“The eastern sky appeared of a blood red colour. It seemed brightest exactly in the east, as though the full moon, or rather the sun, were about to rise. It extended almost to the zenith. The whole island was illuminated. The sea reflected the phenomenon, and no one could look at it without thinking of the passage in the Bible which says, ‘the sea was turned to blood.’ The shells on the beach, reflecting light, resembled coals of fire.”
Starting in the month of September, 1859, the skies burned and telegraph towers sparked with electricity. The world was bathed in Aetheric Energies, affecting people in ways that weren’t immediately evident.
Under the stormy skies of the Black Aurorae, earthquakes and volcanoes erupted across the world. North America was split into two by a new chasm running down the centre of the continent.
In subsequent years, Sparks began discovering their powers – Mad Scientists ushering in a new age of steampunk. Some Sparks serve their nations, as patriots or mercenaries, and their nations prosper. Others are renegades – sometimes principled, often selfish and yes, even Mad, and unleash war machines and other acts of chaos
Meanwhile in the shadows, something Eldritch is happening. Wild rumours of the supernatural are fuelling a fever of interest in mysticism. Mediums hold séances and aristocrats form secret Hellfire Clubs to party while pretending to summon demons. Explorers return from voyages carrying tales of curses and exotic mysteries. Tales of vampires and werewolves spread through pages of Penny Dreadfuls.
While mobs of superstitions villagers gather pitch-forks, sensible people scoff at such tall tales. Though some consulting detectives and parapsychologists do pay attention to Eldritch rumours and investigate these mysteries, wondering if the Carrington Event released something darker and more dangerous than Sparks…
The term Sparks was also used in Girl Genius, but it’s every fitting here. I am open to a new term, though.
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