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ZekSora — What Remains, Part 3: Last of the Vikings
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Published: 2016-05-22 06:24:15 +0000 UTC; Views: 9792; Favourites: 76; Downloads: 126
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Part 3 of my What Remains series. Part 1 is here and Part 2 is here . (Yes, this does retcon Part 2's Scandinavian section, but please regard the rest of it as un-retconned until further notice.)This is my entry to the MotF 137 contest over on AH.com. If any of you are members and like this map, please head over there once the thread is posted tomorrow and vote!
Since the Collapse, Scandinavia has been effectively divided between the regional power of Sweden and the world power of the United Kingdoms of Britain and its local ally/client state/constituent kingdom of Norway. The two powers mostly rule through local protectorates and naval domination (the Swedes of the Baltic, the Brits of pretty much everywhere else) rather than directly administering the various surviving regions, for various different reasons; the British don’t rule directly because they are already overstretched in other parts of the world, the Norwegians don’t because the British don’t, and the Swedes don’t because they’re busy enough already trying to recolonize the mainland and protect their colonies there.
As per usual in What Remains, I’ll do some national summaries.
British Bloc
- United Kingdoms of Britain: (The fact that the UKB has had a writeup in every single map in the series thus far speaks not just to their high relevance in the post-Collapse world, but also to the increasing irrelevance of said writeups.) In the Scandinavian seas to the west of Denmark, the Royal Navy rules the waves, which gives them a fundamental chokehold on the various fishing-dependent states in the region should they choose to use it. This has allowed the Royal Navy, and by extension the UKB (the difference is highly blurred) to establish protectorates over most of the region.
- Kingdom of Norway: During the Collapse, what remained of the Norwegian government fled to the northern fjords, establishing Narvik as the “temporary” capital, protected by the cold and the mountains. In these mountains, they established a zone of control that would eventually evolve into the directly-ruled Kingdom. However, this was a long time coming, and there was a more immediate issue: rulership. The King of Sweden, Oscar II, was also technically the King of Norway, but the remnants of Sweden were far away in Gotland, and the British could guarantee open fishing waters forevermore, something that was essential to their survival. Thus, they agreed to take Queen Victoria as their new monarch, angering the Swedes and beginning the Swedish-British rivalry.
- Jointly Administered Territories: Some smaller holdouts had survived in the northern fjords that were eager to rejoin Norway. However, they were disconnected and the Norwegian military (really just a collection of local militias) was having enough difficulty protecting the homeland, so it was the British who re-established control. A joint Anglo-Norwegian Condominium was established in Trondhjem (and the disconnected Varjag), where the Norwegians rule in name, and the British Governor-General rules in actuality.
- Kola: A remnant of the old Russian Empire, Kola was a collection of isolated northern fishing villages that came under British “protection” to secure their fishing waters.
- Romsdal: Romsdal began when local authorities in the Norwegian province of Romsdal managed to fight off the Horde thanks to their isolated mountain location. They were, however, reluctant to rejoin Norway because of their geographic isolation and their localist republicanism. They came under British protection for the same reason as Kola and Norway—fishing security.
- Lappland: Lappland is different from the other states in the bloc for several reasons, the main two of which being 1) that it did not come under British protection for fishing rights, and 2) that it is not a state. Lappland is a collection of nomadic Sami peoples, isolated towns, and snow held together by British military and a single operational railroad.
Swedish Bloc
- Kingdom of Sweden: Thanks to the broken-up, island-based geography of Stockholm, the pre-Collapse Swedish capital, the Swedes were able to evacuate a fair chunk of its population to the islands of Gotland, Öland, and various scattered others, but more importantly they were able to evacuate the Swedish Navy, a force which now dominates the Baltic and keeps the Royal Navy from entering. The Swedes can be said to be like the United Kingdoms of Britain in that their monarch does not actually rule; the Swedish Navy does.
- Mainland Territories: The Swedes have begun to extend their rule back onto the mainland. Some surviving villages were contacted, particularly the city of Luleå, which had cut off its peninsula from the Horde with a tall wall. It has been expensive work, but worth it for have the living space to ease the pressure in overcrowded Gotland.
- Kingdom of Denmark: The Danes were not as lucky as the Swedes, and were able to evacuate only a small chunk of their population to the island of Bornholm, not including their King. Long story short, the Swedish monarch is now also the Danish monarch.
- Esthonia: Another remnant of the old Russian Empire, this one not so eager to stay in it. Esthonia broke off from Russia as soon as they could, and took only ethnically Esthonian refugees onto their islands. This had the side effect of not many refugees coming to their islands, which allowed the now far more populous Swedes to establish a protectorate. Estonia is now mostly used for farmland to feed the hungry mouths in Gotland.
- Uleåborg: Uleåborg originated as just the city that shared its name, and a few connected towns and forts. However, the Swedes, after establishing a protectorate over it, extended its rule deep inland, so that they might rule over…even more frozen, underpopulated, individual Horde members wandering around here and there wasteland. They aren’t entirely grateful.
As usual, if you have any questions about this scenario or the world of What Remains, please ask away and I'll be happy to give a detailed answer!
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Comments: 9
Can you do a map of small campaigns against the hordes? Like a map of small gains against the hordes? Like humanity comes out of the dark and tries taking back some of its land?
👍: 1 ⏩: 1
Maybe, if I ever come back to this. I think I'd be more interested in fleshing out the rest of the world, though.
👍: 2 ⏩: 1
If you do, I have to wonder if the US (Atlantic) winds up retaking some of the eastern islands, or possibly even the Delmarva peninsula if the canal's still reasonably intact as a defensive barrier.
What's the nature of the zombies, though?
👍: 1 ⏩: 1
The zombies are of a more magical/hellish variety.
As to the rest of the world...wait and see. I might come back to this someday.
👍: 1 ⏩: 0
Noice work as ever!
Definitely fleshes out the 'verse to be sure with stuff like this. Makes me wonder where to next. America? Japan?
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Thank you so much! I'm glad you like it.
You'll see
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
If (retcon) Scandinavia managed to survive by fleeing to their upper north, the Russia must've held out somewhere in Siberia, too. Instead of just being confined to tiny Crimea.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Well, most of the reason people survived in Scandinavia was due to the mountainous fjords, keeping the Horde away. The flatter lands were recolonized later in most cases.
Though yes, you are completely right, and I will probably retcon that as well in a later map.
👍: 0 ⏩: 0