Deadlands: Reloaded

The Generalized History of America:

The Late Unpleasantness

The American Civil War began as it did in our own history. After more than a decade of conflict over the States’ right of self-government, Abraham Lincoln’s election to the American Presidency was the straw that broke the camel’s back. Seven Southern states seceded to form the Confederate States of America and laid claim to federal property within the borders of the young nation. Not even sworn in, President elect Lincoln was faced with an immediate dilemma. Though many of the claims of the Confederate government did not present immediate crises, the question of federal forts garrisoned by Union troops would not stand unanswered for long. Lincoln ultimately decided to resupply two forts in immediate danger of capture by Confederate forces: Fort Sumter near Charleston and Fort Pickens in Pensacola Harbor. Infamously, the former would be the match that lit the powder keg. Upon receiving news of the resupply, the Union garrison refused to surrender in a timely fashion, hoping to hold out until help arrived. On April 12, 1861, Confederate forces attacked, and a new nation—the Confederate States of America—was baptized in blood.

A House Divided

The Battle of Fort Sumter prompted four more states to secede from the Union, or more accurately, three and a half. Virginia, like the Union itself, was divided. The residents of the western counties of the state refused to secede, instead forming the new state of West Virginia. The rest of Virginia followed the footsteps of its Southern neighbors. The Confederacy now included Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia. With Virginia’s secession, Richmond was named the Confederate capital. The battle lines had been drawn, and the war was on. For the next two years, generals and soldiers of the North and the South battled to decide the fate

of two nations. The stakes were high, and the costsOut West higher. During the Antietam campaign, a single day’s fighting inflicted over 20,000 casualties, both blue and gray. Then something changed…for the worse. Union forces, led by Major General Gordon Meade, met and defeated General Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Though Meade scored a victory, he was unable to pursue the retreating rebels. A lot of folks make a lot of claims about that day. Some say Meade’s uniform changed from blue to yellow, while less stable folk claim dead soldiers rose up and shot at their living comrades.

War Without End

Whatever the case, Lee’s forces escaped to fight another day, and fight they did. Spotsylvania, Cold Harbor, Appomatox, on and on, over and over. While the North held the advantage in men and materiel (that’s guns to you and me, amigo), the Confederacy relied on the tenacity of its troops and brilliance of its generals. Ground was bloodied, gained, and lost all across the front, but just as at Gettysburg, a decisive

victory for either side seemed out of reach. The war ground on with no end in sight. Though battles in the West were few and far between thanks to the low concentration of forts and troops on both sides, battlefields in the East were bloodied again and again as both sides gave and gained the same ground over and over. It was so common to fight on ground once thought secured that generals and historians on both sides began to refer to battles not only by the name of the nearest town, but by how many times the blue and the gray had met on

that spot. Antietam was followed by Antietam II, Antietam III, and so on. Even when new battlefields were christened, it was assumed more fighting would follow on the same ground.

Revelation

Then, in 1868, a change of a more noticeable sort came around. An earthquake the likes of which history has never seen shattered the west coast from Mexicali to Oregon. It left in its wake a labyrinth of jagged mesas towering over flooded, broken terrain. This region was quickly dubbed the “Great Maze.”The ruins revealed wonders unseen previously, such as the California Maze Dragons, immense reptilian creatures that trolled the rough channels of the Maze. Still more amazing was the discovery of what some believed to be simple coal, but was soon determined to be a new mineral altogether. This new fundament burned a hundred times hotter and longer than coal. When consumed, it

gave off a ghostly white vapor and howled like the Devil himself. The first survivors who discovered it dubbed it “ghost rock,” and the name stuck. Though it didn’t happen overnight, ghost rock would change the face of the war…and the West.

The Power of Ghost Rock

Immediately after this discovery, many hopeful inventors flocked to the Maze. In months, they had perfected devices powered by steam and fueled by ghost rock. Reports of horseless carriages, ghostrock powered ships, and even weapons capable of spewing great gouts of flame or torrents of bullets became common. It wasn’t long before the miracle mineral was put to even more use, both in engineering and chemistry. It was discovered that ghost rock could be used in place of coal when refining steel, creating a much stronger and lighter metal with a higher melting point, called ghost steel. Likewise, refined ghost rock—usually in powdered form— could be used as both a catalyst and reagent in chemical reactions, leading to the creation of many new tonics, salves, and unguents using the powdered mineral as a key ingredient. While these elixirs remain popular today, ingesting higher concentrations of ghost rock invariably proves fatal.

Science Marches On...

…into battle. You guessed it, partner. It wasn’t long before generals and other high and mighty folks Back East noticed the array of gadgets coming out of the Maze. Confederate President Jeff Davis was the first to realize their potential, and quickly instituted a program to turn this “New Science” toward the war effort. Confederate scientists in a secret base near Roswell, New Mexico developed a whole passel of these infernal devices and shipped them Back East.In February of 1871, General Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia attacked Union lines near Washington D.C. Lee’s forces included dozens of Davis’ secret weapons. Flamethrowers, steam tanks, and other, stranger weapons rained death on Union troops. The attack was devastating, so much so that

Lee’s forces temporarily seized the Union capital itself!

The Union Antes Up

Though it didn’t take long for the Rebels’ experimental devices to malfunction and their supply of ghost rock to run low, the message was

clear. The war would turn on a wheel powered by ghost rock. Since the Quake of ’68, ghost rock had been found all over the country, but the greatest concentration was still in the Maze. Once back in the White House, President Grant offered the exclusive government contract for ghost rock to the first company that managed to build a transcontinental railroad. President Davis followed suit the next day.

The Civil War, bloodier than ever, continued, and the Great Rail Wars had begun.

America Asunder

Most everyone, even tenderfoots from Back East, knows America is divided in two. Even that’s shy of the truth by a country mile. In fact, what used to be the United States of America and its territories is now six separate nations. Had it not been for the war, there is little doubt there would be no Sioux Nation, no Coyote Confederation, no Republic of Deseret, and certainly no Commonwealth of California. Though Confederate President Jefferson Davis’ dying words urged peace between the Americas, and his successor Eric Michele made good by ordering Southern forces to stand down—a gesture later returned in kind by US President Grant—the genie is out of the bottle. It is unlikely America will ever be united under a single flag again.

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The United States Of America

President Ulysses S. Grant has occupied the White House since 1872. Many thought he would lose the 1876 election, as he seemed more suited to command on the battlefield than from the White House. That said, the “November Offensives” of 1876—so called because both the Union and Confederacy staged major military campaigns prior to the elections to win votes for the incumbent presidents—and the British invasion of Detroit that followed on its heels convinced the public that “Unconditional Surrender” Grant was their man. Until recently, Grant’s administration claimed dominion over the entire country and refused to acknowledge the existence of any other American nation. The truth, however, is that Washington exerts little to no authority over the other nations described here, and recent peace negotiations have forced him to recognize the Confederacy’s legitimacy. Now the president broods in his capital, watching his beloved nation fall apart around him. Worse, a new year and new elections approach, and Grant fears his successor will lack his firm stance in peace negotiations. Many believe Grant is merely biding his time and regrouping the Union armies for a renewed assault on the South.

The Agency

One of President Grant’s most effective tools is the Agency, a shadowy organization formed in 1877. The US once relied on the Pinkerton Detective Agency for its intelligence gathering, but it gradually became clear a private company could not carry out all the duties a wartime government requires. The men and women of the Agency now infiltrate, attack, and sabotage all perceived enemies of the state. Rumors persist that the Agency’s second, less publicized function, is to investigate and quell rumors of bizarre and supernatural events. Allegedly,

the Agency resorts to bribery, blackmail, and intimidation to keep such stories from spreading.

The Confederate States Of America

After nearly twenty years, this young, hot-blooded nation fi nally knows peace. Though the long Civil War has had many lulls with no major battles, therehas never before been a day in the CSA’s history on which it was not at war. Unfortunately, this may only be a brief respite: even as the last echoes of gunfire fade across the Mason-Dixon Line, hawks in both the North and South urge new hostilities. Worse, if Mexico secures control of the Maze, Santa Anna’s forces are poised to take a crack at reclaiming Texas.

Changing of the Guard

Peace is not the only first for the CSA. Since the nation’s inception, an iron fist has ruled it in the form of its first president, Jefferson Davis. Just before his term was to elapse in 1867, he instituted martial law in the Confederacy and rescinded presidential elections. This move was supported by both the Confederate Congress and the military, who felt it was unwise to allow a change in administration during a war for the nation’s very survival. Free elections were not restored until nearly a decade later in 1876, although an amendment to the Confederate Constitution would allow Davis to run for reelection. (Originally, a Confederate President was elected for a six year term, and was ineligible for reelection.) The Whig party nominated the beloved Robert E. Lee to challenge Davis. The election in the Confederate States proper went to Lee, but highly suspect votes from the CSA’s Western territories swung the election in favor of Davis. Despite the distraction of the presidential campaign, Davis apparently managed a major diplomatic coup late in ’76. Presumably at Davis’ request, the British finally entered the war in force, having previously limited their interference to breaking the Union Blockade of the South in 1864. Now, it seemed, they would lend arms to the Confederate cause on land. A column of British troops marched from Canada into Detroit and took it in a day. Though the war is now over, these troops show no indication of returning to Canada, even though the Confederacy has requested their withdrawal due to Union demands. Despite this success, many were still opposed to Davis’ iron grip on the Confederacy—violently so. Davis was assassinated in late 1878, and his cabinet named Secretary of War Eric Michele acting president through a unanimous vote. With Robert E. Lee also killed in a rail car explosion some weeks before, no candidate stood to challenge Michelefor the presidency in the emergency election held in early 1879. Michele was elected, and has since done his best to pursue a tenuous peace with the Confederacy’s northern neighbors.

The Texas Rangers

The Texas Rangers first served as spies and scouts in the Texas Revolution of 1835-6, and in the same capacity in the Mexican War of 1846–1848. With Texas’ independence from Mexico won, they continued to protect Texas against Mexican invasion, and later became the law throughout this wild young state. Early in the Civil War, several detachments of Texas cavalry were dispatched east. They fought in many of the most important battles, including Gettysburg. There, rumor holds, the Ranger organization assumed its new job of monster hunting. Much like their northern counterparts, the Agency, the Texas Rangers are widely held to seek out and destroy the supernatural, and later quell the inevitable tall tales that spring up around such incidents.

The Disputed Territories

The Disputed Territories—including Kansas and Colorado, as well as the portion of Oklahoma not claimed by the Coyote Confederation—remain a sore point in the ongoing peace negotiations between the North and South. Each nation stakes a claim on these territories, and not without cause. Even the states themselves are rife with internal conflict on whether to throw in their lot with the Union or the Confederacy. Indeed, just as was the case in the recently ended War, these confl icts grow more heated the further East one travels. In Colorado, most folks don’t care too much. Those who do generally limit their political ardor to “loyalty rallies” (pro-Union), and “freedom marches” (pro- Confederate). Further east, in Kansas, hardly a week goes by in which some ornery Reb doesn’t take a pot shot at a Yankee (or vice versa).As part of the terms of the recent cease fi re, both North and South agreed to pull troops out of the Disputed Territories until such time as their allegiance can be decided.

Kansas

Kansas has been the site of 25 years of guerilla warfare, and shows no signs of calming down anytime soon. According to the original Kansas- Nebraska act, which opened Kansas to settlement back in 1854, the people of the territory would vote on whether the territory would enter the Union as a free or slave state. One can guess what kind of confl ict this caused. For a while, Kansas had been fi ghting its very own Civil War, well before the Blues and Grays ran into their little problem. “Border ruffians” from Missouri fi ltered across the border and tried to ensure Kansas became a slave state, while abolitionists—called “Jayhawkers”—tried to counter their efforts. Neither group shied from violence to influence the decision of Kansas’ citizens. Kansas wound up joining the Union as a free state only a few months before the Civil War broke out. While no major military campaigns have been fought here, the long tradition of guerilla warfare and intimidation continues to this day. Diehard Rebs and staunch Unionists often live side by side in some Kansas towns. The fact that regular military units are pretty much prohibited in Kansas only allows these tensions to boil out of control, sometimes evenerupting into “Territorial Wars” between towns loyal to differing nations. The fire of the Civil War may only be embers and coals, but Kansas is a powder keg, and the fuse is still burning.

Dodge City

Like Kansas itself, the loyalties of Dodge’s citizens are torn between the North and the South. The old animosities run as deep here as anywhere back East. While most towns in Kansas are pretty solidly blue or gray, Dodge is split right down the middle. Dodge’s original charter explicitly stated that those of all political persuasions were welcome, and even made provisions for a larger police force to keep the peace.

Most folks are willing to put up with a little conflict in the name of the dollar. Buffalo hunting is big business in Kansas, and Dodge has become quite the commercial hub. Thanks to cattle plagues elsewhere in the country, buffalo meat has become a valuable commodity, and a hunter can bring home as much as $30—in just about any currency he can name—for a single buffalo. Local slaughter houses usually buy the meat and hide for shipment to points East. The rest of Dodge’s economy—other than the money to be made by rail passengers who spend the night in one of the city’s hotels or houses of ill-repute—is based on serving buffalo hunters. Saloons, dance halls, and supply stores are thick on the ground, and you can’t take more than a few steps without tripping over a snake-oil salesman or grifter.

Naturally, all the booze and guns—combined with Kansas’ seemingly inevitable inclination toward political divisiveness—leads to a lot of folks coming down with terminal cases of lead poisoning. A couple years back, the Town Council had enough, and passed a law that required anyone entering the town to come to Marshal Larry Deger’s office to check his guns. Needless to say, this didn’t go over well with the rowdier elements of society, but the law’s chief proponent—Deputy Wyatt Earp—isn’t one to be trifled with. More than a few buffalo hunters who “forget” to check their rifles wake in a cell with an “earp”—a nice shiny new bruise delivered by the barrel of Earp’s pistol.Of course, the day anything’s made illegal is the night a lively black market springs up. In this case, back alley trade in weapon claim slips is common. Combined with the fact that Dodge City is served by two major rail lines—Black River and Union Blue— and is as far East as you can go without heavy border patrols, this lively underground makes Dodge an attractive stopover point for spies bound for points both North and South. All of this adds up to a rowdy nightlife in the boomtown.

Oklahoma

Oklahoma, at least as far as its white inhabitants are concerned, is pretty firmly Confederate. In loyalty, as in so many things, where Texas goes, so goes Oklahoma. That said, only a very small part of Oklahoma can properly be considered a territory anymore, either of the Union or Confederacy. Most of it is controlled by the Coyote Confederation, and the small part that isn’t is subject to frequent and violent Indian raids.

In some areas, the more zealous tribes of the new Indian nation have even taken to forcing the few remaining white settlers onto smaller and smaller plots of land as an imprisoned population. Usually, they are allowed to live in one of the few self-sufficient townships, though the more brutal tribes require these poor folks to live according to the Old Ways. The latter groups usually don’t last long, as they’re ill-prepared for the hardships of life on the open plain, and the former don’t exactly have it easy. Either way, people here are not allowed to travel without an Indian war party escort, and getting the Coyote Confederation to provide one is about as much fun as pulling teeth. What’s more, the tribes have long-since severed telegraph and rail lines in and out of Oklahoma, so they maintain complete control over who and what passes through their domain. While the Union professes sympathy for the Confederate population in Oklahoma, it is unwilling to allow the Confederacy to break the terms of the cease fire in order to send in troops to defend the settlers. Further, the Union is unwilling to cede Oklahoma without similar concessions from the Confederacy, specifically Colorado or Kansas. Since most of the territory belongs to the Coyote by treaty,the Confederacy is loathe to trade the larger and more valuable Disputed Territories to the Union for a small slice of Oklahoma. While the diplomats wrangle, the situation in Oklahoma grows steadily worse.

Siege Mentality

Naturally enough, the more extreme Coyote tribes mentioned above are the cause of a great deal of distrust and hatred between white settlers and the Coyote Confederation as a whole. Many settlers assume all the tribes of the Coyote are looking to subjugate them, so they take up arms in their own defense. The peaceable tribes of the Coyote, meanwhile, see white settlers attacking any of their people who approach on sight, which in turn spurs the more violent Coyote tribes to even worse abuses. Many of the supposedly subjugated towns are actually quite well-armed, having temporarily fought off the initial Coyote attacks. They quickly threw up stockade walls to defend themselves andonly open their doors to refugees from other towns destroyed by the Coyote. Most of these towns are desperate for relief, as both ammunition and food is running low. Some have held out for as long as two years. Unfortunately for them, the state of peace negotiations between North and South means any help from Confederate troops will likely be funeral services performed by the chaplain corps.

Colorado

Both the Union and Confederacy are quick to claim Colorado, and neither seems willing to negotiate the point. In fact, both nations count Colorado as a state, pretty much regardless of Colorado’s thoughts on the matter. Being so far West, most folks in Colorado don’t care too much which fl ag they salute, but there are always a few bad apples to spoil any bunch. Unlike Kansas and Oklahoma, Colorado’s agriculture isn’t its main attraction for the squabbling nations. Colorado’s economic lifeblood is gold and silver, along with a few big cattle ranches scattered about the state.No major battles and precious few skirmishes were fought in Colorado in the long War Between the States, but that doesn’t mean it is untouched by violence. The Battle of the Cauldron, the biggest engagement to date in the Great Rail Wars, hit in late 1876. All six of the competing Rail Barons pitched in. Some had legitimate interests in the area, while others simply assumed the rest of the Rail Barons were up to something. The Cauldron wasn’t an ongoing battle as generals Back East might understand it, but a series of small, bloody skirmishes waged over the course of a month. The campaign ended as the winter months closed in. Ultimately, Union Blue and Denver Pacific held the field, but the campaign had cost a total of just over 300 lives, and left nearly ten times that amount crippled. Further, more than half a million dollars worth of rolling stock belonging to the various rail companies was destroyed. To this day, every spring sees renewed hostilities in Colorado; every summer long and costly battles; every fall a stalemate.

The Queen of the West

As the saying goes, “all rails lead west to Denver.” The Queen City of the Desert lies nestled in a valley in the foothills of the Front Range of the Rockies. Folks claim it’s the largest city between Dodge and the City of Lost Angels, and between Texas and Seattle, making it the perfect place to run a rail to. The Denver Pacific—ostensibly neutral in the Rail Wars as its owners claim no interest in the government contracts for ghost rock shipping—has done just that, and connects with three of the major lines in the Disputed Lands. This means folks can hop a train Back East, ride it to somewhere in the Disputed Lands, then hop a DP line to Denver. The DP reaches quite a ways west as well, but service is sporadic. Still, if a cowpoke doesn’t feel like running all the way down to Tombstone to take the Ghost Trail to the Great Maze, going through Denver is the next best bet. This route is pretty much closed in the winter, though. In the pass through the Rockies, there’s often snow even in the height of summer. If you try making your way through here around Yuletide, you’d better ask ol’ Saint Nick for a Christmas miracle, or you’ll be frozen solid for the New Year.The best known citizen of Denver is Mayor Caleb Hornsby. Elected by the city’s residents, he refuses to answer to either of the provisional state governments appointed by the North or South. Hornsby (Ol’ Caleb to the locals) has proven himself extremely popular with the citizens of Denver. Few of his laws, even the one against carrying guns within city limits, are ever challenged.

The Sioux Nations

Perhaps the folks that benefited the most from the Civil War are the Sioux. As the Union Army’s attention remains focused south, it has little manpower to patrol the Dakota Territory effectively and control its red neighbors within. Even with the war over, most within the US government and military realize that going to war with the Sioux over the Dakota Territory—however rich with ghost rock it may be—would be the military equivalent of suicide.

Sitting Bull & Custer

The leader, or hunkpapa wicasa, of the Sioux is Sitting Bull, a wily old Indian chief who is far more belligerent than the rest of the wicasas (a council of elder chiefs, medicine men, and revered warriors). It was Sitting Bull who defeated General George Armstrong Custer at the Battle of Little Big Horn. Custer managed to survive and escape the debacle, only to later be court-martialed. Since then, the Union accords the Sioux a little more respect. Unfortunately, the headstrong Custer has not forgiven the Sioux for his humiliating defeat and loss of rank. He pieced together a rag-tag army of claim jumpers, troublemakers, and freebooters, and threatens to invade the Dakotas. Custer is acting without authority from Washington, but the Sioux don’t see it that way. Since he still wears the rank of a US Army officer on his collar, to them, he is a US army officer.

Deadwood

When ghost rock was discovered in the sacred Black Hills of the Sioux Nations, thousands of white prospectors violated the Indians’ borders in search of riches. The Sioux took up their weapons to protect their territory and violent clashes were frequent. This caused so much trouble, the wicasas fi nally allowed the whites to mine in the Black Hills, but only if they would not stray from designated areas, pay a fee to the Sioux, and live in the treaty city of Deadwood. Those who stray outside these boundaries are considered trespassers and subject to Sioux law. In the case of minor infractions—a couple of prospectors wandering a few hundred yards “off the reservation”—the Sioux usually hog-tie the offenders and drop them off at the edge of town. More severe incursions or repeat offenders are usually punished with a slow and painful death, with the bodies deposited somewhere other would-be prospectors are certain to find them.Unfortunately, the vengeful Custer and the greedy miners of Deadwood constantly violate the treaty. It seems to be only a matter of time before such an incident sets off a war between the Sioux and every white man who sets foot in the Dakota Territory.

The Old Ways

Outnumbered though they are, the isolated whites of the area have one important advantage—or so they think. The wicasas claim that a great change came over the land about fi fteen years ago, that evil spirits had returned to the world to punish them for adopting some of the “polluted white man’s evils,” such as fire water and guns. This philosophy eventually came to mean the Sioux were not to use any sort of technological device; the wicasas told them to return to the “Old Ways,” and the movement was born. Many young braves feel the Old Ways Movement is foolish, and attacking Gatling guns and cannons with arrows and tomahawks is suicide. The wicasas forbid such talk, but rumor persists of a secret rebellion calling itself the “Order of the Raven.” The Ravenites, it is said, use the white man’s tools against him in secret, despite the condemnation of the elders. The wicasas feel this behavior poisons the Sioux in the eyes of their gods, and put to death any young brave found with the hidden tattoo that marks him as a Ravenite.

The Coyote Confederation

Down south, in what used to be “Indian Territory,” a coalition of Cherokee, Comanche, Creek, Seminole, Kiowa, Chickasaw, and Choctaw Indians saw the success of the Sioux and, longing for a similar degree of independence, decided to follow suit. This proud group of tribes formed themselves into a new nation, called the Coyote Confederation. The Confederation’s leader is an enigmatic figure known only as “Coyote.” Coyote remains cloaked and cowled even among his own people, so it’s entirely likely one of the tribes’ true leaders acts as Coyote. Quanah Parker and Satanta are likely candidates, though one of their trusted medicine men might be under the hood as well. In fact, it’s probably not the same Indian from day to day, since Coyote has often been reported hundreds of miles from his last known location in the space of as little as an hour! In any case, Coyote seems wiser than the sometimes hot-headed Sioux leadership, but doesn’t take an active hand in the Confederation’s affairs. Instead, he leaves each tribe largely to its own devices. Thanks to the lack of a single, strong leader, some braves carry on the age-old tradition of raiding enemy settlements—usually white folks—a habit that brings them in frequent conflict with settlers in the Disputed Territories.

Brothers in Arms

The Coyotes rarely raid into the Confederacy, or even towns in the Disputed Territories sympathetic to the Southern cause. It’s basically an open secret that the Coyote Confederation abides by some kind of agreement with the Confederacy, though with Michele’s succession of Davis as president, raids into Confederate territory are on the upswing. Oklahoma, it seems, was never included in this tacit agreement, as raids on the small part of Oklahoma not considered Indian Territory were frequent even before the Civil War ended. Now that the Confederacy has pulled its troops out of Oklahoma entirely, many believe the Coyote Confederation plans to expand its borders to include all of Oklahama.

The Republic Of Deseret

Mormons have long been the odd men out where Christianity is concerned. Their version of the faith didn’t often sit well with their neighbors Back East. Eventually, things got so bad the self-proclaimed Latter Day Saints packed up and headed west. There, they settled on a desolate parcel of land called Utah, and their new leader and prophet Brigham Young founded Salt Lake City in 1847.

President Brigham Young

Young was a clever man, and he orchestrated Utah’s recognition as a territory rather quickly. The Mormons enjoyed isolation, anonymity, and even their own laws until the Gold Rush of ’49. Though the Saints prospered fi nancially as Salt Lake City became a waystation for thousands of miners headed west, the new Gentiles didn’t always live according to Mormon law. Once again, the Mormons found themselves battling for their way of life, which included polygamy—a practice the rest of the country wouldn’t tolerate. The Saints muddled along until 1866. By then, with no end in sight for the Civil War and several unfortunate confl icts with Gentiles (including the Union army) under their belts, Brigham Young declared the Mormons would rule themselves untilsuch time as the government had the resources to properly address the Saints’ concerns and complaints. The new nation was named Deseret, and encompasses all of the territory known to Gentiles as Utah.

The City o’ Gloom

Salt Lake City is often called the City of Gloom. This title is not some satirical comment on the Mormon lifestyle, but rather recognition of the city’s incredible factories. These factories build ghost rock powered devices of steam and steel. The constant cloud of ghost rock soot that hangs in the air and permeates certain sections of the city gives it its less than cheerful moniker. Worse still is the Junkyard, the maze of streets, overhanging pipes, and gantries built up in and around Darius Hellstromme’s numerous factories. The maze overhead is called the Steel Sky, and pretty much blots out the sun on even cloudless days. Squeezed smack dab between Salt Lake City proper and the nearby Rockies, the Junkyard isn’t a place proper Mormons go. It’s left to the Gentiles— and the bloodthirsty gangs, desperate fugitives, and darker things that run it.

The City of Lost Angels

The last stop on our tour takes us back to the start of it all, the Great Maze. After the Great Quake of ’68, one group of survivors was led to shore by the Reverend Ezekiah Grimme. He provided the large band of refugees both food and fresh water during their arduous escape, and eventually came to call his followers the Lost Angels. The group founded a city where they came ashore, and Grimme named it for his beloved flock—the City of Lost Angels was born.

Reverend Grimme

Since then, Reverend Grimme’s become a bit more stern. He forced the city’s co-founders to build the streets in a pattern of concentric circles with the Church of Lost Angels’ cathedral at the center of it all. He claims he was inspired by a divine dream to create this “Celestial City.” It wasn’t long before the city became the center of the ghost rock trade between the isolated boomtowns of the Maze and the rest of the world, a fact that has escaped neither Grimme himself nor the Rail Barons. Despite the rough and tumble types that flooded in, Grimme maintained control for one simple reason: food is incredibly scarce in the Maze. The high desert on the landward side of the city is arid and poorly suited for crops, and the few herds anyone has tried to raise are inevitably ravaged by disease. Starvation is a very real threat in the Maze—or would be if not for Reverend Grimme. Every Sunday following his weekly sermon, those who attend services may join the congregation in a great feast. Fruit, vegetables, and especially meat are free for the taking. Fruits and vegetables are hard to come by in the city, and meat nearly impossible, but Grimme’s feasts never seem to lack second helpings. In any other city, Grimme’s feasts would make him a popular man. In the Maze, where a loaf of bread can cost as much as a man makes in a week, Grimme is seen as just a step below the Almighty Himself.

The Edict of ’77

Reverend Grimme believes a transcontinental railroad will only bring graft and corruption to his city. Outsiders often feel he is afraid a rail line would make food more plentiful, and thus shake his grip on power. Grimme, however, preaches his point of view at his services every week, so the Lost Angels faithful are firmly in his camp. He railed against the coming of the railroads for years, but finally the iron horses must have come too close. In 1877, Grimme—long the de facto ruler of the city—took official control and declared the City of Lost Angels a sovereign state. He apparently figured if the Vatican could do it, so could he. In his now famous Edict of ’77, he proclaimed that only true believers in the Church of Lost Angels could live in the city (though thousands of hopefuls live in the “tent city” outside). Those who do not recognize the church’s sovereignty are not only exiled, but considered enemies of the state as well.As such, pretty much everyone in the city pays at least lip service to the church. Even visitors to the city—who are grudgingly allowed—are expected

to toe the line, inasmuch as they are not allowed to practice their own faith within city walls, nor speak out against the Church or the city’s great benefactor. Grimme’s law is enforced by his own elite, the Guardian Angels. These true believers always carry the word of Grimme for potential converts, and a six-gun for troublemakers.

Grimme’s Crusade

Needless to say, no one outside the city of Lost Angels much liked seeing one man control a good chunk of the world’s supply of ghost rock. The USA, CSA, Republic of Deseret, and a host of other nations lost no time condemning Grimme’s move and calling him a despot, and the list of groups seeking the end of the reverend’s infl uence in the city has grown over the intervening years.Even the zealous Grimme knows he can’t take on the entire world. To convince folks the Church of Lost Angels is acting in everyone’s best interest, he sends small bands of missionaries out across the West to proselytize and recruit new followers. Of course, the railroads don’t take kindly to the folks standing in the way of their quest for victory in the Rail Wars, and their armed gangs often attack Lost Angels on sight. For their part, the Angels usually give as good as they get. After all, it’s better to have the Word of God and a shotgun at your side than just the Word of God. If any Rail Baron attempts a final push into the City of Lost Angels, it’ll touch off a confl ict as vicious and bloody than the Rail Wars themselves.

Grimme’s Crusade

Needless to say, no one outside the city of Lost Angels much liked seeing one man control a good chunk of the world’s supply of ghost rock. The USA, CSA, Republic of Deseret, and a host of other nations lost no time condemning Grimme’s move and calling him a despot, and the list of groups seeking the end of the reverend’s infl uence in the city has grown over the intervening years.Even the zealous Grimme knows he can’t take on the entire world. To convince folks the Church of Lost Angels is acting in everyone’s best interest, he sends small bands of missionaries out across the West to proselytize and recruit new followers. Of course, the railroads don’t take kindly to the folks standing in the way of their quest for victory in the Rail Wars, and their armed gangs often attack Lost Angels on sight. For their part, the Angels usually give as good as they get. After all, it’s better to have the Word of God and a shotgun at your side than just the Word of God. If any Rail Baron attempts a final push into the City of Lost Angels, it’ll touch off a confl ict as vicious and bloody than the Rail Wars themselves.