The global Xankus pandemic was an event that began in 2018, with the town of Armasa as ground zero. Over the following days, Xankus spread throughout the Alebriz region, reaching major cities. This allowed the pathogen to eventually reach other regions of the planet, ultimately covering large territories and becoming unsustainable.
Early Stages of the Pandemic
Origin
The Silver Point tribe were the first people to come into contact with Xankus upon arriving at Urusarus Mountain (later renamed Cresta Carmesí).
As members of the tribe began falling ill, the local healer sought help from a nearby town, where Dr. Amari Saied took the case, unaware of the severity of the situation.
Upon traveling to the mountain with the healer, she found several tribe members already deceased. Dr. Amari did what she could, but could not trace the disease’s origin. As a last resort, she contacted PROELIUM, of which she was a member, hoping to find a cure.
PROELIUM arrived within a week, encountering a very different scene. Many tribe members were in a vegetative-like state, able to walk but without self-awareness.
Seeing this, PROELIUM began an investigation that would shape the course of history.
First Cases
Several PROELIUM doctors became infected with the disease. Patients from the tribe and some PROELIUM personnel died, only to later revive with uncontrollable aggression.
PROELIUM established a laboratory inside the mountain to study this strange and lethal disease, while tribe members who remained healthy were evacuated to the town of Armasa, where prior depopulation operations had been carried out.
All infected patients were transferred to the underground lab, still under construction, and placed in permanent confinement as test subjects.
Over the following years, Xankus would be studied in this laboratory, with civilians and tourists being abducted for research.
Beginning of the pandemic
An accident caused the research and development center to become infected with Xankus, spreading the pathogen to all personnel unable to escape.
PROELIUM decided to permanently shut down all Xankus research and bury it forever. However, a small faction within the organization disagreed, seeing Xankus as an opportunity to develop new advances in medicine and biotechnology. In secret, this rebel group continued abducting people and tourists, sending them to the infested lab to monitor Ferals’ behavior and recover the original Xankus specimen.
Pandemic Spread
Xankus escaped from the Crimson Crest research center through the mountain spring’s water flow, contaminating the river and infecting the town of Armasa. Because the town was a tourist hub and the river flowed into a distant lake, Xankus rapidly spread beyond the immediate area.
Initially, PROELIUM appeared to have the situation under control, restricting access to Armasa using part of its private militia, which would later become A.R.C.E.
Five months later, as similar outbreaks occurred in other cities of the region, PROELIUM realized it was time to intervene directly, publicly revealing its existence for the first time since its founding.
The first major city in Alebriz, Bóltica, began reporting Xankus infections, causing chaos and panic. Witnesses described the situation as “cannibalism.” The infection spread rapidly throughout the region.
Fall of the Old World
Martial law was declared across Alebriz, and A.R.C.E. troops began official operations to combat the Ferals, as PROELIUM had named them.
While A.R.C.E. resisted the Ferals in Alebriz, new cases emerged worldwide. PROELIUM branches in other regions acted immediately, establishing new A.R.C.E. divisions to repel the threats. Surprise attacks made coordinated military responses nearly impossible.
PROELIUM addressed Alebriz citizens through an emergency government broadcast, urging them not to succumb to fear and assuring that the infection was temporary.
Over time, Ferals continued to increase in number. Major cities were evacuated, and many smaller towns were abandoned.
PROELIUM established camps far from abandoned cities, guarded by A.R.C.E., where thousands of refugees could live.
Eventually, these camps were discovered by Ferals, forcing inhabitants to relocate or find new shelters. This concept would later be refined by PROELIUM., becoming into the Settlements.