Author's Note

Well, it looks like this is it. The final chapter of Born of Rage is now complete.

This chapter is more a gift to you readers than anything else.

The way it has been typed is to add an inflection of the present and possible future of this world which I have created.

Bear in mind that this in no ways means that I am about to start a sequel. Far from it, I have other stories I need to attend to.

What this does do, however, is leave the possibility open, as well as allow something even more important: a chance to let others take up the mantle and create their own offshoot of the Born of Rage saga.

That's right; I would like to see others take the elements of my story and make a saga of their own. I want to see this grow into something fantastic. So, if you ever feel that you want to create a story in the same vein as my own, I would gladly let you use many of the elements I created in Born of Rage as a template for your own. In return, all I ask is that you provide me a link to the story, so that I might have a chance to read it too. If you do want to use such things as the Cats of Vorosh and their allies, the geography I created, or anything else, feel free to do it, and if you have any questions pertaining to any of it, please, send me a message and I'll be happy to give you any information you need.

This has been a long and thought out process, and I've enjoyed it immensely. But don't feel bad about it; while I don't intend to make a sequel anytime soon, I am planning on creating a few side stories to further enrich Born of Rage, and to fill in a few gaps I purposefully left blank.

Many thanks to you all, and, please, enjoy the Epilogue!

Also, I'd appreciate it if you recommended this story to people.

Fun fact, there are references to exactly 21 Toho Kaiju in this chapter.
I only wish I could find their trademark tokens - that would be so fun to use in this!

Epilogue: Nature Has a Way

The years have passed by, and yet it seems only yesterday that the world stood on the brink of destruction. How strange it is that so much and yet so little has changed. When the monster known as Gho’Zra was brought low, the world paused only long enough to release a sigh of relief – things could go on as they once had. But for some, things could never be as they once had been. Equestria, once the greatest power the world had ever known, is gone. In its place stands a new power; the Reichsbund – created by the union of the Voroshian Katzereich with the Equestrian lands and people. While the unification of such divergent ways and cultures has been by no means a smooth or seamless transition, it has proven to be more successful than even the wildest dreams of its orchestrators.

For the people of the Chameleonic Islands, life has changed just as equally, if not more drastically. The destruction of Promised Point had been the burning match that ignited a powder keg of turmoil smoldering under the surface. Without the influx of food and commodities, society fractured and a civil conflict the likes of which hadn’t been witnessed in over two hundred years erupted, engulfing the once idyllic archipelago in a brutal war that even after five years continues to be waged between the myriad tribes and clans. Yet hope shines forth from this brutality in the form of a young, influential chieftain named Ghur’Tcha, who has taken upon himself the mantle of ‘Kah’Rutchka’Mach-La’ – the Messenger of a Life of Happiness. Rumor says that he fights for a cause commissioned to him by a martyred friend, and thousands have flocked to his banner.

In fact, war seems to be an ever present specter in this new and troubled time. The vacuum left in the wake of Equestria’s collapse has permanently shifted the power dynamic of the entire continent. From the southern peninsula, the endemic infighting between the various confederated city states of the Griffons has ceased for the first time in six generations. Further west, in the rolling hill country, the kingdom of the Boars begins to move upon the path of expansion once more – the lure of unclaimed lands and untold riches an incentive without peer. And to the north of that, the newly crafted Reichsbund stands ever vigilant as the lines are drawn and sides are chosen. The mighty juggernaut of the Voroshian military has even now been swollen to untold size by an influx of new citizens; Ponies intent upon finding a new purpose in this brave new world.

But that it was only war for which the world might endure. For deep within the heart of Vorosh there were more sinister things brewing. While Reichskanzler Felis Von Sylvestris had only just passed away a year prior, his mandate to ensure the protection of the Reich still lives on. Sprawling subterranean labs filled with all manner of otherworldly devices and designs have sprouted up all across the Reichsbund, but it is in a little desert village known as Drywell that the most horrific experiments are conducted. Dark and arcane magiques are crafted, right alongside of illegal genetic testing and biological weaponry fabrication. But most horrific of all; in a deep, frozen vault, guarded day and night by a full company of soldiers and secured with the most advanced systems known – are a plethora hideous tissue samples and unnatural bone fragments which had been collected in the wake of Gho’Zra’s rampage across Canterlot.

It was from these samples that new and strange advances were made in the realms of bio-engineering, composite materials research, regenerative medicine and so-called super weapon fabrication. The most promising of these programs – called the ‘Bioengineered Infrastructural Organisms’ program, or B.I.O for short – has just recently begun work in the development of a specially engineered, physically hardy and easily cultivatable food crop, which they have taken to calling ‘B.I.O Plant A’. With this new wonder-plant, the arid deserts might finally be put to good use in producing food for the ever growing population of the empire! Never again will there be food shortages. While some have pointed out that the use of Gho’Zra’s genetic material in the fabrication of ‘B.I.O Plant A’ may lead to unforeseen anomalies in the future, the growing need for a stable supply of food has far and above overshadowed these concerns.

But even this could not compare to the prize held within the heart of the Empire itself. For deep beneath the Streets of Purlin was the single greatest child born of the Reichskanzler’s mind. The hundred and fifty meter tall cavern was filled to the brim with all manner of scaffolding, automated foundries and advanced electronic interfaces – none of which truly held a candle to the centerpiece of the entire project. For it was here that the skeletal remains of Gho’Zra were ultimately housed, and for the last five years, day in and day out, they have slowly been rebuilt into a new, technologically advanced form. Thousands of kilometers of electric lines and fiber optic cables have already become like the muscles and veins of the beast. Slowly but surely, a mighty metal edifice is being erected to encase the remains. Soon, one day in the future, the Reichskanzler’s dream of a weapon which can kill monsters might very well be a reality…

Lives have changed; more so for those who survived the attack on Canterlot nearly a half decade before. With the wholesale destruction of both the capital city and the small town of Ponyville having been so complete, there was little left to be salvaged. Within months of the formation of the Reichsbund, a massive wave of immigrants was shipped across the rails. Reconstruction began in earnest when they finally arrived, and like a Phoenix the city of ‘Pferdenburg’ rose from the ashes of ‘Kanterlotte’. Likewise, the graveyard of Ponyville was reborn under the moniker of ‘Twilight’ - named in honor of the Equestrian Princess who bravely sacrificed her life in order to slay the beast - and a shrine dedicated to the lives lost on that fateful night so many years ago even now stands at its center. Every year, thousands upon thousands of survivors flock to this hallowed point, intent upon honoring their fallen friends and colleagues. Among the names engraved upon brass and marble monument are those of Jerolus Kym, Ernst Fanger, Frank Müller, Pipin Kügelbach, Spiffy Ulnz, Trubek Kchobe, Echert Löwe, Twilight Sparkle and thousands more.

With both the destruction of Cloudsdale and the decimation of Sweet Apple Acres, neither Big Macintosh nor his wife, Rainbow Dash, had any place left which they might have called home. With so many painful memories tied to their homeland they had decided, like many other Ponies, to head west across the great desert. From there they set about starting a new life. As the years passed, Macintosh eventually became the owner of an agricultural firm that was quickly backed by the patronage of the Imperial family; under his guidance and expertise, entire swaths of once uninhabitable lands were reclaimed and devoted towards the raising of livestock and such crops as wheat, barley, oats and corn. For her own part, Rainbow Dash worked side by side with her husband – content to live her life with both him and the children who were quickly born of their union. While they still live with the haunted memory of that night, they have managed to find happiness.

Toni Langermann eventually did start up a restaurant – he named it ‘Der Schwarzie’ in memory of the Sturmwagen he’d served aboard - and it has quickly become a favorite haven for those soldiers who had survived the battle of Kanterlotte – a place where they can reminisce with their fellow soldiers and not have to worry about the world at large. As it stands, he’s made enough of a profit that he now considers starting a franchise. Bart Zipfel did indeed stay on with the military – achieving the rank of Schlosser Irste Klasse – though by a twist of fate he’s been stationed with the newly christened 7th Katzerabteilung, a newly created fourth generation Sturmwagen division stationed just outside of Pferdenburg. While it wasn’t the Airship group he hoped for, he did manage to find a wife amongst the influx of immigrants, and so far he is content.

Schmullie Katzenkratz remained true to his own word – returning as he did to the city of Zalma, marrying Bernice and taking up the reigns of his father’s company. Under his guidance the company has grown to be one of the largest in the Empire, providing the Reichsbund with nearly twenty-two percent of all its sub-munitions and nearly six percent of all ordnance grade weapons! Like Bart, Walter Fisk also stayed on with the army, and through a few well-placed connections he’s managed to secure a commission off continent. The last anyone has heard from him, he was shipping out to Imperial holdings on the far western continent of Larrtül. The remaining crew of the No. 7 occasionally receives a letter from him. The latest one was from six months ago, and in it he described an ongoing series of skirmishes between Voroshian forces and a resurgent Diamond Dog war band.

Siegfried Stoßer overcame his demons – enough so that, after months of reclusiveness, he finally returned to Bahnhoff where he was surprised to find an eager Süssi waiting for him. They married in the following spring, and as of now have three children, two boys (whom he named Frank and Ernst in honor of his fallen friends) and a girl. Siegfried would soon go on to become chief of Police in Bahnhoff, where he has started a program to teach his men how to effectively deal with potential high-level crisis'. He’s been so successful that the Military has gone on to request that he form a curriculum which might be distributed across the Reichsbund, where it may be taught at the various military academies. Of a sadder note, Hirschel Kügelbach would finally succumb to the wounds he received during the Battle of Kanterlotte roughly three years after it occurred. His name has been posthumously added to the monument situated in the town of ‘Twilight’, alongside that of his brother, Pipin.

When Reichskanzler Felis Von Sylvestris finally passed away last June, the funeral had been so grand, so spectacular, that three million people from across the world actually attended it. When all was said and done, Kaiser Patzschwelt Von Steurnhetzer commissioned over a dozen monuments across the empire in his honor. In a shocking turn of events, Minister of the Interior Claws Von Schlauhirn was elected to replace his Uncle. Though none save the Kaiser himself know of it, Felis Von Sylvestris had specifically noted in his will that his nephew was to take his place upon death. Even so, the office has not come without its own share of hardships, and Claws had recently taken strongly to drinking as the deadly secrets of the Reichsbund threaten to overwhelm him.

Hermann Kuhn would eventually return home to his wife and children, having finished his tour and officially retiring from the military. Alongside of him, a handful of comrades that included Theodore Trichter and Spitzer, who had symbolically taken on the surname of ‘Kuhn’ in honor of his new life and family, would also join him, where together they started the ‘Kuhn School of Advanced Gunnery’, which has quickly gone on to become a standard for special forces training. Major Leopold Lachespringer has continued to serve with distinction within the Elite Sturmtruppen Divisions, having been promoted to the rank of Captain, and given command of the First Company. He is currently stationed in the Chameleonic Islands, where he and many others have been placed on high alert to insure that Voroshian Assets do not become jeopardized in the growing civil war that has rocked the island nation.

Zephaniah Mog, at the behest of several high ranking members of the Expeditionary Force, quickly found himself elevated to Governor of the ‘Pferdenburg’ District, where his calm attitude and quick wit have insured a peaceful assimilation of the region. He’ll be up for reelection soon; a novel concept which was designed to allow the democratically minded Ponies a say in regional politics – however, he’s become quite popular, especially after ruling on several key issues in the Ponies’ favor. Currently, he’s trying to insure that a stable infrastructure is in place before he finally steps down; the population of Pferdenburg has been growing at an exponential rate, and he’s been hard pressed to insure that it can be accommodated.

Bubbi Plüschaar would quickly be recruited by KaN, where his seeming knack for survival has been put to good use. He’s currently undercover in Dalmoria, where he’s been hard at work trying to uncover a ring of Imperial traitors who have been selling state secrets. Along the way, he’s inadvertently (and some might say accidentally) become married to, of all things, a Pony named Amethyst. They’ve recently adopted an orphaned Chameleon, whom they’ve taken to naming H’Ro'Cham – ‘New Dawn’. Admiral Hans Drücker still remains relatively the same, though recently his wife has made hints that it might be time for him to either transfer to a desk job or flat out retire. He’s instead taken to finding any and every excuse to remain on duty for as long as possible. As of now, he’s currently running patrol sorties along the Reichsbund’s southern border, where a growing Boar presence looks to hold portents of a future conflict between the two powers.

Khujeck Ghresht would retire from service – not out of a desire to leave, but in order to entrench himself in the war-zone that is Imperial Politics. He’s only now managed to secure a chair on the ‘Finanzverwendung Fachkollegium’ (The Review Board of Financial Appropriations), where he has become a constant thorn in the side of Chairman Ethan Listruck, much to the delight of those in the military, most prominently of who is Mittens Von Fleischtauben who has been a constant and extremely vocal proponent, sponsor and supporter of Khujeck in his crusade to allow more leeway in military expenditure. Word has it that he may soon become a viable contender for the position of Chairman, as many other board members have begun jumping Listruck’s boat as his popularity continues to go down.

As for Oberst Mittens, he is no longer an Oberst. In fact, he is a General, due in large part to his contributions at the Battle of Kanterlotte, and no small amount of the incredibly flattering coverage the media has given him. In fact, it is likely that this was due to a few strings being pulled by the now deceased Reichskanzler Felis Von Sylvestris, who was personally quoted as having said that, "...were it another man who had lead the Expedition, there would have likely been no survivors." He’s currently making rounds among the many military stations across the Reichsbund, but word has it that he might cut the inspections short and return to Purlin in order to be present for the birth of his first Great-Grandchild!

K’Umetk would finally get to go home to his family, and, with the help and protection afforded by his close friend Ghur’Tcha, he has managed to at last live his life in peace with them. You can most likely catch sight of him amidst his home town on the island of Temna-Chuta, where he has risen to become a chief elder. He’s more content to spend his days fishing or basking in the sun though. From time to time, Ghur’Tcha will visit him. Ghur’Tcha, aside from becoming a warrior for peace, has also found a life to live in the form of his fiancé-now-wife, and their six children. While the burden of insuring a brighter future for them all is still upon his shoulders, that day may one day be reached, as even now many surrounding islands and clans have sworn loyalty under his banner…

However, if there is one thing that will not change, it is the fact that the world is still a cold and unforgiving place, one that has no qualms of crushing its own inhabitants with the slightest whim. And while Nature may have finally achieved a balance and calm that it had missed for millennia, it can only ever take so much before that balance is once more disrupted. And so it was that, on April 6th, five years to the date of Gho’Zra’s destruction, at 03:56:17 in the morning, on a cold and desolate island to the far north, a second sun was once again born from the detonation of an atomic bomb. The Cats had indeed recovered the secrets of the bomb, but whereas the Ponies had not sought a weapon, the Cat’s have streamlined the process to create weapons of such mass and power as to put that first one to shame.

In fact, this was one of a handful of Islands across the world that, over the course of the coming weeks, would be subject to a myriad number of nuclear tests as the Reichsbund seeks to fully master this new and deadly technology. With so vast an amount of radiation at work, it was little wonder that the earth would react as violently as it did. For in the coming weeks, a string of interconnected events will, years from now, unfold and usher in a new era of death and terror the likes of which may very well destroy all who would call this planet their home.

De novo incipit ad cyclum

The southern seas have always been known to house the strangest of animals. Every year there seems to be some tall tale of enormous beasts rising up from the depths, intent on making a meal of some hapless crew. However, the radioactive backwash that resulted from an act of folly months before may very well have just created such a monster: a massive crustacean that continues to grow as it plies the waters for food. This creature has already attracted the attention of the Chameleonic cult known as the 'Brotherhood of the Shining Eye', and efforts have been made to locate the beast in the hopes of cultivating it to their own ends.

The seas have taken on a new level of danger as the beast continues to grow; soon, very soon, it will make itself truly known; the vulnerable ships which drift across this prominent trade route will quickly grow to fear it above all else…

The Black Shoals have always been a strange and wondrous phenomenon to many an observer; nowhere else in the world is it easier to observe the workings of the earth than in these oil rich sands. Bubbling tar and natural crude-oil seep to the surface on a regular basis, and many of the region's microorganisms have adapted to feeding off of these rich biofuels. But in recent days, something sinister has begun to manifest. A tiny strain of bacteria, unobservable to the naked eye, has begun to mutate. What caused this mutation is anyone’s guess, but the sudden introduction of nuclear radiation from into the atmosphere may indeed have had a part to play.

In its natural state the bacteria was harmless, simply feeding off the tar and helping to break down organic solids. But now it has begun taking on a more fiendish aspect, coming together to form vast colonies of black sludge that exude a toxic vapor. Slowly, this sludge has begun to pop up all across the region, and were anyone to observe it, they would see that it is coalescing towards a single point…

In the frozen reaches of the far north, time is often kept at bay beneath the icy surface. Millions of years can be contained in a single layer of ice, and often times a species once thought to be extinct will be found locked within its cold embrace, alive and waiting to be freed. Such is the case for the brilliant red creature that even now was beginning to stir within its frozen prison. It was ancient, from a time long before the current age. Back then, there were many like it, and they had ruled the seas.

Now, it was most likely the last of its kind. Blood had already begun to recirculate into its extremities, and the mighty sail upon its back was soon cast in a brilliant shade of sunburst yellow. As the radioactive air begins to warm the polar reaches, its icy prison slowly begins to melt away…

The continent of Larrtül is ancient and wild – civilization only truly exists upon its eastern shores, and even then it is under constant assault by the barbaric inhabitants of the interior. This is the home of the Diamond Dogs, who hail from the mountainous region of the south and the dense, dark forests of the north. From there they continue to worship their ancient god, Bharhaghon, who they claim lives deep within the earth. While more rational people would simply call it a myth, they would be wrong. Deep underground, amidst the subterranean darkness of its home, a terrible and ancient beast sleeps.

Hailing from a time long past, it and its kind had thrived beneath the surface of the earth. While it has been content to sleep for eternity, a recent string of earthquakes brought about by underground nuclear testing has inadvertently woken it from its slumber. Soon enough, it will once more dig its way to the surface, where its fiery fury will be felt…

Dalmoria has always been a place of refuge, a get away from the cares of the world. Home to the tribes of the Alligator and the Elk, this land was once a place of constant war and sorrow. But legends tell of a magnificent beast which rose up from the great, continental river of Faran. The beast was nigh unstoppable, and the warring tribes were soon brought to the brink by this monster which could travel across both the land, the sea and the sky. It had taken an alliance between the two nations to finally put a stop to the monster’s rampage; a powerful magic was incurred, and the beast was interred once more to whence it had come.

Now, with the union of the Alligators and the Elk, Dalmoria has become a haven paradise which attracts millions each year. The tale of Faran is never spoken of – a dark secret best left alone. However, secrets have a way of turning up despite our best efforts, and the magic which had sealed the beast is weakening. Soon enough, the magnificent beast will once more rise from is watery home…

Zebreca is a land of mystery and wonder. Home to many peoples, including Zebras, Giraffes, Elephants and Wildebeest, it has always held a prominent geopolitical role. It is also famous for the fact that much of it remains unknown to the outside world, partly due to it possessing some of the most daunting and unassailable geological formations in the world. There are even regions which the natives have never dared to set foot upon, and so it remains a powerful mystery.

It is here, amidst the impassable spires and sun-scorched mesas that a strange and ancient beast sleeps. Locked in slumber for thousands of years, the beast is now covered with plants and trees; its serpentine form obscured by the weight of time. Wrapped around the base of the famous ‘Manta Spire’, its brilliant blue scales give the appearance of a shimmering river. But this is no river, and as the air becomes thick with radioactivity, it is beginning to stir…

When one thinks of Pangolia, they will often think of its beautiful cities and peace loving people. The Pangolins embrace a philosophy of peace and meditative thought, and their empire is one of trade, rather than conquest. What most don’t realize though, is that Pangolia was once part of a great landmass which at one point fell into the sea, due in large part to a terrible species of monstrous tunneling beetle. So extensive were the massive hives and tunnels built by these creatures that, during a massive world-wide disaster, the earth itself gave way and fell headlong into the ocean, inadvertently bringing these creatures to extinction.

By a quirk of fate, much of the ancient hive nursery had been spared from this watery doom, and while the majority of the eggs were destroyed by the vagaries of time, one has managed to survive through the ages; the grub inside it having grown to maturity long ago. It now sleeps in a hibernated state. But the recent activation of a nuclear weapon on a nearby island has already begun to revive the chitinous horror. Soon it would rise, and like its ancestors it will change the very shape of the earth in its wake…

A strange beast walks along the sandy coast. It had been a regular reptile at one point; one of the myriad of strange and exotic species that inhabits the Chameleonic Islands. But months prior, a cataclysmic event had irradiated it to the point of nearly killing it. How it survived defies explanation, but it did survive none the less. It had started growing almost immediately, and has yet to stop. With its new size there also came a new sense of self-awareness among many more otherworldly things. While becoming bipedal has only recently become a symptom of its new body, more pronounced changes have occurred on an internal level: the ability to breathe fire and a prodigious capacity to dig being the most prominent.

But despite its continuous growth and the strange powers which have manifested, the most shocking, and perhaps most dangerous aspect of this new beast is that it possess the ability to reproduce asexually. In the coming years, this could lead to ravenous hordes of potential super-predators with a taste for flesh. Only time will tell…

Neu Island stands apart from the rest of the world - a shimmering green jewel amidst the cold southern seas – untouched by civilization and filled on every level of its biosphere with strange and wonderful life forms. The strangest and most wonderful of these life forms were undoubtedly the enormous mantids which constituted the verdant island’s alpha-predator role. Varying in all manner of color and growing to the size of a Bison, the Neu Island Mantis can already be considered a monster in its own right.

However, the recent implementation of a Reichsbund facility located on the island’s tallest point – mount Kamakar – has introduced a new element in the form of theoretical weather manipulation through the use of radioactive particle induction. The first test is scheduled to occur within an hour. Three weeks from that day, all contact with the facility will be lost, as will the five consecutive search parties sent to discover why. Neu Island will soon become a quarantine zone, though it is debatable whether or not said quarantine could contain what will soon be unleashed…

The peninsular plains of Κήπωνγη (Kipongi) have long been considered the birthplace of the Griffons. It is also a fascinating geological formation brought about by massive upheavals and enormous glacial shifts throughout time immemorial. The fossil record shows that, at one point, this sprawling chain of peninsulas were once part of a land bridge which connected the Continent to Southernpoint; one that had been covered in vast swaths of conifer trees and populated with fantastic creatures from long ago. One such creature from that period now rests amidst the cavernous rocky cliffs that characterize the Goros peninsula.

Its form has remained literally unchanged from that of its ancestors, and while it simply rest in a mucous lined cocoon, it has not remained unaffected by time. Radiation from an atomic test carried out on a distant island nation months ago has only now made its way to these historic lands, and the virulent energies have already begun to affect the sleeping beast, endowing it with immense size and ferocity. Soon, very soon, this ancient archosaur will rise once more to stalk its ancestral homeland…

The Everfree Forest has long been associated with the strange and the supernatural. Part of its mystique lies in the fact that few have ever been brave enough to enter its dark depths. Even fewer have returned from such a journey. These black and inhospitable woods have also been the progenitor of a hundred-thousand myths and legends. But despite all of this, none would have ever dared to suspect that the Everfree held real monsters within its bosom. Deep in the heart of the massive sprawling forest, there lies an ancient and foreboding stretch of dead and vine-laden woods in which roam a distinctive species of spider – one that seemingly crept from the very depths of our nightmares.

Time has gone by with little change for these arachnids, and had it not been for recent events, it would have remained as such. But the arrival of Gho’Zra had done more than sow devastation – it had also brought with it a scourging miasma of radiation wherever it treaded. As it happened this forbidden stretch of woodland had been crossed upon by the beast, and even now, a handful of those horrific spiders have begun to grow at a terrifying rate. The Everfree has just become that much deadlier…

To the far north of Zebreca, isolated from all of the world, sits the tiny landmass of Infant Island – a land that time forgot and a realm in which the whims of Nature and her very balance are made manifest. Since before recorded time this island has been home to a mysterious race of beings simply called the Castra[1], who consider themselves to be the stewards of a pair of diametrically opposed gods who, throughout time, have constantly been at odds with one another, often clashing with such ferocity as to change the course of the world itself.

These gods are referred to as Modtra, the god of Harmony – a benevolent being who embodies the hopes and dreams of those who would attempt to live in harmony with nature; and Badtra, the god of Balance – a being who embodies Nature’s attempts to balance itself at any cost. Recently the Castra have begun to have visions of a future in which these mortal enemies may one day be forced to combine their efforts for the sake of the world which they protect. For the moment, the future remains cloudy to these strange people who, even now, tend to the eggs in which the latest incarnations of their deities quickly grow in both size and strength. Nature’s hand will soon be shone…

The ruins of Promised Point have been left to lie. They now serve as a monument to the lives lost one dreadful night, when the world was only beginning to understand the threat of Gho’Zra. Magical energies mix with radiation to leave the land fallow and uninhabitable. The very air is electric, and this swirling maelstrom of energy has served as a beacon for a creature long thought to be found only in the fossil record. Arriving from parts unknown, this primordial creature – a strange and otherworldly insect with a taste for blood – has come to call this stricken land its own.

The fae energy which clouds the surrounding air has nourished it in a way it had never before felt, and even now it continues to molt almost constantly as it grows further and further. To make matters worse, the creature is a queen of her species, and she has already begun to lay the foundations of her own hive. In the near future, her hives will constitute an army in and of itself, and the world will know fear…

The nomadic Reindeer who call the frozen tundra of the Continent’s north their home have long held the belief that the mighty blizzards which wrack their homeland are carried upon the back of the sky king, Wrotan. Like so many myths and legends, there is always an element of truth to them. Deep beneath this frozen landscape lies a subterranean hot spring, long claimed by the natives to be the home of the sky king, and attributed by the rest of the world as being the source of the many geysers which dot the snowy landscape.

Residing within this long lost oasis are a pair of enormous eggs, long held dormant and by all accounts dead. If not for the recent nuclear test on an island in the northern sea, they may have very well remained as they were. But as the fallout from the blast envelops its invisible hands across the land, something is beginning to stir from within. In the near future, the ancient Reindeer myths will very much become a reality…

The verdant valley of Vorosh has long been viewed as a garden of paradise for the Cats who live there. It was from here that the Vorosh Valley Duchy was formed, and from there that the Katzereich took shape. Even now, it has become the heart for an even larger empire in the form of the Reichsbund. But the Vorosh Valley is also ancient, and filled with mysteries of its own. The most famous of these mysteries is undoubtedly the ‘Cavern of Ten-thousand Spears’, a unique and unexplainable geological phenomenon that can be found in a massive cave outside of the city of Värum.

What makes this cave so strange is the way in which it seemingly formed – the floor is a veritable forest of massive stalagmites which have been physically documented to move from time to time. While most attribute it to a quirk of nature in all its wonder, there are those few who have the notion that there is something less natural at play here. The recent tectonic disturbance brought about by future nuclear testing will very soon reveal the cave’s true nature for all to see…

Deep within the heart of Southernpoint, situated within a stretch of arable floodplains surrounded on all sides by a massive glacial wall, there lies the famous ‘Star Shower Lake’, a fantastic reservoir created when a celestial body fell from the sky millions of years ago, coming to ground and forming the natural wonder as seen today. Long famed for its ionically charged waters and for the strange electromagnetic properties of the land, ‘Star Shower Lake’ has become a popular tourist destination. However, despite its popularity, few if any know of the dark truth of the matter.

For deep beneath the surface of the lake lies the meteoroid which in truth had nearly brought the world to its knees so many millions of years in the past. It is within this foreign body that a being of alien origin rests – a being filled with malice and spite, and one who will, very soon now, awaken to lay waste to yet another in a long line of worlds…

The murky waters of ‘Tranquility Bay’ are considered to be nothing short of a graveyard. Nothing lives in these cursed waters; not since the day that a weapon of unimaginable power was employed to bring low the beast known as Gho’Zra. The scars of that final confrontation are still present; the water is now a dull and lifeless grey, the once bountiful coral reefs that called these waters home are now gone – dead and scoured from existence. There are no fish. There are no whales or dolphins or seals. There are not even any bacteria left. The sea floor is little more than a dead and rocky landscape. The fear of residual side effects has also resulted in a complete and total quarantine of the bay.

It seems that the legacy of Gho’Zra, and of the Æther Splitter will remain as visible and as potent for centuries to come… Or perhaps even sooner; something has begun to stir from beneath the muddy silt of the seafloor – something ancient, from a time when the very air of the primordial earth was unbreathable. These microscopic, anaerobic organisms – no bigger than the eye of a needle, have at long last reawakened from their stasis; drawn to the lack of oxygen within these waters. They have begun to multiply and to grow, feeding off the potent radiation which still taints the bay. Even nature seems to shudder at the appearance of such creatures.

The legacy of Twilight Sparkle’s device has taken on a new form, and this one may very well mean the end of everything...

Life is fascinating. It thrives at all levels, and is often capable of defying the odds. Such is the case for the island of Maqc-turesch, a place now considered by many to be the start of it all. This once verdant island of Eden was wiped clean from existence in an act of arrogance which set into motion the rise of the beast called Gho’Zra. Yet for all of this, signs of life have indeed started to return upon its blackened beaches and glass-covered hills. Hardy palms and conifer groves, swept in by the tide and carried upon the winds, have taken root, and the island has even now attracted all manner of exotic birds and reptiles to its shores.

The heavy seasonal rains have started to arrive; every time they grace the recovering island, the wounds of a passing era fade more and more. Upon a gentle hill at the heart of this island, something else has been uncovered. It is an egg, large in size and warm to the touch. The rains have sloughed away the aeons of mud, and against all odds it has remained untouched by time. Thunder peels overhead and a single hairline crack appears across the gleaming beige colored shell. Lighting crashes against the sea as another crack forms. Soon enough the egg is finally broken open, and from its confines strides the gangling form of a monster only recently thought destroyed.

However, this beast was not born of fire. It has hatched into the world as something new; it is Gho’Zra, yet it is something purer than Gho’Zra ever was. With large, inquisitive eyes it surveys the world, and as it takes its first full breath of air it opens its mouth and lets loose a delicate roar…

The Age of Monsters has begun…

A picture I drew many months ago

[1]
The Castra are lifted directly from a the CDi game, "Lost Eden", one of the defining influences of my adolescence.