VALMYRRA: The Fallen: Prologue

VALMYRRA: The Fallen
Prologue

"Why'd you have to go and let it die?" - Foo Fighters

Three hundred years ago, Valmyrra was not as it is today. Instead of brown and burned wastelands, there were green and vibrant fields and forests. Instead of polluted, acidic water, there were crystal-clear streams and ponds. Instead of tiny, isolated communities of dirty scavangers, there were great cities of powerful nations.

The greatest two nations were Tekaan and Majiim - two empires built upon hard-earned knowledge of fundamentally different systems.

Tekaan was a nation of science; at its height, the epitome of scientific enlightenment. They had control over the most basic parts of our universe, individual particles which they could then assemble as stronger, better, faster, harder materials and beings. A cosmopolitan society of free-thinkers and visionaries, Tekaan was the zenith in all things.

Except magic.

Magic was the speciality of Majiim. A benevolent theocracy centered on the use of ley-lines and the summoning of powerful spirits - both cooperative and naturally hostile. A nation bound in tradition and powered by the combined will of the elite - the Mages. An intutive understanding of the intricacies of the flow and ebb of spiritual power was the guiding spirit of the Majiimites.

These two great nations were frequent enemies and sometime allies. What ended the world they controlled was a cataclysm of unprecedented proportions.

It was triggered by a simple mistake.

A young mage visiting Tekaan to pioneer a new way of thought - combining magic and technology - inadvertently warped a ley-line running through the center of Tekaan's capital -  the name of which is long lost - and the accidentally misdirected power of the ley-line caused a nearby fuel line to shatter and explode violently, killing many. Among this number was the ruler of Tekaan.

In a state of panic from the death of their beloved leader, the Provisory Council of Tekaan reacted harshly - all those with even the slightest hint of magical power that were within Tekaan's border were immediately incarcerated in the highest-security prison in Tekaan - a massive fortress designed specifically to short-circuit all magical powers.

Needless to say, many of those who were unjustly imprisoned were citizens of Majiim. The aforementioned young mage was accused and convicted of assassinating Tekaan's ruler. His pleas that the entire affair was an accident involving ley-lines and accidental warping fell on uncomprehending or willfully deaf ears.

Majiim immediately entered negotiations with Tekaan to defuse the situation, but it was too late. Tekaan sent back the diplomat in a can - liquified - and declared war.

At first, guerilla raids and quick strikes against each other was the norm, but things quickly escalated until researchers on both sides of the war made their respective governments see sense: If things continued to escalate, the world would be plunged into a catastrophic death spiral. Independently, both Tekaan and Majiim decided to stay their hands and wait for the other to make a move.

Thus began a cold war which lasted twenty years before erupting into all-out war, the catalyst again being one man.

This man, who we know only as the Destroyer, was raised in Tekaan. His parents belonged to a radical sect of devout worshipers of technology itself. All his life, he believed that the Majiim were twisted demons bent on destroying everything he cared about. The Destroyer's part in escalating the Hiatus into full-blown war was, in itself, small. For reasons unknown, he decided to make an attempt to free the imprisoned mages in Tekaan and attribute the deed to Majiim.

Somehow, he succeeded in his plan. The guards were all killed violently in way which, to the casual observer, could only have been done by magic. Then, the imprisoned mages disappeared from the prison and were easily seen roaming freely in Majiim.