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_ One Thousand Years Ago: _

This story starts. It starts with an Empire, or rather the beginning of one. It also starts with a leader of individuals. His name was Kraven. Kraven was, as history would have you believe, a nine foot tall white anthropomorphic dragon, of the planet of Ia Gelliath. Insofar as it's impossible to be perfect, Kraven came damn close to the perfect politician and ruler. He was firm on one hand, but fair on the other.

His firm, slightly sibilant bass voice was known to instill dread into people who displeased him, and his sheer size often imposed his will with little assistance from his silver tongue. He was startlingly clever and by the tender age of 121 for a draconic creature, was already the Wyrmlord of Ia Gelliath. With his planet falling under his command, he decided that his next problem was the rest of the galaxy.

Back then, the galaxy was effectively chaotic. There was no structured order, traders visiting other planets did so with no efficient purpose, and most races regarded others with a certain, natural suspicion. The Canidae race actively pursued any visitors off their planet, their planet stagnant and out of ideas on how to expand, the creative but technologically backward Homo sapiens azuris had not the technology for spacecraft, and so regarded any arrivals from other planets with hostility born from terror at the advanced nature of the visitors.

Kraven was aware of this. On one planet he had visited on a diplomatic trip, he had barely stepped off the ship to bid his greetings to the locals when one of them threw an explosive device at the craft, leaving scars over the left side of his body and face where bits of whirring metal cut through his scales and skin. This encounter was effectively the final straw, and after he had recovered from the damage, he began to take over the galaxy. His ways of doing this were dependant on the race. The Canidae, with their warlike tendencies, found themselves force shielded on their own planet, sanctioned and prevented from communicating with the rest of the galaxy. All Canidae traders who brought exotic items back to their home planet were blockaded, and upon complaint, were told "Time to play Ball." by Kraven himself. After several months of this, they got the message.

The Azuris, on the other hand, found a spaceship land outside one of their major cities. As their military and scientific vessels approached the ship, they found a single dragon sitting on the gangplank, smoking a pipe. Confronted by this sight, with a regiment of troopers training their weapons on the newcomer, the Azuris King was told the spaceship was now his by the dragon.

When the king asked why, the dragon said very simply that the Azuris were welcomed by Kraven into a new order to the galaxy, and in a spirit of cooperation they were giving the Azuris both technology, and education in how to use it. Faced with a new galaxy of opportunity, the spaceship became first a university for the best and brightest of their race, and then a scientific vessel for the Azuris to visit other planets and learn about who else shared their galaxy.

In the case of my race, the Vulpini Rougis, we were never particularly hostile towards visitors, nothing special at all. We let the galaxy get on with it at the time, and when Kraven's emissaries visited, all they offered was a more organized system for trading and acceptance and protection where required. That appealed to the Vulpini government, who got a lot of their goods from off world, and the traders. The Vulpini flourished under the newborn empire, and got a reputation for their cunning. The Azuris flourished, becoming a creative hub of the galaxy, and even the Canidae flourished, their half dead planet rejuvenated by new policies borrowed from alien sources.

Of the 109 seperate habitable worlds in the galaxy of which there was sentient life on them, 106 decided to be a part of the new ordered Empire. Two decided to have no dealings with the rest of the universe, they simply wished to be left alone to their own devices, while the last planet, upon learning of the existence of life on other planets, declared war on the rest of the galaxy, and had to be force shielded for eternity so as not to be a bad influence. This entire mission of Kraven's took 29 years, and at the still tender age of 160, Kraven was deemed the ruler of the Empire.

A representative of each planet, Kraven's own included, sat in assembly on a space station in the centre of the galaxy, deciding policy, making requests or comments and reporting back to their own individual governments. Every year, every planet would vote or otherwise select a new representative, or in some cases of talented individuals kept on. But ultimately, any quibble, argument or policy that the collective had ended up in front of the scarred and imposing Emperor.

It was amazing how little people wanted to complain to him. People who went to see Kraven in a state or annoyance came back rather more cowed. Some said it was it his terrifying, piercing stare, others said it was those razor sharp, pointed teeth that seemed to glow as he spoke in the same calm, sibilant voice as ever. Yet more say it was the rumour that one representative ended up making him angry, and left the room he and Kraven was occupying through a window horizontal. But they all agreed on one thing, Kraven was the right person to rule. Everything he decided made sense.

There was ,for example, the time the Azuris and Vulpinis had a falling out over a couple of cargo ships. The Vulpinis had not done sufficient quality control over an alcoholic beverage, and many Azuris had become sick. In response, the Azuris blockaded their own planet from all trading or visitors, causing significant disturbance in trading. Kraven had called the representatives to his quarters as soon as he had heard.

Kraven firstly told the Azuri representative the blockade was not done in accord to the galactic rules, and that it would have to be stopped unless the Azuris wanted to find themselves blockaded by a force that would not be controlled by them. Medical help would be supplied to the sick providing this was done, and the assistance would be paid for by the Vulpini. The Azuri representative, confronted by a dragon who had not had his morning coffee and was barely constrained by patience, accepted the offer. The Vulpini representative was then spoken to, and informed that his race were not performing up to the standards set up in their special trade agreements, and that they better have some top notch excuses and fixes for the problem within the week or they would lose some serious revenue opportunities.

Faced with the terrifying prospect, the week was a busy one for the Vulpini, working hurriedly through what had gone wrong, and who was to blame. Within six days, the excuses and fixes were given to the Emperor, and once again peace reigned. History shined with such examples back then, and did for a considerable number of centuries. Unfortunately, peace never lasts eternal.

Five hundred years ago:

With Kraven well-developed into middle age, he and his wife of several decades concieved children. Tributes flooded in from all across the empire to the Emperor and his expectant wife. Celebration was held on numerable planets. The only one not particularly happy about this was Kraven himself. In public he smiled and said how very happy he was, but his friends reportedly said his smiles were like glass, shatter it and you'd see the true shape of things. The most famous instance of this in recorded history was on the birthdate of the twin brothers themselves. Chaio (pronounced Kai-o) and Nexa were born red and green respectively, and only two minutes apart. Kraven saw the children for the first time, and his first words to his closest friend upon leaving the mother alone with his children were "They are going to cause trouble." Modern history books do not record this opinion, but some old books survive.

The two brothers grew up in an intense rivalry, always trying to out do the other in their academia and sporting activities. Chaio was the lesser in ultimate strength and physical prowess, but Nexa's brutal strength was hindered by his lack of understanding in strategy or tactics. But while Kraven was the Emperor, nothing they particularly did caused great waves. But as Kraven got older and older, heads began to wonder who would he name as his successor.

Kraven didn't say. He pretty much clammed up on the subject, claiming both of them were too rash and young to be considered as true heirs. He was waiting for one of the two brothers to mature before he decided.

_ Three hundred and twenty one years ago _

To this day, there has never been any consistent proof to tell what really happened on that fateful day. All that was known for certain was the Kraven, the famous and well loved Emperor was poisoned with a sickly brew that got it's name from the incident, Kraven's Bane. Four plants from different planets in the galaxy, combined together in the right way, caused a toxic chemical so lethal that the mug Kraven drunk it from melted on the floor as the Emperor died.

Depending on where you come from in the galaxy, you will get three stories. Chaio's planets will have you believe that Nexa poisoned his father, and then tried to claim the galaxy for his own. Nexa's planets would tell you the opposite. True cynics on either side would very quietly say that both conspired to kill Kraven and split the Empire between them. All that is known for certain is that after nearly 700 years of peace and prosperity, both brothers attempted to claim the empire.

Chaio bargained with the Vulpinis, the Azuris, and most of the planets on the sectors clockwise of Ia Gelliath, while Nexa bargained with those anti-clockwise, including the Canidae and Sectivores. With two very distinct sides to the conflict suddenly arising, before any of the representatives had any time to react and try and settle things diplomatically, the brothers declared war on one another unless the other brother gave way.

Needless to say, this didn't happen.Ships were converted from scientific vessels, and brand new space ships were being created with the express purpose of destroying the other side and efficiently as possible. Civil war started, and the Empire fell apart, to be replaced with two constantly warring factions.

_ One hundred and fifty one years ago: _

The war had raged for over a century. Ia Gelliath, being the centre of the galaxy was ravaged by constant destruction, the dragons who were quick enough left the planet before the first death rays started landing. The draconic race became quite reclusive, most not wishing to get involved in the galactic brawl between the brothers.

The war took on phases, the phases being aggression, ceasefire, rearmament, and then back to aggression.The aggression ended inevitably when both sides had run out of ships or manpower in their armies to make a decent attack against the enemy, followed by anywhere between ten to twenty years of ceasefire and preparing for the next period of conflict.

It was during one of those period of ceasefire, one hundred and fifty one years ago where one Sectivore, an mantis like race in Nexa's territory, became the single most unluckiest creature in the universe. It had been at a bar, drinking some of the local brew when it fell off it's seat. It screeched and writhed, seemingly going into a trance like state, screaming about the coming judgement day, where Kraven would return and unite the galaxy, purging the wicked and immoral. By the time the ambulance and law guardians of the planet were converging on the pub, the city knew.

In three days, the world knew. In a week, half of Nexa's planets had heard of the rumour, and some information had been passed to Chaio's spy network. Word of mouth, or secret message sent across the galaxy, moved faster than either of the brothers' attempts to quell them.

The Sectivore in question had been locked up, whether for protection or on charges of treason and sedition it was hard to know. It didn't really matter though, because two weeks after the incident, the Sectivore found itself on the neutral, demilitarised zone that was the old empire's Galactic Assembly space station, in a room with the two draconic brothers to answer for what he had been saying. They disagreed with his story.

Again, both brothers tell conflicting stories. All that was known for certain was that Sectivore did not leave the room alive, or in one piece. As a result, the people who knew about the so called prophecy suddenly became less tempted to discuss it, lest they find themselves in a similar position. Rumour on my home of Vulpini was the Sectivore's insectoid head now sat on a shelf in Nexa's office. So war continued in it's repetitive course. The animosity and hatred of the other side was pretty much par for the course by now, and anyone on Chaio's side distrusted the word of a single individual Sectivore.

_ Twenty three years ago _

I was born. This is not a huge galactic event, but given it was a fairly big deal for me, I'm going to mention it here.Ramon Facilier, a Vulpini Rougis of fairly normal colouration and stature, I was not unnatural. A reddish orange anthro fox with a white underbelly, tail tip and muzzle, that would grow into an adult fox of six and a half feet tall, living in the army because they got better rations and studying. The war had entered ceasefire when I was six, and I dearly hoped that it would continue that way until I had gotten through my requisite ten years of serving for the world.

I rose to the rank of lieutenant through my study and speciality of tactics and the art of warfare. With no wife or social life, I engrossed myself for months on histories and famous battles, most of which centred on Ia Gelliath. The more I studied that place, the more I realised it was a death trap. It seemed to always be the first striking point of any period of conflict, and the place that carried the biggest losses.

_ Fifty minutes ago _

It was quarter to six in the morning as I dozed sleepily on my bunk, surrounded by about twenty of my fellow military minded foxes. The first of the two suns had not risen yet, and today was going to be a training day, spending time in a hologram room piloting fighter ships around a virtual space, practicing combat strategies.

However this wasn't the brief that we got when the captain came in. "ALRIGHT LADIES! THIS IS YOUR WAKE UP CALL! COME ON, LET'S SEE SOME HUSTLE! THERE HAS BEEN A CHANGE OF PLANS!" I rose to vertical rapidly, saluting the captain while in my khaki pyjama bottoms. "Sir, yes sir. What are your plans today, sir?" The captain smiled.

"Not my plans, Lieutenant. Just came on the wire, your platoon are to be taken to the RS Dinyu. There you will be taken to Ia Gelliath, and engage the enemy. We're at war! Get your men ready, Facilier!"

I maintained a blank expression, salute not lowering an inch. "Sir, yes sir. Am keen to kick some serious tail, sir." "I'm sure you are, Lieutenant. But you'd look more intimidating when not in your pyjamas. Get to it!" He turned and walked out. Around me, most foxes were roused and in the process of getting dressed. A million thoughts flickered across my mind, most of which centred on the fact I was looking at a VERY short future if I did what I had just been ordered.

_ Five minutes ago _

As I leapt the fence of the compound, I felt a guilty pang in my chest for deserting, but like hell was I going to let myself be lead to the slaughter like a sheep. Dressed in a plain khaki outfit with a pack bag containing energy foods, water, my full uniform and some other clothes, I was thinking only of one thing. I had to get the hell off of this planet, now.

I knew the disreputable pubs were at the Southern end of town, and the odd illegal trader/ black market dealer would undoubtedly be preparing for the new day, getting ready to get his ship off the ground before he incurred an extra days dock charges at the civilian port. If I found one of them in the pubs before they set off, I might be in with a chance of hitching a ride out of here.

The pub everyone knew was a little suspect was the Wolf's Feet. It was rumoured that the Vulpini government and military even allowed the traders to do their illegal stuff there, because then they could get in with a share of the off-world goods that so rarely came here nowadays. As I approached, I felt one last stupid urge to take my chances with the military, and then opened the old oak door. The bell on the door dinged as I stepped through and closed the door.