Prologue

Famine, War, Death & Conquest.

“He called upon the hearts of men, but they had become stone;
so He turned His face, and the world forgot His warmth.”
— Elisar, The Book of the Severing 2 : 14

It was sometime in the middle of the twenty-first century when our collective action caught up to us. We had been warned. Jews, Christians, and Muslims alike. The Bible, the Tanakh, and the Qur'an all spoke of a Judgment Day, and it came. There was no salvation for the righteous, no Rapture, nor did a messiah come. No one escaped the horrors that unfolded.

While the prophecies of salvation went unfulfilled, others did not. The Four Horsemen of the Bible manifested as famine, war, death, and conquest, and the destruction they unleashed defied comprehension. 

It all began in the latter part of the twentieth century when subtle shifts started to occur in Western societies. New ideas emerged and gained momentum, leading to changes in values. What initially appeared to be righteous and corrective began to shape cultural norms at an increasingly rapid pace. Every change was celebrated as progress. At the same time, religion was scorned, and its teachings were viewed as outdated and irrelevant. Traditional values also lost their appeal, creating space for a society that embraced immorality, coarseness, and a culture of victimhood.

These new millennial norms spread across the world, colliding with entrenched traditions. Traditionalists pushed back, tensions rose, sparking unrest and sometimes civil war. The masses united by self-identity, not by nationality. Border disputes intensified, prompting governments to crack down on immigration, hoping to save the nation's sovereignty and their power. As a result, the framework for global trade and cooperation deteriorated. Cyberattacks surged. Governments turned on each other in covert operations and backroom deals, while proxy wars flared like brushfires across the globe. And in the midst of it all, a new religion took root, further fueling global unrest.

As mankind's destruction escalated, the natural world began to push back. For reasons unknown, the oceans lost their abundance, and the land turned barren. Forests and jungles withered beneath a sky with ever-increasingly hotter summers. Compounding the misery, a new plague spread rapidly, killing millions.

A few years later, the Great Famine descended upon humanity. It brought suffering to all, and even citizens of wealthy nations felt the pang of hunger. Hundreds of millions perished, and a battle over dwindling resources became the new focus of politicians.

In a desperate struggle for survival, the world's dominant superpowers waged a war that spiraled out of control. Skirmishes turned into battles, battles into wars, and then the unthinkable. The mighty used every weapon in their arsenals. Billions died in the initial attacks, then billions more died under an atmosphere choked with chemical and nuclear waste. The once beautiful blue sky was replaced by glowing colors and soot. Ash rained endlessly as fires spread across the earth.

Humanity stood at the edge of annihilation when he arrived. A savior offering order and prosperity to those who would be willing to follow. A world tired of war, hunger, and disease welcomed him. But the salvation came at a price. Easy for some, unbearable for most. For a thousand years, tyranny reigned under a lineage of merciless leaders, each worshiped as a living god. From father to son, the terrible reign has been sustained by a malevolent religion.

Though driven low into dust, the Faithful endured. Quietly they held to hope, sowing strength in silence. They built where eyes could not see, carried the Word from mouth to mouth, and lifted their hands in defiance. Their prayers became labor, their faith a weapon, as they waited for a dawn yet unseen—when at last they would rise.