The challenge for round 137 was...
Voting has been augmented to start on the 18th, and now closes on the 25th, i.e. Christmas Day.
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The entries:
Feel free to vote and let the best design win.
Voting has been augmented to start on the 18th, and now closes on the 25th, i.e. Christmas Day.
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The entries:
Entry no. 1 said:
A sample of storytelling by the Prasbyt Juones-Mikel of the Nuotawa Cathedral, United Can Republic Church 4158AD
Our lands prosper today, but that was not always so for the Can. Hundreds of years ago our lands were more extensive, stretching from sea to shiny sea, and set atop the Land as a bright royal crown. Yet, while we were strong, the people of the Can were a barbaric and bloodthirsty group: as were all the peoples of the Earth at this time. Even so, the world was generally at peace with each other. Then Pestilence awoke and the Great Wilting* occurred. At the behest of Pestilence his slave, the dark angel Isis, spread the horrible plague rampantly throughout the world’s forests. Her wandering would bring fire, disease, starvation, and destruction in her wake. As the dying, broadleafed forests perished, the Great Red Bear** moved in from the west, bringing his soldiers of wind and ice who froze the land and killed the proud Can who remained to care for the Land. Many Can fled to their brethren in the east of the Land, building mighty fortresses to stop the advance of the Bear.
From the south came our brothers of the southern Can, The Men of Stars and Lines, whom some call the Horde of War, to help us of the northern Can, and they caused huge trees of fire to grow where the Bear and his soldiers took the Land from our people. As the Wilting continued, Famine arose to walk in the footsteps of his brother. All this orchestrated by Death as he cleansed the surface of the Earth by the Will of God.
After many years of strife and bloodshed, the pine forests of the north and the high mountain tops descended upon the scoured hills, while the green grasses ran forth from their hiding places in the cracks and crevices of the scorched Earth to reclaim the lowlands and fields. And upon the new born Land the children of the Can, marked their territory with the blood-red ochre of the Mapul-hand***; long the symbol of strength for the people of the Land. As the people settled to the new life, the animals returned to the pine forests as God cast his healing breath…
Flag: Modern scholars of the United Can Republic, as well as many from around the world, have pieced together the ancient flag from what little archaeological evidence remains. Considering how barbaric the pre-Wilting world was, they have determined that the flag was centered by the red colored Mapul-hand, which was so important in ancient spring fertility rites. The two red bands are surmised to represent the two oceans that separated the ancient Can from their enemies located in the rest of the world. It has been heavily associated with the religious phrase “From sea to shiny sea” that exists in many modern religious texts throughout the various churches of the Land.
* Verticillium is a type of fungus that was known to infect numerous species of trees and herbaceous plants. Archaeologists and Molecular Biologists of the year 4159AD would determine that several altered strains may have led to the massive worldwide die-off and extinction of most angiosperm trees and other plants. For further reading see the section on the Yggdrasil Extinction Event.
** Maybe a reference to the ancient Rushingmen of the Urasan continent whose symbol was the brown bear. Others claim it is in reference to the ancient people of the Kalifern Kingdom who, to this day, have a bear on their national flag.
*** Linguists have determined that Mapul is an ancient word that originated in the Urasan continent named after an extinct tree. It has also been associated with the ancient Can, where it described a religious object used during celebrations of Saint Victoria Day, which involved dancing around the de-branched trunk of a large pine tree.
Entry no. 2 said:
A reconstruction of the flag of the 'Un'i'ed Saz Em'ecara', produced by the University of Amross. Em'ecara was alleged to have been a North Mexicanan shore-to-shore spanning nation that existed on the North Mexicana sub-continent (although was more likely to have been situated along the East Coast and Grand Lake), and is estimated to have been sounded 241 years before the Great War, based upon the earliest identification of Erpena items. The Flag is a reconstruction based upon Oral Tradition and Music of the modern nations, which claim it to be "Thir'een Stripes and fiftye stars on blue". The Flag, named the 'Washingshire Flag' (After the Empires founder, the elected Emperor Washingshire), is generally considered the most accurate and widely accepted, however is contested by the 'Old Glory' flag, which has little basis in historical fact and takes severe liberties with the design, such as horizontal stripes and placing the star field in the corner.
Entry no. 3 said:
Flag of Old Canada: A land of barbaric warriors of unrivaled strength!
Legends speak of the fierce and mighty warriors of Old Canada. A bloodthirsty and feared people; they conquered all natural enemies in their path, eventually establishing dominance over even the most inhospitable northern wastelands. With their mythical weapon only remembered as the "Hakistik". Legends say one Hakistik could slay 20 men in a single blow, only now it is represented in this flag by being held by the most powerful of pre-fallout creatures: The Beaver.
Old tales speak of Canadians wearing red leaves on their backs to protect them from the scorching rays of the old-world sun. This reconstruction of their national flag serves only as a reference guide and is to not be shown in public due to its barbaric nature
Entry no. 4 said:
Here stands the noble Banner of Vectorea, vanguard of Kryst and His legions in the Holy Land of Ostralea.
We all know the stories of how Ostralea was once a peaceful and harmonious land, where all knew and loved our Eternal Leader Djeysus Kryst and how he gave us health, unity and prosperity, with the people of Vectorea being his Chosen People to spread his message of peace and harmony across the land. However, the Red Nemesis himself named Djak and his empire in the north (calling itself “the Uneon of Djak”) envied the glory of Ostralea, amassing an army with which to invade and depose our great leader and replace him with himself. Kryst, horrified at the prospect of a being of pure evil taking the Holy Land, amassed an army of his own to defend Ostralea.
The war started when the Hordes of Red, their uniforms stained in blood from their fallen foes, attacked from the north. Kryst and his army fought bravely, but in the end the Uneon triumphed, capturing Kryst and publicly executing him upon a crucifix, his blood staining the wood red as the uniforms of Djak's invading forces. Kryst, furious at his people for allowing a monster like Djak to conquer the Holy Land, proclaimed that he would no longer remain on an Earth so overrun with sin, and went up into the heavens to leave humanity behind.
With Kryst gone, and Djak having taken over, Ostralea became a barren, fruitless wasteland, where creatures of the Underworld roamed free. Djak even saw fit to desecrate our glorious flag, replacing it with the emblem of his so-called “Uneon”, elevating himself above our beloved Kryst in a sickening act of blasphemy and attempting to eradicate all other symbols of Kryst and his followers, aided by a populace who had turned their back on their glorious leader. Of course, not all traitorously pledged their allegiance to Djak; their remained a noble few who stood firm against the Red Menace, their banner of rebellion bearing the crucifix that Kryst left this Earth on.
However, in the end, Djak's rule came to an end when his Uneon faced a foe as equally depraved and desperate to enslave the globe as them, the Yuessay. Both sides ended up destroying each other in a war of fire, ash and blood known as the Great Conflagration (by contemporary accounts), whereupon the whole world perished, except for the glorious crusaders of Vectorea, determined to reclaim the land of Ostralea in the name of Kryst.
Our flag remains that of the Banner of Vectorea, as no verified flag has been recovered pre-dating it that has not been defaced by the emblem of the Uneon of Djak. As such, the true flag of pre-invasion Ostralea is assumed to have been lost to history (the infamous “Black, Red with Yellow Circle Flag” has been conclusively declared a fraud owing to the red colouration; supposedly symbolising the Ostralean wilds, this cannot possibly be the case as this would imply that the Holy Land was barren before Kryst's departure, an obvious falsehood), and thus the historic banner of rebellion used by those who defied Djak has become our standard. A sea of blue to symbolise our glorious waters, emblazoned with a white crucifix stained with red to ensure that we never forget his suffering for our sake, and not to let it be in vain (to deny the blood is to deny Kryst himself). The cross itself is adorned with the stars that symbolise Kryst's new place in the night sky, watching down on us from the heavens.
Ours is a righteous mission, for when we liberate Ostralea from the sinners who allowed the Uneon to take over, Kryst shall return and the desert shall bloom once again.
Entry no. 5 said:
The Empire of Euronia
"Many of the tales passed down among the tribes of Jysklant speak of a mighty empire known as Euronia, said to have once encompassed all of the now wild and untamed lands of the Eu continent. Fragmented archaeological evidence and surviving historical accounts from more civilized regions suggest that these tales may, at the very least, have been based on actual historical polities, people and events, but very little is currently known for certain.
Enthusiasts, using the few scattered sources available, recently pieced together the design of a flag they believe was used in ancient Euronia: Shaped like an elongated capital "E", its central feature was a circle containing 12 golden stars situated upon a field of azure. The 12 stars represented the 12 disciples venerated in much of Eu, while the circle surrounding them represented their god. The blue color of the flag was symbolic of clear skies, and it was shaped like an E to glorify the name of Euronia.
The validity of the evidence they provided to support their claims is far from indisputable, containing numerous contradictions and inconsistencies, but is nonetheless one of the first real attempts at showing the modern world a glimpse of the civilization that the Jysklant legends were likely derived from."
Entry no. 6 said:
The United States were once a mighty confederation stretching the breadth of the Merican Continent. This was of course, before the cataclysm and the collapse of society for nearly the whole of the 3rd millennium. As societies grew in the collapsed remnants of civilization, they looked back upon the mighty nation that once rose where they trod. Several republics took example from the old country. They adopted the flag of the United States of Merica as their own banner, and the colors and basic design still predominate among the countries, with notable exceptions in the dry lands of California and Teyhas. Each claim their flag is the true flag, but the real design may never be known.
This is the design of the flag according to the Lexentun Republic, an important merchant republic which rests on the southeastern edge of the New Englund subcontinent. They believe in the common, stripes and star theory, common in that area, pairing two vertical stripes with a star above. Interestingly as one goes south, the stars and bars theory begins to dominate. It is unknown how two radically different flags are remembered. Even stranger, farther North, one sees the complete loss of the color blue in the flag, with simply two crimson lines and a red star in the middle. Some among the Lexentun Republic believe that the Merican flag is a combination of the two flags, created when the nation was born of the north and the south, combining the white stars on blue with the stripes of red. In Lexentun, the Merican banner flies underneath the clasped hands of the Lexentun Republic, symbolizing the past glory and the esteem they hold for the present day.
OOC: This being a world without ice, where sea levels have risen 65 feet.
Entry no. 7 said:
The Zarsdve Rozhkeye, or Empire of Russia, was an ancient realm spoken of in legend and myth. An unholy state created by invading Buzhuazny demons that enslaved the good and god-fearing people of Azhya - working them to death and then feasting upon their corpses. After it was overthrown by the brothers Lenn and Staln the people of Azhya enjoyed a brief period of prosperity and freedom under the Zhoved Zhoys, or Great Council Union, before the Greater Holocaust - the rending of the world by the remaining Buzhazny using blessed Yedoryuzh weapons - brought the age of darkness and light to an end.
Research into the Zarsdve has historically been heavily restricted by the Ossegs, Droykes, and Kaakans that rule its former territory due to the obscene and dangerous information that might be uncovered, but recently academically minded members of the Nklatchura aristocracy have been collating what information there is and making it publicly available. Below is a reconstructed flag of the Zarsdve - a flag of black, with white and gold edging, with a foul three-headed man-eagle representing the Burzhuazny placed prominently, and numerous animals representing the nations they've conquered in the shade of its wings. On its breast it bears a cross with the Zhmey Yuzhis - child of God and rightful ruler of the world - nailed to it as a vile trophy, long before this image was reclaimed by faithful worshippers.
For those looking for a less nonsensical explanation of what you're looking at: The Cold War went Hot and humanity got nuked back into the stone age (well, bronze age at least). The former Soviet Union quickly devolved into localised neo-feudal states run by the former state bureaucracy, which later became entrenched as a hereditary aristocracy. After hundreds of years the loss and distortion of information (both accidental and deliberate on the part of Soviet officials looking for a way to control their subjects) has lead the population of the former Soviet Union to believe in a confused mix of Orthodox Christianity and Soviet Propaganda, with dashes of pagan folk religion, Judaism, and Islam where appropriate. The negative aspects of the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union are attributed solely to the Tsardom, which is imagined as a Satanic state run by demons (aka the bourgeoisie), whilst the Soviet Union is believed to be a state founded on holy principles, ushering in a new age of peace and prosperity before the remaining demons in Western Europe and America use mythical weapons ("Yedoryuzh" - Nukes) to bring about the prophecised End of Times. The capital West and communist East are equated with Gog and Magog, with the Berlin wall being the wall built by Alexander to separate them.
Feel free to vote and let the best design win.
