Holy Columbian Empire (Days After Chaos)

The Holy Columbian Empire is a vast elective monarchy stretching from the At Atlantic Ocean to the Great River. It was formed in 1941, when the Kings of Rome, Atlantia, and Georgia signed the Treaty of Columbus at the end of the Columbian Wars.

Pre-Chaos
Very little is known of the region before the Chaos, but the general belief, based off the very few surviving documents, is the area was part of a "Greater Columbia" that fought for its freedom from a more powerful and tyrannical nation, but the name of which is not known. Records lead many to believe the region was prosperous following it winning its freedom, but was devastated in the early years of the Chaos.

Chaos
The region was hit by a series of natural disasters during the Chaos. Although what is now the Holy Columbian Empire escaped the worst of the Great Hurricane, famine and plague killed millions on their own. What is now the Kingdom of Yamasee experienced massive flooding, and Atlanta, capital of the later Kingdom of Atlantia, suffered the loss of up to 60% of its buildings to the Great Atlanta Fire.

Post-Chaos
Around 1904 several years after the Chaos ended, the region held no resemblance to its former self. In Augusta, George Carmichael founded the Kingdom of Georgia, naming it after himself. Henry Mableson gave the people of Atlanta hope when he declared himself King of Atlantia. And less than forty miles away, William Oswell gave rise to the Kingdom of Rome. Those three and their successors would clash with each other and other republics and kingdoms, like Elijah and Yamasee, over resources and territory for over thirty five years in what would be called the Colubian Wars, none of them getting an upper hand.

In 1939, scholars looking for the lost history found the documents that are now the basis of the Holy Columbian Empire. Notes and papers referencing the Goddess Columbia, and Greater Columbias war for independence gave rise to a new religion: Columbianism. Columbianism is based off the few historical documents mentioning the region from before the Chaos, believing the Goddess Columbia blessed the land herself, wishing for it to be forever prosperous. The Chaos is believed to have occurred as a result of Vengence taken upon the land by the deity of the land Greater Columbia fought for its freedom from. The subsequent wars were began to be seen as humanity being lead astray from the path laid forth by Columbia.

Almost immediately, the people and nobility of the land, looking for some explanation to the Chaos and their position, grabbed a hold of Columbianism and saw what they believed the errors and sins in their ways. The Kingdoms of Rome, Atlantia, and Georgia were the first to convert en masse, and later signed a treaty of peace in the city of Columbus, believed to be named after Columbia herself.

The treaty laid the groundwork for the Holy Columbian Empire: the members retain sovereignty from each other, but all obey the commands of the King of the Columbians, whom the elect from among them. Representatives from the member nations meet in Columbus and establish a common policy. Finally, the monarch elected to be King of the Columbians swears to reclaim land in the name of the Goddess Columbia.

The organization was tenuous at first, but as the Columbianist faith spread, more monarchs joined, with its most significant expansion being the admittance of the Kingdom of Yamasee in 1956.

Expansion westward has been steady, usually priests have preceded the armies by up to five years. Those that don't convert and join, are conquered, and an inquisition cracks down on non-believers. Columbia reached the Great River in 1972, after failing to expand into New Orleans by force and subsequently expanding northwest. The northern border has slowed in expansion in recent years, due to focus being diverted onto the gulf republics.