history

many many centuries ago, perhaps more, there was a rather lackluster planet in a rather lackluster star system. it was not too unlike the planet that you live on, or the one i live on either - blue oceans, various landmasses, communities and cultures scattered around the world. often times, the people of this world didn't agree with each other, and that's fine. when it escalated violently, as it often did, nothing good would come of it; no reconcilliation, no apologies, just wedges driven further between everyone.

this was what made the planet a perfect target for an invasion of violent, resource hungry aliens. the people of this world were always distracted, unwilling to help each other even through the most mundane of everyday struggles, leaving a planet rich in natural resources but poor in community... which would make it easy pickings! these aliens were strong and ruthless, but easily thwarted; they had issued a warning before the invasion began, which was not very well thought out in the long run

the gap between the warning issued and the act itself was just long enough for another race of aliens to catch wind of the plan and formulate one of their own. the draconidiae, a race of rather insect-like dragons (by your or my standards, at least), who act as mediators and caretakers of the universe as a whole, had noticed what was happening, and sent one of their strongest to intervene.

these dragons, the strongest and fastest beings in the universe, can travel at speeds truly unimaginable to you or i, often piercing perfect holes through entire celestial bodies with little to no wayward destruction. with enough precision and calculation, they can make a perfect landing into the core of the planet they aim at. it is quite impressive, really! and so, this dragon waited for a perfect moment, one that would minimize damage, and aimed for the ocean of this planet. it did accidentally pierce through the moon as well, but it was a small price to pay in the long run.

the dragon planted itself deeply, merging with the core of the planet. certainly, it did have adverse affects all around the world - earthquakes most of all, but tidal waves, volcanic eruptions, and large scale structural collapses of cities were common as well. many people compared to to a vaccine, in that a rough fever comes in waves, but you'll be stronger after it passes. as these planetary dragons are wont to do, its tail sprouted from the entry point as a great tree, one that would come to symbolize determination in the face of adversity. the dragon gave out a rallying cry from inside the earth, reaching everyones' hearts all at once: please, don't lose hope. even if you feel powerless, always have hope, and always reach for each others' hand.

the records of what happened from here on are quite fuzzy. many people say that the original invasion was never going to happen, and that it was the dragon's plan all along, so that it could take over the planet. others say that the great tree scared off the invasion, as they understood that meant a dragon lived here now. others yet have their own stories; for there are as many stories as there are individuals, and knowing everything might not be important at the end of the day.

as it is now, this world now known as Teres is coming back to life bit by bit. the citizens of the world work to make every day a little better, and having suffered disaster after disaster, do so together. of course, there are still problems both big and small. they come and go, though. step by step, day by day, life on Teres finds a way.

almost immediately after the dragon met the core of the world, and indeed in the fallout of the many natural disasters that followed, many large corporations that were at the forefront of Teresi society made moves to control the economy. of course, with the nature of how corporations work, it was really the decision of about three people, whose actions then webbed out to control dozens upon dozens of companies.

it was also around this time that the symbol of the dragonfly started arising among the people as a symbol of good luck and goodwill. as corporate types are wont to do, one head of the three major companies decided it would be a great idea to bank on this. to that end, he started to spread word that all insects and bug-like animals were good luck, and that bug beastkin were inherently blessed by the dragon as it flies. of course though, being this was a money making scheme to him, this did not end well.

some folks took it upon themselves to hunt bug beastkin, hoisting their wings up as good luck charms, sometimes grinding them into a powder to put in jars and carry around. often times the victims would live, but be completely broken by the act, both physically and mentally. the world was in disarray for so many reasons, many did not seem to understand just how twisted and bloody this truly was.

at the same time, however, many and more did understand what this cruelty was, and immediately moved to put a stop to it. communities would protect their own, with all kinds of people defending their beastkin friends and family with tooth and nail if needed.

however, in a small city far off in the forests, a young butterfly beastkin was killed. their caretaker, a hooved beastkin of unknown origin or specifics, saw it happen.

the caretaker attacked their child's attacker, rendering them unconscious. at that moment, the caretaker had had enough, and decided to go on a journey of sorts, to one office in one of the largest settlements of Teres. during their travels, they had incidentally stopped several attacks, and by the time they reached their destination, they had garnered a bit of a name among people who shared the same beliefs as them. people began to refer to them as a judge or an arbiter of sorts, though they didn't care either way.

they reached their destination, and saw that fate had aligned in such a way that their target, the CEO of some and such company, it doesn't matter anyways, was holding an event in the middle of the city that very hour. thus, they marched through the crowd, through the cheering and booing alike, much like thread through a needle, right up to the podium where he stood. he called for his guards, but they were not fast enough to stop the poisoned dagger from entering his chest.

"we're free," the caretaker had shouted. "you are free." they looked to the sky, expecting to be struck down for their action, but instead found the crowd fallen silent and the guards looking away. members of the crowd cried out, some indistinguishable, but many clear: thank you. thank you. thank you.

following this was the steady loss of faith and decline in massive corporations. a lot of the finer details are lost to history, and it would be beyond me to try and fill in the blanks here with my own conjecture.

many reporters tried to catch the caretaker for a statement, many knights trying to catch them for their violent act, but no one seemed to see them in one place for very long. no one knows what happened to them in the end, but the butterfly has become a symbol of change for all of Teres, as that was the catalyst in this event.