This post is heavily inspired by the Survival Paradigm series of posts from Blasted and Cratered, also this one from the Nothic's Eye.
by
GrivetartOn June 16th, 20XX, the world ended. No one realized it at the time, however. On that day, a meteor was suddenly spotted on route to the Solar System. This meteor entered our Solar System and was expected to pass by Earth on the way to the Sun, but instead rerouted suddenly, and unnaturally, and entered the Earth's atmosphere.
This meteor caused a brief panic due to it's immense size, but this quickly changed to wonder as the meteor began slowing down. After it passed through the atmosphere it continued to slow down until it floated down and landed in the American Southwest, landing so softly that it didn't even rattle the needles on the nearby cacti.
This meteor proved even stranger then, as it moved. The remaining stone broke away and a giant creature emerged. Towering at almost 200 ft. tall, the giant creature resembled a man in the broad strokes, being bipedal with two arms, a head atop his body and a face that greatly resembled a human male, albeit a tad distorted.
The giant man wore armor made of glittering metal, carrying an enormous shield and sword, each one truly titanic in size. The Finally, one last detail stuck out at anyone who saw the giant man- he was wounded. His armor had been beaten and battered, marked by the results of interminable conflict. His sword and shield both showed signs of heavy use and what little skin wasn't covered in mail revealed scars and hints of old wounds.
Most disturbing of all though was the dagger that had been driven under his armpit into one of the armor's weak points, where it had pierced his flesh. This dagger was mostly buried inside of the giant man, with only a small amount of blade and handle protruding. That small amount was still over thirty feet long and seemed to ooze danger to any who gazed upon it.
The Giant man then sat down and began to meditate, or perhaps pray. The world began to change not long after that.
The Changes he Wrought:
The military attempted to quarantine the giant, but this was a hopeless endeavor. Not only was this among the most exciting events EVER, it soon became apparent that part of the reason people were flocking to the giant man was that he was calling to them, or so it was claimed. These people had repeated dreams of the man and an unexplainable, yet undeniable urge to go and see him. These chosen people journeyed from far off places and met each other at the base of the giant man. There they, through some method then unknown to us, were able to commune with the giant man.
After they did so, they declared three things:
1. The Giant Man, who they quickly named The Paladin, or simply Paladin, had been a protector of the Earth and Humanity.
2. That he was wounded and could no longer protect the Earth.
3. The Earth should now unite and prepare for the coming War.
These people, who dubbed themselves "The First Brotherhood", then set about basically setting up a new religion, or if you were less charitable, a cult. They claimed to ne able to commune with Paladin and sought warriors to help them defend Earth. Their various miracle claims, intended to make them come off as more legitimate, only made them seem kooky. So they were largely ignored, a massive error on the part of humanity, for five years.
That was when it showed up. Another meteor descended from the sky and splashed down in the Indian Ocean. 23 hours later, a giant Beast emerged from the surf and stomped ashore near the city of Chennai, India and laid waste to the city. The Beast destroyed everything in it's path and proved all but immune to conventional weapons, with the exception of the highest-end technologies, that did slow it down, though they still did only minimal damage.
Eventually, after every option was exhausted, the central government authorized a direct nuclear strike to kill the Beast. A single 20 megaton warhead was dropped and the rest of the city was reduced to glass. And then the Beast stood back up, screamed at the heavens and disappeared back into the sea.
In the aftermath, 2 million people were dead, almost five million were displaced and a truly staggering amount of damage had been done. The world was utterly dumbfounded by the scale of the disaster. Yet they soon found out that this was not going to be a one-time event. People quickly made the connection between the First Brotherhood's prophecies and the Indian Beast.
When questioned, the Speaker for the Brotherhood declared, "This was the first, but it will not be the last." So a plan was needed and the Brotherhood provided one. To fight monsters, a new breed of weapons was needed. As our greatest technology had proven almost useless against the creatures. Thus, when the First Brotherhood introduced the world to their radical proposal, the Paladin Program, many were willing to listen.
Fifty Years Later:
Humanity has sharply retracted in size and power. The majority of people live in "Shield Cities", heavily fortified, largely self-sufficient communities designed to protect against Colossai attack. Each one is equipped with walls, bunkers, monstrous weapons and most important of all, Frames.
A Frame is a slang term for an artificial creature, a master-work of biotechnology and cybernetics. A specially trained human will climb inside it, interface with the Frame and command it. The Pilot will then go forward to face the enemies of the city, most commonly Colossai, as they will regularly assault Shield Cities, but also other foes in need of destruction and worthy of the incredible expense required to bring the Frame online.
If the Pilot is victorious, he slays the Colossus and will butcher the creature. It's flesh, bones and organs can all be harvested for valuable resources that can greatly benefit the City and it's Frames. If he is not and the Beast is not dissuaded from attacking, the City will utilize it's own weaponry to drive off or kill the Colossus.
Note: Frames are often also referred to as Warsuits, Mechs, Battle-Mechs, Chariots, Paladins, Spirit Beasts and Dragons. The name is region and culture specific.
Pilots are also referred to by a variety of different titles such as Rider, Captain, Lancer, Knight, Paladin, Squire, Charioteer and Beast-master.
Exclusion Zones and Wild Peoples:
Exclusion Zones are areas deemed off limits by the Global or National Authorities, though such groups are largely toothless in a world of localism and neo-feudalism. These are areas without Shield Cities or organized Pilot Corps, where any Frames that do exist are maintained by the locals, either through enormous personal wealth, scavenging, local cooperation, raiding or some combination of the former.
Exclusion Zones are areas most commonly near the coasts and were designated as such for a variety of potential reasons such as, they were deemed too difficult to defend, they host ruins to expensive to fully demolish or rebuild, they are too close to a common Colossai landing zone, they are a suspected Colossai breeding ground, they are infested with Colossai or smaller creatures dangerous to humans, they are toxic to humans in some way, such as being irradiated or contaminated with poisonous substances.
Now in many cases, people do live in Exclusion Zones. Life here is often brutal, short and unpredictable, but it means freedom from the often oppressive rule of the Shield Cities. Additionally, many people will enter Exclusion Zones in the hopes of gathering rare resources or looting pre-Colossai treasures from the ruins of the Old World.
Wild People, by contrast, live nomadic lives very reminiscent of our ancient ancestors. They often have access to little or no advanced technology, shunning civilization and Cities. Some believe that technology itself attracts the Colossai, while others believe that Cities and fixed communities are simply too big of a target and thus continually wander. Most Wild People are herdsmen, living off flocks of domesticated animals, while others act as hunter-gatherers. Some do farm or are only semi-nomadic, but they are the exception, rather than the rule.
Pilots, Frames and Psychic Powers:
All Pilots are psychic, at least to some extent. This was a talent that began occurring in humans after the Colossai began arriving in greater numbers. What causes it and where it comes from is still unknown: some believe that being in the presence of a Colossai or Frame can awaken any psychic potential one might have, while others believe it is entirely hereditary, while still others that eating the flesh of a Colossai can awaken or even grant psychic abilities. This latter view is semi-true, though the consumption of Colossai flesh just as commonly leads to mutation, sickness and death, so this is rarely recommended.
The reason why all Pilots must be psychic is that this is what enables them to pilot their Frame. All Frames, as Pilots will tell you, have their own personality, temperament and habits. A Pilot must somehow coerce, convince or force a Frame to do what he wishes. This is a dangerous task, as if a Frame does not wish to do something, it can lash out at the Pilot, destroying his mind or killing him immediately. This is rare, but it does happen. Much more commonly is that a Frame will refuse to work or simply work less effectively.
The rate at which a Pilot and a Frame successfully interface is known as Synchronization. Generally, the higher the Synchronization the better, though as it approaches the higher ends, the Pilot and the Frame become so inter-mingled the line of where Pilot begins and Frame ends becomes almost impossible to determine. In such cases, depending on culture, law or tradition a Pilot may be forced to retire, destroyed along with the Frame, entombed within the Frame to spend the rest of his life united within it, or celebrated as having transcended mortal flesh to become a living God.
Psychic Powers:
All Frames are a mix of biotechnology and cybernetics, but the ratio varies. The more biological a Frame is, the greater it's psychic potential is. Frames with high psychic potential can access and amplify a Pilot's natural psychic powers, as well as potentially unlock their own. However, the higher a Frame's psychic potential is, the stronger the Frame's mind and the harder it is to tame.
A Frame with more cybernetics, on the other hand, has less psychic potential. This means while it can often only slightly modify a Pilot's powers, it is much easier to fix, armor and arm. It is also much easier to mount and ride. As such, new Pilots often take their first ride on a Frame with a high level of cybernetics, so they aren't broken or overpowered by their Frame.
Some Frames with high psychic potential have been known in rare cases to overpower the Pilot and control it's own actions during the battle. And while all Frames are supposed to be no smarter than dogs, some with high psychic potential display a disturbing level of intellect, and may hijack the Pilot's brain to further enhance their minds.
In a few cases, Frames with high psychic potential have even "woken up" and broke out of the storage facilities they were kept in, fleeing out into the wilderness to act as Colossai. This is rare, however and tends to occur only in Frames composed primarily of Colossai body parts or most commonly, entirely made from the modified body of a single dead Colossai.
Manufacturing Monsters:
Frames are made from Colossai. In the past, they were almost entirely artificial, but that was only possible in the Pre-Colossai Age. With the collapse of the global trade networks and the loss of much of mankind's industrial base, such a massive expenditures of money or material is simply not an option. So, in order to create new Frames, a solution was required.
The solution that the humans arrived at was simple- what better to fight Colossai than Colossai themselves. When a Colossus is killed, the Pilots will summon the Butcher-Engineers, who will evaluate the Colossus. They will decide what parts of the Colossus can be sold, which parts destroyed and which parts weaponized. Weaponized parts are integrated, usually after modifications, into the Frame itself.
This is part of the reason why Pilots do not just remain behind the walls and only fight to defend their city, but instead go on expeditions to fight and slay a specific Colossus. It is so the Butcher-Engineers can harvest a particular weapon or technology from it's flesh.
Standard Pilot Missions:
- Defend a Shield City from Colossus attack
- Travel into the wilderness to hunt a particular Colossus
- Travel into an Exclusion Zone to recover something rare or valuable
- Destroy a Colossai breeding ground
- Protect a convoy or caravan transporting valuable goods
- Protect a group of salvagers looking to recover something lost
- Fight off a group of Frame-using pirates, marauders or brigands
- Participate in War against another City or organization
What is the goal of the Colossai?
The Colossai do not have a goal, most of them are not even intelligent. But over the decades, human scientists have noticed some strange things. When Colossai blood lands on the ground or when they die, their bodily fluids trigger mutations in any creature exposed to them. Some creatures almost entirely change, but most simply become altered. The land grows more fertile and larger plants and animals begin to appear. Deer grow larger and have more eyes, while trees rise to the height of skyscrapers. In some places, all remnants of human civilization have been utterly replaced, as if mankind never existed.
Yet the new fecundity of the Earth is not entirely positive. Many of these new plants and animals cannot be eaten by humans directly, they must be heavily processed and purified. Direct consumption by humans has resulted in outbreaks of disease, failing health, mutation and madness. It is believed by some that this is intentional. The Colossai are changing the world to better suit their needs and it is a world that humanity will not survive.
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