Monster Island

Monster Island is a large, uninhabited body of land in the vast space between Japan, the Midway Atoll, and the Northern Mariana Islands in the Pacific Ocean. Its size is over twice the size of Jamaica and holds vast and varying environments, with the mysterious landmass being an ecological marvel. The exact origin point when the island came to be is unknown, though it is speculated to be the result of volcanic activity. More radical fringe theories suggest it was created via earth crust displacement, but these are frequently discredited. There is no reported evidence of any pre-colonial or pre-marital civilizations on the island. It derives its name from the immense amount of kaiju skeletons littering the land. The island had a reputation in early times as being a cursed landmass by the superstitious given the number of disappearances and failed voyages to the island. Despite this, people have returned from the island in the past.

Geography

The island itself possesses a wide variety of ecosystems, ranging from a large, arid landscape to snowy peaks. Most of the island consists of jungle, swamps, and beaches. A dry sort of desert-like stretch of land is at the northwest corner of the island, with a large but dormant volcano concentrated on the eastern part of the island. The volcano was named Mount Kojira and is one of the tallest volcanoes on the planet. The south end is host to one of the world's largest lagoons with a dotted atoll around the border, and the island is surrounded by various crags and rocky outcroppings that make sailing toward it a nautical nightmare. The lagoon is called the Scleral Ring on account of a mighty fixture in the center of it called Dragon's Breath, one of the world's tallest geysers. Aerial views from when it erupts resemble a pupil in a large eye.

Ecosystem

The vast majority of different fauna interacting and flourishing despite their different evolutionary behavioral patterns and environments should - by all accounts - not be possible. Yet, the sheer variety of animal diversity combined with ultra-rich and nourishing ecosystems balances everything. Monster Island also seems to be highly resistant to any invasive species, as boars are kept in check by all the different predators and rats are nowhere to be found. Trees grow in thicker abundance and twice as large as they do anywhere in the world.

Localized Phenomena

Surrounding the entire island is a thick veil of fog that obscured the rocky crags, making it perilous for sailors to navigate. On clear and sunny days, the mists dissipate, and the island is clearly visible.

Climate

The island is host to plenty of storms given its location in the South Pacific, its immense rainfall fueling the forests and swamps that house the various flora and fauna it houses. Thick curtains of fog drift along the swamps and marshes while severe sandstorms buffet the arid western section.

Fauna & Flora

Many of the animals living on Monster Island are not native but were introduced over the centuries via various means. The island possesses a few naturally occurring species. Several species of dragonflies and mantises inhabit the island. Freshwater rivers and swamps are predominantly inhabited by sawfish, who also share the saltwater lagoon and nearby ocean with various tropical fish and major ocean predators. The lagoon is a prime nesting spot for various turtle species with immense numbers even after other species have been introduced. Various sea birds soar the coastal skies while tropical species stick to the inland. Various other species were introduced to the island via maritime travel, such as from the Dutch, Māori, Egyptians, Mongols, Muisca, Hawaiians, and Hebrews. Whether as food or for ceremony, the animals integrated into the environment after being freed from or escaping human captivity. Because of this, the island possesses some of the most unique and varied biodiversity on Earth, rivaling the Amazon Rainforest , Australia , and Madagascar . Species once deemed extinct survive and flourish on the island as the last remnants. No living kaiju or cryptids native to the island have ever been found.

Native Species

Imported Species

* indicates a species is extinct outside the island.

Natural Resources

The soil is immensely rich and some of the most coveted in the world by farmers and environmentalists for commercial use and conservation. It is believed that protein and benign radiation have contributed greatly to the abundance of foliage and booming animal populations. Bamboo groves and dense grasses provide resources and food for humans and animals. Volcanic activity has created a surplus of obsidian, and the presence of oil veins has been found in choice places around the island. Diamond shards have been found in the sands along the beach, with larger deposits found in undersea caves. Monster Island is also host to radioactive elements like uranium and polonium, as well as being the only place on Earth to have plutonium occurring naturally in abundance in the wild. An even rarer find native exclusively to the island is a rare mineral now known as Kaijumite.

History

66,000,000 BCE

During the Cretaceous Period, an extraterrestrial species known as the Elder Things had spread across the primitive planet, with a small colony having reached the island. A few small structures could be found in the swamps, comprised of cones, cubes, and pentagonal points as was typical of Elder Thing architecture. No Elder Thing or shoggoth fossils were found upon exploration of the island, most likely been swept away by typhoons during the K-T extinction event. The ruins of their colony are the only proof of their existence outside of Antarctica. It is also the oldest piece of architecture on the entire planet.

65,000-50,000 BCE

Aboriginal Australians had visited the island, leaving only behind cave art. The paintings portray great beasts that dwarf the humans, often in ways interpreted to be daunting and terrifying. The exact point of arrival is largely unknown, and with the lack of Australian wildlife depicted in the art, it is even more difficult to gauge a potential point in the timeline. Monster Island possessed no Australian wildlife until Dutch trafficking thousands of years later. Either the Aboriginal Australian inhabitants had not visited Australia yet or just neglected to interpret the wildlife in the paintings due to lacking a point of reference.

3000 BCE

Ancient Austronesian peoples had sailed to the island as they ventured out of Taiwan. In archaic texts did they describe the island as “cursed and foreboding,” with many of the ancient accounts being fearful and wary of the island being a giant kaiju graveyard. No skeletal remains of the human visitors were found, and only their pottery, decayed huts, and tools exist. Macabre cave paintings of large beasts and monsters while humans cower are left on the cave walls they lived among. It is believed some of the Austronesians left the island and returned home, carrying rumors of the kaiju graveyard island with them. As to the fate that befell those that stayed behind, it is still unknown.

2700-2500 BCE

The next major visitation came from the inhabitants of Noah’s ark, having left the Fertile Crescent through the Persian Gulf after a terrible kaiju battle between Leviathan, Behemoth, and Ziz. They had gathered as many animals and Babylonians as they could before fleeing. As they settled, they introduced new animals to the environment that they carried from Mesopotamia and the surrounding regions. These included the aurochs, lion, leopard, ostrich, gazelle, boar, and bearded vulture. Livestock such as sheep and goats eventually went feral and returned to the environment after the settlers disappeared. Like before, no skeletons could be found. Only the Ark itself, old writings, and some pottery remain behind as proof of their existence. The Hebrew texts echo a sense of unease as they resided within the shadows of the kaiju bones. However, it is known that some people escaped the island and sailed to other locations, carrying their stories with them. Across time and culture, the story of Noah’s Ark changed, becoming canonized into Abrahamic religion – albeit significantly differing from the true events.

1479-1458 BCE

Pharaoh Hatshepsut had commissioned various construction projects. One of which was a grand ship in the style of Ra’s Sun Barque. She organized her best men to venture out across the sea in search of the legendary lost ark from Mesopotamian history and legend, as well as the mysterious kaiju graveyard island it supposedly rested upon. It was to be the biggest undertaking of her reign. The barque had ventured far out into the Arabian Sea, drastically off course. Nearly depleted of resources and losing manpower, the Egyptians found a reprieve in the form of the island of Sumatra. The explorers replenished their supplies and mingled with the locals, which eventually pointed them in the direction of Monster Island. Folktales of their ancestors escaping a forbidden land pointed them east. The Egyptians island hopped and gathered any able-bodied sailors to bolster their ranks. During their journeys, they discovered saltwater crocodiles inhabiting the islands and were amazed by their appearance. Believing them to be signs sent by Sobek, they gathered hundreds onto their barsque and ventured out into the Philippine Sea, where they would eventually run upon the mysterious island. They trekked far into the northern desert in search of the ark and hoped to bring proof back to the Pharaoh. At some point, it seemed the Egyptian explorers along with their Philippine and Indonesian compatriots had accepted Monster Island as their final resting place and built a trio of pyramids out in the desert in the style. The pyramids’ hieroglyphs and carvings were done in the style of the kaiju fossils and echoed sentiments from earlier inhabitants of unease and distrust. Inside were sarcophagi and even the barque itself was laid to rest, but no bodies were ever found. The saltwater crocodiles they had captured had escaped into the environment and eventually integrated with the ecosystem.

1268 BCE

The leader of the Argonauts – Jason – was horribly disgraced and shamed. Jason agreed to marry the princess Creusa Glauce – daughter of King Creon of Corinth – as part of a political alliance. His former lover Medea confronted him in anger after breaking his promise to be devoted to her in exchange for assisting him in obtaining the Golden Fleece from the kaiju Chrysomallos, guardian of King Aeëtes of Colchis. In anger, she murdered the princess as well as their two children before fleeing to Athens. Jason had lost everything and wished to reclaim his honor and glory from the olden days. He gathered his remaining Argonauts, commandeered the Argo, and sailed across the globe. Tales of a mysterious kaiju graveyard on a lost island had existed for hundreds of years. Jason believed finding and conquering this lost island would help restore his missing honor. The Argonauts had sailed through the Strait of Gibraltar and around Cape Agulhas, venturing through the Indian Ocean and eventually reaching the Indonesian islands. Driven by the same tales as the Egyptian explorers, Jason and his men would also island hop to conserve resources until sailing out past the Philippine Sea. The Argonauts had depleted most of their resources and began to face certain death for the surviving members of the crew until they made landfall upon Monster Island. Jason believed their finding of the island to be a gift from Poseidon himself for his devotion. He and his crew set to work constructing a temple in the god’s honor within the lagoon while Jason led a charge deeper into the island to find kaiju and cryptids to conquer. The written records left behind indicated that Jason wished to bring back a trophy from the island – whether a large skull or fresh kill – and return to Greece a redeemed man. Other records echoed what had come before and expressed distrust of the island. Ultimately, Jason and the remaining Argonauts disappeared without a trace, and only the writings, the incomplete temple, and the husk of the Argo were all that remained.

27-476 CE

At an unknown time during the reign of the Roman Empire, ships had arrived upon Monster Island with only their vessels, pottery, and armor left behind. No writings or skeletons seemed to have survived. This is incredibly strange as the Romans have no cataloged history of Western maritime exploration. Furthermore, no writings have been found or have survived to indicate which political leader – if any – gave the order to sail. Given the perplexing state of this period of Roman history, the order is attributed to Caligula.

1000 CE

Vikings had been raiding settlements and landscapes along the Atlantic and Arctic coasts for years. In their travels, they had learned stories of sea monsters and a mysterious island where they went to die. A major belief was that killing a monster in honorable combat would allow them to ascend to Valhalla as a warrior equal to Odin. Though many dismissed the stories, a major raiding party took it upon themselves to sail farther than any Viking had before. The journey itself was incredibly arduous, taking them across the cape of South Africa and into the islands of Southeast Asia. Many Vikings perished at sea during the long exodus. Island hopping allowed them to recover and gain precious resources before continuing. The locals warned them of the island they sought, but they fell upon deaf ears. Their longships hit the sand, and the Vikings set to work on establishing a presence in the region. Runestones were carved around the island to chart their accomplishment and bring glory to the hunt. These, the derelict boats, and their weapons were all that remained of their presence. It is unknown if they hunted any sort of kaiju on the island, if any were there. The discovery of Vikings visiting Monster Island was incredible and highly unusual as there was no evidence of Viking expansion past North Africa and the Middle East.

1200 CE

The Māori had ventured far across the ocean and began to settle within New Zealand and the surrounding islands. Stories of the mysterious Monster Island and the subsequent giant ark that visited it had been carried through their culture for years, with truth and myth largely intertwining. The story of a giant boat transporting animals to a foreign land for preservation struck a chord with a Māori tribe who then set to work building a large boat capable of such a feat. It took immense resources and manpower to build a similar ark, but it was finally complete. To mirror the legend, they set to work gathering up animals they deemed interesting, such as tuataras, penguins, several species of wētā, multiple birds, and moa. Plants and rare flowers were also brought onboard. The most difficult and the most prized to capture were the Haast’s eagles. The Maori tribe boasted an impressive collection of animals they intended to deliver to the mysterious island as part of some sort of pilgrimage. As they sailed to sea, they veered off course and made landfall at Lord Howe Island, where they discovered and gathered more animals such as the stem-turtle Meiolania, the white swamphen, long-eared bat, and even more bird species. After gathering as many animals as they could, they ventured out to sea once more. After a long and arduous journey did they make landfall upon Monster Island, freeing the animals into the environment. The Māori tribe explored the strange land in the hopes of finding those from the stories that made the journey, leaving behind buildings, campsites, and writings. What was left behind detailed a marveling interest that slowly shifted to uncertainty and mistrust, as they were unable to find others among the giant kaiju skeletons. Though the Māori tribe completely disappeared, the animals left behind survived and flourished. Biodiversity upon Monster Island blossomed significantly, with the new species of birds helping spread the flowers across the land. Monster Island proved to be the species’ salvation as they all gradually went extinct in New Zealand.

1281 CE

Kublai Khan led the Mongol Empire in a second attempt to invade Japan. A large ship would leave from Ningbo and join the forces on their way to the island. The enormous vessel was loaded with many hardened soldiers as well as symbols of the lands they had conquered. Pandas were being kept on board, believing to bestow the warriors good luck. Giant salamanders were also stored on the vessel, albeit to be used for medicinal purposes. Most valued of all were their horses. During its voyage, a great typhoon had decimated the majority of the fleet, and the Mongol vessel had been driven way off course to survive. This brought them to Monster Island, where the Mongols disembarked in order to gain their second wind and recoup. Their vessel had shipwrecked upon the island, with the pandas and salamanders escaping into the wild amidst the chaos. The Mongols rarely felt fear, but their writings dictated a natural distrust of the island during their stay. With their disappearance, the horses went feral and lived in the wild, becoming a prey resource for crocodiles and Haast’s eagles. All that remains of their arrival were the species they introduced and ruined ships.

1284-1305 CE

Faith in the Knights Templar had waned significantly with the decline of the Crusades and the further loss of land to Egypt. In a final effort to raise morale and keep the Templar Order alive, they beseeched Philip IV of France to help fund an expedition to find Noah’s lost ark. The king held little faith in the order but had been indebted to them because of the war with England. A substantially arduous voyage took place, with the Templar Order using every old map, writing, translation, and rumor they managed to obtain to navigate the ocean. Their journey led them to Monster Island to recover the ark. However, the ark remained, and the Knights had disappeared without a trace save for their boats and armor. This last major failure proved to be the catalyst King Philip needed to push for disbanding them.

1300 CE

A group of ancient Hawaiians tasked by their chieftain to map out the island chain, supplied with the best food and strongest boat they could build. The sailors were also given ʻōʻō and moa-nalo birds as good luck charms on their journey. As they made their way past the Midway Atoll, they eventually made landfall upon Monster Island. The ancient Hawaiians were enamored by how the island’s size eclipsed that of Hawaiʻi itself, but – as often is the case – the marveling gave way to distrust of the island for being a kaiju graveyard. The sailors never returned to their home island and were never found, with only the birds’ calls echoing in the forest being proof they had ever been there. Thanks to their exploration, the ʻōʻō birds were able to avoid total extinction, as the entire Mohoidae family went extinct on the Hawaiian islands.

1400 CE

A civil war erupted between two Rapa Nui tribes, where the defeated were given the punishment of exile. Forced to build their own boat and gather their own survival resources, the losing tribe sailed away and drifted aimlessly for hundreds of miles. The tribe would recoup at the varying atolls and small islands on their journey, while populated islands drove them away for resource preservation. Nearing their last legs, the tribe’s ship landed on Monster Island and began to spread out. At the foot of the extinct volcano towards the center of the island did they carve large moai in the shape of the kaiju fossils before disappearing. Aside from the statues, they had left behind writings dictating a strange fear of the island and their fellow tribesmen’s disappearance.

1537 CE

The Spanish Empire had made its way into South America, following in the footsteps of Hernán Cortés and other conquistadores. While many opted to stay behind and fight or surrender, a large group of the Muisca people of Colombia came to the decision to sail away. Those willing to take the risk organized the construction of a large boat which they would use to escape South America and Spanish persecution. The Muisca tribes willing to undergo the voyage gathered as many important items they could carry, including important animals such as llamas, jaguars, tapirs, the giant anteater, tamandua, the hoatzin bird, the anaconda, iguanas, and one horse owned by two exiled Spanish thieves. Most notable of all was their supply of gold and artifacts they had gathered and created over the years. The boat made its maiden voyage while the Spanish pillaged the Muisca landscape, eventually making landfall upon the Galápagos Islands to recoup. While there they found and gathered animals such as marine iguanas, the Galápagos penguin, and the giant tortoises. After interrogating enough Muisca did the Spanish learn the boat had sailed away with an enormous amount of gold, giving chase across the Pacific. The Muisca boat made the near-impossible journey all the way to Monster Island, nearly on their last legs. As the strangers in the strange land made their way through the jungle, they built a large city hidden behind a waterfall. However, the city was not decorated nor furnished with gold like back home. Fearful that even the scent of gold would draw the Spanish to them, the Muisca refugees had every bit of gold sealed within a giant vault beneath the city. Like cultures before them, influence from the island’s giant kaiju fossils seeped into their art, manifesting in carvings, paintings, and statues of strange kaiju beastmen, as well as a permeating fear of the island evident in the writings. Eventually, these migrant Muisca disappear, leaving only behind their city and the animals having integrated into nature. As the search for the city of gold – known as El Dorado by the Spanish hopefuls – took place all across South America, a large Spanish vessel made its way to Monster Island in the hopes of finding the city. They happened upon the empty Muisca city and attempted to ransack it only to disappear themselves.

1600 CE

Japanese sailors began trading with the West in an effort to expand the country’s influence and economy. A few samurai had been tasked by their shogun to explore and see what resided out in the neighboring waters, for both prestige and recovering artifacts for profit. A few of the red seal ships made landfall upon Monster Island, with the samurai, sailors, and merchants meeting the same fates as those who came before them and disappearing, with only the boats and samurai armor left behind.

1622 CE

A hundred years after the death of Juan Ponce de León, intrepid Spanish conquistadores would take up his crusade and find the legendary Fountain of Youth he detailed in secret memoirs and failed to find. As they sailed the West_Indies, they docked in a port and learned rumors of a mysterious island far to the West. It was allegedly where the Spanish gave chase across the sea in pursuit of a Muisca vessel carrying the lost gold of El Dorado. Their journey led them around Cape Horn and out into the Pacific where they spent many moons enduring the sea, heat, and storms. Finally arriving at the island was like a sign from God, but the graveyard of skeletons made for an uncertain landfall. Nevertheless, they persisted in their search for the Fountain of Youth and the supposed Muisca gold. The boat sank into the water, and the bodies were never found. Scattered Spanish writings and parchments left behind showcase a familiar descent into fear and madness.

1690 CE

A slave ship leaving the Swahili coast in East Africa was to make its way to India for supplies before returning to the Americas to deliver its payload. The crew was to navigate the Southeast Asian islands in a risky maneuver that would be more time efficient than turning around. Off the coast of Australia, the slaves instigated a mutiny to overthrow their captors, either killing them or tossing them overboard. With control of the ship, the plan was to flee to China , but immense storms and a lack of maritime navigation prowess pushed them way off course. The ship ran aground Monster Island, and the slaves were content with staying where they were given the abundance of resources to survive on. They enjoyed their newfound freedom by indulging in the customs of their homeland through dance, music, and carving masks. Rough paintings and inscriptions were carved upon rock walls on the outskirts of the jungle where they lived. As time passed, the paintings began to shift in tone, becoming much more foreboding. The masks they carved shifted to monstrous visages. Only the masks, paintings, the ship, and shackles left in the sands were all that was left after their disappearance.

1700 CE

A band of Dutch pirates had ventured to the Bass Strait between Australia and Tasmania with plans to capture unique wildlife and sell them on the mainland to zoos for trophies and exotic pets for money. Already in possession of cassowaries from the north, they opted to expand their collection with wombats, koalas, red kangaroos, Tasmanian devils, frilled lizards, and thylacine. The pirates island hopped on their way out of the Coral Sea, a great storm raged over the ocean and sent them drastically off course. Their navigation equipment had been damaged, and the inconsistent weather made navigation by constellation difficult. Eventually, they found salvation on Monster Island. Their quarry eventually escaped and integrated into nature, whereas the pirates ultimately disappeared.

1720 CE

A crew of pirates operated in the Atlantic and Indian oceans, attacking Spanish and Portuguese for their supplies and to combat the crown. It was a multiracial, mixed-gender group of buccaneers and profiteers from all walks of life, one of the most diverse in history. They had also amassed quite an incredible fortune, the likes of which rivaled even that of the Whydah Gally. It contained gold, silver, African jewelry, and diamonds that totaled up to around 200,000 artifacts. The loss of the Whydah Gally was devastating news to pirates everywhere and also a call to arms. Many went to try and retrieve the lost hoard which left the crew with little competition out at sea. The captain wished to avoid suffering the same unfortunate fate as his rival and sailed for the Indonesian islands. Locals warned him about a mysterious island out in the Pacific that was shunned by all, but the captain heeded no such warnings. He believed it to be a perfect spot as the ghost stories of a cursed island would keep most at bay. Upon landfall, the crew was fearful of the immense skeletons laying on the beach. Despite their protests, the captain held no such worries and continued with his plan. They built a meager dock to anchor the boat and do some repairs. Some shacks were built to serve as a camp and refuge while they ate and buried the treasure. Certain members of the crew - even the captain himself - kept journals chronicling their stay. Chunks of kaijumite were mined from the rocks and sands, added to the captain's hoard. Over time, the writings devolved into paranoia ramblings, superstition, and rough drawings of strange creatures. Ultimately, the crew disappeared, and the ship itself sank into the bay. No map had been recovered, and the location of the treasure is a great mystery. Many happened upon the island before and after, only for their vessels to either be beached, smashed upon the rocks, or left behind. Monster Island would become an infamous maritime legend among pirates and sailors, as a cursed and dreaded place to avoid at all costs. The ghosts of the past were said to lure overambitious sailors and intrepid adventurers to an early grave.

1750 CE

After the fall of their cities at the hands of the Atlanteans, the surviving Deep Ones spread across the sea. With how thin their numbers were, there was no hope of rebuilding their lost undersea empire. Their numbers faltered further as they were picked off by sharks and pirates before taking temporary refuse on a Polynesian island, where a sizable Deep One population had made a colony. Their reprieve would be short-lived as pirates and exotic traders had discovered their location, planning to capture them for slaves. Farther out to sea did they retreat until they happened upon Monster Island. The kaiju skeletons that littered the land and water fascinated the fishpeople, who revered kaiju as gods. They lived out in the coral reefs and sea caves where they reformed the esoteric Order of Dagon to continue the memory of their fallen kaiju protector. Idols and carvings were made in service to it, and these were all that remained after the Deep Ones disappeared. Their discovery marked the final moment of reoccurrence in history as the Deep Ones swiftly went extinct.

1912 CE

Tall tales drew the attention of many would-be adventurers overseas to Africa and Australia, with the sensationalism fueled further by Carl Hagenbeck showcasing exotic animals, natives deported into human zoos, and strange fossils and relics forgotten or undiscovered by man. British colonization expanded into northern Australia and led to a greater subjugation of the indigenous populace. More of their culture was ransacked and sent to various museums and universities back in Britain. Much myth, folklore, and history were brought with them, including the legend of a forbidden island to the northeast far beyond Papua New Guinea. An expedition was arranged to map this island and colonize it for the crown as well as document it on film, with the intrepid explorers hoping to discover ancient artifacts and hunt exotic species. The ship took them far past Papua New Guinea and even beyond Guam into foreign waters, but they did find their destination. The crew never returned, and the ship sank into the waters after many years.

1943 CE

During World War II, Adolf Hitler and his Nazi followers had become obsessed with the occult and began delving deep into Nordic mythology and folklore in search for proof of the pseudoscientific Aryan race. While the Ahnenerbe developed experimental superweapons and hunted for legendary artifacts, they eventually stumbled across detailed depictions of kaiju in lost Viking manuscripts. Hitler and his closest compatriots within the Nazi thinktank believed the giant beasts to be real and hibernating out in the world. Thus, the Ahnenerbe sent out secret operatives across the globe to find them for varying purposes. A German u-boat had stuck itself upon the rocky crags leading into the lagoon. The fate of the Nazis is ultimately unknown as no bodies were ever found and only the U-boat wreckage was all that remained. Towards the end of the war, aerial dogfights between United States and Japanese pilots peppered the Pacific. A few planes ended up crashing onto the island, with the fates of the pilots unknown.

1954 CE

The United States had been conducting various nuclear weapon testing in and around the Bikini Atoll. New testing spots for being scouted for around the Pacific as well as a suitable remote dumping ground for all the nuclear waste and toxic materials. United States intelligence suggests the island shrouded in mist as a choice, with the military making a difficult landfall on the foreign shores. Outposts are being set up for bomb testing, and lead barrels are being carted into the wilderness. In truth, the island was chosen as part of a secret Majestic agenda to discover more of its secrets after it was discovered shortly after World War II. The United States' presence on the island went radio silent after a while, with every soldier and scientist being declared missing in action. A search and rescue party was dispatched, but there were no survivors to be found. The island was abandoned and kept top secret under direct orders from President Dwight D. Eisenhower.

1959 CE

A Grey cosmonaut was sent out by the Conglomerate to investigate the environmental damage done in the South Pacific by nuclear bomb testing. The flying saucer crashlanded on Monster Island after being struck by lightning. No body was ever found, and no recovery efforts were made to bring the saucer back. Internal recordings from the saucer's flight recorder and radio showed the familiar descent into fear and paranoia about the island.

1968 CE

During the Cold War, the Soviet Union was attempting to make major strides ahead of the United States and their NATO allies. The nuclear arms race and the Space Race were the forefront of their geopolitical power struggle, but the real battles were being waged via proxy wars and espionage. Each side was looking for the next big advantage to break the stalemate. Kremlin agents had infiltrated the Central Intelligence Agency and discovered classified intel that could give them the advantage they were hoping for. Military documents revealed the United States swiftly suspended expansion operations in that part of the Pacific swiftly after the discovery of something called "Monster Island" and that several important pieces of nuclear equipment had been left behind. The Committee for State Security set to work on discovering this island that scared the Americans so much. With deep-sea submarines, they eventually found the island they were looking for. The KGB not only discovered several pieces of American intelligence and nuclear equipment but an actual nuclear bomb, brought to the island to be tested and left in the aftermath of the evacuation. The device itself had never been armed. KGB officers found it and the barrels of toxic waste the military abandoned had torn open and drained entirely of their nuclear radiation. They were not only clean but safe like something had drunk them dry. Soviet intelligence went dark over the weeks abroad, and the submarine never returned. Soviet tape recordings recovered decades later from inside the sunken sub and writings left behind showcased a declining morale that devolved into a sense of utter dread about what resided on the island.

1970 CE

The CIA was operating in Vietnam, conducting counterintelligence ops, sabotage, and raids to destabilize the political influence of North Vietnam. Attention drifted to Monster Island at the behest of higher-ranking intelligence ops, who wanted to establish a military base on the island to better and more privately organize and coordinate forces in Southeast Asia. Heavily armed forces were flown from Da Nang Air Base out to the island, but contact disappeared over the following weeks. Search and rescue surveys of the island revealed the derelict plane along with a few crashed choppers and vehicles, but no bodies were ever recovered from the scene. Tapes recovered showed the same creeping paranoia and fear that seeped in for many visitors to the island.

1975 CE

Soviet, Chinese, and American satellite programs ran parallel operations to scrub the existence of Monster Island from satellite data in order to keep its existence hidden. Small-time naval operations were conducted throughout the Pacific to monitor the island in order to prevent civilian visitors. A mutual agreement from all three parties plus Japan and Papua New Guinea was reached to cease exploration of the island.

2005 CE

An online activist group of American and Russian hackers colluding together publicly leaked documents online mined from CIA servers and databases revealing the government's knowledge of kaiju, Majestic 12, and Monster Island via the website MONSTERSAREREAL. In the documents, they revealed that tech companies had been collaborating with the United States government to censor its existence on satellite imagery, travel logs, and online maps. Photos, private video footage, lost Nixon tapes, and classified documents were spread far and wide. Not long after the uploads, the website was taken down, and each of the US hackers was arrested in a series of police raids. The official statement from the White House and the press was that the incident was a ploy from Russian hackers to sew misinformation online and distrust in the American people.

2012 CE

A group of Young Earth creationists funded a trip with a camera crew to Papua New Guinea as part of a mission trip and expedition to discover the mythical Ropen, an alleged bioluminescent pterosaur living in the mountains and jungles. During their stay, they are told about Monster Island, which was forbidden to visit. The organizers believe it to be where the Ropen could be hiding and pay a private fishing crew handsomely to smuggle them onto the island, but they only go halfway as they believe the island to be cursed. Upon landfall, they begin their journey to explore the uncharted island, documenting everything on camera. The creationist group never returned from the island, and their camera was found years later. Much of the footage was destroyed by water damage, but what remained was them studying the various ruins and skeletons on the island. Logs and interviews from the crew show the morale wearing down over time, reduced to paranoia and worry about the island. Night recordings picked up odd noises in the wind, with the crew believing it to be ghostly wails. The phenomenon was explained by the whistling of coastal winds along the rocks and arches. A rough wooden cross was carved and posted on a tall hill on the island, silhouetted by the setting sun.

2020 CE

A series of kaiju revealed themselves to the world and attacked major areas across the globe, striking Louisiana, Florida, Texas, Mexico , Canada , Madagascar , Japan, China, Russia , Ukraine , Brazil , Venezuela , the Marshall Islands , Antarctica , Mongolia , and Tanzania all within the year. The United States government publicly confessed and revealed the existence and proof of Area 51 , Majestic 12, the Conglomerate, and Monster Island. The website MONSTERSAREREAL was reinstated with the original domain and HTTL files having been stored on a private server. The hackers were exonerated for the leaks, and the U.S. government began the process of handling the distribution of over 60 years of private information. Chinese, Japanese, and Russian hacktivists joined their American allies in leaking more details online about the governments' roles in propaganda, misinformation, censorship, and the hunting of cryptids and kaiju. Japan, Russia, Madagascar, Mongolia, the United Kingdom, China, and Vatican City all came forth to public reveal information, records, and fossils they had been holding for decades. For its major historical relevance, ecological importance, and biological rarity, Monster Island was deemed a UNESCO World Heritage Site by the United Nations . Any sort of visitation to the island is strictly forbidden without proper clearance, which must be done through collaboration with Majestic, NATO, and the U.N. The Chinese Communist Party and Russia have taken umbrage with NATO involvement, feeling it to be a monopolization of a rare landscape with even rarer resources. Because of this contention, the island has become a hot topic of political discourse and debate on what to do with it, who should explore or have jurisdiction, and what should be shared. An incredibly calculated, collaborative multinational effort takes place to carefully study the island, uncover its many secrets and artifacts, and reveal them to the world.

Type

Island

Location under

Earth

Contested By

Inhabiting Species

Elder Things

Related Materials

Kaijumite