End Of An Era

Prologue: Politics and War

Shortly after the Second World War, the world was divided into east and west. A conflict of interest regarding weapons and governments arose, and from it brought suffering and death. The Cold War was a defining era in human history, but in the seventies, it would become part of another's history.

In 1973, a small team tasked with uncovering a US military unit that went missing in Vietnam discovered a tribal group of beast-like creatures and were able to find the missing unit in good health. This sparked a global search for these 'Anthro's' as many have referred to them as, and slowly they integrated into human society after being found in high mountains, remote islands, and even underground cave systems. They could speak, walk, and work like humans. Their appearances ranged from common canine, bovine, cervine, feline, and reptiles to what many called 'Ancients' which resembled creatures depicted in drawings from the past. Many historians discovered that the many sightings and references of once mythical creatures were the Anthro's. It is unknown how long these Anthro's have been around for, but some of them spoke languages that have been missing for centuries and thought to be lost to history.

A pact was made between human and beast that neither would interfere with the conflict of each other, and with it brought prosperity in both communities working together as friends. Streets were filled with humans and beasts coexisting with one another as equals for years, seeming a birth to a new era.

In the period of a short few decades came the closing act of the Cold War, and with it brought the fall of the Soviet Union and the Iron Curtain. 

The fall of a once strong rivalry for one species brought suffering to another.  The 1990s showed how careless the scope of war was with the collapse of nations such as Yugoslavia. Despite not being part of the species, Anthros that lived in the area were targeted on pure nationality, leaving large civilian death tolls to include them.

Similar situations happened in Africa and the Middle East with no coalition support, creating a divide between the two kinds that resulted in protests.  Politics going into the new century seemed almost identical to the previous Civil Rights movement in America, making many humans support the anthros in their goal while others opposed it greatly. 

The beast's requested the ability to form a military in this new world after seeing the isolation they were facing, and to only use it for their conflicts and defense in agreement with the humananity. The beasts were granted permission and supplied to form a small military known as APEX. A collection of Anthros from around the globe joined this military unit and very quickly became a recognized and well-equipped force due to trade and contract agreements with the industrial military complex. 

The early 2000s were a difficult time for humanity. Terrorism caused a new conflict to emerge, forcing many nations to fight a war not worth fighting. APEX watched as humanity was at war with itself once more, but this time, they didn't let it go to waste. APEX studied the many conflicts that humans have fought and analyzed the strengths and weaknesses of dozens of nations to prepare for a new type of war to begin as early as the late 80's

 APEX agents slowly sabotage nuclear weapon systems without even coming close to the storage facilities by having APEX loyalists acquire high positions within the local governments around the world to spy and sabotage systems to ensure that the humans cannot retaliate on a large scale. In 2007, an assault had begun at every country's main governmental building, causing a collapse of stability across the world after a failed vote by NATO and the UN decided that Anthro's cannot hold any power over human society and resulted in APEX being removed from both organizations for aggressive political actions against them. 

Following were years of turmoil and brutal fighting, not just for control but for survival. A newly formed organization known as EDEN was formed out of the remaining human military powers as a joint effort to fight as one. EDEN, better known as the 'Emergencey Defensive Endurance Nation' is a shared collective military coalition that quickly showed themselves as a mighty power. Within the first year of the war, they established their headquarters in Greenland and dominated the seas and skies. But, the massive amounts of military gear loose in the conflict meant others could attempt to stall rather than fight head on. 

Some wished not to die for a cause or a flag and made a separate decision to form factions. These factions disliked both sides of the war and blamed both of them for the deaths that have been the result of the conflict. The North American Midwest was home to many humans that lived in these factions, living by dog-eat-dog rules and guerrilla warfare tactics used on EDEN and APEX forces alike. These factions have been known to utilize child soldiers and train them to hate and kill, many of whom are taken from their parents and conscripted to fight for a greater cause. They go by the name of the Devil's Brigade and have solidified the idea that the Midwest will never be conquered.

The year is now 2023, and the war is seemingly at a stalemate with humanity and the anthros as proxy wars plague the fields and cities worldwide. Due to radio being blocked from the Midwest, causing a cut-off between human forces in the East and West, Europe is in a similar situation, with Europe being home to many resistance fighters that refuse to cooperate with EDEN forces. 

A battle is brewing to the North in the Yukon Region, a human offensive planned to push enemy lines back and break through with the remaining allied equipment that has been captured and put to its limits. The beasts have also done the same with equipment as their population continues to grow and greatly surpass humanity, and with it comes the possibility of the era of humans...

The wind is howling in the night as heavy armor moves through the snow.