The Pale Wars took a terrible toll on Europe, ravaging the mainland and introducing a host of horrors. But even after years of fighting and the sweeping changes brought on by terraforming, the UK remained largely unscathed. However, all communications were severed – phone lines, internet, even radio… blocked by radiation in the atmosphere.
Some saw this as a blessing. Being a series of islands, these countries were easier to defend from outside threats. Walls, guard towers, and automated artillery were installed all along the borders of England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland. The United Kingdom is relatively safe from the outside world. Of course, they’re also cut off from friends and loved ones.
Some citizens believe ignorance is bliss, and are content to live under martial law, carrying out their lives much as their parents did. Of course, not everyone is happy with this isolationist stance. There are those within the UK who want to launch an attack to take back Europe. But the war to sway the ruling party is a cold one. The ruling party will not tolerate dissent, and quells these dissidents with an iron fist. And so the rebels work in secret – launching raids to the mainland, smuggling supplies, and currying favor in the halls of power, greasing the wheels of the political machine in hopes that one day it will be forced to take a stand. There is one strange anomaly that makes residents of the U.K. wary.
In 2035, a giant energy bubble appeared in Scotland overnight, covering a sixteen mile radius centered over Stirling Castle. No one knows who created this barrier or why, but that isn’t the question that keeps everyone up at night. The real question is – was the barrier erected to keep them out, or to keep something else in?[1]