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The History of the Fifth World
HISTORY LESSONS
SOME NOTES ON THE WORLD OF WAKING THE DEAD 2.0, AMONG OTHER THINGS
This is a timeline that covers the years between the end of Waking the Dead 1.0 and Waking the Dead 2.0, and a few relevant events from the first campaign. Expect additions in the future.
THE YEARS 1999 TO 2012: THE DECADE (AND THEN SOME) OF GIFTS
Psychics and other sensitives have, since 1999, constantly told anyone who would listen that “awakenings” were on the rise – that is, more and more mortals were realizing their real potential as supernatural beings, or being turned over, occasionally against their will, to the World of Darkness. Let it be known that Hunters – mortals who, after getting a taste of what lay beyond the Veil, decided to fight – have always attempted, as best as they can, to prevent the rest of the world from knowing the truth. Furthermore, many supernatural communities were fully aware of the dangers that would come from a full exposure of their activities, and have attempted to police themselves. What set the period of 1999 to 2012 apart was the fact that there were far too many awakenings and turnings for the respective efforts of the Keepers of the Vigil and supernatural communities to hide.
By 2012, members of some of the less radical conspiracies – namely the Methuselah, Zangyaku and Network Zero – began to debate among themselves. Many began to wonder if the sharp increase in awakenings and their subsequent containment problem was some sort of sign; perhaps it was time to be rid of the Veil, and lead the world into a new chapter of its history. These people were, however, a noisy minority, and the leaders of these conspiracies remained silent on the matter.
By 2012, members of some of the less radical conspiracies – namely the Methuselah, Zangyaku and Network Zero – began to debate among themselves. Many began to wonder if the sharp increase in awakenings and their subsequent containment problem was some sort of sign; perhaps it was time to be rid of the Veil, and lead the world into a new chapter of its history. These people were, however, a noisy minority, and the leaders of these conspiracies remained silent on the matter.
AUGUST 2012 • AUGUST 17, 2012: COMMITTEE CONVERGENCE NO. 5,236 • AUGUST 18, 2012: THE TREE AND THE DRAGON • AUGUST 19, 2012: THE RISE OF NETSACH • AUGUST 24, 2012: DEATH’S AWAKENING • AUGUST 25, 2012: NETSACH-ZANGYAKU JOINT OPERATION 001, HOKKAIDO OCTOBER 2012-JANUARY 2013 • OCTOBER 1 TO NOVEMBER 30, 2012: THE ILUMINATI & THE LUMINOUS APOCRYPHA • NOVEMBER 30, 2012: THE FIRST SUMMIT AT FALNER ESTATE • DECEMBER 2-3, 2012: OPERATION NYX • DECEMBER 5, 2012: THE END OF THE AGE OF THE DRAGON • DECEMBER 7, 2012: THE SECOND SUMMIT AT FALNER ESTATE • DECEMBER 21, 2012: THE DEATH NOT OF THE WORLD, BUT OF IGNORANCE • DECEMBER 22 TO DECEMBER 31, 2012: THE BREAKING OF THE VEIL • JANUARY 1 TO JANUARY 7, 2013: PAX DEORUM MEETING 001, THE PHILIPPINE SUMMIT |
THE YEARS 2013 TO 2022: THE FIRST REFORMS
The next decade was perhaps one of the busiest periods in Earth’s history. It is best characterized by four movements initiated by Pax Deorum: the One Earth Policy, the Tabula Rasa Reforms, the Pigafetta Expeditions, and the Gemeinschaftsgefuhl Program. The gist of all four has been listed below, for reference.
THE FIRST REFORMS • THE ONE EARTH POLICY • THE TABULA RASA REFORMS • THE PIGAFETTA EXPEDITIONS • THE GEMEINSCHAFTSGEFUHL PROGRAM • THE SHIELD INITIATIVE • THE NEW DAWN OF THE METHUSELAH |
DECEMBER 22, 2022: PAX DEORUM FIFTH CHAPTER SUMMIT OF 2022
Between the years 2020 and 2022, Pax Deorum saw the largest breakdowns in command and in policy. World support of their actions had dwindled to an all-time low, and violence from all camps – supernatural against supernatural, human against human, human against supernatural – was reaching its peak. As such, an emergency meeting between the members of Pax Deorum was called at Blaece, the first Fifth Chapter Summit in his history: the congregation was only scheduled to meet four times every twelve months, to match the respective four quarters of a year.
The meeting melted down with alarming speed, in spite of Netsach and Zangyaku’s efforts to control the situation. The leaders of both conspiracies together with their allies then looked on, in horror, as the United Nations voted in favor of removing supernatural and conspiracy representatives from the congregation. Then, after the “restoration” of the United Nations “in light of greater human interests”, UN leaders were then forced to declare the allegiance of their countries: they needed to specify whether they were anti-supernatural, pro-supernatural, or neutral. An astounding majority declared, that day, that they were anti-supernatural. This naturally angered the representatives of the supernatural political groups that were still in the room, and caused a mass walkout. Once they were gone, the United Nations requested that the leaders of the conspiracies leave, so that they might be left to discuss “human matters” properly without any “interference”.
THE DARKEST VIGIL (2022-2060)
The Darkest Vigil, as it is now called in Waking the Dead’s history books, was not one single event, but several that espoused many other conflicts, which, in turn, caused several more, in a completely destructive domino effect. As it is impossible to list down everything that occurred within this fifty year period, a chronology of the more “significant” events has been outlined below.
THE ONSET OF THE WAR • DECEMBER 24-30, 2022: THE BLACK CHRISTMAS • THE YEARS 2022 TO 2042: THE PHOENIX WAR • JANUARY 5, 2023: THE LOCKDOWN OF THE NORTH AMERICAN BORDER • JANUARY 7-14, 2023: YGGDRASIL’S ROOTS • JUNE 27, 2023: THE ASSASSINATION OF THE DALAI LAMA • JUNE 28 TO JULY 3, 2023: THE CHINA-TIBET WAR • FEBRUARY 8, 2024: TIANANMEN SQUARE II THE BIG DARKNESS • FEBRUARY 9 TO 28, 2024: THE SECOND SINO-JAPANESE WAR • MARCH 15, 2027: THE IDES OF MARCH • THE YEARS 2028 TO 2030: THE WAR BETWEEN CHINA AND TAIWAN • THE YEARS 2032 TO 2035: THE SECOND INDO-PAKISTAN WAR • THE YEARS 2035 TO 2060: THE HOURS OF GRENDAL • SEPTEMBER 13, 2042: THE RISE OF THE NEW AEGIS KAI DORU • AUGUST 15, 2051 TO AUGUST 15, 2053: THE SECOND KOREAN WAR THE END OF THE WAR • OCTOBER 17, 2059: PAX DEORUM FOURTH QUARTER SUMMIT OF 2059 • OCTOBER 31, 2059 TO FEBRUARY 12, 2060: OPERATION NAUTICAL DAWN • FEBRUARY 14, 2060: THE ARMISTICE AT BLAECE • FEBRUARY 15, 2060 |
2060-2063: THREE YEARS LATER…
New world orders were established the moment the dust settled, all in the hopes of getting everyone back on their feet. The Methuselah effectively became the “United Nations” of the supernatural community, and positioned itself in solidarity with the United Nations of the mundane community. Everyone, mundane and supernatural alike, had learned some hard lessons from the Darkest Vigil. No single group could say that they were blameless, that they had not suffered their own losses, their own tragedies…
…Nevertheless, the ghosts of war don’t rest easily, and hard decisions made in order to solve an immediate problem don’t always hold well, nor do they always turn out to be the right ones in the end. Tensions still run high, both between individuals and between countries. Many mundanes still view supernaturals with fear and suspicion; some of them use this to fuel their actions, small or otherwise, against the supernatural community as a whole. Many supernaturals, on the other hand, feel that “those fucking Deadwalkers” don’t deserve to live after everything that they’ve done – some even believe themselves to be better than the mundanes, because of the abilities they have at their disposal.
Just about everyone was tired of war by this point, and scared of what might happen if something like the Darkest Vigil were to occur again. But that didn’t stopping certain interest groups from trying to rile things up again, for better or for worse.
MARCH 2063-JUNE 2064: THE SECOND RISE OF GRENDAL
This is a timeline made for the purposes of the Waking the Dead universe established in Welcome to the New Age, the online version of the Waking the Dead campaign.
PUT ON YOUR WAR PAINT • MARCH 13, 2063: GRADUATION DAY, BALAMB BATCH 2063 • MARCH 18-19, 2063: AN INTERESTING FLIGHT TO FALNER • MARCH 22, 2063: THE BEGINNINGS OF A BLADE • MARCH 30, 2063: THE FOURTH? • APRIL 1, 2063: NSC-FAL-206304-001 ENGAGEMENT 001 – “HAWKE’S NEST” • APRIL 2, 2063: NSC-FAL-206304-001 ENGAGEMENT 002 – “BLACKOUT” • APRIL 3, 2063: THE DAYWALKER’S RETURN • APRIL 4-5, 2063: WAR HOUNDS ENGAGEMENT 003 – “THE GREEN” • APRIL 6, 2063: FROSTRIVER VISITS THE FALNER ESTATE • APRIL 7, 2063: INQUISITOR LINCOLN HAWKE RETURNS • APRIL 8, 2063: ENGAGEMENT PDVGL-20630408-001: “OPERATION BIG TRACKS” • APRIL 12, 2063: SETSUNA SHINTA’S SECOND RETURN • APRIL 19, 2063: THE VIGIL GOES TO WAR AGAINST TASKFORCE VALKYRIE • MAY 4, 2063: THE LIVING LAND IS CHALLENGED • MAY 13, 2063: THE ASSASSIN RETURNS TO THE SEARING WIND • MAY 31, 2063 TO JUNE 1, 2063: BROTHER DEATH’S FIRST “SHIFT” • JUNE 4, 2063: JESSIAH VICE’S SURVEY BRING HOME THE BOYS, PART 1 • JUNE 12, 2063: THE UNVEILING OF ARCIS • JUNE 17, 2063: THE WINGS OF THERION RETURN TO FALNER • JUNE 25, 2063: PAX DEORUM SUMMIT 2063-001 & OPERATION HECATON • JUNE 27, 2063: KARLO ANTONIO ZOBEL DE AYALA’S INITIATION • JUNE 29, 2063: ENEMIES WITHIN • JULY 4 TO JULY 9, 2063: OPERATION HECATON PHASE 001 • JULY 4 TO JULY 12 2063: ENGAGEMENT PDVGL-20630704-001, “OPERATION GOD SAVE THE KING” • JULY 16, 2063: JESSIAH VICE’S DEBRIEFING ON THE OTHER WORLD • JULY 22, 2063: THE ANGEL LANDS BRING HOME THE BOYS, PART 2 • JULY 27, 2063: OPERATION HECATON PHASE 002, “SHUTDOWN” • AUGUST 1 TO AUGUST 5 2063: OPERATION HECATON PHASE 003, “BRIDGES” • AUGUST 9, 2063: KARMIC RETRIBUTION STARTS SLOW • AUGUST 12, 2063: THE INITIAL APPEARANCE OF THE JUSTICE LEAGUE • AUGUST 19, 2063: THE FIRST JLA-MALICE KINGS SUMMIT & WAR HOUNDS ENGAGEMENT 004, “RED MARK” • AUGUST 20, 2063: DEATH’S SECOND “SHIFT” • AUGUST 21, 2063 TO AUGUST 22, 2063: WAR HOUNDS ENGAGEMENT 005, “STILL WATER” • AUGUST 22, 2063 TO AUGUST 24, 2063: ANGELS UP ON HIGH • AUGUST 25, 2063: BROTHER DEATH’S HOUR • AUGUST 27, 2063: AMADEUS’ REAWAKENING THE DARK IS COMING • AUGUST 28, 2063: THE VIGIL LIGHTS ANOTHER CANDLE • AUGUST 28, 2063: THE RITE OF THE WOLF • AUGUST 28, 2063 TO SEPTEMBER 2, 2063: OPERATION NYX II • SEPTEMBER 3, 2063: OPERATION HECATON FINAL PHASE “MARCO POLO” • SEPTEMBER 10, 2063: A NOT-SO-NEW TREND IN AWAKENINGS • SEPTEMBER 14, 2063: PDZAN2063-1409001: OPERATION STEELSINGER • SEPTEMBER 19, 2063 TO OCTOBER 2, 2063: PDVGL2063-1909001: THE SOUTH AMERICA INITIATIVE • SEPTEMBER 23, 2063: THE FIFTH WORLD ESTABLISHES OFFICIAL TIES WITH TERRA • OCTOBER 10, 2063 TO OCTOBER 23, 2063: WAR HOUNDS ENGAGEMENT 006, “ELA” • OCTOBER 24, 2063 TO OCTOBER 30, 2063: WAR HOUNDS ENGAGEMENT 007, “THIRTEEN TALENTS” • NOVEMBER 2, 2063 TO DECEMBER 4, 2063: PDZAN2063-0211001, THE ARCADIA INITIATIVE (ACTUAL TIME PERIOD: APPROXIMATELY ONE ARCADIAN YEAR) • DECEMBER 7, 2063 TO DECEMBER 23, 2063: PDVGL2063-0712005, “CELESTIAL LADDER” THE WITCHING HOURS • DECEMBER 2063 TO FEBRUARY 2064: ANOTHER APOCALYPSE? • FEBRUARY 14 TO FEBRUARY 16, 2064: THE ARMISTICE TRAGEDY • FEBRUARY 18, 2064: PAX DEORUM EMERGENCY SUMMIT 002 • FEBRUARY 19, 2064 TO MAY 13, 2064: PDVGL2064-0219001, “ZHONG YUAN JIE” • MAY 14, 2064 TO MAY 29, 2064: PDVGL2064-0514001, “IN UMBRA, IGITUR, PUGNABIMUS” • MAY 31, 2063 TO JUNE 6, 2064: PDVGL2064-0531001, “GEHENNA BOUND” • JUNE 12, 2064: THE OPENING OF ARCIS FORTRESS CITY |
THERE'S NO PATH TO FOLLOW
BATTLESCARRED CONQUISTADORS • JUNE 13, 2064 TO PRESENT: THE SECOND REFORMS • JUNE 15, 2064: THE BLADE KING RETURNS TO THE CYCLE • JULY 4, 2064: GETTYSBERG ACADEMY OPENS • OCTOBER 14, 2064: STORMWATCH EXPEDITION 001, “THE COLUMBUS EXPEDITION” • JANUARY 20, 2065: THE WORLD WELCOMES A NEW REAPER • FEBRUARY 20, 2066: BREAKING THE BACK OF THE TAINT • FEBRUARY 21, 2066 TO THE PRESENT |
no subject
On Christmas Eve, a radical anti-supernatural group that called themselves the Lipan Conjurers initiated a mass purging of supernatural “scum” on American soil. The Taliban began to do the same within the Middle East, as did more radical factions of Neo Nazism in Europe. Between the three groups, hundreds of innocent supernaturals were singled out, dragged from their homes, tortured, and killed – and recordings of all of these horrific acts were posted all over the internet. Other, smaller radical groups both within those respective regions and in other countries began to follow suit.
The chaos raged in several countries for a week, stopped only by the combined efforts of the world’s conspiracies. Many wonder how the Black Christmas managed to occur in the first place: even if the American government had declared that they were strictly anti-supernatural, the activities of the Lipan Conjurers caused massive property damage, and many human civilians ended up getting caught in the crossfire. Some suspect, however, that the real reason why they were able to run amok in the first place was because some elements within Taskforce Valkyrie and the Union – America’s homegrown conspiracies – were secretly supportive of the movement within the States. Furthermore, in the case of the Middle East, the Ascending Ones had practically funded the Taliban’s practices. Ashwood Abbey mirrored this with their support of the Neo Nazis within Europe.
This conflict, named for the sacred bird of the Order of the Phoenix, was the major cause of turmoil and strife within the Middle East and in Africa. It began in earnest right after the Black Christmas War, and basically involved Aegis Kai Doru and the Order of the Phoenix. Both sides were pushed into using World of Light groups that aligned with their respective interests. The participation of the United States of America only aggravated the war, as hostilities between the Taliban of Afghanistan and the American forces had flared up yet again.
Claire Anders, a high-ranking member of Aegis Kai Doru, attempted to end Aegis Kai Doru’s end of the conflict by finding the missing pieces of the common legacy that her conspiracy shared with the Ascending Ones. She placed Kaizen Tempesta and Akira Tendo in charge of the mission, together with their cells and a few of the allies she had among dissident factions within the Ascending Ones. It took the team twenty years to recover the relics, and complete the secret history of the two organizations.
Fearing another outbreak of violence, many supernaturals attempted to flee from the United States of America. Those with means had the easiest time removing themselves from the situation; the rest found themselves hiking down to Mexico in order to reach supernatural-friendly countries in South America, or heading up towards Canada, which was also supernatural-friendly. Canada’s whole-hearted acceptance of the refugees left a sour note among American officials, and tensions between the two countries began to run high.
The official lockdown of the border between Canada and the United States of America occurred after a meltdown in negotiations. Canadian citizens who worked within American borders were not-so-politely requested to leave by the American government.
As war was eminent between America and Canada, the Canadian government – acting on a suggestion from Netsach and the Methuselah, began to construct Yggdrasil’s Roots, an enchanted wall of stone and forest that would run the full length of the border. It was a project that was bolstered by the support of Netsach and the Methuselah, and by the united tribes of the Uratha and the Pure within Canadian borders together with the Canadian Courts of Seasons and the five Mage Orders, a cooperative effort that only served to strengthen the community as a whole. The Roots were designed to analyze any who attempted to pass through it, and immediately eject undesirable parties through non-lethal force.
Yggdrasil’s Roots continue to stand to this day, although its original height has been lowered in order to signify the restoration of the alliance between the two countries.
Since the Breaking of the Veil, the Chinese government had become increasingly unfriendly towards supernaturals by releasing laws and regulations that practically rendered them third class citizens within Chinese borders: mandatory military conscription, mandatory experimentation in the guise of “government medical missions”, apartheid, and the like. The government, however, faced a surprising amount of resistance from their own people. In fact, one figure that was deeply involved in the protests was the Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of Tibet.
In an attempt to break the spirit of the rebellion and scare its dissidents into submission, the Chinese government had their intelligence service assassinate the Dalai Lama during a large prayer rally in Shanghai. A series of assassinations and arrests of top “rebel leaders” quickly followed. In retaliation, the province of Tibet named itself the Free State of Tibet, and attempt to secede from China. China responded with military action.
Zangyaku, it should be noted, had always disagreed with the Chinese government’s policies. The conspiracy, however, found itself ignored and, in some cases, outright attacked by the very government that they sought to serve. When the fighting started in Tibet, many felt that this was the last straw.
Hikaru defied China’s order of non-interference by immediately having the Searing Wind jump to Tibet’s defense, preventing further bloodshed. China, in response, revoked Zangyaku’s license to hunt and police supernatural activity within their borders. The Japanese conspiracy was promptly replaced with a state-run conspiracy named Renzhe Jianhuren: “the Benevolent Guardians”. Zangyaku, out of disgust, dismantled their operations in China, and sent all of their agents to Tibet.
Interestingly enough, Chinese history books continue to refer to the China-Tibet War as the Tibetan Uprising, in the same fashion that government records continue to refer to the Free State of Tibet as the Chinese Province of Tibet.
On Chinese New Year, a large group of young activists gathered together at Tiananmen Square in Beijing in order to protest supernatural rights. In a fashion chillingly similar to the first activist dispersal that occurred in Tiananmen Square, the Chinese government mobilized the military and had its army suppress the activists with lethal force.
Angered by this move, Hikaru Shinta – with permission of the Japanese government – immediately took an elite force of oni-tsukai to China and intervened. The “intervention” involved saving the lives of the remaining activists, engaging the Chinese army, and destroying the Renzhe Jianhuren. While the move received a commendable amount of international support, it ended up fanning the hostilities between Japan and China.