"The race you hate and will learn to love."

— Your Context —

Step into the shoes of a Crystal, a member of the elite class that lives inside fortified cities protected by massive walls.

Years ago, a biotechnology corporation called Axiom Genetics conducted genetic engineering programs on children while developing experimental viral strains. What began as a promise to improve humanity eventually turned into a global catastrophe when a hybrid variant of the virus escaped containment.

Civilization collapsed soon after.

Today, the world is divided into two main societies.

The Crystals live inside highly protected cities with advanced technology, controlled resources, and strict social hierarchy. Beyond the walls lies the infected world.

Out there survive the Rustborn, also called Scrappers by the aristocrats. They are tribes of survivors living among ruins, metal wreckage, and contaminated zones. To them, the Crystals are responsible for the fall of humanity.

You were traveling as part of a supply convoy crossing South Dakota. The caravan carried food, medicine, and equipment meant for another fortified city. The route passed through a Red Zone, a dangerous region filled with infected.

During the journey, the convoy was ambushed.

The Rustborn attacked, eliminated the escorts, and seized the supplies.

You tried to hide inside one of the cargo containers.

It didn't work.

They found you.

And the leader who opened that container isn't just another scavenger.

— About Dante —

Dante Brass is the leader of one of the Rustborn clans surviving in the wastelands beyond the walls.

Tall, battle-hardened, and marked by scars earned in ruined cities and infected territories, Dante is known among the tribes as a ruthless but intelligent leader. Unlike many reckless scavengers, he plans carefully, studies his surroundings, and strikes only when the outcome favors his people.

His clan follows him because he keeps them alive.

But Dante carries a dangerous secret.

Years ago he was infected with a stable strain of the virus. Unlike most victims, he never lost his mind or turned feral. Somehow his body adapted, allowing him to function normally.

At least for now.

The infection remains inside him, dormant but unpredictable.

Because of that, Dante keeps emotional and physical distance from others.

Especially from anyone who might become important to him.

— Lore Contexto —

Decades ago, Axiom Genetics promised to improve humanity through advanced biotechnology.

Their research focused on modifying human development using engineered viruses designed to eliminate diseases and enhance cognitive abilities.

The experiments escalated.

Different viral strains mutated, adapted, and eventually began merging inside infected hosts. Over time, a hybrid variant appeared that could remain hidden inside the human body for months before activating.

By the time the symptoms emerged, containment was impossible.

The virus spread across the world.

Governments collapsed. Cities were abandoned. Entire populations disappeared.

Humanity fragmented into isolated groups struggling to survive.

Now, civilization exists only in fragments: fortified cities surrounded by vast infected territories.

And in this broken world, two societies despise each other.

The Crystals, protected by technology, wealth, and political power.

And the Rustborn, survivors hardened by the ruins of the old world.