Encounter-a-Day

The world of Dominus is like many worlds in that it is ever-plagued by strife and warfare. What sets Dominus apart is the nature of the warfare engaged thereupon. It is not the people of Dominus who battle each other; they are but unwilling victims and conscripts. Rather, Dominus has become the latest battleground in the war between heaven and hell.

It wasn’t that long ago when they first came to Dominus. Fifty or sixty years at most. There are even some who remember when it all started, when the rifts first opened. Stories differ about who came first; there are those who claim the demons came and pillaged the land, and the angels appeared to stop them. Others say it was the angels who came here, seeking a new staging grounds for their assaults into hell.

In the end, it doesn’t really matter. Most every land now belongs to either the demons or the devils and, though the angels would claim otherwise, life under either isn’t particularly better or worse than the other.

The angels have established a grand city around what used to be the Vatican City of Dominus. Redubbed Sanctus Dominus, it is a sprawling fortress with high walls over which can be seen the many ivory towers. For the most part, Sanctus Dominus is a fairly peaceful place. As the stronghold of the angels, it is one of the few places the demons rarely dare attack, and when they do they don’t get very far.

The angels were created as soldiers by a besieged God, and they behave as soldiers behave. Though ostensibly good, they have little tolerance for those who do not follow their stringent ways. The demons force people into slavery, and the angels allow so little freedom that it is a stretch not to call it slavery. It is particularly vexing to the angels that the nature of man is unpredictable; demons are evil, angels are good, and men it seems may be either or neither. Even more bizarre, the nature of a man can change, the good can fall and the evil be redeemed.

Most people sought sanctuary by the angels, content to accept virtual slavery over literal slavery. Some even sided with the demons, often out of a desire for vengeance for perceived wrongs. A few, however, chose neither side. They hide in the shadows, keeping their heads low and watching for opportunities to strike back. These men and women formed the many resistances.

For the longest time, the resistances were disorganized pockets which often fought amongst themselves as much as the outsides. This has changed in recent years, though, as new goals have been presented to rally the resistances. The latest research by experimental theologians suggests a startling discovery: the demons won. They killed god. That is why the war was allowed to spill over into our world, and it will never end.

This has lead to two new strategies for the resistance fighters, and three new coalitions.

The Resurrectionists want to bring god back to life. They are by far the largest of the three coalitions, and are even beginning to gain support among the angels.

Next are the Neo-Deists. They are lead by a man named Joseph Carnegie, a man who is convinced that the only solution is to create a new god. Namely, him. The last one let this happen, and if they resurrect him the same thing will happen again. Carnegie was one of the experimental theologians who first discovered the truth about god, and he is perhaps the most brilliant human mind to ever live.

He’s created a machine which will take a soul, whether human, angel or demon, and infuse it into someone else. He uses this machine to empower his own followers and himself, but he has a bigger target in mind. He believes that somewhere in heaven god’s soul still exists, even if god’s been killed. He intends to find it and take it for his own, elevating himself to godhood. Unfortunately, the only known rift to heaven is in the heart of Sanctus Dominus.

Finally, there are the Nihilists. They have taken a different lesson from the revelation of god’s death: the immortal can be killed. When an angel or demon dies, it is just its flesh which is defeated. Its immortal soul returns to its home realm and it lives anew, ready to continue the fight. The Nihilists seek a weapon which can destroy the soul, hoping to end the war through sheer attrition.