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Alright, a short, silly ASB scenario showing my answer to the question "what if Santa Claus was real?" Happy holidays, everyone!
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From his frozen throne of shattered swords and bones, the Frost Lich watches his icy empire. He doesn't really have the power over life and death; if he did, his ancestor would still be on the throne, but the religion of Arctica confers upon the current Warlord of the North the role of Speaker for the Death God. He is not truly omniscient, although Arctica's series of television cameras and microphones permeates every public, and increasingly private, place in the empire. It is true that the Frost Lich has a "list" of enemies of the state and loyal followers, and that the former are left to labor in the most frozen of prison camps and the latter are rewarded with gifts, but the Frost Lich does not do this himself: an entire apparatus of the state exists just for this purpose.
Though the Frost Lich has grown fat from years of feasts since his ascension, and though the blood of the slain on his royal garb has become closer to brown than red, he is still a large, muscular man by Homo sapiens standards. He, like all of the original Arcticans, are an offshoot of humanity which left Africa long before the rest of mankind's ancestors did. They are larger folk, and almost totally carnivorous, but they are just as smart as their southern brethren. For countless millennia, they have terrorized the peoples of the south, both in Eurasia and Nearer Atlantis. Although their raids were originally for food and women, as the north warmed and farming became possible, the Arcticans realized the potential of slavery. This tradition continues to this day, but instead of toiling in the farms, most slaves now work in the factories which give Arctica's war machine an edge over its numerically superior rivals.
Its rivals are not much better, politically, than the Arcticans, but owing to their geographic position are much more prosperous. The Holy Roman Empire, a Catholic absolute monarchy, dominates Europe since the end of the Great War. Facing nationalist and religious unrest in its newly conquered territories, the Imperials have resorted to labor camps deep within the Siberian tundra, a model based on their Arctican rivals. In the east, the Zhongguo stand as a nation with over two billion people serving the Dragon Emperor in Changan. The Thai to the south remain a loyal ally, as their expansion was aided by Zhongguo, although there are fears that the Thai may attempt to align with Arctica in order to further increase its power. An early colonial power, Zhongguo has reaped the bounties of the Far Orient, but Arctican raids had ensured that the natives were better-equipped to deal with Old World disease and technology. The Tsi Hu remain a testament to Zhongguo's colonial past, a powerful empire mixing Sinic and native culture into a strange, polytheocratic mess.
Arctica's allies are mostly ones of convenience, as nobody is truly comfortable with the Arcticans. The Tlaxacalans, who only gave up human sacrifice in the 19th century, dislike the industrial slavery of the Arctican allies. The Pala Empire seeks to unite the Indian subcontinent under its rule, and needs Arctican power as a counterweight to a Zhongguo that would never allow itself to be surrounded by great powers on the north and south.
Standing apart from the mess is Vinland. Made up of Norse settlers who fled Arctican raids and their "Skraeling" wives, the Vinorians despise the Arcticans but fear them enough so that they are forced to stay out of the Frankfurt-Changan Axis. They do keep in mind to bow to the north in such a way that it does not look like mooning the south, and they do have plans to go to war against Arctica should Arctica make overly aggressive moves against them.
The post-Great War world is kept from collapsing into war with the development of nuclear weapons. With both the Imperials and Zhongguo able to strike at the North Pole with ease using their bombers and missiles, and vice versa, the great powers know that another world war will end with global destruction. And although the Frost Lich seeks to turn all of those who stand against him into ash, the already-cold Arctican lands cannot afford a nuclear winter. And so history continues, always at the precipice of oblivion.
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From his frozen throne of shattered swords and bones, the Frost Lich watches his icy empire. He doesn't really have the power over life and death; if he did, his ancestor would still be on the throne, but the religion of Arctica confers upon the current Warlord of the North the role of Speaker for the Death God. He is not truly omniscient, although Arctica's series of television cameras and microphones permeates every public, and increasingly private, place in the empire. It is true that the Frost Lich has a "list" of enemies of the state and loyal followers, and that the former are left to labor in the most frozen of prison camps and the latter are rewarded with gifts, but the Frost Lich does not do this himself: an entire apparatus of the state exists just for this purpose.
Though the Frost Lich has grown fat from years of feasts since his ascension, and though the blood of the slain on his royal garb has become closer to brown than red, he is still a large, muscular man by Homo sapiens standards. He, like all of the original Arcticans, are an offshoot of humanity which left Africa long before the rest of mankind's ancestors did. They are larger folk, and almost totally carnivorous, but they are just as smart as their southern brethren. For countless millennia, they have terrorized the peoples of the south, both in Eurasia and Nearer Atlantis. Although their raids were originally for food and women, as the north warmed and farming became possible, the Arcticans realized the potential of slavery. This tradition continues to this day, but instead of toiling in the farms, most slaves now work in the factories which give Arctica's war machine an edge over its numerically superior rivals.
Its rivals are not much better, politically, than the Arcticans, but owing to their geographic position are much more prosperous. The Holy Roman Empire, a Catholic absolute monarchy, dominates Europe since the end of the Great War. Facing nationalist and religious unrest in its newly conquered territories, the Imperials have resorted to labor camps deep within the Siberian tundra, a model based on their Arctican rivals. In the east, the Zhongguo stand as a nation with over two billion people serving the Dragon Emperor in Changan. The Thai to the south remain a loyal ally, as their expansion was aided by Zhongguo, although there are fears that the Thai may attempt to align with Arctica in order to further increase its power. An early colonial power, Zhongguo has reaped the bounties of the Far Orient, but Arctican raids had ensured that the natives were better-equipped to deal with Old World disease and technology. The Tsi Hu remain a testament to Zhongguo's colonial past, a powerful empire mixing Sinic and native culture into a strange, polytheocratic mess.
Arctica's allies are mostly ones of convenience, as nobody is truly comfortable with the Arcticans. The Tlaxacalans, who only gave up human sacrifice in the 19th century, dislike the industrial slavery of the Arctican allies. The Pala Empire seeks to unite the Indian subcontinent under its rule, and needs Arctican power as a counterweight to a Zhongguo that would never allow itself to be surrounded by great powers on the north and south.
Standing apart from the mess is Vinland. Made up of Norse settlers who fled Arctican raids and their "Skraeling" wives, the Vinorians despise the Arcticans but fear them enough so that they are forced to stay out of the Frankfurt-Changan Axis. They do keep in mind to bow to the north in such a way that it does not look like mooning the south, and they do have plans to go to war against Arctica should Arctica make overly aggressive moves against them.
The post-Great War world is kept from collapsing into war with the development of nuclear weapons. With both the Imperials and Zhongguo able to strike at the North Pole with ease using their bombers and missiles, and vice versa, the great powers know that another world war will end with global destruction. And although the Frost Lich seeks to turn all of those who stand against him into ash, the already-cold Arctican lands cannot afford a nuclear winter. And so history continues, always at the precipice of oblivion.
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...Am I the only one reminded of Fortnite C1S7 when reading this?