image [https://i.imgur.com/c9noZOR.png]

Art by Fulminaire

Nonovber 33rd, 2064, the night that the history books would later refer to as the ‘Cosmic Boon’. Some believed that night was a gift from the heavens. It was hard to refute their claim, as two bright lights could be seen streaking through the dark sky, soaring apart in opposite directions. Many scientists tried to explain this phenomenon, but the most promising ideas were chalked up to mere speculation at best.

Most people, however, didn’t really care what had caused it, they only cared what it meant. That night was the beginning of a new found peace in the world. After all, the past decades of strife had come to an abrupt end. The two dictators who had plagued the world, and were only weeks away from completely conquering it, had died in a house fire that night.

The Drazahs: that name struck fear in the hearts of anyone who heard it. The married pair of dictators had conquered almost ninety percent of the world. The wife, Eleen, was the spearhead of the force. Without a country to back her, she had built an army through sheer tenacity, determination, and charisma. She was ruthless against her enemies, and it was under her orders that the first nuclear bomb was developed and launched on the unprepared world.

While Eleen’s ferocity alone was enough to make the world quake, her husband, Relyk, was the real terror to many. A true master of strategy, he always seemed to know when and where to strike, whose palms to grease, and whom exactly he needed to defeat.

At first, they just conquered a few small countries—hardly enough reason for the rest of the world to act or to even take notice. After the first bomb dropped, they quickly paid attention. This once small group was now the most deadly force in the world. Many countries thereafter would surrender and hand over command when the Drazah forces approached their border. It seemed like the best option at the time.

The Drazahs, however, did not earn the title of Dictators without good reason. The countries they conquered soon had heavy taxes implemented. Poverty rates skyrocketed in the countries now under their rule. Some countries rich in resources were forced to run them dry so that the Drazahs could increase their armies and keep producing their weapons of mass destruction.

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When news spread of the poor treatment of conquered countries, more and more tried to resist. They attempted to fight back so that they could maintain their freedom, preferring to die than submit, and die they did. Countries that proved difficult to conquer through conventional means, and some that ‘just weren’t worth the effort’, were bombed without mercy. Millions died, and countries were disappearing off the map at a rapid pace. Lands that had once flourished, became nuclear wastelands that would be inhospitable for centuries to come.

Horage, the last great kingdom, and its small surrounding nations, were the only thing standing between the Drazahs and global domination. Over the years that the Drazahs had been sweeping their claim, Horage had been preparing; building a large army from the many refugees who had flocked there—creating the strongest united front the world had ever seen.

Truly, Horage would be the most difficult conquest that the Drazahs had faced, but for the last great kingdom, hope was all but lost. The Drazah military was a massive force, growing with each nation conquered. The nuclear weapons weren’t their only trick as well; having developed huge artillery that could destroy anything in its wake. Horage felt the noose tightening around its neck… but then, the miracle happened.

Almost immediately after the Cosmic Boon, the Drazah military fell apart. With their figureheads gone, their cause became harder to justify with each passing moment, as if a wave of sensibility had washed over them. Those who had been forced to join, rebelled, and fled back to their homes. They began to rebuild or picked up arms in resistance, ready to fight anyone who would dare try to take their freedom again.

All but the most loyal of leaders swapped sides almost immediately, wanting to guarantee security for themselves during the impending fallout. A few pockets of resistance remained, but most were snuffed out in the coming months. The more tumorous of radicals managed to hang on for a few more years, but were eventually struck down by the might of the world’s combined forces. After knowing the fear of the Drazahs, whom many saw as demons rather than humans, they felt as if nothing worse could come.

Peace flooded throughout the world. Countries slowly began to return to how they once were, and some that had been previously destroyed were sought out by settlers looking to start over. The world was starting to shine brighter than ever before, but this new era came at a cost. On the night of the Cosmic Boon, Fiends were born.