[@Lady Sven][@ArenaSnow][@KRIEEEG][@Iktomi]

The following is a story within this story, designed to introduce our plot. Your character will actually be able to find this book in a playable location known as "The Hall of Knowledge". "The Hall of Knowledge" will also contain all the stories where we write about the past (via URL links to the original threads).

If you have any questions, comments, or ideas, please let me know. I'm excited to receive some feedback! Thank you and enjoy!

[b]The World of Ushingi
By: Anonymous
Date: 01-01-100 P.V. (Day-Month-Year ... Post Vakaton)
[/b]

Today is the one hundredth anniversary of the day that plunged our world into chaos. I believe that now is as fitting time as any to recount these horrors. As a keeper here at the “Hall of Knowledge”, I feel qualified to tell this dark tale, but I do not desire recognition. Regardless of who writes it, this story belongs to us all. Therefore, I have chosen to write as ‘Anonymous’.

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One hundred years ago, a mysterious virus began to take hold of our world. The name of this disease was affectionately named after its first known victim, President Vakaton. Today, all of Ushingi knows the horror of this virus, but our story begins before the virus. Our story is of how one very civilized planet began its descent into chaos. For this, we must travel back, far back.

Time before the Vakton Virus was not all roses petals and sunshine, but at least it was predictable. The land of Ushingi has always provided us with great challenges, through random destructive acts of nature or natural predators. The three nations of Technolgia, Utopia, and Legenda have been around for as far as we can factually date, but they haven't always been what they are today. 

Originally, there was not much difference between the three nations. They were simply three nameless points at which people huddled together to survive, strength in numbers if you will. For the most part, people kept to their own nation, as the roads separating them were fret with danger. But trade between the three nations was necessary. So the occasional caravan was sent, most of which ended quite untimely.

Over the years, two philosophies for survival began to emerge. One was the use of human creations that were designed to overcome the elements, technology. The other was harmonization and manipulation of the environment, magic. From these ideals emerged the three nations that we are familiar with today: “Technologia: The Nation of Technology and Power”, “Legenda: The Nation of Magic and Mystery”, and “Utopia: The Nation of Balance and Freedom”. 

The three nations enjoyed a long and prosperous time in which they easily overcame the dangers of this world. Trade between the nations became more frequent. Even smaller settlements outside the protection of the three nations began to emerge. It seemed as if our people had won. The struggle for survival had ended.

Then came the outbreak. The president of Utopia, President Vakaton, was the first person of note to fall ill. He was in his own back yard playing with his two small daughters. Suddenly, he stopped, his eyes still wide with joy. Once the girls realized that he wasn't joking, they ran inside to fetch their mother. He was immediately transported and lying in special care at the local hospital. The press swarmed the hospital for months. Eventually, a new president was appointed, and the story lost the public’s interest.

Shortly after the president’s story lost it's hype, more people started to fall victim to the same condition. One of the strangest things was a lack of a clear pattern. Not only were people in Utopia falling ill to this sickness, but citizens of Legenda and Technologia were as well. Men, women, children, animals, and even androids fell to this sickness. Neither science nor magic could find a cause; hope was quickly fading.
 
Behind closed doors, things continued getting stranger as doctors ran their tests on President Vakaton. At first the procedures were typical and noninvasive, but then they noticed something strange; Vakaton had inherited some sort of miraculous healing factor. This was discovered early when the doctors were extracting blood samples; the needle entry points would heal immediately after removal. Naturally, they kept these findings secret and continued to push the limits of this healing ability. Rumor has it, they went as far as to amputate entire limbs, simply to watch them grow back. This interesting finding did not lead to new discoveries, and eventually the doctors committed Mr. Vakaton to long term care. There he would lie in bed indefinitely. 

Then one day, President Vakaton awoke, unaware of all that had happened while he was unconscious. As if on cue, others began waking as well, but more still were falling ill every day. Also, not everyone was waking, and others were falling right back into the frozen state. 

Just when things seemed like they couldn’t get any worse, they did... as these things tend to do. A new global virus emerged, one that would turn people into wild animals, bent on killing anyone nearby. To make matters worse, the afflicted also held the same incredible healing factor as Vakaton did while unconscious, making them impossible to kill. Shortly after that, another strange variation of this zombie-like virus developed. Instead of becoming rabid killing monsters, these victims fell into a trance state where they would become enslaved to the first person to give them a command. Eventually, it was discovered that all three viruses were actually one and the same, that people’s bodies simply reacted differently. 

The world quickly fell into chaos. After a mere 10 years, the governing bodies of the three nations fell to pieces. New rules had to be made to reestablish order. Leaders became easily replaceable, in case they were to fall ill. Procedures for dealing with the Vakaton Virus had to be put into place. The end result is the world we live in today, a fragile world where civilians are imprisoned or put to death when recovering from the wrong type of Vakaton Virus. 
Hopefully, we can work together to one day find a better solu

[i][b]Edit 16-03-100:[/b] We of the ‘Triad Alliance Intelligence Agency’ were sent to the “Hall of Knowledge” when radio communications went silent seven days ago. After three days of searching we have found over thirty bodies, all murdered. Our first theory was that someone in the building fell ill with ‘Vakaton Type #2’, but there are some strange clues that point to something more. For one, someone completely destroyed all the hardware in this facility’s communication room. Secondly, the state of the dead bodies do not look typical of a ‘Vakaton Type #2’ killing. They are too clean. On a pedestal in the middle of the main hall, we found this unfinished book. The author was most likely killed before

[b]Edit 19-03-100:[/b] We have confirmed the identity of the killer. It is a woman identified as an attendant at “The Hall of Knowledge”, quite possibly the original author of this book. She does appear to be ill with a Vakaton Virus, but not any strand discovered to date. She seems to have retained enough intelligence to become a vicious yet tactical killer. Half of my team, have all been terminated. I and the remainder of my team have decided to leave this place while we can. We suggest that “The Hall of Knowledge” be put under quarantine indefinitely. We will be taking this book for documentation.[/i]