Nobody had expected the war to end this way. A new kingdom, one nobody had even heard of before, had swept through the dragon region like a storm. Word spread quickly through the surrounding lands, carried by merchants, scouts, and terrified messengers. To the west, the human lands were the first to react. The rise of a new ruler brought unease to their borders.

------

A tall man sat on a throne of red and gold. He had medium-length, wavy blond hair and green eyes that made his handsome features appear sharper. He was not old, at most twenty-five, no more.

Before him knelt a dozen knights in white armor. Their white helmets were decorated with golden plumes that appeared to be made from the hair of some mythical beast. Every few seconds, the plumes pulsed softly, as if alive with light, casting faint golden reflections across their polished armor.

"My king, we have received word that the Fire Dragon Empire has been overtaken by a new rebellious force calling itself the Voidstar Kingdom. As far as the news suggests, the leader of this group has a connection to the forgotten Ice Dragon Clan." The knight in the lead spoke softly despite his rough voice, his helmet lowered in respect as his gauntleted hand rested against his chest.

The one they called king rubbed the bridge of his nose, his eyes closing for a moment in devastation. From the knights’ perspective, he looked shaken by the news, as if the weight of it had pressed heavily on his shoulders.

"What does Queen Agnia need? Support? We do not possess such power to help her now." He replied with a heavy sigh, his fingers sinking into the throne’s armrest. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

For a moment, the knight in the lead fell silent. His jaw tightened beneath the shadow of his helmet, and the faint golden plume above him pulsed softly with light.

"Speak," the king demanded, noticing the hesitation in the knight.

"As far as we know, Queen Agnia has fully surrendered and acknowledged a new king as the ruler of her lands and people. The Fire Dragon Empire is no more." The knight’s words came out with careful pauses, as if every single word had to be chosen with caution.

The armrest suddenly burst into splinters and dust under the king’s powerful grip.

The knights lowered their heads further.

"Send the Voidstar Kingdom a diplomatic envoy, demanding an explanation for this illegal takeover. If this new king is powerful enough to take over the Fire Dragon Empire, then we cannot afford to ignore him. We must quickly find out his intentions while his numbers are still low..." the king spoke with urgency in his voice, his green eyes opening sharply.

"There is... something more you must know before we send anybody to those lands..." The knights lowered their heads even more, and the lead knight’s fingers curled slightly against his chestplate.

"Speak already instead of wasting my time," the king said, his patience thinning.

"Our scouts witnessed the Thunder and Wind Empires submitting to King Maximus..." The knight swallowed, his rough voice growing quieter. "While they have not pledged loyalty to him as vassals, they have given him hundreds of thousands of troops and people to command, or so the report... says..."

The throne room fell silent.

------

To the far south, the elven forests were not calm. Several tall women surrounded a single man, each one of them at least three meters tall1. But their towering height was not the only strange thing about them. Their ears were pointed, and their eyes shone with a soft inner light, as if fire had been kindled beneath their pupils.

In the elven lands, there were no ugly people. Every one of them, male or female, was blessed with a beauty that every other race could only envy.

Their armor was made from gold, yet it looked far more durable than steel. It covered only what it needed to, wrapping their bodies in elegant pieces that left their figures sensual, proud, and dangerously enchanting. Golden blades rested at their sides, their hilts and sheaths decorated with delicate ornaments and details so precise they looked as if they belonged to an age far beyond the one they lived in.

"Emperor. The Dragon Region—" one of the women with long green hair spoke hastily, but the golden-haired man cut her off before she could finish.

"I know... I know. You don’t need to explain it to me. Actually, I would like to reward all of you for allowing that party to sneak through our forests into the Wind Dragon Empire... Now, because of their actions, we can prepare for war."

He smirked, pulling the women into his embrace as his hands shamelessly wandered over their bodies.

"This calls for celebration! We finally have a way to connect with the Dwarves! Our weapon trade will boom because of Oswald’s stupidity!"

His voice thundered across the tall white citadel decorated in gold, echoing through the shining halls with arrogant delight.

------

To the far east, the Dwarven kingdoms and empires remained silent about the news, ignoring it completely as if it had nothing to do with them.

Yet the nomadic Orc tribes far in the north did not share the same calm. Word had spread that their lands had been breached, stirring fear of a possible invasion by a newly risen tyrannical ruler.

The force they had witnessed was not something they could take on easily. Their tribes were far too scattered, rarely caring about worldly matters since, for the last ten thousand years, nobody had dared to disturb them. But the sudden march through their lands had planted a spark of fear in the frozen north. If a powerful kingdom had fallen only to give birth to something even greedier, then their peace was close to being shattered.

More than fifty leaders had gathered to discuss the possibility of unification. Their dark gray skin made them almost blend with the snow, only separated by the thick, beastly armor wrapped around their muscular bodies, making each one of them look like a bear carved into the shape of a man.

A bulky man sat on a throne of beast bones, his thick crimson eyes scanning the other leaders. His shoulders were wide, his arms heavy, and old white scars crossed his dark skin like marks left by claws and blades.

In a voice that sounded like a bear given human words, he began...

"Let’s prepare the plans for unification, to rise against the possibility of a future invasion by a greedy dragon of ice. Once more, they have awakened to challenge the world... even after their defeat hundreds of years ago..."