the Victorian Army. They were ordinary people, Pioneers who came from different areas, who took up arms and fought together against the oppression of an evil tax collector. In the final scene, Jack and the revolutionaries, now dressed in standardized uniforms, charged against the Duke's armies without hesitation, despite the latter having the advantage in both numbers and equipment, showing their quality as true rangers, and the development of their Columbian spirit. Jack and the revolutionaries are the epitome of Columbia's founders, and this film is the epitome of the Revolutionary War.
—"Winged Legend" film review, from the Kawalerielki Cinema News
Good evening, my dear, brave, hard-working Columbians! This is your president, Mark Max. I'm here to discuss with you today the question Columbians care about more than anything else—what is out there on the frontier? Many of you have never actually seen the frontier. Our nomadic cities are beautiful and comfortable. Our country is safe and prosperous. Why would I want to go back to the Great Plains? I want to be lying on my sofa all day, a soda in one hand, fried fowlbeast in the other, watching
my favorite president talk on the TV. Why would I want to go back to the Great Plains? But when I set foot on the frontier, I see the most beautiful sight there is. I see you. Maybe you've never been to the wilderness, but I can see every single one of you there. Because that's where our country was born. That's where the Columbian spirit was born. I see your brothers and sisters toiling on the frontier, until the sun sinks below the horizon beyond the grand canyon. But what I see isn't an end. I see the beginning of a new day when the sun will rise again, and the new life that we harvest from the soil of the Great Plains. The Great Plains are Columbia's past, present, and future...
—From President Mark Max's television address to the nation
—Why did you come to the Columbia frontier?
My family came here from Victoria because we didn't want to go to jail. It sure scared the living daylights out of us when a dozen men in black suits appeared at our door. I thought it was over for sure. But the fellow at the head of the group was real friendly, even friendlier than a Mama John's TV salesman. He told us that we could get hired by a big company to work on the frontier without having to pass medicals. We'd get a salary, medicine, and a bunch of other stuff. This wagon behind me? We picked it up at their garage. Who else would treat sick folk like us so well? It didn't take long for me to decide.
—Did you sign any contracts when you came?
Contracts? What kinda contract? Oh, you mean the papers we had to sign? I read through them and didn't see any problems. Same for my neighbors. I mean, most of the sick folk in our place signed them. What did we have to lose?
—Documentary Schwarzschild the Homeless, 1075
Tower Mountains' latest financial report indicates a year-to-year increase in assets, and significantly increased growth compared to the previous year. Tower Mountains' rapid development is believed to be linked to the renewal of its Great Expansion contract with the state government in the fourth quarter of the previous fiscal year. The renewal extended the terms of the contract to ten years. Tower Mountains is believed to be seeking similar contracts with other state governments, as well as increased cooperation for existing clients. In the first quarter of last year, Tower Mountains established a Great Expansion department, transferring much of its operations over, including three new factories. The recent complaints about medicine quality have not had a material impact on Tower Mountains' business. Effective PR has led to an increase in shipping in the fourth quarter...
—The Tkaronto Economics, May 1096
Humans have many different names for settlements, from village to towns to cities. For a long time, the independent city-state was the largest such entity that existed, outside of a nation. Most independent city-states have been swallowed up by larger powers or are on the brink of extinction, but Siesta is a unique example, a relic of the past embedded in the long southern coastline. It serves as an excellent case study in modern city-states.
As one of the few places by the coast unscathed by the Profound Silence, the unique seaside sights of Siesta have made it one of the leading tourist destinations of Terra. Once the convergence point between Iberia and newly-founded Columbia, Siesta has found its place between Columbia and Victoria, and rides into a new era as the nomadic city of New Siesta.
Ancient Sargonians, Minoans, and Bolivarians had driven their burdenbeasts on the old Southern Trail, before its discovery by Jannie Michelle and her companions. Boulders can often be seen rolling down from the slopes of the towering mountains on one side of the trail, all the way to the bottom of the treacherous valley on the other side.
The old Southern Trail began as a road that Sargon built to facilitate troop movement. Locals continued to use the trail after the ancient empire's decline. In recent times, the massive mountains obstructed the advance of Victoria's fleet, giving newborn Columbia breathing room, but economic embargo is not a problem that hiding behind mountains will solve. The Southern Trail became Columbia's economic lifeline.
The young Union needed money and supplies to fulfill her promises to its citizen, whose lives had changed little despite their country's new independence. The new business stimulus plan had the inhabitants of the Union south itching to trade with neighboring countries, like their northern countrymen. As was the case on the Columbian frontier, people seeking new opportunity flocked to the Southern Trail, towards the riches that they believed awaited them in Iberia. -Southern Trail—A Tale from the Past
The year was 1020, the first spring of the young Columbia. In response to the economic hardship that followed its independence from Victoria, Columbia embarked on a campaign to expand her market and opportunities. The Kingdom of Iberia to the south, with her dominion over the seas and bustling trade, offered a highly attractive prospect for the young nation. Exploiting the tensions between Iberia and Victoria. Beginning in 1025, Columbia began to establish a path connecting to Iberian territory under the cover of the mountains, building upon the old Southern Trail, founding several settlements along the way. In 1035, a group of "retired" revolutionary army veterans and Columbian settlers, supported by the Columbian military, discovered a large expanse of habitable land near the coast. Working with the locals, they established a town assembly named "Senate Conference", in imitation of the nearby Iberian city-states, calling the newly-founded settlement "Siesta".
Siesta shares more similarities with Iberian settlements than it does with Columbian cities. The smell of the sea is in the air, and the streets are littered with goods of all kinds. If all goes well, these goods will be transported by burdenbeast along the Southern Trail, to the places in Columbia where they are needed. However, there are signs indicating that the current Iberian crown is less than friendly towards us. Setting aside their unhappiness about our control of the coastal area (they seem to be more accepting of the current situation than sharing the coastline with us), it is true that a significant part of the Siestan population came from the revolutionary army. They have brought weapons, and they have flaunted these weapons far too openly. I advise that you inform the DOD's generals of the negative consequences that their unannounced actions, however well-intentioned, may have on our business prospects.
-Assemblyman Bruce's letter to the Ninth Federated Congress regarding the current state of Siesta
Few could have predicted that the delicate state of affairs described in the letter would change so quickly and dramatically.
When Iberia went quiet in the Profound Silence in 1038, shipments from the Southern Waterway ceased, and the coastline became dangerous. As Siesta lost her strategic value, the Columbian military wasted little time in pulling out the "retired veterans".
Any subsequent plans were scrapped as the military lost its political influence, and the military's "independent city-state" project gained a life of its own. Immigration from the barrenlands and the cultural influence of surrounding countries gave the city a unique character. The Profound Silence destroyed most of the existing coastal cities and pushed the coastline back. Siesta, located some distance from the shore, survived the calamity and found herself adjacent to the sea. The rich Obsidian deposits in the area became the key to its rapid recovery.
Despite the massive geographical upheaval, Siesta remained a key transportation hub, particularly for the Victorian-Sargon route. Over the next several decades, the little coastal town continued to grow, becoming the most powerful independent city in the area. From the Southern Trail, the Southern Waterway to the Lone Boat of the South, Siesta carved out a path of her own, and began to draw the attention of the Victorian Dukes.
In 1066, Siesta received an invitation to become part of Victoria. Most Siestans were unwilling to surrender their hard-earned freedom, however.
In response, assemblyman and renowned Siestan businessman Herman Doykos proposed that Siesta reestablish ties with Columbia. He believed that Siesta had made a full recovery from the waterway crisis, and they now had enough bargaining power to convince Columbia to offer protection to the city. Given the distance to the Columbian homeland, and the lack of maritime trade under present circumstances, the president and Congress would be content with leaving Siesta's everyday administration to a governor from the local population, rather than take direct control and making sweeping changes.
After protracted negotiations, Siestan leadership voted to seek the protection of Columbia.
Columbia agreed to Siesta's offer, and Siesta passed a referendum to join Columbia as a fully autonomous free state, putting an end to the "invitations" from Victoria.
Herman took advantage of the opportunity and his own influence to reform the Senate Conference, establishing a formal City Hall and City Council in order to govern more effectively. Needless to say, he faced little opposition in the election for the first mayor of the Columbian free state of Siesta.
Perhaps the Victorians did not expect the city-state to defy the Victorian Empire, but their attempt at pressuring Siesta resulted in Victoria's worst nightmare: a Columbian outpost right on their border. This resulted in a change in Victorian policy to one of conciliation, in an attempt to influence the city by more subtle means.
The Siestan government consists of the City Council and the City Hall. Government officials are elected in the annual City Hall elections. Regular decisions are made by the City Hall's citizen representatives, while matters of special importance are put to a referendum involving all permanent residents of Siesta.
Bordering Victoria's southwest, Siesta sits to the east of the Sargonian Empire's de facto territory. Offering access to Sargon and Columbia from Victoria. The city of Siesta itself takes up relatively little land.
Sitting on a seaside plain, Siesta's climate is hot and humid, and it is frequently subject to seasonal storms from the ocean, which bring plenty of rain.
In 1097, Siesta initiated the relocation process to establish a new nomadic city; the new nomadic city continues to operate near the site of Old Siesta. Mount Siesta is located on the east side of Old Siesta. Many Siestans have opted to take up residence in settlements along New Siesta's route during the relocation process.
Like most other independent city-states, Siesta does not maintain a standing army; a small professional police force is responsible for the city's internal security. The city has had little exposure to military conflict, and the police have proven sufficient in handling everyday matters.
Prior to 1097, volcanic Obsidian was Siesta's most important produce, supporting Siesta's economy before the development of her tourism industry. Obsidian mining is now banned, due to the negative effect it has on the volcanic environment.
Tourism was once Siesta's main source of income, thanks to its beautiful scenery. Most coastlines became dangerous and uninhabitable following the Profound Silence, but Siesta remained serene, making it a unique seaside getaway. With the coast becoming distant after the completion of the nomadic city, trade has once again become the pillar of the city's economy.
Openness and inclusion are important values of Siestan culture. As a hub of tourism and trade, Siesta also serves as a cultural crossroads, and she is one of the few places that could be said to be friendly towards the Infected.
Siesta sees a large number of visitors year-round. Of the total population of 800,000, only 300,000 are permanent residents; the rest are traders, tourists, and workers who come from all across Terra.
Siesta boasts a robust educational system for all ages. Many research institutions have outposts and labs in the area, in order to study the volcanic
Today, Siesta has bid farewell to her volcano and Obsidian.
Beginning in 1097, Siestans gradually and reluctantly abandoned their home of many decades, moving to brand-new nomadic city plates. These stubborn folk have brought their seaside scenery and volcanic hot springs to their plates; while everyone knows that these are just pale imitations of the originals, they bring with them a piece of the happy memories of the past.
When the sun sets in the west, the elderly residents of the city find a place where they can see the volcano, and tell anyone who would listen where their former homes are. The city may be young, but the people here have a remarkable sentiment for their homeland.
environment along the city's route. It stands to reason that the region boasts some of the top programs in disciplines related to geology and ecology.
The plates of New Siesta do not feel like they are part of Columbia; even tourists from Columbia see it as a paradise of freedom and independence. As it has been from the very beginning, however, this lone city on the coast continues to juggle pressures from multiple great powers, seeking a path of peace amidst a myriad of external factors. The surface prosperity of Siesta cannot hide the conflicts beneath.
The freedom of the free city is as fragile as it is precious.
Siesta's famous Obsidian Festival is held every summer. Lasting two weeks or more, it attracts artists, music lovers, and tourists from all across Terra, who come to Siesta to enjoy the beach (no longer available after 1098), the sun, music, and beer. On opening day, Siesta announces the participating artists, and everyone who comes to the city gets to vote on their favorite on the penultimate day of the festival. Audience members who complete all milestone missions and make their choice get a reward, while a strong showing in the rankings is a considerable honor for any participating artist.