More background writing work I'm doing for a LARP game setting :)
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Before the rise of the Christian Church and the Venice Proclamation, the
Others lived a very different lifestyle. Any formal structure in an
area was the result of those living there, some areas had miniature
kingdoms of those touched while some lands had simple communities or
even solitary territories jealously guarded. Each was given the ability
to govern their lives as they saw fit, and for a time there was an
uneasy peace amongst the Others who dwelt alongside their human cousins.
Then came the Inquisition.
Called
the White Death by some Others, the reach of the Inquisition was
farther than any disease in terms of death to their kind. Those that
hunted them killed hundreds of thousands, whole families and lines of
power which had existed for a millennium were snuffed in the matter of a
few decades. Any Other who exposed themselves was found, tried and
murdered by gleeful townsfolk under the cold direction of the Church. In
danger of becoming extinct, the Others did the only thing left: ran.
Fleeing
towns and homestead which had been theirs by birthright for countless
years, they fled to the farthest reaches of the planet in a vain hope to
survive. To the tallest mountains, deepest oceans, densest wood or
darkest cave; it did not matter where as long as they could not be found
and killed. Those who stood out in any way, those who looked abnormal
or who's gift would not allow them to hide amongst humans were easily
followed and hunted. Those meager few that managed to survive the
purging of the abnormals fled to the wilds and untouched, living out the
rest of their lives in misery and solitude. Those who were able to
blend in were far luckier, able to hide among the human thong of poor
and destitute as well as in the far away and deep places.
It
seems the Others were doomed to fade away, die out and become just the
stuff of fairytale and legend, until the Venice Proclamation. No one
Guild today can say who made the call and who created the plan that
would save their species, each Guild claims it was their efforts which
lead to the creation of the Guilds and the Proclamation itself. What is
known is a call was sounded, a great counting of the rolls of the
survivors was to be had and any who would want to survive and receive
assistance should attend such a gathering. Others from around the globe
dared to dream and hope, coming out of their hiding holes to be
registered and counted. Some only sent messages and letters, but many
more arrived in person.
For the first time in their history, the
Others had organization. Over the period of 2 weeks, the First Council
took time to organize and categorize all the remaining abilities the
Others possessed. Those of similar styles and flavors would be formed
into a Guild, and each Guild was left to its own devices on how to
manage the safety and security of their members. Those who's powers
could not be classified were shown sympathy, many of these were the last
members of their kind who had survived the burnings, and offered places
within Guilds with whom they felt most comfortable.
The great
organization set, each Guild chose a member to represent their people
for the writing of the Venice Proclamation. Every voice was heard, every
possibility planned and each Guild signed for their people agreement to
follow the rules set forth. Each Guild agreed to a quarterly meeting, a
gathering of the selected members to review any issues that threaten
their people as a whole. Once the Venice Proclamation was issued, the
Others returned to the world. The Underground was formed, offering
security and safety below the earth while vast fortresses hidden in plan
sight of the humans were established as safe houses for those remaining
above ground.
Despite some minor hiccups of politics and
disagreements between the Guilds, the system has helped insure not only
the survival of each Guild but the survival of the Others as well. The
flexibility of the system has helped them to accommodate the future of
space travel, but with the new stresses on genetic research it remains
to be seen if the Guilds will survive in their current form for another
century.
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