The world is a cruel place, and destiny more often than not has seen it fit to prove that to me. My earliest memories were of my parents burning to death at the hands of an elf.. at that point the invasion of Earth had already been ongoing for almost 23 years, so children getting orphaned at the hands of otherworldly elves was not a new thing.. I think some part of me died that day, the part of me than knew joy and happiness, love....hope.

Now all I have left is the hunger. The invasion of Earth brought a lot of changes to Earth; there was a complete unification of the planet, well those of them that were left anyways. In the face of larger threats it would be nothing more than stupid to hold on to old grudges. Our weapons were effective against the elves, our nukes and our guns were our saving grace, but not in all situations.

The elves had magic, and have had thousands of years to master it. And then they started implementing our own technology. Making heated weapons and using it against us. Their magic could make them as fast and as strong as Superman and give them a solid defense. But then again they were still bound to the laws of nature and physics. A bullet can punch through steel, the elves were no different.

But with them adapting and taking technology, we too got with the trend and took magic. And that was when we understood the secret, when we knew just how vast the universe we live in was. The invasion was a game; a multiverse wide real time strategy games between the gods of different worlds and universes. Earth's gods had pulled out of such games billions of years ago to keep it's weak inhabitants safe, they were neutral. But the Elves brought the fight to us, and so the gods woke up. We didn't just get magic, we got the power of the gods and now we're taking the fight to the enemy.

*Bang!*

I jumped up startled at the loud bang on my desk, I took a deep breath as I looked up at my teacher of over six years. There was an annoyed look on his face, I was his favorite student, but God knows I was also his worst.

"You dose off one more time in my class Samson and I'll have you in solitary until planet fall in 0400 hours. This is the last class you will ever get as a cadet of Terra Prime's Military academy. The same goes for the rest of you. Your time has come to participate in the war effort, you all might be the generation to end it, or at the very least buy humanity a few years of peace, so you should fucking pay attention!"

"SIR YES SIR!"

there was electricity in the air, it was tightly wound around the tension and fear we all felt about going to the battlefield, but never the less we were excited. Well some more than most, this was an officer's graduating class. We would be on the battlefield but many others would serve under us..... except me. I'm the odd one out.

"You all would be dropped at the Lemuel Military Outpost, a few miles out of the whispering woods. You would be under the command of Arch-Commander Boris Brody. He would organize and take care of your posting and direct the war efforts against the wood elves of the whispering woods. Any other information would be given to you at planet fall, but for now you all must remember all that you've learnt here....and at the same time forget it.

War is not a novel experience, many of you will die, many more will survive and go on to be heroes. Some of you might never achieve true greatness, but ultimately I want you all to stand and remember what you're fighting for. And that's our future, Earth's future, our universes future. We aim to put an end to this game of gods. A lofty goal as I'm sure you all know, but.

We will get there, one step at a time. And the first step we will take, is to completely defeat those long eared assholes and show them the true power of humanity. Down there it doesn't matter who has a miracle and who does not. It's not your miracle that would determine your survival and victory it's your heart. So fight hard, fight well, but fight smart."

He gave me a pointed look as soon as he said that, causing most of the class to laugh at my expense. It was understandable, I was his worst student but everyone here knew better than to provoke me. A fight with me wouldn't end until no one is left standing, even at the cost of my well-being.

"As soon as you make planet fall your systems will activate and you will be able to levels up your skills, use magic and receive missions from the gods who's miracles you bear. As for those of you without miracles, your skills and magic is still available to you. Fight, study when you can and grow strong. May the Gods of Earth be with you all, I'll see you soon!

>>>>

0345

I was understandably nervous, I already received my posting, and it was as a perimeter guard. Without a miracle I couldn't really be anything other than a common foot soldier.

Going to officer school would probably make it a little bit more easier for me to be promoted in the future, but for now I was starting at the bottom of the ladder. The military ranks of Earth had seen significant change ever since Alfheim decided to invade. The elven universe has a different name, but that's the designation it was given by humans after looking through historical records. I was nothing more than a Battle Acolyte, if I do well I should be promoted to Battle Rider in under a year. After all it would be a waste of resources to put someone who went to officer school on the sidelines, whether I have a miracle or not didn't matter. I could still be strong.

Miracles have been what helped humans turn the tide of the invasion. When the Gods began to wake up from their slumber, they gave their powers or an aspect of it to a few select humans. The first God who woke up was the Asian God Pangu, and his chosen had been responsible for establishing the first human base in Alfheim. And then many more gods woke up and many more chosen were born.

Some gods still slumber, at the moment nothing has been heard from the biblical God. Every Pantheon including Islam has gotten a foot hold, but what was once the biggest religion on Earth has been eerily quiet. It made people think the religion was just a sham from the beginning. Never the less in this age, no one gave a crap about religion, just the gods and the power they could give..

My dad was a Reverend, one of the few who still held hope that God and Jesus would arise and help turn the tide of the war. He was a fanatic, so him dying didn't shake the hearts of anyone. It was my mom who the world mourned. A chosen of the African goddess Oya.

Her goddess wasn't really well known, not until my mom began sweeping the battlefield with the fury of the wind, with limited power over death, life and healing. She was fierce and the elves took them out in a targeted strike, sacrificing an entire. Battalion just to make sure she perished.

I was placed in an orphanage for the children of deceased military officer's. That alone got me a one way ticket to officer school, but unlike my mother I didn't get chosen by the goddess Oya. The chosen were sometimes called from bloodline, certain families were all chosen of a particular God. But nevertheless I still got quite a bit from my mother, and it was what would keep me safe down there.

{All hands on deck! Planet Fall in t-minus 5 minutes. All about to disembark make way to the drop bay}

I looked up sharply, my heart beating steadily in my chest as I swallowed hard. All of my bravado had disappeared, right now I was just rightly anxious and a little bit scared. It was now my turn to go and be a part of this war that took my parents and my childhood from me. I took a look at the mirror hanging over my bedside table. Eerie silver eyes met mine, my black hair was cut short almost to the scalp and a big scar in the shape of a cross hung on my right check. I had gotten that when the elf that killed my parents thought it would be fun to brand my father's prayer cross on my cheek and my back. I looked up at the mirror and smiled, the worst thing that can happen to me is dying and that's just as normal for humans as the sun rising from the East, I'm ready.