The Shepherd’s Path, Part 11: Sanctuary
Asher pulled his antique pocketwatch out of his jacket and checked the time. It was about time to report in. His team had ranged out ahead of the convoy to scout. His mission wasn’t over concern of a potential attack, but ensuring the convoy could pass through. Asher had been doing this for over a year now. Part of the original 300 or so refugees from Adrian’s Landing, he had seen every stage of this horrifying journey. Months of brigand attacks, starvation, breakdowns, and all manner of problems had taken their toll on him and the others. Their original group of 11 vehicles had been joined by many more, and now some 20,000 people moved on all manner of all terrain vehicle towards…somewhere. The leadership had been tight lipped on where they were going, just that sanctuary awaited them.
The small buggy that held him and two others hit a snowdrift, and Asher put his watch away. The folds of his heavy jacket and gloves made the motion more difficult than it needed to be. Asher looked up at the mountains surrounding them and sighed. Several months had passed since they moved into the north polar region. The journey over the frozen northern sea had been bad. The ice hadn’t been thick enough to reliably hold the weight of large vehicles and several had been lost, falling through to the icy water below. The pole was worse as it was empty, nothing as far as the eye could see. No animals called this place home, and the meager food supplies the convoy had were nearly exhausted.
“Rollins, can you reach the convoy?” Asher asked the man with the radio. Rollins replied in the negative and suggested the signal was limited by the nearby mountains. Asher tapped his driver’s shoulder and pointed to a nearby peak. “Get us to the top of that, and let’s see if we have a signal.” The woman nodded, her face hidden behind goggles and a heavy fur lined jacket. Several minutes passed as the buggy ascended the hill before coming to a stop. Rollins and Asher were busy with the radio when the driver tapped Asher on the shoulder. Asher said something foul and waved her off. Her hand came back and tapped more vigorously. He told her off again, but she kept tapping.
“WHAT!!!” Asher yelled as he finally looked up at the driver. She wasn’t looking at him. Instead, she was staring at something out the windshield. He followed her gaze and froze. Rollins followed along, muttering a small prayer as they all saw the same thing.
There was a large structure in the middle of the valley. It was hard to estimate dimensions this far out, but the building jutted out of the nearby mountain face, its exposed structure covered in snow. Asher couldn’t believe it. It was definitely a manmade structure, but what was it doing out here? Asher collected himself and looked at Rollins. “Tell me you have a signal….”
By 373 NJ, the first groups reached the polar facility. which they aptly dubbed Sanctuary. They found an entire empty city, ready for habitation. Hydroponics, manufacturing facilities, samples and blueprints for advanced technology, orbital vehicles, and even a wrecked prime knight paladin walker made it a veritable technological oasis. The next decade saw the establishment of a small civilization in Sanctuary that was focused on efficiency and the effective use of limited resources. All told, some 50,000 people came to call Sanctuary home. From their polar fortress, the people of Sanctuary watched as the world around them dissolved into chaos. The rest of New Jerusalem was breaking down into numerous small nations and power blocs during this period, which would later be known as the Isolation Crisis. Manufacturing hubs to fuel their conflicts were constructed, but the fall of the Church reduced their capabilities to little more than mid-20th century earth. The primary issue was a lack of computers and electronics. Air travel was almost completely lost as well. Simple propeller-driven aircraft were usable, but air filters constantly wore out due to the silicon particles in plant life. When burned, this released a choking smoke cloud that clogged engines. Re-exploration of space was also impossible.
