Necros: A War of Zoids
By familyghost
Synopsis: A world with a secret past is about to get a wake up call from the metallic warriors.
Prologue: A History Lesson.
Pay attention now, this story I tell is some 200 years old, but its root starts even further. It starts with a man made catastrophe, almost a half a century ago. The world was prospering after hundreds of years of fear from the loss of our great partners the Zoids. The world had shifted on its axis and was plunged into despair as civilization was wrought to its knees and the majority of the Zoids lost to earth, sea and fire.
Still, people lived on and managed to uncover zoids hidden in the earth. There was even a war between the forces of good and evil and from that war good triumphed and restored the ways of old to the people, but alas even good intentions can make good stage for tragedy. Perhaps even the best of stages.
For within the youthful pride of several young scientists a power greater than Zoids had been unlocked, but that power came with an equally terrible price. The world was once again thrown into war. The war was long and perilous, and the scientists found they were fighting loosing as their enemy had stolen their great power and were actively using it to make powerful weapons.
Then the hardest decision was made, the scientists decided to kill their own invention. Their invention? Oh quite simple, Artificial Intelligence. Aboard zoids these terrible machines were capable of destroying entire armies and the scientists only possessed one such A.I., their prototype. So the leader launched the only weapon capable of destroying the A.I. they had made, but it had its own nasty side effect. The weapon, once launched and detonated, destroyed the AI, but it also shutdown the entirety of the world's electronics save for a few hidden bases. Zoids shut down not long after with no apparent reason.
It was then that the scientists disappeared, with the exception of one; a young man who had discovered the secrets of the magiks with another of the scientists. The second of these young brilliant minds was lost to history for some time…
The world on the other hand had once again been dropped into a dark age. Religious clamor and academic logic clashed and war seemed inevitable, until the mages made themselves known. The seven mages united provinces and kingdoms under treaties of peaceful ignorance. The countries would be free to run their kingdoms or republics as they saw fit, but between these countries would lay the mage's realms to buffer any aggression.
Most of these mages would die off and pass their secrets to their students who would then unite to form the Mage's Council, which would take over the international peace keeping duties. Still, three of the mages; Lycus; the young scientist of whom I previously mentioned, would pursue the darker arts.
Lycus himself would master the art of Necromantic Agelessness along with Tsurellis, a young student of his who would remain his close ally and confidant. And the sinister Mahin, whose later students would all follow his attempts into Lich-hood. Mahin himself would later be destroyed at the hands of the Mage's Council for attempting to invade a peaceful state. Soon after Mahin's destruction two more Necromantic powers would arise and bring a challenge to the Mage's Council.
Lycus, not wanting another war, immediately sought a peaceful resolution. The Mage's Council would eventually accept the conditions of peace in which each of the necromancers would be given their own small counties to manage. These counties would be considered lands free of any rule, except the necromancer's. Some claimed the necromancers would be tyrants, but a condition was placed upon this contract. The Necromancers would not be allowed conference with one another, nor would they be allowed to amass armies, lest the Mage's Council descend upon them in force.
For 250 some odd years this odd arrangement kept the world peaceful. The people would serve their countries; the countries would ignore each other, and if they didn't the Council (or neighboring Necromancer) would set them straight. All the while the Necromancers were free to study as they pleased, their dark arts without worry of the Mage's Council descending upon them in a fury.
But, I'm sure you can tell by now peace does not seem to last long on this planet, and the protagonists of this story are thrown to war once more. A war where zoids and magik mix and blood spills not only in the pilot's seat, but on the ground as well. And like most wars this one too would start in part because of a woman…