Chapter 36

A/N: hello everyone! Welcome back! So, I hope y'all enjoyed the last chapter. Anyways, remember, I'm just the writer, Gabeherdon308 Mandalore the Suvivor own most of the OCs.

/comms/

It had taken far longer than Sol Regem liked for the youngling to stumble out of the temple. However, as much as he wanted to rush back to the oasis before that infernal skywing elf could try anything, he couldn't afford to further injure the charge currently resting between his wings. The padawan had all but collapsed when he finally escaped that infernal temple, his tiny frame reeking of the very dark magic that had attacked him.

He needed to be purified, but, unfortunately, the sun wasn't in the right position for Sol Regem to even think of attempting even a minor healing spell. Nor was he about to try to fly all the way to Lux Aurea. No, he had to be patient, at least until they reached the oasis. The wonderwall surrounding it would at least be able to purify a majority of the darkness from them. It wouldn't be perfect, but it was better than nothing. But, until they got there he'd have to resort to using his limited knowledge of the Force to attempt to shield the boy from the pulsing darkness slithering in the sands beneath his claws.

It was just another reason he'd been thankful to have encountered that lone Jedi Knight all those moons ago. While the man had perplexed and annoyed him at times, it had been interesting learning a new form of magic. One that had proven useful with his blindness. However, with his self-imposed exile, he had forgotten how sensitive Force users were to the emotions of others.

Though his current escapade with the group of youngsters was quickly giving him a crash course on how to use some of those forgotten skills again. He just hoped the other three would keep themselves in check so he didn't have to work harder be the boy's shields; at least until his own managed to reconstruct themselves.

Depending on the time of their arrival, there was a strong chance they'd have to walk through the night as well if they wanted to stay on schedule.

On the bright side, he was able to sense dark objects within the youngling's pack. So he managed to steal something away from their enemy. Good. That meant if any vermin went in there, they'd have less weapons to use against them.

At least they managed to achieve one of their objectives. He wouldn't know more until Trezac woke up though.

Smoke billowed from his nostrils as he made to vent his frustrations without disturbing the unconscious jedi. This trip was turning out to be far more complicated than he'd anticipated. It was just escorting four hatchlings to Zubeia; it shouldn't have been hard. But no, of course his charges were easily distracted, the visit to the moonshadow elves had accelerated their travel plans, an annoying skywing elf has decided to interfere presumably for her own glory, and now that infernal temple has incapacitated the most responsible youngster and has delayed their travels.

Sensing the familiar magic of the oasis ahead, a relieved sigh pushed more smoke from his muzzle, and Sol Regem began to slowly pick up his pace. Before long, Sol Regem grimaced as he felt the wonderwall burn any traces of that dark magic off his scales, causing him to shiver in relief. Focusing his attention to his back, the dragon grimaced in sympathy as he heard the padawan give a weak cry of pain as the barrier passed over him, but thankfully the boy remained unconscious.

Pulling his tail through, the archdragon slowly lowered the shields he built up for the boy turning his attention outwards he used his magic to search for the others. Instead of finding their familiar signatures, Sol Regem found himself bristling. The oasis was empty.

The. Oasis. Was. Empty.

Where the hell did everyone go?

Tendrils of fire erupted through the archdragon's teeth. He specifically told them to stay put. He was going to eat that sun-forsaken skywing elf and her ambler for this.

-.-

"Welcome to Lux Aurea," Janai said she stared down at the city.

It had always amazed her, how beautiful her home city had looked bathed in the golden light of the Sun Nexus, reflecting off the ruby, white, and gold buildings. But, seeing it from the sky…it was incredible. It certainly made her glad she'd found the will to walk onto the strange metal flying contraption.

"It's beautiful," Xena spoke admiringly.

Janai nodded, acknowledging the complement of the Zeltron woman. She was more amazed by how fast they had arrived to her home. Initially, she'd been hesitant to go on their "ships", especially after being held prisoner on one, and she didn't believe their insistence that these things could get them to Lux Aurea within the hour.

She had been proven wrong.

These metal…ships could fly through the air as effortlessly as a dragon while carrying so many people and so much weight. They had even carried everything: the soldiers, civilians, their tents, weapons, mounts, all of it! And even with all that weight it had taken them only an hour to reach somewhere that would normally be a two-day journey.

As her younger sister would say, it was awesome.

They had to get some of these things. Of course, that was presuming she wouldn't be executed for bringing a horde of humans to the queen.

Stepping towards the window, she gazed out as the ground slowly approached. Already she could see the light bouncing off the shields as the honor guard ran out to meet them. Hopefully she'd be able to diffuse the situation before anything escalated.

With a deep breath, she turned away from the window, following the others as they moved through the bright halls. Janai couldn't help but glance down the halls, taking in more of the strange environment as they walked to what she presumed had been the ramp they entered on.

Every now and then she'd pass a room with an open door, allowing her to take a peek. It was still so strange to see humans intermingling with the other beings peacefully. Janai and her sisters had grown up hearing the horror stories about humans. They were supposed to be vile, racist beings who put the value of magical beings below their own; who would do anything to further their own power and obtain magic that was not theirs. And, yet, all the humans she'd ran into so far had been…surprisingly honorable.

Janai had been expecting to be tortured, perhaps even killed, her body parts used to fuel the abomination the humans dared to call magic. But, besides the bruises she obtained from trying to escape in the battle, she hadn't been harmed. Her captors had taken her weapons, but they had been courteous enough to leave her armor. They had fed her, allowed her to relieve herself; all in all, it certainly what the stories said would've happened.

And yet, the humans, even the soldiers of Katolis—who had no reason to be courteous in comparison to the Mandalorian humans—were relatively pleasant company. They wanted peace just as much as she did, and the General was willing to put aside their past battles for the greater good of Xadia.

Had anyone told her this before her capture, Janai would've laughed in their face. But now…seeing these beings: Human, Zabrak, Zeltron, pig-like men, lizard people, people with tails on their head, people with squid-heads, and dozens of others she couldn't even name, all interacting peacefully, laughing, playing games, telling jokes…she could see otherwise.

Perhaps humans weren't as bad as she was raised to believe.

A tap rapped on her armor, and the elf turned to see the human General looking at her. Waving her hands in her…hand-language, she glanced behind the woman, almost sighing in relief as she caught sight of the overly-friendly human translator. "Are you sure that the Sunfire Queen will listen to us?"

To be honest, Janai wasn't sure. Queen Khessa…she loathed humans. More than Janai ever did. There was no telling if she wouldn't tell their soldiers to attack at the mere mention of humans, let alone consider an audience with their leaders. She just hoped her presence among them, not in chains, would at least show her that this truly was a peace-talk.

Though, she could talk to their younger sister first. Khessa tended to listen to her.

"Janai?"

Shaking her head, the sunfire elf pulled herself from her thoughts, blinking as she met the concerned face of the human general, Amaya was it? "Sorry, lost in thought," she apologized.

"Do you think the Queen will listen?" Amaya asked again.

"I cannot be sure," she answered. "Queen Khessa is not known for her love of humans. Her curiosity may allow her to humor the idea, but even with my voucher, we still may not be able to convince her."

"That bad?" Xena chimed in as she and A'den walked over, holding their helmets under their arms. "Even with…" she motioned to everything around them as several of the Mandalorians looked at them.

"That may help, but she'll be hard to convince," Janai confessed. "But, I do know someone who might be able to help us convince her."

"Who?"

The ramp slid open and at the forefront of the honor guard, her blue-gray stardust skin and dusk-colored hair standing a stark contrast against the other guardsmen. Surprised by her presence among the new arrivals, the young elf stepped forwards, glowing blue eyes watching her, "Janai?"

"Hello Asteria," Janai greeted her little sister, "We need to talk."

-.-

Eleven sat in a chair, drumming her fingers against the fine wood as she looked over the numbers. Well, her numbers. At the moment she knew very little about the current status of her prey. That would have to be amended.

Once she figured out how in the Force she was going to get everyone where she wanted to go in a timely manner.

There was no way she could fit all five armies in the star destroyer. Not without risking someone saying something they shouldn't. So, she'd have to settle with figuring out the logistics.

Right now, her army was the largest and the most powerful. Her men would take precedence in terms of transport. Naturally, her stormtroopers and officers would be on her destroyer. Perhaps the other army leaders as well? It wouldn't hurt her alliances with the ruling powers to show them luxury, comfort, and weapons unlike anything their backwater world had ever seen.

However…Viren, he would be a problem. He was a pawn, one she wouldn't want snooping around her ship or overhearing something he shouldn't have. Plus, if she recalled correctly, he'd been into Xadia before, so he'd have to be their guide.

Which meant she'd have to spare some soldiers to keep an eye on him and his male offspring. They would make sure the mage and his offspring didn't try anything stupid. Well, Viren's male spawn at least. Soren was useless, but Claudia…she had potential. Potential Viren clearly saw given the way the man blatantly favored her. She could be a powerful weapon, and the perfect bargaining tool to keep Viren in line.

Of course, she could also use the gunships to transport parts of the army to various checkpoints. "How fast can a human army travel on foot?"

"What's the problem, My Queen?"

Motioning to the holographic map, Eleven rested her hand on her chin, "My ships can't hold the entire army. The most valuable forces will be rotated in transport vessels: primarily the forces of Katolis and Del Bar. They will be able to set up a camp for the night and my army will be able to rest by the time they arrive. Hopefully, this will waste less time."

"I believe if you march them without stop, you should be able to reach the Breach within a day. Rest for the night, cross the Breach in the early hours of the morning and go into Xadia."

"Yes, and if we cross this desert," she tapped the scar of black sands cutting through the green landscape, "we'll be able to cut our trip in half."

"And Lux Aurea…I presume it's still in the plan?"

"Aaravos, I'm hurt," Eleven smirked. "I wouldn't miss razing a city to the ground for all the galaxy. It is a detour though, so I'll send a platoon of troopers and a few Walkers, that should be enough to take what we need."

On the other side of the hologram, the shimmering elf smiled. "Perhaps, I can suggest a better alternative. This is…if you want more weapons to strengthen your army?"

"I'm listening."

"Here, in the center of the Midnight Desert, there is an ancient temple," Aaravos started, tapping his finger and a bright dot of light formed on the map. "It was made by ancient Force users who arrived to study our world just over three-thousand years ago. And, they left many interesting dark artifacts that I believe will be of use to us. Perhaps even more useful than the Sun Forge at Lux Aurea."

Dark Artifacts? In the Unknown Regions? If what Aaravos said was true, then this temple would be a kyber crystal mine of power. One way or another, Eleven would bet that these artifacts related to the ancient Sith, whether it was one of their temples or an old jedi temple used to hide the items from their rightful owners.

Of course…it wouldn't hurt to obtain the Sun Forge as well. It would take away the power of the…Sun Elves and they could use the opportunity to raze their army to the ground, preventing any further rebellion. But, she'd have to split her forces, unless… "The Sun Forge? Do we need an army to get it?"

Catching onto her train of thought, a smirk began to form on the elf's face. "No. All we need is just one mage. A mage I can control."

Eleven chuckled, "Oh, I think we both have the same person in mind."

"Undoubtedly," Aaravos agreed. "And with his daughter as insurance, we can make sure he doesn't decide to betray you, his Queen."

"And hopefully use that time to mold her more in our image rather than his," Eleven snickered.

Aaravos smiled at her words, seeming to sit on air beside her. However, if he was going to say something it was cut off by the door to the study opening as a clone in white and yellow armor stepped in. Brow twitching at the interrupting, Eleven scowled as she looked the man over. He must've been the commander Lord Vader had sent her. And, so far, she was underwhelmed: he was several hours late, he lacked manners, and his armor was not up to code.

"Leaning back in her seat, Eleven turned off the hologram, golden eyes narrowing at the clone. "You must be the commander Lord Vader sent."

"Yes sir, I'm CC-2224. Lord Vader assigned me to help you conquer this world and bring in into the Empire's rule."

The Inquisitor's brows furrowed at the identification code. That was one she knew, but where from…oh.

Oh, Vader sent one of his really good lapdogs. A clone commander with a sparkling record and significant enough to be noticed should he vanish. "You're Commander Cody. I've heard about you. I expect big things from you during this campaign, and know I do not like being disappointed. Understand?"

"Yes, sir."

Eleven gave him a curt nod. Dismissing the Commander with a wave, she dug her nails into the wood. This did not bode well.

She was on Lord Vader's radar. He was growing tired of her excuses. This clone, and his men, had been sent to spy on her. And that infernal cyborg was smart enough to send people that'd be missed, as it was likely whomever Commander Cody had chosen were just as experienced as he was. So, faking their deaths on a primitive planet would be a sure sign of her treason.

But…he might let it pass if she conquered this world and captured the padawan. She could send Cody and his men to accompany her pawn to Lux Aurea as a special mission. While they were gone, she could seize the weapons at the temple and continue their march onto Xadia.

And, since the padawan was transporting the dragonling, he'd be heading right for their destination.

Capturing the padawan and sending him back with a specialize clone escort would take Lord Vader's attention off her. Especially since he'd been so persistent about this padawan's capture.

"Aaravos?"

"Yes, My Queen?"

"Do you know any invisibility or sleep spells? I'm going to need them."

-.-

"I can't believe I let you talk me into this," Asteria grumbled as she and Janai led the humans and Mandolorians up the steps to the throne room.

"I can't believe you convinced her," Janai muttered.

"It was more of her own curiosity," the Startouch elf shrugged.

"Better than nothing I'd say," Xena shrugged.

No more words were said as the emissary party stepped into the throne room, guards scowling at them as they strode towards a golden throne, bathed in light from the Sun Arcanum above. On the throne, an elfish woman with white-gold hair looked down at them from her pedestal.

"Your Radiance," Asteria greeted, leading the group in a respectful boy. "We found this group landing mysterious flying boats of metal at the edge of the city. They say they wish to speak with you, and Captain Janai is vouching for them."

Slowly rising from her throne, the Queen slowly strode down the steps. "And what, my dear little sister, caused you to make such a judgement for humans?"

"They want peace."

"Peace?" Queen Khessa scoffed. "Humans are incapable of peace."/

"And what if we told you not all of us were human?" Xena spoke up, removing her helmet along with the other Mandalorians that had accompanied them.

"Forgive my partner's rashness, My Lady," A'den spoke up, stepping forwards with an incline of his head. "My name is A'den Bralor, and this is my second, Xena Renniena. We are the leaders of the Mandalorian Clan Cuyan. I know it may be hard to believe, but we only just arrived on your planet recently. And we have been welcomed by, General Amaya of Katolis," he introduced their host. "I know the history between your people has been turbulent, but today, we come under the banner of peace. Our people, Human, Elf, Zabrak, Zeltron Transdoshan, and other races on this world wish to end this war and the bloodshed it's wrought."

"And why should I believe a human?"

"Khessa," Janai spoke up. "He speaks the truth. I have seen it myself, just as it stands before you now. These humans, they captured me in battle, but instead of torturing me or stripping me for dark magic they acted honorably, treating me no differently than the humans would treat one of their own despite the fact I was not like them. We have a chance to end the war!"

"End the war? After what they did to the Dragon King? His egg?!" the queen hissed. "No amount of pleading can undo what has been done."

"So you would perpetuate the cycle of bloodshed?" Gren spoke up, translating as Amaya signed angrily.

"Until the humans have paid the blood price due, yes."

"And what if we told you the Dragon Prince was alive?" Amaya inquired. "Recent discoveries have told us that our former High Mage took the egg for his own purposes without our knowledge. As we speak, the egg is on its way back to the Dragon Queen."

"You lie!"

"Khessa," Asteria spoke up, crossing her arms as she regarded the group, "I think Janai might be right. Why else would they come here with all…" she trailed off, motioning to the group of various species, "this?"

"To trick us! You are young Asteria! I would not expect you to know the dangers of humans!"

"Even humans who could save your life?" Amaya retorted. "We came here not only to tell you that this war could end, but also to warn you. Other humans don't want the conflict to end, and they are gathering an army to march on Xadia. The man leading them will destroy everything in his path! He will kill the Dragon Queen and her hatchling unless we work together to stop him."

A'den put his hand on Amaya's shoulder, giving her a sympathetic look. "Queen Khessa, we understand if you need some time to process this news. I know we unloaded a lot onto you and your court today. All we ask, is that you please consider our words. Because, as hard as it may be to believe, we are not your enemies."

-.-

It was well past dawn by the time Sol Regem caught the Ambler's scent.

After hours of trekking through the desert, he finally was able to locate that infernal skywing elf. Picking up the pace, the archdragon began to lope through the black sands. There was no way he was going to let her escape with the rest of his charges.

From the direction of the scent and the position of the sun, he could tell they were heading north-west. Right in the direction of the Storm Spire. At least they weren't going on another unwanted detour. There had been enough of those for one day.

And if he had his way, there weren't going to be any more until they reached the Storm Spire. After they delivered the hatchling, he would happily let the youngsters explore the surrounding area when he took them home. At least then, they wouldn't be on a life-or-death deadline with the threat of war looming over their heads.

"HEY! SOL REGEM!" the other human's voice screamed out over the desert.

Surprised by the fact he'd managed to catch up so soon, the dragon slowed to a trot until he came to a stop in front of the Ambler. "What happened? I told you to stay put!"

"Nyx here tried to steal Zym," the moonshadow elf replied.

Sol Regem growled, no doubt causing the elf to shrink back, raising her hands. "Hey, you can't blame a girl for trying. But I've learned my lesson, trust me."

"I gave you a chance for trust, and you betrayed it."

"Ok…fair enough," she said. "I know my word doesn't mean much Great Sun King, but believe me when I say I won't be trying again."

From the saddle, Sol Regem heard Zym give a growl as sparks crackled off the hatchling. He was definitely Avizandum's son all right.

Besides, Sol Regem wasn't in the mood for indigestion from eating the elf. And it would take too long for him to eat the Ambler. "Very well," he relented. "But I will be escorting my charges the rest of the way."

Before the elf could protest, the archdragon plucked the sparking hatchling from the saddle and deposited him on his back beside Trezac.

"You know, I could continue to help," she said. "I mean, I can still take you to the edge of the desert. And I have some bandages, looks like handsome there could use some."

"We'll be fine, do not push your luck with me, elf," he warned lifting his tail up to the saddle. "Consider it a mercy that I am letting you and your Ambler walk away."