The Fall of Humanity

1. Militia. The militia is a regular army called upon to protect underground cities. In addition to regular infantry, the militia includes medics and engineers. Militia equipment: Rifles, helmet, knife. Militia uniform: Dark grey uniform, helmet, purple armband, girls wear a skirt.

2. Regular forces/Breakthrough forces. Regular human troops were created not for defense but for breakthrough. Equipment of regular forces: armed with semi-automatic rifles and machine guns, with a sabre on the belt. Regular forces uniform: dark gray uniform, dark iron steel face mask, iron chest plate, and skirts for women. Belt-mounted vests for ammunition and grenades.

3. Mage Hunters. Mage Hunters are a special unit of humans. They are snipers who eliminate mages from a distance. Mage Hunter Weapons: Mosin-type rifles. Binoculars. Mage Hunter military uniform: For cave warfare, the uniform is light gray. For surface warfare, it's green and camouflaged. They wear a helmet and a bag with equipment.

4. Tank crew. Crew trained for war on steam tanks. Tank crew armament: Knife, revolver. Military uniform of tank crew: Gray uniform, gray cap.

Types of tanks:

1. "Mole" The Mole is a light steam-powered tankette armed with a machine gun. It has good speed.

2. "Inquisitor" This is a large steam tank, armed with a howitzer and a machine gun. Very expensive and rare. Part of the elite troops.

People: Underground Federation "Deep Bastions" Governance: The Council of Engineers—an elected oligarchy of military, scientific, and labor leaders. There is no king, but there is a "High Marshal" (a military dictator in times of crisis). Cities: 5 main ones, connected by tunnels and trains. Glubingrad (capital): Vast, with gunpowder and weapons factories. Population: 80,000. Architecture: concrete bunkers, steam elevators, gas lamps. Society: militarized, with factory shifts and training. Oil Well: Focus on oil—fuel for cars and lamps. Dangerous, with gas traps. Coal Fist: Coal mining, rifle forges. The working class dominates. Shadow Citadel: Intelligence and Espionage - trains snipers and saboteurs. Iron Shield: Defense - trenches, artillery, hospitals. Society: Classes: Engineers (elite), soldiers, workers. Women are equal (many in the army). Culture: Revenge songs, "Gunpowder Day" festivals. Technology: Rifles, machine guns, grenades, steam tanks (primitive). Weaknesses: Overcrowding, food shortages (cavern farms), paranoia. Relations: Hatred of the Alliance, but secret alliances with renegades are possible. Elves: Kingdom of the Everfree Forests "Sylvaria" Rulership: Matriarchy—Druid Queen elected by elders. Magic is dominant. Cities: Wooden citadels in the forests (Elventa is the capital with magical barriers). Society: Long-lived (300+ years), focused on harmony with nature. Warriors—archers and druids. Culture: Poetry, moon festivals. Weaknesses: Low birth rate, vulnerability to fire (human gunpowder is a threat). Role in the plot: Leaders of the hunt for humans, see them as "pollutants". Orcs: Empire of the Blood Mountains "Orcrag" Rulership: Chieftain-Khan, chosen in battle. Clan system. Cities: Fortresses in the mountains (Gromtar is the capital with arenas). Society: Warlike, clans compete. Shamans provide strength. Culture: Combat, hunting. Weaknesses: Chaos, low discipline (against organized people with machine guns, it's a bloodbath). Role: Main "hunters" - trophies made from human skulls. Dwarves: Underforge

2. The structure of the world Geography: Eridanus is a vast continent the size of Eurasia. North: Elven forests (ancient, magical). South: Orcish deserts and mountains (harsh, volcanic). East: Dwarven hills and caves (rich in ore). West: former human plains (now divided between the races, with the ruins of cities). Underground: a network of tunnels and caverns connected by natural caverns and artificial mines. The depths are dangerous—they are teeming with monsters (giant worms, subterranean dragons), but rich in resources. Magic and technology: Magic: Weak among humans (almost disappeared after the war). Strong among elves (nature, illusions), moderate among dwarves (runes for strengthening metal), weak among orcs (shamanism for berserkers). "Organic" magic requires energy from nature and weakens in industrial zones. Technology: Other races are at a medieval level (swords, bows, catapults, a bit of alchemy). Humans: industrial leap – steam engines, oil lamps, gunpowder (muskets, rifles like the Lee-Enfield, machine guns like the Vickers, grenades, primitive artillery). No electricity or airplanes, but there are trains in tunnels and gas masks for underground gases. Human cities: like Victorian factories + WWI trenches (bunkers, trenches, factories with conveyor belts). Politics and Society: Common Conflict: Racism and Human Hunting. The Three Blades Alliance is loose, with internal conflicts (elves despise orcs as "barbarians," dwarves trade with everyone). Economy: Resource trade (elves - herbs, orcs - hides, dwarves - metal). Humans: self-sufficient underground, but steal resources from the surface. Religion: Each race worships its own gods. Humans: The "God of the Forge" is a symbol of progress and vengeance. Population: Elves - 500,000 (long-lived), Orcs - 2 million (fertile), Dwarves - 1 million (stable), Humans - 200,000 (recovered underground). Conflicts and threats: Human hunting, internal wars within the Alliance, underground monsters, ecological crisis (the war has damaged nature, causing droughts and storms).

Key events timelines: Year 0: Beginning of the Great Rift. Year 50: Fall of the last human kingdom, "Battle at the River of Blood". Year 60: People find the first deposits of coal and oil in the depths. Year 80: Invention of gunpowder and the first muskets. Year 100: Modern times - underground cities flourish, first reconnaissance forays to the surface. Future plot hooks: Humans may seek allies (dissidents from other races), or the Alliance may learn of underground cities.

In ancient times, Eridanus was divided into four great kingdoms, each ruled by a single race: humans in the fertile plains, elves in the ancient forests, orcs in the harsh mountains and deserts, and dwarves in the underground caves and hills. The races coexisted in a fragile peace, trading resources and knowledge. Humans were known for their adaptability and numbers, elves for their natural magic, orcs for their martial prowess, and dwarves for their forging skills. But 150 years ago, the Great Rift erupted. The cause: humans began expanding, seizing land for farms and cities, which upset the balance. The elves saw this as a threat to nature, the orcs as an insult to their territory, and the dwarves as competition for resources (ores and caves). The three races formed the Alliance of the Three Blades (elves, orcs, dwarves) under the pretext of "protecting Eridan from human greed." The war lasted 50 years and was bloody: the elves used forest magic and bows, the orcs hordes of berserkers, and the dwarves siege engines and runic armor. The humans fought desperately, but were outnumbered by the combined forces. By the end of the war, 90% of the human population was wiped out—cities burned, armies routed. The survivors (around 10,000) fled to abandoned mines and caves where the dwarves had once mined ore. The Alliance declared the humans "extinct parasites" and divided their lands. A hundred years have passed. On the surface, humans are considered rare savages—hunted like trophies. The Alliance has fragmented into three separate states but retains the "Hunting Pact"—annual raids on human heads. However, underground, humans did not perish. In isolation, they discovered new resources: coal for energy, oil for fuel, gunpowder for weapons. This led to the Underground Revolution—the transition from a medieval society to a proto-industrial one (the level of the 1910s, like World War I). They built hidden cities where steam engines hum, factories churn out rifles, and trains carry soldiers. Now humans are preparing for the Great Return—an emergence to the surface with fire and steel to exact revenge.