Time skip to June 2003
[Main POV]
The aftermath of the evacuation was great. Congress was cleaned out and replaced with different corrupt people, Bush's approval rating dropped to 0% in most polls, and America went into a recession with the GDP dropping by 30%.
Immediately, the island city-state of New Apollonia was recognized by America's enemies. Then some other countries like Germany joined in. Eventually every other country except America recognized New Apollonia. After a lot of political wrangling (me threatening to cease all Artemis Enterprise operations in America), America finally recognized New Apollonia as an independent nation.
Things moved quickly afterwards. New Apollonia was a cultural, economic, and scientific hub. The machine I built continued on without my direct input.
So, I decided we needed to expand.
Artemis and I were currently on a mission. It was the middle of the night, and we were in the Atlantic Ocean, trying to create an island. This island would act as a base of operations, improving our access to Western Europe and the American East Coast.
After working for 2 hours, we took a break. It was exhausting work, but the island was only 600 square feet.
"How much more do we have left," Artemis asked while huffing and puffing.
"I'd like for us to do another few hours for tonight," I answered while lying on my back. "We'll continue after a short break."
After 5 minutes of rest, I got back up and offered my hand. Artemis took my hand and I pulled her up. We walked to the edge of the island, ready to continue on our island.
Just as we reached the edge, I felt a disturbance in the force. The winds picked up and the waves got rougher. I tried to control the elements to calm them down but found strong resistance. Most disturbingly, I felt a magic, that felt extremely similar to my own.
Turning towards Artemis, her eyes shared the same concern that I felt. Both of us extended our hands outward, trying to control the wind and water.
This only made things worse. The winds picked up and large waves erupted, drenching us both.
Soaked to the bone, I felt a chill go up my spine. None of this was normal, and I took a step back. As I was about to suggest to Artemis that we bounce, I felt another surge of magic.
And it was all around us.
Once again looking towards Artemis, I knew she felt it as well. We were surrounded on all sides by a mysterious force.
The only way out was to fight.
Holding hands, I prepared a blast of magical fire as Artemis prepared a blast of lunar energy.
3…
2…
In the next instant, I was blinded by a flash of light as I felt as if I was being sucked through a straw.
.
[3rd POV]
"A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…
There was a world. Unlike other worlds, this world had one large continent surrounded by water on all sides.
The Misty Mountains dominated the land, dividing the continent in two halves. The eastern half was inhabited by many races.
The dwarves, led by their king, lived in the Iron Hills and the Lonely Mountain in the northeast. Led by their king in Erebor, they mined precious metals and stones from the earth. Their greed was legendary, as they coveted all shiny objects, gold most of all.
The men lived in the south, in the two kingdoms of Rohan and Gondor. These medieval states were in a perpetual war with the orcs, who inhabited Mordor, in the southeast. The orcs had no civilized institutions or structures. They lived in decentralized tribes and raided nearby villages and trade caravans.
The goblins, who lived in the Misty Mountains did a similar thing. While they were weaker, the goblins were more centralized, having a Goblin King. Every few years, they would organize a large army to siege the dwarves in the Erebor, eventually being chased off by dwarven reinforcements from the Iron Hills.
Due to the goblins, neither the men nor the dwarves dared to venture past the Misty Mountains. And the goblins themselves saw no purpose in leaving their tunnels.
Then, 500 years into this state of existence, a dark portal appeared in the sky. Two beams of light, one silver, the other gold, shot out before the portal closed.
These beams of light collided before exploding into 5 beams of light, each being a mix of silver and gold.
One beam shot into the Misty Mountains, creating large deposits of Mithril.
The second beam shot into a volcano in Mordor, combining with an evil deep in the mountain, creating the physical manifestation of all that is bad and unholy: Sauron.
Another beam landed in a volcano, this time in the west. Without the evil in Mordor, this beam created giant lizards with wings that breathed fire. The first dragons of this world. Their desire for gold naturally led to conflicts with the dwarves.
Towards the southwest, the fourth beam landed on a herd of wild horses. These horses sprouted wings, creating the first pegasi, free to soar next to the sun and moon.
The final beam of light landed on a large tree in the middle of the western half of the continent. All the fruit on the tree grew at a rapid pace. As the fruit expanded, the skin on the fruit stretched, making them transparent.
Inside each fruit was a fully grown female elf, blonde hair and all. And thus began the civilization of the elves, with this Tree of Life producing a steady stream of elves every day.
The elves could do something that no other species could: magic.
This combined with their eternal youth, allowed the Elven nation to grow at a rapid pace, quickly dominating the entire western half of the continent.
Through their trade with the men and dwarves, they grew rich, their coffers filling up more than the halls of the Dwarven king.
The elves strengthened their dominance by exterminating the goblins in the Misty Mountains and mining the Mithril within. Then, the Elven Queen ordered the construction of settlements on the eastern side of the Misty Mountains, creating a forest called Mirkwood. While the men and dwarves protested, they could do nothing as they didn't wish to be exterminated like the goblins.
But the dark sorcerer Sauron was not idle. He united the orc tribes under his banner, then rallied the men and dwarves against the elves. The men and dwarves joined him, knowing that if they did nothing, they would be dominated by the elves, whose numbers continuously increased.
The three forces launched a surprise attack on the Elven Duchy of Mirkwood. And they were soundly defeated in battle.
Then defeated again.
And again.
Then, Sauron made a breakthrough. Infusing his magic in the orcs, he created a new breed of orcs: the Uruk-hai. These orcs were stronger, strengthened by light, and had some resistance to elven magic.
Led by Sauron and his Uruk-hai, the men and dwarves rallied, enacting a devastating loss against the elves. All captured elves were killed or eaten (by the orcs), and the survivors fled to the Misty Mountains.
Many battles followed, each resulting in Sauron emerging victorious. The elves were forced out of the Misty Mountains and eventually into their capital of Aetharium, the city that was formed around the Tree of Life.
The siege of Aetharium went on for months. Elves produced by the great tree were cut down. The magical barrier was assaulted by Sauron's attacks and was estimated to soon collapse.
The city was on the verge of falling.
And so, the Elf Queen and her nobles decided they had no choice. Together, they enacted a secret ritual, sacrificing the Elf Queen to summon their forefathers."
"And that's how you two got here," Thessalia, Duchess of Rivendell finished.
Not giving us a moment to respond, the duchesses bowed. "Please, we don't know who you are, and we have no right to ask you, but we need your help."
Artemis and I simply looked at each other.
""We'll do it.""