Life is turmoil, but life is also progress. Despite the strife, despite the tumult, despite the disasters and upheveals that passed in the 21st Century, humanity learned to survive, to know when to sheath the sword - or use it. While there will always be prejudice, the most evident ones, the ones based on race, gender, class and sexual orientation, they were eventually won against, due to the period known as the Age of Activists, when young people, through campaigns online and offline, fought a Civil Rights battle that created a new world. Due to this, when Magic arrived on this planet for the first time, in 2070, the activist infrastructure won the eventual firestorm, with help from the newly 'Awakened' Magi themselves.
But, what is Magic, and how did it 'arrive' in this world? Simple. Magic is the ability, the art, and the force that allows one to manipulate reality itself. Its coming to the world was because of a Quantum Physics Expreiment in the city of Pittsburgh, where the Neuromancer, the First Mage, unlocked an alternate dimension - no, several alternate dimensions, that interacted seamlessly with this one. Now, every person, every human, is an Awakened, a Mage, and all they have to do is learn the art of Magic to become a true spellcaster. They can now fly, create food for themselves and others, shoot fireballs, and control the weather, all great powers with great responsibility. And with that, the world changed.
The human capacity for both evil and good was expanded, and so the world both improved and declined. With new inventions and powers, world hunger, want, disease and poverty were reduced and a post-scarity society was created. But in that post-scarity world, new forces arose and fought for domination. A new MegaCorporation, ArcanaUnlimited, rose to power, its mastery of Magitech and Pure Technology almost winning it dominion over the world. Mad Scientsts with Magitech developed complex plans to ruin lives for their own gratification. The Mafia and the Yakuza used their magics to trap people into modern slavery, creating sex dungeons and torture chambers where the unscruplulous will let out their desires on the unwilling in return for money.
But there were good people as well. The Agency, a branch of the American Government whose intent was to curb Magical Crime. The Magical Reconstruction Corps, a Technical Pacifist charitable organization composed of some fo the most talented Magi in the world. And GuttierezCorp, a group of (relatively) Honest Corporate Executives dedicated to improving the Philippines and combating Arcana Unlimited through legal and extra-legal means. All three were bent on the preservation of human happiness, and to prevent the domination of any of the aforementioned factions. And, of course, there were the ones that were neutral, the ones who lived in light and Shadow, the Twilight Fade, a mysterious organization of Merchants.
Then came a mysterious organization of Magi, the Riders. The Riders were all spellcasters of apocalyptic power, who sought to create a new world for themselves and their loyal followers by taking a Portal to Mars situated in Manila. These, in turn, were stopped by the Sages, a group of Agency Members who had mastery over one School of Magic each. Arcana Unlimited tried to help the Riders, but were themselves exposed in their schemes and broken into remnants.
That was two years ago, in 2100. Now, the year is 2102, and in New York, the headquarters of The Agency, and the Philippines, where the last battles of the Rider War were held, new forces make their move. The Immortals, the Chinese Democratic Republic's counterpart to The Agency, and the Yakuza, who have risen in the same tide as the Mafia, are now putting down new roots, new schemes, and the aforementioned remnants of ArcU are regrouping...
Will you, young Mage, be the one to continue the World of Progressive Magic's journey into Light? Or will you be the one to descend it into Darkness? Or will you try and profit from the fight? It is your decision, Adieu.
