A: leave this forest you are a plague to the realm.
B: first off, rude. Secondly I’m just observing the night sky. Ain’t nothing wrong with that.
A: You are nothing but weeds that need to go.
B: look I can see that “Miasma” and “demons” are invading this forest why don’t ask the neighbouring kingdoms to help? Hell even the “Human” sacred magic might help.
A: the orc and dwarf are too brutish and drunk to help and don’t mention those dull ear scu-
Suddenly the ground began to shake, dozen of different animals began to flee and panic as a giant crack rips across the sky.
A: WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!
B: like I said “observing”
The strange figure put a finger near their ear
B: [Observer to Central Command] [I repeat this is Observer #177013 to Central Command do you hear me?] [ Dimensional Barrier integrity is at 65%, Astral energy is now leaking into this layer ] [natives are fractures, different nation fighting for who is the supreme race, resources and beliefs, unable to unite within 250 years of hidden intervention.]
[ Recommendations: abandon this realm] -- Anon Guest
[AN: I have said it before and I've said it again. PLEASE... Do not send me your own diddly-dang story as a prompt. The briefer and vaguer a prompt is, the more fun and liberty I can have with the thing]
Some worlds are best left alone to their own devices. The Terran Planetary Survey Force knows this. Their teams are trained to not interfere. That said, many of them interfere anyway. Forgiveness may be the providence of the divine, but to meddle is essentially Human.
This was one of the deepest-time colonies that Humanity had ever made or encountered.
Their goal, to make fantasy into reality, had actually worked. Magic... in as far as it could exist... did exist in this world. And so did Elves, Dwarves, Dragons... and many other things. This was not Mythos, where gengineering had made creatures that looked like fantasy creatures. This was a world where fantasy had become reality.
Elves ruled the world. They could live for five hundred years, and revelled in high standards of perfection. Dwarves labored inside mountains and underground. Digging out anything shiny and creating vast caverns filled with life adapted to the dark. There were creatures that came into being simply because of belief in the divine or the profane.
And there were catastrophes caused by those desperate enough to use that.
Survey Ship Tantalus had been trying to save the world for three centuries. Working with the native Humans who were not calling themselves anything else. Using covert technology to try and mend everything that was going awry. Trying desperately to stop any world-ending catastrophes before they could start.
It was a losing battle.
They could not prevent any further problems without direct intervention. Blowing their cover was against the rules, but... Some true miracles had happened to make this world. It was worth breaking the rules to save it.
Observer Sharn had their eyescreen hidden as part of a pair of spectacles. They were part of the triangulation team. They should have been able to avoid notice and were under strict orders to avoid interaction with the true natives.
That did not stop the fact that one of the native Elves had found them.
"What is your alleged purpose?" demanded the Elf. "Who sent you?"
"I'm observing the sky," said Sharn. "Two hours, thirty-two minutes right ascension, sixty-five degrees meridian. Check-check."
"What is this babbling? Who are you?"
"My name is Nobody," said Sharn, "And there are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy." That was the go-code.
The ships dropped their cloaking measured, and fired on the growing vortex. It was quite the light show, and would likely spark several legends henceforth. At least there'd be a population to tell those stories.
The Elf turned to witness it. "What in the names of all gods...?"
"We've cancelled this particular apocalypse," said Sharn. "No more miasma threatening your forests. The beings you call 'demons' will be harder to admit into this world. You won't have another incursion like this one. Or... as much intervention by your deities."
The Elf had lost their former haughtiness. "What are you?"
"Two helping hands," said Sharn. "Do you have a phrase on this world like... call the devil enough times and he'll answer?"
"...yes...?"
"The same holds true for gods," said Sharn. "And only the experts can tell the difference." They contemplated the battle as it ended. "Not that it matters to the people caught in the fallout. They're dead all the same."
[Photo by JJ Ying on Unsplash]
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