BACKSTORY        (This page is chock-full of spoilers. Consider yourself warned!)

15 BILLION BC
A gigantic explosion created by Zurvan, the primordial essence of the universe and progenitor of space and time, resulted in the rudimentary beginnings of what would eventually become galaxies, suns, moons and planets.


500 MILLION BC
Zurvan created millions of jin (offspring) from Earth's plant life to serve as caretakers of the planet and its sheols (souls). A small contingent of the Jin soon became aware that they were different from most of their siblings. They were weaker and felt an overwhelming compulsion to draw energy from the planet's plant life - the core of their siblings' power - in order to maintain their own strength. They indulged their parasitic urges in secret shame, and out of fear of discovery by Azulen, their supreme ruler.


450 MILLION BC
Sensing that something was not quite right with a few of her siblings, Azulen confronted them and, eventually, they confessed to being born with a debilitating flaw. After much debate Azulen granted them permission to take physical form (by reanimating animal corpses) and consume the blood of Earth's creatures, as it also contained the supernatural energy they needed to survive, but in a far weaker, unpurified form. In order to ensure that there would be no permanent damage to the creatures' sheols (souls) due to the blood extraction, Azulen decreed that they were to take only what they needed to survive for the day. Banished to a pathetic life of mortal existence, this weaker, parasitic sub-group eventually became known as the Shatana (outcasts).


425 MILLION BC
Some of the Shatana began to exhibit bizarre and irrational behavior, leading to unprovoked outbursts of rage and violence. After an extensive investigation, Azulen surmised that they were going insane because they'd gorged themselves on terrified animals in great pain, thereby creating a powerful but ultimately toxic blood chemistry in the beasts. Certain that this borderline insane group were beyond all hope of recovery, Azulen instructed all of her healthy siblings to combine their powers and imprison them in a fizat, an unseen void in the atmosphere above Earth where they could do no harm. Afterward, she agreed to allow the remaining healthy members of the Shatana to continue feeding from Earth's creatures in order to survive, provided they fed only from willing donors or those who were sleeping peacefully. In an effort to maintain good relations with the Shatana, Azulen appointed Iblis, the first-born of their kind, to serve as their leader and spokesperson.


65 MILLION BC
The dust and debris caused by the explosion of a large meteorite filtered out the sunlight and cooled the Earth's atmosphere. The environmental changes killed off the larger reptiles and weakened/destroyed many members of the Jin and the Shatana, who were entirely dependent on the plants from which they were born for their strength and survival.


9,000 BC
Long considered pathetic outcasts by a majority of the Jin because they were forced to take corporeal form and consume blood in order to survive, the Shatana were becoming angered and embittered by their unfair treatment. In an effort to mend the growing the rift between the two factions, Azulen established a base of operations on a small island in the middle of what is now the Atlantic Ocean. Dubbed Adlandik (meaning "small island" in the language of the Jin), it was meant to serve as a social hub for the Jin and the Shatana, a place where all were considered equal, and treated fairly and respectfully.


8,000 BC
In defiance of Zurvan's law of non-interference in the natural order of things, a few members of the Jin and the Shatana started meddling heavily in human affairs, encouraging them to build temples and monuments, write songs, poems and stories, and make human and animal sacrifices in their honour. Worshipped and feared as gods, these wayward supernaturals basked in the adulation and indulged their every whim, toying - sometimes cruelly - with the fledgling race under their care. Many took corporeal form and mated with humans and animals, producing offspring that, without the proper guidance, grew up to become fiendish tyrants with little control over their limited supernatural abilities. Some of these offspring were born with mutations (i.e. horses with a singular horn sprouting from their foreheads, huge reptiles with large, bat-like wings, birds with fur manes and long, scaly tails). These deformed animals would eventually become the mythological creatures of legends throughout the world. In an attempt to regain control over the situation, Azulen instituted the Naedoch, an elite team of supernatural law enforcement officers, and dispatched them to capture and imprison on Adlandik anyone who defied Zurvan's law.


7,000 BC
In a desperate attempt to ease mounting tensions between the Jin and the Shatana, Azulen and Iblis took human form and conceived a son whom they named Teer. But, despite his parents' best efforts, Teer grew to become a self-indulgent, quick-tempered and destructive 10 year old tyrant who used his powers for his own amusement, often resulting in harm to the very creatures the Jin were created to protect. Angered by the disruptions he was creating with his antics, Belial, second-in-command of the Shatana, convinced hundreds of his siblings to join him in combining their powers in order to capture Teer's essence inside a small chunk of rock crystal, which was then sealed inside an iron box before being buried deep underground in a location known only to Belial. Infuriated by the betrayal, Azulen imprisoned the traitorous shatan on Adlandik, a secret island sanctuary and prison for the Jin, and dispatched the Naedoch, an elite team of supernatural law enforcement officers, to hunt down the rest of the conspirators.


6,000 BC
A handful of Belial's loyal followers attempted to free him from imprisonment on Adlandik by using the island's natural power source, volcanic energy, to create a semi-controlled explosion as a diversion tactic. However, due to miscalculation, the island was almost completely obliterated in an instant, leaving dozens dead or permanently disfigured by fiery debris. Determined to restore order and discipline, Azulen soon found another, much smaller island, located in the heart of what is now the Bermuda Triangle. Dubbed Aevloch (meaning "Sanctuary"), every aspect of this secret island's operation (climate, vegetation, food, air, water and entry/exit via the force-field that surrounds the island etc.) is strictly controlled and maintained by a virtually incorruptible supernatural power source located several hundred metres below ground.


3,000 BC
A small contingent of the Shatana, led by Hendali (aka Lilith), became disenchanted with inhabiting cadavers in order to fulfill their need for blood. So, instead of reanimating corpses, they sought out willing human female hosts and, for a very short time, possessed their bodies in order to feed. This group and their human followers eventually became known as the Hendalini (aka succubi).


400 AD
By this time, many of the whimsical creatures of legend had been annihilated or enslaved by humans. Some managed to escape to safety on Aevloch while others sought refuge in caves, lakes, mountains and forests. Sightings of these elusive creatures would eventually spawn modern day tales of the Loch Ness Monster, Big Foot, El Chupacabra, windigos and werewolves.


502 AD
After a second, more subtle attempt to free Belial from imprisonment on Aevloch proved successful, the blood-starved demon and his loyal followers celebrated his release from centuries of captivity by raiding a small village near what is now Galway, Ireland, gorging themselves on the blood of every man, woman and child they could find. Fourteen year old twins, Malcolm and Siobhan (shi-vahn), the oldest of nine survivors of the savage raid, vowed revenge by launching the Society of Demon Hunters, a secret military-styled organization bent on destroying every last supernatural being on Earth.


505 AD
Belial founded the Illuminati (from the Jinorai word elumnatzi meaning "equality"). At first, this rebel faction's mandate was to fight for equal rights for all supernaturals. However, over time, their goals and ambitions changed as they began to sire hundreds of human prazeilites who were then maneuvered, like chess pieces, into positions of power for their own personal gain.


1475 AD
Cesare Borgia was born to a Hendalini named Vannozza Cattanei. The infant was introduced to European society as one of the illegitimate children of Pope Alexander VI and raised without ever knowing his true identity as the prazeilite spawn of Belial.


1498 AD
Cesare learned of his demonic lineage and vowed to prove himself worthy of induction into the Illuminati by scheming, murdering and marrying his way into a position of substantial wealth and power in European society.


1507 AD
After being stabbed and left to die in a ravine by enemy soldiers, Cesare was whisked away by Niccolo Machiavelli, one of the Illuminati's many human aides, and rescued from the brink of death through a First Blood Ceremony. The immortal Italian prince then became his father's right hand in the Illuminati's hierarchy.


1908 AD
By merging into a single entity, the insane group of parasitic supernaturals that Azulen and her siblings had banished to the fizat (an unseen void in the atmosphere above Earth) eons ago, escaped from its prison over Siberia, causing the Tunguska Fireball. The invisible entity, now called LeGeon (pronounced le-JEE-ahn, meaning "the many") by the Jin, used its power to incite violence, fear, hatred and murder during the Russian Revolution and World War I. The malignant energy created by these events fed LeGeon's growing hunger as it eagerly consumed the souls of war casualties in order to increase its strength.


1943 AD
LeGeon's power grew astronomically as it continued devouring souls by the thousands during World War II. Iblis and Azulen's efforts to rally every member of the supernatural population in order to combine their powers and recapture it were not entirely successful due, in part, to the Illuminati's detrimental influence.


1980 AD
The Society of Demon Hunters changed its name to the Gemini Group. Members began wearing an iron pin of the zodiacal Gemini (the twins) in honor of their founders, Malcolm and Siobhan.