Degredation Stories

(Confession of Mastermind Novella) Ever wonder what led up to Zakary Jameson's reign of terror? Here, the question is answered: How does a wonderfully kind, perfectly normal boy turn into a serial killer?

The peninsular city-nation of Rift could better be described as two sister cities joined at the hip. In the north, nestled within a crescent of jagged mountain peaks was Uptown. Home to the capitol, Uptown held the mind of Rift. At the mouth of the nearly enclosed ring of mountains is a small bottleneck leading to the heart of Rift, the massive and sprawling Downtown. One day a mysterious automated fleet arrived at Rift's southern shores. Within an hour, the enemy decimated Downtown, with Uptown sealing the bottleneck and officially divorcing the two sections of the city. A year later, Downtown has evolved into a series of factions, each with their own unique views on what should become of Downtown, let alone Uptown.