Exodia

Some aspects of Exodian history are well known, while others have been lost over time. Many know how Exodia came to be along with their accomplishments, but very few know how the great city fell.

The Dawn of Exodia

In a time long before recorded history, it is said that humanity was nothing more then a bunch of villages scattered across the landscape. They dared not venture into the ancient forests, for there were great beasts ready to kill any man that enter. At some point magic had been discovered, and like a wildfire it spread from village to village. It would not take long for magic to reshape all of human society.

Humanity started to clear the ancient forests for resources and farmland, the beasts of the forest fought back fiercely but were no match for magic. Humans were still limited in what they could do with magic, for it involved energies that they had yet to comprehend. They continued their studies and discovered a way to draw and store massive amounts of aether within crystals that did not require any effort on their part. This served to exponentially increase the potency of their magic, no longer relying on their own strength of mind.

The great destruction of the ancient forests was noticed by the forest elves, who lived with the great beasts and dense foliage in harmony. They hated humanity for their endeavors, and considered their magic to be a force of evil and corruption. They waged war against humanity, and were easily defeated by them at the hand of powerful magic. They were forced to recede into the deepest parts of the ancient forest, where they would remain for many centuries.

Human civilization continued to grow, with vast cities covering the landscape, and as their society progressed so did their technology. They would soon develop machina, the greatest marvel humanity had ever created. Machina are machines powered by magic, self sustaining and powerful beyond all imagination. The discovery of machina brought a new age of progress to human civilization, and before long cities powered by machina became the norm. The capital of this great civilization would become known to all as Exodia.

The great capital city of Exodia was known to all as the city that never sleeps. Gigantic buildings of stone and metal as far as the eye could see, with roads woven in throughout the city many of which were suspended in the air between buildings. Machina of immeasurable complexity fueled the city's insatiable appetite for power. Humanity no longer needed to toil in fields or work by the sweat of their brow, for machina was able to do all the work for them. Humans had become like gods, but yet desired even more. And so as the saying goes, humanity's greed and lust are immeasurable.

Humanity experimented on everything known to the world, all in an attempt to achieve immortality. Forest spirits were captured and twisted with magic, bound to bodies of flesh and mortality. Many species were mixed together to create new species, and even elves were captured and experimented on. But to no avail, none of their experiments proved to be fruitful. For a time humanity had been convinced that immortality was unachievable.

At the height of humanity's lustful search for immortality, an ancient spring deep in the mountains was discovered. It's waters would instantly kill anything that drank from it. Using the great magic and machina which humanity had perfected over many centuries, it was discovered that the waters possibly contained the essence of life itself. The waters could possibly reform a person if they drank the water and survived, unfortunately the victim would die in the process of reformation.

Humanity summoned forth their most advanced magic and technology, and succeeded in creating a serum that would have a small chance to succeed and make one immortal. Many people volunteered to take the serum in the hopes that they would survive and become the pinnacle of human society, all of them perished. Countless souls who lived in poverty on the lowest streets of Exodia and in many other cities were forced to participate. Ultimately humanity succeeded in discovering two survivors among the countless dead. They proved to be godlike, able to move mountains with a single thought, able to instantly heal any wound, and possessed true immortality.

The Fall of Exodia

All of humanity was in celebration of their great accomplishment, seemingly forgetting about the countless dead bodies that had been spent in the process. The greatest minds of humanity succeeded in creating a safer serum that would make one ‘immortal’. They imbued their own blood and powerful magic into the preexisting serum, creating a new and supposedly safer serum. Many people survived the painful transformation, but would mysteriously disappear and never be seen again. It was not long after this accomplishment that a great disaster would strike Exodia.

There are no accounts of people remembering how it happened, only that buildings started to crumble and lightning came forth from the sky and rained down upon the great city. Many people would flee, and only a few would survive. The entire city was destroyed in a single night, and it would soon be discovered that all of humanity's cities would suffer the same fate. This is referred to some as the great cataclysm, and to others it was righteous judgement for humanity's insatiable greed. Some believed that the destruction was caused by excessive usage of magic, others believe it was a divine punishment carried out by the heavens as punishment for humanity trying to become gods. The only thing for certain is that humanity had lost all their most advanced knowledge, which had been stored within the machina that served them.

Human refugees that fled from their former cities which had once fulfilled their every wish, now struggled to survive on the barren land that had been stripped of abundance after many years of progress. Humanity had come to fear magic and machina, and would not pass on their knowledge of advanced magic or machina to their children. Those who survived used simple magic, or had a thorough understanding of the land. They would confront horrifying beasts of their own making, empowered by the twisted magic of their former experimentation. Humanity dared not enter the ancient forest, for every spirit, beast, and elf hated them with every fiber of their being.

Humanity would eventually develop magical knowledge once again, but the secrets which they had discovered before would be lost to them for all eternity. They founded settlements and formed civilizations, but would never again rise to the heights they achieved during the machina age. Machina has ever since been declared a forbidden art, a taboo that threatens humanity and is penalized by death in all human civilizations since.