Described in the novels “The Last Voyage,” “The Path of the Damned,” and “The Blind Trail,” which are part of Igor Vardunas’s “Atlantic Odyssey” tetralogy.

The archipelago avoided any nuclear strikes, so life on the islands is largely similar to pre-war times. A considerable number of languages were used on the islands due to the large presence of various nationalities, forever stranded there during the war. Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, English, and French were the most common, and there was also a small number of Russian-speaking inhabitants.

FACTIONS

THE VAPOR BROTHERHOOD:

Imagine steampunk Vikings. That’s them.

The Brotherhood of Steam consists mainly of lumberjacks, mechanics, hunters, and others who decided to return to Scandinavian traditions, supplementing them with steam technologies. They control the islands of Suðuroy, Streymoy, and Spitsbergen.

Their food consists of meat from land game and predators, as well as fish and pilot whales (Yes, they organize grindadráp - pilot whale hunts). Pilot whale blubber was also used for food and lighting. The skin was used for making ropes, belts for steam engines, and stomachs for fishing floats attached to nets and signal buoys.

The name “The vapor brotherhood” was given by the Russian inhabitants of the islands (their self-designation is not mentioned). Valgir Turnotur acts as the elder of Suðuroy Island, the southernmost in the archipelago. Ulrich Semibrok is the Supreme Chief and governor of the entire community; his residence is in Tórshavn.

“Ivan Grozny” (Ivan the Terrible):

Russian Navy Nuclear Submarine of the “Borei” class.

Since this vessel and its crew are the main characters of the Metro 2033 “Atlantic Odyssey” tetralogy, I will tell you about them separately in another post, but in short… “Ivan Grozny,” at the invitation of the archipelago’s authorities (the Brotherhood of Steam), established a “Rusichi” settlement in the Faroes in 2034.

“The Steel Diggers”:

A technologically advanced community from Sandoy Island, whose scientists experimented with human and animal DNA samples. Due to a storm in January 2034, all the test subjects escaped, and the inhabitants hastily evacuated to the nearest caves. The village ruler, Balder Nikalund, wanted to seize the Russian submarine, and for this purpose, he provoked the appearance of giant “crawlers” (wyrm-like creatures) on Suvuroy.

The Underground Dwellers:

People exiled from civilized settlements found refuge in the underground tunnels beneath the archipelago. They are extremely aggressive towards outsiders from the surface. They wear sacks over their heads with eye slits and use tamed worms that spit poisonous gas as weapons. Cannibals. They have developed agoraphobia and photophobia. Surface dwellers were unaware of their existence, thinking that predatory mutants inhabited the tunnels.

“Veracruz”:

US Navy Nuclear Submarine of the “Virginia” class.

Before the war, the US Navy submarine SNN-782 “Veracruz” was assigned to the port of Groton (Connecticut), where it was built at the Electric Boat shipyard. On the Day of the Catastrophe, the vessel was on a combat mission off the coast of the Philippines. After launching nuclear missiles at designated targets, the crew realized they had nowhere to return. Aboard the “Veracruz,” in addition to missiles with nuclear warheads, there were others with the biological weapon “JAP-731” (a hint at the products of Unit 731). After some time, there was a virus leak, and some sailors became infected. Only a quarter of the crew, who developed immunity, survived the pandemic.

The submarine tried to dock at survivor settlements in various parts of the world, but each contact resulted in the locals starting to die, and when information about the virus surfaced, the submariners were expelled. Gradually, the aging submarine wandered the world for years in search of a place for its final refuge. The Faroe Islands proved to be the last hope for the sailors. By early 2034, only 40 people remained alive from the entire crew on board.