Zandia

History
Zandia is a small sovereign nation located in Eastern Europe. It is a lush and fertile region, owing largely to volcanic ash which settled across the land during the last ice age. Zandia was once dominated by citizens of Muslim faith, but in 1202, Christian soldiers invaded the countryside during the Fourth Crusade. French and Venitian soldiers brought the word of God to Zandia at the end of a bloody sword. It is said that Pope Innocent knew nothing of the atrocities being committed in villages such as Trenna and Gorbis. Those who refused to be recruited were slain, their homes burned to the ground. The Crusaders even turned their might against Christian villagers, who were primarily ranchers and farmers. They pillaged their homes as they did that of their enemies, stealing their food and herding their cattle for themselves. During the second of many such raids, villagers sought refuge at a church on Mount Zandi. The spiritual leader of the church took up a sword and fought against the raiders. He found a monk named Sebastian whom he believed had betrayed the word of God. Sebastian pleaded for his life and offered the priest the prayer shawl of Christ himself, citing that whoever possesses it would gain great power. The priest accepted the shawl, but not Sebastian's bargain. He stabbed him with his blade and left him to die on the battlefield. Before expiring, Brother Sebastian placed a curse on the priest. He told him that "The blood of the father shall pass to the child and the child shall slay the father. From this generation to all that will come". The priest ignored the monk's promise, and relished his newfound power. Armed with a sword and with the shawl, he fought viciously when soldiers came to the village of Gamenn and succeeded in driving the Crusaders away. From this moment onward, the priest shed his Christian name and took upon himself the mantle of Brother Blood. Those whom he had saved became worshipers at his church, and those who fell before his sword were drained of blood, which was then used to fill the blood pool beneath the dungeons of his church. Brother Blood bathed in the blood pool for three days and three nights, renewing his strength and vigor.

For the next forty years, Brother Blood's church grew in size and strength. His followers numbered in the thousands. Zandia was no longer a small rural community, but a center of power. In 1272, the monk's prophecy came to pass. The son of Brother Blood slew his father on the eve of his 100th year, and thus became the new Brother Blood. This same circle of patricide continued once per century for seven generations.

In March of 1941, Adolph Hitler's panzer division rolled across Europe. Hitler acknowledged and respected the power of Brother Blood's church and refused to invade Zandia. In December of that year, the son of the reigning Brother Blood was born and the cycle began anew. The prophecy was realized again some forty years later when the son (who had been living abroad) returned to Zandia and fought with his father to the death in the blood pool. This man became the eighth Brother Blood.

In later years, Zandia became a safe haven for criminals and another Brotherhood, the Brotherhood of Evil, maintained their power base there. Zandia even held their own Olympics, in which one of the participants was Artemis Crock, daughter of the World War II era super-villains Paula "The Tigress" Brooks Crock and her late husband Larry "Sportsmaster" Crock.