The large, prosperous town of Middlebrook was once one of the largest of New York's townships, second in the state only to New York City itself. Then, on May 21st, 2011, the murders started. It started with the death of Elizabeth Brooks, 31, who was found dead of a stab wound in a deserted alleyway in the middle of the town. The next day, Gregory Klarc, a live-in nurse working for Hospice was found killed by his employer, and the day after that, Hannah Townsend, a Librarian at the Middlebrook Town Library, was found dead within the aisles of her own library by one of her coworkers. Every day, there was another murder, and as the police continually failed to locate any leads or even draw close to a suspect the panic in the town increased. Many fled, leaving behind homes and lives to get clear of the escalating situation, but many did not-- and 100 days later, with the death of Eve Kadmon, the Middelebrook Apocalypse began.
It was August 28th, late afternoon, when the dark storm clouds began to gather over the city. The Damned Angel Lariníen uttered the final words of the Rite that ripped the town of Middlebrook from Upstate New York and, indeed, from the World itself. The rain fell, swift and cold, even as a intense Blizzard began to envelope the outer extents of the city. Hundreds were caught on the interstate, attempting to leave town for whatever reason and blind to the danger as they drove out past the newly formed Chancel Barrier and were frozen solid. The dead rose from the grave, milling about the streets of the cities interior and causing no end of panic and overreaction, and flaming meteors rained from the sky with impunity. Most notable of all, in the center of Middlebrook Village there arose a massive and alien architecture. Several city blocks simply vanished, swallowed into uncertain dimensions as the Great Library rose to dominate the very center of the Chancel and began to spill forth horrible winged Demons and the souls of the Damned. Hell had come to the town of Middlebrook. Amidst all this chaos, almost unnoticed by most of the inhabitants, was the commencement of five of the Nobilis.
It was Fenix Hawke who first made his presence felt in the Chancel, and most strongly, when he restored the walking dead to their full faculties and forged from amongst their numbers a powerful organization known as the Phoenix Foundation, whose headquarters is located within the township but whose primary focus lay outside of it. Most notable for their remaining contact with the outside world, but viewed with some suspicion by residents of Middlebrook due to their strange origins and unknown loyalties, they were none the less the first notable presence within the Chancel that seemed to have some understanding of what was going on. "We are now servants of the Powers of Creation," though, was a vague and unhelpful answer. It remained, however, the only answer that the people of Middlebrook had until the Coming of Winter. Kyanite Addison, the Dominus of Winter, began his first fumbling steps toward telling the people of the Chancel the truth of their circumstances. This first involved handing out pamphlets of information door-to-door (during the dead of night) and directing the curious to a website he had set up, but eventually, the shy young Noble was convinced to make a public television appearance. Despite his efforts, the things he shared seemed to raise more questions than answers.
Eventually, these questions were answered by the fiery words and charisma of Gunter Harris and the Faithful. Their peaceful town had been claimed by the forces of Hell, and only by uniting in faith and service to Heaven could their souls be freed from the pit and their town returned to grace. The chief of police in the village of Middlebrook itself, Gunter wasted no time in making good on such claims, launching a SWAT assault on the home of "Fenix Hawke", another raid on the Headquarters of the Phoenix Foundation, and having his men engage several of the winged demon temptresses that occasionally soared through the city. He even rounded up several of the Damned, holding them in secure cells for questioning, and likely would have done more if his efforts were not thwarted by the attentions of Hiro Nakatana and the demoness Megara. Fearful of their town being destroyed by warrings divine beings, the city officials arranged for a sit down between the various parties, which was unexpectedly attended by the Lady Aisekikawa and her consort, Kuzunoha.
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