The Relationship Between The Darkness & Fire Civilizations
(the following is inferred from information given on the cards of the Duel Masters Trading Card Game)

The Darkness and Fire Civilizations of Duel Masters did not begin their relationship as allies in the strictest sense. Though each of the two Civilizations respects the power of the members of the other, in battle, to a point, their vastly differing philosophies on the meaning of power only mesh correctly at one point. Their approach to destroying the opponent in tactical battle situations. Though the Darkness Civilization specializes in targeted destruction of creatures and supply lines, and Fire focuses on the battlefield, they both can, and do, find uses for the technologies of the other.

The mighty Dragons of the Fire Civilization have little to do with anyone, furthermore the Dark Lords of the Darkness Realm, however, the Dragonoids, in particular, thought they revere only the Dragons as gods, have a respect for the battle skills and tactical leadership ability of the Dark Lords get along quite well. This leads to an overall relationship of give and take, where the Dragonoids assist the Dark Lords in exchange for technology. Perhaps unsurprisingly, one finds that the Human groups within the Fire Civilization have far less respect or admiration for the Dark Lords, as the Darkness was initially allied with their rivals and enemies, the Dragonoids.

The Fire Civilization was not involved in the initial invasion of the Fiona Woods. The Dragonoids were busy dealing with the technological advancements of the Humans, and for the most part, initially, the Darknes' invading forces required no assistance. It was only when the champions of the Nature Realm began to enter the fray, in the form of great creatures such as the Raging Dash-Horn, that the Dark Lords and Demon Commands requested their reinforcements from the Fire Realm, to help them deal with the ground troops of Nature whilst the Darkness' more powerful forces focused on the allies sent by the Light Civilization to assist their Nature friends.

They were asked to come, and come they did, Explosive soldiers and Chaotic Wyverns, and even the great Galklife Dragon, who seemed far more interested in destroying the weaker soldiers of the Light, than helping the ground forces. With their help, the Darkness again pushed forward, and their new advances allowed them to arm their Dragonoid allies with new devastating weapons. The Dragonoids of course brought samples of their own weaponry to the battlefield, and though none of these were directly helpful to the forces of Darkness, every bit helped in the feirce battles that then ensued on the soil and in the skies of the Nature Realm.

Galklife alone turned the tide of many a battle, and the benefit of the Fire Civilization, overall, became far greater. With the main forces of the Light Civilization occupied in the battle in the Woods, a battle spearheaded by creatures quite suited to the elimination of those Light forces, it allowed the Fire Civilization forces back on the home soil to focus their efforts more effectively on repelling the invasion of the Water Civilization that they were, in turn 'suffering'. Tactically, it was a great help to them. The Darkness kept the Light busy, and out of that conflict, as any attacks by the Light Civilization or clashes between the Dragons and Berserkers would be almost sure to leave weak points in the Fire Civilization's defenses. So, with this in mind, they arranged their forces in tandem with, and someimes under the direction of, the Dark Lords and Demon Commands, ensuring a good outcome for both parts of their destructive alliance.

Things quieted finally, as the forces of Nature and Light were finally overcome through one of the great deceptions of the Demon Commands. Both the Fire and Darkness forces tuirned their attentions to other things. Fortifications, technological developments, and such. They returned to a relationship more resembling that of their previous interactions, sharing some technologies and ideas, and in the case of the conflicts between Dragonoids and Humans, with the Darkness occasionally offering forces or assistance in the few cases where the pride of the Dragonoids did not prevent them from accepting the help. Indeed, one of the greatest Dark Lords of all was birthed in this period, a human accepted into their ranks after the darkness forces that beset him in battle saw his bloodlust and demeanour.

When the rainbow shattered, there was new un-life spawned. Creatures of both Fire and Darkness. Humans who died, yet not truly, becoming not quite Human, not quite Ghost. These humans ere quickly accepted by the new Dark Lord, Crath Lade, the Merciless King, into the forces of Darkness. Further experimentation with this new phenomena did not truly go well overall, resulting only in the Ghost of the powerful Dragon, known only as Nemesis, joining the forces of Darkness. Manifesting this creature involved even more complex machinations than before, requiring the full power of a Dark Lord, and even another Ghost, to bring him into existence, but it was a practice that Crath Lade almost gleefully took to.

The addition of Humans to the ranks of the Darkness brought with it the knowledge of the technology of the ancient Armorloids, and the Dark Lords immediately attempted to adapt their Chimeras to include mechanical parts as well, finally succeeding in creating a highly evolved Chimera strain that could integrate with and sometimes possess the technological structures. They also, in turn, offered their bio-engineering abilities to the creatures of the Fire Realm, with a particular strange focus on the tiny Fire Birds, whose bodies took easily to such modifications. The twisted life created through these experiments would go beyond anything expected by their creators, as it became clear that a Chimera-infected Fire Bird was far more inclined to bond to the fetid Zombie Dragons of the Darkness Realm.

It was as a result of such a bond that the great destroyer appeared amongst them. Experimentation has a way of creating unforeseen effects, and one such effect was that of a certain Zombie Dragon forming in its twisted thoughts the idea that somehow, it would be better to itself become the supporting power of the Fire Bird, rather than have the little Fire Bird support it. As 'fortune' would have it, the Chimera Strain infused into the little flaming one took very well to the vast infusion of dark power that the Zombie Dragon decided to bestow upon it. The Dragon expended its entire life force, and the Fire Bird's body could not contain the dark energy, so it too, died, bursting into flame. But from the 'ashes', the dark power of rebirth flickered, igniting the flames of 'life' once again, and heralding the arrival of the Avatar of Doom...