Scarlet Seas, Crimson Banners

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Scarlet Seas, Crimson Banners: An Illustrated Setting is an Alternate History timeline posted on Alternatehistory.com by Color Copycat of Damsels and Dirigibles fame. It can be found here.

Unlike that work, however, Scarlet Seas, Crimson Banners takes place far into the future of its timeline. Set largely on the planet of Shindai, in the Outer Rim fringes of human-settled space centuries following the "Dissolution Wars," it could be best described as part Mad Max, part Cold War analogy and especially part recreation of Afrikaner/Boer history In Space. As it progresses, however, more and more of the setting is revealed.

Tropes used in Scarlet Seas, Crimson Banners include:

• Alternate History: Albeit one set over a thousand years after its point of divergence.
• Darkest Africa: Averted with Shindai itself, as it was settled by a Sino-Japanese conglomerate and whose natives (largely Chinese) constitute the majority of the population. Played with, however, with the Freeporters, who are described as a mix between the image of savage tribes from Subsaharan Africa and Space Pirates.
• Eagleland: The Texacor Battalion were originally an ICA military force that managed to survive largely intact upon landfall on Shindai during the end of the "Dissolution Wars." Over time, they've become a formidable country in their own right, retaining much of their ancient American heritage.
• For Want of a Nail: According to Word of God, the timeline diverged with an alternate outcome of the 1893 ZAR presidential election, in which Joubert's Progressives narrowly defeat the Krugerite faction of the Volksraad. As a result, the Boer Wars never occurred, the Afrikaners' independence was guaranteed and an increasingly altered version of history plays out, ultimately leading to the Bergers' arrival on Shindai.
• Going Native: The Legionaar sub-group of the Bergers are descended from rogue French Foreign Legionnaires who over time assimilated into the Afrikaner-descended population. That said, however, they still retain the martial traditions and professionalism of their forefathers, and even use French as an indecipherable battle language.
• Great Offscreen War: The "Dissolution Wars" that brought down interstellar civilization and which impact is still greatly felt centuries on. While it's touched upon at points, the exact details remain vague.
• Schizo-Tech: The "present time" on Shindai features a lot of this, partly as a consequence of the post-"Dissolution Wars" collapse, scavenging old wrecks and attempts to rebuild industrial society.
  • The Bergers utilize "Geweers" (heavily implied to be replicas of Gewehr rifles) as their standard firearms while many other peoples on Shindai utilize black-powder musketry for theirs. On the other hand, their vessels have magnetic weapons while their Legionaars have access to "auto-fusils."
  • The Texacor standard-issue gun is a black-powder musket rifle that could alternate between musselloading and breechloading configurations. It's also capable of firing hypervelocity, armor-piercing rounds.