--1st Anniversary Special (day 2/7, page 4/4)--
‘Funny you should bring that up,’ said Garovel. ‘That happens to be one of my favorite pieces of history.’
‘Really? Why?’
‘Well, see, the Lyzakks came to Eloa some 2800 years ago, and as soon as they landed, they stormed across the continent and seized control of everything they saw. Then they reached the center of Eloa and came upon the Armans--the so-called “people of the rain.” The Armans stopped the Lyzakks cold, didn’t let them take another step west.’
‘I guess you’re not a fan of the Lyzakks, huh?’
‘They were assholes who enslaved millions of people and forced them to fight in their armies for them. The fact that the Armans stopped them was a wildly unprecedented event of the time. Up to that point, the Armans had been a peaceful people, and on top of that, they were insanely outnumbered.’
‘So how’d they win?’
‘Well, they didn’t win. They only forced a draw. But yes, it was remarkable nonetheless. They accomplished it by being incredibly clever. See, they had plenty of warning about the Lyzakks burning across the continent, but rather than flee or prepare tribute for an immediate surrender, the Armans decided to just booby-trap the FUCK out of everything in their land.’
‘Oh, geez...’
‘It. Was. Amazing.’
Hector shook his head but couldn’t help smirking.
‘And horrible,’ Garovel added. ‘Absolutely brutal and terrible. But also completely ingenious. See, most of the Armans lived in the lands where it always rains. Not just frequently or consistently in small amounts. It pours and floods all the damn time. And they turned that into their most potent and infamous trap. They built these dams everywhere and then hid their work, so when the enemy arrived, they would see areas that were clear and dry, seemingly suitable for safe passage or for setting up camp. Then the trap would spring, and they would lose hundreds or even thousands of men to a flash flood.’
‘Wow... uh... That’s pretty fucked up.’
‘Yeah. It was. But the Armans successfully defended themselves from a vastly superior force--and not just once or twice, but dozens of times.’
A dark serial novel. Set in a modern fantasy world called Eleg. Mature language. Updates every night at midnight PST by ~400 words.
nice to see a bit more fleshing out of the world
ReplyDeleteHmm. Crossed an ocean and enslaved millions? What kind of tech level are we talking about, here?
ReplyDeletePolynesian/Mongol/Vikings! Polynesians for outrigger canoes and expert seamanship/navigating by stars, Vikings for general warlike raiding badassery and sunstones to aid in navigation (can tell position of sun even on overcast days), Mongols for unstoppable empire-building hordes.
ReplyDeleteNinja-pirates eat your heart out.
:)
ReplyDeleteJetpacks and potato-powered lightsabers, I think. I could be mistaken, though.
ReplyDeleteHaha.
ReplyDelete"The[y] only forced a draw..."
ReplyDeleteAnd everyone underestimates the potato lightsabers. Maybe Garovel can explain why.
Sounds legit.
ReplyDeleteFixed, thank you.
ReplyDeleteLong overdue some world details. And now we see how the people of the rain might have become the backbone of the Vanguard...and perhaps the origin of the first, and perhaps even still ongoing, Abolish vs. Vanguard war. Wouldn't Abolish have LOVED the Lyzakks? And it's easy to see how those reapers tempted to start something like Vanguard would turn to a race who had been utterly peaceful but turned so perfectly to defense when forced to.
ReplyDeleteAre we being given a sneak preview of the genesis of the Vanguard/Abolish War here?
ReplyDeleteLand where it always rains, with long-standing ties to the Vanguard...where have we seen that before?
ReplyDeleteSinger's point entirely
ReplyDelete"Dam" it!!! That was crazy!! And friggin impressive!!!
ReplyDelete