Lorsh
Varlot
OVERCAST: STRATOCRACY
Crawburg County was sealed off and declared a Clean Zone early in the outbreak, as the authorities were thankfully able to contain the local infection. The Peninsular Bridge was destroyed, and a large buffer zone of barbed wire fences, concrete walls and minefields were set up to block off any access from the mainland. The surviving local forces were reorganized as a brigade under the command of BGen. Madsen, who gained the appointment of Governor-General when the National Provisional Authority was established. Life continued on in Crawburg County, albeit under authoritarian rule.
With the collapse of Clean District Central last year, Crawburg is still reeling from the loss of a major source of support. Supplies have been stretched thin, and discontent has been growing among the civilian population. Morale has fallen substantially; Clean District Central comprised numerous protected cities and towns, and with its fall to the undead, the prospects of much-smaller Crawburg's survival are looking much more grim.
Some civilians have taken to the belief that the conflict in Clean District Central resulted in a reformist-rebel victory, not actually falling to the zombie hordes. They dismiss the claim that the undead have conquered the District as NPA propaganda designed to discourage dissent. They see the defeat of the NPA as a call to arms to rise against the rule of the Governor-General. However, these extremists are few and far between, and most civilians live in greater fear of the Children of the Plague than they do of the NPA.
The Children of the Plague is a cult that was established by a former Clean Zone resident now known as "Vack" (according to military records, he was most likely a man known as Leonard Booker, former high school teacher.) At some point, Vack and his family exiled themselves to the Dirty Zone and became part of an independent survivor town. He professed his bloodline's immunity to Reanimatory Necrosis, and established a death cult that revolved around the undead. The apocalypse is seen as a religious event, one that marked zombification as the true "next step" after life.
The Children of the Plague claims that there are "Positives" (Vack himself being one) who are carriers of Reanimatory Necrosis, but are not driven insane or zombified. The cult claims that they have the ability to "cure" infected individuals using blood transfusions, turning them into Positives as well. Although they cannot be killed by the infection, if a Positive dies for any reason, they become a zombie, hence the belief of the "next step". The NPA holds these to be lies, and has charged people with sedition for suggesting they might be true.
The Children of the Plague views the NPA (and to an extent the pre-outbreak Central Republic government) as a manifestation of evil, xenophobic fascism that must be destroyed in order for their necromantic ideals to flourish. The Children of the Plague exploited the civil war between the NPA and reformists in Clean District Central, destroying the zone by means of "plague-winging" (spreading the infection intentionally) and leading massive DZ hordes across defense lines to infest conflict areas between NPA and rebels. At the time, intelligence on the cult was nonexistent. Hundreds of thousands of people were dead by the time the Clean District collapsed. Casualties were extreme, with 95% of NPA troops becoming killed, infected or missing in action. Nearly all members of the district's NPA command staff, including the District Marshal, District Vice Marshal, and all the local cities' Governors-General were killed in action or assassinated, either by rebels or by cultists. Small numbers of soldiers and essential civilians were evacuated to other Clean Zones via aircraft, but the vast majority of the populace was ultimately doomed, as the district had been surrounded by the heavily-infested DZ on all sides.
The Children of the Plague has lost most of its initial secrecy. Though the element of surprise is gone, their power has not waned in the slightest. They have since expanded their influence over numerous survivor towns, warlords, and renegade groups, who have now sworn fealty to the cult. The cult relies on sworn militias and aligned raider groups as its standing forces.
Governor-General Madsen believes that the cult may be setting its sights on Crawburg County Clean Zone next. He has received orders from the Supreme Marshal to be on high-readiness, as Crawburg contains critical petroleum reserves that keep Clean District East running.
Crawburg County was sealed off and declared a Clean Zone early in the outbreak, as the authorities were thankfully able to contain the local infection. The Peninsular Bridge was destroyed, and a large buffer zone of barbed wire fences, concrete walls and minefields were set up to block off any access from the mainland. The surviving local forces were reorganized as a brigade under the command of BGen. Madsen, who gained the appointment of Governor-General when the National Provisional Authority was established. Life continued on in Crawburg County, albeit under authoritarian rule.
With the collapse of Clean District Central last year, Crawburg is still reeling from the loss of a major source of support. Supplies have been stretched thin, and discontent has been growing among the civilian population. Morale has fallen substantially; Clean District Central comprised numerous protected cities and towns, and with its fall to the undead, the prospects of much-smaller Crawburg's survival are looking much more grim.
Some civilians have taken to the belief that the conflict in Clean District Central resulted in a reformist-rebel victory, not actually falling to the zombie hordes. They dismiss the claim that the undead have conquered the District as NPA propaganda designed to discourage dissent. They see the defeat of the NPA as a call to arms to rise against the rule of the Governor-General. However, these extremists are few and far between, and most civilians live in greater fear of the Children of the Plague than they do of the NPA.
The Children of the Plague is a cult that was established by a former Clean Zone resident now known as "Vack" (according to military records, he was most likely a man known as Leonard Booker, former high school teacher.) At some point, Vack and his family exiled themselves to the Dirty Zone and became part of an independent survivor town. He professed his bloodline's immunity to Reanimatory Necrosis, and established a death cult that revolved around the undead. The apocalypse is seen as a religious event, one that marked zombification as the true "next step" after life.
The Children of the Plague claims that there are "Positives" (Vack himself being one) who are carriers of Reanimatory Necrosis, but are not driven insane or zombified. The cult claims that they have the ability to "cure" infected individuals using blood transfusions, turning them into Positives as well. Although they cannot be killed by the infection, if a Positive dies for any reason, they become a zombie, hence the belief of the "next step". The NPA holds these to be lies, and has charged people with sedition for suggesting they might be true.
The Children of the Plague views the NPA (and to an extent the pre-outbreak Central Republic government) as a manifestation of evil, xenophobic fascism that must be destroyed in order for their necromantic ideals to flourish. The Children of the Plague exploited the civil war between the NPA and reformists in Clean District Central, destroying the zone by means of "plague-winging" (spreading the infection intentionally) and leading massive DZ hordes across defense lines to infest conflict areas between NPA and rebels. At the time, intelligence on the cult was nonexistent. Hundreds of thousands of people were dead by the time the Clean District collapsed. Casualties were extreme, with 95% of NPA troops becoming killed, infected or missing in action. Nearly all members of the district's NPA command staff, including the District Marshal, District Vice Marshal, and all the local cities' Governors-General were killed in action or assassinated, either by rebels or by cultists. Small numbers of soldiers and essential civilians were evacuated to other Clean Zones via aircraft, but the vast majority of the populace was ultimately doomed, as the district had been surrounded by the heavily-infested DZ on all sides.
The Children of the Plague has lost most of its initial secrecy. Though the element of surprise is gone, their power has not waned in the slightest. They have since expanded their influence over numerous survivor towns, warlords, and renegade groups, who have now sworn fealty to the cult. The cult relies on sworn militias and aligned raider groups as its standing forces.
Governor-General Madsen believes that the cult may be setting its sights on Crawburg County Clean Zone next. He has received orders from the Supreme Marshal to be on high-readiness, as Crawburg contains critical petroleum reserves that keep Clean District East running.
