Prologue: Damnation

There were once legends of a mighty kingdom. An empire so strong that no military force could ever hope to match the skill of their weakest General. It was said that their leader once killed an entire nest of mythical dragons by themselves in less than a fortnight.

Now, most of this is obviously just fantasy. A fairy tale to tell the children. There's no way that one-man armies exist or that a single person could take on a dragon, let alone an entire hoard. And while these stories may be fabrications or stretches of the truth, there is one thing about this nation that is undoubtedly true. It existed.

This story, that has been passed down for generations, is believed to be a retelling of what happened to such a great nation. It goes like this:

In a land, not unlike those of other nations, across the vast oceans and barren deserts, stood a kingdom built from nothing. It grew and grew until no other nation could stand against it. Their military was untouchable, their economy was strong, and their innovation was stupendous. And yet, they were peaceful by nature. They entered no unnecessary wars. They offered aid to all those who asked. They even shared all their knowledge with every nation of the world. It was truly the paradise of the pacifist.

However, those that ventured to that nation said that once you entered the gates, which were always open, none of that pacifism was apparent. The noise of the main city was the loudest in the world. The streets were always congested with a diverse array of people. Their shops were always busy from dawn till dusk, never wanting for business. And surprisingly enough, all the citizens seemed happy.

No other nation was capable of this. At most, they could excel in one area, usually choosing their military over economics or innovation. Because of this focus on the military, many of these nation's citizens did not live happy lives. This made entering this happy nation a true culture shock. All one had to do was look up to understand why.

In the skies, there was a constant show of power. Not military might or political intrigue, just power. The power that most nations thought best to hide behind closed doors, so as to not let others see how adept they were with it. This power, commonly known as magic, was flying through the skies like constant fireworks, not caring who saw.

Magic was seen by the rest of the world as a military secret, something to be kept under wraps so that other nations wouldn't know what to expect in a war. And yet, this nation threw it around like it was nothing. Upon closer inspection, a professional could even see that there was a liberal usage of magic on the ground as well. This was nothing as extravagant as what happened in the sky, but it seemed that anything from many of the building's light sources to a fountain in the town's square were all powered by magic.

It was unthinkable for a nation to do this, but anyone in a high enough position, in both this nation and many others, knew why it was possible. Magic wasn't their most powerful weapon. However, that's a story for later. All that needs to be known is that any nation that knew of this power feared it more than any mythical creature.

As the hourly magic show came to a close, the crowds eventually began to move again. Not long after, a pair of women could be seen running through the crowded streets. The people dispersed to the side, giving these women a clear path, most with a look of respect and loyalty. One was young, most likely barely an adult, and had a head of long blue and green hair. The other was slightly older with shoulder-length light brown hair. Both were wearing somewhat formal military attire, with an oddity or two showing themselves as individualism. The younger woman had a puppet-like patch stitched into her jacket while the older woman wore a large snowflake hairpin, made of a crystalline material. These pieces were used to distinguish them from everyone else.

The women raced into a building at the end of the street that had the words 'City Hall' written on it in large gold letters. The building was larger than all those around it, but no one questioned why. The average citizen never had a reason to enter 'City Hall', so they didn't quite care.

As the crowds began to resume their day, two younger citizens, a man and a woman, decided to strike up a friendly conversation. The young man was sweeping the entrance to a historical bookstore, while the woman was watering the magical flowers of a garden shop next door.

"I never thought I'd see council members running around like they have been recently," the woman started, trying to break the ice between them. "Just the other day I saw the Generals frantically rushing between the border walls."

The man quickly responded, "From what I've heard, they're planning something huge for the country." He chuckled, then continued, slightly quieter with a look of horror on his face, "Some sort of surprise I guess."

The woman just laughed at his statement. She composed herself before quickly adding, "I sure hope it's better than their last surprise." She was now fully composed, voice more serious. "I know everyone appreciated it, and it was a thoughtful gesture, but their celebrations always get out of hand."

The man nodded in agreement. "Yeah, The Walking Inferno nearly burnt down a fourth of the city, and The Lone Hunter flooded the entertainment district." He held a silent moment for those that had to clean up after that mess.

"At least they didn't fry all the electronics in the lower half of the city like The Lightning Warlock did." She held a similar silent moment. "Some of my friends are still recovering from it."

The man then had an idea. Well, less of an idea and more of a question he had never thought to ask. "Do you think the council will ever reveal their true identities to us? Speaking of them like this, with fancy nicknames, makes me feel like I'm talking about a fairy tale."

The woman just shrugged but had a smile on her face. "I hear it's for protection, both ours and theirs. I don't fully understand it though," she resumed watering the plants, "but as long as they keep this nation safe, I don't really care who they are."

The man agreed, and their conversation continued, mostly about different council members and what wanton destruction they had caused. A smile never left their faces though. No matter how much it sounded like they were criticizing the council, they were never overly hostile or annoyed. This just proved how the nation viewed its governing body.

Every member of the nation loved the council. No matter what faults they had or what they did, no one ever called for new leadership. It wasn't because of fear or inability. They just knew that no one else could keep the nation as safe as the current members of the council.

The council was a governing body of ten elites, five substitutes, and a few consultants. The fifteen core members were both the founders of the nation and its best protectors. Without them, and their mysterious powers, the country would never have lasted a week.

This group was led by a president known only as The Walking Inferno, a woman with complete control over fire. Her second in command, the vice president, was a man known as The Blitz who could connect places in space. These two worked together in order to keep the rest of the council under control and keep the country functioning.

Next, their army was led by two head Generals, one focused on attack and one focused on defense. The Lightning Warlock used his masterful control over electricity to push back any enemies that dared face them, while The Metal Devil used his control of metal to erect literal iron defenses that were completely impenetrable. These two begrudgingly worked in tandem to keep the nation safe.

The nation was then mainly run by four ministers who each focused on a specific aspect of life. The first was The Ice Witch, a woman cloaked in cold. She was the person who came up with and designed many of the laws in the nation. Next was The Sonic Boom, a man with powers over sound. He upheld those laws in court as the chief justice. There was then The Lone Hunter, a man with control over water. He took those who did not uphold the laws and either rehabilitated them or kept them away from the common people. Lastly was The Supporter, a woman able to amplify other's abilities. She controlled the finances of the nation and made sure the wealth was shared evenly.

The last main council members were then responsible for interactions outside of the council. One was to focus on relations with foreign dignitaries and citizens, while the other was the main face of the council to the nation's people. These people were known as The Control Freak, a young woman who could control the actions of other beings, and The Invasive Species, a woman with complete control of plants. These two kept the people of the nation happy and calm while making sure that they didn't rub any other nation the wrong way.

The remaining members, the five substitutes and consultants, were less known. For the substitutes, all that was known were their aliases. The Demoness, The Goliath, The Accelerator, Lady Bacchus, and The Oblivion were rarely seen or discussed. Many had tried to deduce their abilities from their names, but nothing definitive was ever proven. Some even thought they were a hyper specialized force created to deal with disaster level threats.

For the consultants, it was only known that one was a healer, and one was a magical expert. Like the substitutes, these two were never seen by the populace. No one believed that they were simply consultants, but without proof, no theory was confirmed.

The council, as a whole, was the strongest organization in the country and possibly even the world. Without them, many of the luxuries that the nation's citizens lavished in wouldn't exist.

The man and woman's conversation continued until each of their respective shifts was over. Having enjoyed each other's company, they decided to meet again, outside of working hours. They went their separate ways, both with a spring in their steps.

A week passed before they saw each other again. They met at a popular restaurant near the center of the city. The man was dressed in a green suit while the woman wore a long green dress. They both laughed when they realized they were wearing the same color. They then blushed, remembering that this was basically a date.

The restaurant was busy, but they didn't have to wait long for a table. They sat right next to the railing of one of the many balconies that jutted out from the building. Its selling point was the fact that the tables were situated outside on a beautifully crafted balcony, portraying a stunning view of the sprawling city.

They quickly ordered their food before jumping into more small talk, the 'getting to know each other' kind. It was going rather well, and by the time they had finished the main course, they both believed they had met 'the one.' A common occurrence for the restaurant.

"I'm having a wonderful time tonight," said the woman with an alluring gaze that made the man's heart skip a beat. He didn't let this catch him fully off guard, as this wasn't his first rodeo. He just couldn't believe how well the night had been going.

He finally replied, after composing himself, "So am I." He then rubbed the back of his neck, acting more sheepish than before. "If I'm being honest, I never expected this to go so well. Most dates that I go on end in disaster."

The woman chuckled at him, causing his heart to skip another beat. He enjoyed the sound of her laughter. "Well, I'd be happy to be your first successful date." This caused both of them to grow a deep shade of crimson and look away from each other.

A moment passed that felt like an eternity, but eventually, they were both able to gaze into each other's eyes. Without a second thought, they leaned close to each other, preparing to share in something all too common at this particular restaurant, a first kiss.

They were only millimeters away from each other, but their lips never met. They never knew why, but the small amount of space between them seemed so far away. Before they were able to finally bridge the gap and share in their feelings, a cacophony of screams was heard in the distance.

This caused them both to quickly recoil and stare in the direction of the noise. These screams sounded familiar to them. In fact, nearly everyone in the restaurant recognized them as the screams that occurred after one of the council's surprises. With a collective sigh, everyone went back to what they were doing. If only they had looked up to the sky.

The woman decided to try and continue their conversation, hoping the screams would quickly die down. "I wonder what's going on out there." She then gave one more look towards the noise. "If I look hard enough, I can even see people running away in horror."

The man responded, trying to stay nonchalant. "It would seem that the council's surprise went about as well as we thought it would."

"I guess so. The screams sound familiar at least."

"True. Being at the mercy of the council's might, whether on purpose or not, is truly a terrifying experience."

They then continued their date as if everything was normal. This included dessert, dancing, and a bit of romance. Carefully making sure they weren't out too late; they finally decided it was time to say good night.

They walked out of the restaurant and were faced with a horror they could never have imagined. Up in the sky, completely blocking out the stars, was a dark purple cloud of miasma. The wickedness that the cloud exuded sent a shiver down the spines of all those that saw it. From what was visible in the dark shadow of the cloud, it looked as though the city was in ruins, but no one could be sure.

It was the woman who spoke up first, trying to keep the fear out of her voice. "Ya know. Still not the worst date I've ever had." She smiled at the man even though she was completely terrified about what was about to happen.

The man, having seen her smile and heard her words, decided it'd be best if he did the same as her. "Same." He laughed. "Although I've never had one end in what seems to be an apocalyptic event." His smile wavered slightly, but not enough for the woman to notice.

"Neither have I." She also let out a laugh, slowly clasping her hand around the man's. "I guess there's a first for everything though." They then embraced each other as the miasma enveloped them and everything around them.

It is said that once the cloud moved past the nation, nothing was left in its wake. All that remained was the dirt patch that the country had been built on. Not even the foundations survived the attack, leading to the most powerful nation being swept off the face of the earth in one night.

The news of this event spread fast, reaching every other kingdom by the end of the week. Most thought this to be rumors spread by those who were jealous of the mighty nation. Many smaller factions had wanted to take power away from them and they continually tried to force the other kingdoms to go to war. Their plans had never succeeded though.

A few of the kingdoms closely tied to the nation weren't as skeptical though. They knew the strength that their ally held but knew they could be too confident for their own good. In order to calm the suspicions, they sent out a few brave souls in order to investigate these rumors.

While the journey was long and arduous, those sent out returned within the week. What they had seen was unbelievable. In the place where the mighty nation once stood, was nothing. There were no signs of civilization. Not even a scrap of trash could be found in the vast plain that used to hold such a mighty ally.

No one in power wanted to hear this. That nation may have been a terrifying force of nature, but it was also a source of many innovations that helped the world as a whole. With its loss, so too were the wheels of invention lost for the world. Everyone was sent back a few hundred years, no matter how much it hurt civilization.

Eventually, the maps of the world were redrawn. While the nation was excluded from them all, every kingdom paid respects in their own way, placing a mighty beast in its place to signify the power that it once held.

Many began to wonder how such a powerful nation was wiped off the planet overnight, but with no easy answer in sight, the questions quickly stopped coming. Eventually, the nation fell into myth and legend. Now it was more of a fairy tale than a true piece of history. Perhaps the council would have liked it better that way?

Like I said before, there's no way to know whether the events happened as this story portrayed them. However, the nation definitely did exist at one point. Books about old history still mention this nation in passing. Sadly, many of the new texts don't mention it at all, other than it being a common fable among more primitive people.

Too long has passed since the disappearance of this nation, and I fear it may never cement its legacy in the halls of history, but its legend will still live on in the hearts of us who believe. And who knows, maybe one day that most powerful nation will rise once again to fill all our hearts with both hope and fear.

An excerpt from Famous Myths and Legends of a Bygone Age, the only copy of which can be found in Zachary White's Pawn Shop, just off the main road of a small town in the middle of Missouri.