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 was able to negotiate a peace agreement with our former enemies, which had spared 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, 2068 (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 as he held his celebration cigar. He watched the lunar twins dancing as they orbited their mother world, Tekali. Orgatrash, the God of War and Passion, unleashed its mighty volcanos into the sky.

To Ryder's shock, he saw the ash clouds covering the moon Orgatrash, implying that there was an atmosphere—a weak one but powerful enough to catch the dust and cover part of its surface. The lava sprouts high up, past the red moon orbit, came into contact with the freezing nothingness of space, creating dozens of these impressive, rugged balls that emitted a range of different colors as the intense heat collided with the chilly temperature—ranging from bright orange to red or even yellowish glow.

The other moon, Kallinth, the Goddess of Water and Plenty, also had an eruption. Water was injected from its under-ice oceans, blasting into space. The volume of water created giant icebergs that float in orbit.

"It is a good view, isn't it?"

Ryder turned toward his second-in-command and longtime friend, Warrant Officer-1 Rommel King. "Yes, it is," he said.

"I think I understand why they say those two moons fight each other," King said, pointing toward the sky. "The iceberg and lava ball are being pulled together by both moon's gravity."

"I wonder how long until they will collide?" Ryder asked. "I think Fraeya called this event the Fiery Veil."

"Even though they are close, it should take a few hours or days for those...." King stopped as he struggled to form the terms he wanted to use. "Space burgs? Spheres? I don't know what to call them. Either way, they will collide in a few days. It is space, after all."