[ WP ] Legends tell of the Elder race who utilized strange `` technologies '' instead of magic . As hordes of brutal killers invade from the north , a young elf heads off to search for ancient ruins , looking for humans ...

Ayen Liakian, a young elf from Xyrdove, staggered into the cave. They had tried everything to defeat the northern orcs. Electrical, fire, and ice attacks could hold them off for a short time, but their greater numbers always prevailed and one by one the great elven cities were falling. The prophets had no more answers, the healers were already overloaded, and most of the summoners and those who engaged in the dark arts had gone over to the `` winning side'' years ago. To most elves, it was a foregone conclusion that the only options were to betray their own kind and become slaves of the orcs, hope to live unnoticed far from civilization, or die fighting. Ayen did not like any of these options. 
 
 There were tales of odd structures at times being uncovered which had belonged to an elder race, one which had existed long before the time of the elves. Most believed that the reason that they had been wiped out was because the gods had destroyed them with a great wall of water for heresy. There were no instruments of worship and their greatest towers were not temples, but no one could agree on exactly what their purpose was. Most of them seemed to have collapsed or sunken into the ground since their prime days, however, and there were few signs of them in most parts of the Earth now. 
 
 At this point, Ayen did n't care what their relationship was to the gods. The gods had left the elves, and were letting them be destroyed by the orcs. What really mattered to Ayen though, was that there were stories that the humans had used strange weapons and wheeled transportations. All of the objects which were believed to have been used for transportation ( mostly large objects with round wheels ) had since been destroyed by the great wall of water or simply by time. There were a few places where old human weapons were said to have survived the ages. Usually they would be guarded by priests, but since the northern wars had begun, no one guarded the historic sites, everyone now had more important jobs to do. 
 
 Ayen entered one of the few ancient buildings which had not been destroyed by time or water. It was not the tallest, only 2 stories, but it was very well fortified and made of a very hard stone, and was on a high mountain, one of the few areas which the ancient wall of water had not touched. Inside the buildings, the best preserved human artifacts in the world could be found. No one else was around so Ayen went right in. There were old wooden boxes on all sides, and Ayen quickly opened one. Inside, he found a long metal tube connected to a heavy base with several buttons and one small lever which could be pulled. 
 
 Ayen was anxious to see what this could do, but regardless of which buttons he pressed or what he did with the buttons or lever, nothing happened. Finally, he noticed that the bottom of the object was empty. In another box, he found more smaller metal objects which he determined could be pushed into the larger one. Still, nothing happened. He figured out that if he pushed one button, the lever loosened and finally, he pulled it and a sound louder than he had ever heard before echoed in the small enclosure. The object also almost leapt out of his arms and hit him in the chest. It caused some pain for Ayen, but he could see that the long metal tube had done even more damage to one of the other boxes in the room. Ayen was excited by the destructive potential and fired his new weapon several more times until it could not fire anymore. He found that the weapon could be reloaded, but he could also see that there were only about 30 such weapons and a very limited amount of the smaller objects needed to make them work. It could do damage to the orcs, but it was not enough to win the war. Furthermore, Ayen was still very inaccurate with the weapon and it had already nearly deafened him. 
 
 Ayen looked around sadly. Perhaps had the elves put more effort into learning to create such weapons, but there was not enough time now. He saw an enormous army of orcs in the distance, slowly cutting their way through and killing or raping anything which got in their way. Ayen knew he could not defeat them, but he suddenly realized that there was a fourth option. He would not serve the orcs nor would he give them the satisfaction of killing him. He slowly raised the weapon, placed it against his temple, and his last thought was, `` Long after they're gone, the elder race manages one more kill. Better them than the orcs.''
