The arena in the center of Krisfast, capital of Kudrion was packed more than usual today. Thousands of people had turned up to see the spectacle was about to go down. Looking up, Moimir Collins could even see winged shapes in the blue sky of Kudrion, some Kudrioni riding on their Drak to watch the coming fight from the skies. Moimir heard the arena’s announcer speak. “Today, on Umos’ day, in the month of Iotz, in the thirtieth year of the Macan, Haldor, chieftain of the clan Noveron, will battle Dishuz, chieftain of the clan Kumar and king of Kudrion, in ritual combat for the right of kingship. This battle will end when one of the combatants dies. May the best combatant win.” The sound of a great gong signaled the start of the fight. Moimir looked at the sand of the arena. The two figures, that of Dishuz, his friend and also king of Kudrion, and Haldor were already circling each other, sizing each other up. Dishuz, although getting on in his years, was larger than the other man, and Moimir knew from experience that he was still as strong as he had been in his younger years. Both combatants were naked from the waist up, only wearing simple cloth pants, and were armed with a single steel sword as tradition demanded. As the two men started fighting, the arena suddenly fell silent and Moimir quickly saw why, as a new star had appeared in the sky, brightly burning even during the day. Was it an omen, announcing a change in leadership? Whatever it was, Moimir could feel that, after today, nothing would be the same in Kudrion anymore. In the end, the duel for kingship was a short affair. Haldor Noveron laid dead on the field, his blood spilling into the sands. The whole arena cheered as king Dishuz held his bloodied steel high. It had been minutes after the duel when Dishuz had managed to find Moimir. The two men had been walking out of the arena, back to the Clan Council building, talking about the light that had so suddenly appeared in the sky. Around them, the city was more active than usual, Kudrioni frantically going back to their homes, checking their defenses and preparing their weapons. Events like this could mean anything. although both men had heard the legends and prophecies around these sorts of occurrences. The appearance of new stars or strange, unexplained lights in the sky would herald the end times, these prophecies said, but neither man could really be sure whether this was true. It was then that a woman approached the two men, seemingly out of breath. “My lords,” she said “I am a messenger from the Clan Council. The Gate of Umos has reopened” [center]______________________________________________________________________________________[/center] The [i]Sword of Tum[/i] wasn’t a big ship compared to many of the other Kudrioni vessels, but it was one of the most advanced ships Kudrion had produced. Capable of taking with it all of the people that the king had hand-picked to travel through the gateway, it was perfect for this mission. The fact that it was king Dishuz’ personal ship also helped matters. Emily had never been to space before, preferring her lab over the adventurous life so many other Kudrioni lived, but she was glad knowing that she would at least travel in some comfort. After all, if the king personally requests you to travel through the gateway to see what’s on the other side, it’s hard to refuse. She could already see representatives of each chosen clan with their own personal guard, all dressed in armour and carrying their weapons. They too had been ordered to board the ship. The researcher turned around, and saw two men, one older with graying hair, and the other brown-haired and slightly shorter. She recognized them as king Dishuz and Moimir, of the high clan Collins, and they were in heated discussion. Behind the two men, there were a number of heavily armed soldiers all clad in the same power armor, and with some anxiety Emily recognized them as soldiers of the Royal Guard. Songs about the ruthlessness of these troops, especially those who were also Ashokites, were well-known on Kudrion, and she felt nervous to be on the same ship as them. This was going to be a long trip... [center]______________________________________________________________________________________[/center] It took some time for the Sword to travel through the gateway, but thankfully, it had made it through unharmed. There were some doubts by its captain whether they’d even make it through the gate, but he had fortunately been proven wrong. Moimir looked through the viewscreen, momentarily disoriented by the jump. He heard the scientist behind him gasp, and then he saw it too. Earth was dead. The green and blue the ancient legends had told about were gone, replaced with a grey, lifeless shell of its former self. His thoughts at that moment echoed what everyone on the bridge must have been thinking. [i]So the legends really were true[/i], he thought, [i]Earth is gone[/i]. He steeled his thoughts for a moment, [i]at least we’re still alive. I wonder if the others were so lucky[/i]. That was when his eyes turned from the dead planet, noticing instead what looked like a space station, although if it was, it wasn’t very well built. More importantly, though, he also saw a large fleet around the gateway, most ships bigger than the ones he was currently in. Dishuz had noticed too, telling the captain to contact the fleet. After a few minutes, the captain turned around, an expression of fear clearly visible on his face, speaking the words that no one in the ship would want to hear: “My lords,” he said “It would seem our communications equipment is broken.”