My name is Daniel Greyman. The current year is 7 C.E. (Common Era). That would translate as 2052, I guess. Everything before 2045 is referred to as B.M.R. which stands for Before Magic's Return. That's what the historians are calling it at least. Regardless, as you might have guessed, about seven years ago, everything changed.

At that time I was an apprentice mortician in northern Indiana. Small funeral home, where we covered the needs for seven counties, plus a little bit more. We took calls in southern Michigan, and north western Ohio as well. We never actually had much business, which I suppose is good. I mean, no one wants to die really. But it was our business, to take care of funerals and the dearly departed, and what little business we had we excelled at.

But then, magic came back. And when it did, it wasn't a pretty transition. Suddenly, nothing electronic would work. Other machines still worked, like the older manual cars, and guns. But television, communications, even lights, all went dark and never came back on. I stayed in the area, and I've heard all kinds of reasons for everything from back country Amish and Mennonites claiming that this is the punishment from God for using too advanced technology, to the conspiracy theorists who think that it was some kind of EMP (Electro Magnetic Pulse) weapon that went horribly wrong.

However, everyone noticed the changes. The first to pay attention were those who were living in the cities at the time. People were suddenly capable of throwing fireballs, and creating tornados by waving their hand. Damage in the first couple of weeks after the change was near catastrophic. Especially considering that most pump systems were shut down when the electricity left. As a matter of fact, the majority of emergency services wouldn't work, as they relied in some form on electricity, and this caused a lot of problems. Rioters, Looters, and Anarchists running rampant, the police doing their best to limit the damage.

When the communication network went down, the federal government basically collapsed. Power devolved to the highest local authority, with military leaders taking precedence over civil authorities. And that was always with mixed results, after all how do you disarm a man that can create and throw fireballs with a thought. How do you calm down a girl who can create a thunderstorm with a wave of her hand?

Unfortunately, in a lot of places, the solution was to kill first, ask questions later. Which caused a large number of the mages to fight back against the army, and the national guard. Which caused even more destruction. But then, it got even worse.

I only know what I've heard from travelers, either those passing through, trying to find a new home, or the very few that are trying to establish trade between the cities. But from what they say, the elemental mages were only the start. They were causing so many problems, just trying to get a handle on their power, and learn to use it safely, that everyone missed the more insidious threats.

New Orleans was one of the first to go up. Refugees from their came through almost a year after the change. Necromancers, no one could figure out how many, started raising the dead in uncontrollable numbers. Within a few days, the number of undead rivaled the number of living. More than that, somehow they managed to create Vampires, and a myriad group of other undead, that started to also harass the living.

From what the refugees told everyone around here, a water mage saved what was actually left of the city, sinking the rest of it back into the bayou. That saved a lot of people, but it still wasn't enough. Almost a week after the sinking, more undead started coming out of the water. Now there is the "city" of Water's Grave, filled with undead, and dark magic.

Around Water's Grave, a set of towns built themselves up. Centered and led by the largest, which built itself in the former Saint's Stadium, they call themselves collectively the Saint's Ring.

But that was only the start of the problems. We've had refugees and traveler's from almost every major city come through in the last seven years. Each one has had a story of some sort of destruction, undead being probably the least important problem. Some kind of summoner destroyed most of Manhattan when they managed to summon a sea monster of some kind. From Washington D.C. was the epicenter for some kind of magical plague, which wiped out everything from Baltimore down to Norfolk and Virginia Beach, than all the way west to Richmond. That entire area is under quarantine.

In other areas monsters, both sentient, and not, started showing up. Florida became Ogre and Goblin country, with tribes of them taking over the entire state within days. Some refugees said that the skyscrapers in New York have harpies and other monsters in them, and there are rumors of a whole group of dragons in Upstate New York. We never heard from Syracuse or Rochester, or from anywhere North of New York City, so that might just be true.

We haven't seen anyone from to far out west either. We had a group from St. Louis a while ago, however they chose to move on. They told us that St. Louis was attacked by a horde of Undead, and then another Horde of monsters attacked. They weren't sure about the type of monster, but they seemed to think it was Orcs.

I figure that with the Great Plains right there, a number of monster tribes probably moved into the area. I suspect something really big moved into the desert area between Texas and California, as it's mostly open dry ground, with very little water or much of anything really, in between. Plus, we haven't heard anything from west Texas out to California.

I also figure something, or things, moved into the Rocky Mountains. If that's the case, then it is dangerous enough that it's either killed or chased off everyone trying to cross. Not a clue as to what it could be, as we haven't had anyone from that far west through our area yet.

The monsters were part of the bigger problem. The other part of the bigger problem was the greatest monster though. Human Greed. When the military took over areas, and the federal governement collapsing, it set the stage for a downgrade in society. Several of the military leaders established themselves as warlords and the like, while others took charge of the city they were in and created city-states. Some of the back country folk started forming community militias, and moved closer together for the protection. Guns still worked, though they had limited utility against a lot of the monsters. Undead don't really care if they've taken bullet wounds, they still chase after you. Magic works, but a lot of people still don't trust it, as too much damage and chaos was caused when the change started.

Now the East Coast, and everything East of the Mississippi really, has been divided up by the city states. Former State lines don't mean anything, and most places have reverted from our representative democracy, to fuedalism, and aristocracy. People are willing to follow the strongest around, if it means protection from the monsters. Most mages have figured out the basics of their power by now. Some, like myself, have even taken to learning new forms of magic, through a myriad number of tutors, not all of them good.

And yes, I am a mage as well. A necromancer to be exact, though I am far removed from the twisted bastards that use the dead for personal gain. You see, the Gods also returned with magic, though few enough know of that for now. They, from what I understand, arranged themselves all into one large pantheon, kind of like a United Nations for the Gods. And they all have a sub group within this group, based upon their domain.

And the Gods of Death are sort of pissed.

Anubis, my patron, talked with me a bit about it. "Basically, none of us like mortals who do what these necromancers are doing. The dead are supposed to be given eternal rest, but these necromancers, to raise the numbers they have, are capturing the souls of the dead and binding them to bodies. That is only acceptable under certain conditions, such as someone volunteering for that, or if a God gives you a soul that needs to earn atonement."

Anubis noticed me early on, because I was not only a necromancer, but a mortician, even if I was only an apprentice. "I don't have enough priests to be worried about whether or not you're an apprentice or not. You know what to do and how to do it, and now you have magic to help you with everything, instead of the technology you were using."

Anubis recruited me about two years ago, when enough magic had saturated the world that they could materialize easily. He actually found me trying to figure out my magic, and taught me not only how to control it, but how to use it as a true Necromancer, not the twisted version that most necromancers became.

So now I'm a Necromancer Priest of Anubis. Granted, I don't tell anyone really, and I don't ask for anything really either. Though everyone is very grateful for the fact that for some reason the dead stay dead in the area.

I'm currently living in a small town that formed up after the change. The locals gathered together about three "villages" and all moved into one town, then swore loyalty to Chicago. Chicago, or as it is more formally known now, the City-State of Chicago, controls large areas around Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan, as well as a bit of Wisconsin. They've also got a small freshwater navy going on, to help patrol the rivers and the lake for monsters and bandits. The former Admiral who took charge ended up becoming Prince Alfred.

Granted, he didn't live long as Prince. I think the stress got to him, but he died about a year ago, after being Prince for four years. Also true, he was an older guy, but thankfully, his son was in Chicago as well. His son was a Navy Captain, and well liked and respected by most of the military people. Can't say it changes much for me honestly, as the Princes of Chicago are about as far removed from me as can be.

Why am I writing all of this down. Well, I definitely agree with Anubis about one thing. When I die, I would like the story of my life to survive me, and maybe help teach those who come later. Because no one should have to go through the hell we went through to get here.