The rays of the evening moons bore down heavily upon SaiNus, as she stood proudly on the open balcony of the palace high above the bustling streets of An'Veris. She stepped towards the rail and leaned up against it, inhaled an immense breath and held it deep within her chest for several long moments. She heard a beating sound off in the distance, approaching fast.
" Good day, Sovereign." came a voice as her second-in-command landed on his feet only meters away. Tucking his wings alongside the arch of his dorsal and taking but a few steps to reach her side, ParKa motioned to the crisp blackness of space above and the stars that sparkled brilliantly, and at the life that melted the quiet stillness of day away. " It is a busy day in An'Veris. Much is happening. The peoples are contented."
" It is reassuring to hear this." SaiNus returned plainly.
" Your decision was one of great wisdom, Sovereign, to give the peoples a day of rest."
" They seem incapable of rest," she smiled slightly, " even on days I've given them to be free and playful they choose to be busy."
" Yes, but it is a playful busy. They need relaxation, too. Work cannot always be supreme."
" I presume these assemblages are purely benign in nature." she stated, somewhat questioningly, pointing to great masses of people who were gathering far below between the arches of the central square.
" Strictly benign, I assure you, Sovereign."
" I see." She turned to face him, " While the peoples occupy themselves with games, we shall call a meeting of the Provosts and Provost Marshalls. The grind may cease for a day - that I am willing to give - but the Navarii shall never rest. Ready the hall for my arrival in one hour."
Precisely one hour later, the hall doors opened and SaiNus entered, marching with great strides towards the head of the elongated stone table, her webbed hands clasped behind her back, her tail swaying gently behind. Her magnificent wings bounced just slightly away from the dorsal flank and her head heaved majestically atop her sprouting neck with every stride. She assumed the head of the assembly and motioned for silence.
" Ten years ago this day, we waged a war we did not win. We attacked a place we should have left alone, and we disturbed a peace between two peoples that should never have been broken. The consequences of that fateful day have been felt for many years - not a single part of our lives has been unaffected by what happened then and there. It was a defeat of unprecedented magnitude, of unforeseen significance that we have had to deal with ever since. We have tried to make amends, but none can be made. An Alpaqan now rules their world. Whatever hopes we may have had of ending the hostility have been crushed. We must prepare for the worst."
" Our legions are ill-prepared for war, Sovereign." submitted the Provost Marshall.
A Provost rose to speak. " If we are to avert a conflict, we must appease them first."
" Give them what they want?" blasted another.
" What can we give if we know nothing of what they want?" added yet another. " Their motives are unclear."
" Not so unclear as you might think." returned ParKa. " Vengeance is a common motive for war."
" Their peoples have been historically peaceful and at times even isolationist. What would make them, now - after a full decade of peace - want to return to us to strike back." offered a Provost from the opposing end of the table.
" They are ready. Their time has come for revenge. I foresaw it years ago," noted ParKa confidently. " We made a mistake and now we shall pay."
" You foresaw this? And why did you not plan ahead?" demanded an enraged Provost.
" Plan ahead?" retorted a disgusted ParKa. " What do you think one thousand legions is, you incompetent fool!"
" What good are millions of fighters against their superior technology? We have gut-piercing tails and flesh-tearing talons but no lasers, siege tanks or warships. We have space transports, but no means of defense. We can bomb, yes, and terrorize millions of their best infantry - but what good is that against fleets of ships with the power to destroy whole worlds?!" berated an anonymous Provost.
" Enough!" declared SaiNus. " I am the Sovereign of the Navarii people - need I remind you all of our glorious past? Our wars with the Alpaqa fill the pages of our history books. Wars we have initiated, wars we have fought, and wars we have survived."
" But never wars that we have won, for there are none," admitted the Provost in reply. " If we were meant to, we would have conquered the Alpaqans by now."
SaiNus muttered a curse beneath her breath, and began to take command of the assembly, " I sense trouble stirring in the skies above. They are strong now, stronger than ever before. And they do not stand alone - they are united in their efforts and they want revenge. We dealt them a serious blow those many years ago, we hurt them, bruised their egos and now they will return to haunt us. Whether we are ready or not, they will come."
" When, Sovereign? When will they come for us?"
" In time. Tomorrow, perhaps. Maybe not for many days to come, or years. But in time. The stirring gets stronger with every moonrise and every moonset. In time . . . "
The meeting ended and the hall emptied save for SaiNus and ParKa who stood across from each other in silence. ParKa ended the quiet.
" You know more than you are revealing, Sovereign."
" Is that a question or a statement?"
" I am not certain. How much time do we have?"
" Little, precious little. I sense it coming."
" Do they know?" ParKa pointed at the door, where the Provosts and Provost Marshall had exited through. " Are we ready?"
" They need not know what I know. And we are ready. But we will not win."
Flashes of fiery light penetrated the vast coloured windows that surrounded the hall, slicing through the blackness of day with terror and blazing fear. The floor shook slightly. SaiNus and ParKa dashed for the stairs to the balcony atop the palace and watched in awe as the world beneath them came alive with the madness of war. Streams of red and green energy blasted across the sky, touched down sporadically throughout the city, tearing apart and uprooting the structures that bore the mark of the Navarii civilization. Massive vessels descended from the heavens and lowered themselves upon the Navarii soil, unleashing their hordes of armoured infantry and armoured vehicles on to the legions of Navarii soldiers. But their ships continued to descend and unload, surround and fire, orbit and gaze with deathly precision - like a bird of prey. Like a Navarii swooping down with wings spread, tail rigid and talons ready. But with far greater force.
SaiNus and ParKa observed in silence as their world was attacked, destroyed and condemned to a forsaken future. They had experienced for that brief moment the brunt of the new order, the strength of the Alliance, the true power of the Phoenix.
The great history book of the Navarii ended that day - SolDate : March 6th, 2608.