Three months...dang.

    Every writer has times where they can not write.  For me, the last three months was one of those times.  It is a pain when Life and mind just do not want to get along.  Not to mention the chaos that unfolds when you have to take care of people.

    Any way...back on track and I am working on a piece about how magic works.  And I am not talking about formula and mana and stuff.  I mean the real "Why it works!".  Any way thought you should be told.  And to boot I have also posted a little blurb on the Furbolg.

     It is short, but like their enigmatic masters, it is hard to observe them with out the Asterilians getting in the way.  Enjoy.

Furbolg: The Age of Awakening

    The rise of the Firbolg, much like that of the Asterilians, is not well understood. The current theory is that the Firbolg are not a natural species, that they were created by the Asterilias using human genes as a base. This is corroborated by tests done on Furbolg and species on their world.

    Testing shows that the Firbolg are a combination of Human genes and an indigenous species called the Bolg by the Asterilians. The Bolg are a herbivorous species, resembling the Buffalo on Earth, that graze on the planes of the planets southern continent. The same continent that gave rise to the Asterilians.

    How did this come to pass? Well it is believed that the Furbolg were created over a couple centuries. The Asterilians used the genes they preserved and selectively combined them with select bolg that met their designs. Over time, generation after generation, those domesticated Bolg started to change.

    Evidence of this forced evolution can be found in certain areas as pens and skeletons with varying bone structures can be found in the same general area. For what reason this was done is far easier to answer, cheep labor. The Asterilians are not a strong species, in fact they are quite frail compared to other forms of life.

    Over time the Asterilians likely discovered that to progress as a species, as a society, they needed a little more muscle. At the same time, to perpetuate the species they needed something to keep away other herbivores that would try to eat their seedlings. So to fill those two needs, they made the Furbolg much like we made the Golemites.

    There is little more on the Furbolg though. They appear to be an agrarian species that leans away from any form of violence. They will fight if pressed to do so with dire consequences for those they are attacking. They have very sturdy frames and their musculature is dense. But they lack a certain nuance of thought, their culture is primitive and subservient, tribal even.

    Sadly there is not much more to add about their culture at this time. This article will be updated if more information is discovered.

To be Continued: “Vyrmkin: The Age of Awakening”

Asterilians: The Age of Awakening

    With the revelation of the BG Drive and the ability to travel between the stars faster than any could imagine, there was also a concerted effort to be the first out there. As the governments of the world built fleets of probes to explore system after system. Others found the funds to build ships.

    From cults to greedy ceo’s, many lined up to build their own ships and find worlds for themselves. But unfortunately for a few cheap materials and bad quality control would lead to disaster. One such disaster occurred to the Church of Scientology who’s rocket exploded one minute after launch killing all of the leadership on it.

    But many were successful in their efforts. After launch and once in orbit their drives charged never to be seen again. It was one of these groups that exposed a carnivorous plant on an unknown planet to human DNA. And in doing so, they would create not just one, but two new species.

    The events that created the Asterilian race are better described by the people that created them. The following logs were found on the Asterilian home world in a place they hold sacred.

Oct. 14 2183: It has been a year since we launched. We have visited a hundred systems with little to show until now. The second planet of the system is a garden world rich in plant life and animals. It is a little smaller than Earth is, but not by enough to effect it gravity. We are set to enter orbit in a few days...it will be nice to get out of this can.

Oct. 29 2183: We made orbit of the second planet three days ago. Once it was done we threw a party with some of the last of our supplies. Edwards even had a bottle of Whiskey stashed some where in the ship. Greg thinks he has found a good place to land on one of the southern continents. With luck we will be landing in the next couple of days.

Nov. 03 2183: Planet Fall, we have landed...finally. There is a lot to do so that is all there is today.

Nov. 11 2183: We have been unpacking and setting up. The landing was perfect and this area is so beautiful. The valley we landed in has a sizable clearing that we are building in and forests to the north and east. We have not had time to explore any but we are making plans to send out some parties to see if there are any edible plants or animals we can hunt. Well my break is over, back to work.

Nov. 16 2183: Shit...they are missing. We are readying a search team to go out, but we aren’t sure where to look. (sigh) The beginning...we sent out five teams to collect plant specimens yesterday. All teams maintained radio contact throughout the day. But as the sun started to set, the team in the eastern forest missed their check in.

It was after Sundown when the fourth and last team got back. Though it was not long until the teams wanted to go out again to search for the missing people. But the captain stopped them before they could go running into the woods.

But now that the sun has risen again, he teams are getting ready to head out and search...I am joining them. Oh...time to head out.

Nov. 17 2183: Shit….shit shit shit...Jennifer, something got her...not sure what but she was struck by... something in the arm. We barely got her back to camp, she was screaming all the way. (sigh) We are not even sure what is going on with her...we are running tests right now…

Nov. 19 2183: Jennifer is dead...it was...I can not describe it...horrible. Her arm...it literally melted off of her. What ever she was infected with dissolved her flesh into a soup. Even the bone was starting the break down some how.

The next day we had to keep her under...the toxin had invaded all of her body as we returned. It was all we could do...her organs...her body...by the end of the day she was dead. Her heart...it burst...literally. Soon after the rest...I mean...she just...liquified.

God...what did this...did the others...what is on this planet?

Nov. 20 2183: We buried what was left of Jennifer today...we have lost six people to this planet. We started with one hundred and sixty five, now there are one hundred and fifty nine left. I hope that we don’t loose many more.

Dec. 8 2183: Another group have gone missing in the east forest. The captain has ordered that the east forest is off limits and that all teams should be back before dusk. Since the attacks have happened at dusk, the captain believes that what ever it is may be nocturnal. So as long as we stay out, no more should be lost. We hope…

Feb. 16 2184: Something odd happened today, several people reported that they saw a human wandering around the edge of the east forest. It was not long after that the entire colony heard a shot ring out in the quiet. The entire colony showed up to fine Mr. Jackson standing over a...well...something.

All we could see was a tangle of vines with thorns on the ends of some. Mr. Jackson said that he was patrolling the perimeter of the colony when he saw a humanoid figure awkwardly moving...almost shambling towards the colony. He called out to it to stop multiple times, but it did no respond. Once it got closer, Mr. Jackson started to see something was wrong...the shape was wrong and green like a plant. Shortly after he took action and shot the...thing.

We are moving it to the lab and placing it in the containment cell...just in case.

Feb. 19 2184: The Science team has been working on the...well body I guess. What they have found is remarkable and disturbing. The organism is a plant based life form but appears to have evolved a basic circulatory system for distributing nutrients more efficiently. The organisms vines also appear to have a form of muscle fiber that allow the vines to rapidly move and for a rudimentary heart to pump.

The plant appears to have a collection of bulbs with a major one containing a number of distinct organs including the heart. The organs are currently being looked into. What is creepier is a series of bulbs on specific vines that appear to be eyes, a mouth attached to a structure that looks like lungs and a voice box.

This thing appears to be mimicking humans. No one is sure why it would evolve to try and mimic a humanoid form...but that is being looked into.

Feb. 27 2184: It took a while...but the science team...shoot I do not know where to begin. Well I guess the science team results, they found that one of the organs in the organism contained various animals DNA. Clusters of cells somehow contained all of the animals DNA and the organism used that as a way to mimic the animal. More though...they found human DNA in the organism...it matched the DNA of one of the missing team members.

That means there are more of these things out there...possibly many more as we know very little about these organisms.

Feb. 28 2184: Good news for once...Krystal is pregnant. It is wonderful news though we were not going to start the breeding program for a couple years yet. So I hope that her relationship can hold up under that as she will need to have more children from other partners.

There are only one hundred and fifty four of us now. Two thirds of our population are women. To manage a viable gene pool we will need to choose who has children with who and every woman will have to get pregnant with multiple partners to expand the population in a way that will prevent inbreeding.

Here’s to hoping all goes well for her. The medical team are preparing for this change in plans.

Mar. 5 2184: No one is sure what happened, but four people are just...gone. Their house is empty and there is no sign of them...none at all. No struggle...they are just...gone.

Mar. 7 2184: It happened again...another house is just empty...four more are gone. Security is organizing cameras and trying to create a perimeter.

Mar. 12 2184: Twelve more are gone. But we know why, the creatures are taking them. Camera’s caught a group of them moving around the perimeter of the settlement after midnight. Security has also reported seeing movement in the east forest at all hours.

Mar. 13 2184: Early in the morning shots rang out in the night. By the time the sun was up there were about twenty of the creatures dead outside the perimeter. No one is missing, but this can’t be good. There were so many...what can this mean.

Mar. 17 2184: There are so many...they started to come out of the forest and are standing outside the perimeter. Not just a few, but what looks to be hundreds. They are staring through the makeshift electric fence. More are coming and people are getting nervous.

Mar. 18 2184: They are through the fence...they just pushed their way through. Security is fighting them but the number of shots have slowed.

I can hear them at the door...trying to get in. We gave them a name, Asterilians.

In case we do not make it through the night, I am transferring our logs to holographic storage. If any one finds this, they should know what happened to us. Shit...the door is giving out…

To be Continued: “Furbolg: The Age of Awakening”

The Watchers & The Game

    Oh where to begin...I am Watcher First Class Reginald Barcleft, second adjunct to the Watcher Council and I am the one writing these documents. I am not sure who is reading them...but this is to help you understand the origins of this information. If you are not supposed to be reading this, like say you are a member of what we call the “Child Races”, then stop...you’re not going to are you...oh well the consequences are on you.

    As you probably already read, with the creation of magic humanity found a way to elevate itself to a high form of existence, a process called ascension. The catch was that when we did that, we were not ready. Humans are as they always have been, a petty squabbling bunch of children. The difference now is that those kids have the keys to daddies gun safe and are using them.

    The Watchers Association was created to make sure that humanities new found power did not interfere with the development of the child races. Formed some time after the ascension (time is kind of different in this plane of existence) the Watchers were meant to observe our children and to report on their progress while the rest of humanity explored the vast reaches of the cosmos...yeah that didn’t last.

    Approximately eight hundred years after we ascended they started to return from their sight seeing...and all hell broke loose. Humans were getting bored, there wasn’t a lot to entertain the majority of people and many started to muck about or just get into fights. Some of these entities returned to the physical realm and manipulated the child races.

    This advanced all of the child races greatly with new knowledge about magic. But other less scrupulous people wanted power and glory sparking conflict as they went. This is when “The Game” was established. Yeah...that is what we call it.

    The game was created by some of the best minds of humanity and created a framework for the “proper” way to interfere with the cultures that had been forming for a millennium. The rules were to be enforced by the Watchers so that no one entity could completely muck things up, in theory at least.

    Over the centuries the rules have been refined and new rules have been added to the game. And during all that time the Watcher have been chronicling and refereeing The Game. So...what is The Game?

    The Game is best compared to a different game called a Table Top Role Playing Game. Each Participant in The Game is given a subject of the child races based on a series of questions we ask. Entities that are deemed unfit are not allowed to play.

    Once given a subject, the entity is then allowed to manipulate the “character” as they deem fit with out interfering with their free will. An entity can not personally take over that character and drive them around like a car. Instead they become a voice in the characters head offering choices and helping them to make decisions. So yeah, those people that are talking to them selves may not be just talking to them selves after all.

    As an added part of the Watchers directives, a subset of the watchers will create adventures around events in the world. While we do not outright create events altering the balance of the universe. We do find events that can be entertaining with a subtle push and make sure the players know what way to push to make those events more interesting.

    Unfortunately there are always those that do not follow the rules. These are referred to as the Dark Ones in the terms of The Game. Those that have been rejected for participation in The Game, but manipulate or even blatantly take over some one. Usually we can find them quickly because they want to live out the dark fantasies they have like that of being a Criminal King Pin, Murderer, Rapist, and more.

    But others are harder to find and may even be left alone because their role becomes to deeply ingrained in the events of society to remove. Despotic Leaders tend to fall into that area. Entities that have gathered enough power to be untouchable but also reign havoc on world or even universe just for the fun of it.

    But it works out I guess because these villains make things more interesting. Though if it were up to me I would tear them out of those poor souls and then deal with the mess. Anyway Dark Ones have been responsible for many of the tragedies and conflicts in recent history. You will read about them in time.

    So...I guess that is that. I am a Watcher and my role is to observe the Child Races, discover their history in some cases, document those events and goings on, and to make sure the other entities do not get out of hand while playing The Game. Well I guess I have better get back to it. I have been struggling with the Asterilians report and so I need to get back to that.

Kudu: The Age of Awakening

    For the Kudu, their Age of Awakening starts well before the Golemites. In fact it started during humanity's first steps into the galaxy with the discovery of an Earth like planet approximately four hundred light years from the Sol system along the Orion Spur of the galaxy.

    The system, identified as PSM-485-34c, was the thirty fourth system surveyed by jump probe 485 thirty four years after the BG Drive was invented. A science vessel was dispatched to cluster PSM-485 forty seven years after its charting. From that ship a small research and survey team was deployed to examine the planet for colonization.

    What the team discovered was a planet rich in both flora and fauna. With an atmosphere that closely matched Earths. Further study and research showed no serious threats to colonization and so the planet was given the green light for initial colonization.

    It was not long before three SEED ships moved into orbit of the planet. The ships carried materials, machines, habitats, and various flora and fauna for colonization. What was not planned was that one animal would be the catalyst for the quarantine of the world. That species was the unassuming Squirrel (specifically the California Ground Squirrel).

    The crews of the SEED ships went to work, deploying drop ships and depositing parts, machinery, plants, and animals in a large valley. Over the next three solar cycles the new settlement slowly grew. Waste processing, habitats, factories, and mines were all built. Shortly before the SEED ships left, Pioneer colonists started to arrive beginning the work of getting everything running.

    All looked good for many years except that the scientists left to monitor the effects of human colonization on the biosphere started to see some odd results. From their censuses, the Squirrel population was remaining constant instead of growing. But more worrying was that the Kudoe population (their name for the indigenous squirrel like species) was declining.

    The reason for this, as the scientists discovered, was that the Kudoe preferred to mate with the Squirrels instead of themselves. The cause was traced to a specific pheromone the Squirrels released that caused the Kudoe to enter a euphoric state. More surprising was that the Kudoe could be impregnated by the Squirrels.

    Many of the offspring were stillborn or had terrible mutations and died in hours of birth. But one in every fifty was viable, this new species would be named the Kudu (pronounced Koo - Doo) by the scientists. The Kudu were different, they averaged double the size of Squirrels when mature. They had denser muscles, were faster, their snouts were shorter, and their cranial cavities were larger with the frontal cortex being almost double the size.

    If this was not odd enough, the Kudu started to gather into groups and would breed at almost any time of the year. Their populations started to boom as the Kudoe were now dying out in the valley. With each successive generation of Kudu, their evolution continued. Fifty years after the first colonists arrived, the Kudu were three feet tall when standing on their hind legs. They were changing far faster than anyone could have dreamt and it had a growing number of scientists worried.

    On a cool day leading into fall on the planet now called New Stockholm, an incident came to pass that would change the course of the planet's future. On weekends the many children of the settlement would often migrate from the more populated areas to the fields and grasslands of the rural surroundings. One day two groups did not return to their homes for lunch.

    What follows is an accounting of events from one of the security staff:

    “The office was quiet till about noon, frantic parents were calling the security office reporting that their children could not be found. Officers were immediately tasked to look through recent camera data and to find the kids and track their movements. The last camera to see the large group of children was on the west side of town as they entered the forested area at the edge of the agricultural zone.

    Shortly after the we knew where the children were last seen, Commander Hargrove organized a search composed of parents, Security officers, and members of the science station including Dr. Sandesky, head of the science center.

    Within forty minutes the teams were organized and moving into the western forest. The brush was thick and hard to traverse especially for the civilians. Surprisingly the scientists were at home in it and moved with ease.

    After two hours of searching, my group entered a clearing. To the center of the clearing was something no one expected to see. Sitting in a half circle in front of a large tree were the children. A silver-gray Kudu was moving inside the half circle letting the kids pet it. The Kudu would chitter with each one and the kids would laugh when it did.

    Around the children was a crude pen made of woven vines and sticks. Outside were a number of younger Kudu standing about four feet to four foot six inches tall, each holding crude spears. It was with the outer Kudu guards that one of the parents panicked and tried to run to her child. The Kudu reacted by raising their spears as security grabbed the parent and pulled her back behind them while others raised their weapons.

    The situation was tense with security ready to fire and Kudu ready to attack. Before it could get there though, from the edge of the clearing a voice boomed from the woods “STAND DOWN!!”. The security team's weapons wavered as heads turned to see Dr. Sandesky moving out of the shadow of the forest.

    As the doctor closed he repeated “Stand down and put those weapons on the ground!!” The team of security officers did as he ordered, slowly lowering their rifles and placing them on the ground. When Dr. Sandesky got to the group one of the officers asked “Sir, why?” all the doctor did was point to the forest canopy.

    Behind us in the canopy of the trees were dozens of dark shapes moving around in the shadows. Spears and crude bows could be seen in their hands. The gray Kudu watched all of this, raising his staff, the Kudu waived it and the shadows faded into the green once again.

    Once the situation was diffused, the doctor started to walk to the gray Kudu, the guards still pointing spears at him, he pulled out a small pouch and took something out of it. We later learned that it was a bag of raw Walnuts, holding one in hand he stopped just before the gate and held out the Walnut.

    The elder Kudu motioned to the kids to follow and they did, he then moved to the gate of the enclosure and as he reached it, chittered something. The guard Kudu lowered their weapons and moved away from the enclosure eventually fading into the forest. The Elder, with only two guards remaining, approached Dr. Sandesky. Reaching out with his paw, or may be hand, the Gray Kudu took the nut and inspected it.

    Giving the doctor a nod, Sandesky handed the Kudu the bag. With a smile, the Kudu waived the children on and sat down with Dr. Sandesky following suite. Turning to the group “Two security members, please stay. The rest of you leave before you make more trouble for me.”

    It took three hours to get back through the forest. The doctor returned later with his guard some time after sunset. All personnel were accounted for with no casualties.”

    With the children found, a discussion of the Kudu was started. The civilians believed they should be exterminated like some pest that was eating their crops. While security was more interested in keeping the civilian population from acting on their own. The scientific staff believed an evacuation was in order, something most were not in favor of. Fortunately, no one had a choice in the matter.

    Reports from the security and science staff made their way to the highest levels of the Earth government. An emergency council was convened and it was decided that this was to important a chance to pass up. Humans had found numerous planets to colonize with many more to be terraformed. But a chance to observe and study a new species as it developed at such a rapid pace was to much to ignore. The order came down, the planet was now quarantined and all personal with exception to the scientific personnel and some security forces would remain.

    The Science center was expanded to double the number of personnel it could hold while much of the town was demolished and removed from the planet. All the while the Kudu could be seen watching from the tree lines. Observing the valley intently.

    As time passed, a key to the puzzle of why the Kudu evolved so quickly was found. The interbreeding of the Kudoe and Squirrels was a catalyst for the change. After humans left, the evolution of the Kudu slowed. It was discovered that a virus was taking snippets of human DNA and adding it to the malleable Kudu DNA. Much of the time it would fail leading to cancer and terrible mutations. But in enough occasions the DNA was in the right spot and changed the very nature of the Kudu.

    Without humanity on the planet the virus was of little concern. But as a precaution, the Kudu were inoculated against the virus and in time it was eradicated from the planet. For the remainder of humanities years in the universe the science station was manned. Through the war to the time of magic, the scientists were there watching, learning, and interacting.

    Then, one day, the Kudu went to the science center and no one was there. The scientists returned to Earth, and the Kudu were alone. For a thousand years the Kudu would develop some of the most spectacular magical technologies around. Until they created their greatest achievement, the Venture. A ship that would let the Kudu travel to other stars.

To be Continued: “Asterilians: The Age of Awakening”

Short Update

To those that are paying attention, I have not posted something for a month or more now.  I am working on something.  Real life just got in the way and it has been hard to get back to it with the holidays coming up.  But I will keep plugging and should have something soon.

Golemites: The Age of Awakening

    When the Golemites were first created, there was some question about them. They were made from Human genetic material after all. So while they were genetically altered in many ways, they were still human in the eyes of some.

    As time wore on and the war finally came to a close, the generations that followed slowly started to see Golemites as nothing more than tools. So as tools, they were expendable because another one can always be cloned. This attitude changed some when humanity was starting to ascend.

    A few people started to ask “What about the Golemites?” and as more and more humans left, those voices became louder. One of those voices was the distant relative of the scientist that helped make them, Dr. Malinda K. Fahtoom. She alone was in the unique position to help them as humanity moved on. With the help of her colleagues in the Golemite Management Bureau, a plan as set in motion. Sadly they could only help those Golemites that lived on earth, but if it worked they would be free to create their own civilization.

    Twenty years after the last humans left Earth, a timer ticked to zero. Moments later the Golemites neural inhibitors turned off. At the same time the cloning procedure for the Golemites changed, the implants that kept them docile and infertile would not longer be installed. In time the Golemites would be able to have offspring naturally.

    Unaware they were now free of their bonds, the Golemites kept to their work of maintaining the machines and structures of Humanity. Though slowly their behaviors changed. Instead if going to work then back to their homes, the Golemites started to go to places they had not been before.

    They started to gather and socialize discussing why they had not done this before. Older Golemites that had been active while humanity was still around would converse about how they felt people were missing from these places. But no one knew if it was real or just a dream.

    Golemite society progressed well in the early times, The oldest and most skilled became leaders of a caste system that defined to roles of every Golemite. But unlike many caste systems, theirs was less rigid and did not punish those of lower castes and even allowed migration between castes if the individual could serve a roll of value.

    Religion also spontaneously formed as those that once tended to the libraries and archives of the old world started to marvel at the works of those that came before. Humanity was through by removing almost all data from their existence on their machines. But the Golemites tended to the forgotten archives that were enshrined in tomes long forgotten by much of humanity.

    From these books and lost records rose The Order of Fahtoom. Fragments of knowledge and history were taken out of context, and their distant creator now became a God to those that would believe. Quickly “The Order” would rise to be the top caste of their fledgling civilization. Though there was a new trial for the Golemites to deal with, the machines they used were failing.

    As a stop gap, The Order and caste leaders put in place an initiative. They would keep the machines going as long as possible by salvaging every part they could from machines that had failed all over the planet. The highest priority was to maintain the cloning tubes and to prioritize the cloning of those that maintained them.

    One hundred and four years after their awakening, the last machine of human design stopped working. The last cloning tube ceased to function and in it, the last cloned Golemite before it could know life. With this revelation, many Golemites stopped working at all.

    Much of Golemite civilization hung by a thread as the news spread across the Earth. Attendance of Order services grew sharply while depression and anxiety ran rampant over the population. To combat this some took to the lower sections of the cities where the lowest caste of society resided, the Caste of Flesh.

    In a place known as the Den of the Flesh, one of the prostitutes had been sick for some time. The Madam of the den had started to worry as she young lady was new to work. One of the last to be cloned, she was the first new girl the Madam had seen for ages. To have such a rarity be sick was not something she needed at this time of turmoil.

    A doctor was called and arrived promptly. And shortly after he started to examine the patient. The young Golemite was lethargic, had been vomiting each morning, was running a fever, and early on had broad emotional swings. Test after test were negative until the doctor started imaging her. In her abdomen he found what appeared to be a parasite of some kind growing in an unused organ.

    As the doctor ran more tests and stay with the patient, an assistant was sent to the archives held in the Order compound. Searching through ancient texts with the help of the librarians, the answer was found. The prostitute was not sick, she was pregnant.

    The tests for it were found and she was tested immediately, she tested positive. Much like the news concerning the last cloning tube, the news of this woman’s pregnancy spread quickly. The word “pregnant” had never been part of Golemite society until now and few knew what it meant. But as more learned that it meant to have offspring, numerous women left their caste to join the Caste of Flesh.

    Faced with the rapid influx of new workers things changed rapidly. With this caste now seen as the hope for Golemite society, its leadership chose to change the castes name to the Keepers of Hope. This was not the last change though, the caste was elevated to the top caste in their structure. And while the Order agreed to this, the change has always been a sour spot for them.

    Finally the leadership of the Keepers of Hope called for doctors all over to test the fertility of all their workers, male and female. As well as the fertility of all applicants. Only those that were found fertile and capable of bearing children would be allowed in. Later, this last order would be repealed when the last of the old Golemites passed on.

    The Keepers of Hope took tithes from all other casts to support their efforts. Hiring doctors and giving the women the best care possible. The Order of Fahtoom also collected every text they could find on caring for the pregnant and children and gave them freely to the Keepers. Eight months after the doctor was called, the first Golemite baby was born, it was a girl and she was named Hope.

    Slowly but surely time marched on and the nascent civilization of the Golemites grew. They discovered magic and worked to harness it creating technology vastly different from their creators. As the cities of humanity crumbled to time, the Golemites built new edifices in their place.

    A thousand years would pass before the Golemites had another major change to their society. It was a chance encounter with another child of Humanity that would pave a path into the stars and to war.

To be Continued: “Kudu: The Age of Awakening”