HOME | DD

Description
Imagine a world left to ruin, a dead world, an abandoned world, it's inhabitants changed, adapted. Imagine this was your world.

The scavenger sprinted towards the cliff face, the dust and heat choking, the arid desert blazing orange in the sun, the scavenger could feel the sand burning their feet even through their leather boots, the heavy, thick clothing they wore trapped the cool air against their skin, even so it was incredibly hot. Glancing backwards the scavenger could just make out their pursuers through the thick goggles they wore, they were gaining. Quickly checking the clip in the SMG they carried the scavenger growled through their face-wrap, twenty rounds, not nearly enough and the cliff was another thirty meters away, they'd never make it. The lone figure turned on their heel to face the creatures chasing them, these things were tall, muscular, brutal but fortunately primitive, scavengers called them Tors, they were scavengers as well, they ate anything, and the lone human was being chased by three of them.

They readied their SMG and drew a short, thin sword from the sheathe on their back, not exactly the famous last stand they'd had in mind. The three Tors slowed and began circling the human, growling and making strangled barking sounds, their six inch claws were caked in dry blood and left red streaks in the sand, their massive jaws dripped with viscous red saliva that hissed as it hit the ground. The human turned, trying to keep them all in sight at once, trying in vain to hide the fear hammering in their chest, suddenly their nerve broke, the scavenger threw themselves towards one of the beast, unloading the last of the SMG clip into another, tossing the gun aside they gripped the sword with both hands and swung hard at the Tor ahead. The beast shifted, twisting around the blade and swung a massive paw at the human's head, barely avoiding the blow they ducked, stabbing upwards with all their strength. The blade bit deep into flesh and held fast, unable to pull it free in time the scavenger was beaten aside by the third Tor, tumbling over they lay flat on their back, trying to catch their breath. One Tor lay dead, sixteen bullet holes leaking blood into the sand, another reared, scratching at the sword buried in it's armpit, vainly trying to remove it before shuddering and keeling over sideways, it's efforts to save itself causing it's own demise, pushing the blade deep enough to pierce it's heart.

Alone, defenseless and at the mercy of a man eating beast the scavenger closed their eyes and whimpered softly, waiting for the Tor's talons to rend flesh and bone, they could feel it's hot breathe through their face-wrap, hear it's heavy breathing, sense it's massive bulk above them. This was it, this was the end, it would be painful and slow as they were eaten alive, they heard the beast growl and felt it's jaws draw nearer, holding their breathe the scavenger silently begged one final prayer to any gods still out there, anything to survive, anything! As the scavenger made a final peace with their maker they heard a loud, echoing crack and felt something hot and sticky splatter across their face and chest before a heavy dead-weight crushed the air from their lungs.

The scavenger lay there, struggling to push off the weight of the dead Tor, for a good fifteen minutes before something gripped one of it's spines and heaved it off the prone human, the scavenger wiped the beast's blood from their goggles and saw a tall figure, hefting a larger rifle, offering their hand. The stranger pulled the scavenger to their feet before pulling off the cloth concealing their face, a young man looked down at the scavenger, he was a good foot taller but he was barely out of his teens, his face was smooth, unblemished but for a single scar running down the left of his jawline, but his eyes held something cold, dangerous. He wore a simple tunic with voluminous sleeves, a tight wrap cinching it in around his ribs, long, loose pants adorned with belts and pouches and a pair of heavy leather boots, his goggles were thick and square and his head-wrap was a dark orange colour to match the desert and his tunic. The rifle he carried was long and heavy, three separate clips hinted at triple functionality while the handgun on his hip and the sword on his back showed that he was just as capable up close and personal.

He grinned and motioned towards the discarded SMG, holding out a pair of clips, once the scavenger had taken them he wrapped his head against the sun and sprinted towards the cliff face, with no other options the scavenger followed him. The two humans hugged the shadows beneath the cliff, shuffling along the rock, fortunately the young man seemed to know where he was going. Sure enough he soon darted into a small crevice in the cliff, slipping into the darkness, closely followed by the scavenger. They moved deeper and deeper into the rock, into the dark and the cold, moisture condensed on the walls, cold wind carried strange scents to them as the squeezed between the jagged walls, after hours the tunnel widened, light seeped in through an opening and the young man stepped out into an enormous underground cavern, the scavenger followed to see a huge space lit by strange glowing lichen, thousands of buildings, carved into the walls of the cavern rose on tiers of to the ceiling, a calm, crystal clear lake sat in the center.

Turning to the scavenger, the young man unwrapped the cloth around his head and face, lifting the goggles off his eyes, "Welcome to Haven."

***

This is our world, this is Hades. Humanity spanned the stars, colonized worlds, fought epic battles for territory and resources, but the few settlers on Hades? We were abandoned, left to die once the natural resources were used up, the starships left, the corporations that fed and clothed us left with them, no one has had contact with the rest of humanity for well over a millennium. Society collapsed, the cities fell to ruin without fresh supplies, the people turned on each other, becoming scavengers and slavers, traders and hunters. The only currency that mattered was water, most surface water had dried up when the terraformers gave out, without fuel they couldn't keep back the desert. But life finds a way and the creatures of Hades did just that, evolving, hunting the human survivors, whittling down their numbers. However humanity has always been the great survivor, we grew, we scavenged, we hunted the creatures that hunted us. There were few human settlements and fewer people traveled between them, great caravans crossed the desserts, heavily armed, carrying water, food and salvaged technology, often using jury rigged skiffs. We fight, we hunt, we scavenge and we die, forgotten by our leaders and abandoned by our gods. We live on Hades. We live in Hell.

Description
Imagine a world left to ruin, a dead world, an abandoned world, it's inhabitants changed, adapted. Imagine this was your world.

The scavenger sprinted towards the cliff face, the dust and heat choking, the arid desert blazing orange in the sun, the scavenger could feel the sand burning their feet even through their leather boots, the heavy, thick clothing they wore trapped the cool air against their skin, even so it was incredibly hot. Glancing backwards the scavenger could just make out their pursuers through the thick goggles they wore, they were gaining. Quickly checking the clip in the SMG they carried the scavenger growled through their face-wrap, twenty rounds, not nearly enough and the cliff was another thirty meters away, they'd never make it. The lone figure turned on their heel to face the creatures chasing them, these things were tall, muscular, brutal but fortunately primitive, scavengers called them Tors, they were scavengers as well, they ate anything, and the lone human was being chased by three of them.

They readied their SMG and drew a short, thin sword from the sheathe on their back, not exactly the famous last stand they'd had in mind. The three Tors slowed and began circling the human, growling and making strangled barking sounds, their six inch claws were caked in dry blood and left red streaks in the sand, their massive jaws dripped with viscous red saliva that hissed as it hit the ground. The human turned, trying to keep them all in sight at once, trying in vain to hide the fear hammering in their chest, suddenly their nerve broke, the scavenger threw themselves towards one of the beast, unloading the last of the SMG clip into another, tossing the gun aside they gripped the sword with both hands and swung hard at the Tor ahead. The beast shifted, twisting around the blade and swung a massive paw at the human's head, barely avoiding the blow they ducked, stabbing upwards with all their strength. The blade bit deep into flesh and held fast, unable to pull it free in time the scavenger was beaten aside by the third Tor, tumbling over they lay flat on their back, trying to catch their breath. One Tor lay dead, sixteen bullet holes leaking blood into the sand, another reared, scratching at the sword buried in it's armpit, vainly trying to remove it before shuddering and keeling over sideways, it's efforts to save itself causing it's own demise, pushing the blade deep enough to pierce it's heart.

Alone, defenseless and at the mercy of a man eating beast the scavenger closed their eyes and whimpered softly, waiting for the Tor's talons to rend flesh and bone, they could feel it's hot breathe through their face-wrap, hear it's heavy breathing, sense it's massive bulk above them. This was it, this was the end, it would be painful and slow as they were eaten alive, they heard the beast growl and felt it's jaws draw nearer, holding their breathe the scavenger silently begged one final prayer to any gods still out there, anything to survive, anything! As the scavenger made a final peace with their maker they heard a loud, echoing crack and felt something hot and sticky splatter across their face and chest before a heavy dead-weight crushed the air from their lungs.

The scavenger lay there, struggling to push off the weight of the dead Tor, for a good fifteen minutes before something gripped one of it's spines and heaved it off the prone human, the scavenger wiped the beast's blood from their goggles and saw a tall figure, hefting a larger rifle, offering their hand. The stranger pulled the scavenger to their feet before pulling off the cloth concealing their face, a young man looked down at the scavenger, he was a good foot taller but he was barely out of his teens, his face was smooth, unblemished but for a single scar running down the left of his jawline, but his eyes held something cold, dangerous. He wore a simple tunic with voluminous sleeves, a tight wrap cinching it in around his ribs, long, loose pants adorned with belts and pouches and a pair of heavy leather boots, his goggles were thick and square and his head-wrap was a dark orange colour to match the desert and his tunic. The rifle he carried was long and heavy, three separate clips hinted at triple functionality while the handgun on his hip and the sword on his back showed that he was just as capable up close and personal.

He grinned and motioned towards the discarded SMG, holding out a pair of clips, once the scavenger had taken them he wrapped his head against the sun and sprinted towards the cliff face, with no other options the scavenger followed him. The two humans hugged the shadows beneath the cliff, shuffling along the rock, fortunately the young man seemed to know where he was going. Sure enough he soon darted into a small crevice in the cliff, slipping into the darkness, closely followed by the scavenger. They moved deeper and deeper into the rock, into the dark and the cold, moisture condensed on the walls, cold wind carried strange scents to them as the squeezed between the jagged walls, after hours the tunnel widened, light seeped in through an opening and the young man stepped out into an enormous underground cavern, the scavenger followed to see a huge space lit by strange glowing lichen, thousands of buildings, carved into the walls of the cavern rose on tiers of to the ceiling, a calm, crystal clear lake sat in the center.

Turning to the scavenger, the young man unwrapped the cloth around his head and face, lifting the goggles off his eyes, "Welcome to Haven."

***

This is our world, this is Hades. Humanity spanned the stars, colonized worlds, fought epic battles for territory and resources, but the few settlers on Hades? We were abandoned, left to die once the natural resources were used up, the starships left, the corporations that fed and clothed us left with them, no one has had contact with the rest of humanity for well over a millennium. Society collapsed, the cities fell to ruin without fresh supplies, the people turned on each other, becoming scavengers and slavers, traders and hunters. The only currency that mattered was water, most surface water had dried up when the terraformers gave out, without fuel they couldn't keep back the desert. But life finds a way and the creatures of Hades did just that, evolving, hunting the human survivors, whittling down their numbers. However humanity has always been the great survivor, we grew, we scavenged, we hunted the creatures that hunted us. There were few human settlements and fewer people traveled between them, great caravans crossed the desserts, heavily armed, carrying water, food and salvaged technology, often using jury rigged skiffs. We fight, we hunt, we scavenge and we die, forgotten by our leaders and abandoned by our gods. We live on Hades. We live in Hell.