California
After its defeat in the originally internal conflicts against Jefferson and the Inland Empire, California chose a new national animal: the California Condor, which was saved from extinction decades before, and is still officially protected.
Each of the white stars represents one of the Republic’s four major cities: Los Angeles, San Francisco-Oakland, Sacramento, and San Jose, which are also their own semi-autonomous regions. The central, golden star represents the Republic’s new-found unity after The Split.
Cascadia
This flag keeps the classic Cascadia color scheme of blue, white, and forest green, but with altered presentation. The blue is on the left to represent the Pacific Ocean to the west, the green is on the right to represent the forests of the interior, and white above for the region’s eternally cloud skies. The pine tree is replaced with roses, the symbol of Portland, which is Cascadia’s capital.
Deseret
Deseret’s flag features the Angel Moroni, who according to the Mormon Church not only wrote the plates revealed to Joseph Smith, but is also believed to be the Angel foretold in the Book of Revelations who will preach the everlasting gospel to all peoples of the Earth.
The people of Deseret believe that it is their duty to be like Moroni, and preach to all of the peoples of the Earth. They do this primarily through their various missions, though unlike Moroni, they are not always angels themselves, as seen in the tale Altar Ego.
Dixie
The Dixie flag includes the national flower, the magnolia sprouting from all of the blood that was spilled to ensure its creation: blood from the 19th century, as well as the 21st and 22nd. Dixie’s roots are also made explicitly clear by the amount of gray in the flag, as well as its governance being a compact, the theory (very) unsuccessfully championed by many of its states in the 1860’s.
This flag narrowly passed at the convention despite a protest led by Douglass, who saw the flag for the provocation it is, even if it ended up passing due to not actually violating any of the agreed-upon rules.
Greater Appalachia
The three colors of the Appalachian flag represent its natural features: Black for the coal which built the region, green for the forests which cover the vast majority of the land, and purple for the timeless mountains the nation is named after.
In the center of the flag is the blue jay, Appalachia’s national bird, which was selected for both aesthetics and because it can be found throughout all of the nation’s territory.
Inland Empire
The Inland Empire’s flag symbolizes its rather bipolar landscape, being split between the lush green of the Central Valley and the windswept wastes of the surrounding desert. The one constant in this region is the sun, hence its central location on the flag.
The harpy eagle in front of the son is meant to represent Howard’s Harpies, an elite paramilitary unit of drone-hunting harpy eagles that were instrumental in defeating California’s forces in the Inland Empire’s War of Independence, a defeat California is still smarting from decades later in the tale Blood Orange.
Piedmont
The sailing ship in Piedmont’s flag is meant to represent the Ark Royal, the ship that Sir Walter Raleigh and crew landed at Roanoke Island over 500 years before the Fractal America series takes place. Much like Sir Walter and the Ark Royal’s crew, the people of Piedmont are headed into the unknown, caught between a pair of major powers who loath each other, hoping for a safe harbor somewhere. Their journey is illuminated by the crescent moon from the old state flag of South Carolina.