THE CATACLYSM

The mid-twenty first century. A time of scientific and technological advancement on an unprecedented scale. Yet it was also riddled with inequality, failing governments beset by incompetence, corruption and ever increasing totalitarian methods to maintain control. The Earth's eco-system was close to the brink of collapse after centuries of abuse and neglect. Food shortages had hit critical levels, cities were overpopulated and rampant with crime and unrest. Doomsayers and splinter-groups of major and minor religions proclaimed the end was nigh.

In a way, they were right.

An event that would come to be dubbed the Cataclysm did indeed end the world. Or perhaps more accurately, it ended the world as we knew it and brought about the birth of a new age. When it struck the Cataclysm brought civilisation crashing down amidst a cascading sequence of ecological diasters that killed millions and reshaped the continents as well unleashing strange forces and beings upon the Earth. Over the following centuries a new world would emerge with nations, faiths and ways of living rising ruins of the old and a new epoch would begin.

This was not the first time the world had ended. Ages lost to history and ignored or dismissed as myth had come and gone in a similar manner. Despite the devastation wrought and the loss of life the world and humankind would endure. Changed, yes. But both would rise again. Humans would find themselves forced to fight against beings who had lain dormant for centuries, renmants of previous ages now returned to lay claim to that which once was theirs and thus a more savage and brutal time would ensue. The advanced technology of the world that was would be mostly lost, preserved by secret groups and only the relatively simple relics like combustion engines and machines powered by fossil fuels would endure.