The Apocalypse

In the year 3010, the era of humanity ended in a mushroom cloud. Any humans that remained were in bunkers deep underground where the last of their supplies ran out and they too died but of starvation. The world has become a toxic environment where very few things of humanity has survived. The only things that have survived destruction were the things man left behind. Technology and nature.Technology which has been given life and sentience over time. Most toys have been electronic. A teddy bear as we know today has cotton in its body. But in the future the bear also has a metal framework allowing it to move around, similar to a humans framework of bones.

Here in the ruins and rubble our story starts in a place called Pol.Here it is a city in ruin but that is still teeming with life. The wild has reclaimed the city, due to the absence of humans. Descendants of zoo animals, now wild prowl the streets. The trees and other plants have sprouted even on rooftops. The air is clean. Water still flows through the ditches and canals. Tiny homes can sometimes be found dotting the riverbanks. They are mostly made of trash and junk metal. Yet they are cunningly and beautifully designed. Great time was spent in the care of building these huts. In one of the huts we find one such denizen. Kopo. A short thing with a resemblance to Pinocchio. Complete with hat. He is getting ready to scrounge for his meal. Oil and stuffing. And if he finds extra maybe he can create his own family. One can never have too much help these days. The more people the better, it is still dangerous outside with the wild animals. There is also a greater fear for one area of the city in particular. It is claimed to be haunted by ghosts. It glows an unholy glow(actually it glows neon), and to make matters worse is inhabited by ravenous rats who have ate more than just an unlucky toy who wandered to close. It is said each spirit is tied to a tablet, one that is a source of their power. It is also supposedly their only link to this world, but few know even that. If something were to happen to these tablets the ghosts themselves may disappear forever. It is said though that even toys can die. And that toys dead can be brought back to life, in a sense. They become what is whispered as, Marionettes. Malicious automatons that obey the will of their creator. Monsters. It is said in the north in the forest known as Healt there is a army that is growing. Driving out wildlife and capturing any toy foolish enough to tarry long enough to get caught. Animals and toy alike looking like friends and loved ones but are twisted and bent. Corrupt and malicious to the core of their body. Undead. Animals are also not spared, everything is a soldier. It is said though that far to the south by the sea known as Ralt there lies a kingdom that is gathering an army to fight against it. There are many other like it. Some are rivals. War is brewing.

As Kopo scavenges for food and parts. A must settles in. He stops in his tracks by the sound of a predator. A giant Lie-On! A creature that looks like a cat but is bigger. It has big eyes and big ears. And it looks at Kopo hungrily. Kopo has no time to think, he runs. Scrambling past a field of giant hollow logs(bones) and giant boulders with holes and gaps in them(skulls)he scrambled madly through the mist. Finally he stops right around a corner. He peeks around the corner. The Lie-On gave up. He takes a look around and sees where he is. He is in the Graveyard. A mostly undiscovered part of the city, kept that way because of its dangerous reputation. Even following the pathways set up by the ancient elders of yore is perilous enough few make it through the mist. But when they do they land at the harbor. They say it leads to the ocean(actually a lake). And across the ocean lies a place of comfort. But even the sound of rumors, whispers in the dark, of conflict erupting in the kingdom can be heard here. They say the king has gone mad.

Meanwhile across the bay. A war is indeed brewing. A squad of tin sword toting toy soldiers riding mechanical horses are accompanying a quartet of teddy bears. The teddy bears are gripping punching daggers made of forks. And they are pushing a cannon made of melted metal and a pistol. They are there to fortify and secure a position for the incoming army. Unfortunately it's in a sea of tall grass and weeds. They are navigating a small trail. And it is in enemy territory. They look nervously about the horses whinny and toss. That's when they see an enemy in a clearing. A single marionette. An undead toy brought to life with magic. A marionette is often seen in the dark shown with near invisible strings. That extend to the heavens. A sign that they are enslaved. However they are evil beings bent on serving there creator and controller. It's eyes glow blood red in the dark shade. The tin soldiers charge but fall over as a salvo of arrows(made of shards of bone) shower over them. They fall over. And that is when they see in the dark, the red eyes. All on the sides of the trail. A ambush! The one of the teddys charge. And a few of them,marionettes , die in the dark by its punching daggers and strength. Before it is swarmed by undead, with metal scissors for hands. The other three start preparing the cannon and protecting it.Loading it with shrapnel. The surviving tin soldiers regroup and charge to liberate the teddy juggernaut. And they partially succeed. Torn marks are seen on the bear yet it either doesn't care or is to busy to notice. That is when a horn is heard being sounded. An unholy roar. A rhapsody of death and decay. That is when the surviving undead rally and flee into the darkness. Scattering and running on all fours into the grass. Out of the survivors only 8 tin men lived to tell the tale.