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The Brotherhood of Coal
Flag of Brotherhood of Coal (Regional Level) Flag of Smoking Grounds of Poland Flag of Reformed Carbon Republic of Poland Polish Name: Bractwo Węgla
Ruling Party: Bractwo Węglanote Brotherhood of Coal
Ideology: Radical Carbonismnote Reactionary
Brotherhood desc
General Tropes for the Brotherhood of Coal
- Balkanize Me: Once Pollution with Smog reaches a breaking point, The Government will collapse and Poland will fall into Warlordism once again.
The Brotherhood
Rafał Ziemkiewicz
Warning: Spoilers Ahead! Final Ziemkiewicz Portrait Role: The Eldernote Head of State
Party: Bractwo Węglanote Brotherhood of Coal
Ideology: Radical Carbonismnote Reactionary
In-Game Biography Click to Show
2027, Bełchatów.
Włókniarzy. Lipowa. 1 Maja.
Every day, an old, angry and very blunt in his thinking man stalks these streets, coughing and wheezing on his way. A random passerby might think he's just some poor, old sap whose lungs drown in the smog spewed by the nearby power plant. Those native to these streets know that this smog is, in fact - this old man's life force.
Few are of more merit to the Brotherhood than its elder and first scribe. When the country was plunged into chaos, Ziemkiewicz was a force that unified the people around the ideals of lasting survival and the restoration of normality by utilising the technological superiority of coal energy and a strong hierarchical order. A known writer, his books became the basis of the Brotherhood's ideology and vision of a better future – one based on rough interests and fighting against the dictate of green fascism enforced by the ecologist EU menace, and though his leadership is largely symbolic, he is still nonetheless the most respected person within the Brotherhood.
Proudly observing the black clouds from behind dust-stained panes of glass fresh off of one of the many industrial furnaces built by the Brotherhood, Ziemkiewicz is hellbent on spreading the good old ways of common sense to the rest of the country. To that, he has his factories (to craft weapons of war), his motorized army (to bring progress to the backwards green leftists), his books (to fuel people's hearts and minds) and his fingers (to angrily tweet with). That being said...
Doubts slowly make their way into Ziemkiewicz's head. Is this truly the right course of action? Is our cause *cough* truly right? More and more *cough* reports of breathing-related illnesses and poisoned plots of land reach our *cough, cough* offices, and- No. Enough. Without a REAL, coal-and-oil powered industry Poland would be nothing. There would be no electricity, no production, no jobs, no cars - we'd live in a medieval shithole. We are the Brotherhood. We follow common sense. Our words are backed with deadly weapons of war and great production chains. We ARE right, and we WILL prevail.
* cough*
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- Bait-and-Switch: Ziemkiewicz at first seems pretty zealous about his organisation, but soon be becomes disillusioned with it.
- Create Your Own Villain: Or a hero depending on the perspective. The Brotherhood of Coal's nemesis, Jakub Wiech starts as a simple journalist, who's an open critic of the organization. However, the Brootherhood's propaganda machine paints him as the dangerous terrorist responsible for every major Brotherhood's failure. Wiech soon embraces this persona and becomes a leader of the Nuclear Crusade, an anti-Brotherhood uprising.
The Reformers
Roksana Węgiel
Role: The Eldressnote Head of State
Party: Bractwo Węgla - Reformatorzynote Broterhood of Coal - Roxie's Reformists
Ideology: Despotism
In-Game Biography Click to Show Roksana Węgiel needn't have taken part in politics. Even after the Fall, she still enjoyed a successful singing career, blissfully free from the wars and devastation tearing the nation apart. A tour around Silesia, a concert in Kuyavia; the warlords paid well for any kind of entertainment that would take their citizens' attentions away from the struggles of their daily lives, if only for a brief moment. But as she traversed the nation without aim, witnessing the chaos she was continuously sheltered from, a yearning developed within Roksana to amount to more than just a traveling bard, singing joyous tunes as the world around her burned. And in Bełchatów, she would finally find her purpose.
From her earliest appearance in the city, a loyal following developed around Roksana. Unlike other destinations, however, the people of Bełchatów didn't revere her merely for her performances but also for the ideals she grew to represent. Perhaps through a fortuitous coincidence, but the singer quickly became the face of the Brotherhood's reformist wing - a rallying point for all those disillusioned with Ziemkiewicz's descent into madness. Capitalizing on her rapidly rising notoriety, she quickly joined the ranks of the Carbonari, eventually climbing up to the position of the Brotherhood's speaker as a concession to calm the increasingly restless masses. For her part, all she had to do was stay silent and remain loyal.
Roksana Węgiel could have stopped there and enjoyed the comfort of her prominent stature, but the damage inflicted upon Poland by Ziemkiewicz's clique proved too great to ignore. Left with no other choice, she seized upon a moment of weakness and rallied the disaffected youth, usurping the title of Eldress and the massive burden it entails. Now in charge, she distances herself from her predecessor's radical stance and pursues a more moderate, flexible approach to the Brotherhood's issues. In the eyes of her followers, Roksana's ascent is a result of ultimate selflessness, a personal sacrifice to save the dying country. The truth may not be so flattering, and the singer's intentions not as noble as they paint them, but her rule does bring a much-needed thaw nonetheless. For that, she will always be revered, even if every move was just a calculated ploy for personal advancement.
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- Internal Reformist: Roksana wishes to reform the Brotherhood from within, by introducing the Brotherhood to Atomic Energy at later stages of her path.
The Dissidents
Jakub Wiech
Warning: Spoilers Ahead! Post-Smog Wiech Role: The Great Ecologistnote Head of State
Party: Atomowa Krucjata - Wiechowcynote Atomic Crusade - Wiechovites
Ideology: Paternal Conservatism
In-Game Biography Click to Show In many ways, Jakub Wiech is the antithesis of Ziemkiewicz's teachings, the perfect boogeyman to pin all the blame for the Brotherhood's failures on. Though mountains of propaganda have long distorted nearly all of the journalist's ideals, labeling his band of misfits as pawns in some unknown global conspiracy to take down the 'last bastion of progress,' the true danger Wiech poses for Bełchatów's elite lies not in the differences, but the similarities between him and Ziemkiewicz. As a lifelong proponent of moderate conservatism, the journalist could have felt right at home in the state his nemesis created. Perhaps in another world, they could have been allies, but in a nation built on the dogma of coal's superiority, any suggestion to the contrary is nothing less than treasonous heresy.
Though he was always unwelcome on the Brotherhood's territory, nothing could stop Wiech from exposing the truth about the dangers the faction posed not just to Poland but the entire world. Despite his life being at risk every time he spoke, the journalist railed on about the need for a transition from the rapidly depleting fossil fuels to the near-infinite, sustainable power of atom. Wherever he appeared, a following sprung up, clinging to his ideals for hope amidst Ziemkiewicz's growing fanaticism. Each speech, every citizen brought to the nuclear cause weakened the Brotherhood's regime, even if just a little, sparking hope for much-needed reform. Soon, however, the days of peacefully changing the minds of Łódzkie's citizens would be over as the region's overlords sought to crack down on what they viewed as a plague spreading through their lands.
Jakub Wiech never wished to be a leader, but without him, the nuclear movement would perish, violently snuffed out by Ziemkiewicz and his lackeys. Despite knowing what fate awaits him if he fails, the journalist ignited an open rebellion against the Brotherhood's forces, launching the Atomic Crusade to restore sanity to the voivodeship. Some might say the odds he faces are insurmountable, that he has only doomed his followers to serve as cannon fodder for the experienced paladins, but that has never deterred Wiech before. All his life, he has battled for the nuclear cause, and he will not relent now. Even if he has to die for it, his sacrifice will forever be immortalized.
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