Humanity was doomed. At least, that is what the broadcast said. We were so excited, as a species, when we made first contact in the year 2753. We thought we would be welcomed with open arms, as many authors had dreamily written of for centuries. And we were in an excellent place for it societally. After the dissolution of Russia in the early 22nd century, the world's countries began working, for the next 150 years, to unify the human species and restore the damage that we had already done to our planet.
Since we had let go of our warmongering ways and become a people of peace, we thought that the galaxy's inhabitants would surely find no fault with us. All species went through growing pains of a sort. But we were wrong; we were so very wrong.
The race that contacted us were the single most genocidal and xenophobic creatures that you could imagine. They were happy to meet us, but when they discovered that our genetics allowed for such a wide variety of height, coloration, and even physical abilities, they labeled us heretical against their God, whom all citizens were required to worship.
The God of balance they called him, but that is unimportant. They declared war and began wiping Humanity from the face of history.
By this time, we humans had reached a point of having colonies throughout our solar system. We even had a research facility on Pluto! They started with a single missile through the habitat life-support module. They didn't even bother to kill the scientists; they let them suffocate to death. Next, they moved to the colonies and stations that peppered Jupiter's moons and orbit.
The things that they did were terrible. The only thing that even came close to some of the things that they did to us humans was the Nazis of World War II and their concentration camps. They moved steadily inward, erasing one colony after another, destroying any ships we sent against them with technologies hundreds of generations more advanced than anything we possessed.
When they finally arrived at Earth, our homeworld that we had lovingly restored into a green and blue gem from the brown wasteland it had become, we thought it was over. They surprised us then, declaring that rather than bombarding us from orbit, they were required by their religion only to utilize ground troops on a species' homeworld.
We laughed at this; surely nothing we had left in the Eden of peace that Earth had become would even scratch the alien invaders. We were wrong about that too.
The first victory started as a rumor when several families from what used to be Mexico crossed the Newmerican territory border. They told wild tales of the chupacabra and how it had slaughtered and drank the blood of a hundred enemy soldiers that had pursued them. They told of how when it had finished, it looked at them and gave a shallow nod of its vicious head before disappearing into the night.
The next victory came across the data net in a wave with video. An honest-to-god dragon had emerged from a buried cave in what was once Great Britain and devoured entire swaths of an army in flame before setting off to what was historically Avalon. In the videos, a deep rumbling voice that could only come from the dragon is heard speaking old English and calling for the rise of a new order of dragon riders.
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Soon it was happening everywhere; creatures long thought to be fantasy or simply scary stories proved true as the alien invaders were decimated wherever they appeared. Hundreds of Djinn in the old middle east. Tokoloshe in the ancestral lands of the Zulu. Jiangshi in the Asian territories. Vampires in old Transilvania and around the world as they can pass fairly well for humans that only work at night. The Nightmarchers of the Hawaiian Islands.
The ones that surprised us the most were the creatures that pulled themselves from the ocean. Almost as if it was directly from the bible, the Leviathan rose to boil the waters around it and breathe columns of fire miles into the sky, destroying the landing craft.
The Kraken began roaming coastlines, never harming a human, but snatching up any invader that it came across and tossing them into its mouth. Hundreds of Hydra, smaller than the legends depicted, left the oceans worldwide and began sweeping the continents of all invaders; there were even videos of children petting their snakelike heads.
In less than a month, the entirety of the invading army was destroyed, and Humanity had never lifted a weapon. A month after that, a strange woman appeared in the middle of the Earth Congress.
"Good evening, my name is, well, it is unimportant, but you may know of me in your legends as Morgan le Fay. I was bid to come and speak to you on behalf of the other residents of this world. You have proven yourselves, not just those in this room, but all of Humanity. You set aside the tools of war and strove to become more than what you were." The woman looked into a camera letting the world know that she knew they were all watching.
"In your legends and fairy tales, we are evil creatures, and at the time that these stories were created, we did not know what you were either, and we hunted one another. That is in the past; we hope we may eventually come out of hiding. To that end, we are here to present our dignitaries." Morgan waved her hand, and a portal on the floor allowed ten lascivious women with barklike skin to appear, each holding a pot with a tree in it. They each walked to a different window and placed the pots before the windows.
"The Dryads have long served as mediators for those you know as monsters; these ten have volunteered to serve as representatives for the entirety of the fay and fantastical. They will not intrude on human matters and will only interject on things you ask them about, or that will intrude on fey lives. The vampires will serve as the test subjects; this is their wish, as many have already revealed themselves in the fight. As we come to agreements, more shall reveal themselves." Morgan looked around the room, making eye contact with each person for a moment.
"Humanity has never been alone, and if the galaxy does not want you, that is their loss. Though we admire your will in not taking up arms, know that we will not always fight your battles. Strength is for protecting your home and those within it. Let Humanity once again take up arms, but only for protection. Keep that in mind, and we will do well together." She turned to leave.
Morgan paused. "Oh, and one more thing. Baphrog is ancient. Treat him kindly."
The speaker of the congress stood. "Excuse me, Ma'am, but Baphrog?"
"The dragon that revealed himself and is resting in Avalon. Baphrog is his name. There was a time when he was the first dragon to have a rider; he is ancient beyond words. He is one of the last ancients of the dragons, he has but a few decades before he passes from this life, and he refuses to spend them underground. He loves to talk; send children from your schools to speak with him; they will never be harmed and make his final years happy."
Morgan turned once more to begin fading away as quickly as she had appeared, and as she left, her voice could still be heard. "No matter what scares you, humans, as you venture out among the stars, know that Earth is safe, as nightmares abound."