Starting around the year 150 PGW, dragons started to bury their eggs in wastends and uninhabitable locations to protect them. Although the egg does not have to be watched to hatch, and some take even a millennium to hatch, it was decred that by year 500 PGW, dragons were effectively extinct. The st known sighting happened in 392PGW.

  -Excerpt from “The Greatest of Monsters.” Written sometime ih tury

  Iliyal Tremali stood before Arascus in the war-room ba the headquarters of the cult. Daganhoff, Lady Daganhoff now, Narma, Ash, all the high-ranking members. And Arascus in his throhe God being twice the size of most humans. He was half-again Tremali’s height and Iliyal roud of his height. “An expnation General.” Arascus’ voied as everyone in the room stared at the elf, even his own assistants behind him. Their eyes were resigned with pity. It was ical, none of them knew Arascus as well as Iliyal did.

  The elf took a step forward, saluted, and stood like a soldier in his uniform. Bck leather boots, the fur coat he taken brought from the east, the only ge he had made to the outfit was sed out the shirts. His sword hung on his belt, his rifle was slung over his shoulder. “I will start from the beginning.” Iliyal said as he cracked the tension in the room.

  The expnation was short and simple. Fer’s beastmen had ran into him oraining, they had been attracted by the noise of gunfire and explored out of mere curiosity. Then they had told him what was happening, how many cults there were and so on. “I decided that the soldiers needed a taste of live bat to make sure they knew what it was like to actually shoot at people, rather than just targets.” Iliyal expined. “So I took two hundred of the best soldiers aowards the location the beastmen had indicated.”

  He looked around the war room. Bright fluorest lights only made the steel walls seem colder than they were, and the expressions on everyo Arascus himself were as if death had walked into the room. “That is the reasoning.” Iliyal said fidently. Arascus wasn’t the Goddess of Order, there was hierarchy under him yes, but that hierarchy was only for the plebs. Those who excelled, the God himself would be proud to have stand at his side.

  Arascus leaned ba his huge chair and he man’s blue eyes focused on Iliyal, his dark hair flowing down his back, simply a bck suit his dress of choice. It was simple, but they didn’t run a kingdom or a try yet. It was shameful to pretend to be an Emperor of dirt. “So…” The God’s voied across the table, he extended his arms to indicate to the rest of the people in the room. “Expin yourself so everyone uand, briefly. What was the damage?”

  Iliyal wao ugh. The message was simple, he had done something pletely unpreted that o be expined away so that the rest of the members would not suddenly start getting ideas about sidestepping the hierarchy in pce. “We lost thirty-three soldiers. Awenty died from wounds after the battle, sixteen have major injuries but are in stable dition. Sixty or so are wounded lightly, cuts and bruises, they’ll be ba training after two weeks.”

  “So you lost a quarter of the soldiers you took?” One of the humans asked, Klichov. Iliyal didn’t bother to learn his first was an obviously just a fellow who o fill the position of Master Logisti until someoalented was found to repce him.

  “sidering the forces we were up against, I would say that was more than a good trade.” Iliyal didn’t even turn to the man, he spoke directly to Arascus. “The bat examination to discover the deficies of the Ash-One would have been worth it even if all two hundred men died.”

  “I cur with Iliyal.” Mikhail Ash spoke up and raised his hand. “If the gun did not work in bat situations, it would be better to discover that now than after we manufacture a million of them.”

  “After ting the bodies, the Guguoa a total of three thousand member to the dot. Fifty sects, sixty members each. We did have support from Fer and her beastmen, but I am more than fident to say that the two hundred men I brought made the pivotal difference.”

  “What about the drones cirg Fer?” Arascus asked.

  “I shot them down.” Iliyal said. “They were flying close to the ground to monitor the battle. A creation of a dedicated anti-air gun is one of my suggestions.”

  “Certain things be built upon.” Mikhail said. “But range and the ability to shoot up, that’s rgely the propelnt at this point. I’m no chemist.” Iliyal already had a suggestion pnned and written down, but if the man was asking now, then he might as well answer.

  “Then we need a rger model. It could be mounted on a vehicle. I have suggestions written down on how to improve the gun, it will be in your office by the time this meeting ends.” Iliyal turned back to Arascus as the engineer nodded gratefully. “More importantly, twic objectives were pleted.”

  “And those are?”

  “One, Fer was saved from the Great Hunt. The Guguoans will think twice before sending another expedition, the only fear is that Maisara, Fortia, Essa, Zerus or Alsaria e to try and kill her.”

  “What about Atis? Isn’t he the Lord of the Hunt?” Klichov asked. His voice was innocuous, but he was obviously trying to put a damper on Iliyal’s success. The elf didn’t know what exactly he did to annoy the fellow so much, but he didn’t particurly care, if Klichov wao hate, then so be it.

  “That is strategic objective two.” Iliyal indicated for one of his assistants to step forward. The human put the bag oable and Iliyal sent hi m away again. “There’s a saying among the Pantheon nowadays; a mortal kill a God?”

  “No, never happened, never will.” Arascus finished for him. Iliyal smiled started to undo the bag and the God raised an eyebrow.

  “Ladies alemen, that statement is wrong.” He pulled the head out of the brown bag. “This is the proof of its falsity.” The Gold-brown locks of Atis had grown dry and started to grey, his skin was stretched, his cheeks hollow, but the size alone could only meahing. He was holding the head of a God. “Atis, God of the Hunt, has been sin!” There was something deep within Iliyal that wao scream the words out in pride.

  Iliyal had saved the news until now and it brought the effect he wahe room froze as if winter had just seeped in, people eveheir breathes. Only the faint hum of the light above saved them from total sile took a few seds, but finally, life returned.

  Arascus’ slow cp. Owice. Thrice. Then someone joined in. And another. And another.

  From stunned sileo excited cacophony, Iliyal basked in the wordless praise.