Daimalko
Ruins and Rampaging Colossi
A dry world of rocky mountains and steep basins, Daimalko teems with monstrosities roaming the ruins of two oncegreat civilizations, while the few remaining descendants of those societies struggle to survive underground.
Long ago, civilization thrived on Daimalko. Tales of enormous beasts were mere legends. In those days, daily life focused on the conflict between the psychic Confederation of Volkaria and the Holy Queendom of Ykarth, a state that claimed a divine mandate from the empyreal lord Duellona, the Warrior Maiden. Some 200 years ago, however, a month-long, planetwide cataclysm halted the war.
The gray-skinned Daimalkans now call this event the Awakening. As earthquakes reverberated, the planet’s oceans evaporated and its greenery withered. Worse, the cataclysm awakened the beasts at the heart of the Daimalkans’ ancient tales. Called colossi, kaiju, and other names, these titans were gargantuan beasts like no creature seen before, with heads made of tongues, teeth, and other horrors. The creatures immediately set about destroying the warring societies.
Most of the planet’s inhabitants died during the Awakening or shortly thereafter at the hands of the colossi. Those who survived fled into subterranean caverns they came to call the Refuge. Though tensions occasionally flared, nationality had become secondary to survival. Eventually, the underground refugee settlements grew, and leaders emerged: the Guardians. Claiming the ability to steer the still-rampaging colossi via mysterious magical orbs, these Guardians have ushered small colonies aboveground over the last 50 years.
The planet still presents tremendous dangers. Pockets of Volkarian and Ykarthan resistance threaten to destabilize the Refuge. What’s more, communiqué blips received by orbiting ships indicate the existence of distressed Volkarian or Ykarthan descendants in ruined metropolises, though it’s unclear why the calls remain unanswered planet side. Given recent attacks by colossi on the colonies, plus reports from underground settlements of coordinated attacks by skinless, eyeless creatures, some Daimalkans actively protest any contact with the Pact Worlds, believing that the arrival of outsiders may be sparking a second Awakening.
Comments