Cold War

Cold War
A map of the Cold Warriors—the Vatican Domain and the New Human Empire—as well as their neighbors in the international community.
Vital statistics
Participants	Humanity Terrans Vatican Papal State Methuselah New Human Empire
Date	2948 AD–Present
Location	Earth

"To the Vatican, the paragon of humanity, the Empire was a threatening enemy. Both nations were embroiled in a centuries-long Cold War. They had not clashed head-on, but it was sure to happen someday. The Vatican's mission was to prepare for such an event."

―Caterina Sforza

The Cold War refers to a state of political and military tension between the two strongest powers in the Post-Armageddon world—the Vatican Papal State, the most powerful Terran nation in the world; and the New Human Empire, the sole surviving Methuselah nation. After the indecisive Battle of Przemysl in 2948 AD, the Vatican and the Empire grudgingly initiated a cease fire.

Although the cease fire ended centuries of direct military conflict between the Terran and Methuselah states, both races continued to hate and distrust each other. Many individuals on both sides were convinced that the Cold War was merely a temporary cessation of hostilities while the two nations gradually rearmed their respective military forces in preparation for another full-scale war. However, there were some Terrans and Methuselah who secretly endeavored to transform the Cold War into a new era of peace between the Vatican and the Empire—and by extension, the Terran and Methuselah civilizations.

Prelude

The Dark Ages, the most destructive Terran-Methuselah conflict in human history.

The event known as Armageddon occurred in the year 2124 AD and resulted in the collapse of the United Nations, as well as the ancient civilization it represented. In the wake of the apocalyptic war, the Mars colonists returned to Earth by the early 22nd century AD where the Bacillus virus transformed them into the Methuselah—a race of mutated humans with vampiric qualities. The era of the Dark Ages commenced by 2210 AD when the Methuselah embarked on a genocidal campaign against the Terrans—descendants of the Earth-born humans who never lived on Mars.

After centuries of relentless warfare, the human race achieved the decisive victory under the leadership of the Vatican Papal State. By 2401 AD the last vampire nation in Western Europe was destroyed. However, remnants of the Methuselah retreated into the east and ultimately established the New Human Empire as the last vampire state on Earth. Over the next several centuries the Vatican and the Empire waged multiple wars, although neither state succeeded in completely defeating the other. The latest example of direct military conflict between the two powers occurred in 2948 AD; the Battle of Przemysl concluded with high casualties sustained by both the Vatican and the Empire. Unwilling to risk further losses, at least for the time being, the two governments agreed to a cease fire.

History

Astharoshe Asran and Caterina Sforza, shortly after establishing a new peace treaty between the Empire and the Vatican.

By 3060 AD the cease fire remained in effect—as did the tense relationship between the Vatican and the Empire, which in turn enabled the Cold War to continue for over a century. Although it prevented another direct war between the Vatican and the Empire, the Cold War continued to inspire hatred and distrust between Terrans and the Methuselah. During this time, members of both races eagerly anticipated another military conflict with each other, although there were some Terrans and Methuselah who aspired to promote peace instead of war.

The fragile stability that the Cold War provided to the international community was threatened on several occasions by dissidents on both sides. The Methuselah aristocrat Gyula Kádár, Count of István attempted to destroy Rome by using the Star of Sorrow in the hope of starting another war between the Terrans and Methuselah; Endre Kourza, Count of Zagreb tried to assassinate Pope Alessandro XVIII, knowing that the Vatican would declare war against the Empire if an Imperial aristocrat was responsible for murdering the leader of the Catholic Church; and Süleyman, Duke of Tigris conspired to kill Empress Augusta Vradica in order to prevent the Empire from achieving a new peaceful relationship with the Vatican. All of these incidents were influenced by the Rosencreutz Orden, an international terrorist organization that was determined to start a second Armageddon. Each time, however, the Vatican Papal State Affairs Special Operations Section prevented the Rosencreutz from succeeding in their schemes.

By 3064 AD a formal peace treaty between the Vatican and the Empire was signed by their respective representatives—Caterina Sforza and Astharoshe Asran, both of whom hoped that the new development in Vatican-Imperial diplomatic relations would last for generations. Though the Cold War technically remained in effect between the two competing states, the peace treaty diminished the likelihood of a second apocalyptic war as both nations continued in their efforts to co-exist in a more peaceful world.