Westernland: An Introduction

 

OVERVIEW AND BACKSTORY:

When gold was first discovered in 1849, several people flocked west to find it. In one particular area in the Southwest, two particular settlers, Henry Ravenwood and Bartemius W. Bullion, struck gold in a mountainous area known as Thunder Mesa to the Native Americans who lived there. The two of them founded a town there, named after the mountain range nearby.

While Henry helped develop many of the town's businesses, Bartemius founded the Big Thunder Mining Company, who went to dig for gold in the nearby mountain. He was interested in finding more gold hidden in the nearby mountain range, but this brought him in conflict with the natives. They said how the guardian spirits of the Bear and the Wolf lived there, as well as the villainous spirit of the coyote, which resided in Big Thunder Mountain. If they freed the coyote, there would be consequences.

But Bartemius took these warnings for granted and kept digging. However, strange things were seen in Big Thunder, and shortly after, an earthquake struck the town. Many buildings were damaged and Henry Ravenwood was killed. As for Bartemius, he was forced to abandon the mines at Big Thunder Mountain when he saw the unusual sights of trains running around the mountain without drivers. Bartemius moved away from Thunder Mesa and died several decades later.

The year is now 1889, and a new set of miners have revived Thunder Mesa. Bartemius's son, Benjamin Bullion, is interested in exploring the Thunder Mesa mountain range. In addition, new miners are going into Big Thunder Mountain, even though they've made an agreement with the natives to not dig any deeper. Some people are even curious about the seemingly-abandoned Ravenwood Manor, which is alleged to be haunted.

In short, this is the wildest land of all. Around every corner, there is adventure, mystery, and a piece of the Old West.