Break

Prologue

July 2066
     "I was confident. Too confident. I was confident that I could see through everyone's mask, I was confident that no one could see through mine. That confidence was my downfall. I was supposed to be great. I was supposed to save everyone. Instead, my foolish confidence brought me here. Here meaning a tiny padded cell with a straight jacket hugging my arms.
     I guess the only thing I can do is tell you how I got here. That's the real story.
     My name is Dante Rocco. I was born into the Raubtiers. The Raubtiers are — were — the most powerful Group in society. We had it all: money, political and economic influence, as well as social power. We had some of the greatest minds in history. But we were cruel. Scary. In addition to all our power, we ran just about every underground operation and black market in America. The one of the other Groups, the Varelses (unofficially known as our rivals), did not appreciate our primary line of business; criminal activity.
     The Varelses are the politicians, the business owners, and just about every rich person obsessed with control. They hate the Raubtiers because we see right through their act and we oppose them. Then there are the Salvaturs. The middle ground. The people who 'would never dream of siding with the Raubtiers or the Varelses.' They are the freelancers, actors, artists, etc.
     Another thing is no one in this society moves up unless it's within their own Group.  And no one would ever dream of switching Groups. It was illegal, really.
     Except for Tate. Tate, the the reason for this war, the reason for my imprisonment.

     That's where my confidence started: I was born high up into the Raubtiers, and I thought I could manage a task so illegal it had never even crossed my mind before. I was sure I could do it, and bring society to it's knees while I was at it.
     I did it for peace. The slogans released by the Varelses and Salvaturs were aware of this as well. The slogans released by the Varelses and Salvaturs claiming the groups had peace and friendship were false. Every Raubtier knew that, and most Varelses and Salvaturs were aware of this as well. Despite what the Salvaturs are or claim to be, the Varelses have them under control. Thinking that the rest of the Raubtiers would be on my side, I went about my plans. It was almost like war. For decades, the Varelses have been searching for a reason to try and beat the Raubtiers down. The violence was horrible. I thought I knew what violence was; being raised surrounded by gangs, cults and black markets. I have never been more wrong.'