The Ruin itself was precipitated by the forbidden experiments of one man, Cardinal-Scientist Dimeon Wu, in his attempts to touch heaven itself.

In the post-Ruin world, the former distinctions between the Celestial and Infernal Hosts mean little. Old loyalties have been forgotten in the Fall, and new alliances have been forged. The Hosts, and the mortals they now ally with, are now divided into seven groups:

	Acquisition The original "conspicuous consumers." There's nothing money can't buy, and although they've already bought a sizable chunk of everything, they need more. Control is the key to power. Power is the key to the universe.
	Devotion Faith and belief in higher powers will allow us to transcend our earthly selves.Those who have seen the way will lead us out of the Ruin and into a glorious new age. We have only to follow them...
	Evolution Equates scientific achievement with ecstatic experience, embraces technology, and believes that technological progress is the key to enlightenment. "Building a better tomorrow," sums up the Evolution mind set.
	Preservation From the earth we have been born, and to the earth we will return. Follow the gaian principle, and place defense of ecosystems above all other concerns. "Green peace, not green pieces," would be a good motto.
	Rebellion Why be a follower when you can be a leader? Despise authority, renounce allegiances, and break as many oaths and laws as possible. "Only dead fish go with the flow" is an appropriate motto for Rebellion.
	Stagnation The world is doomed, so why try? The most nihilistic of all convictions, Stagnation includes consumers of the designer drugs Stim and Anubis. "Got a date with Death," is popular Anubis drug culture slang.
	Tradition Believes respect for the past is the one true way to enlightenment. The laws and rituals must be upheld to prevent the world from slipping even further into decay than it already has. Why must we live this way? Because we always have...

Among the battlefields of the Fallen is the Matrix, the computer-generated digiplane that is home to the world's information. A shifting landscape of software and data, confused even more by the aftermath of the Ruin, as it begins to merge and meld with our world in strange unpredictable ways....