| Advance Wars
History Conflict has always been a part of Wars World, dating back to the very beginning. Every religious mythos on the planet begins with the end of some sort of epic struggle and advances to an explanation for CO Powers. Scientifically speaking, CO Powers are an evolutionary trait which probably developed at the genesis of human organization. Temporary abilities of strengthening one's followers, draining strength from enemies or calling forth the elements gave such an advantage that humans capable of CO Powers swept away all competitors. But there was a catch: CO Powers drew their potency from authority. Only someone with a close connection to large numbers of subordinates could perform a power outside of his or her own body. Thus the early militaries of the world produced the first true Commanding Officers, absorbing and condensing the pain and effort of their soldiers into superhuman battlefield talents. The COs then infused their soldiers with the same power or used it offensively against enemies. Due to the rise of national militaries and overspecialization of CO Powers therein, over time people lost the ability to regulate their powers. They could only perform them on a rudimentary level through direct touch or spectacularly execute them on the battlefield -- nothing in between. This was still enough for the early nations. Wars World originally hosted dozens of countries, all hungrily vying for territory and resources with which to sustain their armies. By the end of the Formation Era there were only seven: Red Sun, Blue Sea, Stone Moon, Gold Horizon, Violet Nova, Clear Sky and Green Earth. Ironically, each nation owed its success to a single entity: the White Ring Corporation, a multinational arms dealer based on a mountainous neutral island near Clear Sky, the most populous country. Practically all weapons of war came from White Ring-owned facilities. When one country developed a secret weapon, White Ring copied it and sold it to all in order to level the field and increase profits. Leaders who spoke out against the corporation’s business practices risked being cut off from their own weapons. Among White Ring’s own technical innovations three weapons of mass destruction outlawed after the Formation Era: land mines, dangerous to land units and lethal to foot soldiers; sea mines, dangerous to ships and lethal to landers; and bombs of poison gas launched from specialized artillery units, infecting and slowly degrading ground units over a period of days. Fortunately not many nations liked using such terrible weapons on every skirmish. Gold Horizon was White Ring's largest client, being the last major country to industrialize. Like a child with new toys Gold Horizon eagerly tested its weapons on its politically-fractured neighbor Violet Nova, plundering and ultimately swallowing it. The annexation caused international tensions -- and White Ring's profits -- to rise dramatically. All nations mobilized for war and White Ring provided them with every state-of-the-art weapon. Red Sun, by and large the most open society of the seven nations, accused Clear Sky of aiding in the downfall of Violet Nova. While diplomacy deteriorated between those two countries, Gold Horizon launched a surprise attack which devastated Red Sun's capitol city. So began the Formation War. Blue Sea and Stone Moon, being of the same overall culture and generally on good terms, merged for their own survival into Blue Moon and took the fight to Gold Horizon. Red Sun could only defend itself against an opportunistic Clear Sky while Green Earth, busy recovering from a civil war, bided its time. All the while the White Ring Corporation raked in truly obscene profits from its island stronghold. Its CEO, a ruthless man named Loxosceles, spent long years strengthening his company for a final maneuver to safeguard it forever. Once he had amassed enough wealth, Loxosceles sold Clear Sky a fantastic new weapon: airplanes. Though simplistic by modern standards, White Ring's bombers and fighters promised to make any of Clear Sky's enemies easy prey. The only question was where to use them first. Red Sun had collapsed, occupied by Clear Sky forces. Blue Moon and Gold Horizon had fought each other to a stalemate and were recovering. Green Earth, however, was ripe for the taking, so Clear Sky invaded it with their finest weapons and COs. Meanwhile, Clear Sky was not well-received in the former Red Sun. Guerilla forces strove to evict the occupation force with rapid movement, brute strength, amazing recovery abilities and sheer luck. In a stunning move, the guerillas captured the leader of the occupying army and made him reveal the master plan. The White Ring Corporation had pulled everyone’s strings from the beginning of the war. Loxosceles manipulated Gold Horizon into absorbing Violet Nova and even convinced Blue Sea and Stone Moon to unify. Now with the spreading Clear Sky, Wars World was poised to split into three superpower nations -- perpetual rivals, perpetual consumers of White Ring's weapons and products. The annexation of Green Earth was the final piece needed to secure the Triple Enmity, the key to unlimited profit. Though intimidated by the enormity of the plan, the guerillas resolved to stop it. In their final battle on the homeland, they reached and destroyed the occupiers’ headquarters. Red Sun had set, but a new nation shone in the night: Orange Star. Gold Horizon’s navy, bolstered by new battleships from White Ring, resumed the attack on Blue Moon while Green Earth held off Clear Sky. Orange Star inherited the weapons of the occupiers and rapidly built their own, sending some to aid Green Earth and others to help Blue Moon. Green Earth already had the support of pirates who hated White Ring on economic grounds. With Orange Star’s additional aid, the Clear Sky CO fell at the famous Battle of Dragon Ridge. After the battle, experimental Green Earth copter units took control of a massive airport facility and created the first true Green Earth Air Force. After several skirmishes in Blue Moon and Gold Horizon territory, Orange Star managed to convince both sides of White Ring’s plan. In a final battle near the Gold Horizon homeland, the emperor’s own son defected, killed his father and sent the nation’s White Ring representatives back to Clear Sky. The new emperor promised home rule for parts of the former Violet Nova though it would still be under the control of the new Yellow Comet Empire. To symbolize their newfound unity, Orange Star, Blue Moon, Yellow Comet and Green Earth simultaneously nationalized every industry that existed in their respective lands, up to and including arms production. Clear Sky and White Ring would pay for manipulating them. Clear Sky relentlessly defended itself with mines, air strikes and poison gas, caring for nothing but victory. Loxosceles himself was forced to intervene at the end, swearing that “If I cannot profit from this life, nothing can!” “Corruption,” his terrible CO Power honed over years of commanding his workers, dealt slow, constant damage to soldier and vehicle alike over many days -- a poison gas attack with a much wider and more potent area of effect. Even the four nations had trouble fighting against such a CO, but fight they did, clearing out Clear Sky and driving Loxosceles back to White Ring headquarters. With absolute victory in reach, something strange happened. Yellow Comet withdrew, claiming it had given enough aid and had to resolve its own problems. Blue Moon no longer saw White Ring as a threat and retreated home to rebuild and prepare defenses against a potential Yellow Comet or even Orange Star invasion. Orange Star could hardly believe the desertion. Fortunately Green Earth and its well-trained air force pledged to continue the fight to bring White Ring to justice. Only when they arrived on White Ring’s island did they comprehend the task at hand. For being so small, the mountainous island held incredible natural resources and mining facilities to exploit them all. Orange Star and Green Earth soon learned of one material in particular that Loxosceles refined: uranium. White Ring’s plan had changed. With his plans for eternal profit smashed, Loxosceles intended to keep anyone from profiting off the planet by poisoning it all. He had begun building new bombers to drop poison gas canisters and a new type of bomb powered by uranium. The first target: the traitorous Yellow Comet. Orange Star and Green Earth had a limited time before the fleet was to launch. The battle was joined and the fleet destroyed, but in desperation the villainous White Ring CEO armed his nuclear bomb rather than face capture. The attacking forces managed to flee just in time to see the headquarters, Loxosceles and a good part of the island vanish in a fantastic mushroom cloud... with a white ring around the trunk. Orange Star and Green Earth split the territories of the former Clear Sky amongst themselves yet some on both sides were left unsatisfied. The two nations grew apart as squabbles over their share of the winnings escalated. Blue Moon and Yellow Comet still saw each other as enemies yet chose to keep to themselves, fearing attack by the other two new and newly-rebuilt nations. After generations of new battles and old arguments, it seemed the four nations of Wars World would never truly trust each other... Which was all the incentive that he needed. |