Name: Legio Orientis (informally "Eastern Legion")
Flag:
Population: 350,000 (according to most recent census)
Territory: New Mexico and Colorado, minus the southeastern quadrant.
History:
When Caesar's forces triumphed at the Second Battle of Hoover Dam, it marked the start of the Legion's focus on the west, in both military and civil matters. New Vegas was Caesar's Rome, and the NCR was to be the Legion's next conquest. Legionaries and resources were diverted from the Legion's eastern holdings to fuel these ambitions, leaving behind minimal garrisons to maintain order and keep their borders secure against the Brotherhood of Steel.
The ranking official in charge of the eastern holdings, the Praetor of Denver, sought to mitigate Caesar's neglect by spearheading his own efforts to build up the east in military, civil, and economic matters. Able-bodied men were conscripted from settlements to build up the Legion's forces, while militias of both men and women were organized to maintain order in towns. The Followers of the Apocalypse, no longer welcome in the Legion's western territories, were invited and allowed to ply their services in exchange for assistance in agricultural assistance. Protection was offered to any Brotherhood Scribes who agreed to defect. Educated slaves from as far away as Nova Roma were purchased at a premium.
The next few years were difficult due to the lack of available resources, but the Praetor's efforts to bring needed talent to the east bore fruit. Food production grew, order was maintained, and trade routes remained safe. Cities began to be built up and an uneasy armistice with the Brotherhood of Steel was maintained. At the same time, however, loyalty to Caesar diminished and his influence began to fade, as many in the east felt neglected by his all-encompassing focus on the west. Rumors of Caesar's origin as not the Son of Mars, but a Follower of the Apocalypse began to spread.
When Caesar died, all pretenses ceased, and the Praetor made his move. Renaming himself Constantine, he implemented a number of policies that flew directly in the face of Caesar's old regime- persecution of New Canaanites and their allies was outlawed, the Cult of Mars was replaced by Christianity as the state religion, and Joshua Graham was venerated as a saint. The Praetor was determined to see his nation survive the second Fall of Rome, just as the Eastern Roman Empire outlived the west.
Government: The Eastern Legion is currently an autocracy, led by Praetor Constantine. Beneath him are the civil leaders presiding over Denver, and the Legate and Centurions presiding over the military. The Legion is additionally in the process of organizing its new state religion, the leaders of which will be expected to wield a degree of power.
Notable People:Praetor ConstantineThe Praetor of Denver, the Centurion who would later become Constantine was a veteran Decanus who distinguished himself during the Second Battle for Hoover Dam and was promoted to Centurion under the former Courier's command. The two became friends throughout Caesar's campaigns, and the Courier even confided in his underling the truth of Caesar's origin- that he was not the Son of Mars, but a Follower of the Apocalypse who had based his society around an ancient empire.
As time went by, however, they grew apart. The Courier delved more deeply into the luxuries and debaucheries of life in Nova Roma, while the Centurion rejected such pleasures, instead yearning for spirituality to fill the void left by the truth of the Cult of Mars. As their purposes grew further apart, the Courier had the Centurion "kicked upstairs" and promoted as the Legate of Denver, out of the way but far from the bloody front lines of Caesar's war of conquest in the west. Intended to be effectively a backwater assignment, the Legate found himself fighting a number of skirmishes with the Brotherhood of Steel,
During this period of peace, the Legate was promoted to Praetor and tasked with building up Denver with what little he was provided with. He made an effort to bring in educated men and women to help modernize, from Brotherhood defectors to enslaved Followers of the Apocalypse. He also sought out the history of the empire that Caesar had emulated, seeking to draw inspiration from it himself. What stuck with him, however, was not the military genius of Marius or Caesar, but rather the rise of Christianity, the faith of the disgraced Malpais Legate and his people. This became an obsession, one he relentlessly pursued behind Caesar's back, to the point of seeking out those who had preserved the faith, not to martyr them, but to learn from them.
When Caesar passed away, any semblence of loyalty to the man's vision disappeared. Renaming himself Constantine, he instituted a number of radical reforms, ending the persecution of New Caananites and promising legal protection to them, declaring Joshua Graham a saint, adopting the symbol of the Chi Rho in place of the Legion Bull, and replacing the Praetorian Guard with power armored Palatini. While some opposed his reforms, the East had by this time grown distant from the West and Caesar's cult of personality had long faded.
Economy: In most of the Eastern Legion's holdings, the economy is centered around agriculture. The exception is Denver, which is a major trading hub, linking the Legion's western holdings with the lands to the east.
Culture: Under the direction of its leader and far from the conflicts in the west, the Eastern Legion has grown less militaristic and more focused on civil, artistic, and philosophical development, with the intention of emulating the Roman society that Caesar idolized- a project that has been simultaneously accelerated and derailed by the revelation of Caesar's inspiration and Constantine's insertion of elements of later Roman society. Their society is more puritanical than that of the western Legion, due to both the rise of Christianity and the lack of influence from havens of debauchery in the west such as New Reno or Nova Roma, but crucifixion is banned as sacrilege.
Religion: With the diminishing of Caesar's influence in eastern lands and Constantine's reforms, Christianity has replaced the Cult of Mars as the dominant religion in Constantine's territories. Surviving New Canaanites and their converted followers have established a presence in Denver, while Constantine has funded the rebuilding of the Cathedral Basilica. Outside of Denver, tribal paganism is still common among more primitive settlements, and despite Constantine's efforts to phase it out, the Cult of Mars retains some presence.
Technology: WIP
Military: The Legio Orientis was undermanned for many years as a result of most of Caesar's forces being diverted to California, and much of its armed forces were built up by Constantine as a result. Composition is similar to that of Caesar's model, and relative peace in the east has resulted in them being well-supplied but poorly experienced compared to those in the west. One aspect that has not suffered, however, is their mongrels; because of Denver's role in the breeding and training of the Legion's war dogs, the Legio Orientis has ample access to some of the Legion's best mongrel stock. Beyond this, there exist a few key differences in the form of troops that do not exists elsewhere in Caesar's lands:
Scholae Palatinae- Based on the military unit created by the Praetor's namesake, the Scholae Palatinae serve as Constantine's bodyguards as well as his most elite shock troops. Recruited primarily from the Legion's best and most loyal veterans and based on the Brotherhood of Steel's Paladins (and further inspired by the fact that the term Paladin was derived from the Roman Palatine), the Palatini wear power armor and carry the best weapons that the Legio Orientis has access to. On the battlefield, they serve as the tip of the spear.
Militia- The Legio Orientis maintains state-sponsored militia in many of its settlements rather than waste manpower garrisoning them with Legionaries. Militias are composed of local volunteers trained and equipped by the Legion, and while they lack the combat ability of proper Legionaries, they have proven sufficient for maintaining order. Unlike the Legion's regular forces, women and mutants can join the militia.
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