Scandian League

http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/7097/scandefhw3.jpg

"Yellow is for the soil of the homeland. Red is for the blood of the Scandian people. And the black is for our EVIL!! DON'T FUCK WITH US!"

--Sheila Sporr's commencement speech to graduates of the Crucible,

on the colors of the Scandian flag

Accurate as of 46 WR.

Land

The Scandian League controls almost all of the Dragon Dimension’s “donut”, excluding Winlan. Prima and Tunlan also fall outside the League’s control. Scande also lays claim to all the planets of the Dragon Dimension, although they have not put much serious effort into colonizing them. They have refurbished a few of the old Esperian colonies on these worlds, however, and granted them to Lenna and Faris Tycoon to establish a nation of Tycoon-in-exile.

Outside the Dragon Dimension, the Scandian League controls the area in the Esper dimension between Hosluftgrad and Albrook, an area that includes Tzen, but not Albrook or the northern section of Hosluftgrad. This area was given over to the League by the Esper Union as part of the terms of the Pauper’s Peace of the Leviathan War; it is known as the Occupied Zone, or OZ.

Population

The Scandian League has a diverse mix of humans, Gramorians, Gantians, Forest Clanners, and Dwarves. The population of each of these races in the League is about equal. There are two distinct ethnic groups of humans, those with white skin (usually from the southwest) and those with dark skin (usually in the southeast), although the Scandian government refuses to acknowledge this; referring to either ethnic group is considered a seditious offense aimed at undermining the League’s solidarity. Racial friction is not eliminated through a pluralist ideal in Scande; rather, the races and species are steamed rolled together into something Scandian .

Religion

The Scandian government actively suppresses organized religion. Mere possession of religious icons or texts is harshly punished; anyone caught preaching a religion is executed.

That said, a handful of people maintain their religion in secret. The most significant of these is Dragonneth, the worship of the One Dragon God which has a sizable underground following in Arad. Oppression has served to radicalize the already fundamentalist views of this strain of Draggoneth. Draggoneth places a heavy emphasis on sacrifice. The followers of Draggoneth actively work against the Scandian League, seeking to restore a nation under God’s law. Draggoneth is one of the few monotheistic religions in the Web.

Far more scattered than Draggoneth are the followers of ilBleu, the worship of Bleu, who was Goddess of Wisdom and Justice, and also patron of the defunct Scandish Empire. Small wooden figurines of the half-serpent goddess were once commonly held in this area as symbols of worship, but now they are banned. Like Draggoneth, ilBleu believes in reincarnation. The Matriarch of the il’Bleu is believed to be in hiding somewhere in the League, guarded by a few surviving Red Stars.

In theory there probably are a few follors of k’Tyr in the League, but the Scandians have, for obvious reasons, treated the followers of the Dark Goddess of Destruction and Desire most harshly.

Magic

Much of Dragon’s native magic tradition was lost in The Great War. Most magic users in Scandian society are trained in the Merge League or Mysidian Commonwealth, and magical artifacts from these societies can be found in Scande. The Red Stars maintain their unique somatic tradition, but it is not widely known in Scande. There is limited magical research, but the government is wary because of Dragon’s magic is associated with Tyr and demons. This has not stopped the Vory y Zakone from keeping some Fusing magic alive.

Economy

The Scandian League has a centrally planned, command economy. They have had to contend with a paucity of resources on Dragon III, particularly magilyte, and the external demands of a war machine. During the Leviathan War rationing was extremely strict; even after the war adjustments in wages and prices reduced the real buying power of all Scandians by a third, and standards of living have just now reached their prewar levels.

Scande mints its own currency, the mark, and although it is used throughout the Communist Web, it is rarely accepted by capitalist nations. Scande has urged the Alliance Congress to convert marks to GP, but the Congress has not acted on this issue.

Analysts from outside the League are divided over whether central planning has caused Scande to wonder an age of growth and prosperity in the Web at large, or managed to extract a decent living from the hardscrabble Dragon Dimension. The central planning is drawn up by the Economic Planning Council, with Commissars from the different sections of the Scandian economy: Agriculture, Energy, Transportation, Mining and Timber, Heavy Industry, Light Industry, Infrastructure, and Service Provision. Agriculture usually chairs because of the overwhelming necessity of feeding the League’s people. Besides Agriculture, Heavy Industry has the most clout because of its military ties, with Light Industry having the least. The communist government is not terribly interested in providing its people with creature comforts or nice clothes. Some Scandians extol the virtues of their Spartan lifestyles, but others think it might be nice to own a car or even some good shoes.

The Economic Planning Council produces Two-Year Plans, targets for production. Sometimes the targets bear no relation to actual demand, and seem merely attempt to bring Scande more in line with other Web nations. A good example of this is the high energy targets of the current Two Year Plan, added to the plan because Scande’s production of watts per capita falls behind some of the Core’s other countries. This has required investment in several new nuclear power facilities. No one is quite sure what the Scandians, lacking many consumer goods most Core citizens take for granted, will actually do with this power.

A notable quirk of the Scandian economy is its reliance on fossil fuels, in particular oil. Many of the jobs done by fossil fuels in Scande is done more cheaply elsewhere by magilyte fuels. Magilyte and the ‘magic minerals’ are almost exclusively reserved for military use, and Scande considers control of whatever magilyte reserves it has as an important national security priority. The need to develop and create a petroleum-based infrastructure and technology has required a major investment on Scande’s part that was unnecessary in many other countries.

One of Scande’s largest economic problems is its relative lack of arable land. Much of the good farmland in Dragon was poisoned by the Dark Wrath during the Great War. The Leviathan War caused this problem to reach its pinnacle. Scande’s own economy was strained, and the total destruction of the Protectorate spacefleet at the hands of the Sky Riders (preventing grain imports from the Fringe) caused rations to fall almost below the subsistence level. Conditions have improved somewhat because of the return of a strong Merge League, a large agricultural producer and one of the League’s main trading partners. The alliance with the FTSR has also assisted. Research into new methods of agriculture are second only to military technologies as a national priority; recent developments in aquaculture growing a kind of sea kelp are promising. Scande is so poor that the standard funeral ritual in the League is for the corpse to the deceased to be placed in communal recycling tanks to be converted into fertilizer.

Travin Rumanski is fully aware that starvation in the League could topple him.

Heavy industry is a relative strength of the Scandian economy, emphasized for many years because of its military potential. However, Scande has difficulty leveraging this because almost all of their heavy industry sector is devoted to the demands of Scande’s war machine. In fact, it is estimated that nearly half of Scande’s GDP is devoted to military matters. Surely if Scande was able to shift resources away from defense to other sectors, the economy would be much stronger overall, but most believe this is a suicidal option.

Scande is somewhat behind the Web in computer technology, tending to rely on the FTSR for what it has. Most computers are reserved for important government functions; personal computers as such don’t exist, and unauthorized access to the OmniNet is a crime.

One of the great achievements of the Travinist regime has been the construction of a system of compulsory education, administered by the Bureau of the People’s Schools (BPS). Education begins at the age of three in the children’s crèche; this is partly so that men and women can be in the workforce. Students are tested frequently for aptitude for different professions, and then channeled into appropriate education. When not in school many Scandian youth participate in junior party organizations like the komsomol, where they discuss party ideology and perform community service projects.

Most Scandians live in public housing dormitories. Rooms are assigned based on the size of the family. These dormitories are very ugly warrens of concrete, but they are clean, air-conditioned, and safe. Private residences are reserved exclusively for high-ranking party members; for security reasons, of course.

Law

Sedition is the primary concern in Scandian law. This is very broadly defined. Certainly anyone plotting to overthrow Comrade Rumanski is violating the law, but mere possession of religious texts or all but a very small number of ‘approved’ foreign books are considered sedition as well. People can be sent to prison for possession of something like a Tasnican fashion magazine. Generally, only some technical manuals, and the writings of Celiose Cole, are the only foreign books available to the population at large.

Membership in a racist organization such as the Human Nation is also considered sedition. Indeed, membership in any association not licensed by the Party is a punishable offense, or congregating in any group larger than ten people without government authorization. The most broadly defined offense of sedition is ‘conspiring to harm the Scandian economy’, or ‘wrecking’. Often, this is really just mere negligence or laziness at work. In a tragicomic farce, the keeper of the Tuntar zoo was sent to prison because all the monkeys there died. The zookeeper tried to defend himself by saying that it had been a cold winter that year, and all the monkey in the Winlan zoo (in the Tasnica Republic), with a similar climate, had also died. The hapless zookeepers was informed that that clearly meant that the zookeeper in Winlan had been trying to sabotage the Tasnican economy.

There is no right to trial in Scande, not even of a ‘guilty until proven innocent’ type. Instead, trials are used to make examples of people. Trials are high-profile spectacles, usually reserved for the most heinous and terrible offenders.

Scande uses the death penalty in many cases; it has more executions per capita than any nation in the Web. Sometimes an offender’s entire family will also be executed. However, hellish prisons also exist, and during the Leviathan War Rumanski formed the Vagrant Legions as penal units to help strengthen the Scandian military. People in the Legions are implanted with a small explosive in their brains that can be remotely detonated by any officer assigned to the Legions. The Vagrant Legions are typically not even issued weapons. They are expected to earn redemption by dying for Rumanski.

Corporal punishment is used by Scande for minor crimes such as graffiti or public disorderly conduct.

The Solidat (‘Solidarity’), with their yellow uniforms, are the obvious and omnipresent instruments of oppression in the League; one can see them on virtually every street corner. They can summarily execute virtually anyone. Cameras and microphones are in every public place in Scande and many apartments and houses, and every phone conversation is recorded. All Scandians carry an identification card at all times, which they must swipe whenever they enter or leave a building, allowing their comings and goings to be tracked. It is the Solidat that is responsible for maintaining this massive surveillance apparatus.

The Invisible Order’s existence is known only the very highest echelons of the party. The Invisible Order is extremely secretive, and their operatives are hidden everywhere. They report directly to Rumanski (or the Hand of Travin, Grimlock. The Invisible Order is most concerned with the groups Travin considers a threat his personal power, namely the Scandian League Combined Military, S/31, high-ranking party officials, and the Solidat; the Invisible Order watches the watchers.

Government

Travin Rumanski is the government of the Scandian League. Few rulers wield the same level of control over their subjects as Comrade Rumanski; the Scandian League truly is a totalitarian state.

Some vestiges of the old democratic government of the League exist, such as the Presidium, but for all intents and purposes the ruling organs of the Party are indistinguishable form the ruling organs of the country. And Rumanski, as General Secretary of the All-Union Communist Party (of the Dragon Dimension), is head of the party. Power tends to be attached to personality rather than position. For example, Boris Dalienin, one of the handful of surviving old guard communists, would be extremely powerful no matter what his job was.

Although Travin is in more or less total control, running a country takes a lot of work, particularly one as dependent on central planning as Scande. Travin appoints Commissars to each of Scande’s various regions, and also to various national departments such as the various economy commissars or the Commissar for External Affairs. Travin can dismiss or even execute any of them on a whim, and there’s nothing at all to stop him from tampering and intervening whenever he likes. The Scandian League Combined Military, under its Chief of Staff, Halder Skalice, is allowed a good degree of autonomy; Boris Dalienin at Agriculture has been given more freedom recently as well, a reward for his abilities at keeping the people fed despite the current blockade around Merge.

OZ is ruled differently. It is ruled by a Military Governor. Although Scande briefly toyed with the idea of ending military rule in the OZ, the fact is that Scande is still essentially waging a low-level military campaign against the Esperians there.

Internal Politics

The Party’s slogan is, “Solidarity. Socialism. Collectivism.” Solidarity is the principle that the Scandians are all one people, who must stand together. Socialism refers to the kind of society they wish to build, where everyone is cared for. Collectivism is the principle that the goals of the group transcend the goals of the individual.

High-level officials sometimes jockey for position, but real dissent is often silenced. The conditions of the Leviathan War gave rise to the so-called Speakers resistance movement, centering around the Voice of a Free League which was transmitted occasionally. Travin introduced several new innovations in his police state, notably the Solidat, in response. Now the Speakers are all but shut down, and the remaining factions have little in common for their goals of a post-Travinist Scande. Overall support for the Speakers from the general people has also waned as conditions improved since the crisis of the Leviathan War. People seem to be satisfied that Travin has provided food, order, and a reprieve from invasion. This makes Rumanksi arguably the most successful ruler of this troubled dimension’s history.

It should be noted that the largest segment of resistance to Travin’s communist rule in Scande itself is in the underground religious communities.

People are indoctrinated in school with the great achievements of the communist system. Some of them are correct for Scande to claim, such as its establishment of Dragon’s first good secular school system. Others, such as Scande’s triumph in the Leviathan War, are overstated.

There is still a guerilla resistance to Scandian rule in Esper, although Scandian policy in the Occupied Zone has begun to shift from one of bloody reprisal to one of indoctrination and accommodation. Scande has begun to promote local Esperian leaders to positions of some influence. Increasingly their efforts are focused on education and young people; recently the Esperian branch of the komsomol was introduced. (Vasil Ghed has been replaced as governor and executed; the old bloody policies were blamed on him, because of course Comrade Rumanski, as wise and benevolent as he is, would never countenance such a thing.)

Another notable conspiracy is the cabal of high-level officials known as the Organization of Winter. This includes such important figures as Boris Dalienin, Commissar for Agriculture, Dorath Haggard, Commandant of the Crucible, and Ivan Gletkin, head of S/31.

Foreign Politics

Scande’s politics were often marked by a policy of isolationism; however, recent events have shown that they have taken a more aggressive and expansionist stance. Travin, however, is first and foremost a pragmatist; having launched the first Leviathan War he is wary of embarking on another.

Scande has a deserved reputation as a champion of Communusm. In addition to founding the Communist Protectorate along with Ticondera and Hyliagrad, Scande gives substantial aid and assistance to communist nations and movements throughout the Web, even in places as remote and often neglected as Kuvalla and Terra Nostra. Initially the Protectorate was much weakened in the Leviathan War by the collapse of Hyliagrad and Ticondera and the exile of Tycoon. However, recent additions like Mysidia and Kuvalla and the relative success of the Merge League and FTSR against their regional rivals have led some to say that Scande and the communists are perhaps the leading Great Power. (The Tasnica Republic doesn’t admit it’s time in the sun is over just yet).

A great long-term foreign policy objective of Scande is to re-unite Ticondera under communist rule. Although two communist states formed from the fragments of Ticondera, Scande quickly chose the FTSR over the Viper District, largely due to the FTSR’s valuable assets like SkyNet, the Collective, the Waterguard, and high production of grain. Although the war has gone on longer than the Scandians had hoped; although they successfully captured Patrof, the difficult Ticonderan terrain, the Viper District’s use of banned weapons, and guerillas have slowed them down. It has, however, proven a handy place to give green troops experience.

Alkar the Black and the Merge League have emerged as one of Scande’s most important allies. They are key grain producers, they provide powerful magical users for the Protectorate, and they have successfully expanded their domain on Merge. Alkar’s triumphant return where he bested the Dwarven Skull Empire has made him something of a legend; Travin always preferred him to the more moderate Stantalias anyway.

Scande still hates the Esper Union, but in terms of enemies on the Web stage Guardia is now much more prominent. The Kingdom abandoned it’s old neutrality partly in response to developments in Merge; Guardia is now viewed by Scandian strategists as the primary threat and opponent.

Relations with the Tasnicans have improved considerably since the election of Kenny Brackhaven; indeed, the Prime Minister claimed détente as one of the great achievements of his first term in the 45 election. This status has allowed the Republic to play the role of go-between when other nations want to deal with Scande; Tasnica was able to secure the release of thousands of people from the Occupied Zone who still had relatives in Esper, for example.

Scande has recently shown itself willing to assist countries outside of the Protectorate, recently agreeing to dispatch elements of SLCM-Sea to Medina (provided Medina lease the bases) to help control the threat of pyra, a development the Guardians found extremely alarming. Many in Scande look at Medina and see themselves: a nation of many races with a troubled history.

Military

The Scandian League Combined Military is the foundation of Scande’s claim to being a major power. Scande has more men under arms than any country except the Esper Union and possess some weapons systems that rival even Guardian technology in complexity. The Crucible provides excellent officer training from officers who have just seen action at the front; Scande rotates officers so instructors at the Crucible are almost always people who have very recent combat experience. Military service is highly regarded in the League, being one of the only professions people can volunteer for in the command economy. Their development of excellent thermoptics, lidar, microwave guidance is remarkable given their relative lack of computer technology. Scandians have a known affinity for night combat. They have also executed amphibious operations with great skill, using large hovercraft for deployment.

Headquartered in Central Command, in the city of Scande, the SLCM has four branches: SLCM-Ground, SLCM-Sea, SLCM-Space, and SLCM-Air, in rough order of descending power. Scandian strategy tends to include elements of deception, which are combined with the lightning strikes of their fast ground forces to induce paralysis in the enemy. A favored Scandian tactics, favored especially by the Assault Engineers and biker scouts, is the practice of “headhunting”, the specific targeting of enemy officers to disrupt the chain of command. Scande is believed to continue development of Chemical weapons, although of course they deny this.

One of the striking things about the SLCM is that it is a relative haven of individualism and meritocratic innovation. Although military life is of course very organized and regimented, compared to life as a civilian in Scande there is a relative degree of freedom. By the time of the early 40s, Scandian military power (if not Scandian society) had largely recovered from the Leviathan War and high-ranking members of the military contemplated strategy. It was decided to expand SLCM-Sea, as the Scandians believed that control of the Web’s oceans would be relatively easy given the poor state of the sea forces of rival great powers. It was also decided to pursue a very aggressive pace of operations, many intended to assist allies. Some have cited these operations as evidence of incredible Scandian strength, although others have argued that such a rapid operational tempo has stretched SLCM to the limits.

• List of Large Ongoing Deployments
  • Task Force Stoat, commanded by Tribune Najim al-Kistani, deployed to Crystal to support Mysidia against Eblan
  • Task Force Timberwolf, commanded by Tribune Andrey Polovitch, deployed to Ticondera to help the FTSR wage war against the Viper District
  • Task Force Foxhound, deployed to the Occupied Zone, engaged in ongoing counterinsurgency operations and the first line against any operations by the Esper Union; commanded by Tribune Ghul Ducat
  • Task Force Tidehunter, primary naval units with only a small number of ground forces, deployed to the Velorian islands of Medina to help fight the war on pyra; commanded by Legate Hashem al-Istann

SLCM-Ground-commanded by Halder Skalice

The largest and most prestigious branch of the SLCM, and perhaps the most powerful ground force fielded by any nation. SLCM-Ground emphasizes stealthy, silent, sneaky stuff; the Dracoforms are a notable exception. SLCM-Ground has historically won its battles through finesse, disrupting the enemy and striking his weak points, rather than brute force.

• Mechanized Cavalry

The backbone of the SLCM are the Mechanized Infantry regiments, sometimes also known as the Mechanized Cavalry. They are APC-mounted infantry troops. The current model of their Infantry Carrier, the Juliean III, is a descendent of the infantry carrier designed by Burzmale, and some of Burzmale’s ideas still have a lot of influence in Scande’s military. Although most people think of the ponderous Dracoforms when thinking of Scande, the majority of the SLCM is built around speed , and the Mech Cav are no exception. The latest generation has reduced signature capabiltieis, including ECM and thermal baffles. In addition to night tactics, smoke grenades are often used for cover; the infantry carriers tend to be lightly armored. The mechanized infantryman themselves are usually equipped with Supervolt rifles, but needle carbines are also common, and for support arms they have access to airburst grenade launchers and electromag sniper rifles. The “Thumper” artillery vehicle with twin electromag mortars provides heavy fire support. The Mech Cav moves fast and still packs a punch.

• Biker Scouts

The Light Horse are also known as the Biker Scouts. These light troops are usually used as scouts and skirmishers, forming screens for Scande’s heavier troops and sometimes acting as harassers; they have an extensive track record as anti-guerilla troops in Esper and Ticondera. They use a Scandian knockoff of a Guardian jetbike, powered by a petrol engine; the Scandian version is generally inferior. The Biker Scouts wear personal armor that is not quite properly called a battlesuit, but has built in sensor and communications capabilities. They are trained extensively in wilderness survival, and often operate autonomously behind enemy lines gathering information. The Biker Scouts themselves usually back a needle machine pistol, although some of them operate as snipers. The Scandian version of the jetbike has a forward-mounted machine gun and a grenade launcher.

• Tanks

Despite the emphasis on mecha on the modern Web battlefield, the SLCM still maintains large tank forces. The primary tank is the Platinum Light Tank, although is backed up by a supervolt-equipped tank known as a Zapper. The tanks are usually used for swift, swooping assaults. Traditionally they spearheaded the Mech Cav assaults, but the League has increasingly turned to Dracoforms for that mission and relegated the tanks ‘cavalry roles’: destruction of a weak or weakened forces and pursuit of a defeated enemy. Put together, the Mech Cav and light tanks give the Scandians a capacity for rapid, lightning strikes that often catch their enemies off guard.

• Assault Engineers

Sometimes overlooked but undoubtedly important are Scande’s two regiments of Assault Engineers. These troops are skilled in the construction (and demolition) of various kinds of field works and fortifications. They are issued a construction-oriented mecha known as the moleform which also has powerful digging claws. The moleform can rapidly dig trenches or latrines necessary for an armed camp, or can burrow underground to breach enemy fortifications. The top of the moleform is a hose which is used to either spray a liquid form of plastic explosive or foamcrete for rapid construction of defensive barriers.They are also capable of carrying a special pontoon bridge on their back to allow the SLCM to surmount river obstacles easily. Because of their burrowing capability, the Assault Engineers are often used for special forces-type missions, such as the “headhunting” of high-ranking enemy officers practiced in the Leviathan War. They are invaluable against tough fortifications, and one of the reasons the SLCM would have a chance in hell of taking Kohlingen. Only the First Regiment is deployed as a whole regiment; Second Regiment’s component brigades are deployed separately, offering the Assault Engineers’ support expertise to many different units.

• Dracoforms Service

The Dracoforms Service, with its six regiments, are the Scandian League’s most elite troops. They run against the typical grain of the SLCM in many ways. For one thing, Dracoforms are craft to resemble dragons, while most Scandian military technology is ugly. More significantly is the divergence from the SLCM’s usual emphasis on speed; all Dracoforms produced so far are very slow. Scande claims to field the most advanced mecha forces of any nation, and although Scande claims a lot of things, this is one claim that should be taken seriously. There are two main models of Dracoforms. The frist is the Zog Heavy Assault Dracoform, which comprises the majority of the force. The Zogs are the Dracoforms that inspired such awe at Hosluftgrad, the Dracoforms that swatted tanks aside like flies and totally ignored infantry defenses. They have enormous firepower, and are heavily armored, but slow and clumsy. The Ryu Close Combat Dracoform is the short range “bodyguard” to the Zog. The Scandians consider it a medium mecha, but it is a heavy machine by the standards of the Web. The Ryu is somewhat more agile and maneuverable and packs a shield and supervolt whip for close combat. Typically a Ryu hangs back to guard three Zogs. Against anything but other mecha, the Ryu’s close combat expertise is rarely needed. Recent access to more magilyte have allowed the SLCM to begin fielding the Ahzam, a Dracoform with three long-range Luminaire cannon.

Training as a Dracoform pilot is extremely rigorous, but they receive special privileges, such as their unique cloak (green for most, red for aces). Dracoforms regiments are typically used against heavy resistance, or to force a breakthrough in an extremely fortified line. Dracoform pilots receive special training, and they have several special ceremonies associated with that training. First they must walk across the length of the continent, from Arad to Scande, and where they will then be granted a personal audience with Rumanski and receive his personal permission to serve. Dracoforms built since the Leviathan War have a portrait of Rumanski in them, as if they were a personal gift from the man himself. In the final weeks Dracoforms cadets must drink an entire liter of vodka shot-by-shot. Finally, the Dracoforms graduation ceremony is held on the remnant of the isle of Megiddo, site of an enormous battle many years ago (and origin of the word “Armageddon.”) Most officer graduates are assigned to regiments that need them, but in the Dracoforms Service the different regiments take turns picking which cadets they wish to serve; a different regiment goes first every year. Most pilots have the right wear a green cloak with the dust gray Scandian uniform; aces are allowed a red cloak. There are six Dracoforms regiments, and they have names rather than numbers: the Supernovae, the Scarlet Death, Travin’s Terror, Midnight Thunderclap, Spirit’s Furty, and the Steelhearts. One on one, a Dracoform typically beats anything short of a Seraphim.

• Vagrant Legions

Penal units of the League compelled upon threat of death (or death of loved ones) to perform suicidal tasks like clearing minefields by walking through them.

SLCM-Sea

In the early forties Scande began expansion of its oceanic navy, sensing that other powers had neglected the seas in favor of aerospace power and that, for a relatively small investment, they could gain control of the waves. Combined with the FTSR Waterguard, the Communists field the strongest navy in the Core.

SLCM-Sea has what could be best described as “an attitude problem”; they view themselves as clearly the best of the four branches of the SLCM. Air and Space are obviously inferior, and Ground is filled with dunderheads who just don’t listen.

• Carrier Groups-Geogri Tarkov

The cornerstone of Scandian sea power is the carrier group; Scande has large carriers (Kraken) and also light carriers (Hives); new construction has mostly been Hives, which are faster and cheaper to build, although the Krakens can launch larger aircraft. SLCM-Sea pilots are widely regarded as superior to their counterparts in SLCM-Air, and have access to better aircraft, such as the Bloodhawk jumpjet (a mainstay) and new tilt-wing craft being developed. Carrier Groups not only include the carriers themselves but also numerous vessels meant to defend these expensive ships. Gaat-type destroyers are equipped with antipodes for anti-aircraft and anti-missile work as well as depth charges for anti-submarine warfare; the Eraser-type is loaded with Ticonderan-made electronics to jam incoming missiles. Samson cruisers are also attached to carrier groups but often roam independently as commerce raiders, as well.

• Submarines

The Wavekiller submarine is relatively small (a crew of 64) and extremely stealthy, cloaked with advanced electronics and spells woven by Merge League mages; the FTSR variant, the Wave Zero, is even more stealthy. The Wavekiller is designed mainly to attack other ships with torpedoes; its relative success has prompted Scande to commence development of other submarines, including “boomer” missile attack submarines, submarines designed explicitly to re-supply other submarines, and is rumored to even be contemplating building an underwater Dracoform.

• Special Operations

SLCM-Sea enjoys a close relationship with S/31, as it is their submarines which often insert and extract operatives. SLCM-Sea’s forces in Medina have recently begun their own program of special operators, called the Orcas, specializing in seizing ships and underwater demolitions, to help fight the war on Pyra; it remains to be seen whether or not the program will take flight.

SLCM-Air

SLCM-Air has suffered somewhat from the defection of its leader, Kel Hothead. However, it has a simple mission: keep the ground forces from being torn to pieces by enemy aircraft. Although they have some tactical bombers, about ninety percent of the Air Service is fighter aircraft. Most of these are Dragonwing fighters, a classic stripped-down, fast interceptor. The Air Service has thus far been unable to gain access to Bloodhawk jump jets used by the navy. The ground forces themselves also operate substantial anti-aircraft units; the SLCM is probably more afraid of being attacked from the air than any other military. They still see SRAN as an inevitable opponent, and Scandian thinking is that they can win a war on the ground if they can keep air power from being brought to bear.

SLCM-Space

Space is one of the most glaring weaknesses of the Protectorate; they have never fully recovered from their defeat in the Leviathan War, and recently suffered a major defeat at the hands of the Guardian Space Fleet in Merge. Partly, this a function of economics: space warfare tends to be dominated by magitek cannon and missiles, the Communist web still does not posess magilyte in sufficient quantities to field these weapons in large numbers; Scande’s expterise in ballistic weapons counts for much less in space than it does on the ground. Most of the Protectorates old space fleet revolved around a mix of heavy dreadnaughts and cheap fighter swarms, and SLCM-Space inherited much of the leftovers; old Warhammer dreadnaughts still serve as flagships. The new goal of SLCM-Space is not so much to win the space war as to not lose it.

SLCM-Space’s best weapons systems are supervolt coils and Thor torpedoes (based on the same technology). These weapons are used to disable enemy ships and their various systems. The core of the new SLCM-Space is the Faris destroyer and Lenna medium cruisers, named for the rulers of Tycoon in honor of the exiled nation’s relative success in space during the Leviathan War. Both are simple, efficient, economical and rather unremarkable designs. Inferior in most respects to their counterparts like the GSF Blackbird and the RAF Jema.

The Cossack raider uses some of Scande’s expertise in sneakiness and stealth to make it much harder to detect and supervolt weapons to disable enemy ships. Somewhat inspired by the Unbound, the Cossack is a purpose-built commerce raider. SLCM-Space hopes that these ships will tie down numerous enemy assets behind the lines.

It is worth noting that the Scandians briefly experimented with space combat mecha, developing a space combat Dracoform called the Teridex. Arguably, pursuing this avenue to its fullest would have been the best chance for Scande to emerge as a great space power, but instead it was decided to focus on building up sea forces. Only a relatively small number of these space combat Dracoforms exist. The Teridexes are in modified Serpent-carriers, and are deployed as a sort of ‘fire brigade’ to where space power is most needed. The space forces consider them elite, but the Dracoforms Service considers them inferior. The pilots of the Teridexes style themselves the “seventh Dracoform regiment” and calling themselves the Zodiac, for the 12 Serpent carriers in their group. (By contrast, in the Leviathan War the communist space fleet deployed several hundred carriers carrying Predator fighters. Almost all of them were wiped out.) The Zodiac would describe themselves as an elite unit, but compared to the GSF or RAF they would merely pass as above-average.

SLCM-Space sees space warfare in terms of a siege, and they have built large defense installations in areas deemed valuable (like, for example, all of Dragon Dimension.) In Dragon, these include large manned defense platforms, mindfields, remote-controlled sentry guns, and rings of fighter bases; these extensive installations would allow SLCM-Space to fight a superior space force on something like equal terms in their home dimension. They have brought the same attitude to Crystal, building a space fortress called the Righteous and Resilient Fist (nicknamed the Ugly as Sin) in Dragon and towing it to Crystal III orbit.

S/31-Ivan Gletkin

Although not affiliated with the SLCM, S/31, Scande’s intelligence agency, plays an increasingly important role in the defense of the League; Gletkin is considered to be performing much more successfully in his role as S/31 Chief than his predecessors. (Who have all been executed. Someone in charge of intelligence tends to learn too much for Rumanski’s comfort.) S/31 does not have the same level of technological toys employed by some of its rivals, but they are possessed of a very Scandian brutal pragmatism and a willingness to use extreme methods. One very good example of these extreme methods is the use of deep cover agents who are surgically modified and replace someone; S/31 has at least one of these in almost every major city in the Web to serve as section chief. Reputedly some high ranking personages in the Web are in fact Scandian agents. However, the ideal target for replacement is someone with a low profile but lots of access; janitors and maintenance crews are favorites, as are low-level staffers such as secretaries. They have also had very good luck infiltrating the press, which also serves S/31’s agenda to plant disinformation and deception about the Scandian League. S/31 is also very interested in developments in military technology, particularly mecha technology; Scande does not wish to lose its edge.

S/31 agents usually (but not always) operate alone; famously, no S/31 agent has ever been captured alive. There are some Merge League-trained mages in their ranks, but S/31 is not nearly the magical powerhouse ZAPS is. When necessary some S/31 agents make use of combat-enhancing drugs developed by the Ticonderans; some have gone so far as to have a reserve of the drug surgically implanted, the drug released into the bloodstream with a mental command. S/31 also works extensively with local sympathizers and political groups; a specialized agent, known as the “internationalist”, is similar to the Merge League Seeder in that his occupation is assisting revolutions in foreign countries.

Crimson Guard

Travin’s personal protectors are known as the Crimson Guard, and they are the only people allowed to carry weapons in his presence (even high ranking SLCM officers must take off their weapons). Although it is widely believed that every member of the Crimson Guard can transform into a Dragon, in reality only two can. At least one of these two is with Rumanski at all times.

People

• Travin Rumanski

Travin Rumanski is the master of the Scandian League, a totalitarian despot. With the official title of General Secretary of the All-Union Communist Party (of the Dragon Dimension), Rumanski rules supreme over almost all aspects of Scandian life. Sometimes he seems less like a man than a force for Web communism. Those in the nomenklatura refer to him as koyzha (boss). In 28 he engineered the Dawn Revolution and spent the next year deposing of his various intra-party rivals; since then his rule has only been seriously challenged by the Voice of a Free League.

Despite his heated rhetoric, establishing himself as a stalwart of Web communism, his foreign policy shows a deeply pragmatic streak. He’s good to his allies, supports GACA, knew when to call it quits in the Leviathan War, and is widely viewed as much more reluctant to engage in a new war than his counterpart Alkar (or even, arguably, Derik). Interestingly, before the Leviathan War the majority of communist regimes were ‘nice, warm, and fuzzy’, but after the Leviathan War Travin’s style has become more the norm. He is hated by some, loved by others, but feared by all.

• Halder Skalice

Chief of Staff of the Scandian League Combined Military, and technically also Ground Forces Trustee. A grey-furred forest clanner. Even Skalice’s principle opponent, TO Halberg, conceded he was a genius. Arguably the best tactician in the service of any nation, and on the short list of the best overall generals in national employ as well. When Skalice and Halberg worked together (unknown to Travin) to defeat the New Wraith, the two swore to try to prevent a Second Leviathan War. Skalice is doing his best, but it is also his plain duty to serve Scande.

• Jendon Fel

Widely regarded as the best Dracoform pilot in the League. A powerfully built, handsome black human who is featured prominently in Scande’s propaganda campaigns. His specially-built Dracoform, the Onyx Drake, is the pride of League mecha engineering. An expert shot. Known for his strange (and atypically Scandian) code of honor. Holds the rank of Commander, which allows him to still see combat often. Not assigned to any regiment; deployed independently, wherever needed or wherever he feels like.

• Sheila Sporr

Often called the League’s “second best” mecha pilot. Fel beat Sporr, leaving Sporr with a scar across her face (both pilots used Zogs). She has long dark hair, down to her waste, and her lipstick, ring, and even her pleasingly plump quality are all extravagant by Scandian standards. Reputedly a little bit insane. Sporr is a Commander in the Supernovae regiment, and although she would like the Onyx Drake or other unique Dracoform, she still pilots a Zog. Although responsible for commanding a battalion, she delegates a lot of that work to her hapless staff chief. Hates her dead mother. Champion of the inaugural Robotics Tournament, although her performance in the second tournament was very disappointing. Nicknamed the “Iron Maiden”.

• Yuri Sporr

Sheila’s brother. Physically disabled, Yuri has been granted his Blue Papers, promising he would be taken care of and exempting him from the need to work. Spends a lot of time reading. Much more enamored of his mother than Sheila is. Their mother was supposedly killed in an attempted Fascist counterrevolution in the bedlam during the struggle for power. Yuri loves kids.

• Kreyta Rodenko

In training, she was called the Ice Queen because she rarely spoke with anyone. Pale blue eyes conceal a ruthless dedication to piloting. Easily the best recent graduate of the Crucible, although not perhaps quite on the level of Sporr or Fel just yet. Sporr recognizes her skill, but doesn’t like her. Nonetheless, Kretya is assigned to pilot a Ryu in Sporr’s command company in the Supernovae. Kreyta’s often takes assignments for the Organization of Winter, and her hidden patron has helped her secure a promotion to the rank of Tetracom. Considered a rising star in the Dracoforms Service, Kreyta is a cold and methodical pilot.

• Dorath Haggard

Superintendent of the Crucible, the SLCM officer’s academy, and arguably second only to Skalice for transforming the SLCM into a quality organization. Like many of the League’s senior military men, Haggard fought in resistance movements, and is covered in scars and wounds. It is Haggard who instituted some of the Crucible’s most backbreaking rituals, such as the Suicidal Sophomore Salute. The Crucible isn’t for molding people, he says, but breaking them. A high-ranking member of the Organization of Winter.

• Boris Dalienin

Commissar for Agriculture, and the de facto head of the Organization of Winter. Probably the third most powerful man in the League. The Organization of Winter is a conspiracy kept secret from Rumanski, a cabal of relatively high-level Scandian officials with unknown goals. Dalienin also chairs the Council for Economic Planning, which produces the Two Year Plans that are the hallmark of the Scandian command economy. Also, besides Rumanski, the sole surviving member of the original Executive Committee for the Revolution.

• Ivan Gletkin

S/31 Chief, Ivan is therefore responsible for all Scandian foreign intelligence as well as fermenting revolution abroad. A short, stocky man, Ivan is aware that S/31 Chiefs have a short life span in Scande; Travin doesn’t like other people with access to lots of secrets. With Haggard and Dalienin, Gletkin rounds out the top triumvirate of the Oranization of Winter.

• Enrika Epyon

Enrika Epyon, like Halder, worked in the resistance movement, Rabies. During the days of the Great War the two were romantically involved, but their paths diverged afterward. Enrika is an accomplished White Mage, and is currently working as a physician in Arad. Enrika is also involved with the highest tiers of the Speakers resistance movement. Although she has resumed her old friendship with Halder, she has neither told him of her reistance involvement or resumed their romantic relationship. The resistance movement isn’t doing so well right now.

• Gekar (“the Leader”)

Besides the mysterious voice, Gekar is the head of the Speakers Resistance movement. Some wonder how he can evade the Scandian security forces for so long when he does so much to keep it together. The answer is simple: Gekar is not a Scandian citizen. He’s a Dragon. Specifically, a Silver Wyrm. Although not as powerful as Lofwyr, Gekar is more powerful than Suza. It is the custom of the Silvers to help those genuinely in need, and he had to admit that the Scandian people seemed genuinely in need. He mostly uses his powers to hide while he organizes the resistance. Still, the Speakers resistance movement has been waning for some time, and the existence of such a central figure is known to Travin. Capturing him as a major goal.

• The Voice of a Free League

The League used to issue forth regular radio transmissions and pamhplets criticising Rumanksi. In its heydey, the Leage had a decent-sized following. Travin’s crackdown, however, and improving conditions have led the Voice to wither; it has not transmitted in over a year.

• Sud Bloodbane (“the Priest”)

The Speakers’ contact man with the Draggoneth religious community. Like all ordained Draggoneth priests, Sud is castrated. An Arad dwarf (sometimes called desert dwarves). Sud’s dream is to re-establish Aradia as an independent nation, ruled under the laws proscribed by the One Dragon God. He’s getting impatient with his fellow Speakers.

• Vasil Ghed

With the rank of Tribune, Ghed was the Military Governor of the Occupied Zone in Esper; in this role, he was totally unrestrained in his use of terror and brutality. He infamously ordered that any time an Esperian killed a Scandian five hundred Esperians would be killed, beginning with the perpetrator and his family. However, he has been replaced with a more geneteel commander, and the trial that followed showed to everyone that he was plotting evil and nefarious schemes until Our Leader and Teacher Supercomrade Rumanski discovered what was going on and put a stop to them. We are so lucky to live under the enlightened reign of such a man as Rumanski!

• Ghul Ducat

A human, originally from Bleak, the new military governor of OZ and the man responsible for Scande’s first line of defense against the Esperians. Ghul Ducat has been much more conciliatory towards the occupied population than his predecessor; he has abolished the labor camps once and for all, focused on rebuilding schools, and introduced certain Scandian party organizations like the komsomol and opened them up to Esperian membership. He even has an appointed council of Esperians to give him advice on how to best govern the OZ. Scande is still engaged in a very real struggle against guerilla forces, but the effort is now more restrained and subtle.

• Nicholas Barmenov

Political officer. Often assigned to persons of note traveling abroad to make sure that they don’t defect, speak to the press, or do anything else disloyal. A royal pain in the ass.

• Andrey Polovitch

A former commander of a tank regiment in the Leviathan War. Promoted Tribune for the relative success of his regiment at Second Hosluftgrad. Plays the violin. A fanatical communist.

• Georgi Tarkov

SLCM-Sea Trustee. A massive black human. A devotee of “Power Projection Doctrine,” centering around aircraft carriers. Also fond of Wavekiller submarines, where the Scandians pioneered some of their excellent stealth technologies. Georgi is very happy that he seems to be moving up in the world as the sea forces become second only to the ground forces in the SLCM hierarchy.

• Kel Hothead

Arad dwarf, and SLCM-Air Trustee; recently defected to the Tasnica Republic, where he provided the RFIA with a picture of Scandian military might that led the Tasnicans to conclude the Scandians (especially their space forces) were much more powerful than previously believed.

• Mikhail Zolistky

SLCM Space Forces Trustee. Scande claims he’s as good as Thames, but Scande claims a lot of things, and with the paucity of resources given to the space forces there’s no way Mikhail’s real skill will ever be tested. Despises Georgi Tarkov and SLCM-Sea.

• Sonya Hellcova (or, Sonya of the Clock)

S/31 operative trained in Time magic by the Scandians’ Merge League allies. S/31 does not use as many magicians as ZAPS, but they do have a few, and these operative are very valuable. Sonya has a professional aversion to using guns. Spent the several years undercover in Eblan learning martial arts under the tutelage of Ichiro Mitsuhama; she is also a qualified mecha pilot. Recently involved in several operations stealing advanced mecha prototypes from the Kuat Consortium.

• Tommy Freimensch

Not his real name. An S/31 operative surgically altered to replace the Tasnican Tommy Freimensch a number of years ago. He has been in deep cover, undetected, for several years now. His cover identity is a reporter with Defense Weekly . In his clandestine activities he serves as Egmont Station Chief. He has also been recruited to the Organization of Winter by his boss, Ivan Gletkin, although he does not know the other top-tier leaders of the Organization. No longer recalls his birth name.

• Nikolai Serchenko

Commissar for External Affairs, and therefore Scande’s chief diplomat. One of the more sycophantic people of the top tier. Comrade Rumanski too often falls into the role of the iron fisted brute when dealing with foreign heads of state, so Nikolai is used for a more delicate touch. Those who deal with Serchenko know that ‘delicate touch’ is a very relative term.

• Lev Yezovitch

Commissar for Light Industry, the lowest ranking member of the Economic Planning Council. A devoted communist and something of a rising star, but also something of an iconoclast and provocateur. Champions unusual ideas like opening up trade with the rest of the Web to alleviate Scande’s chronic shortage of consumer goods. Many of his ideas have been rejected.

• Rubikall

One of the Crimson Guard that can actually transform into a Dragon. Rubikall is one of the last Light Dragons. He and his wife, Malicent, serve Rumanski tirelessly, fearful that a mob would kill them without his protection because of the great hatred the general populace feels for Dragon Clanners. His wife Malicent is one of the last Dark Dragons. One of them is with Rumanski at all times, at least since an Esperian in the OZ tried to assassinate Travin on one of the General Secretary’s rare visits outside Scande. The couple have a child being raised in a secret location, and Rumanski has guaranteed his safety.

• Hashem al-Istaani

SLCM-Sea Legate, the youngest person to hold that rank in the SLCM; a human with dark skin, in charge of SLCM forces in the Valoria islands of Medina. Believes that if SLCM-Sea ran things instead of the “dunderheads from Ground” Scande would have already conquered capitalism by now. Waging a war to clear the islands of the Castiglione Rings.

• Regnar Beltran

SLCM-Sea Commander, placed in charge of the effort to create the Orcas, a special warfare team of SLCM-Sea. The Orcas have been created to board enemy ships so they can secure evidence and prisoners in Scande’s island-hopping war. Until recently served in the Naval Infantry, but also has tours in the Mech Cav under his belt. Has also recruited Sassy Beckwith, an ex GA Grenadier, and Deltaf Kaful, a sniper from the biker scouts who served in S/31.

Cities

• Scande

“For Communism”

Scande is the capital of the Scandian League (obviously). It is a natural fortress, surrounded by water and mountains on all sides. Supposedly founded by Vashilov the Terrible, who founded the first empire of humans in Dragon and thus brought an end to the Time of Titans. Today, artificial emplacements enhance this formidable defense. Entrance is tightly restricted. Burzmale’s tomb is located in Scande. It gets very few visitors, largely due to the League’s “no tourist” policy.

• Arad

“Oil for the League”

Arad is the key oil producer in the League. Extensive oil facilities are being rebuilt here; they were mysteriously destroyed during the Leviathan War, but were eventually rebuilt. Anyone capable of penetrating the Scandian defensive net must have formidable stealth capabilties indeed. Since Arad is in the desert, water must be pumped here from the coastal desalinization plants. Arad is tightly watched because it is known that the dwarves have not all been happy about losing the old religion and its associated harems. It is far too critical a location to risk.

Arad itself is surrounded by many large “oil towns” that place workers near the larger deposits of oil; some of these are hundreds of thousands of people. Only Scande’s massive water projects have allowed enough people to be in the desert to extract the oil that is the League’s lifeblood.

Arad is also near the location of the Crucible, the Scandians’ brutal training academy. It is also a common place for Scandians to conduct military exercises and test new equipment.

• Gramor

“The Communist Underground”

Gramor is where the mole people (Gramorians or Mogus) of the Dragon dimension live. Their natural aptitude for digging have allowed the League access to considerable mineral wealth. In addition, they aided the development of the moleform, a vehicle used by the Assault Engineers to burrow under fortifications.

The Gramor College of Engineering is also located here. It is one of the leading colleges in the Communist Web.

• Auria

“The Gilded City”

Upon occupying this city, the Scandian government took all the gold in the city and used it to expand the military and fund the Aurian Canal to connect the Interior Ocean with Exterior Ocean. This is only one of two canals in the dimension connecting the two oceans, the other, the Terok Canal, was constructed by the Grand Army in Winlan during the Great War and is currently under Tasnican control. Auria is the primary Scandian sea port.

• Bleak

“Scum of the League”

Bleak is the location of the traditional theives guild of Dragon. Like most countries, the Scandian League outlaws theft. That hasn’t stopped the thieves; Bleak is the biggest black market city in the League, and the thieves have proven skillful at evading any measures taken against them. There are rumors of “fusion” abilities, but these have so far gone unverified. Recently, Bleak become a waypoint for smugglers from the Fringe, bringing in Naba’al spice. The spice trade is growing rapidly in Scande, despite government efforts to shut it down.

• Spring

“You know, given the history of this dimension, I’d say something bad happens to our breadbasket in Spring in the next decade or so.” –Former Commissar for Agriculture Nomov; executed within a month of that statement.

Spring is, true to its name, a lovely city. It is the location of the Spring University of Natural Sciences, which is a leader in, well, the Natural Sciences. Spring is also a main agricultural facility; some believe that the soil has received some magical enhancements and that is how it defeated the Dark Wrath’s poisoning. Most people in Scande live here if they have a choice.

• Gant

“Welcome the Scandians as liberators! Put down your weapons and join the Revolution!”-Pamphlet distributed in Gant during the Imperialist War

This is the main city in the Gant region that the League annexed in the Imperialist War. The Gantians were always technologically inclined, and this has become a major industrial production center for the League. The Scandians, always doing their best to accomodate all their races, have set up most things in Gant to be appropriate for Gantians, rather than humans to use.

Gantians have worked with Merge League mages to attempt to meld technology and magic; to create a new approach to magitek. The ultimate goal of the project is a golem factory, and the theoritical work looks promising, although they have yet to create it as a matter of practical application.

Gant is the location of many of the League’s industrial complexes, including the largest, the Zavod imeni Rumanski (“Factory Named for Rumanski”).

• Tantar and Tuntar

“The Twin Cities”

The once fertile riverbed of these cities fell victim to the Dark Wrath’s scorched earth policy. It is still a center of logging because of its location near the forest, although the League harvests lumber responsibily and replants trees--the Forest clanners have a large ecological gait.

Tantar has a massive arena for party rallies, when it serves the party to have them outside of Scande. Tuntar is home to numerous forest clanners, many of whom serve in the military.

• South Hosluftgrad

“Mr. Rumanski, tear down this wall.”-Rhodes Palmerston

At the end of the Leviathan war, Hosluftgrad was divided into a Scandian south and Esperian north.

The city is of tremendous strategic importance, as it would be the front line in case of another war with Esper. The region was accorded top priority for rebuilt regiments and new equipment. Indeed, the Military Governer’s main orders are simple: “If the Esperians attack, don’t let them through.”

North and South are divided by a massive wall. The Hosluftgrad Wall has ditches, barbed wire, machine gun towers, and is reinforced by the rubble of nearby buildings. The wall was built as much to keep escaping Esperians in as to keep invading Esperians out.

• Emerald City

“Vector Base”

The main Scandian military base in occupied Esper is nicknamed “Emerald City,” and officially known as Vector Base. The Scandians deemed it easier to build a new base between Hosluftgrad and Tzen instead of tryng to secure one of the Esperian cities. The heart of Vector Base is the heavily fortified command bunker. Emerald City is well-defended, even by Scandian standards, and is the headquarters for the OZ government and all military operations in Esper. Vector Base is built as a bulwark against invasion and a springboard for a possible premptive strike into Esperian territory.

• Tzen

“Your children will grow up communist.” –Travin Rumanski

Tzen is a mining town with coal and iron resources which are now being put to work for the League instead of the Union. Still a hotbed for resistance fighters, the infrastructure of Tzen is finally being properly rebuilt.

History

• Founding

Scande is still dominated and scarred by the terrible experience of Dragon in the Great War. Different factions vied for dominance, and the cities of Dragon changed hands more times than any other. The Dark Wrath used chemical weapons liberally in its anti-guerilla campaign; the Grand Army’s strategic bombing offensive leveled whole cities. Much of the dimension’s arable land was left unusable. Of the pre-Great War governments in the dimension only Winlan survived; this is much different from Crystal were many monarchs were able to survive in exile and (briefly) re-establish order after the war. A new nation had to be created atop the rubble.

The Scandian League was founded in 27 WR as part of various peace settlements of the Great War. By the end of the war its territories were subject to so many competing claims it was deemed best just to start over with a new country. However, Scande’s territory consisted of the left and right halves of the “donut”; it was divided in the middle by Winlan in the North and Gant in the south. Scande’s original government was democratic; each of the major cities sent a representative to an executive council called the Presidium. The Presidium was tasked with drawing a provisional constitution and administering elections for a legislative body. It accomplished neither of these.

The Presidium rapidly fell prey to corruption and internal infighting. Tasnican corporations bribed Presidium officials in exchange for valuable mineral rights; in this short time they were able to strip-mine much of the dimension’s magilyte. The Guardians, new to the Web and eager to expand their influence, made an offer of several valuable weapons technologies; this is why the SLCM to this day uses antipode weaponry and other technologies of Gate origin. It soon became evident to one of the only Presidium members who was not corrupt, Travin Rumanski, that the existing order was replicating the old order, and unless something was done the Dragon dimension would be carved up by foreign powers.

• Dawn Revolution-28 WR

In response to this, workers and intellectuals formed the All-Union Communist Party (of the Dragon Dimension), consisting of all the nascent labor unions of the League. Travin enjoyed such a good reputation as someone who speaks for the people the Steelworkers union chose him as their representative; he was also elected to the most important party organ, the Executive Committee for the Revolution. Other members included Titodov Penganin (Party President), Marsha Polenko (Party Vice President), and Boris Dalienin (Party Chairman, a post he later resigned). General Secretary was considered a rather unglamorous but necessary post; Titodov, the foreign-educated intellectual who founded the party, tended to view Travin as someone unglamorous but necessary. The party’s slogan of “Solidarity. Socialism. Collectivism” soon became a rallying cry across the dimension.

Nonetheless, it was Travin’s plan for the revolution that was followed. Workers across Scande launched a massive strike, paralyzing society. The government ordered Halder Skalice to intervene, but Skalice refused, and the party soon seized control. There was a split in the party over the proper actions to took over the KMT War. Titodov believed that Caidin was correct and that communism would soon sweep over the Web and destroy GACA; Travin, more pragmatic, preferred to support GACA and build up the Scandian nation. With the support of Dalienin and the SLCM, Travin deposed his rivals within the party. By the end of 28, he was the de facto ruler of Scande.

• Pre-Leviathan War Caution: 29-35 WR

Scande tended to be isolationist for a number of years as it embarked on a crash program of rapid modernization, with a focus on heavy industry. The seizure of foreign factories built in the era of the Presidium helped somewhat; some of the Great War-era factories and infrastructure built by the Dark Wrath were repaired, as well. Scande also began to develop new weapons technologies such as electromagnetic cannon and mecha. Scande also worked to foster communism across the Web, founding the Communist Protectorate with Hyliagrad and Ticondera in 31 WR. The Protectorate began to be viewed as an alternative to the Fascist Pact, and expanded into the Fringe in Tycoon and the Merge League and in Crystal in Damcyan. These alliances allowed the Protectorate to enter the realm of space by building a joint space fleet. Scande connected its two sides early in the Age of Imperialism during the Imperialist War by fermenting revolutions in Gant and Winlan; Gant was annexed, although Winlan was saved by Tasnican intervention and became part of the Republic.

Scande laid during the Omnisent Conflict as it was still largely engaged in building itself up. However, the growing power of the Fascists alarmed it, especially when the Esper Union started building colonies in Light and Dragon. Although Dain Kordridge negotiated a settlement in Light the Scandians demanded that Esper leave the dimension. Travin knew that Hannibal would eventually threaten the society he had built. Imperialism had left the Great Powers gorged on the smaller countries, it would only be a matter of time before they turned their sites on each other.

• Leviathan War, 36-37 WR

(Note: At this time, the Communist Protectorate consisted of the Scandian League, Hyliagrad, Ticondera, Damcyan, Tycoon, and the Merge League; their opponents, the Fascist Pact, consisted of the Esper Union, Toroia, Fabul, and the Dwarven Skull Empire.)

The Leviathan War was one Great Power’s attempt to destroy another.

The Leviathan War originally began between Kakkara and Tasnica; Queen Khandra cynically appealed to all the other great powers of the Web for help. This was an recipe for disaster, as Scandian troops and Esperian forces soon clashed in the sands of Kakkara. (Both sides withdrew their support when it became clear Khandra was actually planning on starting a war with Tasnica; through the efforts of her skilled general, Fremen, the Republic Marine Corps was kept tied down for most of the war.) The keg had been lit.

Halder Skalice’s capture of Nikeah launched the war in earnest; it shocked the Web, and is still held up as a tactical masterpiece today. The Scandians began with a small operation in Doma, aided by local groups; the Esperians soon dispatched a large contingent of troops to crush the small incursion. This left Nikeah’s forces somewhat depleted and open to attack. Assault Engineers penetrated the command levels of the EUS underneath the city and transmitted the locations of regimental headquarters to Scandian tank forces. This allowed the Scandian offensive to locate and disrupt command/control/communications. Characteristically, this offensive was launched at night, where they could make use of their excellent thermographic and night vision technology.

Stunned and confused, the Esperians retreated south. They were able to reorganize a defense around Hosluftgrad, a meatgrinder battle that stalled the communists for several months; it was not until the Scandians deployed Dracoforms for the first time that they were able to raise the siege. Tzen and Mobliz shortly followed.

The Protectorate Space Fleet proved completely inadequate to stop the SRAN, however, and the EU managed to rally some hope from their crushing and decisive space victory.

The Scandians had not factored in the leadership of TO Halberg; although the EUS itself was in tatters, Halberg was able to create a whole new army of international volunteers, STORMs, mercenary units, corporate armies, R-CONs, and other forces. The diverse array of forces could only have been made to do the job of an army by someone like Halberg. The forces were rallied at Kohlingen; Halder prepared invasion plans, believing that the decisive battle was about to be fought.

However, Damcyan had completely botched its invasion of Fabul. Travin demanded that Skalice prop up their erstwhile ally. This redeployment delayed Skalice’s invasion of Kohlingen, and Halberg struck first, retaking Nikeah, although Hannibal was reputedly killed in the battle.

Returning to Esper, Skalice rallied his forces and met Halberg’s troops at the Second Battle of Hosluftgrad. The resulting battle decimated both armies. Scande also had to deal with troubling developments at home. Lacking grain imports from Merge, it was becoming increasingly difficult to feed the people. Many oil-production facilities in Arad were also destroyed at this time; the SLCM was going to run out of fuel and the League was going to run out of food. After Hosluftgrad, both sides committed to a the Pauper’s Peace; Scande returned some of the territory it occupied but retained half of Hosluftgrad and the area around Tzen.

• Post War Reconstruction, 37-40 WR

The deprivations of the war and the absence of much of the military allowed dissent to flourish in the League for the first time; the Voice of a Free League began transmitting anti-Travinist propaganda. Travin’s priorities during this time were to rebuild the military, suppress dissidents, and restore food imports. Hyliagrad and Ticondera collapsed, making his life more difficult. However, he brokered a deal for limited aid from the Tasnicans; a more moderate leader might’ve been criticed as “soft on capitalism” but Rumanski’s hardline credentials were above reproach. Thus, only Travin could go to Tasnica. The aid from Tasnica was small and largely symbolic, dwarfed by Tasnican aid and investment in the Esper Union. Travin was aided in the return of a triumphant Alkar the Black who managed to expunge the DSE from many of its territories in Merge. New measures of suppression were created, including the Solidat and the Crystal Golem known as the Hand of Travin. The SLCM participated in some operations surrounding the conflict with the [[New Wraith], but it was nothing like the stunning strikes of the Leviathan War.

• Re-emergence, 41-Present

By 40 WR Scande’s military might allowed it to once again contemplate a more aggressive foreign policy, although they were very wary of launching another Leviathan War. Emboldened by the relative inactivity of the Esper Union, they launched operations in support of the FTSR, made an agreement with Medina, settled the Three Week “sideshow war” in Crystal decisively on the side of the Mysidian Commonwealth, and began to build up their sea power. This coincided with an ascendant Merge League, leading some to argue that the Communist Protectorate is on the brink of eclipsing Tasnica as the leading great power. The Guardians were particularly alarmed by this, and began to take more anti-communist actions, culminating in the current war in Merge. Although SLCM-Space has tangled with the GSF in this conflict, a big shooting war in the Core has not erupted…yet.