The World of Vandar

“I do not know with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be
fought with sticks and stones.” — Albert Einstein

The Earth of Vandar’s time

Earth. Approximately 10,000 years in the future. Thermonuclear war and climate change have
resulted in the loss of much, but not all, of what was known of the “civilized” world. The
massive concussions from hundreds of nuclear weapons have shattered the earth’s plates,
resulting in many new configurations. Volcanoes occurred where once continental shields –
ancient, large low-lying crystalline rock areas were solid and unyielding. The continents
themselves have changed their shapes and orientations resulting in what would be quite
unrecognizable to those of the late 21st century.

Combined with the human-induced nuclear destruction with its fallout and massive carbon
emissions that together made a planet nearly bereft of life, except the hardiest of species. Some
species survived through pure chance while others through their whiles and instincts, and still
others through genetic predisposition. Radiation has caused some species to adapt subtly, at once
decreasing some species’ sizes to avoid predation, increasing others to turn them into super
predators. Birds, descendants of the great dinosaurs have, for the most part, survived. They
adapted very little in some cases, finding new environs to inhabit, or changing their food sources
to survive in-place. In rare cases, notably those birds closest to the equator, grew to enormous
size, a few exhibiting quite exotic shapes, even resembling the mythical dragons of ancient
times. 

Mighty nations have vanished, replaced in large part by small villages. The nations’ weapons of
war disappeared replaced by sword and shield and spear, much like medieval times but with
more refined metals. The fuels born of ancient plants lay buried and hidden once again as their
oil derricks, pumps and storage facilities have disintegrated; melted by the heat of thermonuclear
explosions, corrupted by rust, and evaporated by the sun’s rays unshielded by the atmosphere
whose ozone layer lay thin for thousands of years. Vehicles have succumbed to the elements as well. Road and rail and airport have been buried, buildings and crops have been wiped clean, the
oceans no longer support giant metal vessels of war or commerce.

With time, the earth would heal itself, no longer subject to the pressures of billions of humans
consuming at unsustainable rates. Climate change has raised sea levels, modified vegetation,
destroyed old habitats and replaced them with new. The humans that remained would likewise
adapt or perish as the plants and animals that would sustain them disappeared or were laced with
radiation. History would be forgotten, new gods would replace old, for little of the written word
remained. New languages would replace old. Villages would form of collaborations of small
collections of wanderers who happened upon each other. Ancient rivalries were replaced by new
ones as fear drove anger and anger drove hatred and the cycle would begin again. Amidst it all,
new mythologies and new heroes would rise. This was the place and the time in which Vandar
would be born. And whether he be man or myth, even he was not sure.

Opening Scene (Prologue):

North Bay Oracle. Uncounted tens of thousands of years ago the underground command and
control bunker of a NORAD site in what was then called Ontario, in the country of Canada.
Few artifacts of the nearby towns and villages remain after the nearly complete devastation of
what historians would one day call World War III; a nuclear war among superpowers whose
leaders ignored their own warnings of mutually assured destruction.

The bunker is now the location of one of many oracles comprising a loose network of mystics,
prognosticators, priestesses, and seers whose powers of observation and intuition far exceed
those of most people. Unlike the ancient Greek Oracles those who interpret the oracles are
neither incoherent nor purposely evasive. Quite the contrary, they are quite skillful, and their
oracles were generally extremely accurate. Part of their insight came from specially designed
hallucinogenic gasses pumped into the oracle stone, partly by the natural aptitudes of the
practitioners gained through genetics and generations of exposure to nuclear fallout.

Introduction of Janura Chen (Chapter 1):

New Cordillera: A village of several thousand people, southwest of North Bay in what are now
local rift zones that have volcanically transformed portions of the once-stable bedrock of the
Allegheny Plateau. Long, cold Winters and rugged terrain, especially to the north where much
of the landscape is forested.

The forested environs contain a large band of nomadic warriors that called themselves
Borelians. Comfortable in the forest where they could hide until they could attack nearby
settlements in force, they were both brutal and well-disciplined. Often underestimated by their
enemies because they showed no signs of formal military formations or tactics, they were quite
well practiced in warfare. Long before any attack, they made sure that they spent weeks in
reconnaissance of each target, ensuring that their numbers were always overwhelming, the
enemy unsuspecting, and the booty large enough to warrant attack.

Beyond the mountains near New Cordillera, to the east, in a vast gentle valley is a village called
Castletown. Castletown, named for the many Castles that form a protective ring around the
town, was the birthplace of Lucinda Fotheringham, mother of Vandar and whom William Savage
sheltered in his cabin nearby. It was in those mountains that Vandar was born and was later
discovered by his future stepmother.

Vandar the Mercenary (Chapter 13):

Far to the east of New Cordillera lay a series of canyonlands that led to another, and somewhat
larger village called Northland. The rolling hills of Northland were in stark contrast to the
canyon lands to its west. The canyonlands acted as a relatively effective defense against the
marauders from the west, who called themselves Hiawachi, as there were only three major
canyons that were large enough for a substantial military force to pass through. While each of
these passages provided enough space for such a movement, it restricted the movement, forcing
the soldiers to be in close quarters during any march. In such circumstances, they had to move
slowly, and were therefore vulnerable.