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Germanic Buddhism-

                The title is a reference to the Bruce Munro map and Venusian Si scenario of the name ‘Germanic Islam.’ quantumbranching.deviantart.co…

                In this world, Siddhartha Gautama was never born in Nepal. In the same time though, in what in our world would be called 480 B.C., in the forests of Northern Europe another great spiritual thinker was born. The son of a Tribal Chieftain who renounced his inheritance and left his home to be a wandering ascetic, this man would become known to the world as ‘(the) Waker,’ or “the Awakened One.” Ultimately, as he aged in life he began promulgating some of his ideas, which included an insistence on the un-realness of the passing material world, the shared nature (one generally of nihilistic suffering) of existence present in all living things within the un-real material world, and the attainability of a state of bliss through wisdom. Of course, this new religion was not exactly like the Buddhism of our world- for one thing, the Waker preached in a pre-literate society; his teachings would not be written down about by outsiders for another century, and would not written down by believers of the faith for another century after that, for another. For another, concepts that would be equivalent to Karma took a back seat in this religion. The symbols and terminology of the religion were wholly Germanic and situated in the Northern European context (‘Anatman,’ or the doctrine of no soul, is ‘Neselbaz,’ “No-Self-ness”). Meditation, still emphasized, occurred in a kneeling position rather than a cross-legged one. Nevertheless the broad strokes of this religion were akin to that of OTL Buddhism.

                The Waker left behind an invigorated system of disciples and followers, as well as a sense (ultimately adopted by even those that disagreed with the new religion) in ancient Northern Europe that an ascetic lifestyle of worldly rejection was as worthy of admiration as even that of the greatest kings’s victories in battle. After about 100 B.C., Roman and Greek authors take a different approach to looking at and writing about Northern Europe than OTL.

                At its height, Wakerism became a world-spanning religion uniting networks from Celtic Britain to Persia, and becoming somewhat co-opted by the Roman Empire itself. Whereas embrace of Christianity came late in Rome’s life in our world, here the Wakerists arrived before Emperors had usurped power and begun persecution of those fringe religions. Rather than Characterize Rome’s dying days then, Wakerism rose simultaneous to the transition of Rome from Republic to Empire itself, and its rise meant that even if the Roman Emperors saw themselves as deities, to be a deity was every bit a passing phase of existence as to be human.

    Wakerism served as a unifying force, aiding in Rome’s longevity, but continued changes in Northern Europe would ensure that some Roman Civilization would continue up to the present day. After the late 300s A.D., a mighty Germanic Empire formed, reaching ultimately from the Rhine out to the distant steppes and even the Dnieper. Although Rome at the time was horrified to see its long Northern frontier become unified against it, ultimately this Germanic Empire would serve as a buffer for the Huns and other invaders out of the East. The Germanic Empire lasted, in two dynasties, until the 900s A.D. when it finally collapsed. Rome, although split into 3-4 “Confederal-Empires” did finally fall to Arab conquests in 730 A.D., but without the Abrahamic Religions to divide them from Rome, the Arabs ultimately adopted Roman culture in the manner that the Manchu Qing adopted China’s.

    At one point, both of the Germanic and Roman Emperors were enthusiastic proponents of Wakerism. But both gradually waned in their piety. For all its pretenses of insisting that one’s own body, class, gender, or culture was part of the great illusion (and that therefore we are all ultimately the same), Wakerism ultimately proved to be much more of a Status Quo religion than Christianity would in our world. Perhaps because of it came to glorify study and knowledge, and therefore at times seem patronizing to layfolk, Wakerism did largely not become the religion of the masses.

                In the Germanic Empire Wakerism came to face serious competition. The Waker’s lack of emphasis on godly worship (as some of his followers saw it, either the gods were just as stuck in this illusion as we are and unable to offer humanity answers, or else they themselves were an outgrowth of the illusion to begin with) struck many as wrong-headed. Some sought compromise- perhaps the Waker himself was a god, or one of their representatives sent to teach what the gods themselves already knew- but ultimately Wakerism’s presence encouraged upon those still holding the old beliefs to see themselves as distinct from the new religion’s worshippers. Writing in 454 A.D., the poet and great proponent of the old ways ‘Shanker’ argued that the world was not entirely illusionary but instead dependent on the gods (“existing only in Wodanaz’s i.e. Odin’s broken eye”) and nourishment from traditional sacrifices and rituals. With several others Polytheistic Priests and Poets writing down their thoughts in the previous few centuries, there was no shortage of distinct ideas, but ultimately the more unified and proselytizing Wakerism came to be seen as a bizarre offshoot of what really had been the eternal religion (i.e., Germanic Polytheism) all along. Roman chroniclers referred to this increasingly organized religion as ‘RELIGIO GERMANICVM,’ or Germanism and the Roman name for the people of the area ultimately switched from having ethnic connotations to religious ones. Ultimately, the first Germanic Imperial would support Wakerism less, and the Second Dynasty would embrace Germanism outright.

                In Rome, there never was a serious single competition religion, but a general attitude amongst the Romans that no single religion needed to be selected. Although the Waker remained a popular deity to be prayed to, the Ancient Roman Gods join his side (and once in a while another Nordic Diety would be added as well). The vast majority of Roman citizens did not feel the need to pick one particular religion, and other mystery cults and philosophical traditions, principally Platonism (including Oracle Divination and the Nature and Life philosophies) and Gnosticism (the Jewish religion mostly evaporated, but some of it continued into very interesting psycho-spiritual ideas which alternately worked with and against Orthodox Wakerism). Ultimately the Emperor, and whichever particular Deity was chosen by that Emperor, were the most prayed to divines- increasingly that Deity happened to be the Waker less and less. (Illyria, although leaving the Roman Empire proper, remained close and ultimately adopted this mish-mash and general bored Secularism from Rome.)

                As the divide between Orthodox Wakerists and others hardened (Orthodox Wakerism continuing to be the most organized religion) Wakerism cemented its control principally over three areas outside of either the Germanic or Roman spheres. Athel Priten (Great Britain) and the many Kingdoms of the Balkans (now including the Greeks, who were busy destroying everything Roman about themselves) supported Monarchies which continued to support a large monastic class. In between Rome and Germany proper, a monastic class ruled outright, though with enough dogmatic distinctions (like a different set of Holy Books written by a different strain of disciples of the Waker) to make the other Orthodox Wakerists a tad uncomfortable.

                An addition kinda-sorta adherent to the Faith of the Awakened One is Egypt, but their Wakerism too coexists with Jewish-originated mysticism, a lot of local deities (Native Egyptian, and a couple Roman and Nordic ones), and Right-wing political parties which loudly proclaim that the Pharaoh-Emperor is a living God. Even the diminished Wakerist Temples have been somewhat co-opted by Right-wing groups; they’ve become quite militant themselves.

                Just as the West was altered by the presence of the Waker, so too much of the East was altered by the Buddha’s absence. In India, the Jainism became slightly more widespread for a few centuries, but subsequent persecution would drive them to near extinction. Hinduism, without Buddhism, evolved in different forms and became a highly ritualized worship of the Trimurti (Brahma-Vishnu-Shiva) distinguished from village polytheism.

                China too, found itself, without the presence of Buddhism, to be perhaps still more inward-looking for a time. Large, and able to seal itself off from the outer Barbarians, Tang China could afford this. But it ultimately provoked a backlash. The concept of the ‘Mandate of Heaven’ came to be seen as a responsibility of the Chinese Emperors not only to cultivate civilization within their own borders, but to bring it to all peoples. The universe, the civilized realm, centered on China, was meant to be expanded in a manner which pleased Heaven. The Emperors who fail to bring the good in the world to other peoples were not only disappointing the many Seraphim of Heaven, but deserving of their own people to rise up and nominate a superior Emperor who would fulfill Heaven’s task.

                Though some of the aspects of this forming religion, influenced by Daoism, emphasized harmony with the natural world, the politically powerful strain of the faith was one dominated by militarism- a religion of the sword. Other states surrounding China- the Koreans, Vietnamese, and Japanese at first- had to directly submit to the Emperor, admitting that he held the (perhaps temporary) Mandate of Heaven, and it was humanity’s duty to follow him. In Huagogu (‘Japan’) however, it quietly stated that the Huagoguan Emperor was on equal footing to the one in China- and ultimately divisions grew from there.

    When various Steppe Hordes prepared to ride west, at almost the exact same time of the Mongols in our World, they did so with the blessings of the Chinese Emperor to bring culture and civilization to all peoples. They smashed through Pars and to the Mediterranean, only being held back a common alliance between Egypt and the Eastern Roman Empire, and in Europe they made it all the way to Pannonian Plain and the Baltic Sea. But whereas in our world the Mongols left fairly little in their wake, and quickly adopted the religions of the people they conquered, these Turkic peoples implanted much of Chinese architecture, dress, and culture in the lands they conquered, creating cultures that would never exist in our world. In India, conquest from Persian and Turkic converts was slow but inevitable; a fortified line exists now between the two remaining Vedantist states and the rest of the subcontinent. In the Middle East, likewise, despite numerous attempts by Romans and Egyptians to push back, the initial boundaries of conquest have remained more or less fixed. But Europe, the situation was different. New rounds of conquests, often by converted European Slavs or Balts themselves, continued, and pushed into much of the Germanist world. Centuries of contact between those following the Germanist (and Wakerist) faiths on one side, and those following the Eastern Religion on the other resulted in highly segregated societies on the North European Plain, and the inevitable feeling of tension. Eventually Germanist peoples overthrew their rulers, and the Schwerden Realm (explained later) pushed the front further east, but not without substantial minorities having converted to the Eastern Faith.

    Today, there is a resurgence in confidence amongst those following the Mandate of Heaven. Sectarianism and Dogma which split the community amongst itself (and rendered China a battle ground and subsequently a positively Holy-Roman-Empire-esque patchwork of partially independent territories) have partially been fixed; Vagala (‘Bengal’) no longer claims to have replaced China as the receiver of the Mandate, and Huagogu finds itself facing greater pressure to drop its own such claims. The utter destruction of China has actually done wonders for religious unity; a Temple system independent of the Emperor is now more or less universally agreed to be the receiver of the Mandate, and centuries of intra-faith warfare has certainly the blades of the Steppe Khagans, Jungle Rajas, and Parsi Shahs sharp; now if those weapons could simply be turned back on the infidels, then the Mandate could be expanded for the first time in centuries (Huagogu’s impressive conquests in the New World don’t count until Huagogu stops depicting Heaven’s Seraphims as Shinto Deities and admits their Emperor is not the Receiver of Heaven’s Mandate). Yes, Europe could be ripe for the taking.

    Holding the border to the east and the rest of Europe and Africa lose sight of the receding Easterners is the Schwerden Realm. The Schwerds were a group of warrior-prophets (even, sometimes, !women!) who lived in a Knighthood-like organization which fought an insurgency against a former Khagan. They prided themselves in defending the many Germanic peoples under foreign rule, and preached a syncretic religion combining various aspects of the Mandate of Heaven with Germanism (Heaven’s Mandate is real, but Heaven isn’t filled with bureaucrats demanding the expansion of worldly power to satisfy the celestial; instead, rather like Valhala Heaven is filled with good-natured warriors who care more about a person’s conduct than ability to follow proscribed cultural practices. Oh and of course, the Mandate of Heaven belongs not to some distant Emperor or Temple Priest but to each individual who joins the Schwerden Brotherhood). The majority of Schwerden Realm still follows the Eastern Religion, and there are substantial Germanist minorities remaining, but the Schwerden aren’t particularly concerned about forcing conversions (indeed, Germanists and followers of the Eastern Religion can become Schwerds themselves, although the later rarely do). The Schwerden Realm’s leaders do see the various religions of the Western World as mostly good, and as deserving defense from an oppressive East.

    The New World, less than a tenth of global population and still largely seen as more of an extension of various Old World countries rather than a separate pair of continents, will see its relationship with the change. Already, the long border between Huagogu and the various European holdings has meant that even if the Eastern Religion is a bit of threat, a détente can be achieved at least in the Western Continents. Fortunately slavery played a smaller role in colonialism here, and across the world social mores are more progressive (though in places where they’re not there isn’t a trans-national movement yet to change that).

    Largely, this world is less technologically advanced than our own. Radio and railroads exist, but Television and much of modern biology does not. The printing press, gunpowder, and hosts of other inventions that in our world were invented in China were invented individually and laboriously elsewhere. China has been a significantly smaller contributor to technological output, especially after collapse into Religious warfare in the 15th century A.D.. Europe and the Mediterranean may not have had much of a Dark Age, but a long period of moderate stagnation combined with no renaissance haven’t helped much. The contributing areas then- tentatively parts of Northern Europe, the Indian subcontinent, and Huagogu, have been fairly isolated from one another. Religious Division is perhaps more problematic; the Schwerden Realm’s ideals about a unified West made up of a variety of traditions and Egypt’s calls to create a unified offensive notwithstanding, there is still quite a bit of distrust between the Germanist, Wakerist, and Roman worlds (not to mention outright calls for Holy War from the East). Various forms of Republican governance are widespread and often in place alongside Monarchs with varying levels of power. While the year is 2017 A.D., much of the world is state of technology of the late 1800s. Although divided into religious/cultural blocs, none of those blocs really have any technological edge on another.

    All those temples alongside the Danube really are a marvel to behold. In many, gigantic statues of the Waker kneel, eyes barely open, gazing into a pit in the ground meant to symbolize eternity. Next to one such pit, an African convert kneels.

Description

Germanic Buddhism-

                The title is a reference to the Bruce Munro map and Venusian Si scenario of the name ‘Germanic Islam.’ quantumbranching.deviantart.co…

                In this world, Siddhartha Gautama was never born in Nepal. In the same time though, in what in our world would be called 480 B.C., in the forests of Northern Europe another great spiritual thinker was born. The son of a Tribal Chieftain who renounced his inheritance and left his home to be a wandering ascetic, this man would become known to the world as ‘(the) Waker,’ or “the Awakened One.” Ultimately, as he aged in life he began promulgating some of his ideas, which included an insistence on the un-realness of the passing material world, the shared nature (one generally of nihilistic suffering) of existence present in all living things within the un-real material world, and the attainability of a state of bliss through wisdom. Of course, this new religion was not exactly like the Buddhism of our world- for one thing, the Waker preached in a pre-literate society; his teachings would not be written down about by outsiders for another century, and would not written down by believers of the faith for another century after that, for another. For another, concepts that would be equivalent to Karma took a back seat in this religion. The symbols and terminology of the religion were wholly Germanic and situated in the Northern European context (‘Anatman,’ or the doctrine of no soul, is ‘Neselbaz,’ “No-Self-ness”). Meditation, still emphasized, occurred in a kneeling position rather than a cross-legged one. Nevertheless the broad strokes of this religion were akin to that of OTL Buddhism.

                The Waker left behind an invigorated system of disciples and followers, as well as a sense (ultimately adopted by even those that disagreed with the new religion) in ancient Northern Europe that an ascetic lifestyle of worldly rejection was as worthy of admiration as even that of the greatest kings’s victories in battle. After about 100 B.C., Roman and Greek authors take a different approach to looking at and writing about Northern Europe than OTL.

                At its height, Wakerism became a world-spanning religion uniting networks from Celtic Britain to Persia, and becoming somewhat co-opted by the Roman Empire itself. Whereas embrace of Christianity came late in Rome’s life in our world, here the Wakerists arrived before Emperors had usurped power and begun persecution of those fringe religions. Rather than Characterize Rome’s dying days then, Wakerism rose simultaneous to the transition of Rome from Republic to Empire itself, and its rise meant that even if the Roman Emperors saw themselves as deities, to be a deity was every bit a passing phase of existence as to be human.

    Wakerism served as a unifying force, aiding in Rome’s longevity, but continued changes in Northern Europe would ensure that some Roman Civilization would continue up to the present day. After the late 300s A.D., a mighty Germanic Empire formed, reaching ultimately from the Rhine out to the distant steppes and even the Dnieper. Although Rome at the time was horrified to see its long Northern frontier become unified against it, ultimately this Germanic Empire would serve as a buffer for the Huns and other invaders out of the East. The Germanic Empire lasted, in two dynasties, until the 900s A.D. when it finally collapsed. Rome, although split into 3-4 “Confederal-Empires” did finally fall to Arab conquests in 730 A.D., but without the Abrahamic Religions to divide them from Rome, the Arabs ultimately adopted Roman culture in the manner that the Manchu Qing adopted China’s.

    At one point, both of the Germanic and Roman Emperors were enthusiastic proponents of Wakerism. But both gradually waned in their piety. For all its pretenses of insisting that one’s own body, class, gender, or culture was part of the great illusion (and that therefore we are all ultimately the same), Wakerism ultimately proved to be much more of a Status Quo religion than Christianity would in our world. Perhaps because of it came to glorify study and knowledge, and therefore at times seem patronizing to layfolk, Wakerism did largely not become the religion of the masses.

                In the Germanic Empire Wakerism came to face serious competition. The Waker’s lack of emphasis on godly worship (as some of his followers saw it, either the gods were just as stuck in this illusion as we are and unable to offer humanity answers, or else they themselves were an outgrowth of the illusion to begin with) struck many as wrong-headed. Some sought compromise- perhaps the Waker himself was a god, or one of their representatives sent to teach what the gods themselves already knew- but ultimately Wakerism’s presence encouraged upon those still holding the old beliefs to see themselves as distinct from the new religion’s worshippers. Writing in 454 A.D., the poet and great proponent of the old ways ‘Shanker’ argued that the world was not entirely illusionary but instead dependent on the gods (“existing only in Wodanaz’s i.e. Odin’s broken eye”) and nourishment from traditional sacrifices and rituals. With several others Polytheistic Priests and Poets writing down their thoughts in the previous few centuries, there was no shortage of distinct ideas, but ultimately the more unified and proselytizing Wakerism came to be seen as a bizarre offshoot of what really had been the eternal religion (i.e., Germanic Polytheism) all along. Roman chroniclers referred to this increasingly organized religion as ‘RELIGIO GERMANICVM,’ or Germanism and the Roman name for the people of the area ultimately switched from having ethnic connotations to religious ones. Ultimately, the first Germanic Imperial would support Wakerism less, and the Second Dynasty would embrace Germanism outright.

                In Rome, there never was a serious single competition religion, but a general attitude amongst the Romans that no single religion needed to be selected. Although the Waker remained a popular deity to be prayed to, the Ancient Roman Gods join his side (and once in a while another Nordic Diety would be added as well). The vast majority of Roman citizens did not feel the need to pick one particular religion, and other mystery cults and philosophical traditions, principally Platonism (including Oracle Divination and the Nature and Life philosophies) and Gnosticism (the Jewish religion mostly evaporated, but some of it continued into very interesting psycho-spiritual ideas which alternately worked with and against Orthodox Wakerism). Ultimately the Emperor, and whichever particular Deity was chosen by that Emperor, were the most prayed to divines- increasingly that Deity happened to be the Waker less and less. (Illyria, although leaving the Roman Empire proper, remained close and ultimately adopted this mish-mash and general bored Secularism from Rome.)

                As the divide between Orthodox Wakerists and others hardened (Orthodox Wakerism continuing to be the most organized religion) Wakerism cemented its control principally over three areas outside of either the Germanic or Roman spheres. Athel Priten (Great Britain) and the many Kingdoms of the Balkans (now including the Greeks, who were busy destroying everything Roman about themselves) supported Monarchies which continued to support a large monastic class. In between Rome and Germany proper, a monastic class ruled outright, though with enough dogmatic distinctions (like a different set of Holy Books written by a different strain of disciples of the Waker) to make the other Orthodox Wakerists a tad uncomfortable.

                An addition kinda-sorta adherent to the Faith of the Awakened One is Egypt, but their Wakerism too coexists with Jewish-originated mysticism, a lot of local deities (Native Egyptian, and a couple Roman and Nordic ones), and Right-wing political parties which loudly proclaim that the Pharaoh-Emperor is a living God. Even the diminished Wakerist Temples have been somewhat co-opted by Right-wing groups; they’ve become quite militant themselves.

                Just as the West was altered by the presence of the Waker, so too much of the East was altered by the Buddha’s absence. In India, the Jainism became slightly more widespread for a few centuries, but subsequent persecution would drive them to near extinction. Hinduism, without Buddhism, evolved in different forms and became a highly ritualized worship of the Trimurti (Brahma-Vishnu-Shiva) distinguished from village polytheism.

                China too, found itself, without the presence of Buddhism, to be perhaps still more inward-looking for a time. Large, and able to seal itself off from the outer Barbarians, Tang China could afford this. But it ultimately provoked a backlash. The concept of the ‘Mandate of Heaven’ came to be seen as a responsibility of the Chinese Emperors not only to cultivate civilization within their own borders, but to bring it to all peoples. The universe, the civilized realm, centered on China, was meant to be expanded in a manner which pleased Heaven. The Emperors who fail to bring the good in the world to other peoples were not only disappointing the many Seraphim of Heaven, but deserving of their own people to rise up and nominate a superior Emperor who would fulfill Heaven’s task.

                Though some of the aspects of this forming religion, influenced by Daoism, emphasized harmony with the natural world, the politically powerful strain of the faith was one dominated by militarism- a religion of the sword. Other states surrounding China- the Koreans, Vietnamese, and Japanese at first- had to directly submit to the Emperor, admitting that he held the (perhaps temporary) Mandate of Heaven, and it was humanity’s duty to follow him. In Huagogu (‘Japan’) however, it quietly stated that the Huagoguan Emperor was on equal footing to the one in China- and ultimately divisions grew from there.

    When various Steppe Hordes prepared to ride west, at almost the exact same time of the Mongols in our World, they did so with the blessings of the Chinese Emperor to bring culture and civilization to all peoples. They smashed through Pars and to the Mediterranean, only being held back a common alliance between Egypt and the Eastern Roman Empire, and in Europe they made it all the way to Pannonian Plain and the Baltic Sea. But whereas in our world the Mongols left fairly little in their wake, and quickly adopted the religions of the people they conquered, these Turkic peoples implanted much of Chinese architecture, dress, and culture in the lands they conquered, creating cultures that would never exist in our world. In India, conquest from Persian and Turkic converts was slow but inevitable; a fortified line exists now between the two remaining Vedantist states and the rest of the subcontinent. In the Middle East, likewise, despite numerous attempts by Romans and Egyptians to push back, the initial boundaries of conquest have remained more or less fixed. But Europe, the situation was different. New rounds of conquests, often by converted European Slavs or Balts themselves, continued, and pushed into much of the Germanist world. Centuries of contact between those following the Germanist (and Wakerist) faiths on one side, and those following the Eastern Religion on the other resulted in highly segregated societies on the North European Plain, and the inevitable feeling of tension. Eventually Germanist peoples overthrew their rulers, and the Schwerden Realm (explained later) pushed the front further east, but not without substantial minorities having converted to the Eastern Faith.

    Today, there is a resurgence in confidence amongst those following the Mandate of Heaven. Sectarianism and Dogma which split the community amongst itself (and rendered China a battle ground and subsequently a positively Holy-Roman-Empire-esque patchwork of partially independent territories) have partially been fixed; Vagala (‘Bengal’) no longer claims to have replaced China as the receiver of the Mandate, and Huagogu finds itself facing greater pressure to drop its own such claims. The utter destruction of China has actually done wonders for religious unity; a Temple system independent of the Emperor is now more or less universally agreed to be the receiver of the Mandate, and centuries of intra-faith warfare has certainly the blades of the Steppe Khagans, Jungle Rajas, and Parsi Shahs sharp; now if those weapons could simply be turned back on the infidels, then the Mandate could be expanded for the first time in centuries (Huagogu’s impressive conquests in the New World don’t count until Huagogu stops depicting Heaven’s Seraphims as Shinto Deities and admits their Emperor is not the Receiver of Heaven’s Mandate). Yes, Europe could be ripe for the taking.

    Holding the border to the east and the rest of Europe and Africa lose sight of the receding Easterners is the Schwerden Realm. The Schwerds were a group of warrior-prophets (even, sometimes, !women!) who lived in a Knighthood-like organization which fought an insurgency against a former Khagan. They prided themselves in defending the many Germanic peoples under foreign rule, and preached a syncretic religion combining various aspects of the Mandate of Heaven with Germanism (Heaven’s Mandate is real, but Heaven isn’t filled with bureaucrats demanding the expansion of worldly power to satisfy the celestial; instead, rather like Valhala Heaven is filled with good-natured warriors who care more about a person’s conduct than ability to follow proscribed cultural practices. Oh and of course, the Mandate of Heaven belongs not to some distant Emperor or Temple Priest but to each individual who joins the Schwerden Brotherhood). The majority of Schwerden Realm still follows the Eastern Religion, and there are substantial Germanist minorities remaining, but the Schwerden aren’t particularly concerned about forcing conversions (indeed, Germanists and followers of the Eastern Religion can become Schwerds themselves, although the later rarely do). The Schwerden Realm’s leaders do see the various religions of the Western World as mostly good, and as deserving defense from an oppressive East.

    The New World, less than a tenth of global population and still largely seen as more of an extension of various Old World countries rather than a separate pair of continents, will see its relationship with the change. Already, the long border between Huagogu and the various European holdings has meant that even if the Eastern Religion is a bit of threat, a détente can be achieved at least in the Western Continents. Fortunately slavery played a smaller role in colonialism here, and across the world social mores are more progressive (though in places where they’re not there isn’t a trans-national movement yet to change that).

    Largely, this world is less technologically advanced than our own. Radio and railroads exist, but Television and much of modern biology does not. The printing press, gunpowder, and hosts of other inventions that in our world were invented in China were invented individually and laboriously elsewhere. China has been a significantly smaller contributor to technological output, especially after collapse into Religious warfare in the 15th century A.D.. Europe and the Mediterranean may not have had much of a Dark Age, but a long period of moderate stagnation combined with no renaissance haven’t helped much. The contributing areas then- tentatively parts of Northern Europe, the Indian subcontinent, and Huagogu, have been fairly isolated from one another. Religious Division is perhaps more problematic; the Schwerden Realm’s ideals about a unified West made up of a variety of traditions and Egypt’s calls to create a unified offensive notwithstanding, there is still quite a bit of distrust between the Germanist, Wakerist, and Roman worlds (not to mention outright calls for Holy War from the East). Various forms of Republican governance are widespread and often in place alongside Monarchs with varying levels of power. While the year is 2017 A.D., much of the world is state of technology of the late 1800s. Although divided into religious/cultural blocs, none of those blocs really have any technological edge on another.

    All those temples alongside the Danube really are a marvel to behold. In many, gigantic statues of the Waker kneel, eyes barely open, gazing into a pit in the ground meant to symbolize eternity. Next to one such pit, an African convert kneels.