Mana is limitless fuel. Touching a sphere of water and a sphere of mana is atomically unique. The difference is explosive, one sphere of mana is nothing more than energy without ignition and reaction. Water with mana is the explosive part, one sphere the size of a basketball is enough to level a small hill. Imagine if that size was condensed to the size of a golf ball, a Mt. Fuji would be forced into dust. I am not going to tell you that fire, earth, wind, etcetera are elements, that’s just stupid. Cobalt is an element while fire is just our constructs of perception along with any other matter. In the “box”. EVERYTHING can be broken down.
Contrary to thoughts about humans ruling “supreme” and ever growing stronger, that does not happen too early in this prelude. This story begins much like how Earth began, primitive and kill to live. Mana exists, monster exists and the stereotype that humans are strong, dominant and invasive, is nonexistent.
The fact that humans are weak has not changed.
To my dismay they are at the bottom in this food chain, preyed on by all and allied by none including themselves. To survive long enough for intelligent humans to organize themselves is a miracle itself but no merit for applause. With their lack of ingenuity and fear they barely budged in food chain. 5 foot rats that once plagued them, were of less concern to their lives. This year marks point zero for human history as running around dying doesn’t count. During the span of 30 years they began to learn the basics of shelter construction. This included hidden escape routes and pointy wood walls but lead to more problems as many monsters could breathe fire, the most basic being, volatil deers. Clothes came surprisingly after 50 years (running for your life does make you not care about being naked). Made from wool of reflection sheep, that basically do nothing but repeat body cycles and grow wool. For a time they couldn’t harvest the defensive wool from reflection sheep due to their lack of intelligence and poor group collaboration skills however, the discovery of razors made from rat corpses at year 40 certainly helped our lack of intelligence.
After 67 years a scouting party found the Living Sanctuary.
Surrounded by the Illusion Forest and lined with natural fields of vegetables humans quickly settled in and became accustomed to their villages and towns. Being complacent they in time never set foot from their sanctuary. However, they were still the prey of intelligent monsters such as the lamia and themselves. Bandits became commonplace, as many filled by the greed that molds personality, joined the fun side. The innate discovery of magic within humans rapidly changed the structure of those human lives. Those bandits became mere fodder as they failed to understand the flaming pebbles of fireballs flung at them as they ran towards the Illusion Forest. Their screams never reached the pity of the citizens of towns and villages as the lost monsters within fed on their entrails. This is the start of our corruption. By year 79 blacksmiths were able to create weapons and armor from the natural resources found on weak monsters. Guards were assigned posts on the border of the Illusion Forest. After year 80 some guards pooled their money into forming an adventurer’s guild, the very first. Along with the magic learned from adept mages, the ex-guards began to explore the Illusion Forest. Soon after, they retired and became teachers while issuing quests for commissions while charging a broker fee so they could keep the steady life. Humans continued to improve their lifestyle until the year 142 where improvement stagnated because of the ‘Terror’.
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A creature so cruel and bloodthirsty it cares not to feed itself on the flesh of its prey. Rather it takes its time torturing the screams and pain out of them for the duration of 3 hours. In those 3 hours there is no one living in the Sanctuary that could stomach the cries of pain, the Terror’s victims screamed. Once caught, the victim is inject with the poison of the Terror only to find they are not dying. But a brief moment of euphoria washes over them, only to disappear leaving the body only able to produce chemicals that cause negative emotions. Then it starts. To humans, the hors d'oeuvres before the main dish is the illusion of your life escaping the grasp of the Terror only to find your fears, phobias and worries all to come true. You survive through each one only to move onto the next. When you die from the shock that this ‘life’ gives, A new one starts anew, there is no death in these 3 hours. The main dish, the Terror pierces the spinal cord and connects to your brain. No pain is felt until the memory erasing starts. With precision and accuracy, it makes you relive those memories while erasing them. “That special feeling of oblivion ahh.” Dessert is served with regret. The Terror pulls out of the spinal cord after planting its surprise. With soulless eyes the human goes back to the Sanctuary, no monsters attack for fear of becoming the Terror’s next victim. Having gone through the Sanctuary’s illusions, the human finds itself going towards the one(s) that it cares for. It wakes remembering the life it had amidst the pools of blood that once were the one(s) it cared for. For a good while no one dared ventured out of the Sanctuary.
Against humans’ better judgement, adventurers once again flourished. Greed overshadowed the Terror, as news of wagon loads bearing treasure were brought back by Klaine Gaust, a beginner adventurer. His lucky find of a monster’s stash awarded him with many resources that he promptly sold to attain wealth. Klaine retired and married Lauren an attractive envy of the sanctuary. He could not imagine her, a wife of twenty long faithful years, to be anything more than his grace. His adoring charm and wife. His illusion was shattered after he overheard Lauren talking about leaving him with all his money. He had married a gold digger. Devastated he divorced Lauren and locked himself in his mansion only allowing essentials through. He soon died from heartbreak and left behind his wealth to the adventurer’s guide on one condition.
The enactment of the Gaust code, “Go as far as your legs can’t handle and live as long as you can’t. These are our ever-growing strengths, far beyond the weapon you hold and the armor you don. See the stars of many skies and find your treasure to bring home, as you one day will come. In victory of satisfaction or the rainfall given to those who have failed, to end in coffins. Experience the odyssey till death do us end.”
This is the boom of adventurers, their numbers rose to the thousands while only few became successful others joined human fueled internal massacres until the year 301. 90% of the Earth is mapped, towns become cities, the seas are vicious without end and the idea of an adventurer(s) are adorn with glory, hardships and reward. For my character he is weak to no end, he has shared the pain and hatred of the preyed, and lies dying across Steps to Heaven.
His name is Sen Dencrof the future Solomon the Sound.