Deadway

**October 9th, the Hallowed End**

During the events of Dr. Destroyers' take over of the city, the once verdant and beautiful Greenway Financial District was utterly destroyed. It was not, however, destroyed by the horrific attacks of the Black Zodiac but by the unfathomable hubris of the man known as The Master. Every sign and portent read that destruction was coming, and from the ashes would rise a new Emperor of the Earth, and in his delusion the Master of the Circle Trinity believed fully that these signs pointed to *his* destiny. Never realizing the folly of his vision. That is how it came to pass on October the 9th, 2020, at nearly the exact hour of Dr. Destroyers' return to the world, that the Circle Trinity and the Greenway both met their end, and became the Deadway.

Deep beneath the Millennium Lake, in the secret lair of the Circle Trinity, The Master tempted his fate by attempting to open a vast but unstable well of power, believing he had the knowledge; spells; and willpower to over come what was beyond. The Gate of Tartarus proved to be too much for him, or more precisely, the things that laid behind it. The hero Foxfire went down with the M2XLS5000 combat unit fitted for war to try and spot them, aided by the Lich King Relathor who knew the truth of what was held back by the Tartaran Gates. The battle was immense, and grew worse when Destroyer attacked the city, the sudden surge through the ley lines of power caused by his ion cannon ripped the spells of the Circle Trinity apart and the gate was flung wide open. An outpouring of magical energy flooded the Greenway, and residents watched in horror as all the greenery and life of the parkways withered... and then the people began to wither. The forces of the Broker took immediate action to evacuate, abandoning their own stockpiles of equipment to get civilians free. Though where to go became a question as the Black Zodiac was attacking, and the Broker's forces were drawn into the fray. Many lives were lost, and many more turned into the undead from the poisoning of the ley lines.

In the end, Foxfire and Relathor were able to slam the Gate of Tartarus shut, but at great cost. The Master and the bulk of the Circle Trinity were drawn into that other world, and many creatures of that world spilled out. Relathor himself used the bound powers of his own phylactery in order to seal shut the gateway, and it in return consumed him, leaving the Lich nothing more than ash on the floor. Foxfire survived, but was forced back into the spirit realm, requiring him to make a long journey back from his home shrines of Japan, all while the new Emperor was taking his place of power. The fate of the M2XLS5000 unit is unknown, and likely left at the bottom of the Circle Trinity Ziggurat during the upheaval.

The entirety of the Greenway was upturned that day, leaving it in ruins. The district was hit as if by a category 7.5 earthquake, tearing it apart. The great shining skyscrapers of the financial district were torn down by the shifts of the world, and the sprawling liens of highways were cracked and crumbled, raining concrete down into piles of rubble. Even Millennium Lake was drained by massive fissures, and the once hidden, gothic ziggurat of the Circle Trinity was thrusted skywards, as the oldest homes of the wealthy were brought to ruin. With the necrotic poisoning of the Ley Lines from Tartarus the dead rose to walk again. The ruined buildings are haunted by zombies, skeletons, ghouls and ghasts and ghosts of all manner. Other, stranger creatures are said to lurk in the now twisted forests of the parks, but by some dark miracle most of these beings are kept drawn towards the ziggurat, and away from the borders.

**Aftermath**

In the wake of the destruction of the Greenway, and the naming of the Deadway, all lines of communication from the district have gone silent, and no power runs in. Despite this, the broken street lights occasionally flicker with a strange incandescence, and people report seeing lights in the ruined buildings. What remains and can be spared of the Brokers forces wage a small campaign of extermination against the undead creatures that roam near the edges of the districts, and work to push further in to reclaim equipment and land. However, without magical experts to unpollute the ley lines, their gains are miniscule and often retaken. Despite the dangers, the area has also become home to refugees with nowhere else to go and nothing more to lose, taking shelter under the Brokers forces to eek out a living, as it seems the Black Zodiac shuns the whole area.

**The Broker:** It seems like a miracle that the Broker should have survived what happened to the Greenway, but the man has always been mysterious, some who have dealt with him even claim the Broker is not a man at all, but a woman. And those who dealt with him the closest say there is something different about him these days. Whatever the truth may be, the Broker is alive, if diminished. His forces took a heavy toll, and their primary supply bases and headquarters were all located in the Greenway, now destroyed or trapped. The Grey Market website hasn't been updated since the event, and seems to be defunked. All in all, other than their operations in the Deadway, the Broker and his forces, and his assets, all seem to have gone into hiding.

**A New Hero:** Not everything appears to be tragedy. The surge of magical power through the ley lines has lead to the arrival of a strange, new hero. Khaizon Lacunar, Hierophant of Anubis. An ancient warrior priest who was sealed away in ancient Egypt, and brought to the city in his sarcophagus as a museum piece has risen from the dead. What this will mean for the Deadway and the city as a whole is yet unknown, and his ultimate goals are unclear, primarily because he doesn't know either. Waking up in a world of the ravenous undead, and a shattered city was not his expectation. Can he even find acceptance among the other heroes that are left? Where will he fit in. For now he can trust only in the power of his faith, and the strength of his enchanted kopesh.