Little Backstory For Steelwaves . . .

Steel Waves is set in a fictional world, in a time period roughly akin to our world in the early 20th century. The world is dominated by three main superpowers: The Confederacy of Free Nations, The Lacerian Hegemony, and the Theocratic Republic of Atavah. All is not as it seems, and peace could not hold out for long.

Issues in the North began when Laceria continued it's expansionist policy throughout the Northern states. As the ruling body of a hegemony, Laceria would infiltrate smaller neighbours' cultural and political environments, and popularise beliefs that were beneficial to Laceria, even to the detriment of the country in question. For example, propaganda experts would enter a neighbouring country, and promote Lacerian products in the media. Citizens would consume the products, and be subtly shifted towards a pro-Lacerian stance through advertisements and propaganda. This would snowball until eventually the country as a whole felt they could not operate without Laceria's guidance, and willingly join the hegemony, hoping for a better life. Pockets of resistance would quickly be shut down by the powerful Lacerian military, and citizens who showed worth would be selected to join the Lacerian military. Affected countries did not feel oppressed as much as countries that had been traditionally invaded, as Laceria offered substantial benefits to joining the hegemony, such as relaxed trading restrictions, and opportunities to advance to a position of power in the military. Since the Lacerian forces did not have to attack an organised opponent, they did not have to expend many resources to gain control of a country. In fact, since countries would generally join voluntarily, Lacerian armed forces usually stood to gain from the expansion of the hegemony, in both the long and short terms.

Noting the rapid expansion of it's rival to the East, North-Western countries began to grow afraid, fearing they would be next to be amalgamated by the hegemony. Taking charge in the face of this perceived threat, two of the larger Western countries, Eleutheria and Quaest, formed a secret coalition of smaller countries to stand united against the potential threat of Laceria. These countries wanted to ensure they could trade profitably and live peacefully, and uniting together against Laceria seemed to be the best option to ensure this could happen. When Lacerian forces entered the borders of it's largest neighbour, the state of Kvalmor, the coalition revealed itself and vowed to defend Kvalmor and the rest of the North. At this point the coalition named itself The Confederacy of Free Nations.

To the south, on a separate continent, the republic of Atavah had been in seclusion for several decades. Fearing it's northern neighbours, Atavah had been researching advanced technology for it's military, both to protect themselves should the North unite against them, but also to eventually attack should the opportunity arise. When war was declared between the newly revealed Confederacy and the expanding Laceria, Atavah believed the opportunity had arisen. Despite only being a fraction of the way through their intended research, Atavah took advantage of this state of affairs and join the war, stating that unenlightened countries should not be left to run to modern world.

As such, most of the offensive is focused around a series of islands in the middle of the continents, a chain called the Forlorn Islands, named for the absolute lack of resources on them. Instead of natural resources, the islands boast a military advantage in this three-way war, and so this is where the conflict is focused.

This was a brief overview of the events that led up to the declaration of war. In time, more information will be released, further detailing each of the factions, important historical events, beliefs and traits of the countries of the world, as well as images such as national flags, propaganda posters, and ship designs.

Be careful before you pick a faction to support, as all is not as it seems...