Lands

Much of the known world is dominated or in the process of being conquered by the Roman Republic.

Roma (Rome)

All roads lead to Rome…

To be kind to the city would be to call it merely "bustling." More accurately, the city is bursting at the seams. Swollen with those dispossessed of their lands by the legions of the Army at the whims of their leaders. Social problems fester just beneath the surface of this highly stratified city, the population of slaves increasing with every conquest. The plebeians, next step up, are largely powerless; the equestrians are marked by wealth and therefore live more comfortably than the aforementioned. However, unless you are a patrician, you face the powerlessness that comes with being just not good enough to lead.

Everyone knows how Rome started. It's a familiar tale of wolf-tits and child abandonment. Mythology be damned, Rome is the jewel of the Republic. Sure, it stinks to high heaven and a huge amount of people could probably die if the slums catch fire (SPOILERS!), but its role as the hub of a huge wheel of Empire means one thing: bread. Ubi panis ibi patria. Where there is bread, so there is my country. And so, so, so many countrymen.

CURRENTLY Rome is at peace within herself, and the Zero Legion's leaders have emerged as a new sort of oligarchs. But as the city herself has grown strong once again, she has lost contact with many of her outside vassals, and once-loyal Roman denizens have become rebellios factions.

Gaul

Inhabited by Celtic and Germanic tribes, encompassing present day France, Luxembourg, Belgium, most of Switzerland, northern Italy, as well as the parts of the Netherlands, central Italy and Germany on the west bank of the Rhine. Gaul was home to warriors fine and women flighty, a place where men were men, and sheep were… well, you know how that one goes.

Gaul was divided into three parts: Gallia Celtica, Belgica and Aquitania. Those of Gaul consider themselves unique in culture and history, but like many, this proved baseless talk as they too fell to the sword of Rome. Once a free, unassociated collection of states rules by minor kings and mystics, the area fell to the might of Rome years ago. A few years ago, it had seen troubles in the form of giants and mythical creatures of legend resurfacing.

More recently, talk has spread that Gaul is simply gone - what remains in its place a collection of mad cannibals, impossible beasts, and a magical deadzone. Trouble brews now in Gaul more than it ever has before, and the those Roman citizens left in it, for good or for ill, are trapped in with the locals, a hellscape of unprecedented danger. Yet where there is danger, there is glory.

Tibur (Tivoli)

An independently founded city thought to be as ancient as the 13th century, Tibur is 30 km east-north-east of Rome, connected by Via Tiburtina, and has a wide view of the Roman Campagna. The Anio (Aniene) river falls from the Sabine hills at this point, serving both aesthetically and practically as the source of many Roman aqueducts. As recently as 361, Tibur allied with the Gauls before being defeated. Only in 90 did they receive Roman citizenship.

Since, however, they've enjoyed their spot as a key point in the eastern roadways leading from Rome. Many patricians own villas here, so if you're lucky to have grown up here, you've enjoyed beauty of the Roman countryside as well as the fierce attempt to keep up with Rome's styles and political drama. Two temples sit atop the falls above Tibur, one assumedly for the Greek Vesta (Hestia), another for the Roman sibyl Albunea. It's totally one of the outer islands on Cape Cod populated by the rich and beautiful in the months too hot to stand seeing those damned plebes sweat before you.

Germania

It extended from the Danube in the south to the Baltic Sea, and from the Rhine in the west to the Vistula. The Roman portions formed two provinces of the Empire, Germania Inferior to the north (present-day Netherlands, Belgium, and western Germany), and Germania Superior to the south (Switzerland, southwestern Germany, and eastern France). Germania is inhabited mostly by Germanic tribes, but also Celts, early Slavs, Balts and Scythians. The population mix changed over time by assimilation, and especially by migration. The ancient Greeks were the first to mention the tribes in the area.

Like many lands in the wake of the Roman Civil War, Germania took the lack of Roman oversight and troops to mean they could win back their freedoms. They did so through feats of military daring so bold even the gods of war blinked in shock. Tales are told of Germanic tribes being led to war not by men, but gods.

Mediolanum (Milan)

Captured by the Romans from the Celtic Insubres in 222, this is a key settlement. Never mind that a major livestock is swine (bred and tended for in the forests surrounding) and if you come from there you're likely to be the butt of jokes about smelling like pigs. At least you can take consolation in the fact that your wines are exquisite. The town itself is a hub in the network of roads in the north, and is fortunate to be a perfect location for agriculture and the raising of sheep.

Africa - Utica

An 11th-century BC settlement in northern Africa founded by Tyrian colonists because of the rich mine deposits near the mouth of the Bagradas river, Utica was an ally of Carthage before its fall to Ottacilius in 212. Since Carthage's fall, the settlement has enjoyed citizenship in the Roman Empire, and quite a few merchant families have built up the city to make it an attractive place to invest. Its proximity to the ruins of Carthage also make it a statement: Rome razes and builds what she wishes.

Mining and agriculture in the nearby Tunisian mountains brought the slaves and their owners. With the help of the harbour and the expansion of Roman villas in the Tunisian mountains, Utica is a popular destination for travel, so long as you bring jasmine to soothe the inevitable sunburn.

Currently, an exodus is taking place in Utica, as its merchants and skilled laborers leave in droves. Their war goddess, the magnificent Sadeh, teaches her people the finer arts of combat, but in doing so, she creates a caste system which empowers the bullish and cowers the thinkers. Soon, those in the know fear, the city will be nothing but base warmongers and mercenaries.

Britannia

A small island off the coast of Gaul, inhabited by warriors and mystics alike, living in as close to harmony as has ever been found. The landmass sits above modern-day Normandy, and is surrounded by rocky cliffs and unwelcoming beaches, a perfect setting for an army to amass. They are a simple people, the Britons - but powerful, in their way. The Zero Legion marched ever-toward Britannia, some years ago, looking for glory and something bigger. And they found it.

Britannia was previously ruled by tribal cheiftans, but rumors of a Once and Future King were always abundant amongst the whispermongers. Now, they have come to fruition, and Arthur, son of Uther rules over the island, converting the once thriving city of Londinium into his own anachronistic castle, full of magical wonders and engineering oddities.

Greece

Greece is strategically located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Situated on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, the Republic of Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to the northeast. Greece consists of nine geographic regions: Macedonia, Central Greece, the Peloponnese, Thessaly, Epirus, the Aegean Islands (including the Dodecanese and Cyclades), Thrace, Crete, and the Ionian Islands. The Aegean Sea lies to the east of the mainland, the Ionian Sea to the west, the Cretan Sea and the Mediterranean Sea to the south (THANKS WIKIPEDIA!).

Long since rendered a vassal of Rome, Greece has lost prestige. Its customs and gods, however, were happily adopted by the people of Rome, given new names and ideals, but adopted nonetheless.

Currently, Greece is a crossroads for more than trade - rumors of the reappearance of three distinct islands have begun to make Greece a powerhouse once more: Themiscyria, the fabled home of the warrior women Amazons, has made inroads with the world of Man for the first time in almost 300 years. Atlantis, the sunken isle, has sent merchants and diplomats to Greece, themselves not seen for over 1000 years. And the lost city of Troy has been found through an odd energy doorway, protected by dead men.