Editing Nobledark Imperium Notes (section)

== Nation-States of Old Earth ==
Mostly details of the nations not yet mentioned on the main page yet.

'''Terrawatt Clan''' - Home country of Malcador and later the Warlord/Steward/Emperor. One of the most technologically advanced and socially progressive places on Earth, would also be one of the nicest places to live on Earth if it weren't for sharing a border with Ursh. Only place on Earth with rejuvenant treatments and one of the few to have working spaceships.<br>
'''Gredbriton''' - Ruled for many years by the Tyrant of Gredbriton, a Chaos worshipper who had a thing for biological and chemical weaponry. People eventually got fed up with tyrant a few years before the Warlord started making waves and he came down with a bad case of "arsenic-in-tea" syndrome. The Tyrant excluded, the people of Gredbriton weren't that bad and became an important center of trade.<br>
'''Pan-Pacific Empire''' - Second worst place to live on Earth. Led by the "half-mad, half genius" Nathaniel Dume, who had a thing for biotechnology.<br>
'''Hy Braseal''' - Nicest place to live on Earth during the Age of Strife. Borderlands between Merika and Hy Braseal are actually a bunch of nominally independent nation-states that are actually Merikan and Hy Brasealian vassals. Only place on Earth to still retain any form of democracy due to its parliamentary system. Refused to join Imperium after Warlord assimilated their old enemies Orioc and Merika. Warlord let them be, they were one of the few places on Earth where the leaders didn't treat their people like shit and he was willing to wait until they became sensible. Stayed independent all the way up to the War of the Beast, where it got wrecked and the survivors ended up joining the Imperium.<br>
'''Yndonesian Bloc''' - Nasty theocracy led by Cardinal Tang. Was dominated by a splinter sect of Katholianism, Karathanism, which put a huge importance on omens and considered pain as being the only thing of value in life. [[Nobledark_Imperium_Primarchs#Lorgar|Lorgar]] and Kor Phaeron staged a revolt that overthrew Cardinal Tang. After Yndonesia became a benevolent socialist theocracy led by Kor Phaeron. A huge number of the translators and diplomats from the Great Crusade seemed to come from here.<br>
'''The Khanate''' - The former lands of the steppe nomads, now having come together to form a national identity after much prodding from Jaghatai and his associates. Still largely rural, resisted urbanization as long as possible but [[Nobledark_Imperium_Primarchs#Jaghatai_Khan|Jaghatai]] saw the writing on the wall and started setting up colonies of the Khanate off-world. Now almost indistinguishable from any other part of Old Earth.<br>
'''Sibar''' - The frozen north. Once inhabited by tribes of hunter-gatherers, it was conquered by Ursh relatively early in its history. What little remained of the Urshii military fled here after the fall of Ursh, and the Urshii insurgents plagued Imperial forces for decades until the insurgency was put down by [[Nobledark_Imperium_Primarchs#Konrad Curze|Konrad Curze]].<br>
'''Duscht Jemanic''' - The other asshole country of Europe. Part of the Quintuple Alliance that kept Ursh from rolling over the rest of Europe, they chafed at having to ally with others and had their own dreams for domination. Obsessed with genetic purity, and that they don't realize they're walking down the same dark road as their ancestors. One of the last nations to join the Imperium, probably never would have if it were not for [[Nobledark_Imperium_Primarchs#Sanguinius|Sanguinius]].<br>
'''Lichstenstein Vault/Lichstenstein Mountain Fortress''' - The very last nation-state to join the Imperium, along with the Republic of Sammarino. A tiny micronation of just around than 10,000 inhabitants living in a sealed Dark Age Vault that had technologically regressed but held at a sustainable level just slightly shy of the Imperial Standard, they held out the longest by simple virtue of refusing to open the door. The people were insular, isolationist but not overly weird beyond being a race of people living in a nuclear fallout shelter for thousands of years. They had numerous doorways in the mountains with which could be got access to their underground city but they were all single file narrow doors. Any larger door having been intentionally collapsed some time ago.

The only actual avenue of communication they left open with the outside world was a two-way radio located by the main vault door, which is how the Imperium found them. They refused all overtures of opening the door for years, believing the Imperium to be a slightly more clever than average band of techno-barbarians who wanted to loot the vault. Malcador's hobby in his twilight years trying to convince them to open the door. Not using his immense psychic power, because that would be a violation of their minds, but by his voice and just having a chit-chat with them. Eventually they did open the door when one King Under the Mountain who knew no fear reached retirement age and decided to investigate outside once his replacement was installed, believing this was the last way he would be useful and he had no more to offer his people. It still took them years to feel comfortable enough tofully open the door. [[grimdark|About 20-50 years later the War of the Beast started. Oops.]]

It's debatable whether Lichstenstein Vault could have survived the War of the Beast if they hadn't opened the door(the Orks probably wouldn't have left Earth after killing the Steward), but they would have weathered it better than most. On a more positive note the sheer impenetrability of the Lichtenstein Vault meant that they were able to save a lot more civilians from the Beast's forces, most of them being vaulters.<br>
'''The Nordyc/Skand''' - Originally just a confederation of loosely allied clans and tribes, the Warlord convinced them to unify into a cohesive nation. Somehow ended up in control of New Atlantis during Unification.<br>
'''Ursh''' - Total hellhole. For details, see [[Nobledark_Imperium_Drafts#Ursh|Ursh]].<br>
'''The Afrique League''' - One of the nicest places to live pre-Age of Strife. Got absolutely gutted in a war with Ursh circa ~28, with only Timbuk and Nama Gola being the only components worth anything afterward, and the remaining fragments squabbled over by infighting Urshii warlords. Restored to its former glory after the fall of Ursh.<br>
'''Nord Afrik Conclaves''' - Calling them a "nation" is probably a bit generous. Techno-barbarian conclaves that resemble the worst of ancient Rome and Carthage.<br>
'''Orioc''' - Antarctic branch of the Mechanicum.<br>
'''Merika''' - Military junta with state-sponsored capitalism. Claim to be democratic, but in practice their democracy is more like "El Presidente has won re-election in a landslide for the twentieth time in a row". Second or third most powerful nation pre-Imperium, with a more commando-like "quality over quantity" military versus Ursh's technobarbarian hordes. Nowhere near as cohesive as they claim, large parts between the Rockies and Cascades and on the Pacific coast untouchable due to inhospitable terrain and radioactive death zones. Actually not the worst place to live, as long as you don't mind living in a junta. Warlord was going to try to be diplomatic with them, then they started covertly sponsoring the Urshii insurgents. Ironically the quality of life and amount of say the average Merikan has in the government has increased since joining the Imperium.<br>
'''Sino-Japanese Commonwealth''' - Originally inhabited by subsistence farmers, another region to get conquered early on by Ursh. Became the breadbasket of Ursh after they went from being just another empire to one of the largest powers on the planet. Pan-Pacific Empire and Ursh scrapped over this region several times. Ultimately, the revolt by [[Nobledark_Imperium_Primarchs#Corax|Corvus Corax]] established Sino-Japan's independence, and insured that neither empire would control the region.<br>
'''Ind''' - Managed to weather Urshii conquest and occupation rather well. Almost nothing written about it, Honen Mu is suggested as having come from here or Persepotropolis.<br>

The general explanation for any differences in the geography or geopolitical entities of Old Earth between the two timelines (e.g., like Earth still having oceans by the time of Unification) is that the canon Emperor dealt with Ursh by letting it expand as much as possible and then waited to reveal himself until after Ursh inevitably imploded from over-extending. It made it much easier to mop up the pieces, but resulted in massive wars, a huge body count, massive changes across the geo-political map, and the destruction of much of Earth's remaining resources and much of it's remaining technology and historical records [[Just as planned|(the last of which may have been intentional)]]. By contrast, Oscar is much more of a humanitarian, and so he decided to fight Ursh head-on before it became a self-destructive cancer that would have taken much of what was left of Old Earth with it. The fight was a bit harder and bloodier, but it resulted in a lot more of Earth's technology, resources, and culture being preserved (until the Beast showed up, at least).