The Wulflands

The Wulflands

The Wulflands is the region formerly called West Alyeska that made up the western part of the Continent of Alyeska (hence its originally unimaginative name). The main settlement of this region was from New Gwentia in the east and along the southern coastline, but gradually outposts and homesteads crept ever northwards. After a few years the region was recognized as the Territory of Western Alyeska and had its own Lieutenant-Governor appointed, subordinate to Alyeska's Governor-General. For a time it looked like Western Alyeska would become a prosperous region.

Then came the Wulvers.

The Wulvers 

 

Pair of charging Wulvers.

It is believed that the Wulvers existed long before Man first arrived on Alyeska's frozen shores, certainly the Windryders tell tales of the 'Beast in the West'. Though they weren't sighted during the first few years of the Colonial Era, they may never had been discovered had it not been for the curiosity of Man.

History does not record the names of those who stumbled across and inadvertently freed the Wulvers, though it may be for the best. Though it is generally known that a team of explorers, eager to map the extremes of the Alyeskan Continent, took an expedition into the wilderness of Western Alyeska close to where it met the Bastion Peaks of the Highlands. They came across a gorge that had been deliberately blocked, curious they cleared the boulders and pushed finding a valley on the other side of the gorge. According to the expedition's survivors, it wasn't long before the ran into the Wulvers which tore them limb from limb and chased those left from the valley. It didn't take long for the Wulvers to discover that their prison had been breached and they soon spilled out to ravage the unsuspecting homesteads.

It was a slaughter that went down in history as 'The Night of the Wulf'.

Western Alyeska soon became too dangerous a place to live and the Commonwealth was forced to evacuate those who remained and then construct the Wulfwall to protect New Gwentia. Though the Wulflands, as the region became known, wasn't entirely abandoned as the Commonwealth established military outposts to at least keep the Wulvers in check and formed two new units; the Wulfbane Commandos and the Alyeskan Outriders.

Wolfbane Commandos

 

Wulfbane Commandos in action.

Created as the direct response to the Wulvers once it was realized the scale of threat they posed, the Wulfbane Commandos is the Commonwealth's most blunt tool against the beast. The Wulfbanes' job is quite simply to hit the Wulvers and hit them hard, they were typically have a large amount of firepower backing them up.

The Wulfbanes typically man outposts in the Wulflands in company strength, though an entire battalion mans Fort Bainsbury on the far western coast of the Wulflands. There are of course other units stationed in New Gwentia and Eastern Alyeska, though all units rotate through all the regions of the Continent. They maintain a rapid response force thats ready to move at a moment's notice in response to a major Wulver threat, aircraft known as Gyro-carriers that can land and takeoff without needing a runway are used to move these units around. To date their only real major action has been the Defence of the Wulfwall when it suffered a major Wulver assault, for three days the beasts threw themselves at the 'wall but the Wulfbanes held firm.

Alyeskan Outriders

 

Outrider trucks at an Alyeskan airstrip.

In complete contrast to the Wulfbanes is the Outriders, relying move on stealth rather than brute force to complete their job. The Outrider's role is simply watch and report on the movements of the Wulvers, occasionally conducting hit and run attacks on small packs in their machine gun armed trucks. Though from time to time they have helped the Wulfbanes deal with larger packs.

Originally the Outriders rode on horseback, acting as the Commonwealth's scouts but they embraced the motor engine soon as it arrived to let them be more mobile and outrun irate Wulvers.

The Outriders do tend to conduct long patrols, often for weeks at a time where they do require resupply at rough airstrips in the Wulflands, Though extremely dangerous and tense affairs, the Aerial Corps does pay a fair bit to those who are willing to risk being ripped limb from limb to deliver rations and petrol to the odd patrol.