Prologue
Millenia ago, we were created, carved from the moon rock, forged by the moon goddess, a gift for Mother Nature. Alongside our counterparts, we protected the earth and all its inhabitants, maintaining the balance of nature. That was until they were created.
At first, we lived civilly amongst them, taught them how to maintain the balance, live off of the land. Overtime they discovered more and more, things that should’ve remained secret, things that could destroy everything we swore to protect.
Out of fear and greed they began to hunt us, they skinned us alive, burned us at stakes, hung us from trees and so much more. Even with our power, our strength, we were no match, our numbers quickly diminishing. Creatures were forced into the shadows, forced to watch as they destroyed the earth.
The shift in the balance led to mass extinctions, pollution, destruction of eco systems. Wars brought famine, economical disasters and more destruction. With each war their greed worsened, until they were starving for absolute control of everything that existed.
And from the shadows we watched.
The skies were polluted with gas and unnatural light, shielding the stars from sight, a thick cloak of murky winds and a sea of acid infested clouds. The oceans became infested with their waste, destroying fish colonies and almost destroying the siren species. Oil spills left thick, iridescent stains, impossible to survive in, travelling on the waves.
Dwarves were forced deeper underground as they burrowed deeper into mountains, stealing ores they didn’t need. Elves were forced to live amongst these dwarves, abandoning their natural habitats out of fear of being discovered, as the world died, so did their magic.
Werewolves lived amongst the them, relying on their non-wolf form to survive and sometimes their wolf died completely, leading to insanity and ultimately, death.
We tried however, to continue our duty to their gods and goddesses, attempting to sway their enemies with their own tactics. We became politicians, scientists, geologists and more, but to no avail. They were blinded by their greed, unable to see the true impact of their existence on the world.
The skies continued to darken and thicken, breathing became harder. The seas became denser, murkier and less habitable, forcing sirens into lakes and rivers that still weren’t clean, their magic diminishing. Wolves, faeries and pixies were forced deeper into hiding, some joining the elves and dwarves as their forests were destroyed.
For us, hope was lost. Our duty to our gods, to our goddesses, was impossible under these new conditions. We lost faith in those we worshipped. We lost faith in ourselves.
And so, we continued to watch from the shadows, hoping for death.
Centuries passed, death did not come, only more pain, suffering and destruction. More forests destroyed and, in their stead, towering jungles of concrete, steel and glass, more of the ocean polluted by towering monuments, extracting oil, leaking toxic waterfalls. We were convinced that death must surely follow soon.
It was nothing we could have expected, a war that destroyed them, completely. It destroyed their monuments, it destroyed their eco systems. It destroyed them.
We continued to watch, from within the mountains, from the furthest ends of the earth. And we waited, until there was nothing left of them.
We walked amongst the rubble, we saw their fallen empires, their fallen kingdom. Everything was gone, everything destroyed. We wondered if the earth could heal, now that they were gone.
We worked alongside our brethren creatures, drawing on any of the magic left in the earth to help heal it. Using the debris, the destruction, to create new life. From the concrete jungles, forests were rebirthed, erupting form cracks and crevices. Grass, moss, flowers and more flourished, completely covering whatever was left.
What couldn’t be used, or hidden was swept away by tsunamis, used to create new eco systems in the ocean, new homes for sirens and sea life. Coral reefs were created atop these originally useless structures.
Like a phoenix rising from the ashes, we flourished. New Kingdoms created, once again we could fulfil the duty of our ancestors. Each creature returned to its environment, laying claim, protecting their new Kingdoms. A delicate society was created amongst the creatures, allies in their duties.
Everything was as it once was and as it always should have been.
The strongest of each species took leadership, ensuring that the errors of the past would not be repeated. Never again would they be hunted; never again would the earth be diseased.
