Hello again, POI fandom! This story requires a bit of an explanation. 'Paragon' is an original story I've been working on for over a year now. I have recently become very enveloped in the Person of Interest fandom and decided to try my hand at combining the complex world I created with our favorite vigilantes. The following chapter is a full rundown of the AU I have been forming in my head for the past year and a half. If you find the world intriguing and wish to find out how Reese and Finch's adventure's would change in a setting like this, then feel free to continue on to the next chapter and stay tuned for future (and hopefully relatively consistent) updates!

p.s. if the lack of Person of Interest in this specific chapter bores you, you could always try reading it in Finch's voice. It wasn't written for his way of speaking so it might not work throughout the whole thing, but it could be fun XD

Thank you in advance for checking out my story! Happy reading my fellow Irrelevants!

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Introduction - A Different World

Have you ever wondered if there was a world around you that was completely invisible to your eye? A world full of magic and mystery and things that science just couldn't explain. What if I told you that this world was real, but it's unlike anything you've ever heard before?

There's a certain element of fantasy that goes along with dreaming about a different and exciting world. It's a very common misconception about what we do as paragon, but it's a nice thought.

Most of you know we exist, but you fear what we are capable of. You even started the Guardian Initiative- an international police force that specializes in paragon affairs- to protect yourselves from us. The initiative claims to protect humans and paragon alike, but there's not much evidence for the latter. Our race has been oppressed and denied by society for centuries without regard to who we are as people. We often have to hide in plain sight just to escape the whispers and murmurs about how we are all just demons sent from hell to destroy human life as you know it.

As a matter of fact, there is a group of paragon who call themselves Knaves who have taken those accusations and made them reality. They wish to make you, and even other paragon alike, beneath them and rule over it all with an iron fist. The Knaves are the main reason most of you fear all paragon, including Paladins.

Arguably, Paladins are the exact opposite of Knaves. We fight for peace between all races, and try to make right what the Knaves have wronged. But between human fear and Knave scorn, it constantly feels like we are fighting an uphill battle.

There are some who would rather not label themselves and walk the streets alone. Commonly referred to as Rogues, these paragon usually focus on one thing: survival. They usually have little regard for human affairs and would rather not associate with Knaves or Paladins. Their most common problem is generally trying to avoid getting killed by the next enemy that crosses their path. Although sometimes, they have no choice but to accept our offer- the arma you're given as a paragon can't solve everything.

Arma is Latin for weapon, and that's exactly what it is. When a paragon is born, they always find a coin on their eighteenth birthday - but of course it's not just an ordinary coin. This coin possesses a power that only the owner can harness. If tossed into the air by its owner, the coin will transform into a weapon specialized for that paragon. There's no way to tell which weapon you will receive, but every paragon's weapon is different - and some are more useful than others, which leads some to rely solely on their elements.

Along with the arma that every paragon has, they also have the ability to harness a certain element. There are seven in total: Fire, Earth, Water, Air, Electricity, Darkness, and Psychic. These elements are assigned to a paragon on their eighteenth birthday just like the arma. It's revealed when a tattoo of the element's symbol appears on the paragon's right wrist.

No one knows exactly how we get our specific elements and armis, but that is how it has been for centuries. A paragon then trains with their weapon and element to learn how to use it effectively so that they may survive in the dangerous world that we live in.

However, the Knaves radical idea of tyrannical power isn't the only thing we have to fight. In addition to that we also have to avoid the monsters that walk the earth. This is one of the main problems you don't know we face. The creatures themselves usually try to avoid human contact, but sometimes they fail. I'm sure you've heard the conspiracy theories and ghost stories about creatures such as the Loch Ness Monster or Bigfoot.

The existence of these beasts has been debated for decades by humans, but they are completely unaware that the creatures they have seen are part of the paragon world. The Loch Ness Monster in the paragon world has been widely accepted as a monster known as an aquapens - a vicious, large serpent that gains strength from being in water.

Bigfoot on the other hand is speculated to be an illusion created by the creature we call a psychus. This animal is a panther with a mesmerizing fur coat who can trick its target into seeing or hearing things that aren't there. We assume that one was close to being sighted by a human and created the vision of Bigfoot as a distraction.

Those are just a few examples of the monsters we face. There are many more and too many to list which makes our job even harder. Many of them have been documented so we know their weaknesses and what to expect, but a paragon's most common fear is going up against a creature one doesn't understand.

Being a paragon is anything but a fantasy. Sure, it's a world full of adventure and magic and chaos, but when every man is armed with a weapon, there can be no peace. You either fight to make history or die trying.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Not all of these ideas will have an effect on our POI team, they just help build the world up to give you an understanding of what they're up against. I hope this kept your attention enough to make you want to keep reading!