The world had been in relative peace until the Falling occurred. The year had been 2031, but after the Falling, the actual year didn’t seem to matter anymore, for Earth would never be the same. No one knew what had triggered it, but unbeknownst to the population, a massive radiation spike had rendered most of the water and food supplies unconsumable. It took several months before people realised this, and by the time the research and evidence caught up to reality, it was already too late.
The percentage of people suffering from the mysterious radiation poisoning spiked, and the cases of sickness went off-the-record charts. It was not just a case of your usual skin cancers but full-on catastrophic organ failure, dysmorphia, and, with some rare cases, mutations. Symptoms, for many, started with bleeding gums and hair loss, and eventually, their bodies shut down. A harsh awakening for many was when people first learned of the worst side effects. Radiation poisoning was transmissible, and anyone coming into contact with a sick person was likely to get the symptoms themselves. The scientific community initially gave it a 99% transmission rate, and the world went into freefall trying to source safe food, medical and equipment supplies. In the beginning, this had started amicably, with most of the then United Nations coming together to support and deliver aid. Over time, the Falling turned murderous with politicians' deliberate sabotage of the supply chain and backhander deals, leading to communication breakdown and lack of trust worldwide.
As supplies became more difficult to source, chaos ensued. Conventional warfare broke out between governments fighting for survival and supplies for their populations. The conflict caused extensive devastation to towns and cities. The conflict spread globally, becoming what had been deemed ‘EOH’ or ‘End of Humanity’. It was at the apex of the global conflict for survival when experts and scholars projected that the result of the combined crisis could cause a 95% reduction in the world’s population before its conclusion. None of those experts have communicated since even those in the remotest regions of the world were affected by the radiation that now seemed in everything.
As the world grew dark and cold, with a grim future on the horizon, a seed of hope emerged from out of the chaos, and it became apparent that a selected few were immune to the sickness. They were known as the Risen after one of the few remaining journals had first published a story about a young child who was living in a house in Australia with two dead parents who had both succumbed to the illness. The discovery occurred in the early days of the catastrophe, and eventually, more and more people who were immune to the sickness were identified.
Those who were immune either went into hiding, and some thought themselves the new messiah and several cult worship groups appeared as logic, critical thinking, and reason seemed to evaporate. Many decisions were now purely based on emotion, survival, and the need for safety and security. Some of the cult worships identified this and exploited it for their gain. The formation of these sub-groups became factions, and fighting for territorial rights and resources broke out without warning. The collapse of the power sector caused some of the worst incidents that snowballed the disaster. As the population died, so did the expertise, and it wasn’t long before the first nuclear plant went into meltdown.
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Over the next few months, 90% of the world’s power supply was lost. Communications failed, and connectivity to satellites was lost. A catastrophic domino effect began, and with infrastructure and utility failure, The Falling brought society down to its knees. Regional rulers took over as governments lost complete control of their countries, a mentality of everyone for themselves overwhelmed culture and even pitted neighbour against neighbour. The complete debacle lasted approximately six years from start to finish as the exponential rate of transmission wiped out most of the world’s population, and it fell into chaos.
From amongst the devastation, humanity changed. What had been normality for humanity evolved over the following century. People developed a sense of enablement, and what was once an unknown became a standard part of life. Every child born in the new era had figures. Enhancing skills and knowledge allowed individuals to manipulate figures as they developed. The figures would appear on the chest of a child, and only when reaching adulthood did they seem to vanish. When reaching adulthood, an ocular display would appear as if stamped on their retina.
The complexities of the system and how it developed were unknown, but it standardised how people viewed each other, and it took a couple of generations to become normalised. Every adult from 17, unless they had suffered an illness or injury, began with Acrobatics 5, Brawling 5, Charm 5, Defence 5, Endurance 5, and Free Thinking 5. Once a child reached the coming of age, the figures became set until specialisms were learned. This means all who reached the coming of age started with the same 30 points distributed between their characteristics. After turning 17, the only way to improve was by levelling. Mainly through skill development and specialisation, although others took violence as an option.
Parties of raiders emerged, who continued along the path of depravity and devastation that had become commonplace during the Falling. They would often raid and pillage and were often the strongest brawlers with the highest defence traits among the Risen. In comparison, many others considered the future and rebuilt society. These mainly comprised townships where like-minded folk would gather and try to establish normality in their lives. Farming and agriculture re-surged alongside medicine and education, emphasising regaining the lost knowledge. A designated free thinker could progress and develop many sub-branches of skills depending upon what they specialised in if they were fortunate enough to find sources for their knowledge. In the harsh reality of what the world had become, the fate of humanity lay at the mercy of the newly Risen.