No Light, No Light (Private)

[Sarah_K_O_M]

Private RP For Miranda_ and Sarah_K_O_M.

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2016 Humanity discovers the existence of supernatural creatures living amongst them.

2017 Supernatural creatures are granted Restricted Citizen status and become officially recognised in the eyes of the law.

2020 The Deus15 Incident occurred in an undisclosed location in South America, forming what what later is referred to as a Hellgate. The area is contained and neutralised, and all reports are buried.

2021 Hellgates appear in West Bengal, India; Louisiana, USA and Siberia, Russia. The areas are contained and neutralised, and all reports are buried. Project Safe Haven is approved by the UN.

2022 Hellgates appear in Nantes, France; Milan, Italy; Sydney, Australia and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The areas are contained and neutralised, but footage of the Sydney Hellgate is leaked to the press and internet. A worldwide panic ensues, with millions leaving their countries for supposedly safer nations. Project Safe Haven begins construction.

2029 Project Safe Haven is completed. 3.4 billion people come from all over the world take refuge in the megacity now known as Zion.

2031 As more Hellgates open up worldwide, Zion seals itself and is declared to be under martial law. The Watch system is established alongside the civic police.

2097 Earth has been completely overrun, the ground itself tainted by the uncontained Hellgates. Zion remains the only safe bastion.

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Blurb:
For centuries, it was predicted that the apocalypse would occur in 2020. Just as often as a seer came out with this prediction, it was ignored. People, as a general rule, did not want to believe in such things, any more than they wanted to believe that supernatural creatures such as vampires, shapeshifters and witches lived alongside them. So the predictions were filed away and not much notice was taken of them, especially when other less gifted seers predicted the end of the world coming at the sixth day of the sixth month 2006. The vast majority of the general population heaved a sigh of relief when that day passed and the world carried on turning. The main result of this occurrance was sadly, that they would take even less notice of the 2020 prediction. At least, til the day it came to pass.

Before that, though, came a revelation. In 2016, it was discovered that supernatural creatures had been living among humans for thousands of years. It was a shock to most humans, especially when they discovered such things as the fact that their partner or friend who they'd known for years was a werewolf or perhaps a spell caster. There was much controversial discussion about whether or not to grant the supernatural creatures equal status with humans but by 2017 it had all been sorted out. Once again, the general population relaxed. Most people had already forgotten about the prediction of the apocalypse for 2020, and therefore did not think of it at all.

It began at first with just a small incident in South America. The authorities flung a veil of secrecy over the whole event, bribing those who were at the scene of the incident to stay quiet and banning all media from the area. At the time, it was fairly easy to hide what had happened from the world, but this was entirely the wrong thing to do. For what had occurred was the opening of a Hellgate; a door to the demon world, and thru which demons could enter the world and change it from the world everyone knew to a nightmare land.

This would have been bad enough had it been the only Hellgate, but in the following years several more opened up world wide. The authorities struggled to keep each one a secret from the world at large, even tho it was largely a hopeless case. The land around each Hellgate was declared a zone of alienation, like what had happened in the past around nuclear accident areas like Chernobyl, and sealed off. However, it was bound to happen sooner or later; a man, dissatisfied with what was going on practically in his own backyard and with the pay out that had been given him to keep quiet was to leak news of a Hellgate located in Austrailia to the press.

It went viral in minutes, appearing on almost every website and video site, causing a mass panic. With the response of denials and silence from the authorities, the panic got worse and worse. Eventually the only solution as it seemed was to build a safe city where humans could live away from the demons who had infiltrated the world.

That was then. This is now.

Coming to the end of the century, the only place that people can live in safety from the demons is Zion, which was created by Project Safe Haven. The city is immense and is completely self supporting, with plenty of room for the millions who flocked there seeking sanctuary. It is dangerous to venture outside for any reason as the demons now rule the world, and the land is tainted; any normal human would not survive long, even considering the fact that if they went outside, they would be destroyed by the demons almost at once. Those inside the city are protected by the police and the new Watch System.

The demons of course form groups, but theirs are not named and are constantly shifting in size and in leadership. Demons wish to destroy humankind, but also to possess the supernatural creatures if they can. There is danger out there waiting... the only question is, where will it strike?

[Sarah_K_O_M]

Info

The Watches

The Watch system is based not only on power, but on probable threat. An individual werewolf or witch may be more powerful than a vampire, but they will still be in Greywatch because vampires are more threatening in general.

Not all supernaturals are in one of the Watches, but they are all monitored to some degree. There are also rogues, who go under the radar.

Daywatch - Class 1, Class 2
The administrative branch of the Watch, mainly comprised of Demon-Touched, particularly skilled humans or psychics. They are the support for the other Watches, on and off the field.
Uniform: White coat with 3 horizontal black, light or dark grey or silver stripes on the sleeves and matching epaulettes and ornamentation.

Greywatch - Class 3
The main defensive group, primarily composed of witches, sorcerers and theriantropes. In a crisis, it is Greywatch that secures the area and evacuates civilians.
Uniform: Light or dark grey coat with 3 horizontal black, white or silver stripes on the sleeves and matching epaulettes and ornamentation.

Nightwatch - Class 4
The primary offensive group, mainly made up of vampires, dhampirs or pact-bearers. Nightwatch is the group most often on the front lines, actively hunting down demons or rogue supernaturals.
Uniform: Black coat with 3 horizontal white, light or dark grey or gold stripes on the sleeves and matching epaulettes and ornamentation.

Species

Vampires - Class 4
Vampires are undead creatures that keep themselves alive by regularly ingesting or absorbing liveforce, usually in the form of blood. There is a less common breed of vampire which feeds off of emotions. This allows vampires to appear to be truly alive and human, to eat, to walk in daylight, and even to procreate. The typical vampire requires the ingestion of 2-3 pints of blood up to three days apart, although some feed daily for increased benefits.

Typical vampiric powers include limited regeneration, superhuman strength and weak psychic ability. Because of this, they are the most regulated of the supernatural races, with strict population limits and spontaneous searches on suspicious individuals.

Vampires do not have to sleep, although they have the ability to do so. Most prefer to meditate as they find sleep eerily reminiscent of their 'death'.

Therianthropes - Class 3
Theriantropes, a blanket term for weres of all kinds, are the most integrated of the more dangerous supernaturals, partially due to the reliability of their powers.
They are almost always in perfect control of their shifting capabilities, except for three days around the full moon, during which they involuntarily shift and experience a berserker rage. While this can be dangerous, the regularity has made them very easy to handle.
All theriantropes are weak to silver and fire.

Dhamphirs - Class 4
Half human, half vampiric individuals. The vampiric qualities tend to surface around in teenagers 14 to 16, though many dhamphir in fact never manifest the vampiric aspect throughout their entire lives. These are known as 'passive' dhamphir.

Like their parents, Dhamphir require blood to use their vampiric talents, although lack of it is not fatal. They receive far fewer benefits from doing so and do not always have psychic ability. Many dhamphir simply drink blood as a quick pick-me-up, regarding it as too bothersome to drink regularly.

All 'active' dhamphir are automatically enlisted in the Watch when they show signs of their heritage. They are given training for four years, alongside normal schooling, before serving in the Watch for anywhere from 6 years to a decade of compulsory service.

Dhamphir only need to sleep every 12-16 days.

Pact-Bearers - Class 4
People who have made or inherited a deal with demons, Fey or similar creatures. Most pacts made are hereditary, and are often passed down from parent to child, forcing the pact on an unwilling soul. It is not uncommon for Pact-makers descendants to view this a curse. Pacts with anything other than demons are incredibly rare.

Demon-Touched - Class 2
Roughly 1 out of every 100 people attacked by demons survives the encounter. Out of those people, roughly 70% will later relapse and be destroyed or mutated by the demonic taint, 29% will recover, and 1% will become what is known as a Demon-Touched - Someone who has absorbed and mastered the taint. The Demon-Touched are completely human, but to demons and supernaturals, they will register as demons, and they are also highly resistant to most forms of demonic and supernatural manipulation, which is why they are often used as spies and commanders.

They heal slightly above the normal human rate, in that a wound that may take 5 days for a normal human instead takes 3 or 4. Uniquely, a Demon-Touched can heal any wound completely, leaving no trace of it's existence.

Wildcards - Class 4/5
Wildcards are a mix of two or more supernatural races. They are often powerful, dangerous and very erratic in behaviour. If a Wildcard cannot be contained or enlisted into the Watch, they are executed before they become a problem.

The City
Zion is a circular city, divided into 7 wedge-shaped sectors, each as big as a city in their own right. The sectors are built so that if one is overrun, it can be permanently sealed off from the rest of the city within 2 hours. The entire city is covered by a semi-transparent biodome. The sectors are named after seven lost cities, but unofficially are given the names of the Seven Heavenly Virtues.

Washington - Patience
Moscow - Charity
Venice - Temperence
Rio - Chastity
Delhi - Diligence
Sydney - Kindness
London - Humility

[Miranda_]

Tybalt Redfern awoke in utter darkness, after what seemed like an endless time spent out cold. He shifted slightly, then finding that he was tied up; not cruelly, but securely, with a rope that try as he might, he could not break free from. This seemed to rule out Janeseh, who would never bother with restraints. Why would he, when he knew he could control Ty without the need for them?

The pattern after an attack by Janeseh always followed the same lines for Ty. He'd go off, into the rougher parts of the megacity, and try to rid himself of the hateful memories by any means possible. It was getting harder and harder for Ty to be able to deal with the abuse, and once he'd attempted to break free from it by telling Janeseh that he wasn't going to put up with it any more, and that Janeseh would have to find another victim. Janeseh had responded by saying that if that was going to be the case, then he'd have to seek out Ty's little brother, Macbeth.

Of course, Ty could not let that happen; he'd never be able to live with himself if he knew that he'd let that monster loose on his brother. So instead, he tried to live with the abuse. This was something new, tho. Ty struggled futilely in his bonds, but could not break loose. There was someone else who had captured him, and he didn't know who it was, or what their plans for him were.

~~~

Lupe walked down the street, all her senses on alert. These senses were more sensitive than those of a human, which was natural for a werewolf. Lupe lived in a part of Zion which had many were families living closely together; her own family, which consisted of her parents and older brother also lived there. Like her, Lupe's brother Dolph was part of Greywatch, which was concerned with the defence of the megacity. This suited both of them; neither of the siblings would have liked to be idle.

The werewolf checked her watch and quickened her pace. There had been a summons to Headquarters; something about a new demon group forming, and all the watches were asked to attend the meeting. Of course, it wouldn't be her or any of her group who went after the demons. That was reserved for the Nightwatch group. And there were a few members of that group who were skilled in dealing with such an issue.

One was Othello, who was a pact bearer. This was something which had been passed down from his father; his father Mordred had made a deal for power and immortality, and had been turned into a vampire like creature, as had his wife. There was also Gabrielle, who Lupe knew slightly. If she was to be honest, she'd prefer it if Gabrielle was sent on the mission. In any case, there was no use in worrying about it now she had reached the Headquarters. Lupe walked up the stairs and entered the building.

[Sarah_K_O_M]

The building was a converted amphitheatre, better to hold events such as this in. Sitting around a table at the central dias were the three main representatives for this sector of the city. Commandant Anastasia, a brown haired human with military looking badges cluttering the front of her dark grey coat on both sides. She was flanked by Constantine, a tan, tired looking vampire with dark hair and silvery eyes and Ursula, a tall, broad woman with brown eyes and blonde hair who towered over the other two. The three watched as the room began to fill up, and Constantine began to fiddle with the laptop in front of him, turning on the projector above their heads.

Gabrielle was already there, seated at the back, away from most of the others who had already arrived. Like the rest of the Nightwatch, she was wearing her official black coat, though she was one of the few whose coat was marked with the gold stripes that meant she could never leave the Nightwatch. She had three badges pinned to her chest, and had evidently just come off duty, judging by the gun and sword still by her side, and the faint sprinkle on blood on the left cuff.

She gave Lupe an informal salute as she walked in, and gestured for her to sit by her.

[Miranda_]

Lupe returned the salute, and sat down in the seat indicated. Lupe was of average height, with dirty blonde hair and blue eyes. Her wolf form was black with tan markings, as was the same for all her family. She was impatient to know just what was so special about this new demon group that had formed; after all, demon groups formed all the time.

[Sarah_K_O_M]

“A lot of fuss over a demon group, isn't it?” Gabrielle said by way of greeting, in a low, hoarse sounding voice. She shifted forward in her seat and raked a hand through to dark hair. “It's a bit much, to be honest.”

Anastasia stood up. She walked in front of the table, looked at the full amphitheatre and put her hands behind her back and drew herself up into a n official speaker stance.

“Alright, now that you're all here, we can begin. You may be wondering why there's so few of you here. We have called only the Watch members based in this area, as it seems to be an issue contained only to Washington sector, and we're hoping to solve this before it spreads to another sector.”

Constantine tapped a key on the laptop then stood up to join. The projector screen filled with statistics on one side, and a list of names on the others.

“As you may already have noticed, several members of Greywatch and Blackwatch have gone missing in the last few weeks. Most of them have been accounted for as being... casualties of war,” Constantine said with a grimace, “However, some have not been found, and of the ones that we have found....”

He looked back at Ursula, who was still sitting at the table. She leant over and tapped another key. The projector flicked to an image of a body, slumped against a wall. Most of the skin had been torn away in ragged ribbons, making it impossible to tell what age or even gender this person had been,though there were clear barbed wire markings on what was left. It was the classic signs of a 'barbed wire demon' exiting a body it had possessed. The person was still clad in partial Greywatch uniform.

Ursula stood up and squared her shoulders.

“They are trying to possess us. And they are succeeding.”

[Miranda_]

Lupe let out a gasp of horror. "Could it be true?" she whispered to Gabrielle. "That they can possess us? If it is, then how long before we're all destroyed?"

Her hand flew to her face. Lupe had always taken it for granted that as a supernatural, she was free from possession. But if this really had happened, then it meant perhaps that even the safe city they had made was doomed.

[Sarah_K_O_M]

Gabrielle shared a worried look with Lupe.

“Holy fck.” she mouthed.

“We don't know how many of these demons there are,” Ursula continued, “Though what numbers we have point to a small group, no larger than ten. With luck, we should be able to contain this very quickly, but until then. But we ask that you be vigilant, on and off duty. Make sure you radio in as soon as you notice anything suspicious. We will keep you updated on the threat. Thank you for your time. Good night.”

She nodded to the assembly then she and the other two began to pack up. Gabrielle turned to Lupe.

“Well, this is fantastic.”

[Miranda_]

"Awful," Lupe replied. She looked very worried. "With this new development, how long before they find a way to penetrate the city? We need to get rid of this group by any means necessary, if it's at all possible. After all, there's all the thousands of civilians to consider."

[Sarah_K_O_M]

"It might just be a mistake, or a ruse. Get us paranoid and freaking out so we won't fight, or so we'll make mistakes when we do. Still..." she knotted her hands together, "Better safe than sorry, right?"

She sighed and stood up. "I've to go hand in my report to Constantine. He said he had something else for me to do. So, you take care, alright? Don't go down dark alleys alone."