AU: Sarah Ellis, Queen of the Southwest
In a collapsed society, the transmission of information can be problematic. Such news reports as still exist are notoriously unreliable, and word-of-mouth, despite its tendency to foster rumor, is the best you're likely to do.
It is widely suspected that Sarah Ellis, up-and-coming warlord and de facto ruler of several former states, has some ability to influence others unduly; however, her people tend to keep quiet about whatever they may know about this. Rumor, varying with the bent of the people repeating it, has made her everything from a sinister witch-queen capable of clouding the minds of many people at once to ensure absolute loyalty, to a likable and well-spoken- but genetically ordinary- figurehead for some unnamed menace.
Those who have more than the usual sources, and so know a little more, are aware that her power is both real and dangerous but nevertheless limited in scope. If they are also logistically oriented, they may correctly guess at the nature of her court- that you cannot issue verbal orders to everyone, all the time, anticipating every contingency, and that therefore old-fashioned perks and patronage must factor into her organization just like everyone else's. You cannot hold a community together with mind control alone. (Almost no one knows, because Sarah has exerted quite a bit of effort to keep it that way, that she tried it once, and still has the scars where they don't show... but that was a long time ago, and besides, the bitch is dead.)
To most of the residents of her territory, she is merely vaguely preferable to the turf wars that would ensue if she were no longer there. Here comes the new boss, same as the old boss...
It is widely suspected that Sarah Ellis, up-and-coming warlord and de facto ruler of several former states, has some ability to influence others unduly; however, her people tend to keep quiet about whatever they may know about this. Rumor, varying with the bent of the people repeating it, has made her everything from a sinister witch-queen capable of clouding the minds of many people at once to ensure absolute loyalty, to a likable and well-spoken- but genetically ordinary- figurehead for some unnamed menace.
Those who have more than the usual sources, and so know a little more, are aware that her power is both real and dangerous but nevertheless limited in scope. If they are also logistically oriented, they may correctly guess at the nature of her court- that you cannot issue verbal orders to everyone, all the time, anticipating every contingency, and that therefore old-fashioned perks and patronage must factor into her organization just like everyone else's. You cannot hold a community together with mind control alone. (Almost no one knows, because Sarah has exerted quite a bit of effort to keep it that way, that she tried it once, and still has the scars where they don't show... but that was a long time ago, and besides, the bitch is dead.)
To most of the residents of her territory, she is merely vaguely preferable to the turf wars that would ensue if she were no longer there. Here comes the new boss, same as the old boss...