Ubyezhich

In the middle of the endless tundra of Siberia, a brutal ogre slumbers. In an environment where even the hardiest and most well-adapted indigenous cultures would struggle to survive, thousands of people, former citizens of Russia, Mongolia and the Central Asian States cower around superhuman fires, serfs in the tyrant-state of Ubyezhich.

When the Soviet Union disintegrated, it lost the will and resources to maintain the Metahuman Shock Army; the fighting force of hundreds of low- to mid-level telekinetics, superstrongs, and energy projectors that made the USSR's ground forces the terror of the world for over forty years. The country was flooded with veterans of decades of the superpowered arms race, proxy wars and secret military experiments, men and women suddenly deprived of purpose and livelihood, left to fend for themselves on the streets of the economically decrepit New Russia. It was a recipe for anarchy the likes of which the world had never seen. The Organiziya found an unlimited supply of metahuman legbreakers and mercenaries to tap into, and time after time powered revolutionaries tried to seize power and return to 'the good old days'.

Prizrachniyy, (the Visionary), changed all that. Perhaps the single most powerful man on Earth, Soviet Russia's greatest weapon and propaganda tool, he gathered thousands of the veterans together and declared that as Russia had turned its back on them, they would turn their backs on Russia. Prizrachniyy led his army into the cold exile of central Siberia, where he forged a new kingdom in the wilderness, with himself as the undisputed tsar. The Russian army gathered to put down this insurrection; unsurprisingly, they were hammered into the permafrost, the few survivors and undamaged war materiel taken as slaves and the spoils of war.

Ubyezhich (the Sanctum) sprawls across a 2000 km long slice of Siberia, from the shores of the Arctic to the foot of the Sayan mountains on the Mongolian border. Its borders are roughly proscribed by the rivers Yenisei, Kotuy, Lower Tunguska and lake Baykal. Dozens of slave labour camps, mining villages, forced farming zones and factories dot the landscape, and the skies are heavy with flying superhumans keeping the population in check. Ubyezhich is the most brutal dictatorship imaginable. Mundane humans have no rights whatsoever, and live only as long as they serve and please their powered masters. The government is feudal, with Prizrachniyy at the pinnacle, and a hierarchy of governors and lords progressing down. Only a handful of the other elites are known in the outside world; foremost of these is the first minister Shar (the Orb), who acts as the nation's ambassadors to the few foreign countries that will listen to Ubyezhich's missives, and compared to his megalomaniac monster of a superior, he seems a rational, polite, well balanced man. Few would credit him with being the mind responsible for the flesh-vats, where the dead are composted down to fertilise the fields.

Ubyezhich is hostis humanis generis; an enemy of all mankind. Its superhuman army makes raids into nearby countries to acquire more serfs to replace those that die in the hellish mines and factories. It is believed to fund terrorist groups all across the world for no other reason than to spread discord and destruction, keeping potential threats off-balance, and offers a safe haven for war criminals, supervillains and malignant organisations of all stripes. The only reason the world puts up with the abominable tyrant-state is that it lacks the ability to do anything about it: Ubyezhich represents the largest superhuman group on Earth, and has had a decade to fortify itself and train its ex-military army to the peak of readiness. Its upper echelons include some of the most powerful beings in the world. Even if the kind of world-wide army of heroes that would be needed to unseat the tyrants could be assembled, it is probable that there would not be enough of the world left after the cataclysmic struggle for the victors to enjoy.

Regional
Africa The Pact
Nigeria The Ministry of Extraplanetary Technology
X-town
Asia Ubyezhich
Europe
Germany Free City of Hamburg
North America
United States Kingdom City
Oceanic
Pacific Ocean Pacifica Prison
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