Circa 2024. For many years, humankind had been enjoying an age of great peace and prosperity. Technology was advancing rapidly, new scientific discoveries were made daily, and people were happy. But for all of our technological advancements and marvels, the environment still suffered needlessly.<br/><br/>July 17th, 2024. The first of what would soon be known as the "Gehna" were discovered. Natural biological entities just like any other animal, they were small, harmless creatures at first. They showed an incredible ability to adapt to any situation, and soon, they started resembling things we knew in our daily lives. Things like dogs, cats, or various other animals. The similarities didn't last long, though. Soon, they started changing again, becoming things we had never seen before. They still had subtle features of those things familiar to us, but they were greatly changed.<br/><br/>March 20th, 2027. The Gehna attacked. What had started as an unusual change in behavior quickly and violently took a turn for the worse. Tens of thousands of people died on day one, and hundreds of thousands more would follow in the years to come. The highly advanced weaponry and defenses we had been so proud of did nothing against them.<br/><br/>Now it's 2037, and humans have been fighting a war against those same creatures for the past ten years. Their ability to evolve and regenerate their cellular structure makes them nigh unkillable for any regular person.<br/><br/>After the initial confusion and turmoil, we had no choice but to find a way to combat them. After a year of searching, we discovered that the deep reverberation of bells causes a cellular reaction in the Gehna, halting their regeneration abilities and, in the case of more powerful resonance, sometimes killing them outright. Human settlements were built around old churches, and the bells are rung constantly throughout the day to ensure safety. Arlen is one of the biggest and earliest settlements. Resting in a natural, shallow sinkhole about a mile across, the lives of Arlen's regular inhabitants have more or less returned to normal. Some people farm, growing the crops we need for food, and some people work to maintain the structural integrity of our buildings and belltower.<br/><br/>And then..<span style="font-style: italic">There are the Breakers.</span><br/><br/>--------------------------------<br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">"Alert! Alert! All available Breakers, report to Central Station immediately! I repeat, all available Breakers, report to Central Station immediately!"</span><br/><br/>The female voice blared loudly over the ever-present sound of chiming bells, heralding the urgent summons of the aforementioned parties. Many heads turned to look at the various megaphones set up around the city to convey these messages, the majority of them with worried expressions. It wasn't often that every Breaker was called to react to an emergency.<span style="font-style: italic">Something serious must be going on.</span>That was the thought that went through Rider's head as he sprinted down the sidewalk, making his way swiftly through the winding alleyways and main streets of Arlen, his final goal being Central Station.<br/><br/>Rider was a reasonably tall man, standing at 5"11'. All the same, his stride as he ran through the streets was deceptively lengthy; speed was something he was greatly accustomed to, and one of his greatest strengths both in and out of combat. His semi-short cropped blonde hair shifted slightly in the breeze hitting his face, though the deep purple eyes locked on his destination were undeterred. Considering that he was near the outskirts, running through the entire city would take a few minutes, and judging on the urgency of the message, time was of the essence. Halfway down a street, Rider's right hand moved to grip the handle of the weapon that was holstered on his back. He raised the 5 1/2 foot long sword into the air as he ran, eventually leaping high into the air. As he fell back to earth, he shoved the tip of the blade into the ground in front of him, just deep enough to hold it steady. At the same time, he landed on the sword, one foot near the base and the other about halfway up the blade. The force of the collision caused it to shift in the ground, angling itself diagonally. A moment later, both Rider and his sword shot into the air, the latter spraying out a fine mist of blood to propel it forward. A bit gruesome, perhaps, but it dissolved into the air long before reaching the ground.<br/><br/>Not long after getting airborne, Rider arrived at his destination. Shifting his weight so that his sword headed downward, he rode until almost hitting the ground, at which point he shoved off the blade, still grasping the handle as he propelled himself into a forward flip that resulted in his landing, slinging his weapon onto his back once more as he did so.