The Megacorporations
Where once there were nations, now there are only corporations. They rule the inhabited worlds. Everything is driven by their relentless quest for dominance and profit. The megacorporations are gigantic entities, fiscal titans who bestride the worlds of humanity, bending everything from foodstuffs to firearms. Their workforces are numbered in the billions. Their wealth is beyond counting. Their conflicts shake the tortured planets with their violence.
To be an employee of a corporation is to be part of a way of life and to commit yourself body and soul to a cause. Every moment of every day, the citizens and workers are bombarded by the propaganda of their employers. They are told that only their corporation is right, that only their way of life is good.
The citizens of democratic Capitol know that they are free and that all others seek to destroy their freedom. Capitol's huge armies are commited to defending that freedom.
The subjects of Bauhaus' Four Elector Dukes know that they are surrounded by enemies who covet their wealth and their technical superiority. The generals of Bauhaus' military orders work hard to ensure that their wealth is preserved.
Those who serve Mishima's Lord Heirs know that only they understand the true meaning of honor and that the universe is full of those who seek to take advantage of the strife in their ancient dominions. The Samurai stand ready to give their lives in defense of those lands.
The clansfolk of Imperial are just as certain that only the strong survive, and by their conquests, they prove their strength.
The enigmatic employees of Cybertronic know that they are the focus of universal hate and that all seek their destruction. To succeed, their enemies must overcome their cybernetically enhanced defenders.
So conflicts are bred. So wars are born. In a time of economic catastrophe and scarce resources, these beliefs are enough to drive millions to war.
The Brotherhood
Rising above the wars of the corporations are the members of the Brotherhood, the spiritual guardians of humanity. At the head of the Brotherhood stands the Cardinal, the most powerful man in history, a being of enormous spiritual, moral and temporal power. He is served by countless billions. Missionaries spread his word, Inquisitors hunt down his heretical enemies. Seers wield the strange mystical powers of the Art in his name. Countless soldier-fanatics are ready to die at his command.
Faith in the Cardinal is the last remaining glue that binds humanity together. People of nearly every corporation (with the notable exception of Cybertronic) attend sermons in the towering Cathedrals on the walls of which the eternal truths of the Chronicles are inscribed. Citizens of every corporation heed his message of hope and redemption. They all need something to believe in, for the times are dark.
The Dark Legion
Those who serve the Dark Apostles are the eternal enemies of all humanity. The numberless hordes of the Dark Legion raise their gigantic Citadels on all the worlds of humanity. Undead warriors swarm against the armies of humanity and force even the fallen to serve them. Countless Heretics infest every corner of human society and spread their message of corruption and rebellion, fostering wars between megacorporations, spreading distrust and hatred among humanity.
They serve Ilian, the Schemer, Mistress of the awesome mystical power of the Dark Symmetry. They revere Algeroth, Apostle of War, Master of the Dark Technology. They heed the lies of Semai, Apostle of Spite, who turns sibling against sibling. They dance to the insane tune of Muawijhe, Lord of Madness. They revel in the abominable foulness of Demnogonis, Apostle of Corruption. These mighty beings serve a greater master, the ultimate source of all evil, the Dark Soul.
The Apostles are not only the enemies of humanity, but of each other. Their minions often skirmish in battles for leadership and dominion. Thus are even more battles fought. Thus is yet more blood spilled.
The Cartel
In the face of unrelenting attacks from the Dark Legion, even the megacorporations have declared an uneasy and sporadic truce. So mighty are the servants of the Dark Apostles that they have forced the corporations to band together to oppose them. Thus was formed the Cartel, a cooperative organization which acts in the name of all the megacoprorations, seeking to maintain a fragile peace and coordinate operations against the Dark Legion. The greatest servants of the Cartel are the legendary Doomtroopers, recruited from the finest warriors of all the corporations, trained to a peak of perfection inconceivable to lesser mortals.
So far, the Cartel's success has been mixed. It has managed some triumphs against the Dark Legion, but has completely failed to keep the peace among the megacorporations. Indeed, it is more a vehicle for negotiating temporary cessations in hostilities than a true representative of human unity. Still, in offers the only fragile hope that a united humanity can stand against the darkness.
The Warzones
On all the inhabited worlds of the Solar System, there are warzones - huge areas of conflict where the megacorporations and the Dark Legion clash.
On Mercury, fiefworld of ancient and honorable Mishima, hundreds of small guerrilla wars are fought between the representatives of the megacorporations as they seek control of the huge, underworld caverns and the incredible mineral wealth these contain.
In the jungles of Venus, human armies besiege the towering Citadels that rise above the primordial jungle while the megacorporations make war against each other for possession of the riches of the Graveton Archipelago.
Amid the ruins of southern Mars, the soldiers of all the great powers fight for what remains of the most fertile region in the system, even though the canals are dry and the great desert once more encroaches.
Amid the tiny worldlets of the asteroid belt, fierce battles are fought between Imperial and the Dark Legion. These conflicts are all the more savage because of the restricted areas they are fought in.
On no world is there peace, nor is there any prospect of it. This is an age of war, in which humanity fights for survival and only the cunning and the mighty can hope to triumph. This is an age in which sharp reflexes and good weapons make the difference between life and death.
I'd like to give a shout out and thanks to my buddy Neuicon for saving me from having to type this all out from the books. Check out his Mutant Chronicles blog, Tales from the Warzone.
Next time I will talk about the basic mechanics of Warzone Resurrection.
Until next time, keep your powder dry and lead flying!