The Erie Isles
- System of Government: Feudal Vassal
- Head of Government: Count, inherited in the ruling Bull family
- Population: 3,000 permanent inhabitants
- Religion: Nondenominational Christianity
- Totemic Symbol: Great Lighthouse of Perry
The Erie Isles lay between Ohio and Michigan. Once, they were prime vacation destinations, sought after for their pleasant climates and fecund greenery. Today, they are sought after for a different reasons: not only are they rich in stone, lumber, and wine, they are among the most strategically vital locations in the Great Lakes. Contested by not only Ohio and Michigan, but by all of the great merchant clans of the Lakes.
Early in the Neo-Medieval Era, all of the islands fell under the
de jure rule of Ohio. However, as the centuries wore on, the great cities of the Lake Erie coast began to break away from formal Ohio control. In the 25th century, Sandusky (alongside Cleveland and Toledo) were considered formally independent, and it took the Erie Isles (and the great fortress of Cedar Point) with it. The isles flourished under Sanduskyite rule, becoming prime ports and some of the most important wineries in the Midwest.
Nothing lasts forever, though. In 2529, disputes between Sandusky and distant Chicago spiral into a full-blown League War. By war's end, Sandusky has been razed to the ground, the isles left to fend for themselves. With the League shattered, chaos reigns as local tycoons and strongmen prop themselves up. The isles become a haven for piracy in the absent of strong government.
In 2550, Michigan has subjugated the unruly burghers of western Ontario. They use this as a base to claim rich Pelee Island and tiny little Middle Island, Canada's southernmost point. From here, with approval from the new League (based out of Saulte Ste. Marie), they subdue the pirates of the Erie Isles and spin them off as a vassal states with a similar status to Western Ontario.
In the 27th century, Ohio once again begins to assert control over the cities of the Erie Coast. Instead of ruling with an iron fist, Ohio adopts a policy of benign neglect - funds are poured in to the region to develop its infrastructure, but otherwise the cities are declared Special Economic Areas that are allowed to conduct their own business. One of the most important treasures of the Erie Coast that is denied the Buckeye Throne, however, is the Erie Isles. Ohio takes the case to the Supreme Court. While the Court finds that under normal circumstances the land is Ohio's by legal right, they failed to properly administer the land whereas Michigan was administering it, making Michigan the proper warden of the territory or the duration of the Emergency. Nevertheless, Ohio launches a war for the territory which it loses. This serves as further encouragement for Ohio to better develop its naval capabilities. Minor islands would trade hands over the next few centuries, but Michigan would remain dominant.
Round two occurs during the Toledo War of the 2700s, which ends indecisively with no land changing hands despite a major Ohioan victory at the Battle of Gibraltar. It seemed that Ohio's hopes of re-taking the Erie Isles were lost once and for all following the Great Midwestern War when Ohio lost Toledo and was forced to grant major concessions to the merchants of the Erie Coast. The Dabney Raids further distract Ohio, forcing them to grant even more independence to the Erie Coast merchants, and losing it control over Allegheney County.
Its dreams would finally be realized during the Michigan Punitive War, however, when Michigan was roundly defeated by the allied powers, and the League would see fit to not only return Toledo to Ohio, but to grant it control over all the Erie Isles. Michigan had proved itself over the past few decade to be a far more overbearing master of merchant activities, making the restoration of Ohioan control the natural choice.
The Erie Isles were spun off as a county separate from Sandusky, granted the greatest independence of all of Ohio's Lakeish territory. Interestingly, the Erie Isles are home to several of Ohio's only remaining Masonic Lodges - when Wallace I dissolved most of the Masonic Lodges in the Commonwealth's territory, he left a few in key strategic points. One of these was the Erie Isles, for free reason: their ambiguous legal status, the several prosperous wineries and public works maintained by the Masons on the Isles, and a desire to keep the Erie Tycoons from gaining total control. Many Masons fled to the Isles following the dissolution of their order in Ohio. The Mason's run the branch campus of Ohio State on the fortress-isle of Gilbraltar.
The Great Commodore's Ligthouse
The Great Commodore's Lighthouse was originally built to commemorate the victory of Oliver Hazard Perry in the battle of Lake Erie, and to celebrate a lasting peace between the US and Canada.
As with so many other things, the meaning would get twisted in the centuries after the Regression. Sailors passing through the isles looked upon the tower in marvel - truly, the men of Old America were Gods. How could they build such a marvelous thing? Simply to commemorate a victory all the way back in 1812? This could not be.
First, Admiral Oliver Perry became conflated with his brother, the great Commodore Perry who forced the opening of Japan. Then, this became conflated with America's War against Japan - from the infamous attack of Pearl Harbor to the 1,001 celebrated naval battles that occurred half a world away. Prime among these were the Battles of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, where it is said that blood-crazed Americans fought so hard that they reduced those cities to smoldering craters. Finally, the memorial became one to America's naval prowess in general. Even the provision for peace fell into disregard - instead, following the incorporation of Ontario into the Nondenominational Union, it came to symbolize the American conquest or Canada.
The tower sits not far from the town formerly known as Put-In-Bay, now Commodore's Bay. The greatest town in the isles, guarded by the mighty fort of Gibraltar Island. It is here (guided by the Commodore's Lighthouse) that most merchants stop.
The tower was first refurbished and made a useful lighthouse during the reign of Sandusky over the isles, and served the League well as a navigational aid. However, following the fall of the League and the razing of Sandusky, the tower fell into disuse. The pirates that held Great Bass Isle had no desire to aid the passage of ships. Instead they used the tower as a lookout point to spot approaching ships. When the interregnum was over and Michigan came into possession of Great Bass Isle, the tower still remained disused. It would only be when the Buckeyes retook Great Bass Isle alongside the rest of the Erie Isles in 2804 following the Peace of Toledo and the conclusion of the Michigan Punitive War.
A great rebuilding was ordered, and the President poured money into the coffers of the local Masonic Lodge that had long maintained the lighthouse. With this cash in hand, they set about building the Commodore's Cathedral, a great building that incorporated the tower as its steeple. Not only did the lighthouse become one of the most important navigational aids in the lake, it became a great site of pilgrimage - in the summer trading season, the population of the Isles swells up to 10,000 as countless sailors come to ask the maritime Patriot-Saints for safety on their journey. Among the many relics there are the bones of Perry, a rib from Jonah's whale, a splinter from the hull of Old Ironsides, and one of the teeth of Jaws. The ancient Inscription Rock was also moved to the Cathedral by the Mason, a relic of the ancient Indians.
In 2978, a second refurbishment was ordered by President Wallace I "The Great" Ingram-Wolf. Not only did he expand the size of the Cathedral, he ordered an alteration to the tower to make it truly his: he ordered that inside and outside, the history of Ohio and America would be carved into the granite, beginning with Columbus's discovery of America and ending with the coronation of Wallace I. Constructions are ongoing, and it is predicted that it will be finished by the dawn of the New Millennium.
At 352 feet high, the Commodore's Lighthouse is the second building in the Americas - arguably the first if you do not consider the Washington Monument a proper building. The smoke from its fire can be seen as far away as Detroit, and its light can be seen from almost anywhere in western Lake Erie. Every day, the masons march up the winding spiral staircase carrying fuel for the fire, contemplating the sacrifice of Christ and America's role in the Creator's plan.
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This was made for
Medieval America Mark III, on ongoing collaborative project.