Gather 'round kidalinos, the resident alien would like to read you a story. The Grand Overlords up on homeworld won't let me call any of this stuff 'facts', when I tried to bring this subject up in my last report, they censored the fuck out of it. So as long as I spew it forth as fanciful hypotheticals, they don't seem to mind.
Many epochs following the fall of Dragonkind, the Earth Mother began work on a new line of prime forms. Drawing from primate forms with enormous upgrade potential, she set in motion the processes by which these small creatures could become sentient in millions of years. In time, she found success: the Human form emerged into consciousness. At one with the planet and network of life upon it, these new beings began their ascent into greatness. With the inherited cosmic awareness of the Mother, they were capable of great manifestations and modifications of reality, a technology we could only call Magick today. Over time these mages mastered their power, raising up cities of living mineral in which to reside, building the first true civilization. The golden age of Humanity had begun.
Though the Human form had realized much of its potential, it was far from perfect. Not every member of the species was born with these great powers, or with as much as the greatest of the mages. At first the Humans still welcomed their less-capable members as family and friends without discrimination, but this tendency did not last. Over time the people began to segment themselves into hierarchies, placing the most powerful few men and women at the top, followed by layers of inferiors to serve and follow, relegating the magickless to the bottom as little more than slaves and untouchables. It may even have been that the leaders intentionally handicapped the powers of the castes below them to ensure their continued supremacy.
The collapse of this civilization became inevitable when the few most accomplished of the mages ascended beyond mortality, attaining power like unto gods. In their vanity, they forsook the connection they shared with the life of the planet, while demanding the worship and obedience of the castes below them. It was only a matter of time until these monstrosities, the Old Gods, became jealous and spiteful of each other, spurring them into conflict. The First War had begun.
The Gods set their titanic powers upon their enemies, while their great armies clashed in once-peaceful streets of the great cities. The slave caste, with no magick to contribute or even to defend themselves, fled into the wilderness, hiding from their masters and watching the devastation with horror. The war raged on for many years, taking its toll on all that Humanity had accomplished. The species' numbers dwindled with every battle, and the shining citadels of man were reduced to rubble. With enough time, the Old Gods managed to exhaust their entire armies fighting one another, leaving them with only each other, who could not be killed.
The Earth Mother was not blind to the tragic events on her surface. Her creations had not heeded any plea or warning from her about the destructive path they had chosen. As the war had claimed almost the entire Human race, her sorrow and fury drove her to action. Unable to kill these beings who had become immortal, she summoned forth her elemental forces to banish the Old Gods from the planet and it's vicinity. Driven into deep space, the Gods found themselves forsaken by their source, homeless among the cosmos.
The low caste Humans had escaped this fate. Powerless to rebuild the civilization that was, they spread throughout the world, learning to live of the land, with little or no supernatural power to help them along the way. Indeed, these survivors had witnessed so much death at the hands of Magick, the racial memory of this trauma would endure, fostering a fear of such powers that would be passed along for generations to come.
The Old Gods would not be entirely thwarted by their exile however. Over thousands of years following the banishment, they would continue to reach across the vast interstellar distances towards Earth, playing out their rivalry by manipulating the surviving Human race as their pawns in a sadistic game. It would not be a great stretch to assume they desire vengeance upon the Earth Mother for their punishment, and will go to any lengths to get satisfaction.
The Humans eventually learned how to make the most of non-metaphysical sciences to bring forth useful technologies, for both good or ill. They struggle with the same issues as the ancients of this story, striving to build a better world, while struggling to avoid destruction at their own hands. The story continues to this day...
...or does it? Maybe none of that shit could have happened. But what if?
-SchnozBott
"There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio,
Than are dreamt of in your philosophy."
-William Shakespeare
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