Post by Dirge on Sept 29, 2008 13:23:50 GMT -8
Until WorldsEnd, most humans led ordinary, unsuspecting lives, and while most of them were aware of the existence of vampires in one form or another, the majority believed these stories to be nothing but that- stories of a species either long-dead or completely fabricated, made to get little children into their beds before nightfall. A rare few believed or knew the existence of vampires to be truth, having either heard stories of their fathers' mothers' sightings of the monstrous beasts, or sometimes having seen them (or thought to have seen them) for themselves. But after WorldsEnd, when the heavily-populated cities dwindled down to barren, desecrated landscapes of great crumbling buildings and rusting Infection Gates and only the little, half-wild towns remained, what was story became realized as fact. Many people began to blame WorldsEnd on the vampires, and for a long time after led campaigns against the vampires in hopes of annihilating them completely.
In the end, both sides suffered many losses, though far more humans died than did the elusive vampires. Finally, realizing they would be unable to win in such outright combat with a species stronger, faster, and wiser in the advantage of sheer years, the humans fell into a wary retreat, returning to their little villages and towns on the outskirts of the wilderness, and came to live as humans once lived ages ago- surviving as pilgrims in their own land. Most technology was now useless, having no electricity with which to power it, and life returned to a younger age. Though a few steam-and-magic-powered autos existed (in the hands of the very wealthy), most transportation was by horse or carriage, or horse-drawn sleighs in the colder, mountainous regions. The more populated and well-off towns had pretty, painted wooden homes, while the smaller farming and trapping villages found cabins and simpler houses more to their advantage.
While once vampires had easily blended into the more wild and unusual corners of large cities without question, after WorldsEnd it became harder and harder to melt into the human backgrounds, and it wasn't long before the vampire Courts came into being, buried deep and hidden in the long-unexplored wilderness, made of relics from the overgrown human cities and seen by few, lived in by fewer. From the Courts sprang the fortresses; large vampire towns defended by elite guards and hidden in the wilds, often near human towns and villages.
Now the humans bustle about their comfortable towns and farm in their villages and the vampires hunt in the forests and mountains, where most mortals fear to tread. Bitten vampires create more bitten vampires, the born vampires of the Courts scorn the bitten vampires and try to keep them from procreating, and loners wander the wilderness like rangers, neutral to the feuds and political sides. Over time, some humans have come to discover that they are in possession of... "Gifts"- powers thought previously to be supernatural and impossible. Magic. Whether these gifts lay dormant in some human genes for centuries or were a result of WorldsEnd, it couldn't be said, but they now make up for much of the loss of technology, allowing for flameless candles, strong, simplistic machines, and, of course, for spells- though this is a relatively new craft, and spellcasters and charm-makers are few and far between. Many humans with magic never even fully realize their own gifts, and so it is impossible to tell just how many humans carry the craft. Most realized Users use their gifts for profit- creating or producing magical technology and earning themselves very comfortable livings in the well-to-do towns- while a few use their craft for more unsavoury work- hunting born or bitten vampires, either to make money from the less-protected villages or for their own ends.
And here is where our story begins- in this post-post-apocalyptic era, when humanity has fallen back to an older, quieter lifestyle and magic and vampires roam the world anew in a rebirth of civilization as could have never been dreamed by the people of pre-WorldsEnd- where all but the oldest immortals have naught but scattered, faded mementos of WorldsEnd and what came before it. Now you have choices to make, sides to choose from on a massive scale of black, white, and grey, and new stories to live. When the world has ended and been reborn, the children born of dust and ashes shall reform her anew.
Welcome to the ReBirth, and prepare to shape the world.
In the end, both sides suffered many losses, though far more humans died than did the elusive vampires. Finally, realizing they would be unable to win in such outright combat with a species stronger, faster, and wiser in the advantage of sheer years, the humans fell into a wary retreat, returning to their little villages and towns on the outskirts of the wilderness, and came to live as humans once lived ages ago- surviving as pilgrims in their own land. Most technology was now useless, having no electricity with which to power it, and life returned to a younger age. Though a few steam-and-magic-powered autos existed (in the hands of the very wealthy), most transportation was by horse or carriage, or horse-drawn sleighs in the colder, mountainous regions. The more populated and well-off towns had pretty, painted wooden homes, while the smaller farming and trapping villages found cabins and simpler houses more to their advantage.
While once vampires had easily blended into the more wild and unusual corners of large cities without question, after WorldsEnd it became harder and harder to melt into the human backgrounds, and it wasn't long before the vampire Courts came into being, buried deep and hidden in the long-unexplored wilderness, made of relics from the overgrown human cities and seen by few, lived in by fewer. From the Courts sprang the fortresses; large vampire towns defended by elite guards and hidden in the wilds, often near human towns and villages.
Now the humans bustle about their comfortable towns and farm in their villages and the vampires hunt in the forests and mountains, where most mortals fear to tread. Bitten vampires create more bitten vampires, the born vampires of the Courts scorn the bitten vampires and try to keep them from procreating, and loners wander the wilderness like rangers, neutral to the feuds and political sides. Over time, some humans have come to discover that they are in possession of... "Gifts"- powers thought previously to be supernatural and impossible. Magic. Whether these gifts lay dormant in some human genes for centuries or were a result of WorldsEnd, it couldn't be said, but they now make up for much of the loss of technology, allowing for flameless candles, strong, simplistic machines, and, of course, for spells- though this is a relatively new craft, and spellcasters and charm-makers are few and far between. Many humans with magic never even fully realize their own gifts, and so it is impossible to tell just how many humans carry the craft. Most realized Users use their gifts for profit- creating or producing magical technology and earning themselves very comfortable livings in the well-to-do towns- while a few use their craft for more unsavoury work- hunting born or bitten vampires, either to make money from the less-protected villages or for their own ends.
And here is where our story begins- in this post-post-apocalyptic era, when humanity has fallen back to an older, quieter lifestyle and magic and vampires roam the world anew in a rebirth of civilization as could have never been dreamed by the people of pre-WorldsEnd- where all but the oldest immortals have naught but scattered, faded mementos of WorldsEnd and what came before it. Now you have choices to make, sides to choose from on a massive scale of black, white, and grey, and new stories to live. When the world has ended and been reborn, the children born of dust and ashes shall reform her anew.
Welcome to the ReBirth, and prepare to shape the world.
