Chapter Text
Humans were once known to dominate the Earth. From the creation of the species, to the early settlement of the continents, to what’s known as the Industrial Revolution, to the technological advancement that progressed through time. Humans were the dominant species that roamed the planet for tens of thousands of years, if not more than that. They basically had control over everything on terra firma. If they wanted something done, they did it. Destroy nature for a parking lot? They did it. Take away basic necessities to get more money in their pockets? They did that. Exploitation of their own kind? Consider that done. Demolish a perfectly good neighborhood to build a useless shopping mall? Yep, they did that, too.
But have you ever wondered what would happen if humankind no longer walked the earth?
The histories today say that just over two centuries ago, the human species suffered a devastating mass extinction. However, some believe the species simply fled the planet. Nobody is completely certain, but it’s not relevant to much these days. So, what led to this, you may wonder?
For perhaps thousands of years, a demonic species known as imps had been preparing for a war against humankind, to take over the species and their home planet. When they finally decided they were ready to attack, they began toppling humanity and crushed it to shambles. Different sources will tell you different adaptations of the fall of human civilization. No one exactly knows if they were completely killed off, or if they found a way to flee this planet and find a new home for themselves.
Either way, the Hellborn species of imps took over immediately after humans left. Imps are known to take much better care of Earth than the humans ever did. Over the last century or two or three, much of the culture humans left behind has been destroyed in favor of a more diverse, more sustainable world. Pollution and global warming? Those have been taken care of. It’s not a big issue anymore. Corrupt politicians and government? That’s not a thing now. Sure, governments do still exist, but they are nothing like they were.
People are happy.
There are three primary groups of imps, according to the social standards: Ruralfolk, Cityfolk, and Waterfolk. No group of imp is less respected than another; all three hold an equal position in social status. These terms are simply used to classify how one lives. It doesn’t mean anything but that. One should really think of it as the same thing as classifying someone by their race, without the social ladder context.
The term of Ruralfolk is used to describe the imps who have chosen to center their lifestyles around agriculture. They are known to live in rural areas and interact with small communities, where they farm and produce food and other agricultural products for a living. Much of the modern human technology is unknown or useless to these imps, as they prefer to rely on older-fashioned methods and tools. They’re highly specialized in agricultural techniques, and they supply the food necessary for the survival of imps. Ruralfolk are amongst the highly respected, due to the high amounts of labor they put into their work and the environmental struggles they have to endure that may damage their livelihoods. Governments pay them large sums for their services.
The term Cityfolk refers to every imp who chose to live in more densely populated urban areas. Even suburban communities can be found dubbed as Cityfolk imps. They live in highly technologically advanced societies. Places Cityfolk live are eco-friendly, high-rate crime is essentially unheard of, and the government is fair, always trying to keep the population satisfied, at the least. This particular group of imps do their best to advance in science for the good of the people, and for the planet. These imps can sometimes be aggressive, but it’s really like a survival instinct, since it is the big cities they inhabit. Believe it or not, Cityfolk are some of the kindest imps on earth, and have tough exteriors for their own sakes.
Finally, there’s the Waterfolk. This term refers to any and all imps who base their lifestyles on the water, if the name doesn’t already imply that. Vikings, sailors, pirates, imps living on isolated islands, and imps on beaches who fish for a living; these are all Waterfolk imps. About 1/4 of the population are Waterfolk, mainly because they’re indigenous to islands with little to no mainland contact. If one has a yearning to live on the water and sail the seas, there’s no one to stop them. They’re in a society who really doesn’t care what they do with their lives. The imps never built anything like a caste system, so nobody is stuck in whatever group they end up born in.
The terms of Ruralfolk, Cityfolk, and Waterfolk are relatively loose terms, and are used as such, if they are even used at all. Plenty of imps don’t fit directly into a category, anyway.
Imps have always been one of shorter species in Hell, if not the smallest. Tall imps existed, but more than likely it’s because they were a hybrid and their height came from the other demon in their genes. But since migrating to Earth, the species has evolved to be taller—more on-par with the average height of a human. It’s uncertain how long this evolution took, as different sources will say different things, but the most widely believed explanation is the second or third generation of Earthborn imps began to grow taller. Short imps do exist today, though they are much less common on Earth than they are in Hell.
Of course, the species coming to Earth was not all sunshine and rainbows. With the mass imp migration came manifestations of legends and fictional beasts, and stories, tales, and rumors stemming from them. Not much unlike humans once did, landbound imps began seeing strange things… cryptid creatures and other anomalies. Yes, it was quite strange, but the species lived in Hell before. It was nothing new to them, so they made nothing of it. But they weren’t the only ones who encountered these creatures.
Sea dwelling imps ran into mythical entities, too. Tales of haunted ships and phantom seas, sailors seeing shadows that didn’t exist. Again, this was nothing extraordinary to the imps. But those who sailed the water grew weary when the myths began to spread. Sailors would set out, but would never return. Any and all contact with them would cut off completely, and they’d never be heard from again. The tales were becoming more than stories. They were turning into deadly legends.
One of the most well know tales is that of the most deadly entity known to both man and imp: the Shadow. Many turn to tame it, few return to tell the tale. If the Shadow didn’t kill you, it cursed you. Sailors know it is a deadly thing to be avoided, able to wipe out entire crews in moments. Researchers who have tried to identify any trace of what it may be know nothing about the creature or where it may have come from. The Shadow lives in uncharted territory in the Atlantic Ocean, and never seems to be found in the same place twice. It seems to be a territorial thing, killing those that trespass on its turf and cursing those who manage to get away… but they never return unscathed. Some have spun tales that not all who get away return alive.
Those that do return describe what they had seen to everyone they could. Every survivor described the Shadow the same way: it was a strange creature. From afar, it looked like the silhouette of an ordinary imp, roaming the deck of an abandoned galleon. But when you got closer, you saw that there was no one there, just a shadow. And when you tried to approach the mysterious entity, the galleon would vanish, all persons present would be seemingly teleported to an island you have seen earlier on the horizon line, and your crew would be hung. The Shadow would show you no mercy. Most of those who did escape were scarred, beaten, bruised, and tattered, and one of every three imps returned with a broken horn or two. And they would warn those who plan to track it down and take it down to be wary (or to not go at all!). But many who want to conquer the Shadow are younger and ignorant. They never listen. And when they suffer the consequences, the horrid cycle repeats.
There are other legends, but none come even close to being so deadly, so they aren’t ever all that prominent. If you set to the water, you’ll only ever be warned of the one the sailors call the Shadow. It was weird, the way it worked.
Now, you’re probably wondering what any of this information has to do with… well, anything. And that, my dear friend, is a tale in the telling…