All those who know the truth now mourn
They who were of demon born.
The Day of Birth - The Death Forlorn,
Minds and souls forever torn,
Witness ye, and be dismayed,
Never wish for brighter days,
For with the sun so comes the moon,
And when alone your certain doom.
-Unknown Seattle Victim
Introduction
Imagine waking up one day knowing you would never live the life you wanted. Imagine everything you�ve ever hoped for had become an impossible dream � your identity, perceptions, beliefs, and ideals a lie.
We take our routines for granted. We preach love, loyalty, compassion, altruism, and justice, but in the end what we truly desire is stability � that the next day will come as expected. People would endure the reign of the cruelest tyrant to retain some modicum of order. What then if all certainty was stripped away, even such inevitables as death, truth, right and wrong? With no rules to limit and guide everything would depend upon our actions, and it is in that we find a core of terror. There would be no excuses for a wasted life, no diffusion of responsibility or scapegoats for mistakes. We would see ourselves for who we truly are � the good and the bad. Anything would be possible and nothing would be real. Few minds could withstand the stress inherent in such a revelation, and fewer still could then thrive in a universe devoid of choices other than their own. This is the reality thousands face every day. By some twist of fate some cannot cling to the same comforting assumptions that keep the rest of us from going mad. Something in their soul rebels against the grand illusion, wishing to be free to do as it does.
These are the Orphans.
Gender, race, religion, and social class do not separate them. If they share anything, it is a strange dissatisfaction with the world and a fascination with the macabre. Initially, these tendencies are slight, but soon blossom into full-fledged perversions � sexual fetishes, aggression, masochism, mild mood disorders, and so forth. Of course, such idiosyncrasies can be hidden, and even if others learn of them they seldom find them overly distressing; no one is perfect. Because of this the Orphans are nearly indistinguishable from other teenagers.
The breaking point comes sometime between the ages of 14 and 17. Every night they are assailed by horrific nightmares, often ones where otherworldly creatures hunt them down like rabbits. Over time the nightmares become steadily more violent and bizarre, sometimes causing real pain or irregular sleeping patterns. Inexplicable phenomenon begin occurring around the Orphans, such as electrical disturbances, poltergeists incidents, and hallucinations. All this culminates with the emergence of their nightmare form. One night, all the hate, lust, passion � all the darker emotions usually left to stew in the shadowy recesses of the mind � possess their bodies and hearts, transforming them. They become vile monsters with limitless influence over the psychic and physical realms.
The change is usually triggered by exposure to the Orphan�s greatest fear, though any overly stressful circumstance can be the catalyst. The form taken is also influenced by his or her greatest fear. One fearing fire, for instance, may become a demon-like creature surrounded by an aura of incandescent flame. While transformed, their minds are locked in a dreamlike state where repressed drives and desires propel their actions. They may lash out at those who offended them, seek out objects of desire, or simply satisfy their hunger.
The transformation is a jarring experience to say the least. Forcibly confronted by their inner demons, many Orphans loose their minds after the initial transformation. Others live a candle-life of slow, inexorable mental deterioration from repeated manifestations. Worse of all, some embrace their darker side, becoming twisted fiends beyond imagining. This is a grim fate indeed, and because of this the Orphans � or at least the ones who haven�t gone mad � are a very grim, pessimistic people. The extreme cases are selfish, maudlin, almost solipsistic dregs that are unable to see past their affliction and what they have lost. There are a determined few, however, who have not sunk into depression or madness and seek understanding of their condition. It is in these individuals there may be hope, salvation, or even ascendance.
Who They Are
No one knows who first referred to the victims of the Seattle incident as �Orphans,� but the term has stuck, and for good reason. The Orphans represent an entire generation victimized by an inexplicable force and then callously tossed aside. Thousands of innocent children left Seattle changed for life, frightened, unable to understand � let alone control � the madness growing within them. They stand on the brink of the unknown with no one to hold their hand or point the way.
All true Orphans were born between 1985 and 1988 for the simple reason that only those under the age of three were affected by the attack of 1989. Although the majority of the children were Seattle residents, a good number of visitors and tourists were affected as well. This, coupled with the large number of families that fled Seattle following the incident, resulted in Orphans being scattered across the U.S. and beyond. Most large metropolitan areas boast at least one Orphan among their population � some many more. Prior the formation of the Orphans of Seattle, the largest concentrations of Orphans could be found in New York, Massachusetts, California, Washington, and Iowa.
Today, Orphans are much less widespread. They have congregated in several major U.S. cities, including Seattle, New York, Boston, and Atlanta. This is no accident. They have been instinctively drawn together, though how or why is not precisely understood. The mass migration can in part be attributed to the efforts of Orphan faction recruiters, but for every Orphan brought to the city by a recruiter another comes on his own.
About the same time their shadows emerge Orphans gain the extraordinary ability to sense one another�s presence. The sensation is said to be sort of d�j� vu � an inexplicable feeling of familiarity with a person. There is also a degree of empathy involved. Orphans occasionally experience sudden waves of emotions that are not their own � a sure sign that there are other Orphans nearby. As Orphans mature their sixth sense grows more powerful and acute. Eventually, it evolves to the point where it can be used to project feelings and ideas into the minds of other Orphans, allowing them to communicate telepathically.