Ad Astra - The Alagore War

AA V3 Vagahm, Chapter 13

"To the people of Verliance Aristocracy, this is your Lord speaking. As you have heard, our aristocracy has been invaded by hostile humans from other worlds. Not any humans but Altaerrie, descendants from Hispana.

Before I continue, I must apologize to my people. As head of the House of Verliance, I have dedicated my life to the longevity and prosperity of the Aristocracy. All actions, popular and unpopular, have been directed toward this achievement. This includes the current war surrounding our borders, the Unity, and the Coalition. Six years ago, I negotiated a peace agreement with our former enemies, sparing millions of fathers and sons from domination. While other empires fall around us, we stand today.

However, I have failed to keep my promise. Hispana summoned humans from Altaerrie, a distant world from ours. Within a short period of time, these Altaerrie sided with rebels against our greatness. They brought war and destruction and broke a carefully crafted peace within the Aristocracy and the annexed regions. They threatened our people and all the gains and suffering we had achieved.

As your ruler, I promise not to allow this transgression to be answered. Nevali belongs to the Verliance Aristocracy, as it always had been. Humans will not take what rightly belongs to us. By this creed, I swear that the Altaerrie will never reach the heart of our country.

With great regard, I call upon the Principality for tribute resources and recruits for war. I will not stand by as foreigners invade our lands and claim what was stolen all those centuries ago. As I failed to keep the Aristocracy out of war, I promised that the House of Verliance would triumph in these dark times.

Let the Katra guide us to the righteous path." – Kallem Verliance

March 20th, 2069 (military calendar)

The Palace, Salva, the former Confederacy of Daru'uie

Nevali Region, Aldrida, Alagore

*****

Standing on the palace balcony, Mathew Ryder gazed into the sky, a celebratory cigar nestled between his fingers. Above, the lunar twins danced around their mother world, Tekali. The red moon, Orgatrash—God of War and Passion—erupted violently, its volcanoes spewing ash high into the stratosphere.

To Ryder's astonishment, he noticed the ash clouds cloaking part of Orgatrash's surface. That meant it had an atmosphere, not thick, but strong enough to catch the volcanic dust. Towering plumes of lava breached the moon's orbit, only to freeze upon contact with the frigid void of space. The result was a breathtaking phenomenon: dozens of rugged, incandescent spheres glowed with varying intensities—fiery orange, molten red, even shimmering yellow—born of the violent clash between extreme heat and the cold vacuum.

Nearby, Kallinth—Goddess of Water and Plenty—joined the celestial display. A geyser burst through her under-ice oceans, hurling vast amounts of water into space. These froze into massive icebergs, now suspended in orbit like frozen sentinels.

"It's a good view, isn't it?" said a voice beside him.

Ryder turned to see his second-in-command and long-time friend, Warrant Officer-1 Rommel King.

"Yes, it is," Ryder replied.

"I think I finally understand why the locals say those two moons fight," King mused, gesturing skyward. "The icebergs and lava balls—they're being drawn toward each other by both moons' gravity."