Interlude
The Nova Empire II
The next day, Kaiser was speaking to Lok via a holographic transmission at the Imperial Palace. He spoke to the Death Rider from his meditation chamber without his helmet. He sat on a black throne at the center of a mechanized altar that stabilized his dark energy. Such a device helped him focus and clear his mind, as the sheer weight of his powers threatened to ravage his psyche. Even so, underneath his mask, the Dark Lord was still irritated by this more recent failure.
“Status update, Lok,” Kaiser ordered.
“We’ve searched the mines and we found the bodies of General Halldor and much of his brigade.”
“How unfortunate,” he said apathetically. “And the crystal?”
“We found the Divine Temple but the crystal wasn’t there. The key that Halldor had with him was also missing. The Royal Family most likely has them both.”
“Then everything is going as planned,” the Dark Lord said, putting on his helmet.
“My lord?” Lok inquired.
“Halldor may have been an arrogant fool, but he was prepared. He planted a tracking device on the necklace in case it was ever lost. If either the Princess or the Ark Knight has gotten a hold of it, it should lead us right to them.”
Kaiser pressed a button on his screen, revealing a window that he shared with his right-hand man. It was showing a map of Astrelm. The entirety of the country was painted blue, except for a small red dot in the western region, pinging crimson waves across the continent.
“Notify Emperor Alderic. Tell him it’s time we deploy our new army on Argos.”
Kaiser ended his transmission and continued staring at the holographic map. As he did, the marker on Argos repeatedly washed over the kingdom in a sea of red light.
Legends of the Stars 