Post by SlayerSinbad on Jan 3, 2016 6:25:25 GMT
It is the year 20XX, and a world once peaceful is overcome with disorder. It is unsure how or when exactly it had occurred, but an infectious plague traversed the many corners of the Earth, causing populations throughout the world to fall deathly sick to a sporadic and relentless disease. Doctors from all nations collaborated in a desperate attempt to understand The Ailment, both in its biological constitution and mechanisms. It was observed that affected individuals fell prey to symptoms of violent coughing, jaundice of the eyes, immense fatigue, wavering consciousness and the development of a sickly bluish-green tinge to the skin. This horrid state, in a matter of a week, leads most of the Infected to lapse into a coma, a period of unconsciousness lasting from several hours to a day or so. The victims, upon their Awakening, appear to stabilize in condition, without threat of further symptoms. However, in light of this...
The Infected tend to transcend those standards that we consider, 'mortal'.
A brain-dead creature with the intense urge to feed on the flesh of other living organisms, a horrified humanity witnesses for the first time an immense horde of deteriorating beings (popularly known as 'zombies') spawn into existence. Creatures with deadened nerves and heightened use of the senses- although they have been reduced to an animalistic state and are easily outsmarted, they are surprisingly powerful beings with unlimited persistence, driven solely by the desire to feed. All that is clearly apparent regarding the disease is that it is capable of being transferred via bodily fluids. Healthy human beings, if bitten by a zombie, would quickly be reduced to the same state as their assailant. Inhaling or ingesting fluid ejected by the Infected was also swiftly understood to be a manner of transmission. Prevention measures were employed far too late however, and very soon The Ailment became a common occurrence, with the population of zombies exponentially rising and humanity's numbers dramatically decreasing. The Ailment has (by the initiation of our role-play) affected the majority of humanity, raging wildly without cure and leaving medics across the world outsmarted. It is estimated that several million human-beings remain on Earth in the year 20XX, with a mere fifty thousand existing in the remains of what was once known as North America.
Two years into this new post-apocalyptic era, our role-play is situated someplace in North America, in the fictional lakeside city of Vitae. Once a thriving suburbia known for its growing population, the tables quickly turned the moment the plague set in and the entire city was laid to waste. With many of its areas abandoned or reduced to rubble and ash, overgrown with vegetation and strewn with litter, only a few areas exist somewhat intact and are still safely accessible.
The people of this lakeside community were largely affected by the plague, and it did not take long before the city, smoldering with newly-fledged death and decay, began to teem with a thriving population of zombies in dire pursuit for blood. The few hundred survivors left normal lifestyles in the name of self-preservation, struggling to best their anarchic society and resist the zombie hordes. Some stuck with their families, others with friends, others decided to trust no one and do their utmost to fend for themselves on the lonesome. A good portion had chosen to leave the city for the surrounding shrubland and have not returned since. Many acquired new abilities, others put to use skills they never before expected to exercise. In this age, stealing from the remains of industries is an act essential to living. Any shelter, no matter how dark and dingy, is a valuable place to sleep if untouched by zombies. For some, it became a common thing to abandon morals and exploit other humans if it meant survival. Too many have watched their loved ones die, and plod on without happiness or purpose, seeking only to conserve the little of the life they have left. Some revel in their new-found freedom, enjoying a society without standards. Others seek to rebuild what they have.
The city had indeed been reduced to an arena between man and zombie, with only the most determined and dexterous of individuals remaining. As time would have it, the fractured population of Vitae has evolved with the formation of several major groups, constitutive of individuals who have banded together for the mutual purpose of survival. Of these so-called 'factions', two have surfaced in terms of popularity and numbers; the steadfast Resistance and the infamous Inquisition. Although smaller factions exist, they are overshadowed by these larger groups, and although there are several who choose to exist by their own standards (these individuals are referred to as rogues, and Rogueblood as a whole), they are unlikely to ever surpass the major factions in influence. Each faction has its own understandings of their situation, their own rulings and manner of doing things. They have headquarters located in respective parts of the city and may lay claim to parts of the suburbia that they will defend against undead and other human beings alike. Factions exist as a manner of making life more efficient; it is understood that a community of people is better at surviving the new age, sharing resource as well as giving and receiving protection, than an individual on his lonesome. The only ideal both factions share is the need to eliminate the undead, widely referred to as the Horde. The groups respond to the movements of the Horde accordingly, rarely working together to quash them although ultimately their efforts are in the same stead.
But now arises the question... where is it that you belong in this tragic world? As one of the few city-dwellers and human survivors left, what will you decide to do with the shred of life entrusted to you? Vitae's grounds are yours to roam, its people yours to interact with.
Will you join The Resistance, and strive with them to restore the city to its former prime?
Will you join The Inquisition, and prove yourself worthy of existence by ending the lives of others?
Will you remain on your own path, lonesome in your approach and protective of your ideals; a Rogueblood at heart?
The city of Vitae calls to you now. Will you strive to survive and show the city glory, or will you relent to The Ailment and thus
T R A N S C E N D ?
