Rifles
Handguns
Artillery
Set immediately following the American Civil War, Talents from both sides are relocated (sometimes forcefully, sometimes with only strong encouragement) to the Western Frontier. West of Kansas, East of the Rockies in the plains and the southwestern desert, veterans of both sides, slaves, and civilians all must make a new life.
Some thoughts:
Slaves & Yankees would make a large percentage of the Talents due to combinations of perceived self-worth and exposure to harm.
Indians would begin to manifest Talents as their territory was encroached in the approaching Indian Wars. Their abilities might be more consistent / shamanistic due to societal differences.
The Out West territory is still considered US Territory by the Union and will not allow “secession” by Talent Communities upset with the US. (No forming a new country.)
Eventually, the concentration of Talents in the Out West will make the area an economic powerhouse. Mining is easy when you have a man who can crush solid rock with his hands. Farming, mining, even transport of goods and information will all be aided significantly by Talents.
Examples:
They started to emerge in the War Between the States. The Touched.
Whether they were touched by God or the Devil was anyone’s guess.
Men, women, slaves and indians all started having powers that weren’t normal.
You could shoot a man and he wouldn’t fall down dead.
A slave would tear the iron chains binding him to pieces and walk across water to freedom.
Heck, I even met a woman who could take a chicken, cut off his head, pluck ‘em, toss ‘em in an empty pot, and then pull up a live, new baby chicken out of that same pot. She made a soup out of the dead one. Damn tasty, too. She made a nice living selling eggs and fryers. (Read on …)
