A crescent moon
The national flag is a yellow crescent moon with a yellow sun between its horns on a field of forest green.
Position:
Xanadu incorporates the counties previously called Kazakhstan,
Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. It is isolated from the West by fierce nomadic barbarian tribes in the northwest and by the radioactive deserts of Iran in the southwest. To the south of Asia it borders Ganesh and to the east Zhongguo. It has good relations with Zhongguo but travel and trade with Ganesh is slowed down by trade embargoes set by Ganesh to prevent the spread of the north’s religion and culture.
Provinces:
Xanadu is divided into seven provinces Kazak, Uzbek, Turkmen, Kyrgyz, Tajiki, Bathsheba, and Persia. The majority of these provinces are short grass steppe, as the extensive deserts that once covered this part of the world have retreated markedly due to glacial runoff from the north which has increased the number of rivers and lakes in the area.
Kazak is the largest province with an area of 1,049,155 square miles. This country, under the name of Kazakhstan was the second largest republic of the former Soviet Union, after Russia. Today it borders the territory of both the Northern and Western Barbarians to the north and west, while Zhongguo shares a mountainous border to the east. The southern part of the province borders the provinces of Turkmen and Kyrgyz. Kazak is a land of grass dotted with temperate woodland in the north and badlands dotted with deserts and saltpans in the south. The Sunless Sea (the combined Caspian and Aral seas) fills most of the southwest of the country while Lake Balkhash lies in the mountains to the east.
Uzbek is bordered on the west by the Sunless Sea, to the north by Kazak, on the east by Kyrgyz, on the southeast by Tajiki, and on the south by both Bathsheba and Turkmen. It is a medium-sized province but one covered by scrub, desert or nuclear waste, only about 10 % of the land in Uzbek is arable, the richest farmland in the province being found in the river valleys and the alluvial plains at mountain bases. Turkmen is bordered on the north by Uzbek and on the south by Bathsheba, on the west is the radioactive sea of sand which was once Iran. Much of Turkmen has been blasted by the fallout from the bombing of Iran and very little of the land is usable. The only people in this land of desert and badlands can be found around the Sunless Sea and along the River Alph (the river called the Amu Darya during the Age of Man) near the borders with the other provinces.
Kyrgyz is bordered on the north by Kazak, on the east by Zhongguo, and on the south by Tajik, and on the west by Uzbek. This small province is almost completely mountainous with glaciers and permanent snowfields covering more than 3 % of the land. Most of the rest of the mountains are covered with evergreen forests of prime timber which is in high demand by the other provinces.
Tajik is the smallest province in Xanadu and is sandwiched between Kyrgyz and Uzbek. Like Kyrgyz, Tajik is extremely mountainous (almost half of the country lies above an elevation of 9,843 ft) and earthquakes are common.
Bathsheba (once called Afghanistan) is a large province bounded on the north by Turkmen, Uzbek, and Tajik; on the east by Zhongguo; on the south by Persia; and on the west by the Iranian Blast Zone. Bathsheba lies across an ancient trade route from Central Asia into India. This position has been the
greatest influence on its history because many invaders from the west settled there during the Age of Man so that the population included many different ethnic groups. This hasn’t changed much as mutants fleeing the destruction of Iran and the Middle East have settled mainly in this province. As a result clothing, culture, and building styles have a distinct Arabian appearance. Most of Bathsheba is mountainous or desert scrub. Summers are hot and winters bitterly cold with much snow. Summer temperatures as high as 120°F have been recorded while winter temperatures can get as low as 15°F. Worse temperatures often range greatly within a single day, ranging from freezing conditions at dawn to the upper 90°s F at noon! In addition to heat and cold Bathsheba is noted for its sandstorms and large localized whirlwinds.
Persia (once called Pakistan) is bordered on the west by the Iranian Blast Zone, on the north by Bathsheba, and on the east by Zhongguo. Persia has the widest variety of climate of all Xanadu with huge earthquake prone mountains in the north, scorching deserts in the west, and hot humid tropical jungles and mangrove swamps in the southeast. The Indus River flows the length of Persia from north to south, forming fertile plains perfect for farming.
Geography:
Xanadu is very variable in climate. Most of the northwest is temperate forest gradually changing to coniferous taiga in the north and to short grass steppe as one goes south. The vast deserts that once covered central Asia during the age of man have declined due to the increase in glacial runoff from the north and today are found only south of the Sunless Sea. Mountains and foothills can be found on the eastern border with Zhongguo and many of these are very large, indeed parts of the Himalayas can be found in northern Persia. In all but the lowlands of Persia (where it is hot humid tropical forest or wetlands), winter in Xanadu is bitterly cold, windy and snowy, even the deserts will experience light snowfalls and the mountains may contain deep winter snow or even glaciers.
Resources:
The territories claimed by Xanadu were once renowned for oil and natural gas production but today the people lack the means to refine such items due to the anti metal virus and oil eating bacterium. As a result of this lack of petrol the people have gone back to their more traditional lifestyles of farming (mostly cotton, various fruits, corn and wheat), herding and mining. On the steppes vast flocks of jackalope are herded by bounder riding nomadic tribes and herds of Dray are common in the south.
The providence of Bathsheba in Xanadu is also the world’s only source of high-grade lapis lazuli and the country also has major diamond deposits to the north. Xanadu is also well endowed with most of the nonferrous metals. Aluminum can be found in the northwest central regions and gold and copper is abundant throughout the country. Other common metals are lead, silver and tin. Large asbestos deposits also exist in the central and southern mountainous areas. Timber especially that of poplar and fir trees is also an abundant natural resource.
Despite the large size of the Sunless sea fish are not very abundant. During the Age of Man much of the water from the Aral Sea was drained away for irrigation. Even worse, Russia’s blasé attitude towards pesticides and nuclear waste made the Caspian one of the most polluted lakes in the world. The increase in glacial runoff has refilled the Arial Sea and even caused it to overflow its banks and join with the Caspian but the waters are still to polluted and brackish to drink. The sea life that still survives is horribly mutated from generations of pesticides and nuclear waste and tales tell of hideous monsters that lurk in the black depths of the sea.
Population:
The entire population of Xanadu is approximately 140 million but it must be remembered that these people are scattered over a vast area. Xanadu is a huge country and most of its population only has a density of between 1 and 25 persons per square mile. Xanadu’s people are of all species with about 70% being Domestiques, 20 % of the being Freeborn, 2 % being Human and 8 % being Nobles.
Capital:
Xanadu City is located where the old town of Zhangaqazaly used to be on the Syr Darya River (now called the River Alph) off the Aral branch of the Sunless Sea. It is a city of perhaps 14,000 inhabitants dominated by the royal palace of Xanadu. The parts of the city, near the palace are well kept with an architecture that is similar to that of ancient Russia. This part of the city is dominated by freeborn and nobles with most Domestiques living either in the surrounding farmlands and steppe or in the slums of the Wallows, a village known for its thieves, drug dealers, and outlaws located in the swampy deltas to the west of the city.
History:
The majority of the countries that make up modern day Xanadu were once inhabited by yurt dwelling nomads who roamed the vast deserts on the back of specially bred horses with Bactrian camels in tow. When the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) formed they conquered and took control of every
country in Central Asia with the exception of Afghanistan and Pakistan. Indeed the USSR’s attempts to invade Afghanistan continued until 1996 when the Taliban seized control of the country. Terrorists hired by the Taliban attacked the United States on September 11, 2001, causing a war between the Middle East and the USA. Resentment and anger towards the USA by the Middle East (especially Iran) fueled World War Three resulting in the Crash. For several decades various tribes of barbarians and Noble would-be conquerors from the east were the only inhabitants of this once grand country.
Xanadu was formed out of the chaos of WWIII when the unicorn Sying Zhi united the various warring tribes of Kazakhstan under his banner. Under Sying’s leadership the various tribes ceased fighting and came together forming minor regional dukedoms that at last brought peace to the war torn land. Gradually more and more tribes joined this peaceful kingdom until most of Central Asia was under the Unicorn King’s banner.
The great Empire of Zhongguo to the east however feared the growing might of the unicorn king. Thus Zhongguo declared war on Xanadu, a war that finally came to an honor bound duel between Jin-Long, King of the Dragons, and Sying Zhi himself. By using the water from his unicorn pool to make the ceremonial tea drank before the battle Sying managed to quench Jin-Long’s breath weapon making them even in battle. In this way Sying defeated the Dragon King but instead of conquering his empire the unicorn proposed a trading partnership. Both countries would rule the mountains on the border between their two countries and would send armies to help each other whenever requested.
The most immediate result of the pact between Xanadu and Zhongguo was a vast increase in the Noble population as nobles from the east migrated west. The caste system, already ingrained in Zhongguo became established in Xanadu and now is the main form of social system throughout the country despite some resentment and opposition from the Domestiques and lesser Freeborn.