User:Ximothy/FalloutAzeroth/The Barrens

The Barrens
Capital(s)	Orgrimmar † Thunder Bluff †
Races	Orc  Tauren  Jungle troll  Goblin  Pandaren  Draenei  Human
Formerly	Centaur  Quilboar  Harpy
Major settlements	Crossroads (New Kalimdor Republic) Red Mountain (Grimtotem Horde) Ratchet (Independent)
Minor settlements	Red Rocks (Marauders) Razor Hill (Razorz) Windshear Crag (Harpies) The Den (Talon Company)
Affiliation	New Kalimdor Republic, Grimtotem Horde, Sentinels, Exodar Enclave, Raider Tribes (Marauders, Razorz, Harpies), Talon Company
Former affiliation(s)	Horde (Durotar, Mulgore Tribes, Darkspear Tribe, Bilgewater Cartel, Huojin Pandaren) Alliance (Theramore, Darnassus)
Location	Central Kalimdor

Once known as Central Kalimdor, the Horde's heartlands before the Azerite bombs fell, the Barrens is a dry and desolate region encompassing the former regions of Durotar, Mulgore, Stonetalon Mountains, Dustwallow Marsh and the Barrens itself. The cities of Orgrimmar, Thunder Bluff, Theramore and the Echo Isles are ruined and radioactive, Theramore being the first city to be bombed by a Mana Bomb on Azeroth and the other three being hit during the Final Hour. Most of the population died out from either the bombs or the fallout, with the ensuring Purple Rain that came after the bombs wiping out many survivors, though a few small pockets did endure. Most modern settlers come from the inhabitants of the Complex, a massive structure under Red Cloud Mesa in Mulgore that kept a population of orcs, trolls, tauren, goblins and pandaren alive through the apocalypse.

Two decades ago the settlement of the Crossroads was able to bring together a coalition of various other settlements to form the New Kalimdor Republic, backed by a militia and the Crossroads' caravans as well as their Pathfinders, veteran explorers and snipers. Various raider gangs have risen throughout the years, such as the large Grimtotem Horde coming from Red Mountain in the south or the Dust Devils that operate in small groups within the NKR territory, though there are also the "Three Tribes" who descend from Complex survivors that became raider tribes; the Marauders, the Razorz and the Harpies. A recent threat has appeared as strange scouts for a group that calls themselves the Exodar Enclave have begun appearing in the region.

Brief History

Pre-Bombs

Prior to the bombs this was regarded as Horde territory especially after the Horde destroyed Theramore, as well as the Alliance outposts of Northwatch, Fort Victory and Honor Stand. It contained three major Horde cities; Orgrimmar, Thunder Bluff and the Echo Isles, home to the orcs, tauren and trolls respectively, as well as various settlements such as the Crossroads, Razor Hill, Bloodhoof Village, Sen'jin Village, Ratchet and Sun Rock Retreat. Early on in the Last War most Alliance holdings were destroyed and driven from Central Kalimdor, allowing the Horde to flourish in the region. Goblins also lived in the area, some being from the Steamwheedle settlements of Ratchet and Mudsprocket while others were from the Bilgewater, many who lived in Orgrimmar with the bulk of the population living in the north, in Bilgewater Harbor. Little over a year after Theramore's fall the Alliance attempted to besiege Orgrimmar however the Horde rallied together and fought the siege off.

Throughout the Last War the Alliance would make incursions into the region again, being able to hold the Peak of Stonetalon for some time before the Horde drove them out. They also attempted to ally with the centaur tribes hoping to leverage their ancestry to Cenarius who the Horde had killed during the the Last War however the Horde largely wiped the centaur out and gang pressed the survivors into service, using them as cannon fodder against the Alliance. Quilboars, harpies and gnolls were similarly wiped out by the Horde, any surviving pockets would not survive the Purple Rain. After the Devastation of Pandaria and the halt of the Last War Baine Bloodhoof had a sinking feeling of the end times and sought to ensure the Horde races would endure, using a company called TotemTec to build a vast Complex under Red Cloud Mesa in Mulgore with several chambers to keep populations alive though not forever. He also made a morally questionable choice to kidnap children from across Horde lands instead of letting adults enter the Complex, entrusting the raising of future generations to a complex program called ELDER.

Five years after Pandaria the Azerite Warheads were unleashed world wide and the Horde, including its heartlands, were hit with several barrages of mana bombs. Orgrimmar, Thunder Bluff and the Echo Isles were all hit, with Orgrimmar being the first Kalimdor city to report being hit and it suffered the worst as its still highly radioactive to this day. A missile aimed at Ratchet missed the mark and hit the ocean however this was enough to send a toxic tidal wave that wiped out Ratchet's inhabitants. One of the missiles hit Red Cloud Mesa but did not affect the Complex below it. A warhead heading for the Razor Hill hit the mountains , and one of the Alliance's warheads turned Warsong Gulch into a radioactive crater. The towns of Camp Taurajo, Bloodhoof Village, Sun Rock, Desolation Hold and Brackenwall were all destroyed by Warheads. The Crossroads was not hit for reasons unknown, perhaps the Warhead targeting it did not launch or it went so wildly off course no one knows where it went but its considered unlikely if towns like Sun Rock and Brackenwall were hit that the Crossroads was not targeted.

Post-Bombs

Most life in the region died to Alliance bombardment, with only a few pockets surviving. In Dustwallow some of the Grimtotem survived in Blackhoof and Direhorn, though their leader Magatha died of radiation poisoning not long after the Final Hour and they would raid survivors for resources effectively becoming the first raiders in the Barrens. Vendetta, a small outpost, would become a small settlement over time and in the north the camp of Hunter's Hill would form a community of survivalists, the future Pathfinders. In the Valley of Trials survivors would barricade their home and endure the apocalypse, especially after survivors of Razor Hill would come down to steal from them. What was once a united faction broke apart, most dead and the few survivors became insular and untrusting of other groups of survivors.

For the next thirty years the Complex remained sealed until the First Failure forced ELDER to release some chambers early or risked the entire Complex running out of power. ELDER tried to provide what it could for these exiles but many were bitter having grown up knowing only the Complex and were thrust into the desert however ELDER had chosen chambers with high number of criminal elements to be removed first. These people would eventually travel to the north, splitting into smaller groups in order to maintain resources. Some went into the ruined red crags around Razor Hill and would eventually become the Razorz, a drugged up raider tribe, while others went north and founded the Harpies, a raider tribe that worshipped their idea of Aviana. Many former dwellers were settled in the ruined Crossroads and tried to set up a new life there, though some of these would eventually break off to form the Talon Company far to the north-west. Ratchet was also re-settled around this time by some complex dwellers and others who were survivors or children of survivors from the apocalypse.

Fifty years after the bombs the Second Failure, and last of its kind, resulted in even more Complex dwellers being exiled out into the desert though these ones were more prepared as ELDER anticipated a second failing of the Complex's systems. Many of these dwellers would join already existing settlements such as the Crossroads, Ratchet and Vendetta, some formed a new settlement of Thornville and others would spread further. Many former security went on to form the Marauders and became a raider tribe that remained a constant thorn in Mulgore and the southern Barrens. The Comples operated for another twenty-ish years until ELDER released all but one of the chambers out into the wastes at the time they were supposed to be released. The last Chamber remained sealed for another ten years. Otherwise the Complex largely fell silent and into disrepair.

Roughly sixty-five years after the bombs was when the Crossroads people would seek to unify with several settlements into the New Kalimdor Republic, working with the Pathfinders that operated out of a few scattered outposts and the Caravan Companies to make the new government work. They included settlements such as Vendetta, Boulder City, the Valley and Dry Hills though Ratchet was invited they did not join and remained trade partners though some whispers that the NKR are using underhanded methods to try and get it to join. In the south the Grimtotem have rapily grown after one Tahun Bloodhoof, a child of two tauren who left the Complex in the Second Failure, raised from a slave to be warchief of the Grimtotem and seeks to create a new Horde. Under her rule the Grimtotem cleared out the lepers in Red Mountain and begun to churn the foundries to supply her fledgling Horde.

New Kalimdor Republic

New Kalimdor Republic
Main leader	Shatter-Hooves, Chief of State
Formerly	Tah'dani
Race(s)	Orc  Tauren  Troll  Goblin  Pandaren
Capital	Crossroads
Other major settlements	Dry Hills, Thornville, Boulder City ,The Valley
Base of operations	The Ramparts, Camp Coyote
Language(s)	Taur-ahe, Oricsh
Sub-group(s)	Pathfinders
Status	Active

Founded in the Crossroads consisting of various settlements in northern Barrens, including villages of Vendetta, Thornville, the Valley and Dry Hills. A shared goal of prosperity and security spurred the creation of this fledgling nation, though many settlements are not too sure on this coalition yet such as Ratchet that thinks the taxes that the NKR posses are too much. Its major settlements are the Crossroads, which serves as the caravan hub for the various caravan companies; Dry Hills to the north-west which serves as a farming community; Bounder City to the north-east which is a mine; the Valley which houses a large leper community; and far to the south is Thornville that provides herbs.

Within the NKR are the Pathfinders, formerly rangers that roamed the Barrens meeting out their own sense of justice and guarding caravans, an organisation devoted to mapping, guarding caravans, scouting and hunting. They have a few Pathfinders per settlement, with the Crossroads housing an office and their headquarters is Camp Coyote. To the north are the Ramparts that guards the pass to the northern wastes and is maintained by the NKR militia, with some backing from Pathfinders, to keep out the raiders of the north. Their greatest enemy are the Sentinels, a raider army that often tests their borders.

The lifeblood of the NKR are the Caravan Companies that call the Crossroads their hub and home, and it was from them that allowed the birth of the New Kalimdor Republic to spread rapidly among various settlements. The three most influential caravans are;

• Twin Kodos: The rising star of caravans, the Twin Kodos have only recently been established in the past two decades, however they already are claiming some fame in the region. Twin Kodos' trade is east, they route through Ratchet, into Durotar to find the Valley to trade with them, before returning to the Crossroads. Their primary problem are the Razorz, and they also help maintain a trade connection with the neutral town of Ratchet.

• Whipshank: The oldest of the three caravan groups, the Whipshank claim that they actually pre-date the bombs by several decades, and have continued their service ever since the bombs fell, not letting it stop their caravans. Their contributions allowed Crossroads to survive during the early days of the post-war era, however recent bad buisness deals has left them in the shadow of the Gold Road. The Whipshank mostly travel to Dry Hills, Boulder City and the Ramparts. Their greatest threat are the Harpies. Rumours have it that they also trade with the Talon Company in secret.

• Gold Road: Older than the Twin Kodos, but younger than Whipshank, the Gold Road has become the largest caravan in the business, being the most profitable and the one with the longest reach. They are named after the Gold Road which they use for their trade. The Gold Road caravan provides trade to Vendetta, Thornvile and other small settlements and farms to the south, providing water and other essentials to them. They've recently lost connection with Thornville. They face attacks from Marauders and Grimtotems both who always want their resources.

Grimtotem Horde

Grimtotem Horde
Main leader	Tahun Bloodhoof
Formerly	Rahauro Rorak Skullpike Raiko Lionsbane
Race(s)	Tauren  Orc  Troll  Goblin  Pandaren
Capital	Red Mountain
Other major settlements	Direhorn, Blackhoof, Darkcloud
Language(s)	Taur-ahe, Oricsh
Sub-group(s)	Fists, Bashes, Crushes
Status	Active

A powerful raider faction in the wasteland, located to the south of the Barrens, the Grimtotem Legion grew from nearly defunct pre-bomb tribe into a raider empire thanks to securing Red Mountain and having access to a foundry. Led by Tahun Bloodhoof, a charasmatic leader who seeks to build her raider empire into a 'New Horde', the Grimtotem are renown for gang pressing smaller raider tribes and gangs into their fold, and enslaving vast amounts of people.

Many Grimtotem consider themselves above the other raiders, having both a vast organisations and history backing their claim, however the settlers do not see a difference between Grimtotems and raiders as they both slaughter settlers and rob settlements. Now led by Tahun Bloodhoof, last descendant of the Bloodhoof linage, the Grimtotem have branded themselves as a Horde and seek to bring order to the wasteland by force.

Enclave Expedition

Enclave Expedition
Main leader	Grand Vindicator Maraad
Secondary leaders	Behomat Edirah Caedmos
Race(s)	Draenei
Capital	Exodar
Other major settlements	Arcatraz Post
Language(s)	Draenei
Sub-group(s)	Vindicators, Anchorites, Artificers, Rangari
Affiliation	Exodar Enclave
Status	Active

Raider Tribes

Marauders: Raiding out from the dead fields of Mulgore the Marauders are a gang of highly mobile raider tribe that descend from the Complex. They use some of the last active trikes to operate as their steeds, allowing them rapid hit and run attacks, and they also value strength with their Khan expected to also be strong enough to keep the title from challengers. They think of the Razorz as drug addled freaks and the Harpies are religious nutcases, however their relation with the Grimtotem is far more volatile having recently fought a brief war with them before suddenly opening trade with them, with many slaves the Marauders take being sent to foundries of Red Mountain. Their founder, regarded as the First Khan, was a tauren and former Security Officer from the Complex that was released during the Second Failure. While he spent some time as a caravan guard he found the work dissatisfying and instead led his group of former officers to become raiders, the founders of the Marauders. His second in command, the New Khan, was a female orc and she led the Marauders for some time with the discovery of their trikes happening under her rule. However during a conflict with the Grimtotem she was murdered by her mistress who was paid off by the Grimtotem. The new ruler, an orc named the Great Khan, now leads the Marauders and has entered a trade with the Grimtotems they once warred with.

Razorz: Years before the bombs fell, the Horde had driven quilboar to the brink of extinction, burning out the Razorfens. At Zero Hour the bombs and fallout wiped out the rest, the species did not survive the Black Winter, however remnants of their society were left scattered in the central Kalimdor to be picked up and appropriated by exiled Complex criminals that fled far east from the Complex. They named themselves the Razors and became a raider society based around drugs, always looking for a new high and are infamous for cannibalistic tendencies. Based in Razor Hill as their central hub, the Razors raid the newer roads in and out of the red badlands, raiding the caravan rides between the Crossroads and the Valley. The old Razormane Grounds has been repossessed by the raiders, as well as inhabiting the old canyons in the road to Orgrimmar. They leave the city alone, the few gangs that went in never returned and the Razors have built a superstition about it being inhabited by crazed and evil spirits.

Harpies: Gangs in Stonetalon, the Harpies are from the First Failure, like the Razors and Talon Company, and they initially held territories across the northern Barrens. They claim to worship Aviana, who they say is in the peak of Stonetalon and thus they war with the Talon Company who hold it. They initially held territories such as Dry Hills, however they were driven out by the nascent NKR and their caravan companies, something they still hold grudges about to this day. The Harpies are identifiable for having many feathers in their armour from eagles, hawks and dodos native to the mountain. They also adorn themselves in bones, both animal and people, and their captains and leaders have the right to wear bird skulls. They seem to be slanted more towards female members, however this is not a reflection of recruiting or rights, a raider is a raider and both male and female Harpies can be encountered, they just seem to have recruited more women.

Dust Fiends: The Fiends are different from the other three as they are not traditionally considered a tribe but a gang. They often operate within NKR territory, squatting caves and unused structures where they conduct their raids from. As a raider gang constantly exposed to the scorching heat of central Barrens they often cover their skin in orange dust, hence their name, to prevent burns. They don't have a unified leader, instead each group is loosely allied with one another and have their own small time leader. This decentrialised nature makes them harder to uproot as many Dust Fiends don't even know anything about other groups. Their leaders are constantly being hunted by the Pathfinders of the NKR.

Sentinels

Sentinels
Main leader	Min'da
Secondary leaders	Deronica Shan'do
Formerly	Ellemayne
Race(s)	Orc
Capital	Astramar
Theater of operations	Ashen
Language(s)	Darnassian/Orcish Hybrid
Sub-group(s)	Lok'dalator, Thero'osh
Status	Active

North of the Barrens are the ruined lands of Ashenvale, usually referred to as the Ashen in the modern landscape, a raider army has risen. Though once many settlements and tribes sprung out in the aftermath of the Final Hour, most of these have been subsumed by the growing Sentinel Army.

History
Founded by an orcish woman from an Archive of orcs named Zokarre Lonetree who studied the Last War and was in particular fascinated with the Kaldorei, enemies of her ancestors. She would leave her isolated enclave as she felt isolating and hoarding knowledge was pointless. She lived for a time in the Crossroads alongside her lover and fellow Archive deserter Ashka Dreamseeker but went north with a prospector group venturing deep into the Ashen where they came into the ruins of Astranaar. Piling together the scattered records she could she attempted to piece together the elves' way of life however her group was attacked and captured by a local tribe, the Shady Nook, on their way back who killed all but Tokarre and Askha. They were fighting a loosing war against a rival tribe, the Bearskin, so Zokarre offered her knowledge on gurellia warfare to help them fight a superior foe. Desperate enough to listen they worked under her leadership and successfully broke several Bearskin ambushes, allowing Askha to launch an attack and destroy the Bearskin village, and taking the survivors as slaves. The Shady Nook honoured her and asked her to continue to lead them, though she refused. She said she won't lead a tribe, but she will lead an army. Envisioning a restoration of the elven culture lost in the Last War she begun building her twisted vision of the past with the Shady Nook, turning them into her first Sentinels. She forbade them from speaking her old name and went by a new name and title; Min'da.

She named the women warriors and enslaved the men, noting they would do the labour and securing homes. Ashka would also have her name abolished and Min'da gave her the name Ellemayne, her Reaver, entrusting her as military commander of the new Sentinels. As such captured Bearskin women were freed while Shady Nook men were enslaved and she insisted on forgetting old tribal identities. She and her new Sentinels took the ruined elven settlement of Astranaar, which they mistakenly called Astramar, and secured it as their capital. They would begin striking out against the local tribes harassing them making them afraid of the night and the roads. When a tribe captulated their children were taken and the adults were used as cannonfodder in their conquests, as Min'da knew raising a new generation would be easier for indroctination. After conquering the Stardust tribe of orcs they bunkered down in their territory for close to three years to secure their holdings and allow legend of their conquests spread. Min'da spent this time writing up the governmental structure, naming her captains "Priestesses" who led her "Huntresses" into war, organizing her military wing into the "Lok'dalator", her Blade of Victory. She would incorperate orcish and Darnassian into one, causing a bastardization of both languages.

Once Astramar and the local territory was secured from raiders and tribals the Sentinels moved away from the western coast and moved east, towards the Dead Divide into eastern Ashen where she and Ellemayne were from. Among the eastern tribes was the Dead Barrows who's leader managed to parley with the Min'da. He and his tribe knew some of the Kaldorei culture of old and he asked her if she was rebuilding it where her druids, custodians of nature, were. While Ellemayne didn't feel they needed them, Min'da was swayed by the Dead Barrows' chieftain arguing for them and she absorbed the Dead Barrows as a willing addition, the elders of the tribe becoming Druids and the chieftain was given the name "Shan'do" by Min'da and the caste of the "Thero'gora", or Honoured Students, was formed. After absorbing the descendents of the Warsong clan that clung to that identity she would finally confront the secluded archive she once called home where she was condemned for not learning from the past and instead starting a new war. Min'da had them slaughtered to the last, refusing to allow any of them to join her Sentinels. With that she marked much of the Ashen as her territory, and became aware of how much the New Kalimdor Republic in the Barrens had grown when her forces encountered their scouts.

The Ramparts divided the Ashen from the Barrens and the NKR used it to keep out raiders from the north, as some tribes such as the Dead Barrows, Warsong and even the old Shady Nook would raid into their lands. Ellemayne was entrusted with taking the pass from the NKR with Min'da having total faith in her hand and lover. Ellemayne would besiege the Ramparts in numbers the defenders have never fought before, being able to take the Ramparts itself. The Pathfinders would retreat and Ellemayne, not seeing the trap, chased them with the heart of her forces leading to the Sentinels being caught out in the open with no trees for coverage. Picked off by the Pathfinders the front of the attack was dimished enough that reinforcements from the near by Boulder City and Dry Hills forced the Sentinels back and allowed the NKR to reclaim the Ramparts. Ellemayne was brought before Min'da who proved to all that no one was above punishment; she executed Ellemayne for her failure. She would name Deronica, a cold and calculating warrior, as her new second in command and sent her to claim new tribes. Deronica would bear a banner with the skull of Ellemayne as a reminder of the price of failure.

Distant Threats

Not all of those who threaten the Barrens are local to the region. The Ramparts is an NKR facility that keeps the Sentinel Army, a raider army consisting of mostly orcs who have adopted a bastardized version of Kaldorei culture, appropiating their language and culture for their own ends. A greater threat, however, is the Exodar Enclave. Coming from the far away Azuremyst Isles, the Exodar Enclave is a group of fanatical draenei that survived the Last War and live in a strict caste society within a bubble, fearing any mutation and hating everyone who has been affected by the arcane taint; which to them is everyone but themselves. Though they claim to honour Velen and his sacrifice they have flagrantly thrown away all of his teachings, even slaughtering the broken that lived within the Exodar for bearing a mutation albeit one of a different variant than the leprosy that affects the world now. Rumours of an Enclave base operating out in the Barrens is a common rumour among settlements with many swearing up and down they've seen draenei wearing Power Armour in the wastes.