text: tion to win wars. If it was and I actually had that power, I'd certainly be using it."
  
  Brenda now starts shaking her head and sighing.
  
  "You don't get it. You don't understand."
  "Yeah, I think I do Brenda. I get it better than you think. I lost Alison the same day you lost Roldan remember? You just found happiness with Warrick, happiness that you never thought that you'd ever experience again since Roldan died. Now that happiness is in jeopardy because there is the possibility that Warrick may fall in battle. Well you know what? Death is a possibility anywhere."
  "Except by going to Nyttrus you're increasing his chances tenfold! And you're right you do know about loss, so why the hell would you want to put ME of all people through it again."
  "Brenda if there was another way, don't you think I would? You believe I actually WANT to potentially cause you distress? No, I don't. You and Warrick are pretty much the only ones now that I can identify with on any level anymore and quite frankly losing either one of you would deeply wound me as well. I don't pretend to say it would be as strong as you feel for each other, but I would feel the sorrow."
  "(Sob) but why... must he... we just got married... we... (sob)."
  
  Brenda at this point can't quite keep it together. You have no real comforting words for her. Just cold facts of duty.
  
  "(Sigh) He's needed Brenda. His Emperor has called him. He has to do his duty and serve his role as we all must for the good of the Empire. It was not my intention to upset you Brenda, but you know that as unfair as this all seems Warrick has a job to do. You worry that your happiness and time with him will be cut too short like it was with Roldan, well even if that does happen, count yourself lucky that you managed to enjoy the moments you DID have with him."
  
  You pause for a moment, reflecting on Decena.
  
  "At least you managed to realize a good thing before it was too late."
  
  Brenda stops sniffling and manages to compose herself. Still upset, but resigned to fate.
  
  "Very well, I've had my say, and I accept your decision my Emperor. Apologies for my momentary lapse in judgment and falling victim to emotions." Brenda says and starts to turn away.
  
  "Brenda wait." You say before she leaves.
  
  Brenda turns back around and you exhale deeply.
  
  "I still need Warrick's help in Nyttrus, however I believe I can get by without him for awhile. Nyttrus is a large continent and I'm going to try to fortify our current holdings and retake our recent losses. So while I'm doing that, you've got Warrick for another year. Make the most of it."
  
  Brenda's sad expression turns to one of a smile.
  
  "Thank you my Emperor."
  "Hm, well just remember you both STILL have your duties here that you need to perform. I expect Warrick to still take care of Eye business just like I expect you to continue training the fourth gens."
  "Of course. Again I thank you."
  "Okay then, inform your husband that his trip to Nyttrus is postponed for a year."
  
  Brenda again thanks you and leaves.
  
  You finish packing what personal belongings you feel you'll need for Nyttrus and the next day you get ready to leave for the docks and board the ship to take you to Nyttrus.
  
  The next day you take a long look at Alison's portrait before your journey.
  
  "I'll be back Alison...  I always come back to you." You say and leave.
  
  Year 57
  
  Within the short time Warrick has arrived, your spirits have picked up a little. It's been a frustrating time here especially since the dragons have so far still eluded death. Though with Warrick now here you hope to correct that problem, but more importantly Warrick has brought with him very good news.
  
  "So Dokkrus has been found at last?" you ask.
  "Yes, my Emperor. Received word just as I was preparing to leave for here and since I was already on my way I figured I'd deliver this news to you in person."
  "Ha ha! This is great! I'll have to send another message of how I want to proceed. I don't want any engagement on there yet, just some spying and exploration." You say.
  "Did you want a message sent to the Eyes to handle this? My second is more than capable of carrying out these tasks. Wouldn't have picked the person otherwise."
  "Yes, good idea. I want a ship with Eyes sent to Dokkrus, we'll send that message to the homeland later, right now though you and I have business with killing one of these flying lizards. I believe we've finally managed to track one to where it makes its home in between its attacks." You say.
  
  "You mean you haven't slain all three yourself yet?" Warrick asks.
  "I wish. But now that you're here I'm confident that their continued existence will no longer be a problem, so you ready?"
  "Sure am, Emperor. It'll be just like the old days!" Warrick exclaims.
  
  In high spirits and a positive outlook for the future, you, Warrick and a company of Eternals set out to kill one of the dragons.
  > Continue
  Year 60
  
  "Well, looks like we've lost the Tornado." Warrick says as the pair of you see through in the near distance a multi-colored dragon unleash a gout of flame from its mouth, which engulfs the airship. Already heavily damaged the flying fortress can't take anymore and begins to explode. Minor ones at first, then one large one. Flaming pieces of the machine fall from the sky.
  
  "It's all right. It's all right. The Storm II is still there and hopefully it'll kill that damn thing or at least wound it enough for us to do so. Either way that flying lizard dies today. This war will be all but won with its death. It's the last one and I'm glad it's finally decided to come to us this time, because I'm sick of chasing it all over this damn continent. I want to get the invasion of Dokkrus underway properly and I can't very well do that if I'm stuck in this damn jungle continent." You say preparing for the large group of Iznac approaching Fort Canopy.
  
  "Hrm. Certainly is a lot of them. Better get on with this." Warrick says and orders the cannons to fire upon the multitude, which puts a dent in their numbers, but doesn't stop their advancing.
  
  You look over the battlements and see several Iznacs climbing the walls of the fort like an army of ants. They aren't even using ladders, they're just scaling the fort with their bare hands. It's actually rather impressive, until you unleash a chain of lightning to zap all of them. The shock is enough to at least cause most of them to fall off if not outright kill them immediately.
  
  "Slaughter the four armed spider eyed bastards! Make them realize that their domination of this continent has passed! This is the time of the Empire!" you shout to the Eternals defending the fort.
  
  Your people are doing their best though they can't stop every Iznac from scaling the fort. Soon the gunfire is replaced by sounds of close combat weaponry. No matter how far the advances in technology, it always eventually comes down to looking your opponent in the eye and feeling their blood splatter as you end their life.
  
  While you're busy hacking off the limbs of an Iznac warrior, another loud explosion in the distance is heard followed by a bright flash in the sky. It's not lightning from the storm, but rather the demise of your Storm. The Storm II joins the Tornado in crashing to the ground after losing its skirmish with the dragon. Hopefully the rain is making the jungle wet enough or else the flames from the wreckage of these downed airships are going to cause an inferno throughout the jungle.
  
  "Damn! The Iznac brought their little frog slaves and the remainder of those orc traitors!" Warrick says and cuts down several Glip before helping the rest of the soldiers fend off the orcs smashing through the fortress' gates.
  
  It doesn't matter in the scheme of things because even with overwhelming odds, your Eternals are still holding their own against all attackers. You then hear a roaring sound getting closer to your position and the sounds of great wings flapping.
  
  You shout a general command for the still working cannons to be pointed towards the dragon and to prepare to fire when the beast is in range. In the meantime you and Warrick try to keep that side of the fort relatively free of invading forces.
  
  "Hey, you think maybe I can get the chance to kill the dragon this time? I know you're the Emperor and all, but you don't need to prove your superiority all the damn time." Warrick jokes.
  "Yeah? Well maybe you'll get your chance if you aren't as slow like you were the last two times." You retort.
  "Slow? Well excuse me Mr. lightning fingers, but we all don't have the ability to blast something out of the sky with a thought."
  "Well that's why I'm the Emperor." You snicker.
  
  The dragon gets closer and you give the order to fire and unleash your own magic bolts at the creature. It's definitely wounded from its ordeal with the two airships, but given your experience with the other two dragons, you know it's far from being out the fight.
  
  In fact it's so determined that it doesn't distinguish friend from foe when it blasts its flame breath on the fort. You manage to protect most of your people with a magic barrier, but for those outside its protection, most are set on fire if not incinerated immediately. On the positive side, it reduces your enemies, on the negative it ignites the gunpowder barrels for the cannons causing a massive explosion and completely destroying one side of the fort.
  
  While the barrier still protects you and everyone within initially, its still a lot of strain on your energy and you begin to feel the fatigue setting in.
  
  "No! Damnit! Fight through it!" you mutter to yourself hating your weakness.
  
  While you're busily trying to fight through your fatigue, you don't notice where Warrick went and that was to the highest point he could get to on the fort and some how JUMPING on the damn dragon when it made its pass!
  
  You almost can't believe your eyes as you see the dragon flying away from the fort with Warrick desperately trying to hold on to one of its legs. You can see him hacking at the dragon's underbelly. The dragon bellows in pain and begins to turn to make a second pass, but Warrick's assault makes another attack on the fort a non-priority for it.
  
  You see the beast twist and squirm in an effort to shake Warrick free and then eventually the beast makes another loud screech and the both of them go crashing into the jungle no doubt destroying several trees in the process. You can still hear the dragon in the distance, so you know it isn't dead yet (Though probably badly wounded), but who knows about Warrick's fate.
  
  In the meantime Fort Canopy isn't immediately being attacked anymore as most of the Iznac have fled or been killed at this point. You quickly order your remaining troops to secure the fort and take a small group with you to head towards the dragon's roaring noises.
  
  Fortunately the jungle isn't thick here and the noises make tracking pretty easy, though by the time you reach your target, you see the severely wounded dragon with Warrick in its mouth and shaking its head from side to side. Then with one more shake, Warrick goes flying out of the dragon's mouth and slams into a nearby tree. You can't quite make out all the damage, but it looks like he's missing an arm at this point. Who knows what other grievous wounds he's suffered.
  
  In any case the dragon has now turned its attention towards your direction, but its not exactly in the best condition itself. It makes a coughing noise and a pitifully short burst of flame and a large amount of blood emanates from its mouth. It even tries to flap its wings perhaps in an attempt to escape, but one wing is so torn up that it can't lift off even if it had the strength to do so.
  > focus a full attack on the dragon
  As regrettable as it is, Warrick's condition is secondary; killing this beast is top priority.
  
  Despite the dragon's weakened state, you don't take any chances and unleash a blast of cold on the creature, which slows it down even more. Eventually its skin starts to frost over until parts become as ice.
  
  "Fire at its head!" you shout and the troops with you do so immediately with chunks of the dragon's frozen head breaking off as bullets go into it. You finish up with a couple of magic bolts to shatter it completely. The headless dragon flails slowly about for a moment though you don't really stand around to be mesmerized by its death twitches as you suddenly find yourself attacked by Iznac warriors who had fled from the fort, but apparently were still lurking in the jungle.
  
  They down a couple of your people, but they're really no match for you and are quickly dispatched. With all enemies beaten, you finally go over to where Warrick's body lies. As you predicted, he's already dead.
  
  "Shit. How the hell am I going to explain this to Brenda?" Is about the only thing you can utter at this point.
  
  Warrick isn't the only loss as you soon to come find out. Flevas also died during his own battle in the jungles with the Iznac (Though the battle was successful). Fortunately Captain Snilkez'ka lived and was also successful in defending Fort Tangle against the Iznac hordes.
  
  With the dragons dead and this large Iznac offensive repelled, its safe to say that Nyttrus is yours. The Iznac will probably linger with petty raids for awhile, but eventually much like the Torites they will become only a memory. After assigning new orders and giving out a few field promotions, you return to Evigrus with Warrick's body.
  
  When you arrive, you waste little time to give the sad news to Brenda though as soon as she sees you enter the training room by yourself, her face already displays the look of someone who already knows what you're going to tell her.
  
  "Brenda, I think you can stop training the eternals for the day, I've got... "
  "He's dead isn't he?" Brenda interrupts.
  "Yes." You answers.
  
  Brenda is silent and pauses a moment before telling the fourth gens to stop training for the day and to return to their barracks. They comply though most of them take a moment to stare at you and whisper, presumably in awe that their Emperor has paid another visit.
  
  With the two of you remaining in the room, Brenda addresses you again.
  
  "It was a death fitting for an Eternal I trust?" Brenda asks.
  "Oh yes. Yes it was. He died in battle with a dragon. I cannot think of a more glorious death."
  
  Brenda inhales and exhales, rubbing a hand over her face, trying to hold back tears.
  
  "Good. That's good. (Sniffle) That's more than Roldan got at least. Was there enough of his body left for a proper funeral?"
  "Yes, I've brought his body back from Nyttrus. The arrangements for a heroes' funeral will be made as soon as you're ready."
  "Okay. Well I'll see you tomorrow to make the arrangements, now I believe I should get my students back in here, don't want them to get lazy and make any reckless mistakes when the time comes."
  "Brenda you can take as much time as you need, you... "
  "No. I have a duty to train these Eternals and I will see to that task. Warrick did his duty for the Empire and so I will continue to do mine for the Empire. These Eternals are going to help ensure the Empire's continued survival one day and the Empire must survive for as long as the Empire lives on, Warrick will live on as his sacrifices will not have been in vain."
  
  You nod at Brenda's decision.
  
  "Okay, well I shall take my leave now." You say not having much more to add.
  "Thank you my Emperor." Brenda says before you leave.
  "What for?"
  "Giving me that extra year. I'll cherish it for as long as I live."
  
  You leave Brenda to morn in her own way, which apparently is immersing herself in her work despite feeling horrible. To be honest, you're not exactly feeling great yourself. Warrick wasn't just a vital member of your command, he was one of your "siblings" and now it's just you and Brenda.
  
  Warrick's funeral isn't a spectacle. Brenda's requests a quieter and much more private one. He of course is still placed in a grave next to other honored Empire heroes, but for the most part only you, Brenda and a few of his closest subordinates attend. It is here you get to meet the one Warrick appointed to be in charge when he left for Nyttrus, Cassandra.
  
  Warrick mentioned her a couple times during your time in Nyttrus, though he neglected to mention she was an elf. Actually you didn't even realize there had been any elves recruited into the Eyes and you're sort of curious of when this happened and how she rose through the ranks, so its just as well that she makes a point of wanting to speak with you after the funeral.
  
  Later the pair of you go to talk in your meeting room.
  
  "So... Cassandra is it. You're my new Sightmaster eh? Warrick never mentioned you being an elf." you say.
  "I didn't think that was a problem, my Emperor."
  "No. No problem. Warrick just never mentioned recruiting any elves into the Eyes actually. He did mention you to me a few times during our time in Nyttrus though. Assured me you were very competent at your job and had complete trust in you. Considering I've come back to a serene Empire, I'd say his judgment was correct."
  "Thank you my Emperor."
  "Hrm. So seeing as that was about all Warrick mentioned about you and I've only just come back from Nyttrus and have not yet had time to look up your paperwork, tell me a little about yourself and why you wanted to see me immediately."
  
  Cassandra mentions that she grew up in Rask where her family endured a lot of suspicion due to their being a group of separatist elves that were giving the Empire a bit of grief there before Captain Kane's effort's solved that problem. Though some humans that lived in her village at the time still murdered her brother one night. Of course nobody said they saw who did it, but it was known. Of course her family being elven, nothing much was done about it.
  
  Cassandra said she was angry about it for a while, but then realized that that sort of thinking wouldn't get her anywhere in the long term, so made a vow to try to work within the system. Her first step was to join up with an Empire militia, which was used more back then in Rask due to most of the regular troops fighting in the Felkan War and the fact that ogres and giants were still a nuisance. These militia groups were also made up of some of the lower class rabble that were either poor, patriotic, looking to fight or a combination of all three. As such there weren't any restrictions for the most part.
  
  Of course she had to struggle to be accepted the entire time and was practically disowned by her parents who while law abiding citizens, couldn't believe she'd willingly join an "injust" system. She held her own though and learned a lot during that time though it wasn't really until Warrick became Sightmaster for the Eyes, that she came into her own.
  
  He was looking for new recruits in Rask and she signed up for Eye training. She nearly didn't even get in, but fortunately Warrick intervened and allowed her to prove herself, which she did. She goes on to say she kept a relatively low profile since it made life easier in general among her peers.
  
  "Not so low profile now, you're the Sightmaster." You say.
  "Yes, and believe me I wasn't even expecting it when Warrick assigned me to take the position. Though as an Eye, I still prefer to keep a low profile."
  "Understandable. I trust you are not having problems with any of your subordinates?"
  "Oh, you mean being an elf that's in charge? Oh no. Actually I haven't had any of those sorts of problems for quite some time. Really after you had all elves still in slavery freed and promoting a man like Flevas to eventually be a general, I've encountered less hostility overall... though I imagine being an Eye might make the average person pause before insulting me." Cassandra says with a slight smile.
  
  Sounds like Cassandra enjoys the little power trip she has over most humans, sort of like Flevas in that regard actually. No matter, as long as she does her job, you don't care. Warrick was confident in her abilities and you have no reason to distrust his judgment and after your little discussion about her past, she addresses the original point of wanting to see you.
  
  "I wanted to talk to you about Dokkrus. It is my understanding that you plan on invading it?"
  "That is a major agenda in the near future, yes."
  "I see. Well since its discovery I have kept apprised of its situation via Eye agents as you requested. Granted this intel is limited due to the distance, but here is what we've learned." Cassandra as this point hands you a large folder filled with reports of what has been discovered about Dokkrus. She then gives you a brief run down on her own thoughts of it.
  
  "Now, I've never been to Nyttrus, but from what I've heard of the place the situation you'd encounter at Dokkrus would be much the same. Heavy resistance mixed with non-traditional tactics. Perhaps worse given that these are svelk we're talking about."
  "I didn't expect it to be a walk in flower fields. Besides aren't the svelk fighting each other most of the time?"
  "Well, most of them are, but last reports state that one group is starting to show more signs of unity. Its not a stable thing mind you, but its there nonetheless. There has also been a lot of sudden efforts in mining and metal working. Oddly though, the group of svelk don't seem to be focusing on building weapons though, it seems to involve these giant metal structures that are in locations all over Dokkrus."
  
  Semra. This has to be her doing. She's already preparing and if you had to hazard a guess, she's trying to repair some of those portals. Is she planning to use them to teleport directly somewhere in the Empire?
  
  Cassandra says that this unified groups isn't very large. It's not even an army, but then maybe Semra's just planning a precise strike against you, like say a sudden assassination attempt so she might not need a lot of people. With those portals working, she might be able to just drop in anywhere.
  
  Something has to be done now. Cassandra has already said she believes an all out invasion is going to encounter problems, but doesn't everything involving dark elves?
  > try a different approach
  While the temptation to just send your forces and invade the place is the logical choice, you have a feeling Semra is probably expecting you to do just that. While your current military situation isn't the worst, you've still got most your Eternals locked up in Nyttrus right now and you definitely want them to be sent in if you're going to invade Dokkrus.
  
  "Okay, I'm thinking no invasion for now, however the svelk need to be stopped on what they're planning to do, or rather at least what this group is planning to do." You say.
  "You'll hear no argument from me on messing up svelk plans, but given your tone you sound like you already know what they're planning which is something I was no able to gain knowledge of unfortunately." Cassandra says.
  "Those metal structures that have been mentioned in reports? Those are portals. You're aware of the svelk named Semra aren't you?"
  "Yes, I am familiar with that name as Warrick mentioned her a few times. Former advisor to the former Emperor, former trainer to the first Eternals and all around treacherous bitch?"
  "Yeah, basically. Well without going into a long story about it, I know that she's trying to unify the numerous bands of nomadic svelk into another svelk empire. From what you've told me, she's already busy doing that and as I said those metal structures are portals leading to who knows where. Probably all over the world. It's probably how the svelk used to run their empire in fact. Obviously Semra's trying to get the things working again as another step in rebuilding her overall goal."
  "If that's the case then maybe you should invade."
  "No, I imagine Semra already is expecting that and you're right in that it'll be a nightmare to hold territory there. We just need to sabotage what she's doing, and I'm thinking this is going to be more of a job for the Eyes since they've already been doing a good job there and I want you to lead this operation in Dokkrus personally."
  
  Cassandra wasn't expecting that order.
  
  "Of course I will obey my Emperor, but I'm going to need more details on this plan of yours and I'm concerned about the internal security here if I'm gone along with... well however many Eyes you intend to send."
  "Don't worry about the security here, I mean its important as always, but the days of civil unrest seem to be behind us a bit. As for how many of your Eyes you want to take, well that's up to you. I'd suggest that you take only the best and get by with as few as possible. You're going to be relying on a lot of stealth and hit and run. Basically I want you to multiply the chaos there. Cause these little nomadic bands to remain at each others' throats. Shouldn't be too hard, but try to make sure it seems like Semra's group is the one doing it. It'll definitely make them pause before joining her."
  "So use their own nature against them. Got it. What about the portals?"
  "Since Semra is the only one trying to get them to work, focus on stopping those efforts as well. Obviously that means sabotaging the mine, mines, or wherever the hell she's getting the material to rebuild them. Killing the miners works too obviously. The best thing to do is to destroy whatever portal Semra is trying to fix completely. I imagine magic is going to be involved so it would probably be best if you took your Eye mages with you."
  "We don't have too many of those left you know." Cassandra says.
  "Hrm, well if you need to, take non-Eye mages with you. There aren't many of them left either, but it should be enough... in fact take Galen with you. Lazy whiner needs to be useful for a change. And he WILL whine, but other than myself, he's the most powerful mage the Empire has, so don't get him killed unless it's absolutely necessary to the overall mission."
  "Is the overall mission to kill this Semra?"
  
  You chuckle a bit.
  
  "Heh, well if you have a good opportunity to do so, I certainly won't condemn you for it. In fact if you DO manage to kill her and bring me her head I'll grant you whatever you want within my means and that's quite a large list I assure you. However I'd advise you NOT to even attempt to engage her if possible. She's extremely dangerous and quite frankly will probably know as soon as we start hampering her mining operations that the Empire is involved and will make adjustments to her plans. Even with Galen, you most likely are not going to match an encounter with her so my advice is don't fight her unless you have no choice."
  "So our main mission is just to sabotage her portal fixing attempts?"
  "That's only part of it yes. However the other part is just as important, if not more so. I WANT one of those portal structures."
  
  Now Cassandra looks at you as if you've given her the impossible.
  
  "Emperor, from what I've heard those structures are... huge! I don't see how we're going to be able to move such things."
  "That's because you won't be, at least not initially. I'll be travelling to Dokkrus at some point to oversee that part of the plan but I need to discuss with the engineers for a way to extend the airships' distance so they can reach Dokkrus as well as carry one of those structures back here. Hmmm, I suppose it probably would be best to send a few engineers with you so they can report back and give an idea of exactly how best to move this thing without damaging it. I'd send Elam, but I'd rather keep him here to work on improving the airships. Maybe I'll just send some gnomish engineers... of course the gnomes won't like that, but fuck 'em they get more than enough special treatment."
  
  You finish up telling what else you require of Cassandra and then make your next stop to speak with Klemto about getting some gnome engineers to go on this trip... 
  
  "But... can't you just use Empire engineers?" Klemto asks.
  "Last time I remember New Dessel was incorporated into the Empire decades ago. Your engineers ARE Empire engineers. If you're asking why I don't use human engineers, well let's just say other than Elam, I still have more faith in gnomish ones. A testament to your peoples' fine works. You really should be flattered."
  
  Klemto doesn't know how to respond to such a remark so he continue to try to plead with you.
  
  "But Emperor, please be reasonable! Most of my people ever really leave this city anymore and most have no desire to, and you're asking them to go to a far away land with where sadistic svelk roam all over the place? We're not fighters, I think our history shows that." Klemto remarks.
  "Heh, I dunno if that's entirely true of a race that makes the deadliest weapons outside of the most powerful of magic. Not to mention you're the only group that ever rebelled from the Empire at one time AND lived. I assure you though your peoples' safety will be top concern. I need them the most for this part of the mission to succeed. They will have the best protection. As soon as it's over, they're coming back immediately. You have my word on that."
  "I... just don't know."
  "Klemto, this is more of a courtesy visit as well as giving you the option of sending those who are... less resistant to the idea. You know the deal Klemto, you're part of the Empire and you have to obey its leader regardless of how much freedom and leniency he gives this place."
  
  Klemto looks at you knowing that those words are more than just a polite threat. He sighs heavily and gives no more struggle.
  
  "(Sigh) Very well, let me... " Klemto starts to say before he's interrupted by a red haired woman dressed in a slightly dirty work outfit. She's human to your surprise and doesn't look like one of your Eyes (Let alone Elam).
  
  "Hey uncle I'm just, oh!" the woman says when she sees you.
  "Zana! I thought someone told you not to disturb me! I'm in a very important meeting with the Emperor!"
  "Apologies uncle Klemto, but I left my lucky hammer over here when I visited yesterday and I don't like being without it." Zana says while smiling and nodding at you. "Apologies to you as well Emperor."
  
  You aren't terribly offended of course, but you're wondering why a non-Eye human is running around New Dessel until you suddenly remember meeting Zana a long time ago, she was just a teenager then.
  
  "Emperor, uh you remember my adopted daughter don't you?" Klemto asks.
  "Yes, first time I made my visit to New Dessel. As I recall she interrupted that meeting to ask if she could fix some lighting problem you had at the time." You say.
  "Good memory! I'm surprised you remembered someone as unimportant as me!" Zana beams.
  "Mm, well when you're the Emperor, you have to try to remember everyone no matter what their status because under certain circumstances a peasant can rise to become a general. Besides, I also remember commending Klemto on raising a young lady with respect for dedication and hard work. Glad to see that you're still at it."
  "Oh yes my Emperor. I work primarily with Elam, do you know him?"
  "Elam? Oh yes, I definitely know him." You answer.
  
  At this point Klemto begins to get nervous and tries to push his niece out the door.
  
  "Okay, Zana you've found your hammer, now the Emperor and I still have important business to discuss."
  "What kind?" Zana asks.
  "Oh just something concerning engineers and a rather adventurous mission." You say.
  
  Klemto's fears have just come true.
  
  "Emperor... please I beg you... not Zana! I mean I'LL even go if you need me to! I'll send ALL of New Dessel!"
  "Relax Klemto, if Zana here is skilled enough to work next to Elam, I'd hate to break up the team. She won't be going to Dokkrus." You say.
  "You mean the dark elf continent? Yikes. As much I want to serve the Empire, I do believe I'd be a liability at such a hostile place! I'm no fighter!" Zana remarks.
  "Well you and your uncle don't have to worry, your skills will be better served here working on the new airships I want Elam to build." You say before Zana leaves.
  
  After getting over his initial worry, Klemto says he'll get that list of engineers to you immediately. You leave Klemto's office and head to where Elam's workshop is located. When you enter he doesn't appear to be working on anything important, he just seems to be watching some rodents run around in a container, though they look like they have a small piece of metal on their heads with wires connected to them.
  
  "What the hell are you doing Elam?" you ask completely startling him.
  "Emperor! Apologies, but I get very engrossed in my experiments sometimes. I've been coming up with some theories on brains and how they work. Figured I should test animals first and then work my way up to more sentient subjects." Elam answers.
  "For what purpose? I thought you were building new weapons in here."
  "I am... but... forgive me my Emperor, I'm getting bored with just engineering technological devices and weapons. Lately I've been feeling a pull towards my old love of biology. I mean yes we can create machines and other wondrous devices to make life easier, but what about making a LIFE? Y'know when I was young and before I worked under Marik, I was kicked out of the physician's guild by short sighted fools who couldn't appreciate my ideas." Elam says.
  "Yes, I believe Kivan mentioned that to me when you were promoted to the Eternal Project." You says.
  "Sometimes I miss working on the Eternal Project. I think we could really make advances there." Elam says.
  "Hm, didn't know you felt that way Elam. Did you have any particular ideas in mind for the next new batch of Eternals?"
  "Oh several. For one, I was thinking of how to go about curing that sterility problem you all seem to suffer from... no offense my Emperor."
  "None taken. Your idea is certainly a worthy one, but I believe the magical process that's necessary to create Eternals is the cause of that one flaw."
  "Yes, but I'm wondering if there isn't a way to eliminate the magical process altogether."
  "I don't see how." You say.
  "Well I didn't say I had all the answers yet, but I really believe if I could focus my studies, maybe I could find a way we could create Eternals just using the technology and medical aspect."
  "Okay, sounds intriguing. Might be good given how few mages there are around nowadays. If you do come up with anything important feel free to let me know, but ONLY if you come up with something solid AND you don't let it get in the way of your other work here."
  "Of course my Emperor. So what was it that you wanted to see me about?"
  "Oh, I need you to make the airships travel a longer distance. Namely to Dokkrus."
  "I guess we're bombing the hell out of that place next eh? Okay, I'm sure its possible; we'll just have to go through our routine tests and that is still going to take time. Hope you don't need them anytime soon though."
  "I'd prefer if this was done as soon as possible, but given the vital importance of the mission these airships are going to be going on I DO want it done right. Namely they're going to be lifting up a large metal portal and carrying it back to Evigrus."
  "How big are these metal portals and what are they made out of?"
  "Mithril I believe. At least those were the latest reports. As far as size, well they're about as big as the front gates to the capital. Maybe bigger."
  "That large huh? You sure you can't just put them on a ship?" Elam asks.
  "That would require digging up their base and dragging the damn things across hostile territory and THEN loading them on to a mostly wooden ship which is at the whims of the ocean and the occasional large denizens that lurk within it. The only ship we've got that might be able to carry it without danger of sinkin