A Broken World

An intoduction to "Crux Umbra", my new world!

Once upon a time, the world belonged to the mortals…

by Midjourney

Through fire and steel, humans bent the earth to their will. They tamed the wild, built cities that scraped the heavens, and transformed night into day with the flick of a switch. Progress surged forward like an unstoppable tide, erasing the limits of what was thought possible. From the Industrial Revolution to the Digital Age, mankind thrived under the illusion of mastery, convinced it had conquered the world.

But this was a façade; a fragile dream painted in the colors of ignorance.

For in the places their light could not reach, older powers lurked, patient and unrelenting. Vampires, hidden masters of the earth, ruled from the shadows, threading their influence through every nation, empire, and institution. They were the unseen hands that guided humanity’s fate, the silent architects of wars and revolutions, wealth and ruin. While humanity claimed the stage, they orchestrated the performance.

The greatest trick the vampires ever played was convincing the world they didn’t exist.

Bound by their law of secrecy, they allowed humanity to thrive, feeding its delusions of supremacy while they drank deeply from the fruits of its labor. For centuries, the predators thrived alongside their prey, invisible yet inescapable.

But illusions cannot last forever. Beneath the surface, ambition stirred, and the delicate balance began to fracture. The vampires' laws were not unbreakable. Rebellion festered within the immortal ranks, a hunger for power that could no longer be contained.

And when the shadows finally bled into the light, the illusion of dominion was shattered, leaving the world to burn.

"They are not creatures of the night; they are the night itself. To call them predators is an insult to their craft."

— Alexios, member of the "Coven of Last Light"

The Immortals have always been here, buried in the marrow of the world’s history. They are not a myth, not mere phantoms of superstition- they are reality, carved in shadow and blood. Where humanity sees its accomplishments as triumphs of will, the Immortals see their careful guidance. Every empire that rose and fell, every great discovery, every war, bore their fingerprints. Humanity marched forward to the rhythm they set, all while remaining oblivious to the strings wrapped tight around its neck.

At the heart of their dominion stand the Four Primordials- the first vampires, the architects of this eternal curse. They were once mages, pioneers of arcane knowledge, who sought to defy death itself. Driven by desperation, they performed a ritual of unmatched ambition, binding their life essence to their blood and rising from death as something neither living nor dead. Their ascension was not salvation; it was damnation.

But from their cursed veins sprang a new race, one built for dominion. The Immortals are creatures of hunger and power, not bound by mortal morality but guided by cold purpose. They are eternal, unyielding, and relentless.

Despite their unity in nature, the Primordials are far from allies. Christian, Olga, Keiji, and Stefan- the four who tore the veil between mortality and eternity aeons ago- rule vast dominions carved from the earth, each a reflection of their own twisted philosophies. Beneath them, their descendants spread like a plague, weaving their influence through every crevice of mortal society. But the Primordials’ shared hunger for power ensures that alliances are fleeting and betrayals inevitable. Even the smallest disagreement among them can set nations ablaze.

For millenia, their law held fast: secrecy above all. Humanity was never to know its place as prey. But in the eternal silence of their existence, the Immortals are still plagued by mortal flaws; pride, ambition, and hubris. It was only a matter of time before the unbreakable law began to crack.

"They were once the keepers of wisdom, the shepherds of unseen truths. Now, they are whispers; echoes of power that failed to save the world."

— Jacob Owens, member of the "Children of the Armageddon"

The Mages have always stood apart. Shrouded in secrecy, their craft was both a source of awe and terror. They were not warriors nor conquerors; they sought the threads that wove existence together, delving into the mysteries of life, death, and the spaces in between. To wield magic was not merely to command the elements or shape the world- it was to hold communion with the very forces that shaped creation.

Yet, for all their power, Mages knew fear. It was humanity’s fear of them that burned brightest, a fire that scorched through inquisitions, witch hunts, and purges. The scars of those dark ages ran deep, etched into their memories, their tales and their resolve. Humanity hunted what it did not understand, and the Mages, though mighty, were not invincible.

Thus, their golden rule was born: Do not interfere with humanity. It was not a gesture of mercy or humility; it was an act of survival. To be discovered was to invite destruction. They retreated to the hidden corners of the world: forests thick with ancient whispers, sanctuaries carved into the hearts of mountains, and places humanity dared not tread. There, they formed covens and circles, shielding their knowledge and power from prying eyes.

Their ancient feud with the Immortals simmered beneath the surface, a silent war of ideologies. The Mages loathed the vampires for their interference with humanity, for their manipulation could cause a new Inquisition. The vampires, in turn, saw the Mages as weak, bound by fear and mortality. Their mutual hatred though, was more than philosophical; it was personal. For the first vampires, the Primordials, were Mages themselves, born of a ritual that tore their coven apart and condemned their peers to death.

As the Immortals’ civil war began to tear at the edges of secrecy, the Mages were forced to confront their greatest dilemma. They had held themselves apart for centuries, but the scale of destruction threatened to unravel everything. Some argued for intervention, others for further isolation.

In the end, their indecision was their downfall.

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Thank you for reading! I didn’t post the whole article here, but feel free to follow the link above to read the rest!

This new world is based on the novel I’m currently working on. It is a post apocalyptic, dark fantasy world that deals with themes of suffering, struggle and the insatiable will of mortals to survive.

-Imagica