Futuristic Exorkismos: Apocryphal Light - Lore

[Arkangel]

Sanctioned Files: Document I - “Revelation”

General explanation about the current state of the world and its global politics.

2036 AD: Second Cold War

Current Global State of Affairs

The political sphere of this alternative universe is divided between three factions: the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the Warsaw Pact, and the Korean-East Asian Strategic Alliance (KEASA). Before further explanations about the specifics of these factions and how they operate, it would be best to note that a significant chunk of real-life history and concurrent events do not exist in this lore, as the majority of the history was altered after the discovery of otherworldly entities in 1940 by Nazi Germany.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization is a military alliance with the United States as its head, in company with the majority of Western countries both in the American continent and Europe. Formed in 1949 several years after World War II, its initial purpose upon formation was to expand western influence across the globe and uphold democratic values, only for these goals to be remodeled after the Korean War. Now, in the present era, NATO acts more like a defense pact against the expansionist group KEASA.

The Warsaw Pact was originally founded to counteract the foundation of NATO, made up of the Soviet Union and the whole of eastern europe. However, unlike the diplomatic approach of NATO, the Warsaw Pact was created for the sole purpose of strengthening the Soviet Union and preparing itself for a full invasion of Europe planned for 1960, only for their plans to be thwarted by several international events. As the Soviet Union never collapsed, the pact remains strong in the year 2036.

The third group called the Korean-East Asian Strategic Alliance, is an imperialistic military coalition between the Unified Republic of Korea, Taiwan, Japan, and several independent states of former China and the Soviet Union annexed by the Korean Army during World War III. Unlike NATO, its values lie in the expansion of Eastern influence onto the global world with a clear focus on becoming the first hyperpower through both the economy and military.

Besides the political and military alliances, another aspect of the world that has changed from our own is the advancement of technology, especially in the development of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) like nuclear power. More about the Manhattan Project and its fate will be explained below in the alternative history section of the lore.

 

[Arkangel]

Sanctioned Files: Document II - “Deconsecration”

General explanation about the demonic anomalies and its recent history.

Identified Demonic Anomalies

Unknown Hyperdimensional Entities

The demons of this setting have several names that allude to the same thing. The Identified or Unidentified Demonic Anomaly is a term exclusively used by the Counter Response Agency of NATO to describe an entity not of human origin with seemingly otherworldly powers that cannot be explained through science or reason. The Vatican simply calls them “demons”, and sometimes refers to them as “Hellkeepers”. These entities are also known as “Lords” by an enigmatic group of cults primarily located in the American and West European continents.

Despite the existence of cults that may or may not fully comprehend the reality of demons, this knowledge is mostly exclusive to the higher positions of the government as demons are not public knowledge. Only world leaders, high-profile private military contractors (PMCs), some corporate elites, and specialized covert agencies around the globe are aware of their existence. Therefore the cults that claim to worship the demons are either wild conspiracy theorists or old-school believers of pagan religious beliefs.

There is absolutely no background information about the demons regarding their origin, besides the locked scriptures held deep within the labyrinth of the Vatican archives, known as the Book of Exorkismos. A collection of journals written by the Knights Templar of the old crusades, it details their journey towards Jerusalem and their odd encounter with the occult. The latter half of the book explains the Crusaders’ attempts at exorcism, with success only possible after the containment of a demon known as “Aberiel”.

Where these demons hail from or their purpose cannot be known. As creatures of the dimensions outside our own, the only effective measure that can be taken is direct containment. Should the demons roam with liberty, they will only wreak havoc across the continents and endanger countless lives, as negotiations and alliances are futile for they do not speak the language of humanity.

Or at least that’s what they say.

 

[Arkangel]

Sanctioned Files: Document III - “Foundation”

About the Demonic Encounter Counter Response Agency DECRA.

Excidium Protocol

Demonic Encounter Counter Response Agency

In 2004, in the ninth hour of the morning, an apartment building northwest of Stalingrad caught on fire, resulting in the destruction of the property alongside the death of everyone occupying the upper floors of the complex. This case was deemed an accident until mere hours later, when multiple housing units around the city would suffer an eerily similar fate, with the exact room number identical to the previous. This sudden burst of crisis emergencies would eventually lead to the death of several high-ranking Soviet officials on the next day, with more civilian casualties as the week went on.

Believing it to have been the work of terrorists, the government quickly escalated and declared a state of emergency. With proper authorization, the Soviets expanded their military into the streets of Stalingrad with the KGB and later discovered that these random arsons of specific areas could not have been caused by people, as there were no traces of human involvement. Further investigation into the city would eventually allow the KGB to identify the threat as the work of a demonic anomaly.

The containment of the demon responsible ended in critical failure. The death toll grew into the thousands, and millions were injured and permanently scarred by the fires that charred Stalingrad into the ground. After a month of combating the flames and an attempt to contain the demon with the assistance of trained specialists from the Vatican, the city of Stalingrad eventually became uninhabitable, and became the first Exclusion Zone after the people were relocated to another region of the country.

This incident caught the attention of every world leader representing a country holding superpower status, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Korea, and several other great powers with ties to the Soviet Union. All humanitarian aid was rejected in fear of risking state security. However, spy operations conducted by intelligence agencies worldwide concluded with the fact that the Stalingrad Incident was not some random attack but instead caused by multiple suicides of unidentified individuals before each fire broke out.

With the realization of possible attacks elsewhere, countries outside the Soviet Union revised their defense and installed several contingency plans to counteract possible demon-related terrorism. One of these operations included the Excidium Protocol, a UN-sponsored procedure under the direct leadership of the United States. With the aim of preventing attacks similar to the Stalingrad Incident, the protocol’s success became a noteworthy consideration when they were able to covertly arrest and interrogate a terrorist indirectly involved with the incident.

This achievement, led by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the Secret Intelligence Service (UK), would later reform the Excidium Protocol into the Demonic Encounter Counter Response Agency, as several other organizations from other countries joined the cause to increase the security of their nation.

The ranking system of the DECRA follows the standard structure of leadership, command, and field. As the director of the agency sitting at the top of the chain of command, several regional officers are responsible for the majority of the operations funded by the agency, which comes from the combination of the CIA, MI6, and the KGB. Therefore these three groups have the highest control over the missions until the inclusion of China in the year 2022.

Carefully hired and properly indoctrinated operatives are given unlimited funds for their tasks, and are held to abide by no set of ethics when they are sent out to perform their duties. This includes the necessary execution of bystanders, covertly threatening press associations, and overriding command from the local police. As they are part of an intergovernmental operation, most cases of civilian deaths will be swiftly cleaned by related teams.

There is only one rule. Should sacrifices be imperative, do not fail the mission.

Other than an infinite supply of weapons and ammunition, operatives will also be provided with necessary vehicles and other mechanical necessities. In the same vein, experimental stimulants and depressants in the form of needle injections are required for the operatives to equip before engaging in any operation. It is advised that agents take these drugs with absolute care as overdosing can be critical.

ATDS-7, also known as Antidemon Suppressant, is a specialized injectant produced by the medical sectors of KEASA. The formula required to create such a drug was stolen by the combined efforts of the CIA and KGB in 2011 from the Republic of Korea. Although its exact methods of creation were never discovered, through several years of perfecting the formula, the agency was able to replicate the drug by reverse engineering stolen samples.