I intend this to be something I update now and again, the topics have been split for a better reading experience.
General information
The world of Last Hope is a writing and Worldbuilding, I started on January 23rd 2024. It currently consists of 2 projects that being.
The original Last Hope (Complete)
Last Hope Thy Kingdom Come (Currently being written)
The main idea of Last Hope was what if after a apocalyptic event, humans had disappeared and biotoy’s inherited the earth. How would the world rebuild, what would it be like? For the Timeline of Last Hope, it is split in several sections.
Pre collapse/Age of Humanity (Basically all of Human history but focused mostly on the 21st century)
Post Collapse/The Years Of Walking Shadows (Mid 2026 to 2037)
Pre History/Age of Decay (2038-2082)
Age of Legend (2083 to 2200/ The time Maximus was born to where Thy Kingdom Come currently is)
Pre Collapse
[Disclaimer this part will go into some pretty deep politics, just to let you know that this is an alternate version of Earth with multiple major divergences, and I’m not saying that any of this would really happen, or that this is some sort of personal attack. This is merely just backstory for the fluffy stuff!]
[Geopolitics]
The world in 2026 just before the collapse could be described as both of one of deep pain, but also a deep sense of optimism. The world had been fighting World War 3 for 4 years up to that point, with The United States, NATO, Ukraine (Was under occupation throughout most of the war, but was liberated a few months before the collapse) India, Japan (Battleground state) South Korea (Under occupation) Philippines (Battleground State) Taiwan (Under occupation). All being at war with, The Eurasian Union State (A union between Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan) The Chinese Proletarian Union (Consisting of China, North Korea and Mongolia) Iran, Pakistan, North Korea (Annexed Voluntarily by China 2 years into the war) Etc. And after those 4 years tens of millions had died, but it seemed like the US & Allies were on the brink of victory. After multiple devastating defeats in central and eastern Europe, soldiers had pushed deep within The Eurasian Union, capturing both Minsk and Saint Petersburg, and were now at the gates of Moscow. And it’s strongest ally The Chinese Proletarian Republic, after years of food shortages and hyperinflation was on the brink of a revolution. It seemed like America had secured itself another century of hegemony and that the entire world awaited the beginning of a new age. One where almost every country still in the UN had forfeited there right to declare war, and that mankind would finally stop killing each other and unite as a species. Than on July 27th on 4:42 pm EST, the bombs began dropping and the world was set on fire…
[Divergences]
In many way’s the world pre collapse was a lot like our own, with it sharing much of the same history and progression. But by the 20th and 21st century things had changed considerably, I will make a list from most impactful from least.
Technology and science were a lot more advanced, with most wealthy nations having working fusion reactors and automated industries. And massive scientific breakthroughs coming in the forms of genetic modification, and medicine.
The United States was much more powerful and united. With the rust belt industries still very much alive and producing, and both political parties still working together.
China never underwent economic liberalization, with it still very much a hardline Maoist country. And it staying that way until the collapse.
The USSR went under a very different type of collapse, with the New Union Treaty being somewhat successful for a bit with the Union of Soviet Sovereign republics existing for 6 years. Before falling apart and after the exit of a few member states (Mostly in the caucuses, central Asia and Ukraine. Ditched Socialism and reorganized into the stratocratic Eurasian Union state.
9/11, the 2008 recession and the Covid pandemic never happened. But on the other hand there was a much worse Ebola outbreak in Africa, with the Southwestern and central part of the continent basically being left to fend for itself, as the situation deteriorated into apocalyptic anarchy.
The United Kingdom hasn’t technically existed since the 1950s, with the Uk, Canada, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand all uniting to form the Imperial federation.
France is still in control of Algeria, With it having an even greater control over it’s (Non collapsed) former colonies
The United States consists of 52 states, with Puerto Rico and Washington D.C being given statehood in the 90s.
Baja California and a bit of Sonora (The panhandle) were annexed into the United States during the 1848 Mexican American war, and the territories of Baja were made apart of the state of California, and the piece of Sonora was made apart of Arizona.
[Minor divergences (Mostly just for fun)]
The national animal of The United State is not the bald eagle, but instead the turkey.
John Lennon survived his assassination attempt.
Iron Man 1 was a flop at the box office, meaning the superhero genre never really took off.
The Star Wars sequel trilogy was actually planned out, and wasn’t complete shit.
Subway Kept the 5$ Footlong until the very end.
Post Collapse
When the 1 year anniversary of the collapse came, 87% of all humans were dead. Nobody knew exactly who decided to strike first but it didn’t matter anymore. The world was gone, and a new age began. The lucky ones were those killed in the blast, with most major cities being indirectly hit. Then you had the unlucky ones, the people who had to deal with the radioactive fallout, and the possibility of being killed for a slice of bread. But luckily for awhile the latter didn’t happen, as The National Guard for the first 2 months after the collapse were able to keep the US somewhat under control. But law was harsh, and public executions for petty crimes ordinary, trying to instill fear in the desperate survivors. But as the situation deteriorated, most guard divisions started deserting, with both the government and senior military officials not responding, growing supply shortages and growing worries about family and friends. So as they left, going back to there most likely dead families. So the US finally ceased to exist, and anarchy and warlords became the new normal.
As time passed, there had become a noticeable side effect when it came to the fallout. Infertility it seemed like, as best as one tried after 9 months no newborn was ever seen again, and with the lack of new babies the young became more and more rare. At first it didn’t matter much to the survivors, because with no new people what little food and resources were left would not be drained as fast. But as radiation sickness progressed and the earth’s climate changed to one of cloudy ash. People became isolated and famished, and what few you were able to see were often described as shadows, with the ash fog and the now advanced cancer making them frail and looking like long tall figures, shadows. After around 10 years in this new world 99.9% of all humans were dead and the world fell silent, for a very… Very long time.
Pre History
As humanity was bombing and fighting amongst itself, there was something also going on below there feet. In the sewers of many cities, biotoy’s of all types sat in small isolated herds fighting amongst themselves and feasting off the decaying corpses of humans or small animals, or ate out of the garbage. These biotoy’s came from many sources, some were abandoned pets, left by families killed by the nukes. Some were older and found themselves being abandoned, when biotoy’s went out of fashion. And some were just here for a long time, with the first biotoy The “Fluffy” being released by Peta in early 2014. With Biotoy’s in the sewer, they shielded themselves from the harsh blast and radiation, with at first humans sometimes going down in the sewer to hunt them, they slowly started stopping as there numbers depleted. After around 10 to 15 years the ash in the atmosphere had subsided enough, and human attacks became nonexistent. To where a few herds decided to venture out to see the world before them.
What they saw was the rotting corpse of a once mighty race. Everywhere you looked bones littered the ground and collapsed buildings were all to common. There was also the deal with vegetation as well, with the ash dissipating there was a rapid growth of plants covering large swaths of now empty land slowly erasing what once was. But there was still one thing, the radiation and when these herds got exposed to it, something interesting happened. As each generation passed the radiation slowly started changing the physiology of these biotoy’s. Like once they were always subservient and had built in quirks, those slowly started being lost as there genetic memories were modified and changed. They became more socially aware, smarter, able to form more complex reasoning. And soon started consolidating into more complex and large communities. And all of this would culminate 57 years after the apocalypse, when a colt was born named Maximus who would change the course of history forever.
Age Of Legends
Out of the ruins of Detroit, something incredible happened. With the coming of Maximus came an idea, the idea of unifying the surrounding herds into what he called a kingdom. The land of Detroit was wild, with bandits and other foul creatures lurking, the idea of creating a unified force to combat this and give a better life to all seemed revolutionary. When the herds agreed and were united, the entire city of Detroit now was under his control and Maximus was now seen as a legend, and thinking of a name Maximus called in Motor (A long forgotten tribute to the cities former automotive industry) And war began against the bandits.
As Maximus waged war, gradually over the next 10 years the city was put more and more under his control. but in the process, sickness consumed him. A leper Maximus became, with him getting more and more sick, confiding himself to his palace and requiring someone to look after him. And as he selected a someone from a lesser herd, that being Velvet Doe, news came from the frontier of some sort of hero avenging his dead family and killing the crime boss Bloody Mary. As the story of the original Last Hope concluded Motor and the world outside of it changed considerably, inside there was now a new Monarch and dynasty. The legend Velvet Doe, chosen by Maximus and creator of feudalism. And than you had the second most important person in Motor, the legend Soul StrongWing. Duke of Green Roof, defeater of the Order Of The Mask and national hero of Motor. And outward things had changed a lot as well, with there being an entire new nation in the form of The Chicago Confederation and a new race of mysterious bug people called the Changelings that headed south, after a attempted takeover of Chicago. Things were changing rapidly
As time passed Motor grew in population in size, with the country expanding to cover almost all of Michigan, the coast of Ohio, parts of Indiana and bits of Canada. Than as it turned to the 100th anniversary of the coronation of Velvet. The palace fell, and the fate of this new world fell in the hooves of 4 Royal guards.
Geography
[Motor]
The land of Motor is one of great grasslands and forests. Of course it wasn’t always this way, with it the centuries before being filled with buildings and urban sprawl. But after the collapse and without anyone maintaining them most structures quickly eroded into nothing leaving the land almost in a pre colonial state by the time of Thy Kingdom Come. But still though the collapse destroyed most of everything there are still urban centers with Motor mainly having two. The first and easily the most developed is the inner Motor region, or by it’s former name Detroit. With Inner Motor being home to over 50% of the population it is easily the beating heart of the Kingdom. And in this region there are several settlements, with the 10 with the highest population being listed.
-Stablelot, the highest populated city and capital of the nation. The city hosts all sorts of industries and activities, and most guilds have there headquarters located here. The Doe-StrongWing dynasty considers Stablelot it’s home city, with the family ruling the city for over a century.
-Breadbasket, a center of food and alcohol production in the region. Breadbasket is one of the most important places in Motor, vital for it’s survival. But even though, Breadbasket has a lot more than farming. The city has a large theater where those from all over come to see plays and performances. And a bathhouse where it is seen as the pinnacle of relaxation and comfort. It is also the home of the Joymim dynasty
-Green Roof, a city known for both it’s agriculture and vast amount of entertainment and leisure (Mostly in the form of gambling) It is built around the ruins of the old Green Roof and was formally the home of the StrongWing dynasty before being united with the Doe dynasty.
-Seaside, The largest Great Sea port city. Seaside is a vital part of outer Motor trade and has one of the largest markets in Motor. For over a century the Doe dynasty ruled Seaside with the city previously belonging to the disgraced DarkWing family.
-Leakytown, located at the edge of inner Motor Leakytown is mostly an underground sewer city, with only a few dozen buildings on the surface. It is a hub mostly used for expeditions to outer Motor and a place where once you leave you can take several routes either west or north. The city is a producer of fresh water, with it being one of it’s main exports and was ruled by the StrongWing dynasty for 40 years before being inherited by the now Doe-StrongWing dynasty.
-New Junction, Located in the center of Inner Motor it is a massive trade and merchant hub, with it’s only rival being Stablelot. In New junction you can buy almost anything and both the Trader’s guild and StrongWing dynasty have massive investments into the city. Other than the trade there are also many farming estates on the cities outskirts, with these estates producing most alcohol for the cities many inns and taverns. The Hippal dynasty is the current rulers of New Junction with them tracing there heritage back to Laius Hippal.
-HappyFarm, a city on the very edge of Inner Motor. It doesn’t take that much thinking to guess what this cities main export is, around 75% of HappyFarm’s land area is dedicated to farming alone and when it come to it is a close rival to Breadbasket. Other than farming the cities position at the southern edge of Inner Motor makes it a prime location for merchants and travelers coming from Chicago in which inns are more than willing to cater to. Two things make HappyFarm famous one being that the Doe dynasty originated from HappyFarm and the giant longhouse in the center of the city which acts as both a market and community center. The Doe-StrongWing dynasty still rules the city as of Thy Kingdom Come.
-Davidson, a century ago Davidson would have been to small to even be considered a village. But it had one thing that set it apart, the Prophet David had made a small ruined house the first Anuian temple. As time passed and Anuism spread out like wildfire, more and more pilgrims made there way to Davidson and the now city became the center and holiest place of the Anuian religion. Davidson is a place of temples, monasteries, education centers, and ritual sites. Most of the population consists of monks, priests in training, pilgrims, theologians, guards (mostly those chosen from outside cities) and general travelers. Davidson is unique that it is one of the few places without a feudal lord, with the Anuian GrandPriest being the ruler, and the city having a temporary mayor if there is no GrandPriest.
-Cat’s Den, Located in the lowest point of Inner Motor, Cat’s Den is what you would consider the most “Out of the way” City, and the reason for that is quite obvious. Towering above the city in it’s center is Cat’s Den Prison. A massive stone castle that was first built to hold all of the prisoners during and after the conquest of Maximus, but later buildings started forming around it, and the prison spawned a city. The prison holds some of the worst criminals in Motor, with the prison being infamous for it’s treatment of prisoners and is seen as cursed by the majority of people. Citizens of Cat’s Den are seen mostly as outcast’s or undesirables with over 90% living in poverty. The City gets almost no travelers or merchants, with the only imports and way of making money being new prisoners. Most people farm the land for themselves and there family. The City is ruled by the Jarul Dynasty, with most of it’s members preferring to go by “Warden” instead of Duke.
-Port Xerxes, Located at the northern coast on inner Motor. Is a trade and merchant hub for those wanting to do business in the northern part of Inner Motor (Or more likely just dodge Seaside’s higher toll) The city was founded by Xerxes Morningstar, and is built upon a now destroyed pre collapse movie theater. Port Xerxes has a pretty bad reputation with it being seen as a shantytown, and crime and dodgy underground dens being common throughout. After a string of strategic marriages Port Xerxes became a title owned by House StrongWing before itself being merged with House Doe.
Maximus
is the next urban region in Motor with it being located in the ruins of Cleveland, it has one big difference from Inner Motor. It was conquered. The majority of the people who live in Maximus are civilized Tribal’s, with there also being a good portion of Motor settlers who live mostly on the outskirts and trade hubs. Maximus is a lot less developed then Inner Motor, with it’s largest city PallupNik being on the scale of HappyFarm. And most residents instead live in small rural farming villages. Also With this low development is the poor infrastructure of Maximus, with the region only being in the core of Cleveland, and the rest of it returned to nature. The 3 biggest cities in Maximus are listed from most populated to least.
-PallupNik, Located in the core of Maximus, it is a city consisting mostly of farms and markets, with the city center also having large amounts of guild offices, garrison buildings and Tribal monuments. The people of PallupNik are of mostly Tribal origin, with Tribal identity being a large source of pride amongst the people. The dynasty that rules PallupNik is house Obround.
-Nalpi, A city located in the western outskirts of Maximus, it is primarily a market, port, route to Inner Motor and workshop. The cities population consists mostly of Motor settlers and merchants, with it once being seen as an “open door” to Maximus, before the whole façade collapsed and the city being disregarded. The dynasty that originally ruled Nalpi was the Doe dynasty before being sold off to a wealthy merchant, with his family the Adder dynasty being it’s current rulers.
-Akamer, located in the eastern part of Maximus is seen as one of the best cities in Maximus. A Anuian Holy City that lead to the conversion of the Tribal population, it was founded even before Nalpi by a traveling missionary by the name of Albert “The Kind and Generous” In many way’s Akamer is like Davidson with the city consisting mostly of temples and monasteries, but it’s population being of mostly Tribal’s.
Outer Motor
Is all the land that is outside of both Inner Motor and Maximus and by far is the most wild. In outer Motor it is common to go dozens of miles without meeting anybody, and villages are far apart with it taking day’s to get between them. The population of Outer Motor is split with half being settlers, and the other half being “Uncivilized” Tribal’s. To Most settlers they have very little idea of what “Uncivilized” Tribal’s are, with them living deep within the forests and only being seen during raids. They are not like the somewhat assimilated Civilized Tribal’s, they practice a strange religion, have scars and tattoos all over there body and wear strange clothing. Here are a few of the significant cities and places located in Outer Motor.
-Bomber Bay, bomber bay is located in the central part of Outer Motor and is built from an Airforce base. Almost every building in bomber bay is made from rusted fuselages, and the bases command building is where most markets are located. The city is primarily known for farming, but the rusted metal all over it is sometimes sent out to be cleaned and forged into new things. The Doe-StrongWing Dynasty has control over Bomber Bay
-Misty Cliff, Located on the coast of Western Southern Ontario it is a small city that sits on a cliff next to a river. There is not much to say about Misty Cliff, only that it is a farming city that was the first settlement founded of the region Southern Ontario (That is now known as VelvetsLand) And the StrongWing dynasty founded the settlement and ruled it until being united with the Doe dynasty.
-Storm Drain, Located a bit North of Inner Motor Storm Drain is one of the older and more developed cities of Outer Motor. With the city being a halfway point for many ships and one of the few places where artificial lights still work. As the name suggests most of the city is underground, with Storm drain consisting mostly of brick lined sewers. Storm Drain belong to the StrongWing dynasty until the dynasties united.
-Waterfall, Located at the southern frontier of Outer Motor Waterfall is one of the newest settlements in Motor. The city is located by a Waterfall with a few dozen builds scattered about. The main industries of Waterfall are livestock and fresh water. The Doe StrongWing dynasty currently controls the city.
-Outer Glow, Outer Glow is located a little ways North of Inner Motor and by many is considered one of the strangest places in all of Motor. The city sits in what is considered “the safe zone” when it come to the actual glow, and those who live there are often called weird, creepy and aggressive. In many way’s the place is like Cat’s Den, you only live there if you have nowhere else to go, and people from the outside try to avoid the place. Outer Glow doesn’t produce that much, with it’s main export mostly being recreational drugs. The dynasty that controls Outer Glow is the Doe StrongWing Dynasty.
-The Glow, The glow is what remains of the of the Order of the Mask’s Compound. When you first walk in the air is thick and heavy, with storms all to common. But as you go in deeper the radiation starts affecting you making you hallucinate and lose focus. If somehow you were able to continue going, without dying of radiation sickness or the storm. You reach ground zero, the ruins of the Compound itself. Almost nothing is known of this place, but it is said that demons and monsters live here and that only one with a wicked evil heart could survive in a place like this.
-Soul, Located a bit West of bomber bay Soul is barely even a city. More like a a glorified winter home for the StrongWing dynasty, with it being a giant luxurious castle with only a few dozen houses below. Most of the population of Soul works inside the castle, with them working as staff for the garrisons of StrongWing troops that are kept there. And when the StrongWing family comes during the winter, the place get’s quite busy. After the dynasties unified the fate of Soul is currently in question. Currently though, the StrongWing side of the family still uses it as a home.
-The Dock, Near the border with Chicago, The dock is the most southwestern port of Motor. With most of the city built on top of the water, by large wooden pillars. The main industries of The Dock are shipbuilding, a trade hub, a markets, farming and as a caravan stop and port. During the late Spring it is quite common for The Dock to have a large population of Chicago citizens arrive, as it is the first stop on many maps when going to Inner Motor. The Dynasty that rules The Dock is House Virum, a prominent family that settled and built most of the original dock, over 60 years before.
-Pidgeon, Located in the Michigan upper peninsula, Pidgeon is one of the least known cities in Motor, with the city only founded 20 years ago most people don’t know it exists. Most in the city are substance farmers, with the rest working in a small port. Despite things seeming quaint and normal there is one very strange thing about Pidgeon, the travelers who do know it exists. Knights of the Order of Talon have made it a tradition to come to Pidgeon at least once every year and get extremely drunk, parading around and causing trouble. The dynasty that rules Pidgeon is well the Pidgeon dynasty, with the dynasties founder Tupan finding the place on expedition and deciding it would make a nice settlement, and halfway point for ships.
-HutVa, located south east of Maximus. It was one of the only Outer Motor cities, with a majority Tribal population, with it also conquered alongside Maximus. The city is known for it’s abundance of raccoon ranches, and the raccoons that come from there are seen as some of the highest quality. The dynasty that control HutVa is House TuPid.
Population
[Kingdom of Motor]
Population of around 340’000
48% of the population lives inside Inner Motor
34% In Maximus
18% In Outer Motor
58% Are of Motor culture
27% Civilized Tribal Culture
14% “Uncivilized” Tribal Culture
1% Other
[State of Nickel]
Population of 62,000
72% live in Nickel City
28% Live in Outer Nickel
99% Of the population are Bat ponies with Nickel culture.
1% Other
[Confederation of Chicago]
Population of 288,000
59% of the population are Puffy griffons
40% are Fluffy Ponies
1% Other
65% live in the Chicago Urban area
35% live in the Chicago Countryside
!00% of Chicago fluffies are apart of the Chicago Fluffy community
92% of Chicago Puffy Griffons are apart of the Chicago Puffy Griffon community
8% of Chicago Puffy Griffons are apart of the Order Of Talon
[United Hives]
Population 210,000
89% Live in Urban Hives
11% Live in the countryside
95% Are infertile Changeling males and females
4% Are Fertile Males
0.99% Other
0.01% Fertile Females/Queens
This is where the Primer currently is, as more will come in the future. The next expansion will be about finishing the geography section and starting the religion and politics sections . I had a lot of fun writing this and filling in the lore of this world. If you have any questions, or if I contradicted myself, make sure to comment!