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The crisis had ended, the world was safe, but all was not well. Through the sacrifices and efforts of a group of heroes, the threat of destruction had been pulled back like the veil of night to leave the survivors of Midgar that lived through that fateful night watched the sun rise on the dawn of a new era. The rest of the world could only marvel and wonder what force had saved them from almost certain annihilation, never knowing the magnitude of the battle, the agonies suffered by the strangers who fought against overwhelming odds and stood triumphant in the fading darkness�or that evil had survived the war they never knew was being waged for the very fate of their planet. True evil never rests and can never die. In the smoldering remains of Midgar, after its people had abandoned the ruined city to take their loved one and rebuild a new life elsewhere, shadows watched and waited from within the mind and heart of a single man. A prot�g�. Someone to don the mantel of his fallen leaders to once more tempt the fates and threaten all. Only this time, the threat would not come from the sword or titanic struggle of darkness against light, nor would it come from the grasping ambitions of powerful leaders and corrupted armies. This time the danger that awoke was born from the pursuit of knowledge, given birth by the unflagging determination of a man of science. Sierra Korsiva, once the right hand man of Hojo and deputy chief of ShinRa�s science and research department had always been passionate about unlocking the mysteries of Mako energy and its by product, materia, believing they held the secrets of humanity�s future. With Hojo dead and ShinRa�s hierarchy and Midgar-throne reduced to ashes and rubble, Sierra filled the immediate void of power and rallied the dazed remnants of the toppled political and military empire to his cause. With unfounded promises that a glorious rebirth for their way of life and future protection against such a cataclysmic happenstance lay in understanding and controlling mako and materia, Sierra and his fledgling band of supporters were like a beacon of light against the fear of another crisis. He found unwavering support for his new research efforts as he and his men combed through the ruins of Midgar, retrieving what they could of Hojo�s life work while searching for materia from ground zero of the crisis. It was thought that this materia, exposed as it was to the rampant flux of energies where the lifestream battled the crisis, would possess powers beyond their wildest expectations. Powers that would assist them in their noble task and for a time, the charismatic and fiercely intelligent leader of the new movement was all that the people desired. Stability in a time of uncertainty, leadership when all other leaders had fallen, a promise of peace and the power to protect themselves should any threats arise. But power corrupts. The materia harvested from the dead city of Midgar was indeed powerful and it seemed all Sierra had promised them would become reality. Then something went wrong. The junior scientists Sierra had recruited to study the orbs of power began developing strange symptoms of an unknown illness. It began slowly, but after the first rash of deaths, terror and the plague that caused it spread like wildfire through the newly built research facility and military base erected in the shadow of Midgar�s ruins. Of the few survivors of the initial outbreak, insanity took its grim toll but the Materia Plague eventually revealed a bud of hidden beauty through the twisted thorns of its agony, a glimpse of paradise offered only through a serpents� kiss. Some of the insane survivors were showing signs of Esper-gifts, awakened within their body by the devastating illness that tormented them. Sierra quickly isolated the true cause of the plague, the materia from Midgar had been tainted somehow by the powers it had been bathed in on the night of the crisis� destruction and it poisoned both the body, mind and indeed the very life essence of any who called forth its energy. Upon entering the blood, this taint brought forth the plague but also unlocked, in a rare few, the potential for incredible mental and physical changes. Telekinesis, telepathy, the summoning of elemental energy without the need of materia, these were all but a few of the dark gifts the plague bestowed upon those who survived its initial stages. And Sierra found a new path. And absolute power corrupts absolutely. Taking a dark twist in the original intent of his research, Sierra focused his knowledge and razor-sharp intellect on the plague and the tainted materia. Research subjects were �gathered� when accusations of traitors to the cause and harmony of Sierra�s faction flew rampant through the population. Commoners, soldiers, fellow scientists, no one was safe from being named a traitor and under the ever-constant fear; Sierra�s control was absolute. No one dared question what became of the accused but they were rarely seen again and if they were returned to their family with a pardon and a gift of materia for their hardship, everyone overlooked the changes in their behaviors. It was much safer to look the other way and far less frightening to accept than to doubt or think too long on what happened behind the steel walls of Sierra� compound. But some ignored the fear and accepted the danger, desperate to learn the truth. Sierra was purposefully cultivating new strains of the plague, infecting human test subjects as well as tainting previously clean materia to spread his disease beyond the immediate reach of his fledgling rule. In the surviving test subjects, he studied the gifts the plague had left them and shaped their will into his own, soon gaining a small legion of minions that in time would be able to overthrow even the largest and most seasoned of armies. It was the beginning of a military force of espers brought into being with no thought save the domination of the world. They would be released on the unsuspecting world, spreading chaos, overthrowing empires and sweeping the plague to every corner of the earth. The weak would perish and the survivors�the survivors, a new form of humanity, would turn to a new savior as Sierra would arise within the wake of darkness to restore the light, bring order and restore the peace and stability he had secretly destroyed while his minions, deprived of his medical assistance would simply perish from the face of the earth. The rise of a new god. By then Sierra intended to have completely cured the plague while finding a safe way to bestow esper talents upon himself so he could rule all, safe within the devotion of his subjects, their gratitude and blessings upholding his new empire. Their savior. Their Messiah. Their God. |