The Badlanders

[Sovereign]

The Badlanders

Introduction
The people of the Badlands are depicted in many different ways by the Entente's imperious regime, these stereotypes passed down onto the masses who speculate on them and appear to view them in increasingly horrifying terms. It is said that Badlanders often have six fingers, all shaped more like claws; that their teeth are sharp like fangs, that they are shriveled and starving, seeking to devour the hungry children of the peasant farmers that surround their domain. While obviously these fantastical assumptions hold no bearing in reality, the myths of the Badlanders derive from the truth: as a trend, they are violent, thieving people, known to trust few others. They often carry anarchism as a strong ideological trend, rejecting governments and all forms of hierarchy, at least until they are brutally dominated by their many Raider-Kings and forced to conform.

But the Badlanders are also a diverse people, of many different priorities. While many of them enjoy their lifestyle of errant violence, hedonism and absolute liberty, many others seek improvement and change -- and it can even be said, shockingly to some Daravain, that there are good people among them who act charitably towards others. This article will act as a general overview of the people of the Imperial Badlands, detailing the common trends that underlie their highly fractured 'culture'.

Technology
Badlander technology is a bizarre amalgamation of advanced machinery and primitive engineering. It only follows a single principle: if it works, it's good enough. No matter how inefficient, dangerous or uncomfortable. The more intimidating and powerful, the better. Built from the scraps of the Clockwork Empire's latest technological advancements, the salvageable parts found in the outpost ruins are put together into new builds that the raider gangs can use for their warmongering domination goals. There's no science involved, no innovations: only old artifacts made work through trial and many errors.

The most renowned and unique pieces of Badlander technology are chariots. Built with engines extracted from the remains of old clockwork vehicles, each chariot is a unique piece. Nevertheless, every chariot's purpose is easier and faster transport through the badlands, the secondary goal usually being weaponry. The Clockwork engine that every chariot uses can only run on wurmblood: an explosive liquid mineral extracted from pools deep beneath the badlands. The Clockwork Empire built extraction and filtration stations all over the Badlands, nowadays called Leaks. They look like small pillars with a deposit and a tap attached. Each operates on a weak Lytirisyte core that slowly extracts fuel; each outpost has several Leaks, and there are single stations scattered across the entirety of the badlands. They presumably were used to fuel vehicles in long distance travel. However, the increasing number of raiders has made the fuel supply more limited and some gangs resort to the only alternative source. They hunt Dune Wurms, titanic serpents that swim in the sands and are able to tunnel to reach the Wurmblood tunnels, which they feed on. Their blood can be refined to extract the fuel, giving the group that has hunted one a large reservoir.

Built, repaired and maintained by mechanics called Scrapbiters, Chariots rule over badlands travel. The heart of the Chariot is its engine; the only piece that up to date has been impossible to replicate. Because of this, the number of Chariots is limited to the number of engines in existence; engines are the most expensive currency in the Badlands. They're combustion engines that can only work fueled by wurmblood; though worn out and probably less efficient than in Clockwork ages, they still work admirably well. They're started by pulling a chain attached directly to the engine, and stopped by releasing it; the fuel is provided by a large tank located over it. The engine produces spinning movement that is transmitted by primitive gears and greasy chains; the movement is transmitted to the back wheels, with no more than two different gears of speed; most elaborate designs have a reverse gear, though this is uncommon. Chariots can reach speeds of 25 to 50 mph depending on the weight, efficiency and other factors.

There's two types of Chariot wheels: paddled and rugged. Both made of metal, paddled wheels are used to ride fast on sand and rugged metals provide a better grip in rocky terrains. Scrapbiters usually add sharp edges, blades and nails to the side, in case bumping sideways into a rival chariot is necessary. Since there's no suspension involved, chariot rides are usually bumpy and uncomfortable. A basic steering system is added to the front of the vehicle to control the course; usually a gear wheel, though it can be a handlebar in two wheeled chariots. Braking is a complex issue; brakes are steel bars pushed against transmission, the friction eventually stopping the Chariot while producing a cascade of sparks. However, at higher speeds or risk of collision they're usually not enough; an anchor is dropped, paddled in sand and spiky on soil, which violently pulls the vehicle back to a stop (another use for the anchor is locking in another Chariot for boarding).

The chariot's base chassis, housing all the necessary components previously mentioned, is made out of steel pipes. It is sometimes surrounded by heavy, rusty steel plates or leather pieces as walls and roof, to protect from the badlands sun or enemy attacks. There's no windshields; seats are an unnecessary luxury and most chariots don't have them, and roofs are optional at best as well. A far more common option is weaponry of every kind: basic scrap cannons, harpoons and even bomb launchers can be built in. Navigational instruments are rarely used, but are also a possibility: spyglasses, sextants and compasses to navigate the Badlands, used by the so called Coursers.

Survival
The Imperial Badlands are one of the most inhospitable areas not only in Daravin, but in the whole of Ransera. Many different factors intersect to make survival a brutal challenge: climate, terrain, lack of resources, hostility and the corrupting Dread Mists that warp the area as they pass. Such harsh conditions have forced the vast majority of its inhabitants (which are still not too numerous) to stick together, forming raider gangs in order to ensure protection, consistent access to resources and retain the biggest degree of freedom they possibly can. Still, the Badlands are a dangerous place; death is an everyday issue and the threat never fades, and as such life expectancy is one of the lowest in Ransera. In fact, elderly people are incredibly rare; physical weakness is usually a death sentence and most inhabitants don't live past the age of 45, with the average lifespan being much lower due to infant mortality.

The first and foremost issue in the Badlands is access to clean water. An arid place, the sources are limited and usually contaminated by the numerous duststorms that cross the entirety of the desert. As such, drinking that polluted water can cause effects ranging from just starting to develop Reaving to instant death, depending on the particle concentration. With little to none natural water deposits available, obtaining a reliable supply of clean water is fundamental. Of course, there's different methods, but none of them his highly efficient. Purifying water using a dragonshard is one of them; however, dragonshards are very rare and still don't produce a very large amount of clean water with each charge. Grakain are another option, but few raiders manage to drink water out of one without killing it as they lack the necessary necromantic abilities. The most common is obtaining water from outside sources; raiding villages and trading in border outposts to fill large water tanks to store somewhere underground; however it's not always reliable. There's other dubious sources, like distilled wurm blood, but they're reserved for emergencies. The only abundant and consistent source, able to supply an entire city, is the Free Access Tower; that's why controlling it grants a good grip over most of the Badlands. In fact, clean water is used as prized currency in Shitport, and the reigning Wastelander has an unlimited supply.

Food is also a concern, but a lesser one. The badlands are mainly uninhabited, but many creatures have made them their home; specially adapted to protect themselves from the corruption, many species are actually safe to eat, if one manages to hunt them. Plants are more dubious in that sense, as they can't avoid the dust storms even if they do have an increased resistance to them in most cases. Hovever, such a restrictive diet leaves certain nutritional needs uncovered, and raiders have learned that they need to, as they'd say, "go grocery shopping" out of the limits of the Badlands once in a while. Of course, raiding other settlers' supplies is always an option.

The climate in the Badlands is a silent poison, as the settlers always say. Days are searing hot and nights glacial cold, and the dust storms that ravage the entirety of the land carry more than just sand particles. In the Imperial Badlands, Dread Mist and Dust Storm are synonymous, and also synonymous with death. As such, inhabitants need to avoid them at any cost, and this can only be done by fleeing (and fleeing fast) or finding shelter. A dust storm shelter must ensure complete lockdown; no particle can slip in, and air chambers or Clockwork fabricated filters are necessary in order to prevent suffocation. Anyone unlucky enough to be caught by a storm is left behind as an extremely warped corpse. There's some stories of men and women that have emerged alive from a storm, usually extremely mutated after staying in for short periods of time. Most of those lucky ones emerge with their minds completely shattered, unable to form cohesive thoughts. Awoken are also a problem; after a storm, sometimes an automaton might go haywire and start to violently attack its surroundings, Awoken by the storm and corrupted at the same time. Although this doesn't necessarily affect all exposed Artificed creations, there's always one or two.

Though not a strict need, anyone riding a Chariot in the Badlands has a large advantage; however, they'll need Wurmblood. This fuel is the most sought after item after water, and thus having a steady supply of it is absolutely necessary. The most straightforward way is securing control of at least one Leak; however, gangs and other settlers are very aware of their value and they guard them zealously. Trading is always an option, if possible; and the ultimate resource is hunting a Dune Wurm and distilling its blood to obtain large amounts of Wurmblood. Though the resulting smoke has a red tint, it works as well as the source material.

Lastly, the last danger of the Imperial Badlands are its own inhabitants. Raiders are merciless and settlers unwelcoming, and the lack of any kind of government usually means that anything goes. Violence is commonplace and murder is a daily activity. In order to survive an encounter with raiders, one must outspeed them, outsmart them or overpower them... and all three are usually difficult feats. Depending on the gang, they will respond to different interests; knowing how to play one's cards well is as important as being a clear threat. A dangerous aura is universal language in the Badlands, and it ensures being left alone.

[Sovereign]

The Inhabitants

Raiders
There are four major gangs that divide the Imperial Badlands. First is the Bloodbreakers, led by Jorain Vorahd who reigns over the wastes from his throne in Shitport. Jorain and his gang project incredible power over the Badlands; indisputably, they are the largest and most powerful of all the raider gangs, controlling nearly half of the territory of the Badlands. Their territory is almost entirely in the north, much of it along the coast. In many ways they are seen as the more standard of groups; they recruit from across their territories and do not specialize on any particular technologies or themes. Rather, the Bloodbreakers are known for their strategy and ruthlessness, their focus on logistics and maintaining their operations in a cohesive manner.

This is due to Jorain's leadership, with the methods of the organization shifting upon his ascent through its ranks. Lately, the gang has been engaged in conspiratorial behavior according to Shitport's residents, maintaining a greater level of secrecy and control over its members particularly as one draws closer to the top. It is unknown, however, what the Bloodbreakers are seeking to do. The Bloodbreakers were founded on the principle of bringing order to the Badlands, unifying it under one banner and forging a nation-state, protecting its borders from the threat of the Entente. In many ways it has acquired much of what it set out to do, but with each victory tends to come the justification for more battles and wars.

Then, there are the Anointed. They hold the second largest territory of all the gangs, and are perpetually disputing the Bloodbreakers' territory, wading deep into their lands and capturing their towns and strongholds. Most often, the inhabitants of these locales are slaughtered wholesale, though many are made possessions to be utilized as an outlet for cruelty and hedonism. The Anointed are afflicted with the Madness, and equate the Madness with some aspect of divinity. They are zealots of this cult-like faith, admonishing outsiders and keeping to their own. They are taught not to trust regular people, who they call 'clear eyes', and are made to view their fellow victims of Raving as their brothers in a struggle against the oppressive majority.

While this does not always prevent violent altercations from within the Anointed's own ranks, their simplistic tribal thinking has kept much of their violence focused outward. And they are violent. The Anointed are the fear of the Badlands; they are killers, and they are brutal. They skin others alive, cannibalize them, torture others for pleasure and revel in filth and the profane. While many of the Anointed die young due to their poor battle strategies, murderous infighting and their lack of discipline, their ranks are constantly replenishing as the Madness continues to sweep over the Badlands. The Anointed are located in the central Badlands, surrounded by the three other major gangs. The leader of the Anointed is Gainer the Slackjawed.

Following the Anointed are the Iron Moon, a gang of raiders comprised entirely of women. Initially the Iron Moon began as a death cult; living in the tumult of the wasteland life, the founding women believed that if they isolated themselves away from men, producing no offspring and carrying on no further generations, that upon the death of their last they would discover the purpose for their lives. A flawed, pseudo-religious idea, this initial purpose behind the group did not carry and many of the founding members were exiled or murdered by one of the women who joined the group much later, Lera Jarnis. She changed the message of the Iron Moon - ironically - to one of sisterhood, and co-opted the resources meant to protect and preserve the group into weapons of war. Lera went on to effectively popularize what is now the contemporary Badlander mode of transport, the chariot, finding a way to repair them efficiently.

It has since become the staple of the Iron Moon, who all ride chariots into battle alongside their wielded dragonshard guns. While the Iron Moon hold much smaller numbers than the other major gangs, they are technologically superior to the Anointed and Bloodbreakers, and much of their modus operandi is focused on the acquisition and hoarding of scrap and physical materials. It is their belief that they will eventually win the war for dominance over the Badlands with this strategy.

The Iron Moon do not harm men that live in their territories, they simply forbid them from joining the ranks of the gang. In fact, the inhabitants of their territory tend to live considerably longer than those in others, as while the group does not hold extensive geographical reach, their strongholds are exceedingly difficult to capture or challenge. The Iron Moon are located in the Badlands' southeast, making them an occasional threat to the farmers of Ostigen. The Moon's leader is Betty Torque.

The final gang are also the youngest, the Pyrerazers. Located in the southwestern part of the Badlands, they are a frequent threat to Indorins, as they will sometimes raid towns on the fringes of Arlain before disappearing into the Badlands with their spoils. Interestingly, the Pyrerazers capture Daravain in their raids, bringing them to the Badlands and incorporating them into their ranks. Due to this, they have a much grander perspective of the outside world than other groups, and have also managed to become effective scientists and World Mages by adopting this outside knowledge.

Unsurprisingly, the Pyrerazers are the most technologically advanced of the gangs, known for their explosives, chemical weapons and other mainly alchemical solutions that have helped them to become effective Badland terrorists. They are the least predictable of all the gangs, and also appear to be among the fastest growing, recruiting by enticing others with their astounding tech. The Pyrerazers promise freedom, away from Daravin's oppressive ideology; they offer the Badlands as a liberated home. Their ultimate goal is anarchy, away from even their own hierarchy. The leader of the Pyrerazers is known as Jericho, though originally he was a Gentevarese man from Arlain, of a different name.

The Madness
The Madness, also often called 'Raving', is the name of a disease fairly common in the Imperial Badlands. It is derived from prolonged, minimal exposure to corruption, not enough to be lethal but certainly enough to corrode the body and mind. After a while, patients of Raving appear to become resistant to corruption... and instead they appear to thrive from it. Raving results in extreme symptoms in those afflicted with it; in all cases of Madness, the individual becomes significantly more aggressive. They will become paranoid far beyond the level of what could be considered rational, and they will frequently view apparitions, monstrosities and other hallucinations, often turning their landscape bleak and hellish. This appears to be a result of Dread Mist corruption, allowing them to 'see beyond the Veil' of what separates Ransera from the other planes. This is, of course, speculative and does conflict with many scholarly conclusions on how the Veil works.

Those afflicted with the Madness will have their eyes turn an opaque, bright crimson red, quite literally glowing. For this reason, they are easy to distinguish from others, though their behavior already serves to out them. Often, entire locales will be afflicted with the Madness all at once, as it is the result of prolonged corruption. If a town within the Madness has been drinking from a corrupted water supply for weeks or months, they may nearly simultaneously begin to display symptoms. Typically, havoc ensues, nearly all such incidents culminating in a graphic wave of violence. The aggression mixed with paranoia tends to force those with the Madness into conflict, and particularly when dealing with other afflicted, things tend to escalate towards gruesome and unrelenting attacks on their peers.

The Madness frighteningly tends to make its afflicted thrive on corruption, somehow becoming able to survive its lethal effects. Daravinic magi who have studied the corruption tend to claim that they have, in some way, become altered to the point of no longer being entirely human, or even mortal. This metaphysical change allows them to absorb and utilize corruption almost like a source of energy, tapping into it much as mages do aether. Rather than allowing these individuals access to magic however, it tends to result in grotesque mutations and vast enhancements to their physical capabilities. Strength, stamina and other forms of endurance, natural healing and reflexes tend to be enhanced over time, with the most corrupted often morphing into heavily mutated monstrosities, beholden only to the psychosis given to them by Raving. Dangerously for Daravinic mages, the corrupted appear to garner some degree of resistance to magic, accelerating in potency as they progress deeper into the disease.

The Madness may be curable, but the few magical and mundane doctors who have attempted to examine patients of it tend to surrender to their own exasperation, as medically treating those afflicted is a horrific and dangerous affair. Interestingly, Raving appears to inhibit the magical capabilities of those afflicted by it, making their use of aether volatile, unstable and significantly more self-harming.

The Wastelander, Jorain
The Wastelander is the title of the leader of Shitport, often considered to be the de facto leader of the Imperial Badlands, though it rarely works so cleanly. Currently, this title is held by Jorain Vorahd, a former Argent Knight of Lorien who miraculously escaped through Ardon after a devastating defeat on Verdiven's southeastern border. He was, at the apex of the battle, separated and stranded south of the remainder of his forces, across a river that had flooded over. Jorain became a fugitive, eager to distance himself from Verdiven so that his identity would not be discovered. Even in Valtoria, however, suspicions of his identity arose and he found that escaping into the Badlands was his one method of survival.

Jorain was afflicted with the Madness on his journey to the Badlands. It did not take long for him to notice the change; he felt an influx of aggression, but also, an advent of new strength. The already strong, robust and durable Argent Knight became only more sharpened and empowered. He noticed that he could control wild surges of adrenaline, that his perceptions honed to be inhuman, and that he could carve through dense metal plating with his swings. Unlike others afflicted with Raving, Jorain could control how it affected his mind; he could manage the aggression better than others, though with the frequent snapping of a violent temper. He noted that his body became truly supernatural, his skin and muscle dense like thick armor. In a land where power reigns, Jorain's ascent to the position of the Wastelander was quick and inevitable.

He has since found that he enjoys the brutality of absolute leadership, and often states that he views his gang - the Bloodbreakers - much as he did the Hollow charge beneath him as a Knight; as lessers, fit only to be guided. Despite this, Jorain's gang appears to be fiercely loyal to him, likely due to a mixture of fear and reverence.

Jorain has changed the focus of the Bloodbreakers, using his experience in managing war logistics and supply lines to dramatically improve their efficacy. Under his leadership, they have become the premier gang of the Badlands, capturing Shitport and much of the region's northern wastes. Jorain claims to seek total Badlands unity, becoming an independent regime, though his philosophies and values are muddied and inconsistent. Whatever the case, the Wastelander offers stability to those beneath his heel, and freedom from expectation -- though with Bloodbreaker extortion and abuses as a price.