Mortalis: Crucible

The world has changed.   Mankind has grown and expanded in ways previously unimaginable. Nearly every nation on Alta is either explicitly human or is controlled by humans. Airplanes soar across the world's skies, and the roads on land are now traveled by motorized cars rather than horses. Nation-states have become unitary entities, with pervasive national spirits and ideologies.   Technology has advanced to the point that older generations might see it as magic- but to those living in the year 1424, magic is dead. The world's mystical energies had been slowly fading since the middle ages, and now those with the ability to channel these energies are few and far between, typically hiding their powers due to mass paranoia.   Does the world need magic? Most would say no. Entire countries can be rendered utterly uninhabitable by modern weaponry. Disease is understood to be caused by microbial infections. Individuals can communicate over long distances instantaneously with the advent of telecommunication devices such as the telegraph and telephone. Produce can be preserved with refrigeration appliances and preservative compounds.   The geopolitical landscape of the world of Alta has grown increasingly complex and tense. There are no more petty wars, at least not in the eyes of the masses. Every armed conflict is a deep ideological struggle, and faith that the righteous will triumph is no longer enough. It almost seems, in the eyes of many, that every battle may determine the fate of the world.   There are many ideologies and philosophies in the world, but a few stand paramount- and all of them claim that those who are not with them are against them. Kladene has become a battleground between ideologies, with the Vinculists of Barylia and the National Communitarians of Borea facing off against the capitalist democracies of the west while simultaneously involved in a struggle to prevent the ideology of Collectivism from gaining a foothold in the east, all while the Collectivists work to spread their revolution far and wide.   The storm is not brewing- it has already been unleashed. The world is at war. Millions have perished for the ideals and principles that they believed in- others should be so lucky.   There are many names given to this brave new world, but one stands above all- the Crucible.