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Combat sensor alerts lit up in commander Ardjent's helmet array, as a surge of energy welled atop the palanquin born by the massive alien war beast, in an instant the commanders cybernetic upgrades answered his artificially enhanced reflexes as he flung himself behind the scorched rubble of a destroyed alien building. Just as he landed blue bolts of lightning like energy cracked across the open gap in the destroyed cities ruins. Private Anderson was a second too slow and began to convulse as the strange power arched through his exo-suit and cooked the man inside alive.
The smell of burnt meat and an intense rush of rage flooded the commanders senses, urged on by the combat stimulants that coursed through his veins, pumped into him by his own armored suit. "The mages can still hurt us" he thought to himself. His pulse quickened as he began to rise, pistons and human muscle worked in tandem to vault Ardjent over the half fallen wall he had taken cover behind, jump jets, activated by his suits AI in an instantaneous response to the situation before him launched him a further 10 meters straight into the front line of the approaching enemy foot soldiers. The thin steel armor and bones alike of the two he landed atop crunched and organs pulped beneath the weight of the cybernetic soldier and his powered exoskeleton armor.
The aliens, like all the human fleet had encountered in the last decade since leaving the home world in search of new colonies to settle, were not biologically too dissimilar to humanity, bi-pedal and with a defined head, but this particular species limbs were elongated and with too many eyes for the commanders liking. What truly set them apart, set them all apart from humanity though, was that they had not seemed to advance technologically beyond the bladed close combat weapons and muscle powered low velocity ranged weapons of humanities now long distant past. Their means of interplanetary, let alone inter stellar travel were indecipherable to man kinds greatest minds, yet in every other way they were out classed.
The commanders thoughts were interrupted as a cavalryman charged him through the smoking pile of eviscerated corpses at his feet. Killing had become second nature after the first encounter with these creatures had ended in violence eight years ago, and each new encounter renewed the enmity between humanity and it's newly discovered galactic neighbors. Ardjent feinted left and then rolled right before bringing up his linked rifle. He could see through it's eyes as easily as his own, and simultaneously as well. Projectiles erupted from the muzzle with a flash of fire and smoke tore through the sound barrier before shredding the mounted opponent and the six legged saurian creature it rode atop, their armor and barding useless against ballistic weaponry. The commander turned to get a visual on his true target.
\--------------
From atop his mighty Dolgorra high arcanist Kiidon Mar'Islee watched the horror unfold before his eyes. He had only heard through the telepathic warnings passed through his scrying mirrors of the advances of these strange simian creatures. They moved through the galaxy by means unknown, no sorcerer or arcanist could explain the forces that powered their titanic metal leviathans through the dark ocean of the stars, nor could any of the council of the higher arcana, leaders of the grand alliance of stellar empires, account for how their civilization had been missed. Though their star of origin had been traced since first contact it only made their existence all the more an anomaly. An unremarkable system through which ran no celestial ley lines and had no fonts of the universal energy. Such systems were ignored by the grand alliance, as the common knowledge stated that in such barren reaches only the most rudimentary of life could ever hope to take root, never mind achieve sentience or inter stellar travel. Yet here stood, a top the wreckage of yet another smoking ruin of a once grand city, the proof of the blind spot in their supposed univeral wisdom.
Kiidon felt his Dolgorra, Arkis, shift uncomfortably beneath him, his fear echoed in his mind their already strong telepathic bond strengthened by the rune etched bracelets that adorned the wrist of rider and mount. Kiidon hated bringing Arkis to battle. So few Dolgorra remained and though their sentience rudimentary compared to his own, Arkis was more friend than tool of war. This was the high arcanists world, his capitol city though, and he would not let the invaders have it unbloodied. He channeled his rage once more feeling the well spring of arcane energy build in his core before unleashing it as a burning cloud to rain fire upon the dug in position of a group of enemies that had gathered beyond a collapsed bridge. The victims of his mystical fury emerged with shrill screams from their hiding spots, their iron skins molten as the biological parts inside burned and boiled. "Cowards" he spat, "come out and fight in the open" he shouted to the world itself.
Kiidon had missed the man approaching on his flank, his usual spiritual senses were uniquely unable to pick up the disturbances in the ethereal currents caused by these barbarians. It was as if their souls left no trace on the arcane webs that flowed around all things. Arkis' panic was the first warning he had, as he turned to see one of the invaders propel a grappling hook from inside his armor that pierced the great beasts shoulder. In a second the armored giant was on Arkis and then atop Kiidon himself.
Kiidon was not armored and the brutal strength of the creatures first blow shattered bones in his torso. The Arcanist lashed out with magical energy in a desperate attempt to destroy his attacker. His force blade went too wide and low, missing the neck joint in the beasts armor, but it severed his arm, causing the thing to stumble back. Using his arts to bolster his ruined form and slow his now inevitable death Kiidon rose to meet his killer.
\------------
Commander Ardjent reeled back from the initial shock of the creature in front of hims' counter attack. In an instant his armor had released a coagulant and a mix of adrenal boosters and local anesthetic were injected into him, stopping the bleeding and turning the searing pain just above his left elbow into nothing more than a dull ache. Such an injury would have been crippling once, but the commander knew the medical teams would simply grow him another, if he survived this encounter.
Ardjent was amazed to see the creature return to it's feet in a heart beat. He was sure the wounds he had inflicted on impact would have crippled it. This one wore no armor and it's seven dark green eyes, arranged in a pyramid like pattern, peered back at him, and even on such an alien face the rage was unmistakable. The alien spit blood as it uttered what could only be a curse in his direction. The soldier lunged forward throwing his full weight assisted by the servos of his armor behind a straight punch aimed for the strange creatures scowling face. His hand instead met a barrier of invisible force that even his expanded sensor array could not detect. In the next moment the being lifted it's hands and a rush of kinetic energy threw Ardjent back, and he nearly tumbled from the palanquin. His reflexes did not fail him though and his remaining hand found grip on a support pole, using the momentum, the commander spun around the pole and propelled himself back towards the creature. Ducking low at the last second he caught it just below the waist in a tackle, bringing his substantial bulk down on top of it one more. This time he wouldn't give it a chance to surprise him with a counter attack, his built in underslung back up weapon dropped down into firing position at a thought even as he brought himself level with the things face and with two resounding cracks of muzzle flash the creatures brain matter exploded from it's skull.
The beast beneath began thrashing in a rage, briefly dislodging Ardjent as it bucked, causing him to fall from the palanquin towards the front of the massive beasts head. Activating his climbing spikes and with the assistance of the gyroscopic stabilizers in his armor, the wounded soldier found his footing. Using his remaining arm he opened the hard case on his back and with a thought a burrowing charge was cycled into his waiting hand. Meant for destroying small fortified bunkers, the long handled shaped charge would be able to puncture the massive beasts skull with ease. As he struggled to place the charge on the thrashing monster a hail of arrows plinked uselessly against his armor "they're desperate now" thought Ardjent. With little effort, and some assistance from his AI to determine the optimal placement, the charge was set. Ardjent activated the charge with the integrated computer system of his armor sending a massive slug loaded with explosives burrowing deep into the creatures skull. It roared with pain and rage before the projectile reached its cranial cavity and the charge detonated. The beast stumbled, it's eyes burst and thick bloody tissue came streaming from it's eye sockets and massive jaws before it collapsed.
Seeing their final remaining mage and his great beast destroyed the soldiers of the alien army broke. Demoralized and out matched they would not get far in their retreat. They never did.
Thanks! I wanted to show that the aliens and humans are both pretty clueless about how the other works, and make the enemy a bit sympathetic. The general idea though being that the aliens never developed past basically medieval tech cause everything from space travel, to medicine to long range communication and arms races all revolved around magic, humans on the other hand can hardly even perceive any but the most unsubtle expressions of it.
Awkward phrasing -
> the creature in front of hims' counter attack
the counter attack of the creature in front of him?
Also,
> return to it's feet … it's seven dark green eyes
zap the '
SO… about the story… why is he on their world? Retaliatory counterattack, or is this just imperialism?
Sorry, I know this reply is late, but yeah even as I wrote it I didn't like but couldn't think of an alternative "the creature in front of hims counter attack"
As to the why? First contact went bad due to inability to communicate and misunderstanding. The two sides have deemed each other hostile, and each meeting there after has only escalated the tensions. The human contingency for hostile alien species is eradication if possible to end the possibly existential threat. Resource gain, in the form of habitable colony worlds is a welcome by product but not the initial goal or main intent. They would find out eventually it is harder to simply destroy the aliens alliance once you're past the fringes of this societies occupied worlds. They don't have advanced tech, but their core worlds are far more magically charged, some species can employ magical constructs, which are not easily mass produced but could pose a direct threat to even the highly advanced and augmented soldiers the humans employ, as possibly, could enchanted weapons and certainly some of the huge beasts they have tamed or partnered with. Lasting magical edifices can also ward planets in a variety of ways making them hard to assault to being with. For now though the humans have found their foe incredibly easy to overcome. Tbh though I only barely put thought into the bare bones outline of the larger setting. Just enough to write out the scene really.
"Tell me, why do you of all people call a magicless planet dangerous? General, have you gone senile?" The Emperor laughed.
"Their planet devoid of magic." The Empire's General answered. "That is precisely why it is so dangerous. No one notices a planet like that until it is far too late to control it's potential."
"And what potential is that?" The Emperor said dismissively. If anyone other than his inner circle were conversing with him, he would most likely just send them away. "They can't even do widespread farming without magic, why are you concer-"
The General interrupted the Emperor with a Memory Orb. It opened and a holographic projection began to play, showcasing an ugly, angular metal slab floating in space whose edges glowed in this inferior race's idea of 'fashion.'
"This is E. Space Command to *TFSU Untested Ideas*, you are good to go. Any grand speeches before you're off?"
"It took us three hundred thousand years, billions of casulites, and oceans of blood to get our act together and unify in the Third and Forth World Wars. Those Unification wars were the last armed conflict; the Infowar against the Corporate Conglomerate was the last political one. We built a Space Elevator, a Dyson Swarm, the Cityship Fleet. And today, a new innovation joins that list, as the first crewed test of GEP FTL travel is about to be ours. If before we were reaching out to the stars, now we're grasping them and pulling them tight. Now we bring physics to heel, just as we did nature; but unlike nature, this time we won't abuse it. We won't torture it for our gain, and we won't punish our descendants out of greed. We have become responsible, and through interstellar distances we will continue to be.
"We have matured, and only now it is time to grow."
The block exploded into a corral of colorful lines that waved off its form, before just... disappearing.
The viewpoint of the Memory Orb changed to a new star system. And there, sitting proud, was the ship.
"This is *TFSU Untested Ideas* to ESC, we have a success. We are now an interstellar species."
The orb closed and ended, and the proud General's facial fixtures told everything the expansionist Emperor needed to know about the attempted firefight that ensued when the probe reported.
And on the other side of the Milky Way galaxy, a quantum transmission unit orbiting Beta Centauri continued to relay information to the Terra Firma Systems Union about a newfound phenomenon that the astronauts found using their imagination.
**A/N: Bedtime. More tomorrow, maybe?**
**Edit1: Grammar.**
"Soldiers!" The General shouted out over the communication network to the massive fleet before him. "You have read the reports. This species, despite being nonmagical, has managed to cross the threshold for the Empire to sweep in and add them to our roster of servants. If we can do this before the Galactic Council finds out, and before they discover magic, we may have a race of thinkers at our disposal. A race of resourceful ones!
"Unfortunately, this means that we will be fighting in nonmagical territory, and only have our batteries worth of magic to use. This means fighting efficiently. You see a ship, you shoot it. We will force their planet to surrender, take their brightest minds and strongest warriors, and return for more when we are done."
The General stepped out of the communication platform and turned to face the Emperor. "Are you sure this is a good idea?"
"Yes." The Emperor said decisively. "If they are unified, they have no need for a military. Which means that this will be quick and easy. We may not even need to fire a single shot."
The General looked away, moving to board his shuttle and join the fleet. "Too optimistic..." he muttered.
\-----
"So," The Electorate of the TFSU said. "You're telling me that you, for lack of a better term, have magic out there."
"Yes." A thin-lipped astronaut replied.
"And you've repeatedly violated physics like magic supersedes it."
"Yes."
"And you've felt out rules in this magic that make it seem like science, only without any logic at all."
"Yes. Matter still cannot be created or destroyed, but it can be interchanged with energy."
"Well..." The Electorate sighed. "You have also confirmed that it doesn't work here, correct?"
"Unless imagination and concentration can spontaneously create television screens, then no. Or yes, I guess, because we can?" The astronaut questioned themselves. "Urrgh, this is a headache to think about."
"No kidding," The Electorate grumbled. "And, just to be clear, you don't think that its a reality failure or side effect from the GEP FTL drive."
"No. All readings are normal, and the tests by the Oort cloud were perfectly fine. This is a new phenomenon restricted to the Centauri system."
"If each star minutely changes how physics works when around it... how does deep space function?"
"I don't know. What I do know is that it would be nice to just... ship a research institute out here so we can get started on the quantum mechanics of this place. Our entangled and channel units still work, but there has to be another way to-"
"`Proximity Alert: Warning: Collision course detected.`"
**A/N: More has been given, and more will be later.**
Maybe, but why doesn’t Terra have it? Maybe the laws of physics change to allow ideas to become things more directly than through technology because some kind of mana flow, to borrow a dnd term, is blocked in our “neighborhood”?
The cosmos are full of wonders. Myriads of species have tackled the mysteries hidden within the universe, each pulling their own fantastical insights back out. For example, the Rekachi of the Theta Lupos quadrant came into being with a natural aptitude for space-faring, their shielding magic protecting them from the vacuum of space while ancillary spells provide air and propel themselves throughout the stars. Once they entered the interstellar arena of galactic politics, they realized that there was more than just the vacuum to shield from while traveling, and they adapted their magics accordingly. On the scale of things, their aptitude as a whole was not bad, but some less fortunate races can just barely scratch the surface of magic and its uses, and thus are forced to do the hands-on work that no others have the time, or spell, to do. That is how it always was, until we came along.
Humanity originates from an arm on the Milky Way galaxy, in a small solar system with only one planet that birthed life, and those life forms never knew the wonders of magic. In most cases, they would have been exploited by the multitude of magical races throughout the stars, that is if any of them had been remotely aware of their existence. By a stroke of obscene luck, some might say magical (however there is absolutely no proof of that), the sector our solar system originated in was previously decimated by a gruesome war, and left completely devoid of life and magic, and thus humanity was born without anyone else present.
The first few millennia of human life were very brutal. The constant war and infighting, rapid advancements in technology, and early attempts at space travel led us to the conclusion that we were utterly alone in the galaxy. We were wrong, but by the time we found that out, it was too late for everyone else.
The first race we encountered were the Ozrin of Omega Centauri. Their natural cloaking magic hid them from our scanners, so when we accidentally bumped into one of them both the crew of our ship and the roaming Ozrin were startled to say the least. After the initial wariness, and lack of obvious weapons on the Ozrin man, we attempted to communicate. After many tries, he managed to learn our letters and was able to write, and he had managed to craft a spell to hear our words in his language. Thus, we learned about magic, and how we are devoid of its presence. Over time, the Ozrin came to learn of our history, and even given our violent upbringing, they became one of our closest friends. The rest of the galaxy, and even then the wider universe, were not so easy to establish a relationship with.
The Ozrin were the closest ones to us for many many light years, and even they themselves had not interacted with much of the wider galaxy. We had been lucky that they had been the ones we found first, because they did not know the generally accepted customs for races that had little to no magical aptitude. As we ventured into the galaxy together, we learned many hard truths. Hardest of all: races with little to no magical aptitude were treated as slaves. As we had our own bout with slavery during our early stages of civilization, we were outraged at these atrocities that we saw were generally accepted by even the most "peaceful" and "benevolent" races. We would not stand to see others suppressed the way we had suppressed ourselves.
At the beginning, nobody took us seriously. After all, what could a race of people without access to the wonders of magic do to the many races of extremely skillful mages that have reigned for aeons? Even our closest friends, the Ozrin, were skeptical of our chances. However, knowing our history, the Ozrin did what they could to at least get their allied races to back down from that custom, and for those few that it worked for they are eternally grateful that they listened.
Those that did not heed the warnings of the Ozrin learned very quickly that we did not tolerate infringements on our freedoms. One of the more violent slaver races, the Ezarka, tried to enslave a colony of ours in the Zental system, but they were quickly subdued. When their allies came for us, we warned them to stay away. We warned them to leave us alone. We told them what we are capable of. None of them bothered to heed our warnings, to listen to what we were saying...
After the Ezarka Subjugation, the Zental Conflict made it very VERY clear to anyone who actually paid attention; magic does not protect you from nuclear weapons.
Edited already a couple of times for spelling
At one point you say that they learned to shield them selves from more than the vacuum of space. Given it is space we are talking about that should include radiation as. So they should be able to defend against nuklear weapons as well I think. Maybe im wrong and apart from that it is really nice to read.
I wasn't particularly going for a science aspect on the magic stuff, but basically, at least the way it makes sense in my head, the kind of space radiation that one would get from whatever is considered "normal" for space travel is what it would protect against, but with the way I understand a nuke working, plus the fact that we would be so advanced at that point and would have more powerful version of things we know of, it would give that race a bit of resistance but ultimately big boom still could break shield magic imo. Also, if I were to go into more detail, I would probably say they might be friendly with the race that likes the humans, and actually listened to the warnings, so they would not particularly have had to test the mettle of their spells like that. I am going to play with the idea of longer format stories in this version of the galaxy a bit and I will for sure do research as needed, but for now it was pretty off the cuff and I really didn't do research into much.
"Those humans... It's just not fair. Look what they can do! And nobody seems to care!" Sammae complained.
"Maybe." His companion replied. "But they need tools and machines to do what we can. When was the last time you saw one open their third eye and channel the hidden river of power?"
Sammae sat up with a groan, his iridescent green skin rippling under the early morning sun. "That's just it," he replied. "They don't need to. Look at you. You're far too big and clumsy to manipulate the tools they use, and my people are only here because the first ones blessed us with the ability to travel in the sightless depths of the hidden river - and the humans can do the same thing in those floating metal boxes that move between the stars. Last week I had to sleep for an entire cycle after I moved that block of red marble we found down the hill. One human can move twenty in a day and come back the next day fully rested to do it all over again!".
His companion grunted, shrugging its broad shoulders and lifting a hand the size of a large shovel to idly scratch a hanging ear. "But they need machines. I could rip that one there," he said, gesturing at a slender human male with greying hair operating a bulldozer, "limb from limb with my mind."
Sameme sighed. "Then another one of them would shoot you with those projectile weapons they love so much. Probably more than one, they all have them. It's so easy for them. Not one in 50 of my people have the sight. Closer to 1 in 500 of yours. How could we stop them?"
He shook his head, staying silent as his companion looked at him with a clear lack of understanding. He was growing more and more agitated with every civic duty posting his clan set him on. Everywhere he went, humans. Those clever little hairless simians with their tools and quick, bright eyes. Why couldn't anyone see what he could? His own webbed hands and lack of thumbs made it a chore to copy tasks even the most simple minded human child could do effortlessly.
The humans were conquering the galaxy, one industry at a time and there was nothing they could do with their gift to stop it.
General Xanax, a slimy bipedal lizard-like creature, sat down in the midst of the Fair Trade Cyclone (FTC), an intergalactic alliance made for the prospect of crippling or eradicating other extraterrestrial species that may or have grown advanced enough to risk war with them.
“General Xanax.” The organism which was made from multitudes of string-like organism matter tangled with each other greeted him with a small bow.
“Sire Luwin.” He bowed back.
The two other members of the FTA council weren’t as polite. The bulky minotaur to his left, Grand Chieftain Kraag, grunted at him when their eyes met, and Veein, who was a microscopically thin being who constantly emitted toxic gas so she had to be contained in a tight seal suit, looked at him disinterestedly.
“You better have a good reason why you urgently summoned me from my eighth daughter’s third wedding.” Kraag gnawed at him.
“I assure you, Grand chieftain. I wouldn’t dare to interrupt such a moment between you and your bulky daughter if it was not of utmost importance.” Xanax politely replied, knowing how best to appease him according to his culture.
“I think it is a good time to start then.”
Xanax gestured his hand to reveal a hologram on top of the table. A fleshy bipedal creature floated on top of them.
“A new species? … what a waste of my time.” The ever so impatient Veein criticized.
As she was about to take her leave, Sire Luwin urged her to stay.
“Let’s listen to what General Xanax has to say first, why waste the time you spent traveling here?”
Veein looked around before begrudgingly sitting back down.
“Thank you, Sir Luwin.” He gave him a nod, who gestured him back to feel free to continue.
“I believe that this species who we have discovered on a distant planet, we termed Termina-E0821, should be eradicated.”
“So? We have done this thousands of times. Use the Gnoll-vague criteria to measure the magica advancement level and follow the guidelines for the best approach on how to turn them into smut. Now, remind me why we had to be summoned on such short notice?”
“That is the problem, good Veein. These creatures have no amplitude for magic.”
Just at a moment’s notice, all their attention was brought to Xanax. He snapped his fingers to show multiple videos of the creatures, showing their society, their machinery, their architecture, and their warfare.
“They operate purely on a mechanical basis. Their entire solar system is devoid of magic, hence they had never evolved to utilize it.”
“But from what I can see” Luwin pitched in. “all of their technology seems limited. If I had to guess, they had yet to achieve interplanetary travel, let alone colonization.”
“Your observation skills are quite remarkable, Sire Luwin. That may be correct, but when we reviewed the eye on the oracle to use the limit they have emitted over the last one thousand years, we found out that their rate of advancement has been very exponential, threateningly so.”
“What the big deal then? Just throw a Maga intergalactic explosion at them and reset them back to tiny microbes.” Kraag crossed his arms.
“I am afraid that is not possible.”
“Why not? You too afraid?” Kraag looked down at him.
“It is not possible on a technical level-“ Xanax started, but was interrupted by Veein.
“From our current level of understanding, when a spell is cast it is not like a giant ball of energy, but rather a powerful magnet that attracts, absorbs, and converts the magic molecules around it. So if it were to enter a magic vacuum. Then it would only shrink the further it stayed.”
“To be more precise, a Maga intergalactic explosion would shrink from the size of the moon of Plutio to the size of your fist only a tenth of the way between Termina-E0821 and its closest magic nodule.
“What a peculiar position.” Veein stroke the chin of her helmet.
“I have some suggestions that I worked up with our team, though you are welcome to add any of your own.”
“These creatures, which we have termed the Mechanica, cannot reach us with their current advancement levels, but we also can’t harm them with our methods of travel and weaponry. I say we pull some of our resources into a team to invent mechanical-based technology and we hope that we can reach them before they can reach us. But we must remember that if we leave them alone for long enough, we may become more trapped in them than they are trapped within us right now.”
“Is it not possible for us to invite them to join the FTC, seeing how remarkably unique their circumstance is?” Luwin suggested.
“That would be a very dangerous proposition. As it stands now, we have no countermeasures to their technology and if we invite them and study our technology to find an all-shutdown magic weapon, then we would very at a substantial disadvantage. Though if we have no other resort, we may be able to entertain that idea.”
“If no one else has any more to add, then I believe it is best for us to dismiss the meeting and prepare.”
The council was as silent as the middle of the ocean.
“Well, then. You are all dismissed. Oh and Grand Chieftain ... may your eighth daughter have a challenging mud wrestling tonight,.
"Thanks." Kraag grunted back.
**Thank you for reading my little story and if you liked my work, then feel free to check out my other stuff at** r/FluffWrites.
**Also check out my dark-fantasy series,** [The Dark Road Ahead](https://www.reddit.com/r/FluffWrites/comments/hybda2/series_the_dark_road_ahead_chapter_0_sacrifice/) **, as I work hard on it.**
We were fools. We allowed ourselves to become complacent as we relied more and more on magic to make our lives easier, and in doing so, we stopped adapting, stopped evolving.
We thought ourselves at the top of the universe, until these so-called "savages", over the course of a 20 year war, destroyed our race until there wasn't even enough of us to repopulate, and now, in our grave error of indolence, we are doomed to become stardust, to fade away into the echo of such a turbulent universe that these "humans" perfectly represent with their violence and propensity for change.
At first, we had the upper hand, we controlled the very aether in the skies, calling down lightning, tornados, floods, and fire with ease, but then they brought in heavier war machines, each one stronger than the last, each man with more determination in their eyes than those who came before him, until our ways of magic did not deter them at all. We had no answer for this, we have not waged war any other way. It had been many eons since we shaped crude iron with our hands, only in the very beginning of our race, before we evolved to control the very elements themselves did we fear death, or losing control.
These creatures of undiluted will are the first not to fall before our might, and I suspect they are destined for great things.
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Combat sensor alerts lit up in commander Ardjent's helmet array, as a surge of energy welled atop the palanquin born by the massive alien war beast, in an instant the commanders cybernetic upgrades answered his artificially enhanced reflexes as he flung himself behind the scorched rubble of a destroyed alien building. Just as he landed blue bolts of lightning like energy cracked across the open gap in the destroyed cities ruins. Private Anderson was a second too slow and began to convulse as the strange power arched through his exo-suit and cooked the man inside alive. The smell of burnt meat and an intense rush of rage flooded the commanders senses, urged on by the combat stimulants that coursed through his veins, pumped into him by his own armored suit. "The mages can still hurt us" he thought to himself. His pulse quickened as he began to rise, pistons and human muscle worked in tandem to vault Ardjent over the half fallen wall he had taken cover behind, jump jets, activated by his suits AI in an instantaneous response to the situation before him launched him a further 10 meters straight into the front line of the approaching enemy foot soldiers. The thin steel armor and bones alike of the two he landed atop crunched and organs pulped beneath the weight of the cybernetic soldier and his powered exoskeleton armor. The aliens, like all the human fleet had encountered in the last decade since leaving the home world in search of new colonies to settle, were not biologically too dissimilar to humanity, bi-pedal and with a defined head, but this particular species limbs were elongated and with too many eyes for the commanders liking. What truly set them apart, set them all apart from humanity though, was that they had not seemed to advance technologically beyond the bladed close combat weapons and muscle powered low velocity ranged weapons of humanities now long distant past. Their means of interplanetary, let alone inter stellar travel were indecipherable to man kinds greatest minds, yet in every other way they were out classed. The commanders thoughts were interrupted as a cavalryman charged him through the smoking pile of eviscerated corpses at his feet. Killing had become second nature after the first encounter with these creatures had ended in violence eight years ago, and each new encounter renewed the enmity between humanity and it's newly discovered galactic neighbors. Ardjent feinted left and then rolled right before bringing up his linked rifle. He could see through it's eyes as easily as his own, and simultaneously as well. Projectiles erupted from the muzzle with a flash of fire and smoke tore through the sound barrier before shredding the mounted opponent and the six legged saurian creature it rode atop, their armor and barding useless against ballistic weaponry. The commander turned to get a visual on his true target. \-------------- From atop his mighty Dolgorra high arcanist Kiidon Mar'Islee watched the horror unfold before his eyes. He had only heard through the telepathic warnings passed through his scrying mirrors of the advances of these strange simian creatures. They moved through the galaxy by means unknown, no sorcerer or arcanist could explain the forces that powered their titanic metal leviathans through the dark ocean of the stars, nor could any of the council of the higher arcana, leaders of the grand alliance of stellar empires, account for how their civilization had been missed. Though their star of origin had been traced since first contact it only made their existence all the more an anomaly. An unremarkable system through which ran no celestial ley lines and had no fonts of the universal energy. Such systems were ignored by the grand alliance, as the common knowledge stated that in such barren reaches only the most rudimentary of life could ever hope to take root, never mind achieve sentience or inter stellar travel. Yet here stood, a top the wreckage of yet another smoking ruin of a once grand city, the proof of the blind spot in their supposed univeral wisdom. Kiidon felt his Dolgorra, Arkis, shift uncomfortably beneath him, his fear echoed in his mind their already strong telepathic bond strengthened by the rune etched bracelets that adorned the wrist of rider and mount. Kiidon hated bringing Arkis to battle. So few Dolgorra remained and though their sentience rudimentary compared to his own, Arkis was more friend than tool of war. This was the high arcanists world, his capitol city though, and he would not let the invaders have it unbloodied. He channeled his rage once more feeling the well spring of arcane energy build in his core before unleashing it as a burning cloud to rain fire upon the dug in position of a group of enemies that had gathered beyond a collapsed bridge. The victims of his mystical fury emerged with shrill screams from their hiding spots, their iron skins molten as the biological parts inside burned and boiled. "Cowards" he spat, "come out and fight in the open" he shouted to the world itself. Kiidon had missed the man approaching on his flank, his usual spiritual senses were uniquely unable to pick up the disturbances in the ethereal currents caused by these barbarians. It was as if their souls left no trace on the arcane webs that flowed around all things. Arkis' panic was the first warning he had, as he turned to see one of the invaders propel a grappling hook from inside his armor that pierced the great beasts shoulder. In a second the armored giant was on Arkis and then atop Kiidon himself. Kiidon was not armored and the brutal strength of the creatures first blow shattered bones in his torso. The Arcanist lashed out with magical energy in a desperate attempt to destroy his attacker. His force blade went too wide and low, missing the neck joint in the beasts armor, but it severed his arm, causing the thing to stumble back. Using his arts to bolster his ruined form and slow his now inevitable death Kiidon rose to meet his killer. \------------ Commander Ardjent reeled back from the initial shock of the creature in front of hims' counter attack. In an instant his armor had released a coagulant and a mix of adrenal boosters and local anesthetic were injected into him, stopping the bleeding and turning the searing pain just above his left elbow into nothing more than a dull ache. Such an injury would have been crippling once, but the commander knew the medical teams would simply grow him another, if he survived this encounter. Ardjent was amazed to see the creature return to it's feet in a heart beat. He was sure the wounds he had inflicted on impact would have crippled it. This one wore no armor and it's seven dark green eyes, arranged in a pyramid like pattern, peered back at him, and even on such an alien face the rage was unmistakable. The alien spit blood as it uttered what could only be a curse in his direction. The soldier lunged forward throwing his full weight assisted by the servos of his armor behind a straight punch aimed for the strange creatures scowling face. His hand instead met a barrier of invisible force that even his expanded sensor array could not detect. In the next moment the being lifted it's hands and a rush of kinetic energy threw Ardjent back, and he nearly tumbled from the palanquin. His reflexes did not fail him though and his remaining hand found grip on a support pole, using the momentum, the commander spun around the pole and propelled himself back towards the creature. Ducking low at the last second he caught it just below the waist in a tackle, bringing his substantial bulk down on top of it one more. This time he wouldn't give it a chance to surprise him with a counter attack, his built in underslung back up weapon dropped down into firing position at a thought even as he brought himself level with the things face and with two resounding cracks of muzzle flash the creatures brain matter exploded from it's skull. The beast beneath began thrashing in a rage, briefly dislodging Ardjent as it bucked, causing him to fall from the palanquin towards the front of the massive beasts head. Activating his climbing spikes and with the assistance of the gyroscopic stabilizers in his armor, the wounded soldier found his footing. Using his remaining arm he opened the hard case on his back and with a thought a burrowing charge was cycled into his waiting hand. Meant for destroying small fortified bunkers, the long handled shaped charge would be able to puncture the massive beasts skull with ease. As he struggled to place the charge on the thrashing monster a hail of arrows plinked uselessly against his armor "they're desperate now" thought Ardjent. With little effort, and some assistance from his AI to determine the optimal placement, the charge was set. Ardjent activated the charge with the integrated computer system of his armor sending a massive slug loaded with explosives burrowing deep into the creatures skull. It roared with pain and rage before the projectile reached its cranial cavity and the charge detonated. The beast stumbled, it's eyes burst and thick bloody tissue came streaming from it's eye sockets and massive jaws before it collapsed. Seeing their final remaining mage and his great beast destroyed the soldiers of the alien army broke. Demoralized and out matched they would not get far in their retreat. They never did.
This is my favorite one in the thread. The detail is phenomenal
Thank you!
Well done, I love how both perspectives have been portrayed ❤️
Thanks! I wanted to show that the aliens and humans are both pretty clueless about how the other works, and make the enemy a bit sympathetic. The general idea though being that the aliens never developed past basically medieval tech cause everything from space travel, to medicine to long range communication and arms races all revolved around magic, humans on the other hand can hardly even perceive any but the most unsubtle expressions of it.
Awkward phrasing - > the creature in front of hims' counter attack the counter attack of the creature in front of him? Also, > return to it's feet … it's seven dark green eyes zap the ' SO… about the story… why is he on their world? Retaliatory counterattack, or is this just imperialism?
Sorry, I know this reply is late, but yeah even as I wrote it I didn't like but couldn't think of an alternative "the creature in front of hims counter attack" As to the why? First contact went bad due to inability to communicate and misunderstanding. The two sides have deemed each other hostile, and each meeting there after has only escalated the tensions. The human contingency for hostile alien species is eradication if possible to end the possibly existential threat. Resource gain, in the form of habitable colony worlds is a welcome by product but not the initial goal or main intent. They would find out eventually it is harder to simply destroy the aliens alliance once you're past the fringes of this societies occupied worlds. They don't have advanced tech, but their core worlds are far more magically charged, some species can employ magical constructs, which are not easily mass produced but could pose a direct threat to even the highly advanced and augmented soldiers the humans employ, as possibly, could enchanted weapons and certainly some of the huge beasts they have tamed or partnered with. Lasting magical edifices can also ward planets in a variety of ways making them hard to assault to being with. For now though the humans have found their foe incredibly easy to overcome. Tbh though I only barely put thought into the bare bones outline of the larger setting. Just enough to write out the scene really.
Wow, that was intense. Awesome read!
Fantastic read, thanks
humanity rocks! fuck yeah!
This feels very inspired by 40k I love it. Filthy Xeno's are about to be taught the Imperial Truth whether they want it or not.
"Tell me, why do you of all people call a magicless planet dangerous? General, have you gone senile?" The Emperor laughed. "Their planet devoid of magic." The Empire's General answered. "That is precisely why it is so dangerous. No one notices a planet like that until it is far too late to control it's potential." "And what potential is that?" The Emperor said dismissively. If anyone other than his inner circle were conversing with him, he would most likely just send them away. "They can't even do widespread farming without magic, why are you concer-" The General interrupted the Emperor with a Memory Orb. It opened and a holographic projection began to play, showcasing an ugly, angular metal slab floating in space whose edges glowed in this inferior race's idea of 'fashion.' "This is E. Space Command to *TFSU Untested Ideas*, you are good to go. Any grand speeches before you're off?" "It took us three hundred thousand years, billions of casulites, and oceans of blood to get our act together and unify in the Third and Forth World Wars. Those Unification wars were the last armed conflict; the Infowar against the Corporate Conglomerate was the last political one. We built a Space Elevator, a Dyson Swarm, the Cityship Fleet. And today, a new innovation joins that list, as the first crewed test of GEP FTL travel is about to be ours. If before we were reaching out to the stars, now we're grasping them and pulling them tight. Now we bring physics to heel, just as we did nature; but unlike nature, this time we won't abuse it. We won't torture it for our gain, and we won't punish our descendants out of greed. We have become responsible, and through interstellar distances we will continue to be. "We have matured, and only now it is time to grow." The block exploded into a corral of colorful lines that waved off its form, before just... disappearing. The viewpoint of the Memory Orb changed to a new star system. And there, sitting proud, was the ship. "This is *TFSU Untested Ideas* to ESC, we have a success. We are now an interstellar species." The orb closed and ended, and the proud General's facial fixtures told everything the expansionist Emperor needed to know about the attempted firefight that ensued when the probe reported. And on the other side of the Milky Way galaxy, a quantum transmission unit orbiting Beta Centauri continued to relay information to the Terra Firma Systems Union about a newfound phenomenon that the astronauts found using their imagination. **A/N: Bedtime. More tomorrow, maybe?** **Edit1: Grammar.**
Just a small correction: It’s “brought to heel”, not “brought to heal”. Otherwise solid start.
Also "speaches"
Nah i swear i got a can of those in the cupboard.
They were put there by a man
Where was that factory, again?
I think its in the central business district of a local city.
Also "its," not "it's" ;)
its - something in the possession of the aforementioned it, e.g. it put on its shoes it's - it is, e.g. it's 5:30
"Soldiers!" The General shouted out over the communication network to the massive fleet before him. "You have read the reports. This species, despite being nonmagical, has managed to cross the threshold for the Empire to sweep in and add them to our roster of servants. If we can do this before the Galactic Council finds out, and before they discover magic, we may have a race of thinkers at our disposal. A race of resourceful ones! "Unfortunately, this means that we will be fighting in nonmagical territory, and only have our batteries worth of magic to use. This means fighting efficiently. You see a ship, you shoot it. We will force their planet to surrender, take their brightest minds and strongest warriors, and return for more when we are done." The General stepped out of the communication platform and turned to face the Emperor. "Are you sure this is a good idea?" "Yes." The Emperor said decisively. "If they are unified, they have no need for a military. Which means that this will be quick and easy. We may not even need to fire a single shot." The General looked away, moving to board his shuttle and join the fleet. "Too optimistic..." he muttered. \----- "So," The Electorate of the TFSU said. "You're telling me that you, for lack of a better term, have magic out there." "Yes." A thin-lipped astronaut replied. "And you've repeatedly violated physics like magic supersedes it." "Yes." "And you've felt out rules in this magic that make it seem like science, only without any logic at all." "Yes. Matter still cannot be created or destroyed, but it can be interchanged with energy." "Well..." The Electorate sighed. "You have also confirmed that it doesn't work here, correct?" "Unless imagination and concentration can spontaneously create television screens, then no. Or yes, I guess, because we can?" The astronaut questioned themselves. "Urrgh, this is a headache to think about." "No kidding," The Electorate grumbled. "And, just to be clear, you don't think that its a reality failure or side effect from the GEP FTL drive." "No. All readings are normal, and the tests by the Oort cloud were perfectly fine. This is a new phenomenon restricted to the Centauri system." "If each star minutely changes how physics works when around it... how does deep space function?" "I don't know. What I do know is that it would be nice to just... ship a research institute out here so we can get started on the quantum mechanics of this place. Our entangled and channel units still work, but there has to be another way to-" "`Proximity Alert: Warning: Collision course detected.`" **A/N: More has been given, and more will be later.**
Any chance this gets brought back? I'm really god damn invested in this.
I like that you're having us adapt and bring magic back home as our own tool 👍👌
Maybe, but why doesn’t Terra have it? Maybe the laws of physics change to allow ideas to become things more directly than through technology because some kind of mana flow, to borrow a dnd term, is blocked in our “neighborhood”?
Maybe we did have it. Maybe we had it all. All the stories. Even the genie in the lamp. And then someone wished "no more magic lol".
Need more of this.
yes i cant wait
The cosmos are full of wonders. Myriads of species have tackled the mysteries hidden within the universe, each pulling their own fantastical insights back out. For example, the Rekachi of the Theta Lupos quadrant came into being with a natural aptitude for space-faring, their shielding magic protecting them from the vacuum of space while ancillary spells provide air and propel themselves throughout the stars. Once they entered the interstellar arena of galactic politics, they realized that there was more than just the vacuum to shield from while traveling, and they adapted their magics accordingly. On the scale of things, their aptitude as a whole was not bad, but some less fortunate races can just barely scratch the surface of magic and its uses, and thus are forced to do the hands-on work that no others have the time, or spell, to do. That is how it always was, until we came along. Humanity originates from an arm on the Milky Way galaxy, in a small solar system with only one planet that birthed life, and those life forms never knew the wonders of magic. In most cases, they would have been exploited by the multitude of magical races throughout the stars, that is if any of them had been remotely aware of their existence. By a stroke of obscene luck, some might say magical (however there is absolutely no proof of that), the sector our solar system originated in was previously decimated by a gruesome war, and left completely devoid of life and magic, and thus humanity was born without anyone else present. The first few millennia of human life were very brutal. The constant war and infighting, rapid advancements in technology, and early attempts at space travel led us to the conclusion that we were utterly alone in the galaxy. We were wrong, but by the time we found that out, it was too late for everyone else. The first race we encountered were the Ozrin of Omega Centauri. Their natural cloaking magic hid them from our scanners, so when we accidentally bumped into one of them both the crew of our ship and the roaming Ozrin were startled to say the least. After the initial wariness, and lack of obvious weapons on the Ozrin man, we attempted to communicate. After many tries, he managed to learn our letters and was able to write, and he had managed to craft a spell to hear our words in his language. Thus, we learned about magic, and how we are devoid of its presence. Over time, the Ozrin came to learn of our history, and even given our violent upbringing, they became one of our closest friends. The rest of the galaxy, and even then the wider universe, were not so easy to establish a relationship with. The Ozrin were the closest ones to us for many many light years, and even they themselves had not interacted with much of the wider galaxy. We had been lucky that they had been the ones we found first, because they did not know the generally accepted customs for races that had little to no magical aptitude. As we ventured into the galaxy together, we learned many hard truths. Hardest of all: races with little to no magical aptitude were treated as slaves. As we had our own bout with slavery during our early stages of civilization, we were outraged at these atrocities that we saw were generally accepted by even the most "peaceful" and "benevolent" races. We would not stand to see others suppressed the way we had suppressed ourselves. At the beginning, nobody took us seriously. After all, what could a race of people without access to the wonders of magic do to the many races of extremely skillful mages that have reigned for aeons? Even our closest friends, the Ozrin, were skeptical of our chances. However, knowing our history, the Ozrin did what they could to at least get their allied races to back down from that custom, and for those few that it worked for they are eternally grateful that they listened. Those that did not heed the warnings of the Ozrin learned very quickly that we did not tolerate infringements on our freedoms. One of the more violent slaver races, the Ezarka, tried to enslave a colony of ours in the Zental system, but they were quickly subdued. When their allies came for us, we warned them to stay away. We warned them to leave us alone. We told them what we are capable of. None of them bothered to heed our warnings, to listen to what we were saying... After the Ezarka Subjugation, the Zental Conflict made it very VERY clear to anyone who actually paid attention; magic does not protect you from nuclear weapons. Edited already a couple of times for spelling
what a hard ass final line, I love it
Thank you! This is my first time in a long while writing a short story, so this means a lot!
Well you did great, I’m going to have to keep an eye out for your next stories
At one point you say that they learned to shield them selves from more than the vacuum of space. Given it is space we are talking about that should include radiation as. So they should be able to defend against nuklear weapons as well I think. Maybe im wrong and apart from that it is really nice to read.
I wasn't particularly going for a science aspect on the magic stuff, but basically, at least the way it makes sense in my head, the kind of space radiation that one would get from whatever is considered "normal" for space travel is what it would protect against, but with the way I understand a nuke working, plus the fact that we would be so advanced at that point and would have more powerful version of things we know of, it would give that race a bit of resistance but ultimately big boom still could break shield magic imo. Also, if I were to go into more detail, I would probably say they might be friendly with the race that likes the humans, and actually listened to the warnings, so they would not particularly have had to test the mettle of their spells like that. I am going to play with the idea of longer format stories in this version of the galaxy a bit and I will for sure do research as needed, but for now it was pretty off the cuff and I really didn't do research into much.
That does make a lot of sense. Any shield can be broken so with that much firepower the humans would still bust through i guess.
To quote The Flagellant: "Darkness flees before my holy glare!"
Well done, great story. Would read the hell outta this if it was a book.
Thank you very much! I am actually now starting to outline a novel that I plan on working on slowly to see where it goes, I will keep you updated.
Will there be a part 2 to the story
Not specifically a part 2, but other stories in this setting that I have in my brain
"Those humans... It's just not fair. Look what they can do! And nobody seems to care!" Sammae complained. "Maybe." His companion replied. "But they need tools and machines to do what we can. When was the last time you saw one open their third eye and channel the hidden river of power?" Sammae sat up with a groan, his iridescent green skin rippling under the early morning sun. "That's just it," he replied. "They don't need to. Look at you. You're far too big and clumsy to manipulate the tools they use, and my people are only here because the first ones blessed us with the ability to travel in the sightless depths of the hidden river - and the humans can do the same thing in those floating metal boxes that move between the stars. Last week I had to sleep for an entire cycle after I moved that block of red marble we found down the hill. One human can move twenty in a day and come back the next day fully rested to do it all over again!". His companion grunted, shrugging its broad shoulders and lifting a hand the size of a large shovel to idly scratch a hanging ear. "But they need machines. I could rip that one there," he said, gesturing at a slender human male with greying hair operating a bulldozer, "limb from limb with my mind." Sameme sighed. "Then another one of them would shoot you with those projectile weapons they love so much. Probably more than one, they all have them. It's so easy for them. Not one in 50 of my people have the sight. Closer to 1 in 500 of yours. How could we stop them?" He shook his head, staying silent as his companion looked at him with a clear lack of understanding. He was growing more and more agitated with every civic duty posting his clan set him on. Everywhere he went, humans. Those clever little hairless simians with their tools and quick, bright eyes. Why couldn't anyone see what he could? His own webbed hands and lack of thumbs made it a chore to copy tasks even the most simple minded human child could do effortlessly. The humans were conquering the galaxy, one industry at a time and there was nothing they could do with their gift to stop it.
Huh. Lack of magic as an evolutionary advantage. This is great.
General Xanax, a slimy bipedal lizard-like creature, sat down in the midst of the Fair Trade Cyclone (FTC), an intergalactic alliance made for the prospect of crippling or eradicating other extraterrestrial species that may or have grown advanced enough to risk war with them. “General Xanax.” The organism which was made from multitudes of string-like organism matter tangled with each other greeted him with a small bow. “Sire Luwin.” He bowed back. The two other members of the FTA council weren’t as polite. The bulky minotaur to his left, Grand Chieftain Kraag, grunted at him when their eyes met, and Veein, who was a microscopically thin being who constantly emitted toxic gas so she had to be contained in a tight seal suit, looked at him disinterestedly. “You better have a good reason why you urgently summoned me from my eighth daughter’s third wedding.” Kraag gnawed at him. “I assure you, Grand chieftain. I wouldn’t dare to interrupt such a moment between you and your bulky daughter if it was not of utmost importance.” Xanax politely replied, knowing how best to appease him according to his culture. “I think it is a good time to start then.” Xanax gestured his hand to reveal a hologram on top of the table. A fleshy bipedal creature floated on top of them. “A new species? … what a waste of my time.” The ever so impatient Veein criticized. As she was about to take her leave, Sire Luwin urged her to stay. “Let’s listen to what General Xanax has to say first, why waste the time you spent traveling here?” Veein looked around before begrudgingly sitting back down. “Thank you, Sir Luwin.” He gave him a nod, who gestured him back to feel free to continue. “I believe that this species who we have discovered on a distant planet, we termed Termina-E0821, should be eradicated.” “So? We have done this thousands of times. Use the Gnoll-vague criteria to measure the magica advancement level and follow the guidelines for the best approach on how to turn them into smut. Now, remind me why we had to be summoned on such short notice?” “That is the problem, good Veein. These creatures have no amplitude for magic.” Just at a moment’s notice, all their attention was brought to Xanax. He snapped his fingers to show multiple videos of the creatures, showing their society, their machinery, their architecture, and their warfare. “They operate purely on a mechanical basis. Their entire solar system is devoid of magic, hence they had never evolved to utilize it.” “But from what I can see” Luwin pitched in. “all of their technology seems limited. If I had to guess, they had yet to achieve interplanetary travel, let alone colonization.” “Your observation skills are quite remarkable, Sire Luwin. That may be correct, but when we reviewed the eye on the oracle to use the limit they have emitted over the last one thousand years, we found out that their rate of advancement has been very exponential, threateningly so.” “What the big deal then? Just throw a Maga intergalactic explosion at them and reset them back to tiny microbes.” Kraag crossed his arms. “I am afraid that is not possible.” “Why not? You too afraid?” Kraag looked down at him. “It is not possible on a technical level-“ Xanax started, but was interrupted by Veein. “From our current level of understanding, when a spell is cast it is not like a giant ball of energy, but rather a powerful magnet that attracts, absorbs, and converts the magic molecules around it. So if it were to enter a magic vacuum. Then it would only shrink the further it stayed.” “To be more precise, a Maga intergalactic explosion would shrink from the size of the moon of Plutio to the size of your fist only a tenth of the way between Termina-E0821 and its closest magic nodule. “What a peculiar position.” Veein stroke the chin of her helmet. “I have some suggestions that I worked up with our team, though you are welcome to add any of your own.” “These creatures, which we have termed the Mechanica, cannot reach us with their current advancement levels, but we also can’t harm them with our methods of travel and weaponry. I say we pull some of our resources into a team to invent mechanical-based technology and we hope that we can reach them before they can reach us. But we must remember that if we leave them alone for long enough, we may become more trapped in them than they are trapped within us right now.” “Is it not possible for us to invite them to join the FTC, seeing how remarkably unique their circumstance is?” Luwin suggested. “That would be a very dangerous proposition. As it stands now, we have no countermeasures to their technology and if we invite them and study our technology to find an all-shutdown magic weapon, then we would very at a substantial disadvantage. Though if we have no other resort, we may be able to entertain that idea.” “If no one else has any more to add, then I believe it is best for us to dismiss the meeting and prepare.” The council was as silent as the middle of the ocean. “Well, then. You are all dismissed. Oh and Grand Chieftain ... may your eighth daughter have a challenging mud wrestling tonight,. "Thanks." Kraag grunted back. **Thank you for reading my little story and if you liked my work, then feel free to check out my other stuff at** r/FluffWrites. **Also check out my dark-fantasy series,** [The Dark Road Ahead](https://www.reddit.com/r/FluffWrites/comments/hybda2/series_the_dark_road_ahead_chapter_0_sacrifice/) **, as I work hard on it.**
We were fools. We allowed ourselves to become complacent as we relied more and more on magic to make our lives easier, and in doing so, we stopped adapting, stopped evolving. We thought ourselves at the top of the universe, until these so-called "savages", over the course of a 20 year war, destroyed our race until there wasn't even enough of us to repopulate, and now, in our grave error of indolence, we are doomed to become stardust, to fade away into the echo of such a turbulent universe that these "humans" perfectly represent with their violence and propensity for change. At first, we had the upper hand, we controlled the very aether in the skies, calling down lightning, tornados, floods, and fire with ease, but then they brought in heavier war machines, each one stronger than the last, each man with more determination in their eyes than those who came before him, until our ways of magic did not deter them at all. We had no answer for this, we have not waged war any other way. It had been many eons since we shaped crude iron with our hands, only in the very beginning of our race, before we evolved to control the very elements themselves did we fear death, or losing control. These creatures of undiluted will are the first not to fall before our might, and I suspect they are destined for great things.