The horned man walked the outer edge of the queen's castle.

He watched the Omani people do their best to rebuild after the invasion. Blackstone knew all too well the fates that awaited those captured by the aliens.

The warrior watched as families took stock of their missing and their dead. He watched as countless souls wept for their missing.

Missing - Blackstone stopped occasionally to hear accounts of Omani who had been stolen away by the aliens.

There was a pattern - several to be exact.

The entire situation nagged at him as would a water demon hellbent to drag him to his death. Very few beings alive or otherwise knew that Blackstone disliked nagging situations. When pieces did not fall into place, the warrior was nearly consumed under his expressionless armor with solving a mystery.

And there was a mystery afoot. And something was being hidden.

The large horned warrior was not left to his thoughts for long. Overhead, the sky broke in a furious explosion of green.

"THEY'VE RETURNED!!!" shouted a sentry. The explosion and the warning call were immediately followed by a barrage of the defense cannons and missile solutions firing. Overhead a fleet of at least a dozen spaceships soared, blasting down below. Half a dozen walkers pounded their quirky paths through the streets as well.

But the shields of Omani showed no signs of attack.

From the Spice Queen's castle, her royal guard - a collection of creatures - goblins, imps, fairies and human soldiers - soared out to defend Omani.

Repelling the attack began but it was obvious that the royal forces were too fatigued from too much fighting. A wounded guardsman rescued by Blackstone looked up into the glowing eyes of his savior.

"Even with the defenses, too many ships are inside the perimeter!" shouted the panicked guard. "We need HELP!"

Blackstone rose and began to walk into the most heated area of the battlefield.

"Where are you going???" shouted a fae medic.

"To get help," the armored man replied. "Perhaps. OPEN THE SHIELD, SMALL APERTURE!"

"What???" shouted a nearby elf in armor. "How big?!?"

"Large enough for a dragon," the warrior ordered.

The royal guard lowered the dome and Blackstone's glowing eyes simmered and he spoke to himself.

"Come to me, young one."

There was nothing at first in the burning green sky. Smoke billowed up hand in hand with the screams of war.

Suddenly, the sky rumbled.

Several alien ships exploded as balls of fire struck them and sent them hurtling to the ground below.

From the heavens above, a large black and red dragon landed hard and danger close to Blackstone. Its wings sent a powerful gust of wind; its mouth dripped fire and its eyes burned with an intensity that drowned out the slit pupils observing the battlefield.

The royal forces backed away. Some raised their weapons.

Blackstone moved towards the beast and stroked its reptilian face.

"Greetings Scorch," the horned man said. "Come, we have work to do." In one smooth move, the warrior mounted the restless beast. With a powerful flap of its massive wings, Scorch took to the skies above.

The tail of the creature whipped and knocked ships from the sky.

Scorch's fire was destructive and even Blackstone pulled back himself from the intense heat. This was not the same as the heated display that the dragon used on him days ago. This was hellfire pouring from a mythical creature, this was rage, this was fate.

As the dragon burned the enemy, Blackstone swung blade and fired gun atop the winged mount.

Down below, the Omani royal guard fired laser cannons from the castle parapets. Together, the soldiers and the horned warrior were able to push back the space invaders once again.

The dragon flapped its wings slower and in a pattern that allowed him to land. Blackstone dismounted.

Scorch gazed a burning look at his rider.

Blackstone reached out and touched the winged lizard.

"Go and my gratitude."

After delivering a mighty roar, the partially domesticated Scorch soared straight up into the sky. The dragon was young, wild still and at times ill-tempered. Blackstone knew well enough to not push the expectations of the beast or reap the burning consequences.

He watched the creature disappear into the horizon, through an opening in the force field around the capital city.

Blackstone turned to see one last alien craft rise up on trembling tri-pod legs and charge him. It moved towards the warrior at a pace that even he could not dodge. As it rammed him into a crumbling building, it exploded.