Mob Sorcery - Alternate History Summary

Mob Sorcery is an alternate universe setting, but I’ve only really hinted at a lot of the changes to history in the world. I don’t really want to spend a lot of time in the books focusing on the historical changes as they’re not incredibly relevant most of the time (and have the potential to trigger drama).

However, I figured a lot of people will be interested in knowing a rough summary of how things have changed across the world. I’m not going into huge detail for many countries, particularly those that haven’t been introduced, as I don’t want to lock myself down in a worldbuilding sense (e.g. there’s little benefit to giving you specific details about Britain or Russia, in case I do decide to feature something about them in the future and want to alter my current ideas). This is more of a high level overview of how things have turned out.

Masquerade Era

Broadly speaking, history is the same as reality prior to 1910. Except that magical creatures, demihumans, etc were involved.

Some nations had large hidden magical kingdoms, like Italy and the wolffolk kingdoms. Sorcerers would also have hidden among people and demons influenced various rulers, priests etc. Many historical events would have links to magical entities. Quintus gave an example of demons being involved in Sulla’s purges in ancient Rome and La Lupa helping Caesar cross the Rubicon.

In general, magic was a poorly kept secret among nobles, aristocrats, and the wealthy. Their understanding would typically be low, but they knew of it and would have people to go to. Especially because monarchs would have mages and maybe even immortals in their pocket. Both the revolutionary and civil wars involved magical warfare alongside the mundane, simply because England would have deployed their own.

Non-humans and magic rarely played a huge role in human conflicts, unless there was a parallel war between magical entities. This also meant that human conquests and squabbles had less of an impact on the magical world. Overall, magic is around and influential, but during the masquerade, dragons aren’t flying around to openly support Napolean. Larger and more chaotic conflicts would involve more open use of magic, such as the collapse of the Roman Republic and the Sengoku Era of Japan. The Wars of the Roses was probably another good example of this.

In terms of myth, most real world myths are real in Mob, but they might be different. Evil fox spirits aren’t actually spirits (they’re mystic foxes/kitsune), so Tamamo no Mae and Daji are different foxes. King Arthur had a bunch of dragons supporting him. La Lupa was a demigodly wolfgirl who influenced Rome and Italian politics for millennia.

Also, when it comes to colonialism, it extended to the magical world. Because why wouldn’t it?

Finally, the Old World vs New World divide is significant magically. Magical institutions and races are ancient, so the 100-250 years the US, Australia, South America etc were colonized is a blink of an eye relatively speaking. Most of the magical entities present there were outcasts, rebels, connected to the colonial effort, or just powerful/wealthy enough to diversify on a global scale.

The Great War

World War 2 never happens, so in Mob’s world, WW1 is still known as the Great War. You can more or less consider it starting the same way, but the big difference is that magical powers quickly become involved.

Historically, WW1 was a war of a vastly greater scale than any before it, and that is what triggered the immense magical intervention. Artillery strikes, bombing, and naval bombardment meant previously hidden magical nations were in unprecedented danger. The sheer scale of military deployments and the possibility of wholesale regime changes also spooked many previously neutral entities into supporting whatever country they were in.

At the same time, the empires that went to war had powerful magical backers that had grown in power and influence alongside the colonial powers. To the magical beings involved, this was a chance to conquer huge swathes of Europe and wipe out old rivals. Japan and the US also became involved, much as they did historically, with the US struggling in the face of immense magic.

Early film and photography, accompanied by effectively instant long-distance communication, meant that the masquerade shattered almost immediately. The war intensified rapidly afterward, as more and more magical entities emerged for various reasons.

While WW1 was certainly devastating (particularly in the loss of lives and economic damage), the Great War in Mob’s world is closer to WW2’s devastation. Dragons, flying sorcerers, and teleportation bombarded cities. Magic prevented trench warfare from working as intended. Governments could be overthrown or controlled by beings such as succubi, meaning the war lost a lot of purpose.

The aftermath left Europe in ruins, many of the original magical powers spent and bloodied, and the colonial empires that started it ruined—the British Empire survived simply because it’s an island and had extra protections. Nobody won. There’s no equivalent to the Treaty of Versailles and the war largely ran out of steam around 1920.

Italy

Following the Great War, La Lupa was exhausted despite her demigodly power and her wolffolk kingdoms bloodied and brutalized. The Kingdom of Italy was similarly devastated by the war and their people felt they’d been used and suffered for nothing. Just as in history, the National Fascist Party gained immense popularity by exploiting the discontent and overthrew the existing government. They had a powerful magical backer (who I’m not announcing here because I haven’t made up my mind who I want them to be, as they might be relevant later in the series) who stayed out of the Great War and prevented La Lupa from intervening.

Because the wolffolk were aligned with the war and the old government, they were scapegoated by the new government. They were chased out or killed, which led to the mass exodus Alessia and others have talked about. The wolffolk kingdoms were then ravaged by looters and the magical backer.

Wolffolk spread to many places, as the rest of Europe wasn’t as hostile, and La Lupa went missing. The Lionettis already had a presence in the US due to Italian immigration in the late 1800s and the fact they were a controlling influence in the Sicilian mafia. Their aristocratic position in the wolffolk kingdoms allowed them to usher huge numbers of people to the US and Aulfair, where they established themselves.

The fascists don’t rule Italy anymore, but the country is still unwelcoming enough to wolffolk (or they still feel bitter) that those who left aren’t interested in returning. Wolffolk live long enough that some are still alive from the original exodus. Unlike IRL, the US didn’t show up to take care of business and restore the status quo.

Europe

Europe was largely taken over by magical powers after the war. Dragons rule Germany, France is a sorcerous technocracy etc. For simplicity, most of these split along regional lines we’re familiar with, but I might play with those if Europe ever becomes important.

There is no European Union. The magical beings who took over were too petty and bitter to work together, at least at first. They eventually started trading with each other and working together as the war grew somewhat distant and initial ructions ceased. But Europe is not a collective superpower or immense trading bloc. Rather, they share common interests when it comes to magic and are willing to work together to bully other nations when necessary, particularly as they view themselves as the Old World (the true inheritors of magical power) and therefore superior to most countries.

The British Empire stood alone among Europe as largely intact following the war. I’m still undecided as how they treated their colonies or their exact structure, and it may not ever matter. But know that they never faded in power and are potentially still a superpower.

Russia never became the USSR. Again, I’m undecided how they’re ruled, as I have several ideas for them, but it’s probably still ruled by tsars with magical aid. They’re not a superpower, in part because they’ve gotten in losing wars with other nations since the Great War, but they aren’t weak.

United States

In IRL history, the US’s industrial power and being unscathed in the war meant that it cleanly eclipsed the rest of the world following WW1. Mob is more complicated.

The US did suffer some attacks on their turf during the war, thanks to long-distance magic, but nothing close to Europe. Anti-magic sentiment soared in the country as the war had become deeply unpopular and nobody wanted to support non-human beings and mages that had hidden away and ruled the world in secret. Throughout the 1920s, the US eschewed magic, which harmed their ability to keep up with industrial improvements that began appearing in Europe and Asia, as well as their military capacity, which focused almost entirely on magic now.

At the same time, the aftermath of the war in Europe led many non-humans and mages to escape to the US. Some came to leave the destruction. Others the persecution in specific countries (e.g. Italy). And some just disliked the fact Europe was becoming a series of magical dictatorships.

Aulfair was founded by a group of mages and two dragons as part of this. The persecution of magic meant they went west, despite coming from Europe, to avoid scrutiny. The Lionettis were already on the land Aulfair was founded on, but aren’t considered founders due to a mixture of old rivalries and not taking the city seriously until they were kicked out of Italy in the mid-1920s.

The huge inflow of non-humans and sorcerers into Aulfair after the wolffolk got kicked out of Italy caused the US government to notice it (or, more accurately, stop ignoring it). But Aulfair possessed too much magical might to do anything about and was the sole source of magical goods in a country that blocked magical imports entirely.

Sentiment changed in the 1930s for multiple reasons. Economic issues caused by being left behind by the rest of the world; Japanese aggression in East Asia; Aulfair becoming known to the public and had basically become the country’s crack dealer for magic; and the arrival of Wagner.

Wagner is a truly ancient Germanic dragon who already had industrial roots in the US. After the Great War, he got into a dispute with the new rulers of Germany and began focusing more on the US. Despite anti-magic sentiment, nobody could ignore a dragon capable of taking out the US military by himself.

Because I already mentioned FDR in the series and the timeline adds up, he gets to be the president who transitions the US into a pro-magic era, establishes a friendship with Wagner, and starts a cold war with Japan. He probably only does three terms, instead of dying in his fourth, as there isn’t a world war on.

Between 1930 and 1970, Aulfair acts as a rogue city that ignores federal and state law. Wagner supports it, despite not getting along with the founding dragons (this a running theme with the guy, btw). The US can’t really do anything, but constantly bickers with Aulfair as governments bounce between various levels of magical support.

Immanuel arrives in the 1950s. I’m leaving their exact motivations unclear, but they’re a group of oddball Old World demons who decided to form their own entity with a focus on independent thinking (hence why they named themselves after Immanuel Kant, although that’s more because of his links to rationalism). Immanuel didn’t just settle in Aulfair, but began working across the US and triggered a new wave of anti-magic sentiment.

In the 1970s, Immanuel sneaks a demon in as president. He’s unmasked shortly into his term, but the constitutional crisis he triggers goes unresolved long enough for him to win a second time, this time while everyone knows he’s a demon. The changes the demon president made were sweeping: Aulfair became an independent state; almost everything relating to magic was legalized or decriminalized; enforcers became a thing etc. Aulfair’s conglomerates exist directly because of Immanuel’s actions, as their president enabled them to become enormously powerful in the country, instead of just in Aulfair (and therefore compete with the Lionettis, who otherwise had the homefield advantage).

Sometime after Immanuel arrives in Aulfair, one of the founding dragons goes missing.

Houou arrives in the 1980s, after the assassination of Emperor Showa and the purging of many clans of foxes in Knightsgate in the aftermath. The US government cuts a deal with the fleeing fox clans, supporting them against Japanese retribution and diplomatic claims in exchange for assistance with military R&D (and possibly more). Wagner opposed working Houou.

The rest is recent history covered by the books: the Lionettis bled power for decades, until Houou launched a brazen attack 5 years prior to Book 1 that nearly destroyed them; an anti-magic PotUS is currently in power but deeply unpopular; Wagner is still hugely important to the US’s military industrial complex.

Japan and East Asia

Knightsgate was the main organization to emerge from the masquerade in East Asia, and acted as a loosely connected series of individuals across east and south-east Asia that suppressed magical incidents and supported their respective governments. This continued even through isolationist periods of their countries.

However, the Japanese branch of Knightsgate was the strongest due to their country’s relative strength and the unity of their various organizations. They’d had a brief civil war alongside the Meiji Revolution which purged the factions of Japan’s Knightsgate that weren’t loyal to the Japanese emperor.

The Japanese emperor is given significant magical powers as part of the position and isn’t a mere figurehead (although he pales in power compared to the genuinely powerful). Following the ascension of Emperor Hirohito, Japan became nationalist and militaristic, just as it did historically. In this case, links between the military and Knightsgate played an important role.

In the 1930s, Japan became aggressive in East Asia. Their goal was to enact the Great East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere that was historically talked about by Japan (with Japan ruling it, naturally). Japanese Knightsgate sabotaged the other branches and supported the invasions of China and Manchuria (Korea was already annexed by Japan), and their magical support bolstered Japanese military power immensely. The invasions soon extended to south-east Asia.

Unlike in WW2, Japan never attacked the US, although the two nations swiftly came to diplomatic blows as Europe largely stayed out of the dispute. Britain likely defended its colonies and became involved at some point, leading to limited warfare between them and Japan.

Japan’s invasion stopped short of Australia and ceased entirely following direct intervention by Wagner and Britain’s full military might. Knightsgate had expended significant resources in what was effectively a civil war between the Japanese branch and those in the rest of Asia, and lacked the capacity to deal with Wagner, let alone Britain as well.

However, Japan did keep messing with Australia behind the scenes, and took control of it politically. This led to the events in Mob 2 where Harold Holt (a PM who went missing while swimming IRL and presumably drowned) returns from the sea with immense magical power to get rid of the Japanese puppets.

Japan turned the nations it conquered into puppet states, so they’re technically independent but not really. This leaves Japan as the main superpower competing with the US, and the two countries have been in a cold war since. There are still immense economic ties between the two countries, however (much like China and the US) as there’s no ideological divide that causes Japan to turn away from trade and capitalism. Hence why there are US companies with Japanese partners and influence (e.g. JPMorgan Chase is JPMorgan Asakawa, because it merged with a Japanese bank formed in the US).

Emperor Hirohito (also known as Emperor Showa) was assassinated around 1980, and many fox clans in Knightsgate were implicated. This resulted in the mass slaughter and exodus of mystic foxes, which led to the creation of Houou in Japan. Knightsgate remains significantly weaker than it ever has been in history as its power in focused in Japan and it takes a long time to recover the magical power they destroyed across three civil wars (the Meiji Revolution; conquering Asia; and the aftermath of Hirohito’s death).

Everywhere Else

I don’t really have details for other countries, including Canada. It’s a big world. Canada depends in large part on where I go with Britain, as they’ve never split from the Commonwealth, so they might actually be an extension of the British Empire (which would be weird if Aulfair is the main source of magic in NA tbh, so that’s unlikely). Most likely, Canada is largely independent or possibly split from Britain entirely, but I don’t know enough to determine how that might happen.

South America is unlikely to come up in Mob, so I haven’t done any worldbuilding there. Africa might have a mention, but not in any great detail.

I’m not going anywhere near the Middle-East, for obvious reasons (too political). It’s a bit unfortunate, as there’s a lot of cool stuff I could work with thanks to the abundant myths and legends there, and some of it might still get used through characters in Mob (just not with overt links to the area).

I also haven’t worked out where India sits in all of this. They’re not controlled by Japan, so they might just be doing their own things, with their own magic and myth (and they have a damn lot of it). Or possibly slaughtering each other a lot, if their myths run that way (I’m not familiar enough with it to say for sure).

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That's a broad summary of things. Given the size of the setting and the likelihood a lot of it won't directly matter to Mob's story, I'm not nailing down a lot of the specifics. It would consume a ton of time I could spend writing and narrow my options when it comes to future characters and events (e.g. if/when La Lupa shows up, I might decide to involve the magic users who tossed the wolves out of Italy).

Questions, comments etc are welcome.