An introduction to Hellgate: London

London, 2038.

According to legend, when the ravens depart the Tower of London, it will crumble to rubble and disaster will befall England. As man became more dependent on science, believing only in what he could define or create, ancient knowledge and rituals were lost to the antiquity of time. Prophecies that had stood as warning for untold generations were seen as archaic folly or ignorant superstition; so when the harbingers of evil began to manifest, few saw and fewer believed.

When the demons finally came, there was little that stood in their way.

Emerging from the swirling chaotic Hellgate, they overwhelmed humanity's defenses quickly and systematically. Even the nuclear and biological weaponry employed by a few desperate nations did little more than slow the apocalypse. The nature of the demons’ attack presented little in the way of strategic military targets to the generals of mankind’s armies. With no obvious headquarters to bombard, visible supply lines to cut, or known leaders to assassinate, the usual tactics of war were useless.

Only those that still practiced the holy, ancient, and arcane rights could stand against the dark invaders, using weapons and spells forged in the traditions of their forefathers. Their successes were scattered, and the leaders of the great military forces could neither understand nor accept their strange ways. This mystical resistance drew the immediate attention of the immensely powerful creatures, seemingly immune to the weapons of mankind. Soon, those that had preserved the knowledge of how to combat the demons shifted their focus from driving them back into the twisting nether to saving as many of their fellow humans as they could. They retreated to the relative sanctuary of the London Underground, a haven whose construction they had orchestrated decades before.

Now, the once great city lies in ruins. A massive, sinister gash in the fabric of our reality swirls and churns, dominating the horizon as it blends into a permanently darkened sky. The Invasion, the unspeakable cataclysm that befell London, eventually engulfed humanity. The powerful nations of man were eradicated, and the decades-long process called The Burn – the transformation of our world into theirs – had begun.

But mankind is a race of survivors. Men and women hide in the shadows of their former dominance, struggling to survive, yearning to strike back at their conquerors. These survivors banded together, and they are learning.

Learning how to travel undetected.

Learning how to forge weapons capable of piercing unfathomable defenses.

Learning how to harness the forgotten and arcane powers of magic.

Learning how to kill demons and close the Hellgate...

From http://www.hellgatelondon.com