Prologue
Note from the Author:
Runes Saga is a compilation of six short stories that have been made into Acts for a single novel. The beginning of an act may seem repetitive as it covers what has previously happened but I left them in as more of a recap for those you have set the book down for a while and don't want to start over.
The world is a strange place filled with wonder and terror, we are one such oddity. We have been labeled as monsters. We outcasts have been given the ability to control what was once thought uncontrollable, Magic. We are Mages, and we are about to declare war.
There are thousands of other worlds, thousands of realities that sit side by side, and in a reality very near ours is an earth with Magic!
In the year 2001, a vote was held by the United Nations to determine whether an experiment should be conducted. If successful, this experiment could provide the world with an unlimited supply of energy. In our reality, this experiment was put down by a single vote. But in the reality where this story takes place, it passed by the single vote of the United States. Two short years later, a switch was thrown, and everything went wrong.
On the night of September 28th, 2003, the Bermuda Islands disappeared in an instant with a flash of light that was seen the world around. This event became known as The Night of Dawn. The world fell into a panic, not knowing what happened or if it would happen again. But their worry would soon shift to another target. People around the globe started exhibiting strange powers. Powers that science couldn’t explain. 2% of the world’s population manifested these powers. With the emergence of these strange individuals chaos spread like a plague, pandemonium reared its ugly head to the world. Some used these abilities to steal, destroy, rape, and pillage, while others didn’t know how to control their new-found powers and were a danger to themselves and others.
The UN labeled these people “Mages” and removed them from the Geneva Conventions, revoked the title of Human Being and declared war on this new species. No longer being considered human, Mages were hunted down, captured, or killed by militaries around the world. Those unlucky enough to be caught were locked away in high-security facilities where they were monitored and experimented. The UN wanted to know the secret behind the Mage’s powers by any means necessary.
In the year 2009, the Mages were reinstated into society under the Pergamis Clause. Mages were allowed to live out in public, but only if they were implanted with a chip that tracked their location and how often their powers were used. They also must have a government agent assigned to them called a Leash who would check in with them weekly to monitor their mental and financial status in order to ensure they would not somehow be provoked into committing a crime.
For those Mages that do commit crimes, there is the Anti-Mage Unit. Squads of unknown specialists who wordlessly apprehend or kill the “Rogue Mage”. No one knows who these Mage hunters are or how they capture their target, all that is known is that they never fail to catch their target and that they are almost as hated by the people as the Mages themselves. Almost.
Mages have been singled out by the world as the new threat. They are as hated by ordinary people as one could possibly imagine. Mages are seen by most as freaks of nature that should never have been born. Most Mages just keep their abilities to themselves and act normal. But many don’t have the luxury of just keeping their heads down and not being noticed. Many have strange mutations to their body, mostly ranging from an extra finger, a peculiar hair or eye color to even horns or a tail. These Mutations are a sign of advanced power in the Mage Rankings of 1-4 (1 being the weakest, 4 being the strongest). Any Mage with these strange bodily anomalies is titled “Meta-Mages” or just Meta for short.
Many Mages join the Military to try and escape the cruelty of society but to no avail. These Mages are turned into living weapons and brainwashed by being manipulated into walking Weapons of Mass Destruction. They are turned into emotionless dolls following orders or raging psychopaths seeking the thrill of the hunt. These Dogs of the Military are called MMDs, Mages of Mass Destruction.
In this world filled with hate and loathing, even the Church has taken part in it. A faction of the Church titled The Children of Dawn broke off from the Church to follow their own modern-day crusade. The Children of the Dawn claim that Mages are those blessed by the Devil, that they are the ones behind the Night of Dawn, and these “Hellspawn” must be cleansed be it by divine faith or fire. Meaning Mages may either join the crusade as Paladins washed of all sin or be hunted down by the Paladins and killed.
In this world of brimstone and loathsome looks from passers-by, I’m one of those most hated Mages. I guess I should introduce myself, after that long-winded intro. My name is Gage Rune. No, that’s not my given name, but it is my legal name. I’m 24 and trying to make a life for myself in Denver, Colorado, with my adopted brother Ryan. This is where my story starts.
