Julen City

---

Seven days after the destruction of Grace tower and the abdication of Kaz, Wyvern and Dragon relief workers have made tremendous strides in cleaning up ground zero. Under the direction of Yin, Generals Renwoir and Molliere, and Petrovic, men and women from both factions have, along with Alou Dastier's spiders, performed beautifully to repair the damage to both the structure and political relationships.

With Soze's guidance, Revilier has all but succeeded in blaming Radivishe Moorn for everything that has gone wrong in the last few days. Streaming clips of the train bombing and Moorn's attack on the tower at ground zero play round the clock through the news and pirate stations. Things are, in general, looking up.

On the seventh night, however...


Revilier calls Yin at midnight. He's lying in bed at their temporary residence, watching television to see how his smear campaign is going when the picture flickers and statics out.

Replaced in a moment by the face of Menayen Emille. The Serinian stares at him, and into every other home in all the world through computer screens, cell phones, and TV sets.

"Do not adjust your set. We control the horizontal. We control the vertical." His fangs gleam when he snickers. "I've always wanted to say that. My name is Menayen Lothos Emille. Over the course of years I've lived on this ridiculous dirt ball planet. I've watched Dragons and Wyverns scuffle over nothing for a long, long time.

"Tonight, I end the struggle of Wyvern against Dragon. Some of you may know, Yin, that Mercurial Wyverns have been on the way to this planet for some time. Well, I found the Astral Dragons, too. And I've been busy, Yin. So busy."

Revilier just stares at the screen.

Yin catches her breath, just...staring from where she'd been working late finishing something from the dragon side. Her voice trails off when she sees the picture Revilier had directed her to, paling.

"I gave you a message, Yin. I told you I would prove to you just how dangerous technology can be in the wrong hands. My hands. I want you to watch the night sky, Yin. Dragons and Wyverns. Look to your windows. Look to your telescopes."

The camera pans out to show Menayen standing on what looks to be an enormous airstrip, teeming with robot spiders and worker bots. He holds out his little arms.

From the ground behind him, two dozen cylindrical turrets rise from the strip, hissing gas, moving fifteen feet in the air each. Their entire lengths glow green with runes, blazing in impossibly complex patterns.

"Tonight I end your feud, and lay the gods of your species to rest. Yin. Sorry about this. It had to be this way."

The screen flashes white. Flashes again, as pale green bursts of light shoot from the cannons behind Menayen. Revilier dashes to his window, looking into the sky, and... sure enough, from Julen City he can see the miniscule lights streaming into the sky, up and up and up, piercing the ozone layer and screaming into space.

The Astral Dragons and Mercurial Wyverns never expected to be assaulted from planetside. The dragons, at the very rear of the approach near Earth's moon, flip to dodge, but the spheres of light flip as well, and...

The heavens seem to burst into flame. Revilier shields his eyes, staring upward, just... staring.

"There's always another way, isn't there."

Radivishe Moorn's voice draws the General's eyes back to the television screen. Bathed in the light of the end of an age, Revilier Omeaux just stares into the picture of Menayen and Moorn standing side by side, watching the oldest of the old guard incinerate above.

Menayen smiles at the camera. "Good night."

The image flickers off.