Chapter One: Then and Now
Lore is a place of unending conflict. "Peace", "Calm", "Cease-Fire", these are but words that hold no more meaning then a chance to reload weapons and train new recruits. Lore has always been in a state of Limbo, recovering from the last conflict only to be thrust into the next. It's a cruel, never ending cycle.
And even in this time, the time after the Devourer's reign, the time where Science and Technology have taken over, war is a guaranteed.
"I was born Maria Despair in a time well before any record has been made. I lived in, what modern day scientists call the "Golden Era" of Lore, a time when beasts, dragons, lizard men, and heroes lived. A time where people set out into the world, fought with these creatures for no other reason then to better the world. No personal gain... no prestige was worth risking their lives. Only to make Lore safer for the average Joe.
"Lore has changed so much in the 1500 years I've watched, waited. Maybe... just maybe if someone else know's Lore's history... I might sleep better at night.
"My... ascension to immortality was stuff of legends. On the eve of my nineteenth birthday, I was assigned as the body guard to Queen Safiria, queen of the Vampires of Lore. It was an assignment that would change my... unlife... forever.
"I fell in love with the Vampress almost instantly. We spent the night together, and... in that one moment... the heat of a single moment, she bit me, draining all the vital blood from my body. In this action, she blessed me, allowing me to stay at her side forever, never parting. But in this action, she cursed me. And not just bloodsucking and sun dodging. I can deal with that. She cursed me to look in the mirror every day, and see just what I've become. A porcelain doll. A... thing damned to look at herself in the mirror and say 'god... I still look eighteen.'
"I had a sister... I don't remember what she looked like, or how she sounded. All I remember is her name. Natalya Despair. The woman who never lost faith in me, even on her death bed. She died as any warrior would want. In battle against a demon... the Dragon King. She was just a kid...
"Serras Nerra... the only person I remember with any clarity. Serras was Natalya's love, as Safiria is mine. She was so full of life... until Natalya died. She cried over her grave for years after that, a recluse, shunning all society, living her life in obscurity.
"Rayne... All I remember of Rayne is how she died. It was the stupidest thing you'd ever think, and you won't believe me when I tell you... but she was killed in a freak accident when a Drakel scientist was showing the people of Battleon how to use guns. I guess those bullets gotta come down somewhere...
"Lizzie was shattered with Rayne's death, and went on a five year rampage throughout Drakel lands, killing countless of them, trying to bring Rayne back. She blamed the Drakel for Rayne's death... and I suppose in a sick way, she was right. Her blood rage was finally ended when she was brought before the Drakel courts in their Super City of Ren-Tiak, found guilty and executed. If that wasn't enough, they hung her corpse outside the city for all to see... She was such a sweet little girl...
"Artix and Wolfblitzer died when the Guardian Tower collapsed a while ago. Crushed under thousands of tons of stone. I still remember Artix's last words... 'You're great, Maria... don't let anyone tell you otherwise...'
"Robina and Valencia at least had the honor of dying in each other's arms. I don't know the details, but they were exploring a cave, and it collapsed sealing them in. We found them six days later, starved to death.
"The only person who lived even a remotely full life was Aria. She died at the somewhat ripe age of fifty three when a wild Vampragon got loose and knocked a chandelier off the ceiling, killing her.
"As for Trip... Trip finally got what was coming to her, I suppose. Late one night, a Werewolf creapt into her home and killed her as she slept. An Eye For An Eye, I suppose.
"Felix... god... I... I don't even remember how she died... it was stupid... something that, had it not killed her, we could have laughed about. Stupid... but terrible.
"And Gale... my dear... dear, beloved Gale... I remember everything about Gale. Her life, how she looked, her voice, and even her death. Gale had told me once, on her eighteenth birthday, that she wanted to join the Guardians. She felt she owed me that much. I was happy for her. I wanted her to set out and see the world.
"If only that's the only thing she saw.
"It seems... I didn't get them all. I can't believe it... I didn't kill all of those bastards! The explosion! The weapon fire! It WASN'T enough!
"DrakZombies. Creatures of your worst nightmares. Neither living nor dead. Demons through and through. When Gale was twenty nine, she came in contact with a pack of them... she never stood a chance. Not one. I suppose... in a way... I was no better then Lizzie when Gale died. I scoured the country side looking for them. Each one I found... It wasn't enough. There was always ONE MORE! One more I had to find... one more to kill...
"I miss Gale the most. Safiria thinks that I'd kill her to bring back Gale... and I suppose... in a way... it's true. I'd do anything to see Gale again. I miss her so much.
"With the death of the Devourer, Lore was plunged into an eon of peace. But that peace came at a grave cost. The people of Lore steadily began to loose their magical connection. Each generation of children born was born with a weaker and weaker connection to the Ethereal Realm, and consequently, weaker Magic. Soon, it was gone. People were as mundane as rabbits.
"In time, with the Drakel's assistance, we managed to develop of synthetic magic. An arboreal concoction they call SynGic, Synthetic Magic. It requires a constant injection of the solution to hold it's charge for any length.
"If that wasn't enough, our age of development was stunted when a group of Drakel thought it was a sin for them to share their technology with us, and broke away to the Paxian Islands.
"But it wasn't all doom and gloom. Even Lore had a time of change. After the Devourer, the seas released acres of land they had claimed even years before I was born. Mountains rescinded, leaving lush valleys and fields in their wake. The massive towers and spires of what I knew of Lore died, leaving room for cities and schools.
"Battleon... as for Battleon, it wasn't saved from the change. As time wore on, people began to forget why it was called Battleon, the names and faces of it's Guardians drowned forever, remembered only by a statue which was erected in the center of town.
"As for the town itself, people began slurring 'Battleon' into 'Babylon'. So that's what the town was eventually renamed to. People loved it.
"I despised the idea. They took everything I loved, everything I held dear, and pissed all over it.
"But I stayed quiet. I stayed quiet, because I had lived long enough to know that when people don't know when to shut there traps, they die.
"And so. Here I am, trapped in an Alien time, with only Safiria as a reminder of happier times. Only my memories to keep me warm at night. I wonder if I'll live long in this world, or if I'll live to see my 2000th birthday..."
"Alright you maggots! Sleep time's over!"