Andover: a smallish country, and the one you all come from. It hasn't expanded very quickly, but it's been very successful at defending its borders. A king, Richard I, is the head of state, with several sons acting in the military as enlisted officers. Under the king is a governing body made up of regionally elected governors, numbering 6 and each presiding over their own section of the country. They act as advisors to the king, and of late have been growing more powerful as the country's interest turn to expansion rather than defence. In Andover, there is general gender equality due to necessity, as the population is low and both men and women are needed to serve in the military. Women generally are in support-aligned roles, but the needs of the country often demand that these support roles find themselves on the front lines and in combat. Andover has a small number of working trains and railways, mainly used to move troops around the country. The population of Andover is largely rural, with more urban populations concentrated in the town of Hampton and the cities of Andover and Redland.
Carlia: the country of Carlia is to the north of Andover, and it's significantly bigger; the Carlians and Dovers have been at war on-and-off for as long as anyone can remember. Most often now, though, the two countries engage in skirmishes in and around The City, the huge and ancient old world ruin south of Carlia and east of Andover. Carlia is noted as a poor country ruled by a king who arose from commoners; even the royalty are frugal and can't afford too much, but nonetheless the Carlians are rugged and determined, and even the artillery of Andover can barely keep them out. A couple centuries ago, Carlia and Andover were united as one country, but fractured due to widespread famine.
Cambra: south of The City, across a stretch of deserted plains, covering a fairly large area and with a high population. The Cambrans have many free-roaming horses, and they fire rifles from horseback with considerable skill. Andover and Cambra are at peace, if only because they have no immediate reasons for war. They have a regular trading relationship; the Cambrans are fairly affluent, as their horse trade brings in much wealth. Their concerns mostly lie to the east, and to the south where the Lusitanans are creeping farther towards their territory. The leader of Cambra is a wealthy landholder, elected by regional lords based on influence and income. Effectively, whoever controls the land controls the trade, and whoever controls the trade controls the country.
Lusitana: touching the ocean is this southern land; few explorers from Andover have ever been there, and the most contact that people of the north have with this distant country comes in the form of occasional pirate raids. Allegedly they have a massive empire farther south, near the great, rocky deserts that border the ocean. They are believed to be led by a young warrior queen, but the validity of such stories coming from the south is debatable at best. What's most important to Andover and other countries is that only the Lusitanans seem to have the resources and knowledge to build fleets of ships with sails and metal hulls, and that the pirate raids on the port of Redland have been coincidentally overlooked by the rulership of Lusitana.
The City: a sprawling mass of old buildings and underground facilities. It is a vault of knowledge and information on the old world, but near-constant skirmishes in and around The City has prevented anyone from reaching what may be hidden inside. Some soldiers of Cambra have apparently been seen taking part in some battles for The City, but this has been questioned by Andover governors. Nonetheless, the natural mystery of the place and the sense of unease it gives to those who walk amongst the ruins has made it a legend for Dovers, Carlians and Cambrans alike.
The Dead Sands: nothing grows in the dead sands, save for the strange creatures that are seen living there. Somehow they manage to survive, finding food and weathering the storms and the sweltering days and freezing nights. Old bunkers have been confirmed to exist amongst the dunes, found marked on old world maps, but strangely there are no cities at all known to have stood in the desert in the old days, suggesting that perhaps it has always been a desert. Some have reported finding a lake in the middle of the vast stretch of desert, but little is known about it. If it could support life, then certainly there would be more people living there.
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Originally Posted by Spinach
