WELCOME TO THE DONNERSTADT PROJECT!
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The World of Aegris
Web serial and story by Liksaira Affinolla
The story takes place in a unforgiving, harsh world. After the old world order fell. Named Aegris. Stories, grim and happy from all over the world. With a focus on an important crawling city where a lot of these happen, called Donnerstadt.
With many creatures, monsters or former animals that got infected and mutated. And with humanoids whom have various animalistic features. Like ears, tails and other features.The globe is tormented by Disasters, local conflicts and occasional wars on all scales. Where settlements are fighting for their very existence against these devastating events, weather conditions, creatures and environment. They consist mainly of moving cities in varying sizes, especially in the great wastes. In places where disasters are more tame or may not happen at all, you can find capitals and other stationary cities. Old, big and small equally. The closer you are to the equator, the frequency of disasters and the appearance of anomalies increase.
The wastes are dwelled by outlaws, rogue armtagio, criminal organisations and many kind of monsters. But it is also a major place for mining. Given that they have the highest concentration of the crystalized distopium, used as fuel.
In order to avoid the destructive forces of disasters, humanity invented and built these moving megastructures that can traverse almost any kind of terrain and move to somewhere safe in the time of need. Themselves becoming natural disasters in a way of their own.These Disasters were brought upon themselves by the discovery of a highly energy efficient crystallized fuel, later labelled as Distopium. Which quickly spread across all major nations. Becoming overused and dependency on it only grew. While disregarding its not well understood side-effects at that time. Not just on the human body, but on their whole globe. Because distopium is a great energy carrier, but it can also absorb energy, forming new crystal structures and expanding evermore when the cluster's energy is not harvested. So due to their negligence and ignorance. Unused, abandoned clusters grew in size unbeknownst and shortly it was already too late.
It spread on the ground, in smaller form got into the air and even into the water, carrying it across the globe. Those that landed close to geothermal spots grow quickly. Tore apart their surrounding and even harder rock layers. In the air its forming many but small crystals. These are the cause of the crystal rains, tornados, storms. The smaller and finer they are the easier it can combust. If they get ignited, either by lightning, artificially or else, it will raining hell down on anything unfortunate. It dissolves in water and with it is able to get into even the tiniest places and deep underground. Which in turn causes cave-ins and sink holes in the wild and inside cities.In this state it can also enter the body and circulate in the bloodstream until it settles and starts absorbing the "energy" of it's host. This is what we call Distopium Infection. Very slowly forming crystals overtime that envelops the body inside and out. Finally turning the whole body into a big chunk of distopium. The speed of this process can be managed by spending the energy of the body in many ways. It allows the host increased strength and endurance, by reducing the body's limitation on the muscles. This in fact has the chance to cause harm to the body itself. On the other hand, the infection on rare occasions can grant outstanding abilities. Some say that it relinks the individual to a long forgotten magical like power. There is still no scientific evidence for this.
The most unique and astonishing mutation is the strange phenomenon that can occur inside a small percentage of the infected. They are what we now call the Armtagio. from the Lunius (Latin) 'armatus' and 'contagio' word. Meaning something like "Infected armour" or "Infection of armour". People with an absurd power, that the simple folk call witchcraft, sorcery or magic. But not exactly the way the old tales and legends tells it. Some of them do possess unique and strange skills of their own, but they all have one thing in common aside the great physical strength. The power to conjure cannons and other armaments of any size. Reminiscent of the ones used in the past and current time on combat vehicles of all kind. Even some that has never been seen yet and thought to be from the future. The kind that they resemble are seemingly assigned randomly. On their own, after turning out to be one, will start to die. The infection in most cases will rapidly start crystallizing the body. In the process the host is likely to lose its mind due to the pain. And usually sends them into a frenzy, which's power only heightened by increased level of Distopium. Their rampage can last days before succumbing to their fate. This is why scientist came up with a non-electrical device that could be planted into the body. With a short development cycle and countless fatalities, it proved good enough to suppress and keep control of their powers. It has no effect on the infection itself, it will still go on consuming the body by the usual speed, maybe faster than the regular infected. Mainly depending on how much of their power they use and frequency of it. The non infected population already feared, hated and ostracized the general infected due to their misconception of thinking that it can spread from person to person. And now a heavily armed kind emerged.
In some part of the world, this device is tuned to maximum, basically castrating the power of the individual. Reducing them to a somewhat regular infected, but a lot more unstable one.With these features, it's not surprising at all that the militaries around the world and other groups took an interest in them. They started gathering them either willingly or by force. Many remained in solitude or formed their own isolated groups to travel and survive. On some they conducted research, ethical and unethical. Some studies state that 89% of those who has developed or born with this 'mutation' are female.Not much later a cooperative effort was made by many major nations to create a place, a mega-platform where they can store and give special training to the Armtagio. And also study their properties. This was the birth of the Donnerstadt Project. A fully self-sustaining autonomous moving city that is made up of many districts. The city is governed by the Director Council of Order as a stratocracy. With their leader Major Director Haselott.
The city acts as a living, training and educational place for the Armtagio and other infected, either civil or military personnel and their family. And other residents whom was accepted citizenship into the city. Housing many facilities, amenities and academies for each major nation and other invited ones. These academies are cooperating with each other and also rivalising in order to boost development of their soldiers. Regularly holding "Battle Simulations" against each other in order to train the Armtagio and other to prepare them for the missions that they will carry out under the flag of Donnerstadt. The simulations takes place in a high tech arena that allows the simulation of many terrains and conditions. Reducing the damage taken by living entities inside. All powered by distopium. Developed by a somewhat shady organisation. Lunar Labs & Technologies. The very company that "discovered" distopium. The simulation area lets the Armtagio to not hold back with their power.
If we look aside all of the serious stuff that is going on in the city. We can see Armtagio and residents having decent life in the city, where they don't lack of many things and have time to form relations and friendships. An almost safe place.
Far from the hatred that they would receive from their former neighbours, friends, family and homeland.
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