It was the day conspiracy theorists went crazy. The fungus appeared seemingly out of nowhere, initially intriguing herbalists and nature buffs. Some called it an existing yet undiscovered species, others declared it was of alien origin and some were certain it was developed in government labs.
Wherever it came from, one thing was for certain. It was spreading, fast. Initially the air carried the spores over long distances allowing the fungus to spread rapidly across vast areas. As more and more humans came into contact with it, it was discovered that minute spores could cling onto clothes, hair and even skin, taking it across the the world in but a few short weeks. By the time It started killing it was everywhere.
Various attempts at discovering an agent that could destroy it, or at least contain it, proved futile. One by one, global governments dissolved and the few people that remained reverted back into tribal societies at best, at worst, totally chaotic groups that just roamed the land pillaging and looting.
With time, the survivors figured out ways to avoid the fungus and protect themselves from it. The spores, in their abundance, became weaponised, as all other means of warfare eclipsed along with humanity. It took a little more than a century but eventually some forms of organised societies started appearing again, each their own mentality, beliefs and agenda. Due to scarcity of resources and detachment from the pre-fungus global sense of community however, people focused more on what divided them, that what brought them together. Competing factions soon rose to power and warfare, from minor skirmishes to full scale battles, waged all over.
Over the years and within the reconstructed remnants of formerly glorious cities, four major factions emerged, each appealing to people of various mentalities and demeanors.
The Outcasts, a band of unruly nomads and raiders, living off of the wealth of others.
The Nobles, a militarized aristocracy ruled with an iron fist by their leaders.
The Traditionalists, a superstitious tribal society with strong ties to the old human traditions
The Futurists, a small group of mechanically enhanced humans with thoughts of total annihilation of the weaker unenhanced human race.
It is with these four that the survival, or ultimate demise, of the human race now lies.