Helping r/HFY

Before starting, a thank you to the Void Dragons and Infinite Empire Lords. With their help, I can continue these stories almost daily. Thanks so much—let’s get going. Helping. Garen finally returned home after a long day at the factory. He collapsed onto his reclining branch and turned on the screen. He switched between 13 channels before settling on the state news. As he watched, he thought, not for the first time, that war seemed inevitable. Tensions between the four great nations kept rising, and troop deployments became increasingly visible. It was just a matter of time before something set everything off. He knew that when that happened, he’d likely have to enlist in the air guard. He’d heard that would be relatively safe. After all, he didn’t want to be labeled a coward for refusing to fight. He’d never be able to bring a partner if that happened. Now, live with the Bandana Leader, Shassen, for her special message to the nation. My citizens, I stand before you today to assure you that we will not be intimidated by our neighbors’ reckless aggression. They make threats and demands, hoping we’ll simply fold our wings and surrender. That won’t happen. Our army is the strongest in history, and I’m proud to announce the creation of the ultimate weapon. We’ve done what was once unimaginable—tapped into the power embedded in the smallest parts of our world and harnessed it to create unimaginable power: the power to erase an entire city in a single instant. With this power, we’ll defend ourselves and cleanse the world of those who seek to harm us. This power. Suddenly, the screen went static. Garen tried switching channels, but all showed the same thing. And just as it had appeared, the static was replaced by the image of something he’d never seen before—a truly strange creature, without feathers, wings, or fur.