Teralia- Chapter One: Prologue
Clouded by the eternal roars of hurricane winds and patrolled by mysterious entities whose very nature is a mystery, lies an island. An island that is hidden away from the rest of the world, never revealing its vast lakes of lava, fields of metallic foliage, and azure forests. These strange, magical conditions affected the life developing and visitors inside the island, and has thus developed its own unique, beastly races and even subspecies of humans. Ranging from aquatic to airborne, these creatures have evolved in special conditions, forming a society were both humans and monsters can coexist relatively peacefully. Each creature is immortal by age, including humans and monsters. The only way to die is from outside forces, such as being killed or disease. The humans themselves were quite diverse, having multiple subspecies and variants. Some, nicknamed Matuppian Humans, are amphibious in nature, sporting both gills and lungs, as well as webbed appendages and venomous spines. Others are troglobites, having larger eyes to see in the dark, as well as glowing markings upon their bodies. Some, although rare, can even take to the skies. The monsters, however, are much more diverse. Monster is a classification rather than a species, giving way to much more variation. Some are avian, canid, and others resemble modern monsters like cyclopses and vampires. The wildlife was equally diverse- unicorns are carnivorous apex predators, with their male counterparts, pegasi, flying above the skies, always closeby. Steel-covered bison roam the hills of metal, adapting to the harsh conditions. Desert dwelling, dinosaur-like beasts lurk beneath the sand, waiting for their next meal. All life, animal or no, giving their thanks to the island’s natural biological magic for fueling their bodies with the power they needed to get this far. And the island itself has The Elementals to thank for its existence.
Little is known about the god-like beasts known as The Elementals, but what is confirmed is that they have the ability to control one of the five elements; Fire, water, air, life, and death, as well as their subcategories like Earth and Ice depending on the elemental. They vary in size, from eleven feet tall, to thousands of feet long. Every elemental has its own strength, but each element has an alpha leading their sections. And they themselves have a leader; Ebrietas. Water Alpha and Mother Of Teralia. Seen as a figure of respect by every Teralian citizen, her name commands respect. Her very existence is the reason why Teralia exists, thus the nickname. Very few have seen her, but to those who have, she is the most beautiful thing they have ever laid eyes upon. But the Elementals’ mystery also has a downside; No one knows where they are, or if they made The God’s Plague.
The God’s Plague started out in The Ember citadel, property of the Ember Army. The sworn protector of Teralia’s civilizations. The guards protecting the castle started getting erratic, human or monster. Over time they then lashed out at random citizens and even their own fellow guardsmen. These individuals were detained, held in cells for their captain Midir, a vampire, to observe. When he got there, however, the guards were almost unrecognizable. Mutated into incredibly aggressive yet oddly beautiful beasts, the guards had broken out of their cells and had attacked the scientists trying to help them. Blood and entrails spilled on the walls and floor, soaking the mutated guards’ iridescent skin and fur. Midir managed to slay them all with some help from some nearby sentries, but this caught the attention of the higher-ups. He and anyone else who was seen killing the mutated guards were put on trial for murder. Midir tried to reason with them, saying that there was no apparent cause to this mutation and that the scientists had been mauled alive when trying to help the guards. The court didn’t listen and sentenced him to death. In his cell, Midir saw more and more beasts. Some were friends. It was a disease, spread via a bite. And the Ember Army did nothing to help. Luckily, Midir managed to escape with the help of the remaining sentries and headed deep into the forests. There, he found a meadow, and declared a resistance to be made against the Ember Army. Naming themselves hunters, they would go out and slay as much infected people as possible to prevent further spread and research the disease. Midir labeled the infected as savages, named for their aggressive and mindless behavior. The Hunters believe that the savages should be put out of their misery, while the Ember Army deems it murder. They gathered up supporters and after a year, war broke out. Many losses were suffered on both sides, and as the disease grew, it divided Teralia into three groups; Ember districts, Hunter districts, and neutral districts.
It has been 58 years since the division. The disease runs rampant throughout the nation, panic amidst the horror. Some cry out to the Elementals for help, while others blame them for the outbreak. And others try to find a source, and hopefully put a stop to this. Nothing has succeeded, not even a clue. The moment one thinks that they have it figured out, something happens that throws the research on its head. No one knows. But one thing is certain; Someone or something is behind this, and whatever it is, it must be found and stopped.
And with curiosity comes discovery.