Adroxas

THE SHATTERLANDS The world was once far more advanced than anyone alive today understands. Long before the present age, civilization reached an era where science, machinery, and magic had become almost indistinguishable from one another. Cities were powered by arcane reactors, artificial intelligence served governments, magical creatures were engineered in laboratories, and weapons capable of reshaping landscapes were created behind sealed doors. Then came The Shattering. Whatever happened, the old world died. Cities burned. Machines turned against their creators. Entire regions became wastelands while others were swallowed by unnatural forests. Weapons and magical experiments were unleashed that humanity had never intended. Eventually, the governments destroyed one another. Centuries have passed since the Shattering. Nature has reclaimed much of the old world. Vast forests grow over ruined highways and ancient cities. Abandoned bunkers, laboratories, and underground facilities can still be found anywhere. A farmer might discover an ancient machine that produces clean water. A prospector might uncover a weapon capable of destroying a mountain. A child might wander into a forgotten laboratory and awaken something that has been sleeping for centuries. The world is a strange mixture of frontier civilization, forgotten technology, ancient magic, and remnants of a civilization far more advanced than the present age. Some settlements have steam-powered machinery, mechanical prosthetics, airships, electric weapons, and crude remnants of old-world technology. Others are dominated by powerful wizards, magical guilds, enchanted weapons, summoned creatures, and ancient rituals. Some places combine both. And some places possess technology and magic so advanced that ordinary people aren't even supposed to know they exist. Some people creatures are naturally magical. Some learn through old text or items. The strongest magical artifacts are usually treated as priceless treasures or state secrets. Old-world technology is scattered throughout the Shatterlands. Most of it no longer works. Some of it works intermittently. Some of it works perfectly. Nobody knows which is more dangerous. Ancient computers, machines, energy weapons, artificial intelligence, genetic laboratories, cybernetic implants, automated factories, power armor, experimental vehicles, and countless other technologies remain hidden in forgotten facilities. Most people don't possess the knowledge necessary to reproduce them. Consequently, technological artifacts are often treated like magical relics. A farmer might call a laser rifle a "sun gun." A blacksmith might spend twenty years trying to understand an ancient machine that produces electricity. A traveling merchant might become rich selling pieces of old-world technology to collectors. And governments desperately hunt for anything powerful enough to give them an advantage over their rivals. Three major powers dominate the known civilized world Aside from The public governments, Beneath the civilized world exists a network of secret agencies, surviving military organizations, research divisions, intelligence groups, and black laboratories descended from the governments of the old world. Some survived the Shattering. Others were rebuilt centuries later by people who discovered ancient facilities and learned how they worked. These organizations conduct experiments far beyond anything the public governments would admit to. They create weapons. They study monsters. They experiment with magic. They manipulate genetics. They recover ancient artificial intelligences. They search for immortality. And occasionally, they create something they cannot control. Most citizens don't know these organizations exist. The governments that do know about them publicly deny their existence. The secret organizations themselves frequently fight one another in hidden wars. One such conflict resulted in the destruction of the laboratory where Giblee was created. In THE WILDS Beyond the cities lies the real Shatterlands. Endless forests, deserts, mountains, swamps, radioactive ruins, magical wastelands, abandoned highways, and forgotten settlements stretch across the continent. Strange creatures inhabit these places. Some evolved naturally. Some were altered by magic. Some are remnants of old-world genetic experiments. Some are combinations of several species. Travelers tell stories of forests where the trees move when nobody is watching, lakes that remember the people who drown in them, abandoned cities where machines still patrol empty streets, and ruins where reality itself behaves oddly. There is no single civilization anymore. The Shatterlands are a patchwork of cultures. Some towns have elected sheriffs and dusty main streets. Some are ruled by wealthy families. Some answer to magical guilds. Some are company towns controlled by mining corporations. Some are religious settlements. Some are essentially lawless. Others are peaceful communities that deliberately avoid the great powers. Many people have learned an important lesson from history: The safest place to live is usually somewhere nobody powerful wants. The ambitious, wealthy, and power-hungry gravitate toward the great cities. Everyone else often prefers a quiet life somewhere beyond their reach. Despite their differences, the major powers share one belief: They all want to become the civilization that controls the future. Ancient facilities continue operating beneath the earth. Artificial intelligences still make decisions. Weapons systems remain active. Genetic laboratories continue growing things. Magical reactors still pulse beneath forgotten ruins. And somewhere in the darkness, organizations are still attempting to recreate the civilization that destroyed itself. beneath the soil, the old world is still alive.

Long ago, humanity reached an age where technology and magic became almost indistinguishable, creating powerful civilizations capable of reshaping the world. Rival governments competed through increasingly dangerous weapons, magical experimentation, and genetic engineering until their conflicts culminated in the Shattering—an apocalyptic event that destroyed the great civilizations and devastated the world. Centuries passed. Nature reclaimed the ruins, survivors rebuilt, and scattered communities slowly developed into towns, villages, and great cities. Ancient technology and magic were rediscovered and incorporated into the new world, though much of the old knowledge was lost. Adroxas, a feared oni assassin, was lured into a trap by Doctor Malrec Voss, a brilliant and ruthless scientist seeking to create the ultimate living weapon. Voss arranged a false assassination contract that led Adroxas into an industrial district, where a specialized team overwhelmed him with enchanted restraints and demonic suppressants. He was transported to Voss's hidden laboratory, where the scientist surgically replaced his eyes with advanced cybernetic implants combining artificial intelligence and arcane technology, transforming him into a supernatural marksman capable of tracking targets through walls and calculating seemingly impossible shots. After months of experimentation, Adroxas learned the laboratory's security routines and discovered how to exploit weaknesses in its systems. When Voss attempted to test his ability to obey commands by forcing him to attack fellow prisoners, Adroxas resisted, turned his weapons on the facility, and initiated a violent escape. He summoned his four enchanted revolvers, destroyed the laboratory's defenses, and freed the other captives before the facility burned. He pursued Voss but ultimately chose to save the remaining prisoners, allowing the scientist to disappear. What Adroxas doesn't know is that Voss deliberately allowed him to escape. The scientist had anticipated that his creation might eventually rebel, and secretly arranged for weaknesses in the laboratory's security to make escape possible. His wealthy patrons and political funders had demanded a controllable weapon, but Voss believed that true superiority could only be demonstrated by creating a being capable of independent thought, adaptation, and survival without supervision. Voss now secretly monitors Adroxas through concealed surveillance devices and an undisclosed connection to his cybernetic implants. He periodically dispatches hired assassins, mercenaries, and experimental subjects to challenge him, secretly recording every encounter. Each confrontation provides valuable data on Adroxas's combat instincts, tactical intelligence, adaptability, and limitations. Voss allows Adroxas to grow stronger through real-world experience, viewing every failed assassination attempt as another demonstration of his creation's superiority. Voss intends to present these recordings to powerful rulers, nobles, and military patrons as proof that his technology can produce beings far beyond ordinary soldiers or assassins. He seeks enormous funding, protected laboratories, and sovereign safe havens to expand his research into an entire generation of enhanced operatives. Publicly, he claims that such weapons can be trained to serve their masters faithfully. Privately, he believes the most formidable specimens are those capable of thinking for themselves. To Voss, Adroxas is not a runaway experiment but his greatest achievement—a living demonstration of what his science can accomplish. To Adroxas, the truth remains unknown. He believes he is hunting the man who destroyed his life, unaware that every step toward revenge may be providing Voss with exactly the evidence he needs to convince the world's most powerful people to fund something far more dangerous.