Sea Reapers
03-05-2005, 17:56
The Island
Area: 70,280 sq km
Climate/Terrain: Tropical island, multiple terrain types
Sea Reaper Population: 1,950,000
Smartie Population: 500,000,000
Land Reaper Population: 1,500,000,000
Sea Reaper Languages: Reapal
Smartie Languages: English
Land Reaper Languages: Brutarian
(Please use these pop. figures, not NS figures)
‘The Island’, as it is known by all the natives, is an isolated place in the middle of a vast ocean. Few people have ever visited, and of the few that have even fewer have returned to their home afterwards.
Having been completely isolated throughout history, The Island is home to completely unique races, both sentient and non-sentient. Its history is one of extensive bloodshed and violence, and its native animals can be deadly or docile.
The Sentients
Three distinctive and totally unique sentient races inhabit The Island; the water-dwelling Sea Reapers, the subterranean Land Reapers, and the naive and slightly mad Smarties. Some argue that the massive Kabuto is actually a sentient lifeform, but for now it will be considered an animal.
Sea Reapers
Sea Reapers are an amphibious race of humanoid mammals, which live a few nautical miles away from The Island in a large underwater city. The current dominant race of the three, they are the protectors of the Smartie race and the moral enemies of the Land Reapers.
Biology
Sea Reapers have a distinctive look. Their skin is very bright blue in colour, almost white in fact, which is a contrast to their jet-black hair and bright red eyes. Other than these colourful differences, they look like humans for the most part. Sometimes their eyes can glow slightly, radiating light, usually when they are highly emotional. This may be due to magic, or some unknown biochemical reaction. Some of them may also have a very feint, glowing-white ‘aura’ around them. This signifies that they have particularly strong ‘mana’, and they are usually revered for it. They are very rare, but Princess Delphi is a living example of such a Sea Reaper.
They are a surprisingly beautiful species, with very few races being able to call any one of them ‘ugly’. They all have a healthy look about them, and most of them are very physically fit, meaning that you will not find an overweight Sea Reaper with no muscles.
Practically, they are similar to humans in most ways but a few. They can breathe underwater permanently, and can also breathe air permanently, thanks to a sophisticated respiratory system. They have higher levels of strength and stamina, but this could just be because they have a lot more exercise than most humans. They are slightly more durable than humans though by no means indestructible. Most interestingly, all Sea Reapers are endowed with magical abilities. These abilities vary in strength according to how much ‘mana’ that individual has access to.
Most Sea Reapers can live for a few centuries without showing any visible signs of aging. This is partly because the hydrogen present in water acts as a healing agent for their bodies; simply put, when immersed in water a Sea Reaper exhibits extraordinarily fast regenerative properties. Fighting a Sea Reaper in its natural habitat is rarely a good idea.
Interestingly, the female:male ratio is somewhat skewed; approximately 75% of Sea Reapers are female, which results in a sort of forced matriarchy.
Technology
To an outsider, Sea Reapers may appear to be primitives. Indeed, they rarely carry anything other than a bow and a sword, and wear minimal amounts of simple clothing. However, if one were to dig a little deeper, one might discover that they are anything but primitive.
Firstly, the short, elegantly decorated curved sword that you may scoff is usually made from a sophisticated titanium alloy, sometimes with acid or even diamond blades. They are virtually indestructible and will cut through pretty much anything, given enough force.
The bow is also slightly misleading. It uses an extremely high tensile wire to fire arrows at a shockingly high velocity over surprising distances. Some of their arrows may be designed specifically to penetrate the bullet-proof armour of the Land Reapers, while other arrows may incorporate impact-detonated explosive tips, which can pack quite a punch. Although not as sophisticated or versatile as a machine gun, it can still be a potent weapon.
The main bulk of Sea Reaper technology is not displayed on the battlefield, though. They rely on magic for that, primarily. No, the best example of their technology is their large, underground city. This huge place is covered with a water-tight dome of very thick chemically-treated glass supported by an incredibly strong metal support skeleton. The only entrances to the city are underwater, and very few of them are big enough to allow vehicles to gain entrance. Water pressure is put to good use, with canals being allowed to flow through the streets of the city, but without letting water flood the whole dome.
This dome is protected by surprisingly sophisticated torpedo launching systems, which are numerous enough to dispatch most naval units before they can get into range.
Although Smarties came up with most of the ideas for the underlying technologies, the Sea Reapers put them into practice.
Military Tactics
Sea Reapers may be the dominant species, but they certainly aren’t the most numerous. Indeed, their population doesn’t even reach half a million, and they all live in the same city. So if they are required to field an army for their own defence, or for that of the Smarties, it cannot be large. Given their rather unsophisticated weapons one might think that they would be pushovers, but nothing could be further from the truth.
Sea Reapers are a magical species, with a great degree control over the elements. A handful of Sea Reapers can set alight to entire regiments of conventional troops; they can trap their enemies in a ring of fire; they can call upon something as large as a tornado to take out large groups of enemies or even enemy structures; they can strike individuals with short bolts of lightning; and they can even summon friendly spirits to help them in their cause. And these are just a few of their abilities. All Sea Reapers have the ability to ‘project’ themselves – that is, they use magic to propel themselves across the battlefield at an astonishing speed. This makes them a hard target to hit, as they zoom up into the air, across the landscape, and move so fast that only a blur can be seen. This ability also affords them access to high ground otherwise unreachable by foot. One common tactic is to project right up to the face of an enemy, disorientating them just long enough to dispatch them with a blade.
If fighting Sea Reapers, expect to fight a guerrilla style war. They simply lack the numbers for head-on confrontations in a traditional style. Although an individual Sea Reaper is powerful enough to take on countless conventional enemies, they are not indestructible. They can die from a well-placed bullet, and they lack body armour of any kind.
Culture
Sea Reapers are a peaceful race. They do not enjoy war in the slightest, and they are always reluctant to be pushed into it. Being a strikingly beautiful species, they view all life as beautiful in its own way, and so the last thing they desire is to destroy it. With these sorts of ideals, it was probably inevitable that they would lock horns with the Land Reapers at some point; Land Reapers are hideous from any perspective, and they love war. The two species are polar opposites.
Most of Sea Reaper culture is devoted to the arts. Music and painting plays a big part in daily life, with most Sea Reapers regardless of profession fancying themselves as budding artists. Even buildings require artistic input before they can be built – as they say, “if we are beautiful, and if nature is beautiful, so should anything we build be beautiful”. As such, their underwater city is a magnificent sight to behold, made from bright stones such as limestone or marble, with lots of glass-based decorations, all on an aquatic theme. There isn’t an ugly building to behold, and the streets are lined with works of art or simple plants.
They are a very emotional people, and a very compassionate people, and rarely afraid to express their emotions. Any peaceful outsiders who visited their city would get a warm and friendly response no matter how different they were.
Government
Sea Reaper society is a matriarchy, ruled by a hereditary Queen. Despite the sound of this, the Queen is usually a popular person and will never institute oppressive or restricting laws. She leaves the people to get on with their lives, whilst she concerns herself with the maintenance of the underwater city, the defence of the Smarties, and the Land Reaper problem. A bureaucrat would serve only to complicate things, so she is an ideal leader.
The current Queen is Sappho I. Her daughter, Princess Delphi, is far more popular with the people, however she is reluctant about being royal at all.
Of all the different species living on The Island, the Sea Reapers seem to be the ones most interested in engaging with the outside world. The Land Reapers are far too busy focussing on defeating the Sea Reapers and securing the Smarties, while the Smarties are far too eccentric to even consider it. The Meccaryn are only interested in the Sea Reapers, for reasons unknown, and couldn’t care less about any of the other cultures on Earth.
History
Sea Reaper culture dates back thousands of years, long before the very recent domed city was constructed. Years ago, the Sea Reapers simply existed underwater, their homes completely immersed. They often explored the mainland, primarily to visit the Smarties and make sure they were OK.
The Great Reaper War, that is, the eternal conflict between the Sea Reapers and the Land Reapers, has been going on since before history began. While the rest of the Earth progressed through different eras of technology and political climates, The Island has always been at war. This war was not a constant battle, of course, but Land Reapers will kill Sea Reapers on sight, always.
The two races were constantly at a stalemate, though. Thanks to their magic and their ability to retreat underwater, the Sea Reapers always managed to keep the war balanced despite their infinitely smaller numbers. But 2,000 years ago, the Land Reapers almost won.
A devastating blow had destroyed nearly 40% of the Sea Reaper population. Land Reaper ships floated above known Sea Reaper underwater villages, ready to drop huge weights down like kinetic bombs, crushing whoever was below. The Sea Reapers were about to lose, despite their powerful magic. But with a little help from some extraterrestrials, they managed to turn the tide of war.
The Meccaryn race took pity on the Sea Reapers. They even admired them, and agreed with their culture. On the other hand, they found the Land Reapers to be evil and repulsive. When a nervous Land Reaper patrol attacked and nearly killed some Meccaryn visitors, it was settled. The Meccaryn would help the Sea Reapers.
Thousands of Space Commandoes were deployed. With superior technology and advanced tactical training, the Meccaryn turned the tide of war within a week. Within two weeks, the Land Reapers had retreated to the mountains. And within a few days after that, the Land Reapers were defeated. The Meccaryn spent some time with the Sea Reapers, discussing all sorts of political and philosophical matters with them, before leaving. They didn’t return, although their exploits became legendary to every race on The Island.
And so, for the next 2,000 years, the Sea Reapers were the dominant race of The Island. They found it much easier to protect the Smarties, as their only enemies now were natural predators.
Thirty years ago, they completed the domed city, their greatest achievement of all time, and they have developed it quite extensively since then.
Land Reapers
Land Reapers are a race of ugly, brutish humanoid mammals, who currently live underground but would naturally live on the surface. They aren’t the dominant race of The Island, but they are technically the most powerful – they just haven’t made their move yet. Their current military aims include the total annihilation of the Sea Reapers, and the enslavement of the Smartie race.
Biology
Whereas the Sea Reapers are a beautiful species regardless of who is looking at them, the opposite is true for the Land Reapers – they’re ugly. Really ugly. They are mammals, but they have rough, almost scaly skin, which is mostly white except for their head, which has jet-black patches around certain features. Interestingly, they have only one, deep red eye; it is a bizarre oval shape. This shape somehow allows them to see in three dimensions without actually needing a second eye. It is much more vulnerable to damage, though.
Land Reapers are a bulky, large, brutish species. They are roughly 1.5 times larger than either a human or a Sea Reaper, and much bulkier. This bulk is either muscle or fat, depending on their duty (soldiers and labourers will be the muscular ones, whilst scientists and suchlike will be the fat ones), but there is no such thing as a skinny Land Reaper. They are stronger than a human, but surprisingly, not stronger than a Sea Reaper. Neither are they as resistant to damage as a Sea Reaper – essentially, whatever kills a human will kill a Land Reaper, and they can’t be regenerated by hydrogen like their marine counterparts.
Their lifespan is 150 – 200 years, and they suffer from serious physical conditions after about 175 years of age. They can fight up until the age of 90 – 120 years, though.
Technology
Land Reaper technology may look completely alien, but this is a result of a total lack of foreign input. Their weapons are basically the same as any modern nation. Whilst human nations focussed on machine guns and other projectile weapons as their mainstay armaments, however, the brutish Land Reapers went with explosive-based weapons.
A Land Reaper’s idea of an assault rifle is something which can hold 15 micro-rockets without weighing more than 20kg. The Land Reaper’s 15mm micro-RPG launcher is an impressive weapon; automatic loading from a large magazine, it fires small yield rocket propelled grenades at a high muzzle velocity. They aren’t tracking weapons, and they have a small blast radius, but they are devastating weapons all the same. As the Land Reaper soldier’s saying goes, “if it doesn’t die, you need to use a bigger gun!”.
Their projectile weapons have suffered as a result of their focus on explosives. Their machine guns and assault rifles would be most easily compared to WW2-era versions. They are fine for unarmoured targets such as Sea Reapers, though.
All Land Reaper troops are equipped with Kevlar-like body armour, as well as some very thin metal armour over the top designed to offer some protection against blades.
Their underground habitats aren’t much more than sophisticated mine shafts, though, so it is obvious to any outsider that the Land Reaper’s primary focus is their armed forces.
Military Tactics
Comparable to any modern nation. There are some slight twists, however, given their unique enemy. Sea Reapers rarely engage their enemies on an open battlefield in a traditional way. They will lure their opponents into forests or mountainous terrains to attack. But when they do, the Land Reapers are the superior force.
They operate in ‘lines’. The first line of troops are pour souls designated to be ‘human shields’. They try to lessen the damage inflicted by Sea Reaper arrows and fire spells. Behind those lines are the standard rocket infantry – equipped with their ‘RPG assault rifles’, they try to take out clusters of Sea Reapers, or fire rockets where Sea Reapers might land after projecting themselves. A battlefield of this nature can be dramatic. Hundreds of white streamers flying towards their opponents, with Sea Reapers streaking across the air to collide with the Land Reaper lines… it would be beautiful, if it weren’t war.
Should the Sea Reapers manage to get past these outer lines, the rocket troopers will immediately try to fall back and allow machine gunners to lay down suppressive fire, hoping to push the Sea Reapers back even if they don’t kill them. The very last resort is swords. If a Land Reaper resorts to a sword fight with a Sea Reaper, he will almost certainly be killed. The Land Reapers have no defence against Sea Reaper magic, they only have a numerical advantage and enough firepower to cause serious damage to Sea Reaper lines.
Should their troops be foolish enough to allow themselves to be lured into less favourable terrain such as a forest or a hill/mountain range, they will find themselves being picked off one by one. Sea Reapers have superior eyesight, and will pick them off with sniper bows from a distance. Other Sea Reapers will project themselves into the midst of the Land Reapers, kill one or two of them and then project back to a safe place before they even realise what happened.
Land Reapers do have aircraft, but given the nature of Sea Reaper strategies they are rarely used and are based on quite old technology. They also have metal-clad ocean-going vessels which used to be heavily used, but the latest line of defences used on the Sea Reaper city has rendered them largely useless – they can’t get close enough to drop depth charges.
Culture
There is little to say about the culture of the Land Reapers. They are driven almost entirely by a generational hatred of the Sea Reapers and a lust for war. Nearly every job you can get in Land Reaper society benefits the military in some way or another. Scientists are not working on solving the riddles of life or anything of that nature; they are strictly limited to weapons research. Their ongoing project has always been to find a defence against Sea Reaper magic, but thus far they have no ideas whatsoever.
The majority of Land Reapers follow their leader – currently Lord Krat – with blind devotion. They honestly believe that war is a good thing, and that the destruction of the Sea Reapers would be an excellent thing. Enslaving the Smartie race has always been a ‘hobby’ of theirs, as they hope to use the intelligent little creatures to further their own technology and to simply put them to work.
Most of the Land Reaper population currently lives underground, as a result of the war they lost 2,000 years ago. They do not intend to stay there for much longer, however.
Government
The Land Reapers are ruled by a single, male dictator, who refers to himself as ‘Lord’. His policies will almost always be harsh and oppressive, with the primary goal being the advancement of their military machine. The current Lord, Lord Krat, is the first Land Reaper Lord for 2,000 years to consider restarting the war with the Sea Reapers, and he is in a position where he is powerful enough to stand a chance.
History
2,000 years ago the Land Reapers were on the verge of wiping out the Sea Reapers once and for all. They had a fifty to one numerical advantage, and they had primitive wooden sailing ships ready to drop heavy weights on the underwater towns of the Sea Reapers.
Unfortunately, a new enemy of the Land Reapers showed itself. The Meccaryn. These powerful, skilled aliens drove the Land Reapers back. Every day, the Land Reapers were forced to retreat deeper and deeper into the mainland. Finally, after a matter of days, they decided to retreat into the underground cave network surrounding the dormant volcano at the centre of The Island.
The Meccaryn knew that they were crippled for the time being, and were satisfied that they would not be coming out for a long time. So they left. The Land Reapers lived underground for 2,000 years. Throughout that time, their only goal was the total destruction of the Sea Reaper race. They advanced their technology, they grew their population base back up to strength, and they came up with plans.
About two years ago, the Land Reapers surpassed the Sea Reapers in military capabilities. Their technology is advanced, comparable to modern nations around the world. They intend to leave their underground world and finish the job they started 2,000 years ago.
Smarties
Smarties are a completely bizarre race of highly intelligent, semi-humanoid mammals, who live all across The Island in small, scattered settlements. Smarties are the least powerful of all the races, being protected by one and threatened by another.
Biology
Smarties look… odd. The most obvious things about them are their height and the size of their heads. They rarely reach heights of more than four feet tall, and half of that height is actually their large, bulbous head. How they don’t fall over with such a poorly-designed body is unknown, as is where they get enough blood to fill their brain, but somehow they manage to stand upright on their short, stubby legs without fainting too often. Their skin is similar in colour to a Caucasian human, with black or brown highlights around their faces. They have two, large, blue-white coloured eyes and a fairly small mouth. One might call the strange little creatures ‘cute’, especially when combined with their eccentric behaviour.
Despite their quirky mannerisms, Smarties are actually very, very intelligent. Their brains are nearly 20% larger than either a human’s or a Reaper’s, and they are estimated to use a whopping 40% of it. If you were to ask a Smartie any mathematical question, assuming it knew how to work out the answer it would tell you within seconds, regardless of how complex. This is about the only physiological advantage they have, as their other traits aren’t much worth bragging about. They are quite weak and vulnerable. Smarties are estimated to live for about 70 or 80 years, if they can avoid bizarre accidents.
Technology
Smarties live in primitive-looking villages. Unlike the Sea Reapers, ‘digging deeper’ will not find anything. Some Smarties carry around technologies they have ‘found’, but they wield them more like a prize than anything useful. They lack weapons of any kind, primitive or not.
This is not to say that a Smartie couldn’t build advanced technologies if he wanted to – they did, after all, help the Sea Reapers build their underwater city, amongst other things. But there is some debate as to whether the Smarties actually know that they helped build it. They seem rather eccentric, and rather distant. The simple reason for their lack of technology is that they just don’t want any. They are content to roll around in the mud and throw stones at Vimps.
Military Tactics
Smartie military tactics? Again, they have the brains to be phenomenal tacticians, but they just don’t care enough to bother. Smartie tactics will invariably involve screaming, running away, and finding someone bigger than them to protect them. Fortunately they found the Sea Reapers to help them, who seem fairly dedicated to doing so.
Culture
Smarties live in small (literally) villages which somewhat resemble medieval towns of Europe. The focal point of their societies is the pub – this is not because of any social habit, but just because they like to drink ale. A Smartie pub should really be on a tourist guide as a ‘must-see’ destination. These tiny buildings are full of character (they often have multi-coloured roofs, painted blue and yellow in most cases), they serve great ale and often freshly-cooked Vimp meat, but most importantly, they contain drunk Smarties. These clumsy little guys are probably the funniest things you will ever see without having a heart attack.
Smarties don’t have any art. They don’t have any goals. They don’t care enough about anything except eating to really bother with anything at all. A Smartie is more content to fall into a river and see where it takes him (seriously, many Smarties have died that way) than to bother doing anything which requires work or thought. As a result of their apathy, they are constantly threatened. Land Reapers seek to enslave them, whilst Rippers and Kabuto seek to eat them. Indeed, their only friends in the world are the Sea Reapers.
Government
Smarties are a disorganised mess, their villages scattered so randomly that even a Smartie couldn’t tell you where every last one of them was. A handful of people live in each village. The closest thing to a hierarchy they have is in their families, with the husband usually being dominant over the wife. Most of the time, they will follow the instructions of the Sea Reapers, as it usually benefits them in some way.
History
Smarties are too lazy to record their own history. Thus, the only things known about them are from the history of the other two races. And that is not very extensive. Smarties have been caught in the centre of the Great Reaper War since it began; one side wants to take them as slaves, the other side wants to protect them. This has always been very confusing for the Smarties, who don’t understand why people can’t just get along with each other. Other than helping the Sea Reapers in building their great underwater city, Smarties have not really done anything worth mention, it seems.
Meccaryn
A technologically advanced humanoid aliens, of whom little is known besides the fact that they often favour the Sea Reapers.
Biology
Only the face of a Meccaryn has ever been seen, as they reside in armoured suits apparently all the time. Their face is very… alien. It appears to be quite fish-like, with no visible nose, a small, fish-like mouth and two beady black eyes. Their skin is a shade of yellow, with very faint scales and mottling. Their head seems quite small, but their technology and military tactics suggests that they are definitely intelligent, so while they may have a smaller brain they probably use more of it.
Little is known about Meccaryn biology. When killed, a Meccaryn armoured suit will quietly self-destruct, vaporising any biological or technological trace of them. This means that neither the Sea Reapers nor the Land Reapers have ever been able to analyse any bodies. As they remain in their airtight suits, it seems likely that they cannot breathe the atmosphere of Earth. As their suit is not filled with water, it suggests that they are not water-dwelling creatures despite their fish-like appearance. Meccaryn are apparently just as vulnerable to damage as humans, perhaps even more so, but their technology makes them highly resilient regardless. Their strength may also be subject to debate, as their suit may inject them with adrenaline or artificially enhance their strength in some way.
Technology
Meccaryn are highly technologically advanced, possessing spacecraft capable of interstellar travel. Their impressive technology is only matched by their not-so-impressive ability to misuse it. For instance, both visits they have made to the Sea Reapers have been accidental crash landings. The exact capabilities of their craft are thus unknown, for the most part, as they are usually grounded when seen. They appear to travel around primarily in sleek, high-performance fighter craft, armed with moderate weaponry.
Their standard sidearm is some form of advanced, high-powered energy weapon, whilst the rest of their arsenal varies from high-yield explosives, projectile weapons and enormous energy blasters. Their most favoured weapon is a ‘Millennium gun’, which is a handheld weapon almost as large as they are. It seems to operate on the same principles as a rail gun, only it fires some type of high-yield explosive instead of a simple projectile. The resulting blast is devastating, almost worthy of a tactical nuclear weapon.
The most obvious technology apparent to anyone who meets them, of course, is their armoured suit. This self-contained technological marvel is all they seem to wear, and it covers them from head to toe. For the most part, it seems to be highly flexible, but at the same time it is highly resistant to projectiles, blades and low-yield explosions. It incorporates such gadgets as a limited-duration, rechargable jet pack, a grenade launcher, a low-powered personal energy shield, not to mention the fact that it seems to have unlimited power and appears to be modular in design. This suit makes even lone Meccaryn quite hard to kill.
Military Tactics
Meccaryn Space Commandos operate as their name suggests – they all seem to have elite training, and operate as such. They prefer to operate in small units and go for specific objectives without necessarily directly facing the enemy on the battlefield. They are capable of and equipped to engage almost any enemies in almost any circumstances, though.
Their various technologies come together to form one of the most versatile infantry forces around. They will typically favour covert, indirect strikes, but on an open battlefield the Meccaryn are devastating opponents. Their high-yield explosive weapons can eradicate huge groups of armour and infantry quickly, whilst their own armour and shielding makes they very hard to take down even if Meccaryn weaponry is used against them.
Some Meccaryn will typically fly overhead and rain down fire from above, launching flares occasionally to avoid being ‘painted’, whilst the rest will attack from random, multiple angles with very heavy weaponry. Open battles with Meccaryn are usually very quick, very brutal, and leave behind a lot of craters. Meccaryn will often set themselves multiple primary objectives in a battle, some of which may not even be real - entire units of Meccaryn will attempt to achieve multiple fictional objectives at the same time with the sole aim of confusing, dividing and distracting their enemies.
Meccaryn do not seem to employ any dedicated armour like tanks, however. They seem to have incorporated several different military units into their suit at the same time, making them a jack-of-all-trades but a specialist in none. They do have vehicles though, and not just space-based. There are references in Ancient Sea Reaper and Land Reaper histories to a form of flying machine with rotating blades on the top. The ‘Gyrocopter’, as they like to call it, is a very small, lightly armoured craft, easily dismantled and stored upon one of their space fighters. It is vulnerable to damage due to its lack of armour and open cockpit, but it is very agile. Armed with a high-powered minigun-like weapon, as well as a limited supply of unguided explosive weapons, it is quite powerful. Unlike the jetpacks on suits, the Gyrocopter can remain in the air for a long time, at least as long as any Earth-based helicopter. It would be quite vulnerable to fighter planes, however.
Meccaryn are highly dangerous and highly skilled combat opponents, but they do not usually deploy in great numbers.
Culture
Not much is known about Meccaryn culture, but what little is known suggests that they are a race of easy-going layabouts. Space Commando isn’t the only job you can get, though it is a highly respected one which is often in demand from other cultures, almost like a mercenary force. Drinking and partying seems to be the primary passtime of the Meccaryn. Christians probably would not like them, that much is certain.
Why they have taken an interest in the Sea Reapers is not entirely known. It is thought that they simply share common beliefs at their core, though given the nature of their Space Commandos this seems unlikely. Regardless, they have no interest in any other culture on Earth, and their motives may become clear in time.
Government
Unknown. It appears to be a form of representative democracy with large amounts of military influence.
History
The only known history of the Meccaryn started and ended 2,000 years ago. A handful of Space Commandos crash-landed on The Island, Planet Earth, whilst on a journey to a pleasure planet. They arrived on The Island in the middle of the Great Reaper War, at the point where the Land Reapers were dominant and on the verge of winning. After sustaining an unprovoked attack by the Land Reapers, the Meccaryn sought out the scattered leadership of the Sea Reapers, and got to know them somewhat. They proceeded to call for reinforcements, and fought alongside the Sea Reapers. Within weeks, the Land Reapers were driven underground. The Meccaryn suffered few casualties, ten at the most.
The Meccaryn remained on Earth for a short period of time, conversing with the Sea Reapers as they slowly began to rebuild. They eventually left, though, and did not return until quite recently.
The Animals
The Island is home to a wide variety of totally unique animals, which would make any zoo owner drool and any big game hunter have a heart attack. Unfortunately, not all of it is docile, and when an animal is dangerous it is usually very dangerous. Here are listed a handful of the primary animals unique to The Island, but it is by no means a definitive list.
Kabuto Giant
By far the most awe-inspiring and potentially lethal animal on The Island is the massive Kabuto Giant. Standing at least 40 feet tall as an adult, the carnivorous Kabuto Giant is the tank of the animal world.
Biology
The Kabuto Giant is a very tall, very heavy animal. Most adult specimens are about 40 feet tall (sometimes taller, sometimes shorter) and weigh in at approximately 14-17 tons. They are visually distinctive creatures, and obvious carnivores. They have a large, pronounced chin, which forms a mouth that very much looks like it is constantly grinning. Small tusks jut out from the bottom jaw. It is essentially a humanoid bipedal creature, with two legs, two arms, and a head on top of a torso. Its thick, scaly skin is generally blue-grey in colour, brighter in some areas and darker in others. Bony spines jut out from its midsection, which are strangely enough often used to store food – the Kabuto can simply impale an animal onto one of these spikes and leave it there, to eat another time.
Kabuto are reptiles primarily, though they have some mammal traits. Primarily, they have warm blood. Other than this they are very similar to reptiles in most ways, including reproduction. They have three hearts, allowing blood to be pumped around their enormous body, and five lungs to fuel these numerous pumps. This also gives them some degree of survivability.
Their reproduction is, as mentioned, similar to any other reptiles. Their sheer size means that their eggs can be as large as a human, though. It can take between 7 – 13 months for the offspring to hatch. Kabuto rarely lay more than one or two eggs at a time, unfortunately for the omelette industry.
Kabuto is a carnivore. It needs to consume large amounts of food to sustain its large mass (roughly equivalent to seven to nine whole human bodies per week), and as such is constantly on the move – a single local ecology may not sustain it for long. This also imposes a very strict limit on the number of Kabuto Giants that may inhabit The Island at any one time. Given that its primary source of food – vimps – is also in demand from several other species, no more than twenty to thirty Kabuto Giants can survive on The Island at any one time.
Their sheer size gives them incredible strength and durability – standard weapons will not work on their tough hide, and even something like an elephant gun might not be enough to hit any vital organs. They can crush buildings, rip trees from the ground and throw them, and generally cause total chaos if they are so inclined. This makes them very dangerous when agitated.
Despite their enormous mass, Kabuto Giants can run quite quickly, if only for a short period of time. In an open space they could theoretically run at 30-35mph for a few minutes. Their walking speed is somewhere in the region of 7- 15mph, depending on the Kabuto.
There is some question as to whether Kabuto Giants are actually sentient creatures. Their mannerisms suggest that they have at least some degree of intelligence. Sea Reaper observations have found that Kabuto can live from anywhere to 75 to 300 years – it simply depends on the fortunes of the Kabuto.
Behaviour
Kabuto Giants aren’t an inherently violent species, despite their size and disposition towards meat. They will only eat a person if they are extremely hungry. This is part of the reason why some Sea Reapers question whether they are intelligent or not. Kabuto seem to deliberately avoid Sea Reapers, and even Smarties. Yet they aren’t entirely averse to eating Land Reapers. Whether they have an instinctive fear of the Sea Reapers, who can single-handedly fend off a Kabuto without even using any weapons if he/she is powerful enough, or an ideological respect for them, is unknown. Whichever it is, Kabuto often follow Sea Reapers around like loyal canines. Princess Delphi for one is quite fond of the ‘gentle giants’, as she calls them.
Kabuto are lonely nomads for the most part, favouring lowlands and valleys to highlands and mountains. Their favourite prey are vimps, which are easy to catch and too stupid to have any feelings on being eaten. They are large enough to fill the Kabuto’s stomach quite quickly. They are also, as a Smartie might say, ‘Darn good eatin’’.
Kabuto mating rituals are simple. Given how few of them there are, they cannot afford to be choosy. Upon encountering a Kabuto of the opposite sex, they will immediately mate. Kabuto don’t really need a nest – they simply stand in one particular area and nobody would ever go near it. Kabuto offspring are roughly the size of humans when they are first born, so they are not exactly weaklings, but so far as their parents are concerned they need all the protection they can get, and they will viciously make sure they get it. So approaching a Kabuto nesting area is not advised.
When the offspring is about half-grown, the parents will part ways, probably never seeing each other again, and the offspring will be left to fend for itself. This is when the local ecology decides whether it can support another Kabuto or not. If it can, the Kabuto child grows up and lives on, if it can’t, the Kabuto child will die before it matures fully.
Do you want to find a Kabuto? You don’t need to look hard. The ground will shudder with their footsteps when they are nearby, and they can’t hide very easily. Frankly, if you can’t see one when it is nearby, you must be blind.
Ripper
Rippers are one of the most bizarre and dangerous creatures living on The Island today.
Biology
Rippers are an unusual species to look at. There is no common reference for which to compare them against, so any description will be sketchy at best. They appear to be a cross between the three major ‘genres’ of land animal – mammal, insect and reptile – and can move easily both above and below ground, though water is their nemesis. They are a deep brown colour, with bright white tusks and claws. They have a strange, round mouth with outward-facing, moveable, incredibly long and sharp tusks, the purpose of which will become apparent later on, and two large arms, which span the length of their entire body. They have no eyes, navigating exclusively with sound, smell and touch. The massive claws on the tips of their arms aid them both in hunting and digging. They do not have legs, and move around simply by dragging themselves along with their arms – though make no mistake, smaller Rippers can move around surprisingly quickly in this fashion.
Rippers are carnivores. They will eat anything living if they think they can catch it, basically. They are not intelligent enough to decide when a target is too strong for them to defeat, they only know that they want to eat – though, only the largest Rippers will even consider attacking a Kabuto.
Rippers vary in size, ranging from anywhere between one foot high to fifteen feet high. They are capable of spitting fireballs – they have two chemical glands in their mouths, which, when squirted together, catch fire in an explosive manner. Their mouth is the perfect shape to form and launch these fireballs, and they can throw them a surprising distance. Depending on the size of the Ripper, these fireballs can actually be as potent as low-yield explosive weapons, only they will also have a napalm-like effect.
The lifespan of a Ripper is unknown. It is so hard to tag and monitor a single one due to their tendency to burrow underground and disappear for long periods of time. Rippers reproduce in a strange way; strange ‘pods’ grow in particularly secluded areas of forests. They use the surrounding material to grow and then eject a baby Ripper. The pods are essentially a completely different species to the Rippers themselves, much like facehuggers from the ‘Alien’ movie, though they contain all the genetic data necessary to create a Ripper. As the pods themselves reproduce by launching spores high into the air when windy, it would be nearly impossible to eradicate them all. Each individual pod can produce the smallest variety of Rippers at a rate of about one per day, whilst it can take each one a week to produce a larger type.
Despite their unusually potent offensive abilities, Rippers are not particularly durable. They can be killed both by Sea Reaper bows and standard firearms fairly easily. They aren’t very intelligent either, so once you have seem all their instinctive hunting methods you aren’t likely to have any difficulty predicting their next actions. Though they should not be underestimated.
Behaviour
Everything about Rippers is unusual and their method of hunting is no different. Rippers will bury themselves in the ground and simply… wait. Their round mouths will be the only things visible above the surface, with their sharp tusks spread out like a trap. If an animal such as a vimp gets too close, their tusks will suddenly poke upwards, impaling the creature. The Ripper will then pull itself from the ground and consume its victim. Rippers may also chase their prey underground, bursting out only to pluck their target and drag it beneath the soil.
Larger Rippers may also hunt on the ground. If they cannot move fast enough to slash at their prey with one of their arms, they spit a fireball at them instead. This has the added bonus of cooking their meal. Rippers rarely attack Kabuto, as they appear to have an instinctive fear of the species. But if they do, they will usually attack in groups, and only the largest of the Rippers will do so.
Rippers act in a way that suggests they are part of a hive, but as they have no ‘Queen’ as such this is merely an illusion. Groups of Rippers will often band together to make catching their dinner easier.
Rippers are pure, base-instinct animals, and they are highly aggressive and very dangerous. It is inadvisable to approach one, whether armed or not.
Vimp
Vimps are docile herbivores, which breed faster than rabbits. They supply most of the food to the species of The Island.
Biology
Vimp are bipedal, but they do not resemble humans in the slightest. They have very long legs, keeping them at least eight feet of the ground, and two small, stumpy, largely useless forearms. Their body is simply a mass of meat with a head on the end; it has no describable shape. Its body simply sits between the top of the two legs, and has a face at the front and two arms dangling beneath. They are a very light brown colour, almost like a lightly tanned Caucasian human. Their hide is about as about as thick as that of a cow.
Vimps are mammals, and they eat mostly grass and leaves. Their reproductive system is able to reproduce their simple species at a shockingly high rate. Pregnancy lasts for only two months and birth is almost instantaneous. Childhood does not last long either. It is fortunate given how many species rely on them for food.
They can run quite fast, for quite long periods of time. They simply lack the concentration to keep up a sprint.
Vimp are possibly the dumbest animals in the world. You can attack one, and it will run for about thirty seconds before forgetting it was in danger and returning to normal. This makes them exceptionally easy to hunt, when combined with how much edible flesh they contain they are perfect food source.
Behaviour
Vimp move around in huge herds, with offspring in the centre. The only things they seem to do are move around and eat, sleeping at nights. When attacked their standard defence is to just run around randomly until they forget they are in danger. There is little else of note.
Economy
The economy of The Island is not one that could be easily compared to the rest of the modern world. The closest comparisons would probably be 'communism', though in the case of the Sea Reapers that isn't entirely accurate.
Sea Reaper economy, for instance, is very old-fashioned, based mostly on sole traders, small partnerships and the like. If there is a project that needs vast resources, for instance the initial construction of the Great City, all the Sea Reapers will simply band together and lend a hand.
Sea Reapers have a trade agreement of sorts with the Smarties. They provide Smarties with mined metals and other building materials, as well as defence, and in exchange the Smarties provide the Sea Reapers with food and wood -- Smarties may not be sane, but they are good farmers and can catch the tastiest Vimp, and anyone with arms is capable of hitting a tree with an axe. This mutually beneficial agreement doesn't provide much opportunity for profit, but neither culture is particularly interested in profit. As such, both Sea Reaper and Smartie economies suffer from very slow growth. They simply harvest what they need at the time, and hope they need nothing more.
The economy of the Land Reapers is isolated but a lot more vibrant. Their militaristic society leans them towards a communist style of economy, with all Land Reapers working for the greater good. There are various specialised 'communes' in their underground sanctuary -- miners live at the lowest depths of the underground world, mining the metals they need to construct their weapons. A lot of their food originates from Vimps, though they do have large fields of crops in the immediate viscinity of the dormant volcano.
Military
It goes without saying that the Smarties have no military. If a Smartie is particularly insane he or she may attempt to whack their enemies with a stick, but most will simply run away.
Sea Reapers are somewhat different. Having a population of less than a million they cannot rally a particularly large force without destroying their own society. They maintain a 'Smartie Defenders Brigade' which consists of about 3,000 volunteers and a 'Royal Guard' which consists of about 1,500 people. The Royal Guard is the closest to a dedicated force you will encounter in Sea Reaper society, as they are highly trained and they are dedicated to protecting the Royal family.
Any more than that will have volunteered at the last minute. All Sea Reapers are trained as children how to use their magic (if only to avoid accidents – and their skill will usually simply depend on their natural abilities), and given basic bow firing lessons, so this isn't necessarily a problem. As they do not bother with body armour and they all generally own a bow, the only thing that needs to be supplied to them are Reaperskis and food, which are generally available to civilians anyway. It just means that their 'military' is a little chaotic sometimes. At present, they could probably rally about 20,000 - 40,000 people to fight for a cause of average importance without damaging their productivity too badly.
Land Reapers, on the other hand, operate a military force comparable to any modern power. It is a dedicated force which undergoes regular battle drills and training courses. They are taught in various forms of native hand-to-hand combat, how to fire their various weapons effectively, and a course on how to fight Sea Reapers specifically. There is a set command structure, rules and disciplinary actions, and assorted other military standards including uniforms. Any Land Reaper resources which aren't needed for survival or investment in increased productivity are pumped into the army.
While geared towards the destruction of the Sea Reapers, they have actually crafted quite a versatile and flexible force. It seems likely that if The Island were ever invaded by a foreign power, the Land Reapers would probably provide the most substantial opposition. Approximately 5-7% of their entire population are dedicated soldiers. Fanatical soldiers, it should be noted.
Area: 70,280 sq km
Climate/Terrain: Tropical island, multiple terrain types
Sea Reaper Population: 1,950,000
Smartie Population: 500,000,000
Land Reaper Population: 1,500,000,000
Sea Reaper Languages: Reapal
Smartie Languages: English
Land Reaper Languages: Brutarian
(Please use these pop. figures, not NS figures)
‘The Island’, as it is known by all the natives, is an isolated place in the middle of a vast ocean. Few people have ever visited, and of the few that have even fewer have returned to their home afterwards.
Having been completely isolated throughout history, The Island is home to completely unique races, both sentient and non-sentient. Its history is one of extensive bloodshed and violence, and its native animals can be deadly or docile.
The Sentients
Three distinctive and totally unique sentient races inhabit The Island; the water-dwelling Sea Reapers, the subterranean Land Reapers, and the naive and slightly mad Smarties. Some argue that the massive Kabuto is actually a sentient lifeform, but for now it will be considered an animal.
Sea Reapers
Sea Reapers are an amphibious race of humanoid mammals, which live a few nautical miles away from The Island in a large underwater city. The current dominant race of the three, they are the protectors of the Smartie race and the moral enemies of the Land Reapers.
Biology
Sea Reapers have a distinctive look. Their skin is very bright blue in colour, almost white in fact, which is a contrast to their jet-black hair and bright red eyes. Other than these colourful differences, they look like humans for the most part. Sometimes their eyes can glow slightly, radiating light, usually when they are highly emotional. This may be due to magic, or some unknown biochemical reaction. Some of them may also have a very feint, glowing-white ‘aura’ around them. This signifies that they have particularly strong ‘mana’, and they are usually revered for it. They are very rare, but Princess Delphi is a living example of such a Sea Reaper.
They are a surprisingly beautiful species, with very few races being able to call any one of them ‘ugly’. They all have a healthy look about them, and most of them are very physically fit, meaning that you will not find an overweight Sea Reaper with no muscles.
Practically, they are similar to humans in most ways but a few. They can breathe underwater permanently, and can also breathe air permanently, thanks to a sophisticated respiratory system. They have higher levels of strength and stamina, but this could just be because they have a lot more exercise than most humans. They are slightly more durable than humans though by no means indestructible. Most interestingly, all Sea Reapers are endowed with magical abilities. These abilities vary in strength according to how much ‘mana’ that individual has access to.
Most Sea Reapers can live for a few centuries without showing any visible signs of aging. This is partly because the hydrogen present in water acts as a healing agent for their bodies; simply put, when immersed in water a Sea Reaper exhibits extraordinarily fast regenerative properties. Fighting a Sea Reaper in its natural habitat is rarely a good idea.
Interestingly, the female:male ratio is somewhat skewed; approximately 75% of Sea Reapers are female, which results in a sort of forced matriarchy.
Technology
To an outsider, Sea Reapers may appear to be primitives. Indeed, they rarely carry anything other than a bow and a sword, and wear minimal amounts of simple clothing. However, if one were to dig a little deeper, one might discover that they are anything but primitive.
Firstly, the short, elegantly decorated curved sword that you may scoff is usually made from a sophisticated titanium alloy, sometimes with acid or even diamond blades. They are virtually indestructible and will cut through pretty much anything, given enough force.
The bow is also slightly misleading. It uses an extremely high tensile wire to fire arrows at a shockingly high velocity over surprising distances. Some of their arrows may be designed specifically to penetrate the bullet-proof armour of the Land Reapers, while other arrows may incorporate impact-detonated explosive tips, which can pack quite a punch. Although not as sophisticated or versatile as a machine gun, it can still be a potent weapon.
The main bulk of Sea Reaper technology is not displayed on the battlefield, though. They rely on magic for that, primarily. No, the best example of their technology is their large, underground city. This huge place is covered with a water-tight dome of very thick chemically-treated glass supported by an incredibly strong metal support skeleton. The only entrances to the city are underwater, and very few of them are big enough to allow vehicles to gain entrance. Water pressure is put to good use, with canals being allowed to flow through the streets of the city, but without letting water flood the whole dome.
This dome is protected by surprisingly sophisticated torpedo launching systems, which are numerous enough to dispatch most naval units before they can get into range.
Although Smarties came up with most of the ideas for the underlying technologies, the Sea Reapers put them into practice.
Military Tactics
Sea Reapers may be the dominant species, but they certainly aren’t the most numerous. Indeed, their population doesn’t even reach half a million, and they all live in the same city. So if they are required to field an army for their own defence, or for that of the Smarties, it cannot be large. Given their rather unsophisticated weapons one might think that they would be pushovers, but nothing could be further from the truth.
Sea Reapers are a magical species, with a great degree control over the elements. A handful of Sea Reapers can set alight to entire regiments of conventional troops; they can trap their enemies in a ring of fire; they can call upon something as large as a tornado to take out large groups of enemies or even enemy structures; they can strike individuals with short bolts of lightning; and they can even summon friendly spirits to help them in their cause. And these are just a few of their abilities. All Sea Reapers have the ability to ‘project’ themselves – that is, they use magic to propel themselves across the battlefield at an astonishing speed. This makes them a hard target to hit, as they zoom up into the air, across the landscape, and move so fast that only a blur can be seen. This ability also affords them access to high ground otherwise unreachable by foot. One common tactic is to project right up to the face of an enemy, disorientating them just long enough to dispatch them with a blade.
If fighting Sea Reapers, expect to fight a guerrilla style war. They simply lack the numbers for head-on confrontations in a traditional style. Although an individual Sea Reaper is powerful enough to take on countless conventional enemies, they are not indestructible. They can die from a well-placed bullet, and they lack body armour of any kind.
Culture
Sea Reapers are a peaceful race. They do not enjoy war in the slightest, and they are always reluctant to be pushed into it. Being a strikingly beautiful species, they view all life as beautiful in its own way, and so the last thing they desire is to destroy it. With these sorts of ideals, it was probably inevitable that they would lock horns with the Land Reapers at some point; Land Reapers are hideous from any perspective, and they love war. The two species are polar opposites.
Most of Sea Reaper culture is devoted to the arts. Music and painting plays a big part in daily life, with most Sea Reapers regardless of profession fancying themselves as budding artists. Even buildings require artistic input before they can be built – as they say, “if we are beautiful, and if nature is beautiful, so should anything we build be beautiful”. As such, their underwater city is a magnificent sight to behold, made from bright stones such as limestone or marble, with lots of glass-based decorations, all on an aquatic theme. There isn’t an ugly building to behold, and the streets are lined with works of art or simple plants.
They are a very emotional people, and a very compassionate people, and rarely afraid to express their emotions. Any peaceful outsiders who visited their city would get a warm and friendly response no matter how different they were.
Government
Sea Reaper society is a matriarchy, ruled by a hereditary Queen. Despite the sound of this, the Queen is usually a popular person and will never institute oppressive or restricting laws. She leaves the people to get on with their lives, whilst she concerns herself with the maintenance of the underwater city, the defence of the Smarties, and the Land Reaper problem. A bureaucrat would serve only to complicate things, so she is an ideal leader.
The current Queen is Sappho I. Her daughter, Princess Delphi, is far more popular with the people, however she is reluctant about being royal at all.
Of all the different species living on The Island, the Sea Reapers seem to be the ones most interested in engaging with the outside world. The Land Reapers are far too busy focussing on defeating the Sea Reapers and securing the Smarties, while the Smarties are far too eccentric to even consider it. The Meccaryn are only interested in the Sea Reapers, for reasons unknown, and couldn’t care less about any of the other cultures on Earth.
History
Sea Reaper culture dates back thousands of years, long before the very recent domed city was constructed. Years ago, the Sea Reapers simply existed underwater, their homes completely immersed. They often explored the mainland, primarily to visit the Smarties and make sure they were OK.
The Great Reaper War, that is, the eternal conflict between the Sea Reapers and the Land Reapers, has been going on since before history began. While the rest of the Earth progressed through different eras of technology and political climates, The Island has always been at war. This war was not a constant battle, of course, but Land Reapers will kill Sea Reapers on sight, always.
The two races were constantly at a stalemate, though. Thanks to their magic and their ability to retreat underwater, the Sea Reapers always managed to keep the war balanced despite their infinitely smaller numbers. But 2,000 years ago, the Land Reapers almost won.
A devastating blow had destroyed nearly 40% of the Sea Reaper population. Land Reaper ships floated above known Sea Reaper underwater villages, ready to drop huge weights down like kinetic bombs, crushing whoever was below. The Sea Reapers were about to lose, despite their powerful magic. But with a little help from some extraterrestrials, they managed to turn the tide of war.
The Meccaryn race took pity on the Sea Reapers. They even admired them, and agreed with their culture. On the other hand, they found the Land Reapers to be evil and repulsive. When a nervous Land Reaper patrol attacked and nearly killed some Meccaryn visitors, it was settled. The Meccaryn would help the Sea Reapers.
Thousands of Space Commandoes were deployed. With superior technology and advanced tactical training, the Meccaryn turned the tide of war within a week. Within two weeks, the Land Reapers had retreated to the mountains. And within a few days after that, the Land Reapers were defeated. The Meccaryn spent some time with the Sea Reapers, discussing all sorts of political and philosophical matters with them, before leaving. They didn’t return, although their exploits became legendary to every race on The Island.
And so, for the next 2,000 years, the Sea Reapers were the dominant race of The Island. They found it much easier to protect the Smarties, as their only enemies now were natural predators.
Thirty years ago, they completed the domed city, their greatest achievement of all time, and they have developed it quite extensively since then.
Land Reapers
Land Reapers are a race of ugly, brutish humanoid mammals, who currently live underground but would naturally live on the surface. They aren’t the dominant race of The Island, but they are technically the most powerful – they just haven’t made their move yet. Their current military aims include the total annihilation of the Sea Reapers, and the enslavement of the Smartie race.
Biology
Whereas the Sea Reapers are a beautiful species regardless of who is looking at them, the opposite is true for the Land Reapers – they’re ugly. Really ugly. They are mammals, but they have rough, almost scaly skin, which is mostly white except for their head, which has jet-black patches around certain features. Interestingly, they have only one, deep red eye; it is a bizarre oval shape. This shape somehow allows them to see in three dimensions without actually needing a second eye. It is much more vulnerable to damage, though.
Land Reapers are a bulky, large, brutish species. They are roughly 1.5 times larger than either a human or a Sea Reaper, and much bulkier. This bulk is either muscle or fat, depending on their duty (soldiers and labourers will be the muscular ones, whilst scientists and suchlike will be the fat ones), but there is no such thing as a skinny Land Reaper. They are stronger than a human, but surprisingly, not stronger than a Sea Reaper. Neither are they as resistant to damage as a Sea Reaper – essentially, whatever kills a human will kill a Land Reaper, and they can’t be regenerated by hydrogen like their marine counterparts.
Their lifespan is 150 – 200 years, and they suffer from serious physical conditions after about 175 years of age. They can fight up until the age of 90 – 120 years, though.
Technology
Land Reaper technology may look completely alien, but this is a result of a total lack of foreign input. Their weapons are basically the same as any modern nation. Whilst human nations focussed on machine guns and other projectile weapons as their mainstay armaments, however, the brutish Land Reapers went with explosive-based weapons.
A Land Reaper’s idea of an assault rifle is something which can hold 15 micro-rockets without weighing more than 20kg. The Land Reaper’s 15mm micro-RPG launcher is an impressive weapon; automatic loading from a large magazine, it fires small yield rocket propelled grenades at a high muzzle velocity. They aren’t tracking weapons, and they have a small blast radius, but they are devastating weapons all the same. As the Land Reaper soldier’s saying goes, “if it doesn’t die, you need to use a bigger gun!”.
Their projectile weapons have suffered as a result of their focus on explosives. Their machine guns and assault rifles would be most easily compared to WW2-era versions. They are fine for unarmoured targets such as Sea Reapers, though.
All Land Reaper troops are equipped with Kevlar-like body armour, as well as some very thin metal armour over the top designed to offer some protection against blades.
Their underground habitats aren’t much more than sophisticated mine shafts, though, so it is obvious to any outsider that the Land Reaper’s primary focus is their armed forces.
Military Tactics
Comparable to any modern nation. There are some slight twists, however, given their unique enemy. Sea Reapers rarely engage their enemies on an open battlefield in a traditional way. They will lure their opponents into forests or mountainous terrains to attack. But when they do, the Land Reapers are the superior force.
They operate in ‘lines’. The first line of troops are pour souls designated to be ‘human shields’. They try to lessen the damage inflicted by Sea Reaper arrows and fire spells. Behind those lines are the standard rocket infantry – equipped with their ‘RPG assault rifles’, they try to take out clusters of Sea Reapers, or fire rockets where Sea Reapers might land after projecting themselves. A battlefield of this nature can be dramatic. Hundreds of white streamers flying towards their opponents, with Sea Reapers streaking across the air to collide with the Land Reaper lines… it would be beautiful, if it weren’t war.
Should the Sea Reapers manage to get past these outer lines, the rocket troopers will immediately try to fall back and allow machine gunners to lay down suppressive fire, hoping to push the Sea Reapers back even if they don’t kill them. The very last resort is swords. If a Land Reaper resorts to a sword fight with a Sea Reaper, he will almost certainly be killed. The Land Reapers have no defence against Sea Reaper magic, they only have a numerical advantage and enough firepower to cause serious damage to Sea Reaper lines.
Should their troops be foolish enough to allow themselves to be lured into less favourable terrain such as a forest or a hill/mountain range, they will find themselves being picked off one by one. Sea Reapers have superior eyesight, and will pick them off with sniper bows from a distance. Other Sea Reapers will project themselves into the midst of the Land Reapers, kill one or two of them and then project back to a safe place before they even realise what happened.
Land Reapers do have aircraft, but given the nature of Sea Reaper strategies they are rarely used and are based on quite old technology. They also have metal-clad ocean-going vessels which used to be heavily used, but the latest line of defences used on the Sea Reaper city has rendered them largely useless – they can’t get close enough to drop depth charges.
Culture
There is little to say about the culture of the Land Reapers. They are driven almost entirely by a generational hatred of the Sea Reapers and a lust for war. Nearly every job you can get in Land Reaper society benefits the military in some way or another. Scientists are not working on solving the riddles of life or anything of that nature; they are strictly limited to weapons research. Their ongoing project has always been to find a defence against Sea Reaper magic, but thus far they have no ideas whatsoever.
The majority of Land Reapers follow their leader – currently Lord Krat – with blind devotion. They honestly believe that war is a good thing, and that the destruction of the Sea Reapers would be an excellent thing. Enslaving the Smartie race has always been a ‘hobby’ of theirs, as they hope to use the intelligent little creatures to further their own technology and to simply put them to work.
Most of the Land Reaper population currently lives underground, as a result of the war they lost 2,000 years ago. They do not intend to stay there for much longer, however.
Government
The Land Reapers are ruled by a single, male dictator, who refers to himself as ‘Lord’. His policies will almost always be harsh and oppressive, with the primary goal being the advancement of their military machine. The current Lord, Lord Krat, is the first Land Reaper Lord for 2,000 years to consider restarting the war with the Sea Reapers, and he is in a position where he is powerful enough to stand a chance.
History
2,000 years ago the Land Reapers were on the verge of wiping out the Sea Reapers once and for all. They had a fifty to one numerical advantage, and they had primitive wooden sailing ships ready to drop heavy weights on the underwater towns of the Sea Reapers.
Unfortunately, a new enemy of the Land Reapers showed itself. The Meccaryn. These powerful, skilled aliens drove the Land Reapers back. Every day, the Land Reapers were forced to retreat deeper and deeper into the mainland. Finally, after a matter of days, they decided to retreat into the underground cave network surrounding the dormant volcano at the centre of The Island.
The Meccaryn knew that they were crippled for the time being, and were satisfied that they would not be coming out for a long time. So they left. The Land Reapers lived underground for 2,000 years. Throughout that time, their only goal was the total destruction of the Sea Reaper race. They advanced their technology, they grew their population base back up to strength, and they came up with plans.
About two years ago, the Land Reapers surpassed the Sea Reapers in military capabilities. Their technology is advanced, comparable to modern nations around the world. They intend to leave their underground world and finish the job they started 2,000 years ago.
Smarties
Smarties are a completely bizarre race of highly intelligent, semi-humanoid mammals, who live all across The Island in small, scattered settlements. Smarties are the least powerful of all the races, being protected by one and threatened by another.
Biology
Smarties look… odd. The most obvious things about them are their height and the size of their heads. They rarely reach heights of more than four feet tall, and half of that height is actually their large, bulbous head. How they don’t fall over with such a poorly-designed body is unknown, as is where they get enough blood to fill their brain, but somehow they manage to stand upright on their short, stubby legs without fainting too often. Their skin is similar in colour to a Caucasian human, with black or brown highlights around their faces. They have two, large, blue-white coloured eyes and a fairly small mouth. One might call the strange little creatures ‘cute’, especially when combined with their eccentric behaviour.
Despite their quirky mannerisms, Smarties are actually very, very intelligent. Their brains are nearly 20% larger than either a human’s or a Reaper’s, and they are estimated to use a whopping 40% of it. If you were to ask a Smartie any mathematical question, assuming it knew how to work out the answer it would tell you within seconds, regardless of how complex. This is about the only physiological advantage they have, as their other traits aren’t much worth bragging about. They are quite weak and vulnerable. Smarties are estimated to live for about 70 or 80 years, if they can avoid bizarre accidents.
Technology
Smarties live in primitive-looking villages. Unlike the Sea Reapers, ‘digging deeper’ will not find anything. Some Smarties carry around technologies they have ‘found’, but they wield them more like a prize than anything useful. They lack weapons of any kind, primitive or not.
This is not to say that a Smartie couldn’t build advanced technologies if he wanted to – they did, after all, help the Sea Reapers build their underwater city, amongst other things. But there is some debate as to whether the Smarties actually know that they helped build it. They seem rather eccentric, and rather distant. The simple reason for their lack of technology is that they just don’t want any. They are content to roll around in the mud and throw stones at Vimps.
Military Tactics
Smartie military tactics? Again, they have the brains to be phenomenal tacticians, but they just don’t care enough to bother. Smartie tactics will invariably involve screaming, running away, and finding someone bigger than them to protect them. Fortunately they found the Sea Reapers to help them, who seem fairly dedicated to doing so.
Culture
Smarties live in small (literally) villages which somewhat resemble medieval towns of Europe. The focal point of their societies is the pub – this is not because of any social habit, but just because they like to drink ale. A Smartie pub should really be on a tourist guide as a ‘must-see’ destination. These tiny buildings are full of character (they often have multi-coloured roofs, painted blue and yellow in most cases), they serve great ale and often freshly-cooked Vimp meat, but most importantly, they contain drunk Smarties. These clumsy little guys are probably the funniest things you will ever see without having a heart attack.
Smarties don’t have any art. They don’t have any goals. They don’t care enough about anything except eating to really bother with anything at all. A Smartie is more content to fall into a river and see where it takes him (seriously, many Smarties have died that way) than to bother doing anything which requires work or thought. As a result of their apathy, they are constantly threatened. Land Reapers seek to enslave them, whilst Rippers and Kabuto seek to eat them. Indeed, their only friends in the world are the Sea Reapers.
Government
Smarties are a disorganised mess, their villages scattered so randomly that even a Smartie couldn’t tell you where every last one of them was. A handful of people live in each village. The closest thing to a hierarchy they have is in their families, with the husband usually being dominant over the wife. Most of the time, they will follow the instructions of the Sea Reapers, as it usually benefits them in some way.
History
Smarties are too lazy to record their own history. Thus, the only things known about them are from the history of the other two races. And that is not very extensive. Smarties have been caught in the centre of the Great Reaper War since it began; one side wants to take them as slaves, the other side wants to protect them. This has always been very confusing for the Smarties, who don’t understand why people can’t just get along with each other. Other than helping the Sea Reapers in building their great underwater city, Smarties have not really done anything worth mention, it seems.
Meccaryn
A technologically advanced humanoid aliens, of whom little is known besides the fact that they often favour the Sea Reapers.
Biology
Only the face of a Meccaryn has ever been seen, as they reside in armoured suits apparently all the time. Their face is very… alien. It appears to be quite fish-like, with no visible nose, a small, fish-like mouth and two beady black eyes. Their skin is a shade of yellow, with very faint scales and mottling. Their head seems quite small, but their technology and military tactics suggests that they are definitely intelligent, so while they may have a smaller brain they probably use more of it.
Little is known about Meccaryn biology. When killed, a Meccaryn armoured suit will quietly self-destruct, vaporising any biological or technological trace of them. This means that neither the Sea Reapers nor the Land Reapers have ever been able to analyse any bodies. As they remain in their airtight suits, it seems likely that they cannot breathe the atmosphere of Earth. As their suit is not filled with water, it suggests that they are not water-dwelling creatures despite their fish-like appearance. Meccaryn are apparently just as vulnerable to damage as humans, perhaps even more so, but their technology makes them highly resilient regardless. Their strength may also be subject to debate, as their suit may inject them with adrenaline or artificially enhance their strength in some way.
Technology
Meccaryn are highly technologically advanced, possessing spacecraft capable of interstellar travel. Their impressive technology is only matched by their not-so-impressive ability to misuse it. For instance, both visits they have made to the Sea Reapers have been accidental crash landings. The exact capabilities of their craft are thus unknown, for the most part, as they are usually grounded when seen. They appear to travel around primarily in sleek, high-performance fighter craft, armed with moderate weaponry.
Their standard sidearm is some form of advanced, high-powered energy weapon, whilst the rest of their arsenal varies from high-yield explosives, projectile weapons and enormous energy blasters. Their most favoured weapon is a ‘Millennium gun’, which is a handheld weapon almost as large as they are. It seems to operate on the same principles as a rail gun, only it fires some type of high-yield explosive instead of a simple projectile. The resulting blast is devastating, almost worthy of a tactical nuclear weapon.
The most obvious technology apparent to anyone who meets them, of course, is their armoured suit. This self-contained technological marvel is all they seem to wear, and it covers them from head to toe. For the most part, it seems to be highly flexible, but at the same time it is highly resistant to projectiles, blades and low-yield explosions. It incorporates such gadgets as a limited-duration, rechargable jet pack, a grenade launcher, a low-powered personal energy shield, not to mention the fact that it seems to have unlimited power and appears to be modular in design. This suit makes even lone Meccaryn quite hard to kill.
Military Tactics
Meccaryn Space Commandos operate as their name suggests – they all seem to have elite training, and operate as such. They prefer to operate in small units and go for specific objectives without necessarily directly facing the enemy on the battlefield. They are capable of and equipped to engage almost any enemies in almost any circumstances, though.
Their various technologies come together to form one of the most versatile infantry forces around. They will typically favour covert, indirect strikes, but on an open battlefield the Meccaryn are devastating opponents. Their high-yield explosive weapons can eradicate huge groups of armour and infantry quickly, whilst their own armour and shielding makes they very hard to take down even if Meccaryn weaponry is used against them.
Some Meccaryn will typically fly overhead and rain down fire from above, launching flares occasionally to avoid being ‘painted’, whilst the rest will attack from random, multiple angles with very heavy weaponry. Open battles with Meccaryn are usually very quick, very brutal, and leave behind a lot of craters. Meccaryn will often set themselves multiple primary objectives in a battle, some of which may not even be real - entire units of Meccaryn will attempt to achieve multiple fictional objectives at the same time with the sole aim of confusing, dividing and distracting their enemies.
Meccaryn do not seem to employ any dedicated armour like tanks, however. They seem to have incorporated several different military units into their suit at the same time, making them a jack-of-all-trades but a specialist in none. They do have vehicles though, and not just space-based. There are references in Ancient Sea Reaper and Land Reaper histories to a form of flying machine with rotating blades on the top. The ‘Gyrocopter’, as they like to call it, is a very small, lightly armoured craft, easily dismantled and stored upon one of their space fighters. It is vulnerable to damage due to its lack of armour and open cockpit, but it is very agile. Armed with a high-powered minigun-like weapon, as well as a limited supply of unguided explosive weapons, it is quite powerful. Unlike the jetpacks on suits, the Gyrocopter can remain in the air for a long time, at least as long as any Earth-based helicopter. It would be quite vulnerable to fighter planes, however.
Meccaryn are highly dangerous and highly skilled combat opponents, but they do not usually deploy in great numbers.
Culture
Not much is known about Meccaryn culture, but what little is known suggests that they are a race of easy-going layabouts. Space Commando isn’t the only job you can get, though it is a highly respected one which is often in demand from other cultures, almost like a mercenary force. Drinking and partying seems to be the primary passtime of the Meccaryn. Christians probably would not like them, that much is certain.
Why they have taken an interest in the Sea Reapers is not entirely known. It is thought that they simply share common beliefs at their core, though given the nature of their Space Commandos this seems unlikely. Regardless, they have no interest in any other culture on Earth, and their motives may become clear in time.
Government
Unknown. It appears to be a form of representative democracy with large amounts of military influence.
History
The only known history of the Meccaryn started and ended 2,000 years ago. A handful of Space Commandos crash-landed on The Island, Planet Earth, whilst on a journey to a pleasure planet. They arrived on The Island in the middle of the Great Reaper War, at the point where the Land Reapers were dominant and on the verge of winning. After sustaining an unprovoked attack by the Land Reapers, the Meccaryn sought out the scattered leadership of the Sea Reapers, and got to know them somewhat. They proceeded to call for reinforcements, and fought alongside the Sea Reapers. Within weeks, the Land Reapers were driven underground. The Meccaryn suffered few casualties, ten at the most.
The Meccaryn remained on Earth for a short period of time, conversing with the Sea Reapers as they slowly began to rebuild. They eventually left, though, and did not return until quite recently.
The Animals
The Island is home to a wide variety of totally unique animals, which would make any zoo owner drool and any big game hunter have a heart attack. Unfortunately, not all of it is docile, and when an animal is dangerous it is usually very dangerous. Here are listed a handful of the primary animals unique to The Island, but it is by no means a definitive list.
Kabuto Giant
By far the most awe-inspiring and potentially lethal animal on The Island is the massive Kabuto Giant. Standing at least 40 feet tall as an adult, the carnivorous Kabuto Giant is the tank of the animal world.
Biology
The Kabuto Giant is a very tall, very heavy animal. Most adult specimens are about 40 feet tall (sometimes taller, sometimes shorter) and weigh in at approximately 14-17 tons. They are visually distinctive creatures, and obvious carnivores. They have a large, pronounced chin, which forms a mouth that very much looks like it is constantly grinning. Small tusks jut out from the bottom jaw. It is essentially a humanoid bipedal creature, with two legs, two arms, and a head on top of a torso. Its thick, scaly skin is generally blue-grey in colour, brighter in some areas and darker in others. Bony spines jut out from its midsection, which are strangely enough often used to store food – the Kabuto can simply impale an animal onto one of these spikes and leave it there, to eat another time.
Kabuto are reptiles primarily, though they have some mammal traits. Primarily, they have warm blood. Other than this they are very similar to reptiles in most ways, including reproduction. They have three hearts, allowing blood to be pumped around their enormous body, and five lungs to fuel these numerous pumps. This also gives them some degree of survivability.
Their reproduction is, as mentioned, similar to any other reptiles. Their sheer size means that their eggs can be as large as a human, though. It can take between 7 – 13 months for the offspring to hatch. Kabuto rarely lay more than one or two eggs at a time, unfortunately for the omelette industry.
Kabuto is a carnivore. It needs to consume large amounts of food to sustain its large mass (roughly equivalent to seven to nine whole human bodies per week), and as such is constantly on the move – a single local ecology may not sustain it for long. This also imposes a very strict limit on the number of Kabuto Giants that may inhabit The Island at any one time. Given that its primary source of food – vimps – is also in demand from several other species, no more than twenty to thirty Kabuto Giants can survive on The Island at any one time.
Their sheer size gives them incredible strength and durability – standard weapons will not work on their tough hide, and even something like an elephant gun might not be enough to hit any vital organs. They can crush buildings, rip trees from the ground and throw them, and generally cause total chaos if they are so inclined. This makes them very dangerous when agitated.
Despite their enormous mass, Kabuto Giants can run quite quickly, if only for a short period of time. In an open space they could theoretically run at 30-35mph for a few minutes. Their walking speed is somewhere in the region of 7- 15mph, depending on the Kabuto.
There is some question as to whether Kabuto Giants are actually sentient creatures. Their mannerisms suggest that they have at least some degree of intelligence. Sea Reaper observations have found that Kabuto can live from anywhere to 75 to 300 years – it simply depends on the fortunes of the Kabuto.
Behaviour
Kabuto Giants aren’t an inherently violent species, despite their size and disposition towards meat. They will only eat a person if they are extremely hungry. This is part of the reason why some Sea Reapers question whether they are intelligent or not. Kabuto seem to deliberately avoid Sea Reapers, and even Smarties. Yet they aren’t entirely averse to eating Land Reapers. Whether they have an instinctive fear of the Sea Reapers, who can single-handedly fend off a Kabuto without even using any weapons if he/she is powerful enough, or an ideological respect for them, is unknown. Whichever it is, Kabuto often follow Sea Reapers around like loyal canines. Princess Delphi for one is quite fond of the ‘gentle giants’, as she calls them.
Kabuto are lonely nomads for the most part, favouring lowlands and valleys to highlands and mountains. Their favourite prey are vimps, which are easy to catch and too stupid to have any feelings on being eaten. They are large enough to fill the Kabuto’s stomach quite quickly. They are also, as a Smartie might say, ‘Darn good eatin’’.
Kabuto mating rituals are simple. Given how few of them there are, they cannot afford to be choosy. Upon encountering a Kabuto of the opposite sex, they will immediately mate. Kabuto don’t really need a nest – they simply stand in one particular area and nobody would ever go near it. Kabuto offspring are roughly the size of humans when they are first born, so they are not exactly weaklings, but so far as their parents are concerned they need all the protection they can get, and they will viciously make sure they get it. So approaching a Kabuto nesting area is not advised.
When the offspring is about half-grown, the parents will part ways, probably never seeing each other again, and the offspring will be left to fend for itself. This is when the local ecology decides whether it can support another Kabuto or not. If it can, the Kabuto child grows up and lives on, if it can’t, the Kabuto child will die before it matures fully.
Do you want to find a Kabuto? You don’t need to look hard. The ground will shudder with their footsteps when they are nearby, and they can’t hide very easily. Frankly, if you can’t see one when it is nearby, you must be blind.
Ripper
Rippers are one of the most bizarre and dangerous creatures living on The Island today.
Biology
Rippers are an unusual species to look at. There is no common reference for which to compare them against, so any description will be sketchy at best. They appear to be a cross between the three major ‘genres’ of land animal – mammal, insect and reptile – and can move easily both above and below ground, though water is their nemesis. They are a deep brown colour, with bright white tusks and claws. They have a strange, round mouth with outward-facing, moveable, incredibly long and sharp tusks, the purpose of which will become apparent later on, and two large arms, which span the length of their entire body. They have no eyes, navigating exclusively with sound, smell and touch. The massive claws on the tips of their arms aid them both in hunting and digging. They do not have legs, and move around simply by dragging themselves along with their arms – though make no mistake, smaller Rippers can move around surprisingly quickly in this fashion.
Rippers are carnivores. They will eat anything living if they think they can catch it, basically. They are not intelligent enough to decide when a target is too strong for them to defeat, they only know that they want to eat – though, only the largest Rippers will even consider attacking a Kabuto.
Rippers vary in size, ranging from anywhere between one foot high to fifteen feet high. They are capable of spitting fireballs – they have two chemical glands in their mouths, which, when squirted together, catch fire in an explosive manner. Their mouth is the perfect shape to form and launch these fireballs, and they can throw them a surprising distance. Depending on the size of the Ripper, these fireballs can actually be as potent as low-yield explosive weapons, only they will also have a napalm-like effect.
The lifespan of a Ripper is unknown. It is so hard to tag and monitor a single one due to their tendency to burrow underground and disappear for long periods of time. Rippers reproduce in a strange way; strange ‘pods’ grow in particularly secluded areas of forests. They use the surrounding material to grow and then eject a baby Ripper. The pods are essentially a completely different species to the Rippers themselves, much like facehuggers from the ‘Alien’ movie, though they contain all the genetic data necessary to create a Ripper. As the pods themselves reproduce by launching spores high into the air when windy, it would be nearly impossible to eradicate them all. Each individual pod can produce the smallest variety of Rippers at a rate of about one per day, whilst it can take each one a week to produce a larger type.
Despite their unusually potent offensive abilities, Rippers are not particularly durable. They can be killed both by Sea Reaper bows and standard firearms fairly easily. They aren’t very intelligent either, so once you have seem all their instinctive hunting methods you aren’t likely to have any difficulty predicting their next actions. Though they should not be underestimated.
Behaviour
Everything about Rippers is unusual and their method of hunting is no different. Rippers will bury themselves in the ground and simply… wait. Their round mouths will be the only things visible above the surface, with their sharp tusks spread out like a trap. If an animal such as a vimp gets too close, their tusks will suddenly poke upwards, impaling the creature. The Ripper will then pull itself from the ground and consume its victim. Rippers may also chase their prey underground, bursting out only to pluck their target and drag it beneath the soil.
Larger Rippers may also hunt on the ground. If they cannot move fast enough to slash at their prey with one of their arms, they spit a fireball at them instead. This has the added bonus of cooking their meal. Rippers rarely attack Kabuto, as they appear to have an instinctive fear of the species. But if they do, they will usually attack in groups, and only the largest of the Rippers will do so.
Rippers act in a way that suggests they are part of a hive, but as they have no ‘Queen’ as such this is merely an illusion. Groups of Rippers will often band together to make catching their dinner easier.
Rippers are pure, base-instinct animals, and they are highly aggressive and very dangerous. It is inadvisable to approach one, whether armed or not.
Vimp
Vimps are docile herbivores, which breed faster than rabbits. They supply most of the food to the species of The Island.
Biology
Vimp are bipedal, but they do not resemble humans in the slightest. They have very long legs, keeping them at least eight feet of the ground, and two small, stumpy, largely useless forearms. Their body is simply a mass of meat with a head on the end; it has no describable shape. Its body simply sits between the top of the two legs, and has a face at the front and two arms dangling beneath. They are a very light brown colour, almost like a lightly tanned Caucasian human. Their hide is about as about as thick as that of a cow.
Vimps are mammals, and they eat mostly grass and leaves. Their reproductive system is able to reproduce their simple species at a shockingly high rate. Pregnancy lasts for only two months and birth is almost instantaneous. Childhood does not last long either. It is fortunate given how many species rely on them for food.
They can run quite fast, for quite long periods of time. They simply lack the concentration to keep up a sprint.
Vimp are possibly the dumbest animals in the world. You can attack one, and it will run for about thirty seconds before forgetting it was in danger and returning to normal. This makes them exceptionally easy to hunt, when combined with how much edible flesh they contain they are perfect food source.
Behaviour
Vimp move around in huge herds, with offspring in the centre. The only things they seem to do are move around and eat, sleeping at nights. When attacked their standard defence is to just run around randomly until they forget they are in danger. There is little else of note.
Economy
The economy of The Island is not one that could be easily compared to the rest of the modern world. The closest comparisons would probably be 'communism', though in the case of the Sea Reapers that isn't entirely accurate.
Sea Reaper economy, for instance, is very old-fashioned, based mostly on sole traders, small partnerships and the like. If there is a project that needs vast resources, for instance the initial construction of the Great City, all the Sea Reapers will simply band together and lend a hand.
Sea Reapers have a trade agreement of sorts with the Smarties. They provide Smarties with mined metals and other building materials, as well as defence, and in exchange the Smarties provide the Sea Reapers with food and wood -- Smarties may not be sane, but they are good farmers and can catch the tastiest Vimp, and anyone with arms is capable of hitting a tree with an axe. This mutually beneficial agreement doesn't provide much opportunity for profit, but neither culture is particularly interested in profit. As such, both Sea Reaper and Smartie economies suffer from very slow growth. They simply harvest what they need at the time, and hope they need nothing more.
The economy of the Land Reapers is isolated but a lot more vibrant. Their militaristic society leans them towards a communist style of economy, with all Land Reapers working for the greater good. There are various specialised 'communes' in their underground sanctuary -- miners live at the lowest depths of the underground world, mining the metals they need to construct their weapons. A lot of their food originates from Vimps, though they do have large fields of crops in the immediate viscinity of the dormant volcano.
Military
It goes without saying that the Smarties have no military. If a Smartie is particularly insane he or she may attempt to whack their enemies with a stick, but most will simply run away.
Sea Reapers are somewhat different. Having a population of less than a million they cannot rally a particularly large force without destroying their own society. They maintain a 'Smartie Defenders Brigade' which consists of about 3,000 volunteers and a 'Royal Guard' which consists of about 1,500 people. The Royal Guard is the closest to a dedicated force you will encounter in Sea Reaper society, as they are highly trained and they are dedicated to protecting the Royal family.
Any more than that will have volunteered at the last minute. All Sea Reapers are trained as children how to use their magic (if only to avoid accidents – and their skill will usually simply depend on their natural abilities), and given basic bow firing lessons, so this isn't necessarily a problem. As they do not bother with body armour and they all generally own a bow, the only thing that needs to be supplied to them are Reaperskis and food, which are generally available to civilians anyway. It just means that their 'military' is a little chaotic sometimes. At present, they could probably rally about 20,000 - 40,000 people to fight for a cause of average importance without damaging their productivity too badly.
Land Reapers, on the other hand, operate a military force comparable to any modern power. It is a dedicated force which undergoes regular battle drills and training courses. They are taught in various forms of native hand-to-hand combat, how to fire their various weapons effectively, and a course on how to fight Sea Reapers specifically. There is a set command structure, rules and disciplinary actions, and assorted other military standards including uniforms. Any Land Reaper resources which aren't needed for survival or investment in increased productivity are pumped into the army.
While geared towards the destruction of the Sea Reapers, they have actually crafted quite a versatile and flexible force. It seems likely that if The Island were ever invaded by a foreign power, the Land Reapers would probably provide the most substantial opposition. Approximately 5-7% of their entire population are dedicated soldiers. Fanatical soldiers, it should be noted.