WIDEVANIA Lore

The World of Widevania takes place in an alternative universe to our own. Creatures of myth are commonplace throughout the world, ruled by the enigmatic 3 Vampire Lords. Despite being common, they are still widely hated and feared, suffering widespread discrimination based in ancient blood feuds. Historically, creatures of myth (referred to henceforth by the name given to them by the Soviet Army: Skazochnyy (Ska-zoch-knee)) have hunted and killed humans, as have humans fought against the Skazochnyy. However, in the last 200 years the Skazochnyy have attempted to modernize themselves and their culture to integrate into mainstream society, after their outing in World War II. This has been met with much hesitation, as well as outright refusal to allow monsters into polite society.

History

See also: WIDEVANIA Lore/Timeline

Characters

Skazochnyy

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• Lord Tepes: Known in legend as Vlad the Impaler or more commonly, Dracula, is the Lord of all vampires. He has grown weary of the game of politics since the war, choosing to stay isolated in his mountain castle overlooking the town of Widevania. Despite being disliked by Bathory and many Old Blood Vampires, Tepes is loved by New Blood vampires and many other creatures of myth. Many races have legends of the great Lord Tepes that led them from ruin and starvation in Sumer to Europe and its prosperity in ancient times. Tepe’s characterization is not that of a good man nor an evil man. He is simply a man who finds himself at odds with many facets of the status quo and an overwhelming desire to protect his people, all of his people despite their lot in life. He is cold in many respects, but his overall actions and machinations are that of deep affection for his subjects, as well as a hope for their future inhabiting a world with humans.

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• Lady Bathory: A Vampire Lord whose erratic and violent behavior has done the Skazochnyy no favors with public opinion. Her atrocities as well as those of her army during The Siege of Paris during the war is still a black mark against the Skazochnyy in many human minds. She currently rules over a similar Oblast to Widevania in Bulgaria, which strangely seems to be flourishing, not subjected to the same budget cuts and seeming grudge from the Premier. Bathory has always hated Tepes, seeing him as an empty crown and the reason for the Vampires fall from power. Bathory is powerless in many respects. Her actions are mostly her slavery to her desires, and she is easily pulled into schemes as a useful idiot, punching far outside her weight class. The newfound prosperity her fiefdom has found itself in has done nothing to curb her ego and lust for power and blood. Native to Hungary, Bathory fled to Bulgaria in the 17th century when it was discovered she had been abducting and exsanguinating young virgin girls.

Humans

• Mikhail Ivanov: The current Premier of The Soviet Empire, a relatively unknown politician whose rise in power came as a shock to many. He is one of the primary critics of Widevania, going as far as to say it should be shut down, and its citizens neutralized or sent to gulags. He is a constant background antagonist as he cuts funding to the oblast. He is very popular in social circles of The Soviet Empire, being young with a beautiful wife, Alyona Ivanov, both of whom love throwing lavish parties for the elite. Mikhail’s machinations are far more aggressive than previous Premiers, seeking to finally crush the final hold outs that still resist the control and influence of the Empire. The self image he sees in the mirror is the second coming of Stalin, a man of great power and personality to finally unite the entire world under the red and yellow flag of the Empire.

• Nicolae Ceausescu III: The current General Secretary of Romania who was appointed in the wake of his fathers sudden, and frankly suspicious, death. He, along with Ivanov, despise Widevania and the Skazochnyy. An egotistical child, he seeks to personally regain lands he feels rightfully belong to Romania. He is generally not a narrative force, but mostly a mouthpiece for the regime, relaying messages from Moscow to Tepes and Rahn.

Widevania Vtubers

• Taylor Rahn - The current governor of the Widevania Oblast. While most know him by the name Taylor, his real name is Taylarahn Tepes, “adopted” son of Lord Tepes. Originally he was a Sumerian child, killed by the vampires not long after their arrival on Earth. Lord Tepes, seeing the bloodshed his people were causing, banned the wide scale hunting of humans. It was by happenstance that the child’s dead body was placed in The Chalice Macabre, rising as the first New Blood vampire, accidentally revealing the Chalice’s power to create new vampires. Believing himself to be Lord Tepes true born son, Taylor chose to distance himself when he learned the truth sometime after the war. Taylor served as a Polkóvnik (Colonel) in the Soviet Army during the war and was present at The Fall of Berlin as well as The Paris Massacre at the hands of Lady Bathory’s forces, forced to turn on his own people for the first time.

• Evie - The Headmaster of the Widevania Town Library. Originally conscripted as a young-adult to Oda Nobunaga’s army, he was cut down and left to die during the assault on Nagashino Castle. In a near-death state, he awoke to what seemed like a nine-tailed fox nursing him back to health, paralized with fear he let the Yokai do its bidding and cooperated fully. As discovered upon recovery, this Obake had shuttled his soul to the body of an Oni to prevent death, as his human body was irrecoverable. After a century or two of rediscovering himself in his new hornier, redder, and more effeminate form, he heard musings of a place in Europe more opening and welcome to Yokai (or as they called themselves Skazochnyy). After an arduous migration across Asia, Evie settled into the town known as Widevania. As the 20th century came and went and the tech of the 21st century accelerated, the Internet’s obsolescence of Libraries became more apparent, so he decided to join the Widevania Vtuber Project.

• Doctor Coathanger -

Locations

Widevania is both the name of the oblast and the town/village. Millions of ruble were poured into the oblast following the war, so everything has a very 50s aesthetic to this day. The oblast is not in a state of decay, but things are starting to show their age.

Drimerova

The town is divided into several sections: The first of which is the old village of Drimerova. Nobody alive today remembers the old name, however, simply referring to it as Widevania.

Most of the buildings date back to the 18th century, but are mostly in good shape, being kept up and lived in continuously. The original inhabitants of the village were driven out during the war to make room for the Skazochnyy Divizion’s training and housing. A few stayed, giving reason for the few humans that still live in the oblast.

Skazochnyy District

The second prominent section of the town is the housing district. Being built in the 1950s, the aesthetic is very communist bloc. This is where 90% of the Skazochnyy live with their families. There is a scattering of retail centers in plazas throughout the housing units. With the closing of factories and soldiers returning home from war with no prospects, poverty has begun to rise in the district. Crime has become common and the housing blocs are falling into disrepair.

Rezovo

While Widevania is tucked into the dark hidden mountains of Romania, Rezovo sits on the shores of The Black Sea in Bulgaria and serves as the seat of Lady Bathory. Many of her subjects are Merefolk who served in the Navy during the war. Unlike Widevania, Rezovo prospers with industry, serving as the heart of the Empire's naval industry, constructing some of the most powerful & bleeding edge battleships the world has ever seen. While their leaders may be at odds, the people of Rezovo and Widevania remain friendly.

Other Locations

Honorable mention areas are the industrial district, now featuring dozens of shuttered munitions factories and assembly plants, all closed in the wake of Ivanovs cuts to the Oblast. There was once a theme park, most notably seen via the massive ferris wheel that can be seen from most places in the Oblast. The park was closed in the 90s due to lack of maintenance.

The final location of note is Lord Tepe’s castle. He himself designed the castle, using his army of slaves to build it in the 15th century, long before Widevania.

Races

Despite housing a multitude of different mythological races, the culture of Widevania is mostly inline with the wider Soviet culture, while still retaining their various quirks.

Vampires

Time has not dulled the aristocratic Vampires of their taste of wine and high society. Being the least popular of all the races, the Vampires tend to self-segregate, most living either in Lord Tepe’s castle. However, it is only old blood vampires who are given this level of preference. New blood vampires are seen as a lower caste, sent out to mingle with the other races. Old blood vampires are those that appeared on Earth 5,000 years ago with the Vampire Lords. New Blood vampires, however, are humans who were exsanguinated and placed in The Chalice Macabre, their veins being refilled with primordial vampire blood. New Blood vampires are not nearly as strong as Old Blood vampires, and are not fully immortal, and still age, such as in the example of Taylor Rahn, who was a child when turned as a small child in ancient Sumer, but only appears to be about 25 in 2022.

The vampires are also very secretive about their origins. An ancient myth however may shed light on their history. It was said that the vampire lords who appeared on Earth were cast out from their original realm of existence as rebels, sent to suffer among mortals with their host of mindless beast servants.

Despite rumours, Vampires are not weak to the sun, cannot be killed with a stake to the heart, and their disdain for garlic is more a culinary choice than secret weapon. Old Blood vampires are however wary of Christian imagery, a quirk not shared by the New Bloods. Vampires as well do not require blood to survive, being more of a delicacy.

Werepeople

The Werefolk are the most populous of all the Skazochnyy. While in popular culture the werewolf is seen as the most recognized werecreature, conversely, in The Soviet Empire its the Werebear that is the most known, so much so that the Werebear is featured on the Seal of Widevania and its logo. The various werefolk tend to take after the animals that curse them: Werewolves tend to be very family oriented, tending to live near their own. Werebears are the opposite, most being isolated loners. Werefolk are not unified in the same way that Vampires are, having no cohesive leader. However, all Werepeople see Fenrir as a hero of their people and is said to be the father of all Werefolk.

Oni

The mysterious Oni from the East remains an elusive enigma even to the other Skazochnyy. Very few live in the village or housing area, most preferring to live in the forests that surround the city centres. Not being native to Europe, their fearsome forms strike fear even into fellow mythic folk. However, just as the legends of terrors of their own people are overstated and misunderstood by humans, so are the demons of the East misunderstood and feared by the Skazochnyy.