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The world has grown colder over the last century. Since the end of the Great War, huge multinational corporations have risen to power while government rule has grown stifling, stripping away what were once considered basic human rights. Knowledge is a privilege those few who can afford private education or can qualify for corporate schools. In the urban centers of power, billions struggle to carve out a living in the shadow of these monolithic empires.
Amid the squalor and decay there is another world.
Rumors of conspiracy and government plots abound on the streets while the news reports only what they’ve been paid to say. Within this cacophony of rumor the Church of Unua has somehow spread the tale of Five Kingdoms.”These five interwoven Realms, the Slumber, the Verdant, the Dark, the Grave and the Unbound, once part of a greater whole the Unua preach that these Realms, can be reunited so humanity can one day transcend the blight and enter the new era. The media dismiss their rants, the Church of the Redeemer sees them as a pagan cult, and others simply call them mad. Even so, their message spreads and new churches crop up in cities across the globe. All unified by a single prayer.
Through dream I have seen the Slumber.
Through nightmare I have been cast into the Dark.
Through life I have found the Verdant.
Through death I have known the Grave.
I am Unbound.
I am Lucid.
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The year is 2202 and paranoia is the rule of the day. Forces just outside the realm of perception move world powers to their will. Those who stop and watch can feel the touch of these powers at work. Governments struggle to rebuild, to recover from the Great War. Huge corporations have become cities-states unto themselves. The Church of the Redeemer, fallen from its glorious ranks continue to swell, filled with disenfranchised workers unaware of the church’s hubris. All of these things move within the nebulous landscape of conspiracy. Yet, the truth exists beyond the realm of man.
Scattered across the globe are those who have crossed the boarders into the Outer Realms only to return to the Unbound World tainted, a living conduit to the strange energies that control the Realms. This Taint connects them, binds them and drives them. They are the Lucid, those strong enough to transcend the haze of illusion that shadows the world.
No one knows how many Lucid there are in the world. Some band together for ideological reasons forming Baronies. Their motivations vary widely, from the Eden Dream of the Church of Unua to the Templar’s enlightenment at the edge of a knife. The Realms offer no answers as to who is right and who is wrong.
The Lucids who have not been culled by the Baronies are a precious commodity. Thrust into a world of mystery, they find themselves infused by the Realms, gifted with new and strange abilities. Their eyes have become attuned to the hidden forces of the world. Sought by the Baronies, some give in hoping for protection. Those with the wit, will and tenacity to do so, run.
They are out there, on the run, hiding, like you. Close your eyes, reach out and you can feel them. Those with the strength not to give in, who have not been brainwashed by any Barony are the Lucid. Fight, struggle, do what must be done to survive the Unbound World and take control of the strings of reality at your command.
You are Lucid. Can you Survive?
234 pages, softcover
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