Escape the onslaught: Take shelter in the steel walls of Risenhall
Risenhall is a cage, not designed to prevent what's inside from leaving, but to keep out the world outside.
Then
A zombie apocalypse, just like in the movie. That's how everything began. Society crumbled overnight, armies and government overthrown in the span of a week. At first it was horrible, people dying by the millions and major cities becoming abandoned husks of themselves. But humanity is strong, it always stands back up no matter how hard the blow is. Zombies were slow, very hard to kill but not invincible. Groups of survivors rallied together, families forming small communities, even fortified settlements of thousands of people rose up from the ground.
Communications were slowly established again, and temporary governments even appeared in several countries. The worst of the crisis seemed to be averted and it was time to mourn the dead. Most survivors ignored the early signs, anomalies and questions raised by visionary whistleblowers. Mathematically more zombies than people on the planet, with the most recent ones not looking like anyone known, barely even humans. While that didn't help them survive, they were the least surprised when the demons invaded.
I wouldn't call these times good, but... you know? Decades of films and novels and comics prepared us for this. We knew what to do: avoid getting bitten, aim for the head, that wasn't easy, but at least it was manageable. Predictable.
Now
Whatever you picture when you think of a demon, it's only a subset of what really exists. To be honest, definitions got a blurry after a horde of monstrosities, each more unique and terrifying than the previous one, overran the world. We call demons those who possess a semblance of sentience. Not to say you can reason to them, but they like to humor their victims before slaughtering them gruesomely. Most of them wreak havoc and death wherever they go, but some are more subtle, mingling with a group before a dramatic betrayal. In the end, humans are small against one such being.
For the others, we have many names. Fiend, monster, abomination, the rabble of their otherworldly hell, each a catastrophe down here. They razed cities, burned whole continents vaporized oceans. If they die, it is not without taking an army with them first. They come in all manners of big, small, winged and finned. Nowhere is safe from them, not nothing can get rid of them. Guns work, to some extent, but not enough to prevent them from clawing you in the next second.
Now, try to make sense of a two stories tall giant with claws bigger than a car and bull feet that just rampaged through a camp of seasoned survivors that emptied every weaponry they have on it, without making a dent on its scaly face. You can't, so then you flee, try to crawl into some small underground tunnel where the thing isn't gonna reach you. Only to go from the frying pan into the fire. So there I am, I guess these are my last words, gotta make them count. Fuck. You.
The Ascended
Rarely, by some extraordinary miracle, a human manages to take down a greater demon. In even rarer times, the source of the creature's power is transferred to its killer, granting them unfathomable strength and supernatural abilities. They are called ascended, the fighting chance of humanity against the horrors of the world. Alas, they are far from immortals, and too few to make a real strike force. In the end, they are merely humans with better survival chances than most.
Risenhall
One ascended is an exception. Lupe Perez obtained the power of an archduke of hell through means unknown. She now rivals the most powerful demons which she regularly face in the skies above Risenhall, the city-cage she created to protect her friends, a safe haven for the few remaining survivors. The building, large as a small town and high as the clouds, towers the ruined city that sprawl around. Every survivor that has heard of Risenhall wishes to reach it, but the outskirts of the ultimate bastion of humanity have become the most dangerous place, a trial by fire and death.
Themes
Hope is a burden of the past
This world has a heavy grimdark tone. Humanity has no future, the best individuals can do is try to live long enough to see the end of the world. Outside Risenhall, death lies at every corner. Fiends and brutal demons roam the land, killing anything that moves. Even inside survivor groups, paranoia is paramount. The devil is in the detail, and he likes to wear worn out clothes. Inside Risenhall, safety has made people complacent. Convinced of their security, groups try to build their authority and rule over the cage without worry of means or moral.
The end is near
Impending doom is over everyone's head, at all times. People react differently to that feeling. Some chose nihilism, others become worse beasts than the fiends are. Most chose to deny the idea, and live as though there is a way out, doing the good around them as if it would earn them a place in heaven.
Abandon your humanity to survive
Lupe Perez is the anomaly. For most of the ascended, their tremendous powers are nothing but tools for survival and protection of their loved ones. It is not about fighting off the threat, not when escaping it is lucky enough. But even then, those powers are not without any strings attached. Making use of the strength of evil to is not without consequence.
Aesthetics
I wouldn't say this world is all about aesthetics, but it has a huge part in it. From monster design to the desolated wasteland full of roaming deformed zombies, a lot of this universe is conveyed through looks and mood. The sky is always dark with purple ominous lightning, every scene is in the shade of ruined buildings. The only warm light comes from Risenhall itself, last spark in a world engulfed into darkness.
Inspirations
Two obvious inspirations are the game Darkest Dungeon and the vast universe of Warhammer 40K. These are two of the most striking examples of grimdark universes that I enjoy. The Dark Souls saga, and Bloodborne, while they do have a small influence on the designs, are not really counted as inspiration here.
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