"Matriarch!  MATRIARCH!  HELP US!"  A blue crystal flared to life on the desk within a sparsely furnished room near the back, glass wall which looked out over the Artifact courtyard of the grand city of Nevah.  Beside the desk a tall figure stood motionless, violet eyes locked on the scene below her.  Red, crimson scales covered the body of the standing dragon while two long horns flowed out from the top of her head and formed a V.  Two golden bands were wrapped around the horns and a long, smooth scaled tail wrapped around her left leg.  The crystal continued to flare and the relentless, singular cry was joined by another and then another.  All of them begging for help from the Matriarch of Nevah.<br/><br/>"I cant help you.. I cant help any of you."  Suna Ningam whispered quietly in a dull, emotionless voice as she watched the chaos and carnage unfold below her.  The great, pearl gates of Nevah had been broken asunder, both having crushed several smaller buildings which laid just behind them.  The culprits were now rushing into building after building, slaughtering all those inside, not caring if they were innocent or not.  The killers came in a variety of forms, but all of them dark and vile.  They were still too far away for Suna to make out what they looked like under the swarm of void energy which coated them.<br/><br/>The clamor of voices was suddenly cut short and the cease of noise drew Suna's attention behind her.  Her violet eyes locked on a pair of blue ones that were just as emotionless as her own.  Behind the Matriarch stood an azure scaled dragoness wearing white, undercoated robes.  Her head was crowned with two very short horns that were ridged.  "Matriarch.  We are ready.  We only await your word."  The normally soft, caring voice of Suna's best friend, Enela, was flat with a hint of sadness.<br/><br/>Suna did not even verbally respond, simply nodding and then turning her head back to look at the falling city.  The only gates that had not been broken now were those of the Artifact complex which were just as large as the Pearl gates.  Before them the last organized force of the Confederacy's military fought with the murderers.  Ribbons of blue energy flew from their lines and decimated hundreds of the void at once.  But it was no use.  In the end they would lose and Suna knew what she had to do.<br/><br/>Turning she made her way to her desk and sat down, the still standing Enela watching her every move expectantly like a vulture watches a dying animal.  Placing her scaled hand on a pad on her desk she said simply. "Yes.  Proceed."  A light on the pad flashed a dark, foreboding red for a moment before turning green as Suna gave the final order approving the destruction of her race, possibly her planet.  The green light taunted Suna as Enela turned and quickly strode off to the control room.<br/><br/>A few minutes later a dark blue wave of energy emanated from the tower and stripped the magic from everything it touched.  But Suna refused to watch it.  She refused to see the death and destruction she had caused.<br/><br/>~~~<br/><br/>A soft hand gripped Suna's shoulder and gently rocked her awake.  Her violet eyes opening and then fixating on the familiar face of her love Enela.  She had fallen asleep again on her desk, a hologram projector beside her repeating the depressing history of her species. "Suna.  You only torture yourself by watching this over and over."  The concerned voice of Enela pulled Suna's attention away from the hologram.  She knew that the other woman was right but...  She could never not feel responsible for the death of millions.<br/><br/>Raising her hands up to the smooth scales of her cheek Suna rubbed them gently. "Its nothing Enela..."  Opening her eyes back up she locked them on Enela's. "What is it?  It is not normal of you to awaken me, even if I do fall asleep here."  Standing, Suna walked over to the window which overlooked the city that she commanded. It was much smaller than Nevah and did not have as much life.  But its beauty was much the same.  She watched a pair of parents play with a small hatchling.  The pair were lucky, their offspring was the first in one hundred thousand years and raised the numbers of the Ashkaran's to an even one thousand.<br/><br/>"The Wulfen down below appear to be preparing for war.  A war that will affect the entirety of the world.  Jendar wishes to know if he should act proactively."  As Enela spoke the hologram on her desk changed from the past to images of the present.  Hidden between two large mountains the rough and vicious looking war machines of the Wulfen were amassed and in much greater number than a country would need for regular defense.<br/><br/>Suna sighed a bit.  She wished that the much younger races of Caleah could have evolved without violence but that was just a dream. However, she knew that her race would be better off not intervening until there was no other option on the table. "No.  We wait and watch.  We will intervene when we are needed."  She nodded to Enela, expecting the woman to leave then but she did not. "Is there something else<span style="font-style: italic">halqu</span>?"<br/><br/>Enela smiled at the word of endearment. "Yes.  A.. Rather ragtag group is supposedly being prepared to investigate the Island of the Artifact.  Should we intervene?"  Suna furrowed her scaley eyebrows but again shook her head. "No.  The magics of that place should keep them out."  Enela nodded and then stepped around the desk, placing her hands on the hips of Suna. "Then no, I have nothing else.  The Mana Flowers are blooming tonight, I think we should go see them."<br/><br/>Suna placed her hands on Elena's. "I would love to.  But first let me get a cup of coffee."  At least she could still love and be loved in these trying times.<br/><br/>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<br/><br/>Soft, wet grass was smooshed under the foot of a tall Wulfen with black fur.  He wore the garb of the Kaiser of the Wallenstein Reich.  Kaiser Wallenstein the Second narrowed grey eyes on one one of the soldiers assembled in front of him.  The offending individual stood with a slight slack in his stance, something that the Kaiser would not tolerate from a Warrior of the Reich.  "Up straight you vorthless pup!"  The harsh words were followed by a leather horse crop against the forehead of the soldier who immediately fixed his stance without even a cry of pain.<br/><br/>Snorting derisively, the Kaiser turned back to face the General of the Army and his staff.  "You say they are ready?  I say they are not!  They need more discipline and you have till the next full moon to beat it into them!  Or else you will be marching with them!"  He barked out at the now cowering officers, their tails tucking between their legs.<br/><br/>He needed his people to be ready for the coming war and even a single undisciplined Wulfen would not do.  Stepping off and out of his military stance the leader marched toward his waiting car.  They would be ready and then he would use them to take control over the lands that were his people that were officially within Myra and Kitsen land.  They would either yield it to them or die.  The Kaiser did not care.<br/><br/>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<br/><br/>Lidai Lotuswalker stood expectantly just outside a homely inn in the country of the Atlai Islands.  The bandit masked Jinyi was expecting those who she had been corresponding with to meet her here to talk about the little venture that she had been planning since she was a little girl.  Unlike most of the people from her village she did not believe that the tall tower on an island off the coast was haunted with the dead spirits of an unknown race but rather something of great value left behind by the Ashkaran.<br/><br/>And Lidai was determined to prove this.  To that end she had posted posters throughout the capitals of Caleah hoping to gain interest enough to be able to not only fund but to have a team to work beside her.  It only took a few days in the Atlai Islands for her to be approached by a member of the Kitsen Archaeology League which offered to pay for everything as long as she put together a team.  Which she had done post haste.<br/><br/>And so she waited here for those who she had recruited over the past few months to help her.  She just hoped they got here soon because she was beginning to get impatient.