Whenever I daydream, I think about a particular idea that I've never really had the gumption to bring to fruition; general apathy, lack of art skills, you name it. So, I figured I'd commit the idea to pen and paper so it wouldn't be lost in the annals of lost ideas.
The general theme is a non lead-centric Sentai story. If you don't know what Sentai is, just think Kamen Rider, Power Rangers or any show where the main characters transform into superheros to fight the monster of the week. My particular idea runs a bit deeper than that; though I always loved the fight scenes and choreography of Power Rangers, it seemed shallow and dumb storywise.
The story itself borrows from things I love; Destiny's clashing of Good and Evil, Halo's space opera and colossal stakes, Steven Universe's open, accessible humor and dark undertones...along with my own writing. There are splashes of Metal and Mettle in terms of the actual physical conflicts.
So, the story is thus; a very long time ago, a rambling (in the sense of travel, not talking incessantly), immortal drifter came to the Milky Way galaxy and its varied inhabitants. Her goal was simple; to sew peace and understanding among warring beings, who lived in a brutal system of segregation, stigma, and pain. At first, her contribution came in the form of simple, honest preaching. She taught many lessons to all she visited, and in some places she came to be known as a God.
In others, she was ousted as an outsider and a shit-stirrer. She was careful to preach only to those who would listen; her words were often met with hostility. The status quo was important to many. But, she developed followers. Some were tiny beings who wished to feel safe, and be truly free. Some were mighty warriors, who came to her in search of a challenge, but were eventually swayed.
Her words of society, safety, and freedom conquered worlds over time. She came to rest on a gas giant planet, and accepted the name Rhapsody. On her planet people of all species lived happily. Her strong followers united under her to protect the planet; they became her War Angels.
These powerful War Angels were restless at first, eager to fight for their new master, but Rhapsody calmed them, bidding them to lay down their arms and fight only when needed. The need did arise when warriors came to slay Rhapsody and put an end to her incessant preaching, so that their warlike way of life could be preserved. With their stored strength, and with a just cause, the War Angels unleashed their fury, destroying countless fleets in the name of peace. Rhapsody disliked the violence, but there was little other recourse.
The planet grew. Colonies formed around it. Rhapsody's psalms of compassion attracted all who sought a better future. But, her words also attracted a more powerful evil. A singular, ancient being, the Wheel of Fortune, arose to challenge Rhapsody's idealism.
The Wheel was more than just one being, but it was singular in nature; it was a Tulpa created by the rage and frustration of billions of frustrated beings who died without having their dreams realized, or their scores settled. It had one simple wish; the extinction of all life that it didn't see direct use for. It gathered self serving, brutal armies under its malignant banner, and it rode towards Rhapsody's planet, extinguishing every light that opposed it on its war path.
Rhapsody's War Angels formed barricade after barricade, but each heroic stand ended in defeat. The Wheel of Fortune was too great in power to defeat, and its soldiers were too coordinated to slow. Rhapsody knew that even sacrificing herself would do nothing to slow the Wheel's advance. However, she had one card left to play.
The Wheel, a Tulpa, drew power from the negative energy of the damned. So she drew power on the opposite. The courage and altruism of her War Angels would be enough power to damage the Wheel, but not slow it. Knowing this, her people made a rash decision without Rhapsody's consent, and against her wishes; they destroyed their homeworld, killing themselves. Their hopes and dreams for a better future gave Rhapsody the power she needed.
The Wheel of Fortune sent forth its forces, but Rhapsody devastated them with ease, just as the Wheel had slaughtered her War Angels. Rhapsody took on the Wheel, breaking it and sending it back to the darkness from whence it came. However, it was not killed; as long as the idea of evil existed, the Wheel would regain its strength.
Rhapsody, exhausted and distraught, drifted through space. A being of her power had no need for time. She wept for epochs, as the Earth gradually formed in her path. She landed there, laying dormant as evolution took its course. Her being there influenced the ascension of great apes into humans.
Few humans ever encountered her in recorded history, and none returned home to tell the tale. Transfixed by her size and power, they would abandon all they knew and remain at her feet. She grew fond of humanity; random and fleeting, the human race gave her both joy and sorrow as she recorded their history with her all-seeing eyes.
Their capacity for cruelty, inequality, and segregation through violence and strength reminded her of her ancient enemy, the Wheel. Their capacity for kindness, creativity, and art reminded her of her children.
With great horror, she realized the Wheel was coming for earth. Rejuvenated to a fraction of its power, it began to create champions on other worlds. With weapons that mankind couldn't hope to fight back against, these beasts closed in on earth. She roused herself to fight, but couldn't find the energy for it; her dormancy had weakened her considerably.
Instead, she formed a protective barrier around the world; invisible to humanity, but nearly impenetrable by the Wheel's forces. She resolved to find human beings capable of fighting for the sake of the planet. From her memories of her War Angels, and fragments of their souls, she formed the Pentacles; charms that would bind to the soul and physical form of any human deemed worthy to fight on humanity's behalf.
When gifted with a Pentacle, a human gains the powers and strengths of a War Angel from eons past; it takes time to realize the full potential of the War Angel's might, but some benefits are immediate. Strength, speed, enhanced senses, and stamina are standard. The human can manifest the War Angel's weapons, and eventually augment their bodies with the War Angel's true might. In these early days of the war for Earth, these humans must travel skyward, to fight the Wheel's forces wherever they intrude in the solar system and beyond.
The lore itself comes from the individual Pentacles, their War Angel, and the specific human who's been chosen to fit the role of a being beyond their comprehension. The War Angels, although dead, still have feelings and thoughts, and part of realizing a Pentacle's power is coming to terms with who you are as a person, and who the War Angel was who you've been bonded to. They're, in a way, the ancestor of the human chosen to play their part.
That's what I've got so far. I might start writing it and posting it up here, but my ultimate goal is to find a decent artist and turn it into a comic series; but, I'm not holding out hope for that, so I might just sack up and write it.
That's the general idea for ya.
The general theme is a non lead-centric Sentai story. If you don't know what Sentai is, just think Kamen Rider, Power Rangers or any show where the main characters transform into superheros to fight the monster of the week. My particular idea runs a bit deeper than that; though I always loved the fight scenes and choreography of Power Rangers, it seemed shallow and dumb storywise.
The story itself borrows from things I love; Destiny's clashing of Good and Evil, Halo's space opera and colossal stakes, Steven Universe's open, accessible humor and dark undertones...along with my own writing. There are splashes of Metal and Mettle in terms of the actual physical conflicts.
So, the story is thus; a very long time ago, a rambling (in the sense of travel, not talking incessantly), immortal drifter came to the Milky Way galaxy and its varied inhabitants. Her goal was simple; to sew peace and understanding among warring beings, who lived in a brutal system of segregation, stigma, and pain. At first, her contribution came in the form of simple, honest preaching. She taught many lessons to all she visited, and in some places she came to be known as a God.
In others, she was ousted as an outsider and a shit-stirrer. She was careful to preach only to those who would listen; her words were often met with hostility. The status quo was important to many. But, she developed followers. Some were tiny beings who wished to feel safe, and be truly free. Some were mighty warriors, who came to her in search of a challenge, but were eventually swayed.
Her words of society, safety, and freedom conquered worlds over time. She came to rest on a gas giant planet, and accepted the name Rhapsody. On her planet people of all species lived happily. Her strong followers united under her to protect the planet; they became her War Angels.
These powerful War Angels were restless at first, eager to fight for their new master, but Rhapsody calmed them, bidding them to lay down their arms and fight only when needed. The need did arise when warriors came to slay Rhapsody and put an end to her incessant preaching, so that their warlike way of life could be preserved. With their stored strength, and with a just cause, the War Angels unleashed their fury, destroying countless fleets in the name of peace. Rhapsody disliked the violence, but there was little other recourse.
The planet grew. Colonies formed around it. Rhapsody's psalms of compassion attracted all who sought a better future. But, her words also attracted a more powerful evil. A singular, ancient being, the Wheel of Fortune, arose to challenge Rhapsody's idealism.
The Wheel was more than just one being, but it was singular in nature; it was a Tulpa created by the rage and frustration of billions of frustrated beings who died without having their dreams realized, or their scores settled. It had one simple wish; the extinction of all life that it didn't see direct use for. It gathered self serving, brutal armies under its malignant banner, and it rode towards Rhapsody's planet, extinguishing every light that opposed it on its war path.
Rhapsody's War Angels formed barricade after barricade, but each heroic stand ended in defeat. The Wheel of Fortune was too great in power to defeat, and its soldiers were too coordinated to slow. Rhapsody knew that even sacrificing herself would do nothing to slow the Wheel's advance. However, she had one card left to play.
The Wheel, a Tulpa, drew power from the negative energy of the damned. So she drew power on the opposite. The courage and altruism of her War Angels would be enough power to damage the Wheel, but not slow it. Knowing this, her people made a rash decision without Rhapsody's consent, and against her wishes; they destroyed their homeworld, killing themselves. Their hopes and dreams for a better future gave Rhapsody the power she needed.
The Wheel of Fortune sent forth its forces, but Rhapsody devastated them with ease, just as the Wheel had slaughtered her War Angels. Rhapsody took on the Wheel, breaking it and sending it back to the darkness from whence it came. However, it was not killed; as long as the idea of evil existed, the Wheel would regain its strength.
Rhapsody, exhausted and distraught, drifted through space. A being of her power had no need for time. She wept for epochs, as the Earth gradually formed in her path. She landed there, laying dormant as evolution took its course. Her being there influenced the ascension of great apes into humans.
Few humans ever encountered her in recorded history, and none returned home to tell the tale. Transfixed by her size and power, they would abandon all they knew and remain at her feet. She grew fond of humanity; random and fleeting, the human race gave her both joy and sorrow as she recorded their history with her all-seeing eyes.
Their capacity for cruelty, inequality, and segregation through violence and strength reminded her of her ancient enemy, the Wheel. Their capacity for kindness, creativity, and art reminded her of her children.
With great horror, she realized the Wheel was coming for earth. Rejuvenated to a fraction of its power, it began to create champions on other worlds. With weapons that mankind couldn't hope to fight back against, these beasts closed in on earth. She roused herself to fight, but couldn't find the energy for it; her dormancy had weakened her considerably.
Instead, she formed a protective barrier around the world; invisible to humanity, but nearly impenetrable by the Wheel's forces. She resolved to find human beings capable of fighting for the sake of the planet. From her memories of her War Angels, and fragments of their souls, she formed the Pentacles; charms that would bind to the soul and physical form of any human deemed worthy to fight on humanity's behalf.
When gifted with a Pentacle, a human gains the powers and strengths of a War Angel from eons past; it takes time to realize the full potential of the War Angel's might, but some benefits are immediate. Strength, speed, enhanced senses, and stamina are standard. The human can manifest the War Angel's weapons, and eventually augment their bodies with the War Angel's true might. In these early days of the war for Earth, these humans must travel skyward, to fight the Wheel's forces wherever they intrude in the solar system and beyond.
The lore itself comes from the individual Pentacles, their War Angel, and the specific human who's been chosen to fit the role of a being beyond their comprehension. The War Angels, although dead, still have feelings and thoughts, and part of realizing a Pentacle's power is coming to terms with who you are as a person, and who the War Angel was who you've been bonded to. They're, in a way, the ancestor of the human chosen to play their part.
That's what I've got so far. I might start writing it and posting it up here, but my ultimate goal is to find a decent artist and turn it into a comic series; but, I'm not holding out hope for that, so I might just sack up and write it.
That's the general idea for ya.
