11Rednal29: Okay, so my names are unimaginitive. But they get the point across, and are extremely easy to remember if you're going by the last word in each. Extremely easy to remember. And I know the first section is bulky, but it's chock full of information about the world in this story.
Etralia
Chaptre 1-Etralia
Yes, I spelled it Chaptre on purpose.
Etralia. That was what the world was known as. It was also divided into nations very clearly. At the northernmost parts of Etralia lay the Nation of Ice. It was decently large, and was well protected by the cold surrounding it, which few others could stand. The Nation of Ice's people were fairly large, protected from the cold. South of the Nation of Ice lay the Kingdom of Earth, which consisted almost completely of forests, fields, rivers, and lakes. The poeple there were very good-natured and helped feed the entire planet. So, as a result, they were treated well by everybody else. These people consisted of some humans and more then a few living plants. The oceans were home to the Monarchy of Water, where artistry was prized. The citizens could breathe water, but kindly kept their cities filled with air since visitors were often coming and going from other civilizations. Their defense system was excellent, and any attackers were repelled quite swiftly. The aquatic people were almost human, except for their hands and feet, which could become webbed at will for easier swimming. Above the oceans lay the Hierarchy of Wind, home to those who flew. The Wind's citizens very much liked enjoying themselves, but were very dangerous when provoked. Naturally enough, they all had wings. Covering a huge chunk of the southern hemisphere was the Empire of Fire, a highly militaristic nation that was intending to take over the world someday. Its army was easily the largest of all the nations. Their technology was quite impressive, and the people were all humans, every last one of them. They were also very strong. Deep below the crust of earth was a huge, empty cavern, where the Civilization of Darkness lay. It was known as that because there was no real government. The strongest was in charge, and that was about as complicated as it got. The members of this dark race were very diverse, coming in all shapes and sizes, mostly demonic. They were the Empire's biggest threat. In recent years they had been venturing more and more onto the surface, scouting out crucial military points and targets. Thankfully, the only entrance to their cavern was surrounded by five of the Empire's largest military bases. Any attack force that was to appear would be dealt with quickly and mercilessly. On the southern part of the world, stopping just short of where it began to get icy again, was the Hive of Outsiders. The Outsiders were not from Etralia, they had traveled to it by magic right before their old world was destroyed by a huge meteor. The explosion could be seen from Etralia, so people didn't exactly dispute the Outsiders' strange claim to have come from another world. Besides, they looked sorta like insects and were a hive mind. Nobody else was remotely close to something like that. The final group of people lived outside the atmosphere itself, in a network of cities that were interconnected in a sphere around the planet. This was the Realm of Light, home to the angelic beings. Their technology and magical skills were far beyond what the other nations had achieved, to the point the two could be mixed. The people of the Realm were basically all angels and machines. The military was by no means the largest of any of the nations, judging from the small number of ships flying about, but it was powerful. The Realm also had good relations with everybody except the Empire of Fire and the Civilization of Darkness. The machines created by the Realm aided the others in numerous ways, and they were very grateful for this.
But enough about the nations. What of their people of interest? The Nation of Ice was ruled by a queen, who was really rather cold. Literally and figuratively. She had little interest in others, and was almost always found in her palace. The Kingdom of Earth had a King and all, but they didn't exactly rule. They mostly just leaded, giving everybody a sense of what to do. The Monarchy of Water also had a royal family, led, naturally, by the King. However, the King was clearly in charge. Princess Mia was a figure of great importance to the Water people, as she was very beautiful and well talented. If anything were to happen to her, ever, the Water people would likely become enraged and recklessly take revenge. The Hierarchy of Wind was also led by a King, who governed justly. He could be seen as cruel at times, but nobody disputed the fact that he was fair. The Empire, too, had its King. He was a burly, militaistic man. His son, Prince Darl, was less interested in military acts and instead concentrated on making the Empire better place to live. The Civilization of Darkness, as stated above, was led by whoever was the strongest warrior. That was all their was to it. The second strongest was second in command, and so on. Fights between the citizens of Darkness were common to the point it was rather absurd. The Hive of Outsiders was a hive mind, and thus basically one being. The bodies were connected telepathically to a central brain, which controlled absolutely everything. Finally, the Realm of Light was gifted with a democracy. The leaders were elected once a decade, since they lived a very long time. General Rai was an extremely powerful person, even though he was young. His fighting, tactical, and magical skills were unmatched throughout the entire Realm of Light. As a result, nobody had a problem with him being in charge, though he did have a tendancy to head down to the planet and do whatever he wanted, for months at a time. But if he was ever needed, you could count on him to be there, which is why he hadn't been kicked out of his position.
A recap and some more info. The nations will often be referred to as "Realm", "Empire", etc., usually with a "The" in front. Here's a simple reference chart.
Nation-Ice
Kingdom-Earth
Monarchy-Water
Hierarchy-Wind
Empire-Fire
Civilization-Darkness
Hive-Outsiders
Realm-Light
Example sentence: The Realm was home to amazing technology.
Example sentence: The Empire was very militaristic.
Some important people, not nearly all-
Princess Mia of the Monarchy-A great icon to her people.
Prince Darl of the Empire-A boy attempting to bring peace instead of war.
General Rai of the Realm-A skilled person, who acts like he doesn't care much about his duty.
Simple enough, right? Now, on to something that's not nearly as bulky.
"Hmm hmm hmm..." Princess Mia of the Monarchy hummed to herself, patiently working on a new dress that she was planning to wear to a ceremony for the opening of a new art hall. She had long, beautiful blue hair and sapphire colored eyes. "Things are so peaceful these days. I hope it lasts..." she said, smiling as she stitched. A moment later, one of the guards walked up.
"Princess Mia, your father would like to speak with you." the guard said.
"Okay. Tell him I'll be right there." the girl replied.
"Understood." the guard replied before leaving.
"I wonder what he wants." the girl mused, finishing up a section of the dress. "Well, I guess I'll find out soon." With that, she carefully set the dress down, folded it up just as carefully, and headed over to the Audience Hall. "You called for me, father?" she said respectfully.
"I did indeed, Mia." the King of the Monarchy said regally. "Your fourteenth birthday is approaching. In fact, it's tomorrow. Very soon, suitors will start vying for your hand in marriage. In fact, I think they're already bickering amongst themselves." Mia paled a bit at these words.
"Um... S-suitors?" she squeaked out. "B-but... I don't want suitors!"
"Mmm... A problem, indeed. You are, of course, free to send them away, but please at least speak with them a little before you do." Mia's father said.
"...Of course. I understand, father." Mia said, bowing.
"Good. Now, why don't you take a break from that dress and have something for lunch?" the King said, smiling. Mia nodded and sat down on her throne. Servants quickly walked in, setting dishes in front of her. The girl quickly ate, and excused herself so that she could return to finishing her dress.
The next morning, Mia put on her best robe and walked out onto the balcony. Hundreds of her country's citizens cheered as they saw her. Most of the morning was spent on formal ceremonies. Finally, it became time for the party, that afternoon.
"Wow. There sure are a lot of important people here..." Mia said, looking around. She then paused as she noticed a well-known face sipping fruit punch over at one of the tables. Thinking quickly, she walked over. It was a boy about her own age, who had the unmistakable air of somebody from a different nation about him. Mia just couldn't place exactly who it was. An Outsider stopped her for a moment.
"The Hive of Outsiders wishes to wish Princess Mia of the Monarchy of Water a Happy Birthday, and sends its respectful greetings." the bug-like being chittered.
"Thank you very much." Mia said, bowing slightly to it. The bug bowed back and left, and Mia walked over to the kid sipping punch. "Hello." she said brightly.
"Mmm... This punch is good. Have you tried any?" the boy asked. He had short, black hair and sparkling golden eyes. He was dressed in some sort of armor-like outfit, but it wasn't bulky at all. It was only mildly elaborate.
"Not yet." Mia said. The boy aimed his palm at one of the cups, and levitated it into Mia's hands. "Thanks!"
"It wasn't exactly hard, Princess Mia of the Monarchy." the boy said, taking another sip of the wine. "Don't gulp the punch, it's very strong."
"Well, you seem to know who I am. May I ask your name and country?" Mia said.
"Of course. Ask away." the boy said, smiling to himself. Mia waited for a moment, until she understood.
"Oh. So, um, what's your name and country?" the girl asked.
"I am Rai, of the Realm of Light." the boy said, sipping the punch again. Mia's eyes widened in shock. He was one of the most amazing people alive, and she was actually talking to him!
"T-the legendary general, and prince of the Realm?" Mia asked.
"Yup, that's me." the boy said. "Dad insisted that I come, said something about me needing to make a friend or two from another country."
"Uh..." Mia said, confused.
"Probably because I spend almost all of my time testing new military hardware. In fact, that's how I got here."
"An experimental shuttle?" Mia asked.
"Experimental Fighter, actually. Twice the speed of our old ones, and able to make very sharp turns. Much better then those old ones. One of the researchers said they were also working on a commercial model for you people, to make travel between your cities and to the surface easier." Rai replied.
"Faster transport? That would be great!" Mia said. Everybody knew how slow the current ones were. It took a very long time if you couldn't breathe water to get places.
"Yeah. Speed's a good thing." Rai said, going back to his punch. Mia tried her own, and was thankful she had followed Rai's advice to sip. The punch was amazingly strong. A moment later, a small machine-like thing floated up.
"Lord Rai, the Watchers have picked up some unusual movement from inside the Empire of Fire. Your presence is needed immediately." the robot said in a mechanical voice.
"Right. Sorry, Princess, looks like I have to go." Rai said, finishing his punch with a large gulp. "Whew, strong." He tossed the cup into a trash and left, the robot following him. A minute or so later, Mia saw a craft streak out from the hanger, heading upwards at a sharp angle.
Some time later, Rai walked into a large room of the Realm's largest military outpost. It was filled with all sorts of devices.
"I'm here, I'm here, what's the situation?" Rai asked.
"What took you?" About twelve different people asked.
"I was attending Princess Mia's Birthday Party down in the Monarchy of Water just like father told me to. Blame him." Rai retorted, looking up at a large monitor. He quickly dropped his air of annoyance. "Zoom in on area G9." Rai instructed.
"Yes, sir." one of the workers said. The image on the monitor zoomed in on the designated area.
"W-what is this..." one of the other people in the room said, staring at the live images.
"A battle... It's between the Empire and the Civilization." one of the others said.
"This looks like it's going to turn into a war." Rai said. "The Civ's always been sending out creatures to harass the Empire, but right now it looks like a full scale invasion." Everybody else paled at hearing these words.
"...What do we do?" somebody asked.
"Well, Captain Natro, we call my father. It's his decision on what to do, after all." Rai said. "Get me a recording of this zoomed in image, live." A few moments passed, and Rai was handed a small screen showing what the large monitor was. The boy turned and left without another word, heading straight to his father's room.
"Ah, Rai!" the king said. "Wait, aren't you supposed to be at a party right now?"
"I was called back. Take a look at this." Rai said, handing his father the portable screen. His father's face instantly darkened. "What shall we do?"
"We'll let them fight it out. If the Empire is defeated, then we shall rally the other countries and destroy the denizens of Darkness forever. But we should not attack before then. However, bring the military to Level 3. I want them ready to move out at a moment's notice." Rai's father understood.
"Right." Rai said. He turned around and left, proceeding directly to his command post. A moment later, his voice echoed throughout the entire country. "Attention, everybody. We are at Level 3 Military Alert. All military staff, report to your posts immediately and stand by for possible deployment." A moment later, Rai pushed a button. Yellow lights flashed all over the Realm's territory, getting the message to everybody who had not heard it spoken. There was an instant flurry of movement, and Rai turned the mike off and faced a group of aides. "Notify the other countries of this immediately." Rai ordered. His orders were carried out instantly, and several craft were soon plummeting down towards the surface.
"Sir." one of the aides said.
"Yeah?" Rai asked, turning.
"What happens if the Empire is overrun?" the aide asked.
"Then we're in a whole lot of trouble." Rai said.
About half an hour later...
"Sir!" one of the aides yelled in a panicked voice.
"Calm down and tell me what happened!" Rai ordered.
"R-right! The Hive, the Hierarchy, the Nation, the Monarchy, and the Kingdom have gone to full-scale military status, and are preparing their troops for combat!" the aide explained.
"...That's to be expected." Rai said., confused.
"Combat with each other!" the aide finished.
"WHAT!?" Rai yelled, shocked. "What in the world are they thinking!?"
"I... Don't know, sir..." the aide muttered.
Yup. The day started with a birthday celebration. Before it was out, the whole planet had been plunged into chaos.
Would the Empire of Fire defeat the Civilization of Darkness, or would they be overrun?
Why have the other civilizations decided to fight each other at a time like this?
How will the Realm respond to this madness?
Who will win?
A good chunk of it will be decided by reviews!
Be sure to tell me which civilization you wish to win this insane war. Reviews are greatly appreciated, and will greatly affect this story! Suggestions are also very welcome.