America is much larger, and much more inland than Western Europe, so horses are even more valuable in the American Middle Ages than the European Ages. Horses are expensive to keep, but they are worth their weight, and the value of horses has resulted in intensive breeding for the animal, especially in places like Kentucky and Texas. In fact, many are quite specialized for speed, luggage capacity, and of course, warfare.
Warlords
Heavy cavalry is the most commonly used tactic in the forest zone of the east, where the regions are vast and not very centralized, and rule is enforced by a ruling warrior class. Horses must be big and strong to withstand battle and the weight of their armored riders, so the midwest is able support horses with the surplus of hearty grains, and the south is able to use the longer growing season and diverse crops to their favor. The Ohio River valley has access to crops, metalworking, and generations of horse breeding that has allowed Ohio to become the most powerful feudal realm on the continent.
For the most part, eastern knights prefer the sun-blocking morions on helms, and the lither saber as for sword-fighting. The more mineral-wealthy north has heavier armor than the south, which may supplement their mail with and arms with leather and wood.
Templars
"Templar" is a catch-all term for the heavy cavalry utilized by the Hydraulic Empires of Deseret and California, who's soldiers are theoretically supposed to be untitled and tied to the state, and usually wage war on behalf of their faith. The consolidated wealth has access to the weaponry and horses required to be a knight, but anyone who wishes to be a Templar has to be tested and buy their way in. (This keeps the armies pressed and focused.) In theory, Templars are supposed to be celibate (And Easterners spread rumors of homosexuality), but somebody is keeping the brothels of the deserts open.
Tournaments
In times of peace, warlords will keep their skills sharpened with tournaments held in most major cities. Jousting is the largely the most popular, although melee will take a variety of forms. In the more Northern regions, there's more of an emphasis on padding up and jumping straight in. Tournament fighting in the South is more about speed, since heavy armors can be uncomfortable in the hotter climate. It's for this reason the Southern nations will hold most of their major tournaments after the harvest season is over, in December and January. Although most of the competing knights are from below the Mason Dixon, everyone from Non-Denominational world is invited. Well-off knights from the north will gladly take a leave from their snow-ridden homes to test their skill in January's Super Bowl Tournament. (The at the behest of the Church, nobody performs on Sunday) The event is not only a big deal for competitors, but for merchants who can sample consumers from all over the continent. The tournament will even present theatrical shows starring characters like Shrek, Snoopy, or Spiderman. The Delmarva Peninsula is home to some of the United States of America's mounted warriors, and they participate. Along the western frontiers, however, herdsmen abhor the pageantry and wastefulness of knights. Their answer to the tournament is the Rodeo.
Saturday, December 1, 2012
Monday, October 1, 2012
Texas
Though Texas was a burgeoning state, home to some of the largest population centers of the United States, the climate of Texas, often arid on one end, and impossibly muggy on the other, had populations slowly migrating to better areas. It did not help that the Texas always had an ambivalent relationship with the rest of the US, and was perfectly willing to be the lone wolf in the downfall of civilization. It didn't take took long for various tribes to pick the state apart, piece by piece. Now Texas is no longer a state with easily defined borders, but a region that is vaguely said to start somewhere afterRed River, and end somewhere on the Rio Grande.
Right now, it's a microcosm of America in general, splintered between the farmers, the herdsmen, and the irrigators. The farms of the coast, that reach from Corpus Christie to Dallas are subjugated by the Anderson clan. The cowboys believe the farmers are an inferior, filthy people, but they serve their purpose as traders, and a large enough population for skilled laborers and artisans. Basically, the farmers serve as a pool of resources--more sophisticated weaponry, armor, wagons, as well as a surplus of calories to build up the Anderson army, building them up to have total domination of the southern plains.
Right now, it's a microcosm of America in general, splintered between the farmers, the herdsmen, and the irrigators. The farms of the coast, that reach from Corpus Christie to Dallas are subjugated by the Anderson clan. The cowboys believe the farmers are an inferior, filthy people, but they serve their purpose as traders, and a large enough population for skilled laborers and artisans. Basically, the farmers serve as a pool of resources--more sophisticated weaponry, armor, wagons, as well as a surplus of calories to build up the Anderson army, building them up to have total domination of the southern plains.
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Jews
The cornerstone of the Abrahamic faiths, Jews were not always well treated on the various continents of both ancient, medieval, and even modern times. Their history was often one of being displaced from one nation to each other. This led to mass emigration to America, which in the industrial age, had more Jewish people living in it than any other nation save for Israel. (Which probably has its own story right now) There's roughly a million or so living on the continent now, mostly concentrated around the the Hudson river and its mouth; The Berkshires, Catskills and Long Island generally provide a cultural base and isolation. Manhattan is a territory of the United States of America, but is largely a port town with a fluctuating political climate. Although the USA Army makes laws that make life hard for them just like anybody else, the Jewish residents of New York City managed to make a niche by serving as ambassadors up the Hudson, bridging the political gap between the port town and the state of New York.
The Holy Land is far too distant for many Jews to make a pilgrimage to, however many try to make the far more feasible visit to the Touro Synagogue in Newport, Rhode Island, or in Charleston. Very few modifications have been made to the Torah, but "The Book of Clouds" exists as a quasi-apocryphal tome. Because of murky history, it's very mythologized, but it recounts the dark deeds of Adolph Hitler, and they hold a festival starting on roughly the last week of July.
There are a few settlements in Florida, as well. Because most of the Jewish people who lived in Florida in the 20th century tended to be older, and thus not create a great deal of lineages, the communities could provide a safety net and source of migrations as Jews, as usual, became scapegoats and targets when things went south. These communities also serve as a port stop for the United States Empire, helping pass along the goods in the long trade route that spans the Caribbean to the Gulf of Saint Lawrence.
They're also a sizeable minority in the Californias. Most of them have been driven out by the Scientologists, but live as Shepherds in the California desert, although Jews will sometimes be hired (or acquired) for servant positions, due to various restrictions by the Scientology faith. Due to the large Mexican-American population in the southwest, assimilation has created a new ethnic group, known as Shimishin. There are a few that have migrated the foothills, Northern Coastal Range, where they can exist as a buffer zone between the Scientologists and the Buddhists, the latter really not tending form schisms based on religious differences.
The Holy Land is far too distant for many Jews to make a pilgrimage to, however many try to make the far more feasible visit to the Touro Synagogue in Newport, Rhode Island, or in Charleston. Very few modifications have been made to the Torah, but "The Book of Clouds" exists as a quasi-apocryphal tome. Because of murky history, it's very mythologized, but it recounts the dark deeds of Adolph Hitler, and they hold a festival starting on roughly the last week of July.
There are a few settlements in Florida, as well. Because most of the Jewish people who lived in Florida in the 20th century tended to be older, and thus not create a great deal of lineages, the communities could provide a safety net and source of migrations as Jews, as usual, became scapegoats and targets when things went south. These communities also serve as a port stop for the United States Empire, helping pass along the goods in the long trade route that spans the Caribbean to the Gulf of Saint Lawrence.
They're also a sizeable minority in the Californias. Most of them have been driven out by the Scientologists, but live as Shepherds in the California desert, although Jews will sometimes be hired (or acquired) for servant positions, due to various restrictions by the Scientology faith. Due to the large Mexican-American population in the southwest, assimilation has created a new ethnic group, known as Shimishin. There are a few that have migrated the foothills, Northern Coastal Range, where they can exist as a buffer zone between the Scientologists and the Buddhists, the latter really not tending form schisms based on religious differences.
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