Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY or any affiliated characters. The only thing I own are my OCs, the dystopian plot, and a 24 pack of Diet Coke.
Prolouge
October, 2018
A horrific plague had spread across the world at an unprecedented pace never before seen. Globalization that was once hailed as the very thing that brought out the best in humanity has now caused its downfall. The disease started in Hyderabad, India as a result of pharmaceutical companies dumping their waste into nearby rivers where bacteria developed a resistance the antibiotics in the water. These bacteria were known as Superbugs since they were resistant to most forms of antibiotics, however the majority of these cases were limited to the local area and thus were ignored by society. How foolish humanity was to ignore such a threat.
One of these superbugs mutated and became extremely infectious, however, the disease was a slow killer and displayed only normal flu symptoms within the first four days. It was on the fifth day when the disease showed its true colours, in which the patients experienced extreme hemorrhaging from every orifice of the body. Victims either suffocated on their blood, bled out, or died of exhaustion. For those who managed to survive, be it through blood transfusions or breathing tubes had to deal with pulmonary and cardiovascular failure due to the disease weakening their heart.
One would expect that such a lethal disease would immediately catch worldwide attention. It didn't. Due to the fact that this disease took five days on average to display these horrific symptoms, by the time the world did pay attention over half of the Indian population had contracted the disease. Many of these infected Indians traveled to many different countries before the news struck and people finally realised it was a nightmare come true. The disease spread quickly throughout the world, reaching all four corners of the world within three months.
In partial confusion and a sense of urgency, humanity's greatest minds came together to create a cure for this horrific disease within the first week of the news of this deadly new disease. Sadly they didn't have much time to create a cure seeing as the disease was contracted by 86.76% of the world population and it had a fatality rate of 93.27%.
As time progressed all major governments fell, ceasing all the necessary fundings to create a cure. Many of the scientists succumbed from constant exposure to the strain of bacteria.
Within a year, the world population dropped from 7.4 billion people to 1.41 billion people, effectively crippling all countries. The population of the United States alone dropped from 318.86 million people to 60.84 million people, the lowest population in the United States since 1890.
The drastic drop in population along with the death of most officials led to chaos throughout the world. Many different groups arose throughout the world, some of these groups firmly believed that the disease was holy and meant to kill the sinners and the weak. Others simply used the opportunity to recreate society under their ideologies. Eventually after five years of chaos five different groups rose to power in the continental United States. The Nation of New Sparta, The Holy Confederate Order, The Socialist Republic of California, The Democratic Republic of Texas, and The Nation of Patriots.
The Nation of New Sparta is one such group. This group started off as the survivors of 1st Infantry Division of the US Army which was stationed in Fort Riley, Kansas. 7,000 soldiers survived the plague and decided to rebuild society under the command of Major General Eugene Forenzo. 1st Infantry Division was a proud division nicknamed the Big Red One, these soldiers have been through hell together in Afghanistan and Iraq. Major General knew one thing: that is if they wanted to make a successful society they needed to have a strong and well educated population. Major General Forenzo was a well read man and had an appreciation for the classical civilizations, but there was one society that he respected above all others: the Sparta. They quickly spread across the Midwest, taking control of the breadbasket of the former United States. With quick military precision the the Nation of New Sparta brought Kansas, Nebraska, Missouri, Illinois, Iowa, Southern Wisconsin, Southern Michigan, and Northwestern Indiana under their control with little to no opposition. They quickly swelled the ranks with mandatory conscription of all able bodied men and women between the ages of 18 and 35 with a mandatory 2 years of service. Everyone under the Age of 18 was given an education of high standard but also was trained to be a ruthless warrior. They were trained to be cunning and strong from a young age creating a military that would make the Spartans of old proud. However to many, the training under gone by the youth was too brutal.
Another group that rose to prominence would be The Holy Confederate Order. This group was started under the command of Preacher Tyrian Callows. Tyrian preached to the survivors in his little town of Billingsley, Alabama just North of Montgomery that the Plague was an Act of God to rid the world of the sinners and the weak. That they, the survivors, were the chosen ones to restart the world in God's name and to finish the work of the lord and rid it of those who do not live under his name. The words of Preacher Tyrian soon spread like wildfire throughout the deep south and many came to the call of Preacher Tyrian to rebuild society. His group soon conquered all of Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee, Southern Indiana, Southern West Virginia, and Southern Virginia. They conquered these lands gaining followers and slaughtering those who either refused to follow or were sinners in their eyes. The Holy Confederate Order spread Fear throughout the land with their untold brutality and massacres such as the infamous slaughter of Miami and the siege of Atlanta. They held no mercy and slaughtered all in their way as they believed it was what the lord wanted of them.
The Socialist Republic of California was the Third power to rise from the ashes of America. Unlike the other two powers this was not a nation that was formed from one single strong man. Rather this was a movement with Socialistic groups from across the Western Coast of America banding together and forming a Socialist Republic and crushing all opposition West of the Rockies forming the Nation that has the Highest population in all of the Old United States. They quickly brought the States of California, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, and Baja California under their control. They also hijacked many US Naval Vessels forming a strong Naval force consisting mostly of Destroyers and Submarines. They introduced mandatory military service for 4 years to all those able bodied between the ages of 18-30 and set up an impenetrable defense system along the Rocky mountains, effectively creating a safe and well protected nation that could prosper.
The Fourth Nation called themselves Democratic Republic of Texas. This nation considers itself the last remnant of the Old United States and still follows the Constitution of The United States. Remnants of the United States Military, with the exclusion of 1st Infantry Division reside in the Democratic Republic of Texas. The Republic of Texas maintained control of all of Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Arkansas, New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, Utah, and large swaths of Northern Mexico. They maintained the American Way of life as best as they could. And with a treaty and close alliance with the Nation of New Sparta, they were able to keep their citizens well-fed and did their best to keep up the illusion that the world is back to normal and all's right with the world now.
The Final Great Power to arise is the Nation of Patriots. This Nation was ruled by a Ruthless Warlord who called himself General Schnee. Not much is known about General Schnee other than the fact that he and his group of followers quickly subjugated the population of New York and soon began a war path to control the Northeastern United States. His brutal torture and public executions kept the population subdued, while his high rewards for members of his military caused his power to skyrocket. Soon he had the states of Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Maryland, Delaware, District of Columbia, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Northern West Virginia, and Northern Virginia. He rewarded his soldiers with helpless women and children to be used for their sexual pleasure and punished them by executing their families. This kept his soldiers eager to fight which served his purposes well as his Greed grew alongside his Power. He wanted everything.
These groups had, at the end of five years of chaos, held an uneasy truce among themselves. However with such zealous individuals like General Schnee and Preacher Tyrian, peace can only be maintained for so long until this land is dyed red with rivers of blood once more.