Welcome

Rena

In Veritas Falsus, those outside the high walls of Vectorville are subject to hegemon rule. However, the rule of the hegemon is not predicated upon any legal authority or moral highground, nor is it necessarily through force of arms. In fact, hegemons resemble some primitive feudal setups, or hegemonies of the Zhou Dynasty of Ancient China. They are, in effect, an oligopoly based upon the uncanny ability to make other groups subservient to them, without necessarily applying direct force.

After the Pandemic and Fallout, an enormous power vacuum emerged. Eventually, small groups clustered together—families stuck together, friends bonded with friends, lovers watched out for each other—generating primitive groups that had more power and utility than the single survivor. Over time, many of these groups merged into larger factions, and these factions began to make allegiances and integrate with other factions. As morals decayed and these groups' power and influence grew, they eventually began acquiring and forming vassal groups.

And hegemons were born.

The actual power and structure of a hegemon is difficult to explain. In some ways, it is like the mafioso, or drug ring. They are shady figures at the top, who avoid showing their face too much, as it may cheapen their puppetmaster persona. Underneath them, they usually have a good number of vassals and subordinates, who do their bidding. They too are the elite amongst the survivors, because they have considerable clout of their own.

In principle, even the lowest hegemon member is higher than the highest gang member, but in practice, this line in the sand is much lighter. Lower ranks of the hegemons often are 'on loan' with the street gangs, occasionally acting amongst them as the lieutenants or senior members. Frequently, higher ranking hegemon elites will appear and issue orders, but these orders are usually performed without much finesse and intricacy in the absence of hegemon officials acting alongside them directly.

In the current landscape, there are two hegemons in the former New York Metropolitan area: the Crimson Saber and Golden Banner. Both of them have amassed an impressive amount of territory and power, poising themselves for dominance within their spheres. But as their territories encroached upon each other, tensions over regional support grew. A hegemon with more territory and more influence can demand more tribute and resources from its subjects, and thus accrue greater wealth.

For the most part, hegemons are able to be self-sufficient. They have rediscovered means of agriculture and farming, and built small oases amidst the chaos of the city. Unsurprisingly, these little oases have become miniature fortresses of their own, with walls built from the rubble and guards and patrols keeping the outside world at bay. In fact, the success of the hegemons is predicated upon their ability to produce a surplus, so they can ration off additional goods and resources towards their subjects in return for their unquestioned loyalty.

Naturally, because hegemons have clawed so desperately towards the top, they wish to stay and enjoy the fruits of their labor. Within their territories, few groups can gather without hegemon interference. Assembly is dangerous to their stranglehold on power, and they will take strong action to prevent these assemblies from growing too large and too powerful—they frequently employ street gangs to police their territory and break up these events.

Within their territory, street gangs are the only entity that the hegemons have permitted to assemble in large groups. Gangs have the support of the hegemon primarily because they have sworn an oath of loyalty to them, and because the hegemons frequently provide them with food and shelter. However, these gangs still retain quasi-autonomy—they are not under the umbrella protection of the hegemon and are treated as separate entities. In the end, however, this relation is far from a nurturing one. If a hegemon feels that a gang is getting too large or too restless, they may pit it against a rival gang to thin out their ranks. Ideally, this rival would be someone loyal to the other hegemon, so they can kill two birds with one stone.

Because they have built bastions of safety, hegemons are able to develop quicker than the rest of the remnant population. This means the rich gets richer. Unfortunately, this prosperity also means that they slow start to compete for the same resources with the other hegemon. As the Saber and the Banner continue to get larger and more powerful, they subsequently impede upon each other's progress. For those in the know, they claim that it is only a matter of time before the two come to a head.

Entry into a hegemon is not easy, though it is certainly possible. Most of the members of a hegemon got into it by referral and approval by one of the hegemon elites. Those that join have to demonstrate an unquestionable loyalty and undeniable competence; the hegemons typically have no use for weak or simpleminded members, and will usually treat those individuals as disposable. Because of their proximity, sometimes elite members within a gang may catch the attention of a hegemon elite and gain entry, this is effectively an immediate promotion within the gang as well.

---

---

The Crimson Saber is the larger and more prominent of the two hegemons in the region. It has a large membership, numbering over three hundred adult members, and it has the support of most of the gangs within the area. Their territories also comprise most of Uptown, including the population-rich Central Park, the Bronx, Yonkers, and parts of Queens. As a result, they are the authority for most of the stragglers who live there, and they have been known to collect on their debts with force.

Because of their large size and deep membership, they also have considerable resources. Their agriculture is booming, and they have accumulated an impressive surplus of food that often exceeds that of the much more populated human fortress, Vectorville. With this surplus in resources, they have the means to subjugate many of the city's gangs, and puppet them for their purposes.

The Saber makes its base in the Bronx. Their Oasis is the former Yankee Stadium, both old and new, and the surrounding parking lot. In the place of the "House that Ruth Built" lies an impressive town built from the ruins of the nearby buildings. Steel beams and plates bonded together to form an intimidating wall.

Nonetheless, the Saber does have its flaws. Their management is large and (considered by many) unwieldy, and they often squabble amongst themselves. Because of their replenishable human resources and deep coffers, the Saber frequently lacks subtlety, preferring simply to throw more men at the problem and hope that it solves itself. When the Saber grew, it bonded quickly and without an agreed-upon plan—their core nucleus, twelve "great families," are without a clear leader. One of the twelve (the Chen's) is dictated by oral agreement to be the "head house," but this agreement is tenuous at best, with many of the families vying for the top position.

Subsequently, the Saber is not efficiently organized, and many of the great houses often compete for various assignments. However, this has had the partly-beneficial effect of making all of the lower Saber members free agents. They have all learned to judge competing interests and think for themselves, executing the goals of the Saber in the manner that they deem the most effective.

Despite these limitations, the Crimson Saber does expertly plays the number games. They always seem to have more men, more resources, more eyes and ears, and more underlings for whatever endeavor they attempt. With their dominion over the tribute-rich Central Park, the balance of power seems unlikely to shift.

---

---

The other—smaller—hegemon in the region is the Golden Banner. Centered in Brooklyn, the Golden Banner is unusual in that it does not dominate over a densely populated region. Brooklyn has a good number of stragglers (especially in Prospect Park), as does downtown Manhattan, which they dominate over, but nothing compared to the rich number of stragglers in the Bronx's many parks, or in the densely populated Uptown region.

The small number of stragglers in the region means that they simply do not have the means to compete with the Crimson Saber through sheer resources; as such, they cannot afford to get in a war of attrition with the larger hegemon. Nevertheless, what they lack in raw numbers, the Golden Banner seems to make up for in… swagger.

Members of the Golden Banner are few, less than a hundred adult members, but each of them seem to be trained killing machines. The Golden Banner has one critical advantage, one that makes even the powerful Saber hesitate to trifle with them: the quality of their members. The Golden Banner operates on the premise of the creme rising to the top. They recruit from the fertile recruiting grounds of Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Queens, where the sparse population and denser rubble means that any survivors are hardened by their isolation—they are all honed hunters, seasoned scavengers, or weathered warriors.

Those that comprise the Golden Banner truly are the few and the proud. They know little in the way of fear, and they rarely back down from confrontation, except, curiously, when it concerns their leader. Earnest Kingsolver rules over the Golden Banner with an iron fist, a stark contrast from the bickering of the Saber. Those that oppose him either disappear, or strangely seem to come to terms with him.

Since they are so seasoned and so proud, many of the Golden Banner's members wander away from their cushy encampment on Governor's Island (technically part of Manhattan borough). Though naturally isolated by water, the Golden Banner has erected a bridge connecting the Island to Brooklyn, and they guard the bridge with careful sentries. Along the perimeter of the island, they have constructed a high fence, built with scrap metal and fortified with concrete.

Compared to the Crimson Saber, the Golden Banner is much more hawkish. They swoop down upon their enemies, taking them out swiftly, and leave just as suddenly. Fear is their weapon as much as anything else. And to terrorize the various veterans in Manhattan, Brooklyn, or Queens, the Banner members have each had to develop impressive skills of their own.