Weekly Update - 214 - 4/15/2024

Happy tax day if you live here in the states.

Haven't been sleeping too well lately. I blame the cats. They've decided that 5 am is their new feeding time, which is a time that, if we are disturbed by anything, they get locked out of the room until 9. So I don't know why they've decided anything of the sort.

Cats are dumb, I think.

Comic This Week? Yes. I promised I wouldn't let Rimworld get in the way of posting a new comic.

Drawing: Page 194, Max Art (See? I'm making progress on it!)

Playing: Rimworld. The new DLC is quite excellent, and I'm already planning for a second playthrough.

Ramble:

More lore? More lore. This part covers the last... roughly two decades or so, relative to when Kiva's story starts.

The Redtails

One part of Kuserra in particular is known as “the Downtown.” It is the region most accessible by trade Caravans from across the Deadlands, and as such it naturally grew into a bustling marketplace where merchants can thrive. It’s also one of the most wealthy and densely populated parts of the city, due to the influx of watts and goods that can’t otherwise be obtained within the city’s limits. Kuserra’s primary above-ground exports have traditionally been water, scrap metal and other salvage, while their primary imports are food, textiles, leather, glass, and anything else that the city doesn’t produce in large quantities or quality.

All this mercantile activity makes it very appealing to the most powerful Landlords in the city, and many various gangs have skirmished for control over it constantly. One Landlord might chase out their rivals one month, only for their soldiers to be ambushed and replaced by a different gang’s the next. This made it a pretty unstable and dangerous place to do business at times, depending who was in control at any given time, but as the merchants generally stayed out of the conflicts and focused instead on appeasing whoever happened to be in charge that month, it was business as usual for many.

One gang in particular, a moderate-sized gang formed out of the veterans from a few different mercenary crews that were struggling to find success on their own, gained notoriety for painting their tails red so members could more easily identify each other. At a time when most Landlords were still trying to avoid open hostilities, the Redtails did not shy away from violent engagements, striking quickly and winning decisively when and where they chose to do so. They managed some success in the region by claiming a chunk of territory in the Downtown and holding onto it for several months. Their organization and combat strategies were second to none, thanks to the quasi-militaristic discipline of the gang’s leader and the tactical mind of the gang’s young Lieutenant.

It took the combined might of three different gangs to finally drive the Redtails out of the Downtown, and in the conflict, the Redtail leader was killed. Before allowing themselves to be surrounded, their Lieutenant lead the survivors on a retreat into the Underground, deep enough that their pursuers eventually gave up the chase. Survival in the Underground carries its own challenges, and the gang soon found itself in foreign, unfriendly territory, facing off against the native Chisokojin. The Redtails were exhausted, diminished, and at disadvantage in the dark tunnels, so they attempted to strike a deal with the Undergrounder families.

The details of exactly what was agreed upon are still pretty fuzzy, but the results of the betrayal were pretty clear. The Undergrounders let them in, and the Redtails gained a huge vault with a large stash of nearly new Ancestor weapons, which they brought up to the surface.

What followed was the bloodiest conflict that the Downtown had seen since the slaughter of the gods. The Redtails swiftly secured the center of the market, then dug their heels in and prepared to defend their claim against the combined forces of every other Landlord that wanted a piece of it.

The other gangs, which were disorganized and relied primarily on primitive weapons like knives, clubs, chains and axes, were no match for the Redtails with their advanced technological weaponry and tactical strategy. For each 1 Redtail killed, the other gangs lost anywhere between 10 and 30 people, and the result of the conflict was plainly clear within days. The Redtails were not going to be driven out this time. Any survivors that faced down Redtail weaponry were quick to surrender or defect once all of their companions had fallen.

With a grip on the region secured, the Redtails turned their attention first to local Landlords. Any of them that wanted to stay alive were forced to submit and become Redtails themselves. This was done on the condition that the Landlords gave up their control of their own mercenaries, guards or security forces, either disbanding or adding them to the ranks of the Redtails. Given the choice between death or giving up their independence, most opted to choose the latter option.

Tensions and scattered conflicts with the bitter remnants of local gangs continued for a few years to follow, however. While hope of ousting the Redtails became an ever-more-distant fantasy, some still sought to hurt them however they could, striking wherever they thought the Redtails were weak. The continuing instability in the region was hurting trade, and driving a lot of merchants out of the Downtown region. The Lieutenant, who was now the Redtail’s official leader, instituted a strict zero-tolerance anti-violence policy, which was intended to halt violence in all of its forms. The spirit of this policy was if anyone even throws a punch, either to start or escalate a conflict, their body gets tossed in the canal, no questions asked.

Initially, the policy was applied liberally to everyone, Redtail or otherwise, and its consistent enforcement went a long way towards calming tensions and rebuilding some stability in the Downtown. It was a very strong and very public commitment from the Redtails to maintaining order. Not everyone was happy about it, but the majority of people were simply unwilling to risk the consequences of defying it. Although people probably wouldn’t ever see the Redtails as “the good guys,” preserving the peace in the Downtown made them, from the perspective of many, “not the bad guys,” and over time more people became comfortable with the idea they didn’t have to run or hide when an Enforcer patrol went by.

After almost a decade since, the enforcement of the “zero-tolerance” policy has relaxed somewhat, especially as it is applied to Redtails by their officers. It’s now usually used as an excuse by the Redtails to maintain their monopoly of force, while violent crimes executed by Redtail Landlords often go overlooked when they make the argument, “they deserved it.” There are still many officers that remain committed to the spirit of the policy, however, and many do keep a sharp eye out for anything that disrupts the peace in Redtail territory.

The Redtails have since turned their attention towards expanding their territory and solidifying their control over existing territories, taxing the merchants and employing workers to rebuild some of the city’s infrastructure. To this day there is still no formal system of justice or law enforcement, so crimes are often punished on a case-by-case basis at the whim of whatever Enforcer saw it happen. Minor crimes are often ignored, major crimes and violent crimes are often punished immediately with instant death. Bounties are usually placed when the criminal escapes and someone powerful is still holding a grudge against them.