King Jrax Ferno was the last to leave the room that the royals had met in. The room exited to a large outdoor balcony. The balcony acted as a hangar and was equipped with several platforms that were built for the landing and taking off of space craft.

            Just as when he had entered the room a quarter day earlier, the planetwide storm that started thousands of years ago was still raging on. The balcony was high enough and the rain thick enough that Jrax could not make out what was beneath him.

            As he got closer, lightning struck, and he noticed the figure of a large hooded man standing between him and the entrance of his ship. He stopped just one pace away. He knew that the man had to be Overlord Darex based on his size alone.

            “My forefathers created this storm,” Darex said as he turned around to face Jrax. “Your records suggest that it was an error in the terraforming. That it is possible the error may have been intentional. This is a Jhori lie.”

            Jrax stood firm, though the rain pounded down on him hard. It had been a long time since he had visited Imperia. Few rarely ever came to Imperia after the Imperians had left.  

            “The terraforming was a complete success. Just like the other four moons. My forefathers invited the kings and queens of all the other Elementi to help them create the storm. The Onyxians erected large high plateaus that still stand today. These plateaus were where the other Elementi fused their abilities to anger the skies forever.”

            “Does this have a point?” Asked Jrax. “I’m not a big fan of the rain.”

            Darex extended his arms out and lifted his face into the sky. “This is my home, Jrax. Though, I’ve never stepped foot on it until now. I feel Imperia right down to my bones. In my very soul. I’m sure you feel the same of Pyra.”

            “Eh.” Jrax mumbled. He had become king shortly after Darex became Overlord and the war had ended. Since Darex had stopped sending warriors into the Jhori Quadrant, Jrax was no longer allowed to leave Pyra to go and fight them off. Being king meant he could not become an agent either. Immediate royalty always stayed near Elementa and her moons in case they were needed. After nearly 25 years, Jrax had grown quite restless of being confined to his home-world.

            “With the combined efforts of all the Elementi, our ancestors manifested a permanent storm that engulfs an entire celestial body!” Darex said with a booming voice.

            “You know, I’ve always wondered.” Jrax said with a mischievous smirk. “Who would have won had we actually been able to have our fight all those years ago?”

            Darex laughed, “I cannot lie! It has plagued my mind as well!” Lightning struck near the hangar giving everything a brief ominous purple shade.

            Jrax made the slightest movement to get into a fighting stance and he noticed Darex do the same. Jrax had never stopped training. He always sought to become more powerful. As powerful as he knew he was, he had no idea if the Imperians had become even more powerful than when he had last faced them. No one had heard from the Farak Quadrant for over 25 years. Jrax was one of the few Jhori Elementi that could take them on alone during the war.

            Most of the renegade Elementi were Imperians, who were often considered to be the best warriors of the five types.

            “Did I mention I’m not a fan of the rain?!” Jrax yelled over the ever-increasing storm. If ever there was to be a handicap for Pyrans, it was fighting in a downpour of heavy rain.

            “Why do you think I suggested we meet on Imperia?” Darex asked as his face grew more serious. He took one small slow step forward.

            Jrax prepared himself for anything. Lightning lit the area once again and as soon as it left everything fell into a brief darkness. Jrax’s eyes took time to adjust. For a while only the red lights that hugged the edge of the hanger were visible.

            Another streak of lightning shot across the sky and Darex was gone.

            Jrax quickly scanned his surroundings but saw no sign of the large man. Lightning struck again and Jrax felt a hand on his shoulder.

            “My point Jrax, is that together we can do great and terrible things. Like bring an oppressive galactic empire to its knees.”

            Jrax jumped away from Darex in case he decided to tighten the grip he had on his shoulder. “I’m afraid to ask what you plan on replacing it with Overlord Darex.” He exaggerated the word overlord. Darex’s ancestor, King Lesnar, was the first to pronounce himself Overlord. He then told his followers that they were all now lords who were free to do as they pleased. Though, most chose to remain loyal subjects of the Farak Quadrant.

            “I merely want to free our people. Let them taste true unadulterated freedom.” Darex replied. “You have two sons, yes?”

            “Yes. Though, I don’t see what concern that is of yours.”

            “Don’t take me for a fool, Jrax. I know about Jraken.” Darex said coldly.

            “How?” Was all Jrax could come up with to ask. At a very early age, his younger son Jraken had unnatural mastery over fire, and grew exponentially stronger by the day. It was something he had done his best to conceal. Fearing what plans the Jhori Leaders might try to involve him in.

            “Nothing remains hidden from my priestess, Lys.” Darex responded. “His strength is comparable to that of our ancient legends. It won’t be long before he surpasses us all.”

            “Speak for yourself, Darex! The little brat isn’t surpassing me anytime soon.” He said confidently.

            Darex laughed a booming laugh, but soon his face again became serious. “I know you are forced to send your children off to be brainwashed by the Jhori. If Jraken were to oppose our cause, then I’m told our chances of victory will be greatly reduced.”

            “That’s ridiculous! I will grant you the boy is gifted, but he is nowhere near being a deciding factor in any war.”

            “I didn’t say it would be today. All I’m saying is that a time may come when he may force our hand.”

            “What are you suggesting?” Asked Jrax.

            “That we may need to make our move before Jraken gets any stronger, and should he oppose us… we will need to take care of him while we still can.” Darex said, watching closely to see Jrax’s reaction.

            “You would ask a father to kill his own son?” He asked, not sure if maybe he had misheard him.

            “I hope it never comes to that. If we wait too long and let his mind become warped by the Jhori then it could very well be one of us that would have to get the job done.”

            “It will never come to that! He is not some Jhori loyalist fool! He is my son!” Jrax said as he turned around to start walking towards his ship.

            “I trust you’ll do the right thing should you have to!” Darex yelled. It was the last thing Jrax heard him say before he closed the door to his ship.

 

            As Jrax’s ship broke through the storm that surrounded Imperia he decided to cruise atop the dark clouds. The stars above him combined with the cloudy light show below him made for grand scenery. Jrax took a long drink from the flask he kept in his jacket. His wife, the late Queen Drelaine, had given him the flask as a gift. It read “Drink and Think not of Me”. It was left on his throne the day she flew her ship into the sun.

            Jrax felt the crippling shadow of guilt start to creep over him again. He thought of the way he treated her. How distant he had let himself become. His obsession with getting stronger and his disdain for being confined to his little moon. Then his thoughts drunkenly stumbled their way on to his two sons.

            Dravon was about Jraken’s age when Drelaine committed suicide. He was absolutely devastated. Jrax and Dravon had hardly spoken a word to each other in the seven years that had passed since her death.

            Jraken however seemed to be in denial. He did not have a firm grasp on death at the time. Jrax never noticed the boy grieve or get upset in any way. This was another reason why Jrax had isolated Jraken from Dravon and himself. Aside from trying to keep the prodigy a secret, he also did not want Jraken to become tainted. He was a shining example of his mother, Drelaine.

            He feared that whatever he did to push his wife into her suicidal outcome would one day effect Jraken in the same way. 

            Darex’s ship shot up out of the storm and engaged its warp immediately. Jrax watched as the clouds slowly started to reform after being ripped apart by the repercussion of a warp drive.

            He took another deep drink and threw the flask on the floor. He put his hands on the controls and thrust his ship up completely out of the atmosphere.

            “Why am I the one that’s still here to deal with all this shit!?” He asked the blackness of space. Per usual, the blackness of space gave no response.

 

            The Pyran palace where Jrax and several other royal family members lived was an enormous structure that sat in the middle of a large city. Ever since what was now referred to as the Imperian rebellion, star ships were limited and hard to come by for Elementi. Jrax saw very few other ships as he approached the palace.

             He was met with urgent news as soon as he landed on the balcony. His throne room was the highest room in the palace and right next to the balcony that he kept his ship on.

            “Leader Laski is on her way my king.” Said Locke Heater with an arm over heart salute. He was a royal guardian that was once a commoner who had proven himself in the Elementi Civil Wars. He even fought alongside Jrax’s father at one point. He was then hired to be Jrax’s fighting instructor for many years in order to prepare him for war. He was also the father of the late Queen Drelaine.

            “Thank you, Locke.” Jrax said trying not to sound too drunk. “Take the night off or something. Have a drink.” He said as he focused on walking straight.

            “As you wish, my king.” Locke replied. At 65 years old he was slowly starting to show signs of his age. His combed back black hair had a few streaks of silver and his moustache was a consistent blend of black and silver. Though, he lacked none of the strength of his youth.

           

            Jrax made his way into his chamber and took a handful of energy pills. He wanted to be sharp if he was going to have to deal with Leader Laski. She rarely came out to Elementa herself, but when she did, it was always for some undesirable reason.

            Jrax felt his heart start to race. Then he felt the contents of his stomach start to churn. He quickly ran to his bathroom and violently puked up a large flask’s worth of alcohol and the half-digested remnants of a handful of pills.

            “Not feeling well?” Asked a woman from the doorway. She had two brown ridged horns that protruded from her forehead and short orange hair that covered her body aside from her face. Her garments were covered in intricate designs of black and blue.

            Jrax quickly flushed the toilet. “Just some bad bird.” He said rubbing his stomach. “Leader Laski, to what do I owe the pleasure?”

            Laski eyed him up and down and walked toward the throne room. Jrax followed her out the door.

 “We picked up a signal in the area that we haven’t seen in quite some time. One of our agencies suggests that it may have been the renegade Elementi. Would you know anything about this?” She asked as she watched Jrax slowly walk up the steps to his throne.

            “Well! Clearly, I’ve been here!” He said pointing back to the bathroom.

            “Clearly.” She rubbed her necklace and it threw up a projection of his ship being sloppily landed on the balcony only moments ago.

            He did his best to act surprised. “When I find out who’s been out joy riding in my ship, I’ll see to it they are properly disciplined!”

            “King Jrax,” she spoke in a very condescending tone, “It would be a shame if your people went hungry because you were uncompliant with a Jhori Leader.”

            “I didn’t leave the system or anything. I just went for a little cruise around the moons.” He had made the mistake of losing his temper in front of a Jhori Leader before and his people had paid the price. Rations were severely reduced and the Pyrans had to double the number of troops they sent to guard the Jhori Capitol before their rations were restored.

            “If you say so.” Her long sleeves concealed her hands as she put her arms behind her back. “I was voted in as a Jhori Leader several years after the last Elementi Civil War, but I hear it was quite devastating. Some planets are still rebuilding from all the destruction it caused. Utterly amazing what your race is capable of.”

            “Glad we have a fan. Don’t imagine you all will lift the travel ban any time soon.”

            “You know we can’t allow that. Overlord Darex is a perfect example of why not.” She responded.

            “Oh? Do tell.” Jrax wanted to sound as naïve as possible when it came to Darex Thunderfist. If Laski suspected he had been in communication with him then he would be imprisoned, or worse.          

            “He’s conquered three star systems in his 30 years as Overlord. Two of which are pivotal places for Darex to launch his next assault on the Jhori Quadrant. Darex’s three systems combined with the planets his predecessors had already conquered gives him access to an uncomfortable amount of resources and manpower. It is looking more and more everyday like we will have to face the renegades again. Their little empire left unchecked will soon become a great hinderance to our progress.”

            “What progress? I see no benefit from taking on such a force. I’m sure someone reaps in a fine profit, but it certainly isn’t us.” He could feel his anger getting the best of him. The image of setting her ablaze dominated his mind.

            “We provide everything to you. Your people no longer have to worry about whether or not their king had the farmers grow enough food, or if there will be enough water. Have your people experienced any plagues? No.

“So long as you can keep from falling back into your unfortunate habit of insubordination, then your people have not a care in the world!” Laski said sternly.

            “Do you enjoy travelling to distant planets?” Jrax took in several deep breaths. He had to stay calm. There was too much at stake for him to lose his temper right now.

            Laski took a few steps towards the throne. “When your people can prove that they won’t take advantage of the weak, then you will be free to travel the stars as you please, King Jrax. We also have more than one opportunity provided to let Elementi explore the galaxy for now.”

            “To use as tools for your profit.” He replied bitterly.

            “All our Jhori Agents are handsomely rewarded. Jrax, it is not my fault that you were never allowed to become a Jhori Agent. Your people created the law that kings and queens never leave Elementa. If you don’t want to be king, then perhaps you should step down.” She said, assuming that would be the end of it.

            Jrax leaned back into his throne and took another deep breath to better control his temper. “So, you are just here to check on us then?”

            He knew that Leader Laski would not have come all this way herself to simply inquire on a suspicious signal. Laski only ever brought bad news. He had his suspicions that she reveled in trying to make him frustrated. The more she could get him to act out, the more she could be justified in punishing him. Which always trickled down to the suffering of his people. He was already a widely unpopular ruler.

            “Afraid not, my king. The Jhori Leaders, I included, believe it is in all of our best interest to bolster our military. We are asking all the systems in the Jhori Quadrant for additional aide.”

            “I’m sure you are.” He said unenthusiastically. “If there is threat of war then I need my troops here.”

            “If our resource planets get taken then can you guess who will be first on the list to not receive rations? The other Elementi royals have already pledged to provide us with the troops we have requested. I would hate to see what would become of your people if you did not comply.”

            Jrax rubbed his temples hard. He was trying to think of a way out of this. He had already promised his troops to Darex. The thought of killing her right where she stood still crossed his mind more than anything else he could come up with.

            “It’s a fairly easy decision, Jrax. There’s no sense in having this much power all in one place. We must ensure that our farm worlds remain unscathed in the event of war. Just the mere presence of Elementi troops will deter any potential for attack.” She explained.

            Jrax could see no way out. “So be it.” He said as he waved her away.

            “The Jhori Quadrant thanks you for your wise decision.” With that said, she promptly left.