Following the Cataclysm, the Samensha Republic found much of its cities become uninhabitable. Tests showed that the water was poisoned by volcanic activity or, more directly, buried under pyroclastic flows from eruptions. The following decades were of famine, strife, civil war, and retreat. There was once a city that escaped, though, Shreshaw. Thanks to its relatively weak volcanic eruption and reliance on underground aquifers, this thriving port city was relatively unaffected by the Cataclysm. With the survivors of the Samensha Republic arriving, the government reorganized and soon became the Shreshaw Unitary government.

This nominally democratic nation still has the outward appearance of civilian-lead democracy, but problems are brewing under the surface. The infrastructure of the City of Shreshaw is stretched to the limit, water is running low, and the rains that replenish them have not come. Food shortages run amok and are driven to the bare minimum needed for survival. Raids from those beyond the hastily thrown together walls attempt to take what little supplies there are. The area's industry struggles to get necessary raw materials once imported from other cities to make the needed tools for survival.

Worse of all, though, for the government is the Versha Movement. This secret militarist cult that worships the Ways of the Old Ones has taken root in the country. It is a movement thriving off the irredentist sympathies of its citizens and government, threatening to topple the fragile democracy. Cultists have started to take over entire military units, transferring any "defeatists" to other areas. To the government, there are bands of fiercely loyal troops and, on the other hand, troops that act so long as the government furthers their goals, a recipe for an explosive civil war. 

Despite their problems, the soldiers of Shreshaw are moderately well equipped compared to other nations. The average soldier is armed with a carbine, ammunition, and other things they keep on them for soldierly activities. The addition of automatic rifles, though relatively crude compared to other nations, has tremendously increased the firepower of the individual. Tactically, their soldiers are flexible and train with what little vehicles survived the Cataclysm.

Shreshaw was the first nation to encounter the Tolesian Pioneers to Arazi, engaging in minor skirmishes following the Valence Incident, where an exploration shuttle crashed following a volcanic eruption. Debriefings from Tolesian survivors in after-action reports demonstrate that their skill is only offset by their technological limitations. For the Tolesians, this reflects their ability to adapt and use whatever is given to their advantage. For the Shreshaw Unitary Government, the arrival of these apparently benevolent aliens offers an opportunity to reclaim their old lands. The central government opened up and welcomed the Tolesians as their benefactors with land, resources, and local guides. However, the Tolesians are wary of supporting the government openly, knowing what secrets lie under the surface. Yet the cult's paranoia grows as the Tolesians set up their section of the city with their advanced technology. Will the Tolesians help the government, or will they sacrifice one of their only allies on the planet to keep their technological secrets? Will the cult answer the question for them and coup the government, drive the Tolesians out and take what they view as rightfully theirs? It's an answer only time will tell.

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Drawn by the ever awesome KoboldChromatic.