Editing Fort Garland, Colorado (section)

==History of Fort Garland==

===The Origin of the Change===
~''Conversation between Raphael, Christine and Rodak - Excerpt from Game Play - Edited''~

Christine says, "I don't know you, Rafe, so I'll tell it like I would to a 10 year old. In a pandemic there is a hypothetical Patient Zero. That person has the disease the longest, is the vector of the spread, that everyone caught the disease from.. Well, I think patient zero for the Change was here near Fort Garland. North of here, but close. Up in the hills. "

Raphael replies, "I understand Pandemics, Disease Vectors, and the concept of Patient Zero all too well... I was raised by a Surgical RN and I was an Army Medic and NBC Specialist as well. So, I get your analogy of the Change, but how is this important now? And how did you arrive at this Theory?" 

"How did I arrive at this... I had been working here in Fort Garland for about 5 years, in conjunction with SLV Physicians out of Alamosa. Two months before the CHANGE happened a hiking party out at Zapata Falls campground got sick. They had been hiking all over the Huerfano River area; California Peak, Twin Peaks, Lindly Peak, Blanca Peak, Ellingwood Point. I went and looked them over... They had body bruises, gum inflammation. Hair loss. Goiters.. They looked fucked up as heck. We got them to San Luis Valley Health, a regional hospital in Alamosa. They were untreatable and looked nasty as heck. Experts came, It was nasty as hell."

"Then...a month later everyone who had been anywhere in contact with them got sick. Some were puffy, some slim. Strange. But no one died.. We started isolation protocols the minute we got them off the mountain but people got sick anyway. We couldn't isolate against a magical sickness...People says the CHANGE happened on a certain day.. But that's not the case. It took about a week to get everywhere. But we had it for a month before everyone else. Whatever caused the Change is up in the mountains north of Fort Garland. That first group became Orcs. Blister was the dad. He may have been the first Changed."

"Well, that explains a crap ton. And Blister; First Changed... no shit. Well, all of this is quite interesting, but I still don't see how this is important in the now. Aftercall, the Change has already wreaked its Viral Magic upon the world.  Or do you think there is something powerful out there that could still be used in other magical ways? And perhaps this is why Colorado, and others, are so interested in the area? And who all knows about The Change being brought on by a Magical Disease and coming from this area?"

Christine says, "Who knows? I think the most I knew of magic before the Change was watching Penn and Teller at the Garden once. Since then it's been just trying to keep our heads above water. You getting here was the most magic in once place we had seen." 

"So, unlikely many know the origins of The Change. Good. And that area you mentioned up around Blanca Peak is some pretty rugged country, just from the looks of it down here. But I'm sure there's a reason you brought it up.”  Rafe looks from Christine to Rodak.  "So... what gives? With all that is going on here in town and with all the interest from the surrounding Nations, why bring this particular subject up now?"

Rodak looks at Christine who nods, Rodak sighs, then says, "The vote split over whether to talk to you about this. Carl and Marko want you to help stabilize this place and having this on you mind might cost us your help. But Christine and I think its worth it. Very few people know about our belief that The Change started here. But the vampires at the capital of Colorado know. A few in Washington must. Our first Mayor, Kevin Longear, set up the Mayor System. Convinced Locals to come here rather them Alamosa or Walensburg, or Pueblo or Santé Fe. He said Fort Garland was going to be very important. That it had ah... magic waters. The Ute Creek runs through here but its hardly magical. But he had been talking like that for decades I hear. Then Blister and his family Changed... And the world Changed. Kevin set up the Mayor System for a month, then disappeared into the mountains. Christine and I think he knew something and finding him now... is important. Maybe important to the world."

===A Newly Changed World Still Changing===
~''Information Raphael gained by hacking into Colonel Sunday's Computer''~

Reaching onto the computer, pushing past its own limitations he feels like he is accessing all the computers within the region.  Many seem military while many are home computers. He feels tablets and phones.  The Change didn't destroy these things, but with half the people of the world disappearing great gaping holes in the structures of all companies made the Economy crash. Governments crashed. Local wars started.

As he peeks around he finds one nearby; its collection of files is vast.  Its encryption is topnotch.  But the feeling of the Technopath slips past them.  He finds a computer nearby belonging to an aide to the General; Colonel Sunday.  It has descriptions of forces east and west, north and south.  It seems the East is controlled by what held together as the old Federal Government, now called the Old Fed.  With the exception of Louisiana and a few counties surrounding it, and the Conch Nation in Florida most of the East Coast still is run by Washington DC.

Canada is split in 5 parts, at best. West Waters, First Nations in the north, and Quebec. West Waters includes British Columbia & Alberta and is allied, if not joining Pacifica. Yukon, NWT, Nunavut are all First Nations and Alaska is mostly with them and Pacifica. A country unofficially called Hudson claims to be the center of Canada and is trying to reunite it.  It has Manitoba and Ontario, and technically the east water territories that Quebec claims and that hate Quebec. Everyone hates Quebec and Quebec hates everyone that doesn't speak French. It also has the distinction of the highest number of Elves. No one that goes into Saskatchewan has come out alive in months.  They have a high concentration of Orcs.  Hudson is allied with the Old Fed, for all the good they can do them.

Air Travel is incredibly difficult.  Dragons treat airplanes as toys or targets. 

As for The States, Rafe understands them better.  Pacifica, Colorado, New Kansas, Texas, Conch Nation, Louisiana, The Free State of Jones. The Dark Horde. 

It further dictates that Pacifica seized the nuclear launch facilities at Warren Air Force Base in Wyoming... the Silos in South Dakota as well because the Orcs  of Saskatoon have already seized the North Dakota nukes. The Hudson crowd is terrified they will launch on Ottawa. Pacifica is going to try to take Amarillo.  The Old Fed will take Louisiana and East Texas.  They agree to meet in the middle.  

Mexico and Central America is a mess and has appealed to join the Old Fed. South America is in hot wars with each other. The Old Fed and Pacifica both have no idea where the USA Sub Force is after The Change.  They have been running silent.  The rest of the world is less organized than North America. 

[[File:Fort Garland, Western Hemisphere 2.jpg]]

First Nations is the top of the world and is too cold for anyone to care about. However there are several active volcanoes. One near Prudhoe being called Port Prudhoe because of the heat in the 40s. There is also a Russian Fleet that out of necessity docked at Nome and is in negotiations, at a distance with the Old Fed. The gist is that they are founding a new principality.

North America is greatly divided with Old Fed and Pacifica being the most organized. Colorado is apparently crumbling under the attack from Pacifica and from the Northern Orcs. Louisiana is centered at New Orleans and is an 'End of the World So Lets Party' kind of place.  Something is going on in Bermuda.

Conch Nation is most of the Caribbean but is poorly organized. Roughly allied to the Old Fed.  Mexico requested Annexation from the Old Fed and is trying to control Central America.

There is a city somewhere in South America called Clusterfrak. Its a neutral city and the warring gangs of South America give safe passage to anyone waving the Clusterfrak flag. South America is a terrible mess.

===New Chapter, New Leadership===
Soon after the Exodus of Dwarves and Orcs from Fort Garland, led by Raphael de la Varga, an Outsider named Fortunadus Enright, a Thrice Crowned Bard, a Leader within CHAD, and a friend and business partner of Raphael's took over the protection of the Fort Garland Sigil of Avalon.

With the help of Hazarda and Timothy Elhue, as well as some other powerful CHAD Members and some CHAD Forces, Fortunadus created a new Power Base and initiated a Power Shift; he now Governs over a large area surrounding Ft. Garland, perhaps even all of what was formerly known as the State of Colorado... and could possibly now include several former US States surrounding the area.  

Changes continue...