Wilde Jagd
The apocalypse. The end of the world. That was the only way people who witnessed the days of the Old One, as it cut a swathe of destruction across the world. A hideous incarnation of primal destruction that rose from the depth of the earth to bring about the end of the world.
There had always been vague stories of the apocalypse, the coming of some ancient avatar of destruction that was prophesied to one day set upon the earth. For the religious men it had always been just a little way away. Each generation was the end times. And each generation passed without incident. Technology grew and people lost interest in much of that old fear and mysticism.
That was until the day the earth split and the great cities of man burned.
When the moon shone red in the smoke-choked sky and humanity faced the summation of its most old and primal fears.
It had no name. They called it many things. After the dust had settled, generations after the burning times, people would refer to it in hushed voices as The Old One.
A god of destruction and death and infinite malice, charged with taking apart the world and returning it to the days before light and life.
And it very nearly succeeded. So many died in those times. And so much progress was lost forever. Armies set loose their greatest and most advanced weapons in hopes of destroying this horrifying thing, and in doing so they would seem to blast it apart, only to watch in dismay as it reformed, unharmed.
Humanity stood on the verge of extinction when a man stepped forward with nothing but an ancient book in one hand.
The man's name was Gabriel Herne, and he would be responsible for saving the world.
A man of mystic knowledge and power, Gabriel knew that The Old One could not be killed. It was a force of nature, a constant that the world could never be rid of once awoken. Something like that could not simply cease to exist. The man had pored through every source, every old text he could find until the solution had present itself before him.
The Old One could not be killed.
But it could be split.
He faced the horrific thing, looked into the face of madness and death, spoke the words he'd spent years of his life searching for, and tore the Old One apart.
That is the story told to near any child when they are young. The story of Gabriel the magician and how he saved the world from this walking death. Of course decades have passed since then. Few live who remember the burning times, and even fewer who could say they knew anything about what transpired in the epic battle that took place.
That said, it was true enough that Gabriel Herne did manage to save the world.
What was left of it anyway.
The world is far from what it could have been.
They say that once mankind had all sorta of wonderful technology that every man, woman and child could make use of.
These days tech is a luxury. Unless you are a Lord or Lady, have cosied up to the latter, or are obscenely wealthy, the level of advancement would be little better than medieval times.
The land it split up into provinces that the Lords and Ladies rule over. For all the regal titles, these people are essentially warlords. Either they were vicious enough to hold the lands their mothers or father took after the burning times, or they were vicious enough to take it from someone else. They range from the fair but unspeakably tough, to the out and out psychopathic.
People aren't just more medieval in their technological level...but medieval in their attitudes. People are highly adherent to new gods and cults. They're wary of strangers. They hate and fear things that are strange or unnatural.
Which makes the occurrence of the Witch Gene even more tragic.
The influence of the old one, the dark energy it left in its wake, had a lingering influence, not just on the land itself, but the people.
A few years after the burning times children began being born with horrifying deformities. Claws, sharp teeth, single wings protruding from their shoulderblades. Progressively these things also manifested as strange, dark abilities.
People were disgusted by these tainted creatures, and shunned them. Most 'witch children' will not live past infancy, and those that do can anticipate a dangerous world.
And then, you have the Fragments. The pieces left behind from the Old One. The stories of them are sparse...well..the true ones are. Any drunk bastard in a roadside inn would tell the story of some red-eyed fiend that they fought off in the night, one of the monsters that formed a piece of the shattered Old One itself.
Much of it are only tall tales.
But not all. From time to time the reports filter through of death and destruction. Entire towns levelled and dozens of soldiers torn to pieces in the most horrific ways.
And if those stories are true then those who tell them might have run into something else. The people with guns and armour, and the silver badges that resemble a hunting hound.
Much like the Fragments, many people talk about them, but few have actually met the people. The hunters and jailers on whom the fate of the shattered world now rests. For it's known enough that the pieces of the Old One will seek to re-unite one day, and when they do, everything will be consumed with fire and darkness.
The Wilde Jagd. The last hope we've got, and the newest class of cadets is about to begin their training to earn the title of Hound.
But are all the cadets really human? Or did something else sneak in?
OOC Stuff
Hi there! Vit here. Outlined the basis of a plot I've had knocking round for a while that I've elected to try and rework and revamp, focusing on the arrival of new recruits and their development as hounds, but also the Fragments opposing them and, possibly, Fragments who've managed to infiltrate the latest cadet class.
It'll need to be a fairly diverse mix, as, say, a bunch of Fragments, or a bunch of humans, or a bunch of witches aren't going to make things anywhere near as interesting as a good assortment. Instructors would also be fab. The whole thing is mid-rework and sorta in flux a bit, probably won't start it formally for a little while, so any ideas or potential subplots are welcome! :D
