Welcome to Nashville! Aka Smashville, aka Nash Vegas, aka Music City. In 2019, the city was thriving with small in-home studios, a growing food scene, and a growing number of transplants with tech companies set to move to the city. The city was thriving and growing, maybe not in the ways some locals would want, but still thriving. Near the end of the year, rumors of sickness from China started. At first, it was called a pandemic, but something started happening; it began with the animals exposed or experimented with the virus/vaccine, then the survivors of COVID-19 and the vaccinated, and then worldwide change.
The worldwide change started with a strange fog that seemed to permeate the air. It was attributed to pollution when it first appeared, even though the Earth had been cleaner than in the past decade due to pandemic protocols. Then, in a popular live stream, the multi-colored mist-like substance sparked with energy and hit a nearby vehicle. The spark supercharged the car, achieving flight for a brief moment. Then it zapped a duck, and the animal grew into the size of a horse. Was it a hoax? Some elaborate visual effects? Many in the chat had these ideas. Then, news outlets, live streams, and even radio shows started showing and/or reporting phenomenal events worldwide. Survivors of the pandemic began coming forward and recording themselves doing impossible things. Lifting cars with one hand, flight, running faster than cars on a highway, invisibility, telekinesis, pyrokinesis, strong tails, growing multiple limbs, and many other fantastic abilities were seen.
It wasn't all fun and games, just like the enlarged duck; these events affected animals and the environment. Myths, legends, nightmares, prehistoric creatures, and apocalyptic-like natural disasters became a reality. Countries with strict gun control had the worst issues defending themselves. Then, in Japan, someone suffering from fourth-grade syndrome harnessed something in the air and caused black lightning to hit an amorphous creature as he spouted some nonsensical dialogue and threw a punch from 10 feet away. Of course, someone captured the incident on their phone and shared it all on the internet. This event led to people trying all sorts of things and figuring out that magic and martial arts cultivation are now possible!
Humanity as always continued to adapt and survive, with the help of comicbook-like super intellects, some luck, and some highly questionable, to the point of even being called idiotic if it wasn't for the positive outcome, actions five years after finding out that stories had come alive have taken great leaps forward. Technology has started adapting to the new world's standard of normal, preliminary systems have been put in place to keep the monsters in check, and humanity has begun to press on once again in the new chaotic world.
Welcome to the new Nashville! Music has played a significant role in this city, and when it was discovered that it could interact with magic in unique ways, Nashville became one of the world's forefront for this unique brand of music. Bardic inspiration has become a reality, and although recordings can give some boost, transmissions are even more remarkable; live music created the biggest boons. Here, those seeking to make a living hunting monsters can find an easy buff walking down the street. Here, a school was built to teach and research how music interacts with magic. The guild of bards was established here, and many musicians seek to become one. What is the difference? According to the guild, while both may make music with various skill, the bard can consistently produce the same magic with their music. It is here musicians get their bard certification. This city has become one of humanity's greatest bastions because of this. Thus, it has gained a new nickname: the City of Bards!