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Description
[b]The Bermuda Territory[/b]

System of Government: Tribal Chiefdom
Head of State: Territorial Premier, selected by and from the clans of the island
Population: 4,000
Religion: Nondenominational Christianity de jure, Bermudian Paganism de facto
Totemic Symbol: Red Lion

The island of Bermuda is perhaps the most isolated locale in Neo-Medieval world. When the Regression occurred, the islands economic raison d'etre as a tourism destination and tax haven disappeared, and so did the food imports that it depended on to support its massive population. Most immigrated away, though the population remained far too large to support. Waves of famine, war, and even cannibalism wracked the island over the next century. By the end of it all, the population had fallen to a few hundred.

Where the mainland degenerated to a medieval level of technology, Bermuda degenerated to a [i]Neolithic[/i] level of technology. Knowledge of metal tools was lost, as was any ship building beyond the level of canoes. The population became reliant on low-level fishing, agriculture, and most especially pig pastoralism. Different parcels came under the rule of different clans. Once a year, these clans would meet up on Town Hill to select the new Premier of the isles, who would adjudicate disputes between the various clans until his death.

The religion of the Bermudians was shaped by the profound trauma of the Regression. Though they maintained belief in a one God and a vague belief in the trappings of Christianity, the every day lives of Bermudians came to be far more defined by the machinations of demons. The Bermudians believed that in times past the isles were the terrestrial paradise - however, for their sin and vanity, Bermuda was cast low and became the Devil's stomping ground. Demons constantly inflict misfortune on the islanders, calling down storms and pestilence, and most be constantly placated by offerings and the sacrifice of pigs. While God is believed to be eternally distant, a sufficiently pious man may come under the protection of the Saints and Angels (who are effectively one in the same). The demons and angels of Bermudian mythology are tied to various locales and stories unique to the island, and seldom bear resemblance to biblical narratives.

For most of the new Medieval era, Bermuda remained practically unknown to the inhabitants of the Americs. It was known variously as an isle of demons at the center of the mireous Sargasso Sea and the source of the anomalies of the Bermuda Triangle, or it was believed to be the terrestrial paradise and was termed "The Summer Isles." Bermudian lore points towards occasional ship wreck survivors washing ashore, though far more common was for the bodies and debris of wrecked ships to wash ashore.

In 2855, the Gullah merchant Ricky Thomas was blown off course from an expedition into the Bahamas and into the Sargasso Sea. Thomas's bark managed to survive the tribulations of the deep sea and he landed upon Bermuda. Throwing himself upon the mercy of the Premier and offering gifts of iron, Thomas managed to survive and lived two years among the Bermudians, who treated him with the hospitality due a traveler from another clan. After completing repairs on his ship, Thomas and his surviving crew managed the extraordinary feat of sailing back to Florida.

President Theodore Roosevelt V was not living up to his name at this time (having picked it purely as a function of being a descendant of the Oyster Bay Roosevelts). Facing opposition from within the court and following a disastrous expedition against the Abenaki Quebeckers of inland Maine, President Roosevelt seized upon the re-discovery of Bermuda to boost his popularity, and proposed to conquer the Terrestrial Paradise in the name of Manifest Destiny. A massive expedition of 50 ships was launched to conquer and convert the pagans in 2863.

Sailing out of Jacksonville and led by Ricky Thomas, the fleet was met with misfortune after misfortune. Bahamian pirates, mutinous crews fearful of sailing into the Triangle, navigational difficulties and, finally, a hurricane reduced the fleet's strength by three fourths by the time it arrived on Bermuda's shore. A flag was raised, a Church was built, and the Premier accepted a theoretical vassalage to the Presidency in exchange for gifts of iron. Then the fleet sailed home to Jacksonville, disappointed to find that the wild riches promised by myth and the account of Ricky Thomas were wild exaggerations - in a sense, Ricky Thomas was lucky to have been killed early in the voyage by Bahamanian pirates, as he no doubt would have been tortured by the CIA for his troubles. The boondoggle that was the Bermudian Expedition was often brought up in the Impeachment and Treason trials that ultimately ended in Roosevelt V's execution.

The Bermudians were only too happy to accept the Americans and their strange religion. In 2857, upon the departure of Ricky Thomas, the priest of Crystal Caves (the holiest site in Bermuda) predicted that the stranger's departure was the harbinger of great things, that God would once again turn his eyes to the Island, and that all of this would be marked by a great sign in the heavens. Lo and behold, the arrival of the American fleet was accompanied by the return of Halley's Comet.

Today, life proceeds on Bermuda much as it ever has. Though enthusiastic adopters of the trappings of American Christianity, the islanders maintain the old rituals on their island, and the local Church is far too weak to do anything about it. Every ten years, a Census ship sails from Jacksonville bringing news and supplies. For the most part, this is the only communication Bermuda enjoys with the outside world, and they like this arrangement just fine.

[b]Here There Be Monsters: The Bermuda Triangle[/b]

[img]www.reprodart.com/kunst/gustav…

Sailors are a superstitious sort, always have been. This is only natural - sailors in the pre-Industrial era resemble astronauts more then anything else, trapped in cramped boxes upon an alien and capricious body where death may strike in a thousand and one manners. In the new America, any number of myths and monsters have arisen to make sense of the murky depths, from the hated Jaws to the Deep Ones. However, no phrase makes a sailor go weaker in the knees then "The Bermuda Triangle."

The Triangle is said to extend from Miami to old San Juan, and all the way north to legendary Bermuda, though this definition is not strictly adhered to - for all their talent, neo-medieval sailors cannot said to possess a "scientific" knowledge of geography. Thus, any voyage that sails past Miami and does not bear west for the Keys is said to be at "Triangle's Corner". The route along Cuba's northern coast and towards the West Indies is said to be the "at Triangle's Base." A sailor may not breathe a sigh of relief until he lands in old San Juan.

Woe be to that sailor who must sail amid the Bahamas or the Turks - pleasant lands though they may be, one may be said to have truly entered the triangle. Even worse is when a ship is failed to sail along the outer rim of these isles, with only the endless expanse of the Triangle to see as they look to port. Woe be to any who is blown off course into the open expanse of the Triangle itself, whether he be sailing the Caribbean or the much more mundane route along the southeastern seaboard. This is considered to be just about a certain death sentence, swept up in the mire of the Sargasso to be devoured by monsters or butchered by ghosts.

The stories surrounding the Triangle are some of the most diverse of all sailor's tales. A seemingly endless horde of beasts and spooks are said to be the cause of the perpetual misfortune this stretch of sea brings. It is said to be a favored haunt of the Deep Ones who live amid the undersea ruins of Atlantis (which is used by many to explain the webbed hands and strange appearances of the inhabitants of the isle of Bimini.) Jaws and Old Hitler are said to do battle here, and when they clash the result is the freak hurricanes the region is so well known for. It is said to be the haunt of the Doomed Astronauts who failed to return to Cape Canaveral, and that their space stations and space ships still lurk below the waters, piloted by skeletons who still wear their space suits. Alongside the Doomed Astronauts are the UFOs, who will sink merchant vessels without warning or abduct crews. Most feared of all are ghost ships, the result of over a thousand years of plunder and piracy in this region dating from the Golden Age of Piracy to the pre-Regression era, and indeed through to the Neo-Medieval Era. These ships are said to be crewed by the damned, hellbent on taking as many sailors as they can with them to Davy Jones's Locker.

In truth, more sober observers will point out, there is nothing particularly extraordinary about the region. Rather, the stretch of sea between Cuba and Florida (and over Cuba's northern coast towards Puerto Rico) is one of the most trafficked in the world, the site of much trade, warfare and, indeed, piracy. This, when coupled with the hurricanes that do indeed wrack the area, account for the number of sinkings, but even then the number is large only in absolute terms. It's true that being blown away from the Bahamas or the Carolina Coast is a death sentence but this is because of the pernicious currents of the Sargasso and the dangers of the open sea, not because of attacks by old world aircraft carriers.

Indeed, even the strange and scary things that sailors report seeing off the bow are explainable in psychological terms, for the "base" of the triangle is a scary place. In addition to the dangers outlined above, the Triangle is at the very outer limits of American supply lines and cultural awareness - if you run into trouble there's no cavalry on the way. This is bound to put one on edge. The cultures here are foreign and seemingly diabolic, and the potentates that they owe fealty to are often overtly hostile to American interests.

Despite these reassurances, sailors remain unconvinced and are likely to carry talismans or give offerings to foreign gods to assure their safe passage. Indeed, even some in government are not so sure that the Bermuda Triangle is purely mundane - certain learned men of the CIA have written treatises drawing on what hazy remnants of pre-Regression science remain, suggesting that the Bermuda Triangle is the center of a gravitational anomaly that may make it a portal to other dimensions - perhaps even Hell itself.

Description
[b]The Bermuda Territory[/b]

System of Government: Tribal Chiefdom
Head of State: Territorial Premier, selected by and from the clans of the island
Population: 4,000
Religion: Nondenominational Christianity de jure, Bermudian Paganism de facto
Totemic Symbol: Red Lion

The island of Bermuda is perhaps the most isolated locale in Neo-Medieval world. When the Regression occurred, the islands economic raison d'etre as a tourism destination and tax haven disappeared, and so did the food imports that it depended on to support its massive population. Most immigrated away, though the population remained far too large to support. Waves of famine, war, and even cannibalism wracked the island over the next century. By the end of it all, the population had fallen to a few hundred.

Where the mainland degenerated to a medieval level of technology, Bermuda degenerated to a [i]Neolithic[/i] level of technology. Knowledge of metal tools was lost, as was any ship building beyond the level of canoes. The population became reliant on low-level fishing, agriculture, and most especially pig pastoralism. Different parcels came under the rule of different clans. Once a year, these clans would meet up on Town Hill to select the new Premier of the isles, who would adjudicate disputes between the various clans until his death.

The religion of the Bermudians was shaped by the profound trauma of the Regression. Though they maintained belief in a one God and a vague belief in the trappings of Christianity, the every day lives of Bermudians came to be far more defined by the machinations of demons. The Bermudians believed that in times past the isles were the terrestrial paradise - however, for their sin and vanity, Bermuda was cast low and became the Devil's stomping ground. Demons constantly inflict misfortune on the islanders, calling down storms and pestilence, and most be constantly placated by offerings and the sacrifice of pigs. While God is believed to be eternally distant, a sufficiently pious man may come under the protection of the Saints and Angels (who are effectively one in the same). The demons and angels of Bermudian mythology are tied to various locales and stories unique to the island, and seldom bear resemblance to biblical narratives.

For most of the new Medieval era, Bermuda remained practically unknown to the inhabitants of the Americs. It was known variously as an isle of demons at the center of the mireous Sargasso Sea and the source of the anomalies of the Bermuda Triangle, or it was believed to be the terrestrial paradise and was termed "The Summer Isles." Bermudian lore points towards occasional ship wreck survivors washing ashore, though far more common was for the bodies and debris of wrecked ships to wash ashore.

In 2855, the Gullah merchant Ricky Thomas was blown off course from an expedition into the Bahamas and into the Sargasso Sea. Thomas's bark managed to survive the tribulations of the deep sea and he landed upon Bermuda. Throwing himself upon the mercy of the Premier and offering gifts of iron, Thomas managed to survive and lived two years among the Bermudians, who treated him with the hospitality due a traveler from another clan. After completing repairs on his ship, Thomas and his surviving crew managed the extraordinary feat of sailing back to Florida.

President Theodore Roosevelt V was not living up to his name at this time (having picked it purely as a function of being a descendant of the Oyster Bay Roosevelts). Facing opposition from within the court and following a disastrous expedition against the Abenaki Quebeckers of inland Maine, President Roosevelt seized upon the re-discovery of Bermuda to boost his popularity, and proposed to conquer the Terrestrial Paradise in the name of Manifest Destiny. A massive expedition of 50 ships was launched to conquer and convert the pagans in 2863.

Sailing out of Jacksonville and led by Ricky Thomas, the fleet was met with misfortune after misfortune. Bahamian pirates, mutinous crews fearful of sailing into the Triangle, navigational difficulties and, finally, a hurricane reduced the fleet's strength by three fourths by the time it arrived on Bermuda's shore. A flag was raised, a Church was built, and the Premier accepted a theoretical vassalage to the Presidency in exchange for gifts of iron. Then the fleet sailed home to Jacksonville, disappointed to find that the wild riches promised by myth and the account of Ricky Thomas were wild exaggerations - in a sense, Ricky Thomas was lucky to have been killed early in the voyage by Bahamanian pirates, as he no doubt would have been tortured by the CIA for his troubles. The boondoggle that was the Bermudian Expedition was often brought up in the Impeachment and Treason trials that ultimately ended in Roosevelt V's execution.

The Bermudians were only too happy to accept the Americans and their strange religion. In 2857, upon the departure of Ricky Thomas, the priest of Crystal Caves (the holiest site in Bermuda) predicted that the stranger's departure was the harbinger of great things, that God would once again turn his eyes to the Island, and that all of this would be marked by a great sign in the heavens. Lo and behold, the arrival of the American fleet was accompanied by the return of Halley's Comet.

Today, life proceeds on Bermuda much as it ever has. Though enthusiastic adopters of the trappings of American Christianity, the islanders maintain the old rituals on their island, and the local Church is far too weak to do anything about it. Every ten years, a Census ship sails from Jacksonville bringing news and supplies. For the most part, this is the only communication Bermuda enjoys with the outside world, and they like this arrangement just fine.

[b]Here There Be Monsters: The Bermuda Triangle[/b]

[img]www.reprodart.com/kunst/gustav…

Sailors are a superstitious sort, always have been. This is only natural - sailors in the pre-Industrial era resemble astronauts more then anything else, trapped in cramped boxes upon an alien and capricious body where death may strike in a thousand and one manners. In the new America, any number of myths and monsters have arisen to make sense of the murky depths, from the hated Jaws to the Deep Ones. However, no phrase makes a sailor go weaker in the knees then "The Bermuda Triangle."

The Triangle is said to extend from Miami to old San Juan, and all the way north to legendary Bermuda, though this definition is not strictly adhered to - for all their talent, neo-medieval sailors cannot said to possess a "scientific" knowledge of geography. Thus, any voyage that sails past Miami and does not bear west for the Keys is said to be at "Triangle's Corner". The route along Cuba's northern coast and towards the West Indies is said to be the "at Triangle's Base." A sailor may not breathe a sigh of relief until he lands in old San Juan.

Woe be to that sailor who must sail amid the Bahamas or the Turks - pleasant lands though they may be, one may be said to have truly entered the triangle. Even worse is when a ship is failed to sail along the outer rim of these isles, with only the endless expanse of the Triangle to see as they look to port. Woe be to any who is blown off course into the open expanse of the Triangle itself, whether he be sailing the Caribbean or the much more mundane route along the southeastern seaboard. This is considered to be just about a certain death sentence, swept up in the mire of the Sargasso to be devoured by monsters or butchered by ghosts.

The stories surrounding the Triangle are some of the most diverse of all sailor's tales. A seemingly endless horde of beasts and spooks are said to be the cause of the perpetual misfortune this stretch of sea brings. It is said to be a favored haunt of the Deep Ones who live amid the undersea ruins of Atlantis (which is used by many to explain the webbed hands and strange appearances of the inhabitants of the isle of Bimini.) Jaws and Old Hitler are said to do battle here, and when they clash the result is the freak hurricanes the region is so well known for. It is said to be the haunt of the Doomed Astronauts who failed to return to Cape Canaveral, and that their space stations and space ships still lurk below the waters, piloted by skeletons who still wear their space suits. Alongside the Doomed Astronauts are the UFOs, who will sink merchant vessels without warning or abduct crews. Most feared of all are ghost ships, the result of over a thousand years of plunder and piracy in this region dating from the Golden Age of Piracy to the pre-Regression era, and indeed through to the Neo-Medieval Era. These ships are said to be crewed by the damned, hellbent on taking as many sailors as they can with them to Davy Jones's Locker.

In truth, more sober observers will point out, there is nothing particularly extraordinary about the region. Rather, the stretch of sea between Cuba and Florida (and over Cuba's northern coast towards Puerto Rico) is one of the most trafficked in the world, the site of much trade, warfare and, indeed, piracy. This, when coupled with the hurricanes that do indeed wrack the area, account for the number of sinkings, but even then the number is large only in absolute terms. It's true that being blown away from the Bahamas or the Carolina Coast is a death sentence but this is because of the pernicious currents of the Sargasso and the dangers of the open sea, not because of attacks by old world aircraft carriers.

Indeed, even the strange and scary things that sailors report seeing off the bow are explainable in psychological terms, for the "base" of the triangle is a scary place. In addition to the dangers outlined above, the Triangle is at the very outer limits of American supply lines and cultural awareness - if you run into trouble there's no cavalry on the way. This is bound to put one on edge. The cultures here are foreign and seemingly diabolic, and the potentates that they owe fealty to are often overtly hostile to American interests.

Despite these reassurances, sailors remain unconvinced and are likely to carry talismans or give offerings to foreign gods to assure their safe passage. Indeed, even some in government are not so sure that the Bermuda Triangle is purely mundane - certain learned men of the CIA have written treatises drawing on what hazy remnants of pre-Regression science remain, suggesting that the Bermuda Triangle is the center of a gravitational anomaly that may make it a portal to other dimensions - perhaps even Hell itself.