Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh in any form.
Bold (Author Notes or Card Names)
The idea for this series of short stories came to me while playing the new Yu-Gi-Oh Link evolution game on PS4 and i thought it would be a fun exercise to get me back into writing again. I always found the card lore of the game interesting so why not create my own for some of my favorite cards. I primarily run Dark/Fiend centered decks so I'll start with them and then sporadically work my way around other card types I think are interesting.
The great expanse of land, commonly known as the Dark Continent, was where numerous Dark attributed and demonic monsters made a home for themselves. In these lands the territories of the Fiend types are one of the most dangerous.
Split between powerful tribes of the royal Archfiends, Dark World, Burning Abyss, Infernity, and even the perverse Fabled everyday was a constant struggle between them for dominance with each race fighting to see who would reign supreme over all others.
In between these waring factions was the clan of monsters known as Goblins.
Once known far and wide for their great wealth and ferociousness in battle the Goblins were a well respected and powerful family that could trace their roots back to the beginning of recorded history.
Some would question how this came to be seeing how Goblins in comparison to some of the other tribes of the Dark Continent weren't the strongest, fastest, had the most magical power, or even had a powerful dragon behind them.
Which begged the question; "How had the Goblins of old established themselves as a power amongst so many races that were superior to them in almost every way?"
Going through the history books the answer was a simple one; adaptability.
Almost all battles documented involving Goblins in ancient times described how no matter the environment Goblins displayed an uncanny ability to adapt. From the fiery landscape of the Burning Abyss to the arid lands of Infernity goblin's were always ready for battle. Firsthand accounts from participants in these conflicts even claimed to observe physiological changes over time in the type and elemental alignment of the Goblins they faced. This lack of home-court advantage proved to be more than enough to close the gap in power between other monsters and claim their ancestral lands.
Sadly their good fortune would turn when their beloved ruler died and handed the thrown to his heir, known now as the infamous Goblin of Greed.
Born into the privilege and wealth gifted to him by his ancestors the new monarch cared not for the wellbeing of his kingdom or the reputation his family had bleed for, caring more about increasing the taxes on his subjects to build upon the wealth he loved to spend on his lavish lifestyle.
Over the years growing only more fat, lazy, and arrogant in his rulings the monarch eventually decided to disband the court of royal advisors his father had established, supremely confident that any choices he made on his own would be infinitely more wise the words of some old men.
He knew what was best for his kingdom and that just so happened to also be what was best for him. So what if he looked down on beggars and invested his money on less than stable businesses, he had the money to burn.
It seemed rather poetic then that not even a week later he would decide to take a ride in his royal carriage, unguarded, while carrying the majority of the kingdoms remaining cash and be promptly robbed by the Dark Scorpion gang.
Ashamed and fearing the people's retaliation for his actions nearly bankrupting the kingdom the Goblin of Greed abdicated his thrown and left his lands in shame.
Rumors say that he now lives as a beggar in hopes of one day earning back his wealth.
Future Goblin historians would document this downfall of the established monarchy as a necessary sacrifice to lead to the rise of their one true king.
-X-X-X-
Born into a cadet branch of the royal family the future Goblin King would admit to believing his life was initially very unlucky.
Being the son of the king's younger brother he had inherited his father's short stature and overall weak body. However what the small Goblin lacked in physical strength he more than made up for in intelligence. Well-mannered, stoic, and intelligent he embodied everything a young noble should be.
Now imagine his frustration when he was forced to watch his giant slob of a cousin wear the crown.
His contempt must have been palpable because shortly after his coronation the Goblin of Greed would have his cousin sent far away on an ambassador for The Abyss.
Not to be confused with the magic of the Mermails or the hellish landscape of the Burning Abyss "The Abyss" was a dark cold place where a concentrated amount of darkness magic existed. It was home to fiends, spellcasters, and on ocassion zombies who wished to harness this undiluted source of dark magic.
Traveling to the abyss he was introduced to its leader, the Dark King of The Abyss.
The three-eyed skeleton like creature struck an intimidating figure but the small goblin suppressed such feelings. He began to introduce himself and detail the specifics of a possible alliance when the royal skeleton promptly cut him off.
He explained how this wasn't a political meeting but a means at which his cousin made to have him killed. The Dark King had been paid handsomely to get rid of him; the idea behind it being he could simple sight his demise as another casualty of their new beloved king trying to make peace with the mad king of the abyss.
Not caring about his own perceived image the King had agreed but felt it was only right to let smaller goblin know before passing on.
With his conscience clear the Dark King extended his claws and walked forward to finish the job.
Before he could come any closer the short goblin calmly explained to the king how it would be in his own best interest to spare his life. How he was smart, could advise the Dark King on the best actions to take to run his kingdom, and not end up dead like the legion of other men who had at one point claimed ownership of the abyss.
The Dark King considered his offer before ultimately agreeing to hire the tiny goblin and spare his life.
He jokingly reasoned that he could make use of his intellect and if he failed him it would be easy for him to destroy such a weak and pathetic monster like him.
It seemed only fitting not soon after the future king would assist in him being dethroned by Dark Ruler Ha Des, stripped of his power and forced to live the rest of his life as a "weak" monster.
Advising under Ha Des proved to be largely similar to his time under the Dark King, the only difference being the new ambitious creatures he invited to his inner circle.
Over time this led him to amassing his own following of powerful abyss monsters protect him if any potential rivals tried killing him to take his place at the new king's side.
-X-X-X-
When he received word from the castle that his idiot of a cousin had abdicating his throne the smirk on the normally reserved Goblin's face couldn't go down.
With the only son of the previous king going rogue the rules of succession had him next in line for the throne.
While he had become content with the life he had built for himself in the Abyss the prospect of having lordship over his own kingdom, finally returning home, and showing up the man who had left him for dead was just too good to pass up. Not to mention the ever growing conflict between the Dark King & Ha Des seemed to only be escalating and he would not be fool enough to get caught up in it.
Despite the sorry state he had heard his relative's actions had left the kingdom in he saw it as only a small setback. If nothing else he was an businessman at heart and while some could only see an impoverished kingdom on the verge of collapse he saw only possibilities.
-X-X-X-
Life as a Goblin in the royal army, after the crowning of the new king, for most started at a young age. Either from striving for some form of excitement, wanting to get away from their sheltered lives, or from a sense of patriotism there was no shortage of adolescent goblins eager to join the new Goblin army. Separated from their parents the new soldiers were then moved into the royal castle where their basic training would begin.
The enlisted boys would be taught basic combat principles and survival tactics under one of the king's most trusted advisors, the Blindly Loyal Goblin. Despite his slight stature this no nonsense warrior was a strict teacher that hammered into his charges heads the importance of teamwork and how success could only be achieved if they worked together as a cohesive unit.
When Loyal Goblin decided they had been trained to an acceptable level he would group them into squads of roughly 4 to 5 and sent them on their own beyond the castle walls as official Goblin Marauding Squads.
Sent to the nearby forest and trails connecting the various human kingdoms together the goal of the Marauding Squads were to survive in the wild with no outside help, pillage any travelers they came across holding anything of worth, and send a percentage of whatever they found back home.
This became a right of passage for the mostly adolescent goblins that made up these squads. The lack of supervision and responsibility for, most, the first time in their lives forced them to mature both mentally and physically. The change in environment alongside their still minimal combat experience caused them to awaken their more bestial instincts and allowed them to grow stronger.
With enough experience under their belt eventually the Goblin Marauding Squads would be granted a promotion and allowed to branch out into specific military divisions that best suited their skill sets.
For the less combat inclined troops they could choose between the Recon, Pothole, or Decoy Squads.
The Recon Squad specialized in the observation of potential targets for plundering and informing others on the threat levels they posed. They were also in charge keeping track of the Marauding Squads and monitoring their progress. Detailed reports of which were documented and reviewed for promotional purposes.
Recon Goblins were some of the most intelligent troops, specializing in the use of more advanced technology.
Pothole Squad Goblins weren't the sharpest tools in the shed but they were the most humble and hardworking. Preferring the simple grind of manual labor over direct combat their mission was simple. Go to assigned locations and set potholes in the roads for larger trading caravans.
For the least physically gifted and lower IQ goblins the Goblin Decoy Squad was the perfect place to fit in. Composed of slackers, troublemakers, and general goofballs this squad's goal was simply to harass and side track potential targets long enough for either the Pothole Squads to finish setting up their traps or for the Goblin Attack Force to get into position for an ambush. When not used for raids they served as messengers for the Marauding Squads; collecting a portion of any treasure gotten and calling them back home for promotions.
For the most skilled fighters in each Marauding Squad they were given the choice between either joining the Goblin Attack Force or Black Ops.
Focusing on sharpening the bestial instincts they developed as Marauders the job of the Goblin Black Ops was to handle any unwanted threats to the kingdom silently. Whether it be through poisoning or stabbing their targets in the back the Black Ops prided themselves on eliminating all targets and never facing foes head on. What these troops lacked in traditional strength they more than made up for in lethality and skill.
The most well known of the squads, the Goblin Attack Force, was comprised of the strongest of Goblins. The now seasoned veterans dressed in identical uniforms and were each given their own iron club to symbolize their new status. The job of the Attack Force was to systematically attack bigger and more heavily guarded caravans with the assistance of the other squads. The Attack Force was unique in the fact that a select few of this class could ascend to the coveted rank of the Elite Goblin Attack Force.
The best of the best the Goblin Elite Attack Force served under the Goblin King himself. Members of this group were the most experienced of soldiers who through years of combat had learned the importance of defense and by sacrificing some of the overall destructive power in their Attack Force days for suits of armor. It was only ironic then how Goblins who had achieved this knight-like status were the closest in alignment to Fiend type monsters than any other Goblin rank. Some believed this change was in response to their King's own Fiendish nature corrupting them in a way or them subconsciously changing their own natures to better support their King's unique abilities.
-X-X-X-
The years following his ascension to royalty had been kind to the Goblin King.
No longer impoverished by the idiocy of its previous ruler the Goblin kingdom had once again risen to become on of the more wealthy kingdoms of the Dark Continent and while still not a major power player had gotten some well earned respect amongst the more powerful clans, who for the moment had ceased trying to absorb goblin territory into their own.
Things weren't all positive seeing as how several of the nearby human kingdoms had declared war on the Goblins in response to their constant attack of their merchants but the pros far outweighed the risk. The humans knew they would never invade their kingdoms and so did he know they would never invade his. This was a war in name alone and was largely solved by him redefining what type of travelers his Marauders could and could not attack and becoming more selective in the caravans his men decided to raid.
With his advisors in place and a strong system of order established the Goblin King didn't have to do much in terms of actually running his kingdom. These days if he wasn't going to see one of Giant Orc's and his coach, Second Goblin's matches he spent his time sitting in his throne, surrounded by the demons he had befriended while in the abyss, plotting on ways to expand his empire. Never content with what he had already built of his kingdom; knowing all too well there were others striving to tear it down.
Chapter 1 End
I really enjoyed this chapter. It started off as just a short bit of lore text for Goblin King but it then ballooned into me explaining the entire Goblin military.
I'll try to keep future chapters shorter.
The idea behind the format for these stories was inspired by Mutitus and Pokemon Report posts on deviantart and The Devil Fruit Encyclopedia by Lemon Grenade.
Please comment any other card lores you want me to write. Preferably ones that don't already have lore about them.
Anyways Review, Follow, and Favorite