The year is 2032 AD. Ten years ago, a massive deposit of an unique metal was found deep within the sands of Sahara. Stumbled over by chance, this ore, quickly named Adamantium, was undetectable by any means then known to humanity. Adamantium quickly became known as a miracle metal, allowing countless breakthroughs in every scientific field. Tensions rose over the ownership of the deposits, and in the end, an unique solution was proposed and passed - to create an independent city-state which would regulate adamantium's extraction and exports. That city was called Haven. Haven was the most advanced city on Earth. It was the best city for the best. Every top individual or corporation moved there, and it became the unofficial capital of the city. To be allowed to live within Haven would be a grand achievement for any individual. In a few short years, humanity entered the so called Age of Adamantium.
Four months ago, apocalypse began. Humanity did not know where they came from, but they quickly saw how hopelessly outmatched they were. The alien invaders did not come with starships, but a mere squad of twelve nearly annihilated all human life on earth. Humans were saved by what could best be called... superheroes. Appearing out of nowhere, those champions of... unknown affiliation... could match and eventually overpower the aliens.
After three months, the alien invaders lay defeated. Saying their goodbyes, the heroes stepped through recently discovered portal deep within the adamantite deposits, through which the aliens came. Named the Apocalypse Gate, the heroes destroyed it as they left Earth to pursue vengeance, abandoning the remnants of humanity to fend for themselves.
Soon after Apocalypse Gate's destruction, people began to... awaken, become just a little bit stronger, faster and smarter, as well as discovering faint magical abilities, much akin to those some of the heroes used, just on a far grander scale. Out of 8 billion souls, no more than 250 million remain. And those who remained, "The Abandoned" all had different ideas how the world should be rebuilt, if at all. The world was now a clean slate, for the ambitious to rebuild.
The Aliens
Very few have seen them with their own eyes and lived to tell the tale. Only twelve in total, nevertheless they managed to nearly exterminate the humankind. Wearing some kind of Iron Man-esque armor and wielding what could only be described as magic, they were able to move faster than human eye could track, not even being affected by friction or sudden changes of momentum. Their reaction was also just as fast. Not that any conventional weapons could even hope to scratch their armor. Nevertheless, it was not the aliens themselves that caused the majority of casualties. It was the Husks.
Husks
Humans turned into deadly robotic monstrosities armed with a vast array of weapons. By impaling a victim with some sort of spike, the transformation will occur in several seconds, turning a scared civilian into a deadly weapon. The most scary part was that husks had a sort of spear launcher to launch more of those spikes to turn more people into husks. Extremely practical and inflicting untold psychological terror upon the survivors, Husks were the main offensive force. They are also extremely durable, requiring a full magazine of assault rifle to take down. Now directionless, Husks still present a major threat to the remaining survivors, roaming around without any direction. Some stay to guard areas for reasons unknown.
MRD (Matter Reconfiguration Device)
Out of all the alien tech left behind, this piece holds the most importance. This device, which comes in many shapes and forms, is able to reduce any matter to it's most basic building blocks, and reshape it into literally anything. MRDs were mainly used by Golems and to construct them. The ability to make something literally from air (albeit large amounts of it) would solve any resource problem. It seems to have a major limitation however - it does not work on organic matter, nor create it.
Golems
The builders. Massive bipedal robots using MRDs of massive scale to tear down the old and build a new, alien infrastructure. Able to literally disintegrate entire buildings (sans organic matter, like people, who usually just fall to their death because the ground under their feet just disappeared) and started building something else entirely. Haven seems to be mainly spared this fate. Maybe being the most advanced city on Earth, it met the alien standards? While Golems themselves were weaponless, they were always protected by swarms of Husks. Bombing runs proved effective in taking them down, an alien would quickly move in to take out the bombers.
Dark Stars
The very first thing a Golem would build in a new area. A levitating sphere emitting a purple glow, it seemed to mainly be an AI core to direct Husks and Golems, freeing up the alien from such a task, and allowing it to continue to another area. The purple sun-like rays also acted as surveillance and a weapon, focused to a lethal level when a human was detected. Currently no active Dark Stars remain, but their debris are heavily guarded by Husks as well as survivors fearing to get close to them anyway.[/hider]
The Radiant Tower
Constructed right in the middle of Haven, just over the Adamantium mines, it appears to have been the alien HQ. The Apocalypse Gate being right under the Adamantium deposits, it also acts like a barrier of sorts to anyone not able to survive the formidable defenses the Tower has. Every Husk in Haven is drawn to the tower to guard it, and does not move away from that location no matter what. Being the goldmine of alien tech, this bright white tower is also the most dangerous place on earth. The tower's eye, a massive sphere on the top of the tower which seems to be able to direct and focus sunlight is the main defense.
Unknown Affiliations: Earth only saw super heroes in fiction. Until the invasion. Out of nowhere, a lot of extremely powerful individuals surfaced to protect their world. However they did not answer to any known military force or organization, though they did cooperate and coordinated their movements with the various military powers.
Beyond Human: The heroes all displayed similar physics-ignoring capabilities just like the aliens, one of the most obvious one being magic. Some of their clashes with the aliens looked like something out of a cheesy anime. The heroes were also able to cut through hundreds of Husks with ease. Nobody is quite sure how many heroes even were there, let alone who they were.
The Departure: Transmitting one final message through whatever social media services remain, the heroes went through the Apocalypse Gate looking for vengeance, destroying it as they went through. The majority of survivors condemned such a decision, naming themselves The Abandoned.
Haven: While Haven was the ground-zero for the invasion, it also sustained least damage. It was quite evident that the aliens were quite hesitant to cause collateral damage in Haven. They also used only one Golem in Haven to build The Radiant Tower. As the most powerful corporations moved to Haven when it was being built, a lot of advanced services and data survived. Internet and other communications still work in Haven, and any other places that still have a working connection. As all the Husks of Haven are concentrated near the Tower, Haven is both the safest and most dangerous place on Earth.
Communications: One of the first things to be hit were the most of the older satellites. The newer ones, especially the Haven built ones were spared. The undersea cables were also one of the priority targets for the invasion. As such, the only remaining communication methods rely on the few remaining satellites.
USA: As expected, USA held on the longest. In their desperation, they even tried to nuke their own soil to stop the invasion, only for the nukes to be shot out of the sky by the aliens. USA made up for most of the resistance all across the world. But as a consequence, USA is now a wasteland for the most part, chock full of Husks. Pockets of survivors remain however, against all odds.
Europe: Empty cities with Husks roaming around is now the European landscape, with pockets of scattered survivor hubs in various cities.
Asia: While russian population centres met a grim demise just like elsewhere on the world, the vastness of Syberia provided safe-ish hideout for many people from all across the region. India and China, due to their population density were nearly completely wiped out, but they also had vast tracts of land to hide and outlast the invasion. However, their cities are overflowing with Husks.
Others: UK, Japan and other island-based countries were targeted last, and as such, sustained lesser civilian and structural damage.
The Awakening: After Apocalypse Gate was destroyed, the survivors became to experience what was called an Awakening. Though it did not occur to everyone simultaneously. It also was different for each person, except for the underlying theme that gave named it Awakening.
It would begin with the person starting to feel wet and cold, like being submerged in cold water. After about a minute, the person would temporary lose conscience. During that time, they would generally experience the feeling of being in cold water, and the feeling of the body awakening from a long slumber. Everything else varies from person to person, as some witnessed flashbacks, hallucinations, various crazy and trippy sounds. After a few minutes, the person would regain conscience, feeling and being just a bit stronger, smarter and faster, and able to use magic.
Four months ago, apocalypse began. Humanity did not know where they came from, but they quickly saw how hopelessly outmatched they were. The alien invaders did not come with starships, but a mere squad of twelve nearly annihilated all human life on earth. Humans were saved by what could best be called... superheroes. Appearing out of nowhere, those champions of... unknown affiliation... could match and eventually overpower the aliens.
After three months, the alien invaders lay defeated. Saying their goodbyes, the heroes stepped through recently discovered portal deep within the adamantite deposits, through which the aliens came. Named the Apocalypse Gate, the heroes destroyed it as they left Earth to pursue vengeance, abandoning the remnants of humanity to fend for themselves.
Soon after Apocalypse Gate's destruction, people began to... awaken, become just a little bit stronger, faster and smarter, as well as discovering faint magical abilities, much akin to those some of the heroes used, just on a far grander scale. Out of 8 billion souls, no more than 250 million remain. And those who remained, "The Abandoned" all had different ideas how the world should be rebuilt, if at all. The world was now a clean slate, for the ambitious to rebuild.
The Invasion
The Aliens
Very few have seen them with their own eyes and lived to tell the tale. Only twelve in total, nevertheless they managed to nearly exterminate the humankind. Wearing some kind of Iron Man-esque armor and wielding what could only be described as magic, they were able to move faster than human eye could track, not even being affected by friction or sudden changes of momentum. Their reaction was also just as fast. Not that any conventional weapons could even hope to scratch their armor. Nevertheless, it was not the aliens themselves that caused the majority of casualties. It was the Husks.
Husks
Humans turned into deadly robotic monstrosities armed with a vast array of weapons. By impaling a victim with some sort of spike, the transformation will occur in several seconds, turning a scared civilian into a deadly weapon. The most scary part was that husks had a sort of spear launcher to launch more of those spikes to turn more people into husks. Extremely practical and inflicting untold psychological terror upon the survivors, Husks were the main offensive force. They are also extremely durable, requiring a full magazine of assault rifle to take down. Now directionless, Husks still present a major threat to the remaining survivors, roaming around without any direction. Some stay to guard areas for reasons unknown.
MRD (Matter Reconfiguration Device)
Out of all the alien tech left behind, this piece holds the most importance. This device, which comes in many shapes and forms, is able to reduce any matter to it's most basic building blocks, and reshape it into literally anything. MRDs were mainly used by Golems and to construct them. The ability to make something literally from air (albeit large amounts of it) would solve any resource problem. It seems to have a major limitation however - it does not work on organic matter, nor create it.
Golems
The builders. Massive bipedal robots using MRDs of massive scale to tear down the old and build a new, alien infrastructure. Able to literally disintegrate entire buildings (sans organic matter, like people, who usually just fall to their death because the ground under their feet just disappeared) and started building something else entirely. Haven seems to be mainly spared this fate. Maybe being the most advanced city on Earth, it met the alien standards? While Golems themselves were weaponless, they were always protected by swarms of Husks. Bombing runs proved effective in taking them down, an alien would quickly move in to take out the bombers.
Dark Stars
The very first thing a Golem would build in a new area. A levitating sphere emitting a purple glow, it seemed to mainly be an AI core to direct Husks and Golems, freeing up the alien from such a task, and allowing it to continue to another area. The purple sun-like rays also acted as surveillance and a weapon, focused to a lethal level when a human was detected. Currently no active Dark Stars remain, but their debris are heavily guarded by Husks as well as survivors fearing to get close to them anyway.[/hider]
The Radiant Tower
Constructed right in the middle of Haven, just over the Adamantium mines, it appears to have been the alien HQ. The Apocalypse Gate being right under the Adamantium deposits, it also acts like a barrier of sorts to anyone not able to survive the formidable defenses the Tower has. Every Husk in Haven is drawn to the tower to guard it, and does not move away from that location no matter what. Being the goldmine of alien tech, this bright white tower is also the most dangerous place on earth. The tower's eye, a massive sphere on the top of the tower which seems to be able to direct and focus sunlight is the main defense.
The Heroes
Unknown Affiliations: Earth only saw super heroes in fiction. Until the invasion. Out of nowhere, a lot of extremely powerful individuals surfaced to protect their world. However they did not answer to any known military force or organization, though they did cooperate and coordinated their movements with the various military powers.
Beyond Human: The heroes all displayed similar physics-ignoring capabilities just like the aliens, one of the most obvious one being magic. Some of their clashes with the aliens looked like something out of a cheesy anime. The heroes were also able to cut through hundreds of Husks with ease. Nobody is quite sure how many heroes even were there, let alone who they were.
The Departure: Transmitting one final message through whatever social media services remain, the heroes went through the Apocalypse Gate looking for vengeance, destroying it as they went through. The majority of survivors condemned such a decision, naming themselves The Abandoned.
The Aftermath
Haven: While Haven was the ground-zero for the invasion, it also sustained least damage. It was quite evident that the aliens were quite hesitant to cause collateral damage in Haven. They also used only one Golem in Haven to build The Radiant Tower. As the most powerful corporations moved to Haven when it was being built, a lot of advanced services and data survived. Internet and other communications still work in Haven, and any other places that still have a working connection. As all the Husks of Haven are concentrated near the Tower, Haven is both the safest and most dangerous place on Earth.
Communications: One of the first things to be hit were the most of the older satellites. The newer ones, especially the Haven built ones were spared. The undersea cables were also one of the priority targets for the invasion. As such, the only remaining communication methods rely on the few remaining satellites.
USA: As expected, USA held on the longest. In their desperation, they even tried to nuke their own soil to stop the invasion, only for the nukes to be shot out of the sky by the aliens. USA made up for most of the resistance all across the world. But as a consequence, USA is now a wasteland for the most part, chock full of Husks. Pockets of survivors remain however, against all odds.
Europe: Empty cities with Husks roaming around is now the European landscape, with pockets of scattered survivor hubs in various cities.
Asia: While russian population centres met a grim demise just like elsewhere on the world, the vastness of Syberia provided safe-ish hideout for many people from all across the region. India and China, due to their population density were nearly completely wiped out, but they also had vast tracts of land to hide and outlast the invasion. However, their cities are overflowing with Husks.
Others: UK, Japan and other island-based countries were targeted last, and as such, sustained lesser civilian and structural damage.
The Awakening: After Apocalypse Gate was destroyed, the survivors became to experience what was called an Awakening. Though it did not occur to everyone simultaneously. It also was different for each person, except for the underlying theme that gave named it Awakening.
It would begin with the person starting to feel wet and cold, like being submerged in cold water. After about a minute, the person would temporary lose conscience. During that time, they would generally experience the feeling of being in cold water, and the feeling of the body awakening from a long slumber. Everything else varies from person to person, as some witnessed flashbacks, hallucinations, various crazy and trippy sounds. After a few minutes, the person would regain conscience, feeling and being just a bit stronger, smarter and faster, and able to use magic.
