Nick

Nicholas "Nick" Rye is a 29 year-old pilot, and is known as the 'King of the Skies' to others. He has brown hair and blue eyes. He is the husband of Kimiko "Kim" Rye, who is in her late 20s to early 30s, and is 8 and a half months pregnant with their daughter (although Nick wants to believe the baby is a boy so he can call it Nick Jr., though the baby is definitely a girl). Nick is both the owner and operator of Rye & Sons Aviation in John Seed's Region, Holland Valley, within Hope County, Montana, United States. Nick wears a gray cap, aviator sunglasses, a red sleeveless jacket over the top of a blue t-shirt, and also wears blue jeans. He is determined to fight off the terrorist cult, the Project at Eden's Gate, led by Joseph Seed and his 3 siblings (or Heralds, which are John Seed, Jacob Seed and Faith Seed), as well as the cult's members (which are called Peggies by the Hope County locals). Joseph is called 'The Father' by the Peggies, and is preparing Hope County for the Collapse, and also saving it, as he believes the world is ending. As a father and husband, Nick is protective of his family, and he is kind and shows both gentleness and care to his friends and family, coming to help when he can. Nick is also the owner of Carmina, a yellow KIMBERLITE HP-18-160 seaplane that has been passed down through his family, and passed down to him from his late grandfather, George Rye, who built Rye & Sons Aviation. Nick and his family are what people see as a pillar of hope, because, even with the cult, they're still standing. When in battle, when not in his plane, Nick has an AR-C rifle and a 1911 pistol. Nick is also a big fan of the deceased Clutch Nixon, a renowned stunt performer, and a man who is called the greatest stuntman of all time, born and raised in Holland Valley. Clutch also knew Nick's grandfather; they were best friends.

Even in 2018, Hope County is divided into 3 main regions, which are Henbane River (Southeast), Whitetail Mountains (North) and Holland Valley (Southwest).

Holland Valley is the farming region of Hope County. It is largely composed of flatlands filled with farms and arable land. It is, of course, ruled by John (also known as The Baptist), who is the youngest brother of the Seed family, and is using his 'Power of Yes' idea to recruit unwilling people into the cult. John forces people to say 'Yes' and 'atone' for and 'confess' their sins to grant the people freedom and to force them to join Eden's Gate. When people confess the sin (or sins), John carves that sin right onto their skin, only to peel that piece of marked flesh off the person, as that is what John believes to be the Power of Yes. John's residence is Seed Ranch, and Seed Ranch is the only place other than Rye & Sons Aviation to have an airstrip big enough to land Carmina. Nick himself has had a sin tattooed onto his body by John, which is Greed, despite that 'Greed' being Nick wanting to protect his family from the cult. Holland Valley's biggest and most famous landmark is the town of Fall's End, where the Spread Eagle Bar and the Fall's End church is located. Nick is close friends with Pastor Jerome Jeffries (the pastor of the church at Fall's End) and Mary May Fairgrave (the owner of the Spread Eagle Bar). Nick also knows Merle Briggs, who resides in the Silver Lake Trailer Park (also in Holland Valley) and Casey Fixman, who is the cook, waiter and cleaner of the Spread Eagle. John has silos filled with Bliss-infused fertilizer scattered around Holland Valley, and they can be destroyed since they are explosive.

The Whitetail Mountains is the mountainous region of the county in the north, full of wildlife and secrets. The region is also home to many preppers and survivalists who oppose the cult. It is ruled by Jacob (also known as The Soldier), who is the oldest brother of the Seed family, and is using the area as a training ground and staging area for the cult's armed forces. Jacob serves as the head of the cult's security, and is also a war veteran. Jacob uses his 'Cull the Herd' idea to recruit and train soldiers for the cult. He puts these soldiers in trials, and uses classical conditioning with his music box (which plays 'Only You' by The Platters) to sacrifice and 'cull' the weak, manipulating a person's senses and making them go on a rampage, killing everything in their path temporarily, as Jacob believes only the strong are worthy. All his trials lead up to one major sacrifice, and that sacrifice is what determines the strength of the soldier. Jacob also has these animals which he calls Judges. Judges are wolves which have been pumped with the hallucinogenic Bliss drug to make them more savage, aggressive and more obedient to commands. However, Jacob's forces are constantly fighting with the Whitetail Militia, a doomsday prepper group based in the Wolf's Den, a bunker. The militia is led by Eli Palmer, and co-led by Tammy Barnes, though the militia's numbers are dwindling rapidly. The militia's radio host is Wheaty. Like Holland Valley, the Whitetail Mountains have some landmarks too, like the Baron Lumber Mill (where Jessica "Jess" Black, Dutch's niece, is currently located at. Jess is a master huntress, and wild animals see her as one of their own. One night, while she and her family were sleeping, a Peggie henchman named The Cook broke into their house and abducted them. The Cook starved and tortured them relentlessly before finally brutally killing Jess’ parents in front of her. However, Jess escaped, and thanks to her Granny’s lessons, she now has the know-how to take down cultists and rescue others. She’s determined to save everyone she can and get revenge on The Cook. Nick sort of knows Jess). The most popular one is the F.A.N.G. Center, an animal sanctuary (it's really a mini-zoo, though Hope County's locals euphemistically call it an animal sanctuary). The mascot of the F.A.N.G. Center is a diabetic grizzly bear named Cheeseburger, and the F.A.N.G. Center sells a lot of merch of Cheeseburger, like plushies, bobbleheads and shirts. Cheeseburger is owned by the brothers Wade Fowler and Dave Fowler, who both co-own the F.A.N.G. Center together. There are wolf beacons spread out throughout the region, and are used to attract wolves for conversion into Judges. To attract the wolves, loudspeakers emitting the sound of caribou are used. These beacons can be destroyed.

Henbane River is is the main recreational region of Hope County, with its name coming from the large river that divides it. Its landscape mostly consists of bungalows and hot springs. It is ruled by Faith (also known as The Siren), the adoptive sister and the youngest of the Seed family. She is a manipulator, often making herself the victim to make people feel bad for her, and that is exactly how she strikes. She uses the Bliss to make people feel immensely happy (hence the name). She uses her 'Walk the Path' idea to force people into submission and make them join the cult. Those who resist get turned into Angels. Angels are people who have been so heavily exposed to Bliss that they have lost their grip on reality and cannot do anything but obey Faith's orders (and the cult members' orders), and harvest Bliss flowers and do manual labor for the cult. Though, Bliss is also used in Holland Valley and Whitetail Mountains. Henbane River is where the Hope County Jail is located. Peaches' Taxidermy is also in Henbane River, and Peaches' Taxidermy is home to Miss Wilhemina Mable and a female cougar with heterochromia named Peaches, who is quite popular around Hope County like Cheeseburger. There are also Bliss fields scattered out throughout Henbane River, and so are Shrines, which can be destroyed as they are small structures filled with Bliss.

There are also 2 small islands that sit right in the middle of Hope County. These islands are Joseph's Region and Dutch's Island. A lone survivalist called Dutch (Richard "Dutch" Roosevelt) lives in his underground bunker on Dutch's Island, and almost everyone in Hope County knows him and is friends with him. Apart from Dutch's bunker, on Dutch's island, there is also the Forest Research Station, the Johnson Lookout Tower, the Ranger Station, the Silver Lake Boathouse and the Central Radio Tower. Joseph's Compound on Joseph's Region is where Joseph's church is is surrounded with high barbed-wired fences, with only a few weak spots letting people in and out. Apart from Joseph's Compound, in Joseph's Region, there is the Rotten Mill, the Holmes Residence and the Docks.

Each Region (apart from Joseph's Region) have their own share of landmarks apart from the main ones. However, the main locations have been taken over by the cult as outposts. Holland Valley's outposts are US Auto (a garage), Green-Busch Fertilizer Co. (a small fertilizer factory), Copperhead Rail Yard (previously part of Hope County's disused rail network, the Hope County Railway Line, which runs throughout Hope County. It begins at Henbane River Station and goes through the southern parts of the Henbane River, then it travels through the eastern parts of Holland Valley, before going through the northern parts of the Henbane River before going through the eastern parts of the Whitetail Mountains until it ends at Linero Building Supplies), Kellett Cattle Co. (a small ranch), Gardenview Packing Facility, Sunrise Farm, and Seed Ranch (though Seed Ranch has always been watched by some cultists under John's order). Holland Valley's other locations are John's Gate (John's bunker and a decommissioned nuclear missile silo), Adams Ranch, Armstrong Residence (currently burned down and belonging to the sniper Grace Armstrong and her deceased father. Nick knows Grace), Boyd Residence, Bradbury Farm, Bradbury Hay Field, Bradbury Tractor Shed, Bridge of Tears, Catamount Mines, Davenport Farm, Deep North Irrigation Reservoir, Dodd Residence, Dodd's Dumps, Doverspike Compound, Dupree Residence, Eden's Gate Greenhouse, Fillmore Residence, Flatiron Stockyards, Frobisher's Cave, Gardenview Ciderworks, Gardenview Orchards, Golden Valley Gas, Grain Elevator, Harris Residence, Henbane River Rail Bridge, Hilgard Electric Power Station, Holland Valley Station, Hope County Clinic, Hope County Jail Bus, Howard Cabin, Hyde Barn (where Kenny Hyde is. Kenny keeps the supplies for Fall's End's Annual Testicle Festival, or Testy Festy, a popular festival which Casey hosts. In the festival, people eat cooked bull testicles), Kupka Ranch (owned by the pyromaniac government conspiracy theorist Zip Kupka), Lamb of God Church (where Grace is currently holed up and is defending the grave of her father and other war heroes), Lamb of God Sacristy, Laurel Residence, Lincoln Lookout Tower, Miller Residence, Old Silo, Parker Laboratories (owned and operated by only one person named Larry Parker, who is a conspiracy theorist and is very interested in aliens. He is the only one at the lab), Purpletop Telecom Tower, Rae-Rae's Pumpkin Farm (home to a rather popular dog called Boomer. There is a hill south-west of the farm where Willis Huntley is located. Willis is a CIA operative), Redler Residence (where Wendell Redler lives, a veteran of Vietnam War), Red's Farm Supply, Reservoir Construction Yard, Roberts Cabin, Rye & Sons Aviation, Sawyer Residence, Security Gate, Seed Boat Launch, Sergey's Place, Silver Lake Trailer Park, St. Isidore School, Steele Farm, Strickland Farm, Sunrise Threshing, and the Woodson Pig Farm.

Henbane River's outposts are the Whistling Beaver Brewery, Jessop Conservatory (where a lot of Bliss flowers are being grown), Eden's Convent, Lorna's Truck Shop, Nolan's Fly Shop, King's Hot Springs Hotel, Sacred Skies Youth Camp (one of multiple youth camps established in Hope County alongside Breakthrough Camp and the Silver Lake Summer Camp. Sacred Skies was established in 1975 as a Christian youth camp for boys and girls. Being built near a small lake and river, which was used for canoeing. According to a former camper, it was rife with alcohol and bullying. Eventually, it was closed down and by 2009 had been taken over by Eden's Gate, making it one of the first known properties taken by Eden's Gate in Hope County. The cult soon used it as a plantation to grow Bliss flowers), and Drubman Marina (owned by real estate agent Adelaide Drubman, who is currenly dating Xander Flynn and is also the ex-wife of Hurk Drubman Sr. and mother of Hurk Drubman Jr.. Adelaide is also the aunt of Charlemagne Victor Boshaw IV, who just prefers to be called Sharky Boshaw, but Nick just calls him Shark. Nick knows both Sharky and Hurk Jr.). Henbane River's other locations are 8-Bit Pizza Bar, Abercrombie Residence (owned by Melvin Abercrombie, who went and joined Eden's Gate despite living with his granddaughter Nadine Abercrombie at the time. Now, Nadine is at Colin Abercrombie's place), Administrator's Cabin, Aubrey's Diner. Barlow Residence, Bright Warden Radon Spa, Camp Cougars, Can of Worms Fishing Store (owned by Sherri Woodhouse. Sherri and her family once ran a distillery and sold a drink called Macallan 57. However, their distillery went bankrupt and their business vanished), Chan Residence, Counselor's Cabin, Dead Man's Mill, Deer Tiger Mine, Dire Wolf Basin, Eden's Altar, Eden's Gate Outreach Center, Faith's Gate (also a bunker like John's Gate, but for Faith, and is also a decommissioned nuclear missile silo) Feeney Residence (where Feeney lives. Feeney was once a beloved citizen of Hope County but in secret was actually a drug dealer. He later became the head chemist of Eden's Gate and helped create the Bliss. He would frequently work at the Jessop Conservatory), Gethsemane Greenhouse, Ghost Cat Mine, Grimalkin Radon Mine (where Guy Marvel, a director, is directing his artistic masterpiece 'Blood Dragon 3'), Harrison Lookout Tower, Henbane River Chalets, Henbane River Station, Hollyhock Saloon, Hope County Jail, Horned Serpent Cave, Howling Cave, Jones Residence, Joseph's Word (the top of a tall hill and the location where Faith had her followers build a giant Joseph statue to respect Joseph), Lorna's Truck Stop, Lydia's Cave, Mastodon Geothermal Park (the lake making up this park was discovered in the year 1836, and that was believed to have been a drinking zone and a place where Mastodons grazed around during the Stone age, thousands of years ago), McCallough's Garage, McCoy Cabin, Misty River Gas, Moonflower Trailer Park (where Sharky currently is, doing his pyromaniac business, as he is a pyromaniac), Nature Cabin, Nelson Residence, O'Hara's Haunted House, Peaches' Taxidermy, Pepper Residence (a home that was once owned by the Pepper family, and after her husband went missing under uncertain circumstances, Holly Pepper joined the Cult and abandoned the property. Holly was also John's former lover), Prosperity (a deserted town. Once it was a booming settlement backed by the wealthy rail baron, Emmett Reaves, but after the death of his rival, Orville Fall, Reaves decided to abandon Prosperity, and he took over the town of Fall, and promptly renamed it "Fall's End" in a childish display of lingering resentment for his competitor. Now a ghost town, Prosperity consists of a few decrepit buildings: a Mayor's Office, a General Store, a Bank, and a couple of other crumbling structures. Using the Mayor's Office as his personal laboratory, Aaron "Tweak" Kirby, an eccentric drug chemist converted the town into his own playground. He set up an obstacle course to test his performance boosting concoctions, and he also indulged his artistic leanings with a number of carefully posed mannequins), Puma Mine, Raptor Peak , Sabre-Tooth Springs, Seeley's Cabin, Silver Lake Campgrounds, Sinclair Residence, Taft Lookout Tower, Tanami Residence, The Last Best Resting Place, The Misery (Eden's Gate's version of Gulag, a place where Cultists who do not follow the teachings end up, and from where there is no return), The Pillars of Eden, Throne of Mercy Church, and the Vasquez Residence.

The Whitetail Mountains' outposts are the Baron Lumber Mill, Elk Jaw Lodge (the main location where wolves are being converted into Judges), the F.A.N.G. Center, Whitetail Park Ranger Station, and the PIN-K0 Radar Station. The Whitetail Mountains' other locations are Bo's Cave (which belongs to Bo Adams, who is a survivalist who believes that people should be self-sufficient on what nature can provide rather than reliant on man-made tools), Breakthrough Camp, Clagett Boathouse, Cooper Cabin, Dansky Cabin, Dylan's Master Bait Shop (owned by Dylan, the boyfriend of Skylar Kohrs, who is one of the best fishermen in Hope County), Elliot Residence, Fort Drubman (which is the home of Hurk Drubman Sr. and Hurk Drubman Jr.. Hurk Drubman Sr. is currently attempting to run for state senator), Fowler's Retreat (where is Dave is currently located), Frank's Cabin, Grand View Hotel (the cult turned this hotel into a brainwashing center for locals who failed to follow the cult's doctrines to the letter or who were picked as promising Manchurian candidates for a major assassination mission against the Whitetail Militia. In the area between the hotel and its parking holding pens were built for the final tests of the indoctrinated victims. The hotel rooms were converted to brainwashing cells), Hawkeye Tunnel, Hunter's Pass Shelter, Jacob's Armory (Jacob Seed's so called "Gate", or bunker. According to the sign near the entrance, the underground facility technically belongs to the McKinley Dam), Jefferson Lookout Tower, Kestrel Cabin, Langford Falls Parking Lot, Lansdowne Airstrip, Linero Building Supplies, Loresca Residence, MCA Mobile Lab (where the doctor Sarah Perkins is located. Sarah heads a Wildlife Conservation Team in studying wolves), McClean Residence, McKinley Dam, McNeill Residence, North Park Entrance, Oberlin Picnic Area (where George Wilson currently is. George is a former star-player of the Hope County Cougars baseball team. He used to play as a shortstop for the team but was forced to stop his active career as a player due to an unfortunate knee injury. Although he could not play anymore, he was always active within the club and even became their coach. Unfortunately, after Eden's Gate showed up, most of his former teammates and friends are now all gone, either having joined the cult, or been killed by them), Old Sun Outfitters, Osprey Cabin, Ozhigwan Falls, Rattlesnake Trail Bridge, Red Tail Cabin, Salvage Camp, Silver Lake Parking Lot, Snowshoe Lake, South Park Entrance, Stone Ridge Chalet, The Grill Streak (once a popular restaurant, The Grill Steak is now the temporary home of Chad Wolanski, who moved here after the cult burned down his very successful restaurant, as Chad was marked for supplying food to the Whitetail Militia. Chad spends his time grilling outside of his food truck, in the wooded lot across the road from the old Grill Streaks), Valley View Overlook, Whitetail Park Visitor Center, Widow's Creek, the Wolf's Den, and St. Francis Veterans Center (a former veteran hospital. This is where Jacob subjects captured Hope County residents and resistance members to 'classical conditioning'. Several cages have been set up for captured victims who are then experimented on).

The cult has elite VIP members which are stronger than normal cultists and serve a bigger purpose. There are 6 different VIP types, which are a Cult Baptist, Cult Chemist, Cult Butcher, Cult Priestess, Cult Scientist and a Cult Trainer. The cult also has a special elite group of cultists called the Chosen. The Chosen act as the cult's elite enforcers, better equipped compared to the basic cultist, and able to conduct air attacks. The Chosen members are tasked with hunting down or kidnapping enemies of the Project. They train cultists for combat. Their uniform is a grey jacket with a distinguishable red balaclava.

Hope County also has its own Sheriff's Department, known as the Hope County Sheriff's Department. The Sheriff is Earl Whitehorse, and Earl has 3 deputies, who are Joey Hudson (a woman, despite her name), Staci Pratt (a man) and the Junior Deputy. Hope County has an ex-mayor named Virgil Minkler, who was forced out of office when Joseph Seed and the cult came along, and is now at the Hope County Jail with Earl and Tracey Lader, who was once Faith's best friend, but once Faith became part of the cult (as Faith is Joseph's, John's and Jacob's adopted sister. Faith was once known as Rachel Jessop), Tracey was no longer Faith's friend, even after the cult tried to force Tracey to join them. Virgil is also the leader of the Hope County Cougars, a baseball team.

Even with all the bad things going on around Hope County with the cult, there is a faction called The Resistance. The population of Hope County makes up The Resistance, and right now, The Resistance is under the leadership of the Junior Deputy, who is constantly liberating outposts to give to citizens, freeing hostages and helping the people of Hope County out, becoming a hero to them. The Deputy is also trying to save Pratt, Hudson and U.S. Marshal Cameron Burke from John, Faith and Jacob. Jacob has Pratt, John has Hudson and Faith has Burke. The Deputy has been helping ever since recovering from the helicopter crash that occurred after the failed attempt of the arrest of Joseph, as the Deputy had gone to Joseph's church is Joseph's Compound to arrest Joseph, but after taking off in the helicopter the Deputy and the others came in, the cultists went crazy and brought the helicopter down. The Deputy then escaped with Burke in one of the cult's trucks, only to crash off the bridge into the river of Henbane River, causing Burke to get captured, but the Deputy managed to escape and is now doing everything the Deputy can to help Hope County. The Hope County Cougars are also a Resistance faction. The Resistance also has a doctor named Charles Lindsey, who is at the Hope County Jail as well.