Sister Haggra smiled her toothy smile as she cast her eye over the House
of Magic's War Room. Every house had a so-called 'War Room', where they
would make their contribution to the war effort. Her House had created the
mysterious Mobius Rings to, among other things, allow quick passage to
Mobius, and to give the land's native Flickies a migration route. Every
winter, thousands of Flickies would pour through the Rings and arrive on
the aptly named Flickies Island in the Mobian tropics. A little-known fact
about the creatures is that they produce an amazing amount of electrical
energy and make amazing organic batteries, a fact that the mad Doctor
Robotnik did not miss. The House of Magic would create the Mobius Rings,
ready to be incorporated into the Drakon Empire's swords by the House of
Knowledge, which would then supply them to the House of War. The Mobius
Rings had originally been created to store the Chaos Emerald's intense
powers. For a while after their creation any Drakonian that came near for
extended periods of time was either driven insane or horribly mutated by
the Chaos energy. In fact, usually it was both.
Haggra turned to her Seer Council, heads bent over the mystic cauldron that acted as the centrepiece for the entire House, and also contained the mystical Vapours of Destiny. This was an ancient magic, passed down through the many leaders of the House of Magic. The Vapour's powers allowed it to predict the future, and answer any question, in the form of an image silhouetted in the dense, sickly green gases spewed from the cauldron and wrapped around Haggra's feet as she approached.
The Seer Council, a sort of governmental body that, along with herself, ruled the House of Magic. They were each chosen for their skills at manipulating the energies that were more commonly known as magic, and could easily use the Vapours for their own ends. Swirling in the vapours was the image of an island, floating in the sky. With deft hands movements the Council turned the image, zooming in and out on pieces of the structure, searching for the clues that their methods could yield as to how the Drakon Empire should assault this bastion. Haggra caught her breath as she gazed at the ring of mountains that rose up out of the centre of the island. Somewhere in those rocky daggers lay the Chaos Emeralds. The same Chaos Emeralds that had been stolen by the barbaric natives all those millennia ago. And now thought Haggra, now the Chaos Emeralds would return to their rightful place in the planet Drak. With their powers, they could avert the impending destruction of their Sun, and return to a golden age of conquest.
Haggra realised she was drooling and mumbling incoherently to herself and promptly stopped.
The choking mists curled around the horrific sculptures that hung from the vaulted ceiling. Terrifying dragon-like gargoyles sat above each of the well-spaced pillars, alongside sculptures constructed from the skulls of the Empire's enemies. Needless to say, that didn't have many enemies anymore. Apart from those accursed Mobians. Sneering and mouthing obscenities Haggra turned from the Council and walked over to the main production area of the War Room.
Far below, apprentices of the House rushed back and forth alongside drafted civilians carrying the huge Mobius Rings along to the Circle of Seers (the body that governed the cavernous War Room) to be enchanted. Most of the civilians were clothed in thick, padded and worn leather suits. Although most of the civilians had the appearance of fish, some were newt- like, not needing the mechanical suits that the others wore. Haggra pointed one gnarled finger at one of the newt-like creatures and it fell to its knees, coughing up its lifeblood on the stone floor. The veins on the newt's forehead stood out as the worker struggled for breath. Horrific convulsions wracked the newt as it slumped to the ground and breathed its last, chunks of bone falling from the lifeless lips as its skeleton disintegrated. The other workers averted their eyes. They had seen to many newts die this way. Haggra withdrew her finger and spat at the corpse. The newts were vermin, not pureblood like proper Drakonians. They did not deserve to walk the streets of planet Drak. Still, they were excellent labourers.
Haggra turned her attentions to the Circle of Seers. The circle was comprised of those who were marginally off the standards that the Seer Council required. They governed the wartime operations of the House, under the Council's watchful eye of course.
As each huge Mobius Ring was passed to them, the Circle knelt around it and began to channel their energies into the immobile golden ring. As the ceremony reached its completion the ring began to pulse, slowly, then quicker as the Circle tied off their energies. Kneeling down, the Council picked up the device and propped it against the wall with the hundreds of others. Looking around for a test subject the Circle's leader grabbed a passing next and threw him into the portal. The creature's screams echoed around the chamber, shifting suddenly around the ceiling and the floor randomly. Then the screams became clearer as the newt dropped from the high ceiling and left a rather nasty mess on the stone slabs of the floor, crushing another newt in the process. Satisfied that the Ring was working properly the Circle began work on its next Ring. The rest of the workers shifted one step away from the Circle and continued.
Haggra smiled and opened her com-link, the only invention of the House of Knowledge that she allowed within a two-mile radius of her House. She sighed as she realised the thing was flashing for an incoming message. Flipping open the infernal device she screeched into it.
"Yes! Who is this, and what are they calling for?" She smiled as she heard someone stumble at the other end of the line. She frowned as Ko- Door's face showed up on screen.
"Are the Mobius Rings going to be ready for the appointed time?" Haggra glanced over the collection below before replying.
"For the last time, yes!" She watched Ko-Door dash the com-link against the floor, and she turned hers off. He didn't usually react so violently. He had something to hide, and she would find out what it was. She would find out if she had to tear the House of War apart to do it. She took a deep breath to calm herself and watched yet another newt plummet to the floor.
"And now, to war," she mumbled, before stalking off to her rooms.
Haggra turned to her Seer Council, heads bent over the mystic cauldron that acted as the centrepiece for the entire House, and also contained the mystical Vapours of Destiny. This was an ancient magic, passed down through the many leaders of the House of Magic. The Vapour's powers allowed it to predict the future, and answer any question, in the form of an image silhouetted in the dense, sickly green gases spewed from the cauldron and wrapped around Haggra's feet as she approached.
The Seer Council, a sort of governmental body that, along with herself, ruled the House of Magic. They were each chosen for their skills at manipulating the energies that were more commonly known as magic, and could easily use the Vapours for their own ends. Swirling in the vapours was the image of an island, floating in the sky. With deft hands movements the Council turned the image, zooming in and out on pieces of the structure, searching for the clues that their methods could yield as to how the Drakon Empire should assault this bastion. Haggra caught her breath as she gazed at the ring of mountains that rose up out of the centre of the island. Somewhere in those rocky daggers lay the Chaos Emeralds. The same Chaos Emeralds that had been stolen by the barbaric natives all those millennia ago. And now thought Haggra, now the Chaos Emeralds would return to their rightful place in the planet Drak. With their powers, they could avert the impending destruction of their Sun, and return to a golden age of conquest.
Haggra realised she was drooling and mumbling incoherently to herself and promptly stopped.
The choking mists curled around the horrific sculptures that hung from the vaulted ceiling. Terrifying dragon-like gargoyles sat above each of the well-spaced pillars, alongside sculptures constructed from the skulls of the Empire's enemies. Needless to say, that didn't have many enemies anymore. Apart from those accursed Mobians. Sneering and mouthing obscenities Haggra turned from the Council and walked over to the main production area of the War Room.
Far below, apprentices of the House rushed back and forth alongside drafted civilians carrying the huge Mobius Rings along to the Circle of Seers (the body that governed the cavernous War Room) to be enchanted. Most of the civilians were clothed in thick, padded and worn leather suits. Although most of the civilians had the appearance of fish, some were newt- like, not needing the mechanical suits that the others wore. Haggra pointed one gnarled finger at one of the newt-like creatures and it fell to its knees, coughing up its lifeblood on the stone floor. The veins on the newt's forehead stood out as the worker struggled for breath. Horrific convulsions wracked the newt as it slumped to the ground and breathed its last, chunks of bone falling from the lifeless lips as its skeleton disintegrated. The other workers averted their eyes. They had seen to many newts die this way. Haggra withdrew her finger and spat at the corpse. The newts were vermin, not pureblood like proper Drakonians. They did not deserve to walk the streets of planet Drak. Still, they were excellent labourers.
Haggra turned her attentions to the Circle of Seers. The circle was comprised of those who were marginally off the standards that the Seer Council required. They governed the wartime operations of the House, under the Council's watchful eye of course.
As each huge Mobius Ring was passed to them, the Circle knelt around it and began to channel their energies into the immobile golden ring. As the ceremony reached its completion the ring began to pulse, slowly, then quicker as the Circle tied off their energies. Kneeling down, the Council picked up the device and propped it against the wall with the hundreds of others. Looking around for a test subject the Circle's leader grabbed a passing next and threw him into the portal. The creature's screams echoed around the chamber, shifting suddenly around the ceiling and the floor randomly. Then the screams became clearer as the newt dropped from the high ceiling and left a rather nasty mess on the stone slabs of the floor, crushing another newt in the process. Satisfied that the Ring was working properly the Circle began work on its next Ring. The rest of the workers shifted one step away from the Circle and continued.
Haggra smiled and opened her com-link, the only invention of the House of Knowledge that she allowed within a two-mile radius of her House. She sighed as she realised the thing was flashing for an incoming message. Flipping open the infernal device she screeched into it.
"Yes! Who is this, and what are they calling for?" She smiled as she heard someone stumble at the other end of the line. She frowned as Ko- Door's face showed up on screen.
"Are the Mobius Rings going to be ready for the appointed time?" Haggra glanced over the collection below before replying.
"For the last time, yes!" She watched Ko-Door dash the com-link against the floor, and she turned hers off. He didn't usually react so violently. He had something to hide, and she would find out what it was. She would find out if she had to tear the House of War apart to do it. She took a deep breath to calm herself and watched yet another newt plummet to the floor.
"And now, to war," she mumbled, before stalking off to her rooms.