The Magic Is Gone

By Xnobody13

Before the time of Neptune's wacky antics; before the terrible dilemma involving the nefarious group ASIC; before a plot could actually be formulated within the land; before the modern day classics we have all come to love; there was a quiet simmer growing deep within the crevices of Gamindustri.

Life in Gamindustri is like no other. A singular gigantic landmass (though some claim it could break into four, and the southern region isn't truly connected to begin with, but I digress), surrounded by three giants islands evolving in their own way, Gamindustri was the home to millions upon millions of people, all living peacefully in either futuristic cities, fantastical towns, lively villages, farmlands, Antarctic-like tundras, and even areas that held a similitude towards the interpretations of what electronics look like on the inside. Though united by travel alone, the gigantic landmass has divided itself into a four-nation intersection, the surrounding territories often being considered neutral stations. The four nations are Lowee to the North, Lastation to the east, Leanbox to the south, and Planeptune right in the center. When these nations were birthed will never be known, but the customs and traditions they base themselves on have last throughout countless generations.

Each nation is ruled over by a CPU, a strange being that, without the proper words in the dictionary, can only be described as an immortal human that had the power to channel unbelievable powers. Each CPU is purely a maiden, a Goddess if you will; there has not been a single Male ruler ever recorded in History, unless you count the human leaders of lore; humans, in case I forget, are identified as Makers on Gamindustri. They act as the monarchs for their piece of the landmass, and much like the brave king and queens of our world, they too have a cabinet to keep them benevolent and peaceful. Much like our own people that speak with the Gods, CPU's come with Oracles, trusted individuals who are granted immortality in order to be the advisor for their ruler (if they prove ineffective, the Goddess could remove that immortality).

Along with the traditional coat of arms and other sort of officials, once a Goddess proves themselves as a worthwhile leader, a bizarre incident shall occur. Described by many as a gift from Gamindustri's holy Afterlife of Celestia, CPU's are granted a little sister of sorts, deemed the "CPU Candidate," for their reason of being is to be the next in line for their nation, once the current CPU dies for reasons no one could ever say (As mentioned above, they are immortal. No one has truly seen a Goddess actually die). They often resemble the current Goddess, though are usually younger, often birthed already between 8-16 years of age (reasons never known). It was a fantastical system, but many in Gamindustri truly accept it, and take it all for what it's worth.

The four current CPU's are Blanc in Lowee, Noire in Lastation, Vert in Leanbox, and Neptune in Planeptune; their candidates, going in respectful order, are Ram and Rom, Uni, and Nepgear (Leanbox currently holds no official Candidate). Over time, these four nations have ruled united and in peace, but there have been moments where they broke out into full-scale warfare. Often, though, it never escalated far, and aside from perhaps a few casualties, it never grew any deeper than a vocal fight with an occasional gun going off. Strangely, their relations were actually pretty good, all things considered.

However, though war was not breaking out between the four kingdoms, internal affairs were always present, oftentimes all four of them sharing the same problem. Crime was rampant on the streets of the major cities, and though they haven't been the worst thing to have ever occurred, they truly are tiresome. For many years, they were unorganized, but soon a crime syndicate began to immense considerable growth. They bannered their identities as The "Torrent Pirates," renegade criminals that would do anything to take away the currency of Gamindustri (Credits) as well as the strange power source the CPU's rely on, Shares (how they work apparently depends on the support a CPU has from her people). Though only Makers, they were crafty, and worked on all nations in order to spread their criminal beliefs. In years to follow, they would soon earn a far different name, one that many who are familiar with this world would know, though we still have time before that.

Gamindustri as we know it was somewhat different about 80 years ago, when the criminal group was starting to truly pick up steam. No one can accurately say why they suddenly grew bigger and far more menacing, but many believe it was due to a dream one of the clan leaders had. In his subconcious mind, a strange woman only known as Arfoire appeared before him. The woman was often referred to as the Deity of Sin, a dark and mischievous woman that has caused plenty of trouble for every CPU that had ever lived. The man reported that he was nearly killed by her, but for some reason, he was spared, with her words saying that he would remain alive as long as the group evolved and began to follow under her. The man, coward that he was, understood and accepted her conditions in a heartbeat. Though it would take some time for all portions of the group to assimilate, it was inevitable that the evil organization would evolve into some that much more drastic.

Whew, the history's done. Sorry about that, folks; got a little carried away. Now that we know some things, I can properly introduce this tale.

years before the ill-fated duel in the graveyard, ASIC wasn't even a true thing. Sure, the name was existing at this point, but it wasn't more than just a passing word used to refer to something Arfoire made way back in the day. Instead, like I mentioned, we had those pesky Torrent Pirates, and at the start of our tale, there was probably around 6 million of them, out of the total Gamindustri Population of 112 million. However, though so very large in number, with the exception of a few scattered clan leaders, there was no true united king or queen of the organization, no head for the body. Whenever they did something, it was not an organized rule to perform it. Somehow, they managed to live, but if they didn't find a person to unite them all, they would certainly all perish under the Goddesses. Besides, that Clan leader really wanted to make sure Arfoire didn't kill him, so they had to do something quick.

And thus, our tale begins…