Tales of Anibia.

Part 1. The Story of Prince Specter, 11 years ago.

It was frigid out, and Prince Specter was sitting on the roof of the Imperial Palace. It was one of the only places his parents wouldn't check for him to be, since it was the middle of winter. One singular moon was rising above him. A dark night, but the light of the capital city offset the darkness enough. The city was beginning to fall asleep as the moons rose, the gas lights beginning to be turned out, candles being put out, the hearths keeping the inhabitants of the many brick buildings warm during the cold winter night.

Well, except for one tribe. Icewings preferred these colder months. That was another reason Specter had chosen the snow-topped palace roof. Iceberg would be here any moment. The Icewing servant he had become smitten with.

Their secret romance had been blossoming. Specter, who was rarely allowed outside the capital city of Cardon, was thrilled to talk to somebody who was his own age. All his life Specter had been surrounded by nothing but adult dragons. Elites and politicians. He was, of course, the heir of to the throne of Anibia, and an animus. His only other companions had been various family, tutors, and friends of the crown.

Specter knew what his parents would think of his relationship with Iceberg. They would call it disgraceful and dangerous. For one, it would be wrong of him, the prince of Anibia, to be seen courting a lowly servant. The relationship was not approved. What if this Icewing was a foreigner?

The other, larger problem was the fact that she was not an Aniwing. The Curse of Wraith forbade the animus power from being passed down to a dragonet who was not a pure-blooded Aniwing. Should Specter and Iceberg have a dragonet, they would be cursed. Wild animus magic with no limits to what it could do, and the user becoming more and more unstable.

As Specter sat on the rooftop, looking at the moon reflecting off the icy rooftops, he thought about the impossible future of having a family with Iceberg. As he dreamt about one day starting his own dynasty, finally breaking away from the generations of rigid conformity of the royal family, Specter didn't even notice Iceberg land next to him.

"Aren't you cold?" She asked, teasingly.

Specter smiled and tried to hide his shivers. "I imagine this is how miserable your kind feels when it is summer, and the sun shines down on us like flamebreath from a massive dragon the size of the palace." He said back to her.

Iceberg sighed. "It's not that bad here. I know some Icewings in the colonies really suffer from heat problems. We just weren't designed for those equatorial climates." She sat down next to the young prince. "Someday we'll be able to be together inside during these winter months." She said wistfully.

"Yeah… someday." Specter said softly, knowing deep down in his heart that day would never come. Even when he ascended to the throne, he would still be under the watchful eyes of all the various royal advisors and politicians. King of Anibia, and still under the claws of the rich elite.

"Hey…" Iceberg said tenderly. "I know you're worried. But you just need to have faith." She gestured up to the one moon above them. "If our love was truly a sin, would Luna be illuminating our night so brightly, looking down on us so fondly?" She asked.

"But the moon isn't even that bright tonigh…" Specter began when he felt her cool wings wrap around him. He stopped talking and leaned into her.

"To think, the powerful Prince Specter would need so much comforting… from a lowly servant." Iceberg joked, and the two leaned into each other's embrace beneath the clear light, surrounded by the day's fresh snow, a cool pale blue and dark purple juxtaposition, wrapped together, perfectly balanced.

"You know we can never get married. You know they might exile us, or worse, kill you." Specter said meekly.

"Then we'll be together in secret. Nobody will have to know."

"Nobody?"

"Nobody."

Part 2. The Story of Mallard.

A light rain was falling from the grey sky as Mallard landed on the rooftop of the large grey building. His new business partner, a Grasswing from Westfield Investments named Weasel was waiting for him, along with three other dragons. A member of the Progressive Party in national parliament by the name of Fulmar and two security guards.

Mallard landed and Weasel immediately began talking. "See? You can trust me to getchya the meetings our company needs!" Weasel said in his high-pitched voice. "You may not like me much, that I can see, but you need me, and I need you. That's why we gotta work together."

Weasel was a wiry, annoying agent from Westfield who was in on the Grand Enlightenment. It was his job to get Mallard meetings with politicians so that he may negotiate deals for both his company, and for the greater well being of the Enlightened.

The Enlightened certainly were a wealthy bunch. Mallard had just been accepted, and therefore wasn't let in on every aspect of the group just yet. He knew that there was certainly a religious side of the group, worshipping some foretold savior. Mallard was never the religious type, being the type that had to see to believe. However, disregarding their worship, the Enlightenment was certainly a profitable group to be in, and Mallard was glad to take any opportunity he could to further the interests of his weapons company, Magnum Arms. Mallard brushed off the talkative Weasel and went to greet Senator Fulmar.

"Sir." Mallard said courteously.

"Mallard." Fulmar responded, continuing the proper nature of their greeting. "Cigarette?" He offered Mallard a cigarette from a cardboard box. Mallard politely accepted and took one, lighting it with a spurt of his flame breath.

"Let me cut right to the chase, as I would like to make this brief." Fulmar said. "Your business partner here tells me you're interested in striking a deal. A deal that would see you pay me a hefty sum for my vote in support of putting Anibian international support behind the nation of Angikya against their neighbors the Wassatians."

"That would be correct." Mallard said, taking a drag from his cigarette.

"And this is because it would empower the Angikyans to antagonize the Wassatian Union, one of your company's top buyers, who would in turn increase their military budget again, resulting in a large profit for Magnum Arms, correct?"

"No." Mallard responded, lying through his teeth. "Although we sell to the Wassatian Union, that is purely business. I am of the belief that Angikya has a rightful claim to the territory of Ghonland."

Fulmar turned and looked back at his security guards, smoking his cigarette, and gave them a smile, as if they were making fun of Mallard.

"Ah, looks like we're being altruistic tonight." Fulmar said, grinning knowingly. "And here I thought morals were a poor dragon's quality. Alright, my votes aren't for sale, but if they were… They would be at least 75 thousand."

Mallard weighed his options. The Wassatian Union would pay… probably triple that for more mobile rifles, artillery shells, and humans for front line combat and labor. Profit would be huge.

Mallard looked Fulmar in the eyes. "I'll do it."

"Good choice." Fulmar said. "You know, I gave you a discount."

"Why?" Mallard asked.

Fulmar reached into his bag and pulled out a golden ring and slipped it around his talon. The mark of the Enlightenment. "I was just feeling… like I was in a generous mood."

As the two continued to lock eyes, they both recited the creed of the Great Enlightenment. For a new world in the name of our savior, we pledge our hearts.

Part 3. The Story of Polter.

The sound of the machine gun rattled inside Polter's brain. Superstition roared as he let rounds fly into the direction of the Rainwings who had just killed Robin. Polter saw the thin air about a dozen yards ahead of him suddenly start bleeding as bullet holes began riddling the side of the unarmored stealth attacker. The Rainwing became visible as they fell out of the sky, blood pouring from their body as they fell, almost leaving a trail behind them.

"POLTER! WE NEED TO GET OUT OF HERE BEFORE WE'RE TOTALLY SURROUNDED!" Arthur screamed, aiming his carbine in the direction of the camouflaged Rainwings. Another soldier from Squad Eclis, a Skywing Lieutenant named Stratus, began flying towards the direction of their hidden attackers, breathing a large plume of fire forward. Something invisible caught flame and began spinning. The tip of an enemy wing.

"DIE!" Stratus yelled, and began firing his submachine gun into the air in front of him, spraying the small caliber rounds in every direction towards the flaming wingtip. The Rainwing became visible, a bright angry red, and began spewing venom towards Stratus before she was quickly shot dead, blood intermixing with the venom.

Stratus quickly jerked away as the venom flew towards him, but he was just not fast enough as some of it caught his left claw. He screamed in anguish and began spinning in the air, not paying attention to where he was going. He dropped his SMG, letting the cable system catch it and pull it back towards his arm.

Superstition and Charles finally stopped shooting with the machine gun, and Polter was finally able to hear clearly again. "Stratus!" He cried, flying down towards his superior.

"I'm fine!" Stratus cried, clutching his claw as the drops of venom ate away at his flesh. "I'll bandage it when we're out of this!"

Polter could feel drafts of air being blown around as invisible wings began to take flight all around him. "Are they leaving?!" Arnold cried.

"I don't know!" Polter responded, looking around in a panic. He whirled around in the air, turning to see the approaching enemy squad aiming their weapons at the Anibian forces.

"EVASIVE MANEUVERS!" Superstition yelled. Squad Eclis began turning in the air as the Sangtanese opened fire at them. Polter dove low, spinning in the air so Arnold could try returning fire at the enemy.

"WHAT'S GOING ON UP THERE!?" Polter asked as he focused on flying in confusing directions.

He heard Arnold's carbine suddenly go silent. "I have to reload!" Arnold cried, and then jerked to the side on his saddle. "ABOVE US!" He cried.

Polter looked up just in time to see another Anibian soldier falling right on top of him, knocking him out of the sky and into the trees below. Polter first got a face full of leaves and branches until he felt a large branch smack him in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him and sending him slipping down onto the forest floor, the dead body of the other dragon sliding off him somewhere in the tree and crashing down somewhere nearby.

Polter's vision was spinning, and he felt like he couldn't breathe very well. He had a cut on his arm that hurt badly and was sore all over. He saw the warped vision of Arnold, grabbing his face.

"Polter? Polter! Hey! Polter!...

"…Polter?"

Polter was sitting at a café with Starfruit, staring out the window at the dragons flying by. Her blue eyes staring worriedly at him. She herself was a soft, calm blue, trying to avoid being too vibrant and an eyesore for those around her, as many Rainwings did out of courtesy.

"Are you okay?" She asked, concerned.

"Yeah… I'm fine." Polter said, shoving the memories back underneath. Now was not the time to think about things like that. He turned his attention to Starfruit, giving her a smile.

This was their fourth meeting. Polter was reluctant to call them "dates," as that insinuated something… more than he was willing to commit to at the moment. She was very pretty, but it was… a bit controversial, especially in some of the more rural parts of the world, for there to be love between races. They were friends. That's all.

"So how are things at the border?" Starfruit asked.

"Heard the APF now has control after the attack at Boulder's gala." Polter responded, sipping his coffee. "Went into effect yesterday at noon. I wonder how Timber's dealing with it right now. She never did like them."

"Well at least it means less work for you." Starfruit said with a light smile.

"Yeah, less work for me." Polter said, leaning against the wall a bit. "I am worried about my friend Granite though. He works for the APF, tracking down any sort of domestic threat within this city. One of his comrades got killed by a Pyrrhian Rainwing the other day with venom. I worry for his safety, dealing with those monsters."

Starfruit was silent for a moment, stirring her tea with her talon.

"As an Aniwing, do you still really hate the Pyrrhians for what they did? I mean, it was so long ago…" Starfruit asked quietly, looking around to make sure nobody was listening in. She didn't want to be accused of sympathizing with the enemy.

Polter was taken aback by the question, and then quickly regained composure and answered. "Of course. They almost won the civil war, and almost wiped out the Aniwing race entirely in this nation. Same with the Grasswings and Rockwings, but Aniwings had the highest population of the three targeted races. They wiped out somewhere between 65 and 75 percent of our races in just a few years." Polter shifted his position on the café floor, feeling a little uncomfortable.

"They stole our princess… took her away as a sex slave to breed more animus dragons into their own races. They took Camaelist ideas and perverted them into such a horrific worldview that they felt no guilt or pity for us 'weaker races.'" Polter continued. "They saw us the same way our ancestors saw humans, naturally weaker and deserving of getting wiped from this nation, and perhaps even the world." Polter stared at the ceiling. "My own family was almost annihilated during their purges. I can't forgive them. If we let them take up refuge here in Anibia today, who knows how soon those ideas will become public opinion once more? We have to act fast."

"Do you ever think that maybe they… might have changed after so much time?" Starfruit whispered.

"Dragons can change… that I believe." Polter responded. "But entire nations? Races? Not so easy."

Starfruit was playing with her sapphire earring while listening to Polter, letting it bounce between her head and claw. She sighed and got up.

"I need to use the restroom." She quietly told Polter, and made her way through the small café to the open door, spreading her wings and flying to the next floor up where the restrooms were.

Polter sat alone now, sipping his coffee still. I wonder how Timber is doing.

Part 4. The Story of Dr. Hayes.

The room of human scientists sat dumbfounded. If everything they had been taught was true then everything they thought they knew about the world was false, or at least, must be looked at from a new perspective.

Demons, rifts, multiverse travel, lands in different times, time travel, Gods, Visitors. It all was almost too much to handle.

"Now I am sure you have questions." Dr. Afton said, and he was right. Hayes' mind was reeling, thinking of various questions about this new world. How do we know the Liberation Project will destroy the multiverse? Why have the Travelers not made themselves public? What happens if we put multiple souls into one vessel? Are the Visitors aware of what goes on beyond the canon world?

"I assure you, all questions will be answered to the best of our abilities, but we must show you what we need you for." Dr. Afton said, and began ushering the five scientists out the door. Hayes made eye contact with the others, and they all looked as confused and awestruck as he did.

They walked through the cold, clinical hallways of the underground laboratory. Hayes had no idea where they really were. He and the other humans who had been recruited from Manholm had been blindfolded while in transport by the dragons who took them here. Hayes knew they were in Cardon, the capital of Anibia, but that was about it.

When he had been unblindfolded, he was in a small room with no windows. These were his living quarters, and where he would be until his work was done. As cramped as it was, it was still preferrable to the living conditions of Manholm. At least here he was fed meals, kept safe, and away from disease.

Dr. Hayes led the scientists into the elevator where a dragon guard was waiting. They loaded in one at a time, standing as far away from the dragon as possible. Hayes noticed the buttons on the elevator. They were on the first floor, just below ground level. There were 20 more floors below them. The dragon pressed a button for the 19th floor and the elevator doors closed with a metallic rattling sound. A red light above them turned green and the floor beneath them began to move.

As the elevator moved down, the group caught glimpses of the other floors through the chain-link metal door. Long hallways stretched away from the elevator, each lined with various closed doors. Occasionally they would see a dragon scientist, or guard. Nobody made a sound. The whole facility seemed silent.

They finally got to the 19th floor, and Hayes led the humans out of the elevator, with the guard tailing behind the group. The 19th floor wasn't like the others. It was a large open space, rock blasted away with dynamite to create a huge underground cavern. In the center of the cavern, surrounded by various observation decks, catwalks, and lights, was a large cylindrical device.

It seemed almost like a large laser pointer, it was mounted on a pivot controlled by a pilot on the ground. Copper and insulated wiring stretched from multiple points on it to various power boxes scattered throughout the cavern. It had a large box-like back with a narrow, pointed front, which was aimed at a wall covered in burn marks and dead foliage.

"This is what we need you for. We need as many brilliant minds working on this as possible." Said Dr. Afton. "This is Anibia's superweapon. The device that may make us the world's dominating superpower indefinitely." Afton led the humans to one of the catwalks standing above the device. Every dragon in the room was staring at them sharply, obviously annoyed that humans had been allowed into this space.

"This is Experiment 9, or as we call it, The Splitter. Anibia's attempt at creating artificial rifts without using someone with the Kiss of the Void. This is the nation's science division's number one priority. It is being watched by King Specter, Prime Minister Canyon, and every top government or military official in the kingdom. It uses our 'Black Box' power source as a generator," Afton gestured to the large boxy back of the machine. "and a mixture of modern technology and the King's animus magic to create the intended result. However, we have run into some problems."

Two dragons flew up to the boxy power source of The Splitter and pulled out two keys. They inserted them into two keyholes on the left and right of the box and turned simultaneously. A loud clicking noise sounded as a metal door opened up in the back, revealing a solid black cube, hooked up to multiple engines and wires. The two dragons detached the box and brought it over to the humans looking on with awe.

"This is our Black Box. Our most powerful source of energy." Afton said proudly. "It is made of reinforced obsidian, made to protect its inside from even the fieriest of failures."

"Excuse me sir, but what makes it so powerful? What is it? Animus magic?" Asked one of the scientists.

Afton smiled as the two dragons unlocked the Black Box. The lid sprung open and locked into an open position as the five humans looked inside.

Inside there lay a disembodied scaleless claw of a dragon, hooked up to some sort of electrical current. Within the dead claw's grasp, there was a modest dagger with an inscribed blade showing a sun rising over a desert.

"Is that…"

"The Dagger of Luna." Afton said, still smiling. "It is."

The dragons closed the box and put it back into The Splitter, and Afton continued explaining. "The power to construct and reconstruct the building blocks of life itself. They didn't understand it back then, but we have realized that what it can do is change organic matter on a cellular, possibly even molecular level. That claw is the claw of King Wraith, still grasping his last Relic of Hamza, enchanted by his son all those years ago to never decompose." Hayes looked down to see that some dragons were leading a cow into the room, and towards the wall of scorch marks and dead plants.

"All we must do is send an electric shock to the claw to excite the muscles, making it grasp the dagger tighter. Along with this, we send our intended use of the dagger through to it using animus magic, invoking the power of the Moon Goddess Luna." Afton explained as the dragons below positioned the cow right where the device was aimed. "Then, it uses various forms of concentration, and animus magic fueled redirection, sending a laser of transformative power at the target. We realized that this is a possible way to create an artificial rift, by negating the positive or negative charge of the atoms within the cells of the organic subject. Once all atoms have been negated and all atoms have been canceled out, a hole will tear in reality."

Hayes watched in disbelief as the dragons below suddenly chopped the legs off the cow, making it scream and cry in pain. It lay in front of the wall, in a spotlight, immobile. The Anibian scientists began aiming the machine at the cow and powering it up.

It whirred and spun, letting out dangerous amounts of smoke as a terrible oily smell filled the room. The cries of the cow were drowned out by the turbines and centrifuges of the Splitter powering up. Buttons were pressed. A large red lever was pulled. The lights went out.

A green laser shot out of the end of the device, hitting the bleeding cow and burning it away almost immediately, as if it were a leaf in a roaring bonfire. As soon as the cow was gone, the scientists hurriedly shut the machine off. The lights stopped flickering and the noise of the engines quickly died down.

When Hayes looked back at where the cow had once been, there was nothing but empty space, a hole in reality itself. Through it, he could see orbs of light floating in an inky blackness. And then, just as suddenly as it was created, it disappeared. As it closed, Hayes felt a wave of hot air wash over him from the direction of the rift.

"There it is." Afton whispered. "The greatest weapon ever conceived. Far greater than Balksland's theorized atom bombs. The power to reach outside this world itself."

"But its incomplete." Hayes said, attracting Afton's attention. "The rift won't stay open for long, and then anything put in there is stuck, right?"

"That is correct." Said a voice from below. A Skywing scientist flew up from underneath them and landed on the catwalk. "Although some subjects that are negated have longer lasting rifts than others. Rifts generated from plant based life forms and fungi have shown to be weak, while animals have a much greater result. We have yet to test dragon or human subjects." The idea of being turned into a rift as an experiment sent shivers down Hayes' spine. A criminal will most likely be executed soon this way.

"Also," Afton chipped in. "When these unstable rifts collapse, the sheer power and force generated by this is unbelievably dangerous. Incredibly high temperatures have been recorded, and it can cut through even the toughest of metals, nearly turning it to gas. Anything in the rift when it collapses is sure to be completely annihilated."

"But doesn't this violate the Law of Conservation of Mass?" One of the scientists right behind Hayes questioned. "Matter cannot be created or destroyed, yet you claim that the atoms within organic cells are simply negated via the power of the dagger! How is that possible?"

"Nobody knows but the Goddesses." Responded the Skywing. "Our current hypothesis is that they are sent to another dimension within the multiverse, but we do not know what that would mean. Would an 'anti-rift' be created? What would that look like?"

"And this is why we need more help." Afton said to the scientists. "Anibia is willing to stoop so low as to recruit humans to help them figure this out. Our goal is to find a way to create permanent, safe rifts for military use."

Hayes looked up at the machine. Life on Earth's attempt to play God. He had a feeling in his gut that this was going to be a turning point for human and dragonkind, for better or for worse.

Meanwhile, in a location very similar to the underground laboratory of Cardon, Timber woke up. She was restrained and chained to a wall in an empty, dimly lit room. On the wall to her right, there was a mirror. No… one-way glass.

Her heart began to pound as she began to realize what had happened. Everything at the border, those dragons, the attack, the APF, that hole…

The door slammed open with a bang, and a lone Seawing walked in, wearing a mask to hide his identity. He had a silver armband around his right arm, and his badge was indicative that he was a captain.

Everything Timber's father had always said about the Anibian government and the APF came rushing back to her as the captain slowly walked towards her after shutting the door.

"Timber. New recruit of the Pittchester border control, member of the CIE. You have seen something incredibly classified."