Age of Unbelief

The Zombie Apocalypse comes to The Adepts of God in Plague: Age of Unbelief, a relentless horde of zombies now scours the earth while the surviving factions of humanity wage war against their oppressors, and each other.  What's worse, the Zombies posses a resistance to the supernatural, and a poisonous bite powerful enough to fell even an Adept of God!
THE PLAGUE
The Plague, as it is most often called, erupted out of nowhere.  From around the world, various hot spots suddenly flared up as the first waves of undead infected human civilization.  At first, news reports were mixed or even mild as people thought the birth of the plague was merely the stuff of biological terrorism.  Not until the first cities infected went dark did the leaders of the world begin to truly understand the gravity of the situation...
The start of the plague was mild, some might even say uneventful.  News reports came in of various disease hot spots from various major cities around the world: New York, Tokyo, Paris, Mexico City, etc.  The virus or bacterium or whatever it was spread quickly, and when reports of people attacking one another first hit the news, the first reports off the news cycle spoke of gang violence and civil unrest under the threat of viral danger...
Squads quickly began reporting outbreaks of undeath, the Order of Resurrectionists went wild with tales and theories, meanwhile Crusades began popping up right and left.  But the first responders from the Orders weren't aware of the Dead's strange ability to counteract or dampen supernatural power with their greater presence, nor the effect the larger 
ZOMBIES
The Dead do not stay dead in this day and age.  The world is now scoured by the walking dead whose bodies defy most conventional laws of biology.  They are dead and yet still they posses animation, they hunger despite the fact their bodies no longer require food... They decay but only to a point and if they have a maximum lifespan, none reported has yet to reach it.
The origin of the virus that created them is as mysterious in origin as are their powers.  The Dead's blood carries with it a supernatural rot, a taint of death that both dampens the powers of other Supernaturals and makes their bite extremely poisonous to even the strongest Adept.  Only Destroyers seem immune to the infectious bite of the Dead.
Dead are created when a living human or Supernatural is infected with through bites or deep scratches that break the skin.  While the exact nature and makeup of the disease is unknown to date, it appears that enough healing power applied can remove it.  But the amount of healing necessary to save someone from even a single bite is extraordinary, and even with a Healer present many die anyway.
More radical methods meant to save life and stave off death, such as severing the bitten limb or blood transfusion, may work on occasion.  But even then the technique normally only holds the disease back for a time, it does not eliminate it.  
Once a human or Supernatural is bitten they become infected and within a few hours will begin to exhibit symptoms.  Headache, fever, vomiting, loss of energy will soon increase to loss of motor function in the body.  In the last stages of death the person's internal organs will simply fail, one by one, due to the disease rampaging through their tissue.  Eventually, either the heart stops or the lungs cease functioning, causing death.
The only known Supernaturals immune to the Dead are other undead and Destroyers.  However, the Dead's Dead Zone (see below) seems to act as some kind of supernatural ward, damaging and driving off other types of undead.  
Supernaturals can be infected as well as ordinary humans, however, curiously, animals cannot.  The idea that a randomly generated virus in nature could produce such precise and powerfully unnatural results is held by no one - effectively all Adepts believe someone started this nightmare, but to date there is no damning evidence against any one person or group.
When a Supernatural is infected, be it humanoid or not, it too will exhibit symptoms within hours.  This only applies to Supernaturals who are organic and have organ systems that can be infected.  Elemental or mechanical Supernaturals are immune since they have no living tissue to be infected.  Most Supernaturals who are infected merely die, however a minority of them do reanimate as the Dead.  They have no special supernatural powers apart from their physiology, and they are not capable of much more than simply moving about and attacking living things.  
Once reanimated, a Dead One will move about, shambling more than walking, until someone catches their attention.  Dead are incapable of complex thought, however they seem to retain basic instincts, most prominently the need to feed, as well as infantile-level problem solving skills.  A Dead One will walk around an obstacle to get to a screaming target, but they can stand in front of an unlocked door for days and never think to turn the handle.  
Individually a Dead One is relatively harmless to most Adepts.  But in large groups or even hordes, they become dangerous.  The Dead, when they congregate in numbers, produce a dampening field, what most shell-shocked survivors have dubbed a Dead Zone, that counters supernatural powers.  Adepts who fly into battle hoping to pummel the Dead have repeatedly found themselves drained of power in the middle of the fight.
This Dead Zone cannot completely cancel out powers, only weaken them, and most powers an Adept has that affects only the Adept's person remain intact.  But attempts to use their power externally is like trying to push through a wall.  Normally, it takes anywhere from 10 to 15 Dead Ones to produce the Dead Zone in a small area.  
A Horde is produced when many, many Dead Ones begin to move together.  Dead Ones do not communicate directly with each other, however they do respond to one another.  If a Dead sees prey, it will growl or moan, which alerts other Dead Ones who will respond by congregating towards the initial 'alarm.'  Larger stimuli produce larger results and larger groups of responding Dead.
Another way for a Horde of the Dead to form is for one or more Dead Ones to begin moving in the same direction.  They may initially do this out of response to a stimuli, be it real or miss perceived, and along the way other Dead will begin to move along with them, slowly building up the group into a full blown Horde.  
The largest Hordes measure in the hundreds or even thousands.  Currently, there is a horde wandering the plains of Mongolia said to number over one million!  
The Dead are like an infection and the whole world has had every one of its system invaded.  Dead Ones have wandered into ocean surf and can be found floating out at sea, or at the bottom of the ocean where the trenches of the world have collected hundreds of Dead Ones who do not die from the water pressure but cannot leave either.  
The tropical zones are the worst: the deep rain forests and jungles are perfect ambush spots for Dead Ones to catch targets unawares.  Cities and area of dense urbanization are also listed as 'white zones' where the Dead number in the thousands.  Scavenging missions to cities are always fraught with danger because even a seemingly deserted street could in fact be crowded with the Dead behind alleyways, apartment doors or hidden within cars and buses.  
Of course, the best way for an Adept to tell if there are several Dead Ones around is to use a minor power.  Effectively it is 'testing the air' to see if there is a Dead Zone active, alerting them that there at least half a dozen Dead in the immediate area.
The Dead do not discriminate between Adepts and non-Adepts.  They attack anything that is living.  How exactly they are able to determine the living apart from their own remains an unknown, although it is a well reported fact that the Dead posses both decent eyesight as well as an increased sense of smell.  Dead Ones who have had their eyes blown out can still track prey by sniffing the air.
Killing the Dead means damaging the brain or total bodily destruction.  Dead can lose limbs, organs, even most of their bodies and remain 'alive.'  They will continue to snap their jaws even if they are reduced to only a head rolling across the ground.  Chemical or toxic weapons are largely powerless in stopping them, unless the chemical deals direct damage to the Dead One's body (ala acid, flaming gasoline, etc.).
All Dead are alike, there are no different "types" of the Dead, with one notable exception.  Some ordinary humans who get bitten don't turn.  They become Death Masters.  They carry the disease within them, and if they bit anyone, that person turns into one of the Dead.  What makes Death Masters so frightening is their ability to psychically influence the hordes of the Dead, directing them in combat and giving them focus.
The idea of a Dead Horde laying siege to a Safe Zone under the intelligent direction of a Death Master is one that keeps more than one militia leader up at night.  
THE TRUE THREAT OF THE DEAD
The greatest threat of the dead is their sheer numbers and relentlessness.  Hordes of the Dead can lay siege to whole cities for years on end without a break, they can pursue a fleeing target until their feet quite literally fall off and keep going.  Those who combat the Dead must be ready at any moment to break and run lest they be surrounded and attacked from all sides.
The Established Orders hold that, if the original outbreak of the plague had been contained to only a region or two, they could have contained it.  But the plague erupted in a burst of simultaneous outbreaks, quickly spreading too fast for anyone to keep up with it.  
In the new world order of the plague, civilization has collapsed.  The outbreak of the disease has wiped away the institutions of society.  There is no IAS, no Amorax, no Witan or Talione.  There are only surviving pockets of whole species, loosely organized and struggling daily to survive.
When the plague first broke, the Adepts soon enough realized the full horror of the situation.  Some of the more farseeing of the Orders, especially the Kings and Healers, urged the other Adepts to concentrate not on the offensive but to form area of safe quarantine and defend them.  
The Dead, even with their Hordes, could not wash over the full power of the senior members of the Orders of Adepts.  The most powerful of Adepts worked round the clock to erect defensive barriers  to halt the dead.  At first they were successful, the uninfected were able to retreat to these fortifications of humanity, areas to launch a counter-attack against the dead, places from which civilization could be rebuilt.
Unfortunately, the Adepts were in store for one more surprise...
THE UPRISING
When the dead rise from the grave, people tend to lose their disbelief in the supernatural.  For centuries the Adepts and other Supernaturals had maintained some form of the Discipline Arcani, the secret pact to keep the world of the supernatural hidden from the secular world.  But when the plague hit, and the Adepts and other Supernaturals quickly went to war in the streets, out in the open, against the first waves of the Dead, the proverbial scales fell from the eyes of humanity.
The response was both swift and violent.
People in panic tend to make snap decisions, a rule of psychology which works even on a larger scale.  When the hordes of hungry Dead were besieging humanity within their confines, and people realized human-looking Supernaturals were among them, the decision of the many was that any and all supernatural beings posed a threat.
Riots and witch hunts erupted within the quarantine zones as human lynch mobs stalked the corridors in search of 'supernaturals' to kill.  That many of these initial mobs ended up killing ordinary and innocent civilians was lost on them at the time.
Adepts attempted to reveal themselves now and assuage the fears of the pubic by revealing their true efforts.  Sometimes it worked, but more often it did not.  Adepts were attacked by Dead outside the Quarantine Zones and assailed by angry civilians upon their return.  
The Adepts realized that, for humanity to be safeguarded, they would once again have to go to ground and hide themselves.  But it would not be as it was before: now the civilian masses knew the Orders existed, now they knew there really was something out there to be searched for and found.
And burned at the stake for.
it was during this early period of the outbreak and resulting aftermath of the plague that the forms of the new world order took place.  The Safe Zones become codified and established as forces within humanity, Adept and non-Adept alike, attempted to reclaim the world from the hordes of Dead. 
CHURCH OF MALTHEISM
The Church of Maltheism took form during the initial discovery and persecution of Adepts and other Supernaturals following the establishment of the Safe Zones.  One of several, initial organizations to form on the part of the traumatized civilians, the Church of Maltheism was at first a tongue-in-cheek name for a group who believed God had abandoned the world, or worse, was outright evil Himself.  
In time the commonality of the church and its expanding influence bought it a certain level of official recognition.  People, angry and afraid, flocked to it for a sense of belonging and protection.  And for a place to vent their frustrations.  
The Church of Maltheism is not a true church, but it's styled after Christian Churches and so has a hierarchy of 'bishops' and priests.  Services are Protestant-minded in that they involve long speeches, but where before were sermons there are now only diatribes against the vast, uncaring universe and the God who is responsible for the cosmic mess.
The Church of Maltheism does not recognize the existence of beneficial or 'safe' Supernaturals.  The plague was caused by an outside, meddling supernatural force.  Vampyres are bloodsuckers, Werewolves are homicidal, and the Dead... their threat is all too obvious.  And even the Adepts are held in disregard as servants of the evil God responsible for humanity's plight!
Followers of Maltheism will actively seek out and confront Adepts, reporting them to authorities and working up mobs of people against them.  And because anyone can be a member or associate of the Church, anyone the Adept has dealings with inside a Safe Zone could be a potential spy.  And because the Church has found its way into all the Safe Zones, no where is safe for an Adept in the world of Plague.
Strangely, the biggest threat the Church of Maltheism poses to the Adepts is a numerical problem.  With fewer people seeking God, fewer people are being transformed into Adepts.  The reason the Adepts are on the defensive against the Dead is that they just can't get their numbers back to pre-plague levels.
THE SUPERNATURALS
Most of the Supernaturals were either reduced to pockets of surviving communities or wiped out completely during the initial stage of the outbreak.  The other types of Undead were eradicated in a slow but thorough wave of kinfolk genocide (strangely enough, one of the facts of the plague not regretted by Adepts).  
Many of the agents of the Darkness and most agents of the Light are now dead and gone.  The Adepts work largely with each other or alone in their struggle against the forces of death.  There are few allies to call upon in times of distress and even Adepts have been forced to make hard decisions regarding their own kind.  More than a few Adepts have been bitten and sucumbed to the virus...
THE ADEPTS
The Orders of Adepts now function as an underground resistance group within the Safe Zones.  The Safe Zones they themselves created were originally chosen for their low-population density pre-plague, but now they are the only human habitations left on planet earth.
Also, because suitable areas for the Safe Zones could only be found in remote regions, most of the Safe Zones are built in areas largely inaccessible to outsiders.  Mountain peaks, arctic zones, islands, and more are where the early defenders of mankind built their fortresses.  Efforts have been made as of late to create new Safe Zones, but with the supply shortages rampaging through most Safe Zones and the internal-struggle between Adept and non-Adept, these efforts are constantly being put on hold.
Operating within the Safe Zones has taught the Adepts to be sneakier than ever.  Christercany, a system of coded messages hidden in early Christian symbolism, are now known by most Adepts and used daily.  They allow Adepts to locate each other, setup meet points and run information.  
The Order of Kings has managed to infiltrate much of the leadership of the Safe Zones, but with so much anarchy and feudalism going on, their position doesn't allow them to wield the same kind of influence they did before.  With human society now reduced to over crowded shanties and military style bunkers, most Squads now operate within the same regions.  Regents have had to learn to share with other Squads if they want to function.
The Squad is largely responsible for so many Adepts surviving the outbreak.  When civilization was collapsing, the Adepts still had a viable system of organization, supply and chain of command.  The Squad system also kept the various Orders united through the mayhem of those first days of darkness.  
Along with the Adepts are the believers, the non-Adept humans who have genuine faith in God.  Well, officially they aren't Supernaturals but they are looked down upon by others for serving God.  In the eyes of the Church of Maltheism they are afforded second-class citizenship and a reward is offered for any one openly convert to Maltheism.  
Despite the trouble the Adepts are surprisingly determined in this age of unbelief.  The Creators and Immortals are busy rebuilding civilizations while the Destroyer, Champions, Crusaders and Firebringers rain destruction upon the heads of the Dead.  And the Hunters, Remnants, and Barbarians scour the landscape to scavenge the supplies mankind needs to weather this current storm.  
But there is one unsettling question which hangs in the minds of all Adepts.  Who created this curse of undeath, and where did it begin?
SURVIVORS OF MANKIND
The remnant of mankind now lives largely within designated Safe Zones scattered about the world.  Safe guarded, heavily urbanized cities in hidden-away places, the Safe Zones are the only remaining bastions of civilization left.  Elsewhere, total anarchy and barbarism reign.  
The Safe Zones have no standard government.  Some are run democratically, others have a coalition of leaders who are little more than dressed up tribal-chieftains.  Still some have developed outright monarchies.  Regional history and ethnicity determine much of how a specific Safe Zone has come to be organized.
Some things all Safe Zones do have in common is an internal-police form, which is usually swamped and heavily corrupt.  Emergency medical services are present but not what they were like pre-plague.  One of the highest selling products on the black market of any Safe Zone is basic medicines like Tylenol and antibacterials.  
Each Safe Zone has various designated markets where people go to buy or sell.  These spaces are normally taxed by whichever government is running the place.  Taxation is also pretty common, although a few of the smaller Safe Zones have developed a more Puritan-like commonwealth system.  
Each Safe Zone has a standing army composed of numerous militias.  Access to the Safe Zone is highly regulated and suspicious behavior simply will not be tolerated.  As for the justice system, much to the consternation of the Order of Judges the post-plague world is an age of tribal law, with sentences of justices both swift and harsh.  Rarely is much evidence required to convict, and sometimes the only form of justice left is public lynching.
The Church of Maltheism has become a strong internal force for organization.  While not an officially recognized federal body by most Safe Zone governments, the Church offers people a primitive court system to accuse people of crimes have a public hearing.  The Church frequently punishes those it deems guilty as well, something which most governments are simply too busy to bother investigating.  
Resources are often limited.  Gang life and violence is rampant, especially in areas of a Safe Zone that are ultra-urbanized, giving the gangs a rat warren in which to escape and hide.  Drug use is rampant and several, very powerful and well-funded drug cartels have popped up within the Safe Zones.  
Finally, the biggest threat to any Safe Zone is still the external Hordes of the Dead.  All it takes to lose an entire section or a whole Safe Zone is one careless mistake and waves of the Dead can quickly swarm through the city.  
Below is a list of organizations at work across the Safe Zones of the world...
-Safe Zone Government = Each Safe Zone comes to be organized and administrated by a form of government.  Some are democratic, others less so.  What all have in common is that they hold unto power only because they command the militias of each Safe Zone.
-Church of Maltheism = A pseudo-church founded on the principles of maltheism, the Church has spread among the Safe Zones, offering people a message of anger, hate and nihilism.  They also are the only ones providing internal forms of justice and daily community life.  The fact that they also push out any other group that threatens to take their place is a fact all too familiar to the Established Orders.
-The Cartels = Drug use is rampant and where there is demand, inevitably there is supply.  The Cartels have formed to fill that need and they have the criminal power and influence to defend themselves against any police actions.
-Adept Hunters = Concerned citizens or invested members of the Church of Maltheism have taken up Adept Hunting as their job.  They journey back and forth between Safe Zones attempting to locate and weed out members of the Orders of Adepts and hand them over to the public for a speedy execution.  Safe Zone governments don't recognize the intentional death of an Adept has a crime of murder.  Adepts aren't human anymore, after all...
-Saint Death = A sick cult of magick users who believe the "Great Plague" was a blessing sent by their goddess, Death Itself.  Saint Death worship death in the same manner and form as a Catholic saint, complete with prayers, novenas and devotions.  But they also incorporate plenty of pagan worship, such as magick rituals, animal sacrifices and more.  Like Adepts they are outlawed by the Church of Maltheism.  
Senior members of the cult claim to have become immune to attacks from the Dead, but Adepts who have encountered them say the senior members were Death Masters to begin with.  The fact that Saint Death is attempting to control or work with the Dead outside the walls of the Safe Zones makes them a priority issue for Adept and non-Adept alike.  
-The Initiative = Spearheaded by the Order of Healers, the Initiative seeks to uncover the biological truth behind the disease and how it got started.  They even hope to one day acquire a person who is now near-mythic status, the man or woman who was first to be infected: patient zero.
-Machine Legions = The Order of Creators has been working long and hard to develop one things, history's greatest zombie-killing-machine.
THE VEIL
The Veil has been over shrouded by the cloak of death.  Angels and other spectral phenomena are seen very rarely, and Adepts attempting to cross over beyond the Veil now find it very hard.  
It would appear that the combined presence of billions of the Dead has created a massive Dead Zone surrounding the entire planet.  
MAGICK
Magick users still exist among humanity, but like the Adepts they share in the wrath of the Church of Maltheism.  Magick is now more underground than ever, but a few "witches nests" can still be found here and there as people desperately try to find something, anything, that can alleviate their suffering in life.
Like Adepts, Magick users find that using their powers around the Dead meets with stiff resistance.  Even Necromancers have repeatedly failed to influence or control the waves of the Dead outside the walls
Category:Infinity
Category:Death