The Holy Cleansing

Era beginning/end

The end of the previous era. Referred to as The Plague by most.

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The Plague that devastated mankind and ended the previous era of humanity is referred to by The Kingdom as The Holy Cleansing. It killed over 99% of the human population, and devolved the governments of the old world into chaos within a month.

The virus was first spotted, records indicate, a year and a month before the dying began. It was discovered as a symptom-less bacteriophage that was extremely infectious. It seemed to be extremely beneficial, as it killed some of the most common and dangerous bacteria that was currently infecting mankind. As bacteria were becoming increasingly resistant to the usual methods of cure, this seemed a solution to an increasing-pressing issue. It was spreading quickly throughout the densely-packed, overpopulated cities of the old world, and was even spread intentionally as a cure-all.

The deaths began suddenly, and almost simultaneously. Although research at this point is significantly harder to find traces of, it seemed that the bacteriophage that normally reproduced inside a bacterial cell - killing it in the process - suddenly began to reproduce in other types of cells. Millions of cells in the body were rupturing and bursting out into even more phages. It took less than an hour for a victim to die, and after death, the phage would remain in the body, living off of the bacteria that would grow to decompose it. Corpses appeared almost sandblasted, as holes ruptured out of each cell of skin, and they took far longer to decompose due to the continued work of the bacteriophage. Some say that corpses still exist in the deeper ruins, preserved, locked away from larger scavengers and hidden from the sun.

Society collapsed within a month. The survivors were subtly different - slightly superior in many ways - from those who came before, and eventually became the Citizens.