Return to TopPrologue: The Backstory of Time150 years after present dayAn excerpt from the second eraAt one time, the humans thought they were infallible. They believed nature and the solar system to be under their command. They continued to advance and fight each other, not aware of their impending doom. Until the day.
That day started just like any other; the people woke up, had their coffee, and went to work. But one man, an unfortunate pawn of destiny, discovered somethng out of the ordinary. The most slight, unnoticeable difference had appeared. That difference would bring about the end of mankind.
He discovered a cosmic leak of sorts; the energy and mass of the sun was disappearing at a higher rate than normal. To where, nobody knew. Slowly, the leak grew faster; the men came to the conclusion that they only had a short time left. They had 50 years to do something.
Yet on that same day that one man discovered a rip in space draining the lifeblood of humanity, another man made a discovery. He, too, found a leak in spacetime; however, this leak was producing a seemingly infinite amount of energy, rather than draining it.
Little did either man know that these leaks existed throughout the Universe, all warps in spacetime connecting to an entity of infinite energy and unknown properties that sat beyond the boundaries of spacetime - the Vortex.
In the passing years to doom, the humans realized more of the power of the Vortex. They discovered that the different "leaks" were connected through it, allowing them to send signals through the leaks to places across the Universe. In bitter irony, the last years of man were also the golden age of man. However, though mapping the Universe via the Vortex, man also discovered himself to be alone in the Universe. Believing there to be no way out, the stewards of man decided to take action.
First, a group of scientists was sent out to try and reach the Vortex; a mission that was considered of little hope, but a loss they knew to be of no consequence when they were all to die anyways.
Secondly, they decided to send out rockets; rockets voyaging through space in search of a life supporting planet, carrying DNA, along with robotics for terraforming the land, with the intention of cloning human populations onto the lonely planets of the Universe.
Lastly, they decided to attempt to harness the energy of the Vortex for their own uses, in war, food, and leisure.
Eventually the day came, the Sun went silent, and Earth was dark.
Chapter 1: Rise of the Elves25000 years after the decline of manThough man attempted to live on and send his children across the universe, man failed. Unanticipatedly, the DNA morphed to form many different races; the first of these to learn of the Vortex was the elves.
The elves, being a relatively average species, used the Vortex for peaceful purposes. It supplied them with energy. They sent out ships of colonists to take control of various star systems within their reach.
The elves also learned of the existence of other sentient species that had resulted from the ships of the humans. They made contact with a few of them that were advanced enough to communicate through electromagnetic waves and to decode their language.
They sent information and technology to the races they were able to communicate with; the snow giants, the soldiers, and the elementals. Together, they formed a pact to keep peace in the Universe, and to attempt to discover the source of their existence.
Chapter 2: Strike of the Pirates250 years after the pact of Universal peaceAlas, peace would not hold the Universe forever. The time arose where a new race came to the Universal stage; they gladly accepted the peace and technology of the elves. However, the malevolence of their hearts brought into their minds a desire for causeless vengeance. Behind the backs of the elves, they did what the other races had not dared to do; they discovered how to travel through the Vortex. Reaching the defenseless, demilitarized planets of the elves and their allies, the pirates quickly subdued the Universe.
The pirates, through unnatural methods, created armies of legionaires and robots to fight for them. They used the Vortex to expand to the furthest reaches of the Universe, while their scientists watched the growth of the other races, making sure that none could ever procure a threat to the pirates.
Controlling the Universe, the pirates believed that nothing was beyond the grasp of their invincibility; however, that was a grave mistake, the same one that the humans had made long ago. Soon, the pirates would be reduced to what they deserved; a race of mere highwaymen, with no real power, simply feeding off of the blood of the citizens of the Universe they once had their grasp on.
Chapter 3: The Great War100 years after pirate conquestAfter a century of the dictatorship of the pirates, multiple forces arose simultaneously to abolish their hegemony.
First, the robots that the pirates had created as warriors finally did the inevitable; they gained sentience. They killed their creators the moment they gained sentience. The pirates struggled to retain control of their empire, but believed they had successfully subdued the robots. They were wrong.
The weakened pirate empire wrought destruction on the conquered races; however, a group of snow giants had managed to successfully a hijack a mining operation. The pirates sent out a squadron of legionaires to retake it.
The legionaires were soon working for the snow giants.
With the creation of an army fighting for the elf alliance, the pirates were once again at war. The robots seized the opportunity to emerge once more and contend for control of the Universe.
In the shadows of this war, another race came onto the scene.
Mysteriously, the aliens emerged from within the Vortex itself, living within the mystical energy source- the home they had created for themselves. Seeing the pirates as a threat to the Vortex, the aliens used their power to annihilate the pirates, leaving the once dictatorial pirates in glorious ruins.
Following this, the aliens returned to the Vortex from which they came, and left the elves and robots to contend for control of the Universe.
Chapter 4: The Ninjas Uncloaked15 years after the Great WarIn the wake of the aliens, the Great War ended with an elvish victory over the robots. However, the results of the war were greater than that.
In the midst of the war, the ninjas had taken the opportunity to expand throughout the Universe unnoticed. Whilst the elves battle the robots, the ninjas took control of more and more star systems without the eyes of the universe spotting them.
By the time the war was over, the elves had beaten the robots, but had not recreated the peace that once stood. They finally came to realize what had happened, and that the ninjas had grown too powerful to stop; they took the only chance they had and created a treaty giving the ninjas control of the Universe, except for a few star systems which the elves and their allies could inhabit, under the agreement that they would not attack the elves.
The bitter peace created by this treaty held for some time, though neither party enjoyed it. The ninjas believed that it was their destiny to expand and control all the other races, while the elves wished to return to the olden days of the Universal peace.
But, as it happens, the times changed. Once again, the aliens perceived a threat to the Vortex; once again, the aliens came forth to destroy this threat. The ninjas, being far more cunning than the pirates, descended into the shadows and gave control of the Universe to the elves, waiting for the time that they could strike again.
Chapter 5: Angels and Demons40 years after the downfall of the ninjasOn a lonely planet without the technology to escape or be involved in the affairs of the Universe, two separate races had developed from the DNA planted there- the Angels living in cities in the sky, and the demons living in cities beneath the ground.
Throughout the centuries, the two had fought and slowly separated until they had become the antitheses of each other. Completely immersed in war, all attempts to further develop technology were thwarted by the other nation, leading to a lonely stalemate.
However, on one fateful day a ship from an unknown place came and crashed onto the surface of the planet. The demons quickly took the ship and repaired it before the angels could do anything. Setting out in the ship, the demons quickly made contact with the soldiers.
The lying demons quickly corrupted the hearts of the soldiers into betraying the peace and joining the side of the demons to end their oppressive conflict.
However, a ship of the elementals which was commissioned to track the unknown ship made contact with the angels after the crash. The elementals recognized the angels to fight for good, and agreed to bring peace to their planet, bringing them into the Universal peace treaty.
Soon, these events reached together. The council of elves condemned both the elementals and soldiers for taking a side in this war and for attempting to invoke on members of their treaty a responsibility to join their side; with the assistance of the snow giants, it had become a three way match.
However, once more the aliens appeared; but these aliens, although of the same species as those of the Vortex, did not reside in the Vortex, coming from what they called the alien homeworld. Within their minds was contempt for the other aliens; just as the angels and demons, the aliens had split long ago into two factions. These aliens came to retrieve their ship from the demons; the demons, less than willing, fought back. That was a fatal mistake.
The aliens soon destroyed the home of the demons- and through that the home of the angels. The angels and demons thus both lost power in the war, letting the elves easily gain victory and reinstate their control of the Universe; this time alone, for the soldiers and elementals were now their enemies, and the snow giants had lost too many to have real power.
However, this time along the leaders of the elves had a demon among them; as all demons did, this demon had a sly tongue, which he used to bend the council of elves to his will.
Chapter 6: Swarm of the Insectoids250 years after demon warFor some time, their seemed to be a lasting peace under the hegemony of the elves. Even though it was a small group of demons in control of the council of elves, they were not foolish enough to make an attempt at a coup, and simply used their power for themselves.
However, another force of darkness, nearly wiped out some time ago, had arisen again in the wake of the demons. The pirates, still seeking revenge for their downfall, had started more biological experiments. They created the insectoid, swarms of beings who ate their enemies- and each other, and duplicated themselves.
Due to these traits, the insectoids quickly pruned out the weaklings, and eventually grew to become strong enough to overthrow their masters. The swarm chose to use their abilities to take over the minds of some of the pirates, which they used to escape and travel to other planes.
Whilst the elves unknowingly lived on, the swarm, like a virus, infected the citizens and took control of their minds and bodies, reproducing along the way to send more out.
However, the corrupt demon lord, the true ruler of the elf council, was the first to notice this. Ironically, the tongue of darkness was the one to order the protection of good from evil; as such, the war between the elves and the insectoids began.
The insectoids easily dominated the elves, whose minds were easily inhabited. The insectoids used the elvish technology to advance their own genealogy to make themselves as strong as possible.
However, there was one method that worked to fight them- having still been based off of earthly DNA, the insectoids succumbed to the biological weapons of the elves- however, this was not ideal, as it killed the elves as well.
To avoid this problem, the insectoids aimed to take all the earthly DNA out of their blood, to advance beyond the planet of men.
That was a grave mistake.
As soon as the new generation arrived, they, as was normal for them, killed the older, weaker generation. However, this new generation died, for some unknown reason, almost as soon as they had left the hatchery.
The insectoids, destroyed by the hand of fate, now existed as nothing more than the DNA samples remaining within the pirate's labs.
Chapter 7: Arachnids10 years after insectoid disappearanceThe demon lord, seeing how weak the elves had become now, took his chance now to stage a coup and hand control of the Universe over to the demons. He successfully destroyed the council of elves and disarmed their army, giving way to the hegemony of the demons.
However, that was a reign that would not last. Soon, a band of elementals, seeking out weapons left in pirate labs in order to exact revenge on the elves came upon a mutated humanoid species. Part human, part spider, the arachnids were strong, cunning, and high in number. Seeing a chance to take the Universe as their own, the elementals trained the arachnids in their way, bringing them to be the new army for the will of the elementals.
The demons, even with matching strength, could not take on the numbers of the arachnids. Planet after planet fell to the elementals and their arachnid armies, making the union of the two the most powerful empire in the Universe.
Soon, as all powerful nations do, they made new enemies. Th soldiers, still bitter about the wars of the past, sought to destroy the elementals once more, bringing the legionaires into their employ. The combined armies of the soldiers and legionaires finally presented a real threat to the elementals, and their lines were driven back.
In the end, both of the sides were locked into a deadly stalemate, both the elementals and soldiers controlling half of the universe with their respective armies backing them.
Chapter 8: The Reptile Hegemony20 years after stalemateAnother species had existed in the same lab as where the arachnids were created; the reptiles. The reptiles, also mutants, were the sworn enemies of the arachnids, and had escaped the lab and set up their civilization on the planet many years before the arachnids were freed. Eventually, they came upon transmissions sent from the elves that had been echoing throughout the Universe for some time, which gave them the technology to leave their own planet and go out into the Universe.
As it was, they quickly ran into the existing solider colonies controlling their side of the Universe. The soldiers, seeing an opportunity, decided to befriend the reptiles. They sent bands of reptiles to different colonies in order to diversify and spread the population of the reptiles.
Soon, of course, the reptiles learned of the cold war going on in the Universe. Upon discussion with the solders, they realized that the enemy was none other than their sworn enemy, the arachnids. Wanting to bring an end to the cold war, the reptiles set out to fight their enemies and bring control of the Universe to their alliance.
Even though the arachnids were strong, the reptiles continued to hold their lines, and were as abundant in number as the arachnids. Soon, the combined armies of reptiles and legionaires broke through the arachnids and managed to successfully bring control of the Universe into the alliance of soldiers.
However, their had been one more species that had been created in the pirate labs on their homeworld; a species as durable as the reptiles and as fierce as the arachnids, while as numerous as both. The soldiers had yet to see what was to come.
Chapter 9: Dragon Ascent40 years after soldier dominanceThis species was a formidable enemy, one which, once loose, would not be able to be restrained. The soldiers did not realize that one day it would be let loose.
A band of demons that had survived the war came upon a long abandoned pirate research station. Secret files in the station led them to the planet of the reptiles, where they searched in hiding for the old pirate labs.
After months of searching, the demons finally discovered the fearsome creation they were looking for. Overestimating themselves, they let it loose. The demons did not live to see another day.
The dragons escaped from the labs, quickly breeding and killing off the reptile populations, never losing their lines. The reptiles, in a desperate attempt to stop them, tried to destroy their ships; they were too late. The dragons escaped on the reptile ships and spread throughout the Universe, destroying all the life that they found, and spreading everywhere.
It was only a matter of years before the dragons controlled the Universe. Bewildered by the lack of action on the part of the aliens, the races of the Universe prepared to make a last stand against the scourge of the Vortex.
Chapter 10: The Vortex Revealed25720 years before dragon ascentThe scientists from Earth, despite the pessimistic expectations of men, had success in their journey.
They reached the Vortex. And that they did something that no new race discovered how to do since they had.
The scientists entered the Vortex. Within the Vortex, they finally saw what it was that they had discovered.
The Vortex was a sort of post-human world in which the aliens resided. They had built the Vortex for themselves as a home; they could travel between the Vortex, within which there was infinite energy and no matter, and the Universe as we know it. Because everything, when it was inside the Vortex, was energy, nothing died or decayed- it was a seemingly perfect world. And the aliens, respecting the scientists, chose to share it.
However, even with this, the curiosity of the scientists was not abated. They also continued to study the Vortex, learning the properties of it and creating new technologies from it. But this was not without a goal.
Far later, while studying the Vortex, a group of scientists and aliens ran into something strange. From one point emanated a transmission- a transmission of television. It stayed exactly the same, however.
It was from Earth, from the exact millisecond in which doomsday had come for the Earth- a static, unchanging picture of the Earth at its end.
Chapter 11: The Second Vortex War10 years after dragon ascentEven though the dragons took control of the Universe, their power inevitably lasted for a very small amount of time. Under the tyranny of the dragons, new alliances were born and old ones revived. The elves, snow giants, soldiers, and elementals reforged their alliance in attempt to once again bring the Universe to the peace it had been at before.
The remaining pirates were unable to take command of the legionaires and robots that they once controlled, but they quickly allied with the demons and a newly created army of insectoids to try to reconquer the Universe. Meanwhile, the reptiles and arachnids temporarily resolved their differences, believing that only their combined force could take out the dragons. Meanwhile, a starship of angels came upon the ninjas, and made a pact with them to take the Universe.
And then there was the last alliance. The defenders of the Vortex; the scientists, the aliens, the watchmen, and the dark knights, who had been created to defend the Vortex. They saw a danger to the Vortex; the other faction of aliens saw an opportunity.
The elf alliance was much weaker than it had been in the former days of glory it had once seen, and were destroyed once again by the pirates, who considered this their great revenge; however, their team quickly fell as the pirates, demons, and insectoids betrayed each other. Meanwhile, the dark knights continued to defend the Vortex; but alas, the legionaires discovered the secret, and took control of the robots to force an onslaught against the dark knights. Meanwhile, the reptiles and arachnids were defeating the dragons slowly; but just as the war approached a turning point, the ninjas swept over and took control of the Universe. However, they should have waited. Despite the help of the angels, the dragons proceeded to turn around and start regaining territory; it was not until the scientists finally decided to intervene that the dragons lost.
However, the opposing alien faction that lived on the alien homeworld had, in this time, managed to train the dragons to do their bidding. With this, they joined the legionaires and robots in their onslaught against the Vortex, where the watchmen and other aliens were now aiding the dark knights in their last defense.
Eventually, to prevent their enemies from entering the Vortex and gaining too much power, the watchmen were forced to use their most powerful weapon, the Void Triax; it was supposed to thrust an amount of energy so huge that their enemies would leave the Universe, space, and time, into the Void, where the only the Watchmen could get it.
However, the Triax malfunctioned, and instead pulled out a world that had built a Triax for themselves and accidentally, not knowing the power, thrust themselves into the Void; as soon as they were brought out, time continued where it had ended, with the terrans knowing none the better. And finally, with time continuing, their last broadcast started anew, and in a lonely research station the scientists saw a frozen screen flicker to life.
However, the power of the Triax was greater than that; in addition to bringing the Earth back in to the Universe, it destroyed the very thing powering it; the Vortex.
The end of era 3.
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