The Powered

Over a thousand years ago, the human kingdom of Adrealia decided to banish all things supernatural from their lands. They did this by setting up patrols along their borders, but not everyone agreed with this method. Some believed that the only way to ensure that Adrealia didn't fall victim to the supernatural like other human kingdoms before them was to go out and kill every single supernatural being that walked it. This group of extremists was unable to convince the rest of Adrealia that their methods were the only way and eventually left the kingdom in order to save their people.

They--like those that remained in Adrealia--came to realized that some of their people possessed special abilities that proved useful against the things that they hunted. Refusing to allow these talents to go to waste, they created their own order of hunters. Through, there was a great difference between their order and the one that emerged from Adrealia. One of these differences was how they viewed these hunters. The extremist viewed their hunters as nothing more than weapons, and that is exactly how they were treated. They had no rights--not even the same rights that the hunters of Adrealia possessed.

They were discarded if they proved themselves to be obsolete, and the extremist sought ways to improve the effectiveness of their weapons against the supernatural. They found their way into other worlds where science had more influence than magic. In fact, many of these words magic were nothing more than an idea found in storybooks. They set up labs upon these words where they forced not only their hunters but countless others to undergo horrific experiments. They found that most humans had supernatural powers locked away inside of them, and all they had to do was coax it to the surface.

They also discovered that some responded to the experiments better than others, but they considered this detail unimportant compared to the fact that conducting these experiments help increase the number of hunters they had. The hunters, on the other hand, didn't dismiss this detail. Some of them begun to see this as proof of their superiority not just to their fellow men but to every other species out there. They decided that this meant they were supposed to rule over the supernatural of their homeworld and not kill them. The extremist not liking their hunters taking these views tried to crush them before anything could come from it, but they only succeeded in ensuring that the hunters secured their position at the top of the organization faster than they would have if the extremist hasn't decided to intervene.

In a few short weeks, the so-called weapons became the masters while those who had once been the master now found themselves as nothing more than products for their new master's personal enjoyment and use. Their lives held no value except for what their master gave it, and that value could change at their master's whim. The hunters kept with the experiments. They found that it was a good way of separating the elites from everyone else. Those that responded extremely well to the experiments were allowed to receive the Vir, or living tattoo.

The Vir is a type of magic that is bound to a person's soul or essence, and will literally consume an individual if they are unable to control it. So, these experiments are forced to endure not only separate the elite from everyone else, but also help ensure that no one gets their souls consumed. Every Vir possesses a natural ability to repel magical attacks. It is also known to be extremely effective against other forms of attack that might not be considered magical such as telepathy, telekinesis, etc. While the Vir share some universal qualities each one is as unique as the person wearing it. Some individuals possess better control of their Vir and can literally make it do anything while others can only persuade it to perform the tasks that are originally installed into it.

Naturally, those who can manipulate the Vir to do whatever they wish are considered the highest members of the organization. They are the leaders. They are the ones that will rule Asmiara when they successfully force everyone else to submit to their will. This, however, will prove to be quite a difficult task that they still haven't completed, and the organization has become a country during this time. It is a land where family holds absolutely no value. Many of the civilians have absolutely no idea who their biological family are, and for those that do the information grants them no sense of loyalty to these family members.