The
story of D.Gray-man takes place on a fictional
Earth at the end
of the 19th century. The plot centers around Allen Walker, a young
British boy, who is a member of The Black Order, a secretive
organization whose members are known as Exorcists. The Orders primary
mission is to stop The Millennium Earl, an ancient demonic sorcerer,
who intents to 'cleanse' the world by destroying all life.
Exorcists are specially chosen humans who are
gifted with the
ability to control and use Innocence, a divine substance created in
ages past to combat the Earl. According to the Order's history, at the
end of The Great Flood, 109 fragments of Innocence were scattered
around the world. Once an Innocence fragment is matched to its
compatible user, it can become a weapon or tool for the user to wield
in the battle against the Earl.
Throughout the story, Allen is introduced to more
Exorcists,
including Yu Kanda, Lenalee Lee, Lavi, Miranda Lotto, and Arystar
Krory. Assisting Allen and the Exorcists are a team of scientists and
handlers led by Komui Lee, a Supervisor of the Black Order and
Lenalee's older brother. Allen's master and mentor is the enigmatic
Cross Marian, one of the five Exorcist Generals of the Black Order, who
at the beginning of the story has mysteriously disappeared. In the
course of completing their missions, Allen and his fellow Exorcists are
introduced to the other Generals: Kevin Yeegar, Froi Tiedoll, Cloud
Nine, and Winter Sokaro.
The Millennium Earl is aided in his plans by The
Noah Clan, humans
who are direct descendants of Noah himself. Each member of this clan is
gifted with great power and each represent a different 'aspect' of
Noah. They are identified by their gray skin and line of cross-shaped
markings on their foreheads. As the story progresses, more members of
the clan are revealed including, Road Kamelot (the Dreams of Noah),
Tyki Mikk (the Pleasures of Noah), Jasdero and Debitto (the Bonds of
Noah), and Skin Boric (the Wrath of Noah).
The Earl also utilizes an army of demonic
creatures called Akuma to
do his bidding. Akuma are created by taking advantage of someone's
grief over the death of a loved one. The Earl tricks individuals into
bringing their loved one back to life through a skeletal 'doll', only
to have that doll kill them and turn them into an Akuma with the soul
of the dead loved one trapped inside. Akuma are able to evolve and with
each new level grow more intelligent, powerful, and sadistic. Since
Akuma can impersonate humans to blend in, Exorcists are rountinely
assigned to track down and eliminate them.
