Chapter two: War is in our blood
When the alien ships first arrived in orbit over Thedas, onlookers only had time to blink before the first energy bombs impacted on the planet's surface, destroying many military bases and defense installations.
For many, the aliens' arrival seemed to be a good thing, as they immediately uploaded the First Contact package they had prepared for times like this.
From mathematical formulae and science equations to language translation software, they broadcasted in on all frequencies for the aliens to study and analyze on their undoubtedly high-tech computers.
Then their first attempt at communication received an answer.
In the form of orbital bombardments across the world, their main objectives to cripple the military capabilities of all world nations.
No one, not the wood elves, dwarves, humans, qunari, even the dark elves and orcs were not spared from the atrocities commited on their soil.
Brightly glowing lances of light swiftly descended on the surface in blinding speeds, striking their intended targets with alarming accuracy and frightening power as every military base was literally leveled to nothing more than smoking craters.
Clearly, the aliens were not simply satisfied with bombarding their army bases. Dozens upon dozens of what looked like transport craft immediately descended groundside and deployed squadrons of soldiers to capture the numerous city districts.
Their design seemed insectoid in nature, as each craft bore what looked like wing imitations armed with emerald glowing cannons. At best, they looked like a swarm of metallic insects swooping down on the various cities of the world.
And out poured numerous troops from the craft, dressed in heavily ornamented armor of unknown make and armed with rifles and other weapons containing an emerald coloured core within.
Within minutes, the first soldiers of the various Thedosian nations began to fall, not due to bio-chemical weapons, or silent assassinations, but to the focused barrage of emerald lances of highly ionised gas designed to cut down the toughest of metal, by the alien standards.
When they neared the civilians, they began taking them captive and hostage, despite many resisting their inevitable fate, leaving many to wildly guess what the aliens had in store for them.
They now knew the aliens were the enemy, as proven by the hostility they showed them.
But what truly woke them to the fact the aliens were enemies were the actions they did regarding prisoners of war.
Their language was hardly decipherable, but at least one word uttered from their mouths made complete sense to them.
And it was one word no one dared to utter as a simple joke.
Slavery.
The ruling powers would not stay idle any longer during the war. Broadcasting on all radio frequencies, the world leaders only needed to give one order to their militaries.
"Fight the aliens."
And fight the aliens they would.
Every last soldier, both active conscripts and reservists rose up in defiance of their would-be alien conquerors, arming themselves with the best weaponry their suppliers had to offer. Every last magi prepared themselves for combat, ready to lend aid to their allies and fellow countrymen to counter the aliens' seemingly highly advanced technology.
The Ancient Force had already managed to help the world militaries achieve some victory, as the guardians sent forth had struck at various alien chains of command, allowing the resistance forces some measure of relief, but there was one problem. There was not enough time.
The Ancient Force, the will of all spirits of people who passed peacefully in death, was by nature a slow-acting force.
Given a decade, it could aid the Thedosians in bringing the war to a standstill. A century and they would crush the alien invaders. But time was the main problem on their hands. At the rate the aliens were conquering, it would be only a matter of days before all resistance was eradicated, so time was not on their side.
It never was on their side.
IIOII
An elven soldier barely managed to avoid having his life taken by one of the insidious lances of green energy originally aimed for his heart as he ducked behind cover. Using only the slightest decline in enemy fire he fired back with a vengeance, unwilling to allow the damned slavers any further into the city.
His elemental gun, calibrated to its optimal performance, had managed to allow the fresh conscript to pierce the gods' damned shimmering blue barrier that seemed to surround every alien soldier. Unfortunately, it took at least five shots just to bring down the barrier, although it took just one shot to kill one of the enemy soldiers.
The magi had allowed them to buy some time for the forces to get organised, but it was not enough, even with the multiple spells they had cast upon their foes.
"Sergeant Elindir, what's the status of your position?" A mixture of static and a commanding voice blared into his ear.
"It is not good Commander," Elindir reported with a hint of trepidation in his voice, "My squad has been scattered all over the city square and I'm currently under heavy fire. Requesting immediate reinforcements.
"Negative," His commander answered his request reluctantly, "Our forces are spread too thin to be able to provide assisstance. You will have to find scattered soldiers throughout the city to be able to reinforce your numbers. Until then, you're on your own."
It was disheartening news. For the aliens to be able to cripple their military capabilities like this was terribly unsettling. For him, it meant that his chances of survival have signiificantly decreased.
But he was a soldier of the Woodland Covenant, and of the Thedosian defense force as a whole. He would not fail in his duty, and he would never surrender to the aliens.
As another alien attempted to flank his position, his sensitive elven ears picked up softened footsteps, and Elindir turned to aim his rifle at the now hated insectoid face beneath the glass mask he wore as part of his helmet.
He pulled the trigger several times, and sent forth angrily flaring lightning bolts that electrocuted the alien in brilliant flashes of white light whilst bypassing the barriers he had activated earlier.
For the alien to have fallen so easily to artificially created lightning from an elemental gun, perhaps the barriers weren't nigh unbreakable as many thought them to be.
Yes, for the barriers to so easily be bypassed, lightning must have somehow overloaded the device powering it.
Sadly, he would not live to revel in his small victory for long. Within seconds, a new wave of alien marines began to flood his position, his rifle doing little to curb the number of enemies swarming his location.
His cover began to dwindle little by little as the continuous barrage of energy lances and an accursed grenade destroyed the hardened ironwood debris like wet paper.
He knew he would not live long, but he would die with honour.
Brandishing his sword, he roared out a warcry at the top of his voice and charged straight at the aliens, ramming his sword through one of the aliens cleanly through his armor, and then dashing towards ano-
A hot sensation burned through his stomach, pain flooding his senses to the point that he could no longer feel pain.
He looked downwards to check his stomach, and checking with a feel of his hand, felt a good portion of his flesh cooked till burnt, a huge part of his stomach destroyed by the plasma shot.
The coppery taste of blood filled his mouth, and he could do nothing but slump to the ground, as the last vestiges of life seeped away from him.
IIOII
The commander of the alien vessel was filled with sadistic glee. No, he was overjoyed beyond mere description.
When they first discovered the pathetic world the locals called Thedas, he could see through the lack of spacecraft save a few measly mining vessels and albeit strange metallic towers that extended from the surface beyond the planet's atmosphere, that the primitives' technology was inferior to theirs by centuries.
It was far too easy, bombing their military installations from orbit. They lacked any sort of effective shielding or barriers to protect their facilities, even the pitiful rebels they faced in the past at least managed to secure some basic barriers in the case of orbital bombardment.
But the technology of the various races inhabiting this planet was not advanced enough to elevate them to the galactic stage. All the more easier to dominate them as slaves for the empire he served.
His features were that of an insectoid, with overlapping chitinous plates forming basic protection over his chest and limbs at the joints and shoulders, and a face plate which protected one of his most vital organs inside his head. His face had earth brown skin and four black onyxes as eyes, with a set of mandibles for a mouth.
Wearing golden armor that was decorated with multiple badges of honor and scratches, he was a distinguished commander in his galactic nation's military ranks, dispatching his enemies with brutal efficiency and no small measure of cruelty.
A beeping noise sounded in the communicator affixed to his ear, and he pressed two fingers on the device, allowing whoever was attempting to contact him speak his piece.
"Commander Andul here, speak." He commanded in a gruff and impatient voice, despite his earlier joyous mood.
"My lord, we have managed to take over half of the natives' territory only three hours," A soldier reported with the same glee as Andul had, followed by a slight chuckle. "In all honesty, this is the easiest mission we've ever had since the formation of the Empire."
Andul was happy to agree, chuckling just like his subordinate did. "Indeed. I believe that even with the strange weaponry the primitives are employing, the planet will be under our control in just a few more hours."
"You have your orders, let no resistance remain." Andul ordered.
"As you command. Glory to the He'lith Empire." Said the anonymous soldier with great enthusiasm, before cutting the connection.
IIOII
Commander Telith'dan was by no means a pushover in warfare. With over thirty years of combat experience in fighting the Qunari forces during the later years of the Dragon Age, he had secured many victories, both decisive and costly for the then Coalition forces.
His forces were trapped inside an underground bunker that somehow managed to remain intact and standing despite the accursed aliens bombarding many of their fortifications.
And now it served as a base of operations for the remaining resistance forces who were coordinating guerila tactics to combat the enemy's technological superiority.
Bringing up the display of a map on the screen of the computer before him, he outlined the whole digital globe with a series of red and blue dots, the former showing the cities the aliens occupied, and the latter displaying the few remaining resistance strongholds that managed to conceal themselves from the enemy's ships in orbit.
Despite the tactical data his fellow Sergeant Elindir gave to him before his final breath, it was not enough to beat back the aliens from whence they came. To worsen their already poor luck, there were only about a few tens of thousands of the new elemental guns stored in the armories worldwide, so there was a lack of top-notch equipment avaliable.
Then again, Lord Emmanuel always lacked something vital to the war efforts against the Venatori, the commander thought to himself with dry humor as he placed down his tablet on a nearby table.
"Commander Telith'dan, what is the situation at your area?" A recognisable voice inquired in his ear communicator.
Scared out of his wits by the voice, he quickly answered, "Lord Emmanuel! I-I must report that so far, the enemy has not discovered our stronghold as of yet."
"Good to know," Emmanuel sighed heavily on the other side of the comms, "Bastards have us right where they want us, with their fucking high-tech devices and numbers."
Just as he finished his sentence though, Telith'dan could hear loud banging on metal nearing his position. Shit, aliens have already managed to find us?
Loud echoes of soldiers dying beyond the set of metal doors leading to the command room alerted his retinue of guards stationed inside along with the rest of his staff; if one thing was clear, they had no way out, except to fight and die.
"My Lord, I must regretfully say..."
"I know," Emmanuel said in a sad tone, "I would say that reinforcements are on their way, but crafty bastards have cut them off. Godspeed, Telith'dan."
"Yes, my Lord," The commander returned his sadness, "It has been an honor to serve you."
Knowing his soldiers would not last long against the enemy assault, he quickly moved to a wall and waving his hand over a section of it, revealed a panel with buttons, each button labeled with a number from zero to nine.
He tapped the code as he remembered it, and after the panel flashed an emerald green, a part of the wall slid away to reveal the most dangerous device to the aliens' existence.
A cylindrical device sat in the secret storage compartment that was revealed, a metallic silver in color and bearing a sort of glass pane that displayed a timer, with the same type of numeric panel that allowed the user to input a specific code.
He input the code, and as soon as the timer began it's countdown, the commander closed the wall panel, concealing the lyrium X4 charge that would soon implode in a matter of seconds.
Hoisting his rifle, he aimed it at the door where the aliens would break through, prepared to lay down his life for his home planet, and his Lordship Emmanuel.
A bright flash of green, and the doors failed to hold together, cluttering onto the floor. In unison, all soldiers and other armed personnel opened fire on the approaching aliens, uncaring of how much ammunition remained in their weapons since it was redundant.
A first, a second, a third alien fell to the continuous onslaught of the defenders, but they retaliated as the first three soldiers fell, burning red wounds of cooked flesh where the plasma lances impacted.
Telith'dan erected a magic barriers, managing to buy more time for the bomb to explode, and more time for the personnel to kill as many as they could.
Focusing their fire, they manage to bring down the robust barriers of their foes and kill more, but the tide of alien soldiers was near endless, and soon, the defenders were forced to pull back from the doorway.
More aliens fell, but even more Thedosian soldiers fell, gladly dying on their feet rather than living on their knees.
Telith'dan himself soon fell to a plasma lance that turned his head into nothing more than a pile of misplaced gore, allowing the aliens free roam inside the bunker.
Unfortunately for them, they would not occupy this place for long, and as they heard a very faint beep, the concealed lyrium bomb imploded on them, engulfing them in fire as their barriers failed to prevent them from being charred into ash.
Within seconds, the bunker was no more than a pile of rubble, denying the aliens vital information regarding the location of various resistance strongholds.
IIOII
He watched the war unfold before him, and he could not bear to let the aliens have anymore territory than they already have.
The nameless man who had lost his name many years prior had no loyalty to any of the various Thedosian nations whatsoever, but even he knew that the aliens were absolute enemies.
Like all others, he hated slavery to the core, unwilling to see the trade continued any longer than it should have.
It was extremely time-consuming and took every skill he had learnt, but after hours of hacking into the network, he finally managed to gain access to every surviving nuclear silo, even the ones hidden in the space elevators.
Once, he would have used them to end the current world order, as a member of Andraste's army. Once, he would have ended Emmanuel's rule once and for all.
Now, he was using them to hopefully put a grinding halt to the aliens' assault on Thedas.
He pressed the button, and like a swarm of bees leaving their hive, they flew toward the flotila of spaceships, watching half the number explode in a brilliant flash of orange as the nukes found their mark.
He would not stay to see the final outcome of the war. Grasping a pistol, he held it to his head...
And pulled the trigger.
IIOII
"Those dammed SAVAGES!"
Commander Andul was furious beyond measure. The nukes that were fired from the strange towers had cost him half of his fleet, including the dreadnought his brother commanded. Although, he had to admit, despite their primitive technology, the natives had managed to develop nuclear missiles that were able to break orbit and take out a sizeable number of ships, though it was due to the fact that they powered down their shields.
But they were nuclear missiles, and that meant the fallout would damage the environment on the planet's surface.
He would not accept it at all. Resistance, even to the death, was unacceptable for a slave race. He would need to show them their place as commander of the offensive fleet.
It would not do to take out the space towers. The outcome was too unpredictable, be it landing on any troops groundside or accidentally taking out some of the shuttles ferrying the troops across the world.
He was also very unsure if he could even take down the towers in the first place. For one, they looked very sturdy and would not fall very easily. Perhaps the ships weapons would damage it, but it would not topple it. Not even missiles guided by their extremely rudimentary AI would be able to find weak spots in it's structure.
But then there were civilian centres, still undefended by barriers like the army bases they bombarded. Yes, bombing them to submission should do the trick.
"Helm, initiate a fleet wide broadcast." He commanded.
Within milliseconds, every remaining ship of the He'lith fleet was listening for his order.
One that would permanently change the fate of the Thedosians.
"Bombard the planet's cities. Make sure nothing remains."
IIOII
The aliens were retreating. Leaving behind the territories they had conquered.
Was this the end of the invasion? Did some sort of virus kill many of their number and force them to flee? Some thought this a possibility.
Then their answer came.
With renewed spirit, the aliens began to bombard the planet's surface once more, but this time, it was different. Where the previous bombardment was purely focused on the military installations, this one had a different objective.
Maximal destruction.
IIOII
She had been hurt. Beings of another celestial body had dared to cause her scars and hurt her children.
She was Yggdrasil, creator of the planet called Thedas, where elves, humans, dwarves, qunari and dragons resided, calling this planet their home.
She was lonely, having traversed the different celestial bodies throughout her entire immortal life. Unable to bear such loneliness any longer, she created the planet and all of it's inhabitants, and then rested in the fade, far from the eyes of any demon or spirit.
As the eons passed, such is the passage of time, she saw the evanuris, the first of the elves become corrupted by the promise of power and jealousy, killing Mythal and making sure the blame was put on Fen'harel.
Then the humans had divided into various nations, and caused the elves' pride to degrade much further, as the corrupt religious order known as the Chantry had enslaved the minds of the ignorant masses, causing even further division.
She did not wish this upon her creations, neither did she wish for the dragons to make a pact with Sossedov.
Sossedov, that was the name of the dark god who first gave the powers of blood magic to a fraction of the dragonkin, resulting in a permanent change of their powers and appearance, causing them to be shunned by the rest of their kinsmen who drank of her sacred waters.
Then there was Andraste, his so-called prophetess and bride who thought Sossedov's realm was a golden city, a pure lie fabricated to trick her to lead an army against Tevinter, though it was unintentionally with goodwill.
She was a god of nature, he was a god of darkness, so naturally they were at odds, traditional enemies destined to continue their eternal conflict.
Destiny, however, was never set in stone. Simply put, one fate is but a part of the cycle of destiny, always shaped by the actions of countless individuals.
One such individual, Sebastian had laid the foundations for great advances in technology, yet never harming the planet she created and respecting nature's gifts.
Then came his brother, Emmanuel.
Under his extraordinary leadership, he led an unstoppable revolution that shook the world's society to the core. The Chantry had lost the masses' faith in them, and degraded into an extremist faction wanting nothing more than to see his reign end.
And in an unprecedented move, united the previously divided nations and created one organisation that promoted worldwide harmony and cooperation between the various races.
Yet now beings had dared to harm her children. Not out of ignorance or necessity, but out of spite, just because they thought themselves superior.
They would not receive a speck of mercy from her, or her old rival.
She called out to Sossedov, and agreed that with their rivalry becoming nonexistent due to the increasing unity of the various races, they would drive the invaders out.
She then made a call to every last remaining Thedosian still standing. This was not a call of faith to a long-forgotten Goddess. No, this was a call to act where she could not.
A call to action.
A call to arms.
Every last being had answered the call, with silent reassurances being their answer.
With the people rallied and their spirits renewed, there was only one thing left to do.
Without needing explaination, the Legendary Heroes of yore answered the call to eliminate their enemies, and the denizens of the fade, the demons included, surprisingly, joined the war effort against the beings who called themselves 'He'lith'.
Mythical creatures of legend came forth from their graves, ready to exact bloody vengance against the aliens.
The time had come.
The invaders would fall.
IIOII
Too many to fight.
Too many soldiers lost.
Why was there so much death?
Why must we endure such suffering?
"We do not want this."
Make them go away...
"We cannot forgive them at all."
Help us exact vengeance...
"We do not want this."
What we need is...
"Save us all."
….a Savior.
A hero.
IIOII
To make a covenant with the Death God was to become death itself, an instrument of his will ready to mete out death to any who dare be an affront to him. To make such a contract was to sacrifice what made you a mortal being, and disconnect yourself from the rest of society.
To hear the word of Yggdrasil and carry it out was the greatest honor for devout believers and staunch, honorable warriors.
Everyone, from the worst of outcasts to the greatest of soldiers had heard the call; the call from a long forgotten Goddess to not give up, to stand up to their enemies.
Spoken in the ancient tongue long since forgotten, it brought out the primal instincts within every individual who answered the call to arms, and when truly understood, conveyed the meaning of multiple words into one simple sentence.
Fight,
"Do not yield so easily."
"Help is on the way."
"Do not be afraid."
"Take up arms."
"Exact your vengeance."
"Heroes and soldiers are coming."
"You are the Hero."
With all of your might.
And now, with the people united as one, they shall take the fight to the insolent aliens who dared trample on their soil and take their people as slaves for whatever empire they belonged to.
They were no one's slaves, and neither were the aliens' slaves their property.
It was time to make the aliens pay for their transgression against them, and their gods.
IIOII
The two He'lith soldiers only had time to blink before they saw the elfin woman trembling before them suddenly change in appearance entirely.
Before her transformation, she previously held a kitchen knife to her throat, most likely to end her life in order to spare herself from the shameful, humiliating fate of being a slave.
Now, her auburn hair suddenly visibly changed to a silvery white in a flash of black light, with markings beginning to adorn her right arm in a shimmering glow. She slowly stood up from where she knelt, seemingly unaffected by the recent change in appearance she underwent.
Opening her eyes, the aliens only managed to steal a brief glimpse of her red blood eyes before a gurgling sound could be heard, followed by a loud gunshot.
A few moments later, the same elfin woman limped out of the damaged building where the bodies of her would-be tormentors lay, one hand clutching her injured but intact leg, the other holding the rifle she stole from her enemy.
A dwarven man, hefting a warhammer, charged without concern for his own life as he stormed an alien squad with a borrowed enchanted shield.
He should be afraid, afraid of the highly advanced technology the aliens employed and the fact that he only had a hammer and shield to attack them with.
But he was not afraid anymore, not of the aliens, not of their technology, not of the potentially large army they had at their disposal. His blood had sung, to fight, to kill, to avenge. He would show these aliens the steely resolve of a dwarven paragon, and make them pay for killing his beloved sister.
Barely avoiding a plasma lance aimed for his head, he swung the warhammer with such force, it smashed the face plate of the alien closest to him, mushing the contents inside to a pulpy, gory mess as they splattered uselessly onto the floor.
Just as he scored a brutal kill, his hammer had become stuck in the gory mess, requiring great effort on the dwarf's part to pull it free. There was no time, though, as the alien's commrade readied his rifle and aimed it at his head.
The dwarf closed his eyes, ready to accept his fate and embrace death.
It never came.
He saw that his savior was what no one else would accept as an ally, especially in such desperate times of war. A rage demon, its pseudo-gelatinous form of lava burning the unfortunate attacker's flesh until the smell of cooked flesh filled the air.
As all aliens in the immediate vicinity were dead, he was in no rush to yank his hammer free from the corpse of his recent kill, flinging it to remove the purple blood staining it's shining surface.
Demon, spirit, he could not care any less than he could care about the fate of the aliens, and moved to talk with the rage demon who uncharacteristically aided a mortal man.
A Qunari fog warrior, using the dense, thick fog to conceal his very presence, snuck up on an alien patrol who did not detect his presense, despite their high-tech devices. Half surprising, considering that fog warriors were skilled at using stealth to wage guerilla warfare on their foes.
Unsuspecting of their enemy's immediate presence, he stealthily moved behind one of the aliens furthest from the rest of the patrol, and before the alien could alert his brethren, sunk his blade deep into the flesh at his neck. With the artery nicked, he made gargling sounds from his mouth muffled by the Qunari's hand clamping on his mouth.
The rest of the patrol stood no chance as their enemy's stealth outmatched their sensors and killed them one by one.
IIOII
The He'lith sergeant was furious. When their forces first encountered natives of this planet, they did not have any sort of weaponry compatible with their plasma rifles, which melted their primitive materials piled as debris and used as makeshift cover.
But now something, or someone, was wiping out their infantry with high-grade weaponry able to bypass their barriers and hardened alloys.
Despite searching through his helmet's adjusted visor in a wide radius, he could only spot the enemy spotter. Who wears a black ca-
In mere seconds, the he'lith's head was pinned to the wall by a longsword.
IIOII
He'lith shuttles were frantically ferrying troops to areas where their grip on conquered territory was beginning to weaken, their main objective to reinforce the garrisons withering under the Thedosians' relentless assault.
They were just about to near their designated landing sight when all of a sudden, motes of azure blue light appeared out of nowhere, surrounding the shuttles which abruptly halted their descent.
The pilots of the shuttles quickly tried to move away from the lights, afraid that something bad would happen if they waited.
They were right to be afraid, but had no time to escape.
Out of the blue lights, swords and opaque blue projectiles materialized forth, aimed at the shuttles. Each hit their mark with lethal accuracy and terrifying speeds, sparing no mercy for the invaders.
The defenders had their spirits renewed by the destruction of the alien craft, and charged their enemies with reinvigorated, bloodthirsty fervor.
IIOII
Andul was trying to make sense of what in the name of the empire just happened all of a sudden, as the mission had gone to hell.
The initial attack met overwhelming success as the technological and numerical superiority aided in their conquest of the planet, though there were prisoners committing suicide to avoid becoming the empire's slaves.
He was fine with that, so long as the planet was conquered and the natives subjugated.
However, nukes concealed within the strange space towers fired from their concealed positions, taking out a good number of he'lith ships.
And then, something must have happened planetside. The natives, whose civilians were previously cowering in fear of their enemy turned around in an eerie display of bravery and fearlessness, with a bloodlust thought only found in the gladiators sentenced to die in the arena.
Following the sudden change in demeanour of the natives, those... he found no words to describe them, those monsters appeared out of nowhere and cut through their forces like wet paper, ruthlessly dispatching the troops and vehicles they deployed groundside.
It was best to retreat. When they came back to conquer the planet, next time, it would be with bigger guns in a larger number.
Engaging their FTL drives, they moved to warp out of the system, but their hopes were dashed when something disrupted their warp drives.
Moving to the large window, he saw what the whole fleet also saw.
An ominous cloud of black mist lay between the he'lith fleet and their road to freedom, Andul guessing was the cause of their FTL drives being inoperable.
Before he could think about it any further, a cluster of black mist shot from the cloud, taking out one, then two ships at once.
The cloud of mist continued it's relentless attack, targeting all alien ships within firing range.
In less than ten minutes, the entire He'lith fleet ceased to exist.
IIOII
Hundreds upon thousands had died during the alien invasion. Some to conflict against the alien soldiers, others to radiation poisoning due to orbital bombardment.
Ancient cities reaching back hundreds of years had been destroyed, never again to be remembered.
But the Thedosians had survived. More importantly, they were alive.
They would rebuild what the aliens destroyed, and give their children a better place to live in.
Rebuild, advance, prosper and...
Avenge.