November 12, 1640

Washington, D.C.

After nearly a week of bureaucratic back and forth with the Gra Valkans, President Lee and the men and women serving in his cabinet were finally able to breathe sighs of relief upon the successful de-escalation of the Noralshian Strait Crisis. The Gra Valkan representative, Cielia Oudwin, did well to hide her delaying tactics, but found it difficult to prolong the blockade further. As negotiations wrapped up, the Gra Valkan ships dispersed and allowed the American convoy to pass. President Lee and the various State and Defense officials in the room collectively smiled, celebrating the peaceful resolution.

“... and in response we have agreed to redirect shipping away from the Conshal Islands. This means that our delayed convoy will be able to proceed to Mu, but future convoys will have to take a slightly longer route,” an aide summarized.

President Lee nodded, “Thank you, Steven.” Lee then turned to the Director of National Intelligence, Allen Fitch, “I believe you’ve finished the report on Gra Valkan internal politics?”

“Mister President,” Fitch prepared a file, “Our analysis indicates that most of the Gra Valkan leadership adamantly oppose dragging us into the war. However, a militaristic faction known as the ‘Hawks’ do not share the same sentiment. The Hawks comprise over half of the Gra Valkan senate and likely a greater percentage of their military. Their civilian population also has a large number of Hawks, but it is difficult to determine the extent of their support. Overall, we believe that these Hawks might be outraged by the decision to destroy the rogue ship of ultranationalists in the Noralshian Strait.” Having finished the summarization of the situation in the Gra Valkas Empire, Fitch passed the baton. “Director Klein,” he nodded at the Director of the CIA.

Klein cleared his throat before explaining, “I’ve managed to obtain several assets among sympathizers within the Gra Valkan government. Most of them are peace activists – Doves – who disagreed with the Gra Valkas Empire’s hegemonism on Yggdra, and therefore they have little influence or power. However, they do regularly keep eyes on the activities of their rivals, the Hawks. It appears that some of the Hawks have begun to congregate in secret to express their discontent over Gra Lux’s actions.”

Lee crossed his arms, finding this revelation worrying. “If they get a hold of the Gra Valkas Empire, it might be much more difficult to get them to surrender… Do we know if they’re planning anything definitive?”

“Unfortunately sir, we’re still working on a plan to eavesdrop and infiltrate. However, we do know the people who are involved: big shot politicians like Guinea Marix — head of the Hawks, and some high-ranking officers like General Siegs.” Klein’s unbiased commentary gave way to a more opinionated analysis as he tried to make sense of the situation, “It’s possible they may be planning a coup, but I honestly can’t see how they can pull something like that off without the support of leaders like War Chief Pastall or Admiral Caesar.”

“Hmm,” Lee gave Klein’s theory some thought, “Could we somehow use this to our advantage?”

“It’s hard to say,” Fitch commented, “It’s possible we can make the Gra Valkans more open to negotiation by getting rid of these Hawks, but we would need to procure or fabricate substantial evidence that they are indeed plotting to overthrow Emperor Gra Lux. If there is a successful coup attempt, then your worries might come true: it’ll be much more difficult to get the Hawks to surrender and we might even have to land troops on the Gra Valkan mainland.”

Lee nodded, “See what you can do about it, and gather up information on the Emperor. If he truly does not want to fight us, then he might make a valuable asset when it's time to negotiate terms.”

“I’ll get every last detail down, sir,” Fitch said.

“Moving on,” Lee said, turning to Secretary of State Gordon Heiden, “I read your report on establishing relations with a new civilization in my morning debrief. The Oni, was it?”

“Yes, Mister President. After the 31st MEU successfully defeated the hostile forces besieging Esperanto, they managed to secure numerous POWs who were apparently being mind-controlled by a magical artifact.”

Lee tilted his head back, “Ah, yes I remember now. General Bahara and his obsidian knights, huh?”

Heiden nodded, “Yes. We’ve finally come to an agreement with their people and have decided to open a diplomatic channel under peaceful terms. The Esperantoans have also expressed a willingness to make contact, despite their history, and will be sending a delegation to tag along with ours. The mission to the Oni nation of Heiskanen is scheduled…”

While Heiden continued to elaborate on the State Department’s plan to make contact with the Oni, an aide walked up to Secretary of Defense Robert Hill and whispered into his ear. President Lee noticed Hill’s face twist in confusion, and then frustration before becoming dead serious.

“Is something wrong, Robert?” Lee asked.

Hill frowned, as if a grave complication had just fallen upon him. “Satellites just picked up something concerning in the northern regions of the Holy Mirishial Empire, between its border with the Eimor Kingdom.”

Thoughts ran through Lee’s mind as he quickly sifted through the possible calamities that might’ve just occurred. Could the Gra Valkans have somehow broken through Mirishial defenses? Did the Mirishials summon a new superweapon more powerful than the alien Pal Chimera? Eager to satisfy his curiosity, he asked, “What happened?”

“A flight of three immense dragons – close to 700 feet in length each – are currently flying over Runepolis on a heading toward the Artticus Ocean, likely toward Hytal Base. Here are the images from the satellite,” Hill said, pulling up the pictures on his tablet and sharing them to the screens around the room.

Lee’s eyes drifted toward the screen behind him. The dragons that Hill mentioned were indeed massive, especially when compared to the towns and cities beneath them. Clad in all-black scales, these beasts were like typical dragons from popular fiction, although far larger. “Well I’ll be,” Lee said, mouth agape as he approached the screen to get a closer look. His mouth contorted into a nervous smile, expressing his incredulity over the existence of these creatures. “I’m not surprised there are dragons, but man…”

A series of ‘wow’s and ‘woah’s spread out throughout the room as everyone processed the fantastical depiction on the screens. They wore a varied mix of expressions, from amusement to concern – some were even outright fearful.

“If these things are anything like Ghidora, we’re fucked,” someone said.

It was a valid point, Lee silently agreed. However, logic dictated that these things might not be as powerful as they seem, especially in light of their recent success against monsters like the Aji Dhaka and demons like Nosgorath. “Dismissing his subordinates’ worries, he immediately focused on the here and now. “Are they hostile?” Lee asked.

Hill shrugged, “Most likely not. The dragons passed over the towns below peacefully, and there has been no indication of a Mirishial attempt to intercept. The Pal Chimerae under their command haven’t reacted either and are maintaining their positions.”

“Hmm…” Lee wondered. “A seasonal migration?”

“Perhaps the Mirishials themselves have some answers”, Heiden said as he tapped into a Mirishial News Network broadcast on one of the mounted screens.

The broadcast flared to life, with the famed MNN reporter Alana Forlen on screen, clad in her iconic red dress and standing in Runepolis Harbor. She spoke over the delicate hum of a Pal Chimera in the background and cheers from local citizens, “... finally decided to adopt a more serious course of action to deal with the Gra Valkas Empire. In light of the recent losses in Otaheit, Mykal, and Hytal Base, the Eimor Kingdom has deployed three of their Plasma Dragons, also known to some as ‘Lightning Flame Dragons’. They are also contributing more Flame and Wind Dragons to the war effort – enough to shake the Gra Valkans’ grip over the skies.”

Lee raised an eyebrow, clearly intrigued. He wanted to know exactly what these beasts were for the sake of both national defense and to satisfy his childish curiosity. “Allen, Robert, keep an eye on these dragons. I want to see how they perform in combat.”

“Sir,” the men said in unison, also eager to learn more about these ‘Plasma Dragons’.

However, Lee’s interest didn’t stop there. The existence of these incredible creatures only meant one thing: the Ravernals had something better. “Note all that you can about their capabilities,” he said. “Apparently, Eimor’s predecessor, Infidragoon had hundreds of these beasts and were still defeated by the Ravernal Empire. Robert, I’d like you to work with Doctor Holden from the Magical Research Department. Something tells me a bunch of AMRAAMs won’t be enough for what we’ll need to fight against,” Lee said, the image of the Aji Dhaka tanking missiles branded onto his mind.

—-

San Francisco, California

A lone man approached the entrance to the downtown San Francisco Public Library branch, hoodie fluttering in the wind and book in hand. His young features and the backpack he carried matched all the characteristic appearances of a student. A perfect disguise, he thought as he entered the building. The man then walked up to a nearby counter, presenting the book to the clerk.

“A day later and you would’ve been late,” the clerk scolded in a teasing manner.

The man laughed it off, “You know I would never do such a devious thing to a lady such as yourself.”

The clerk giggled in response. “Well, are there any more books you want to borrow?”

“No, thank you. Actually, I’d like to use one of the computers again,” the man said.

“Sure thing,” the clerk responded. “The computers at the tables over there are available,” she pointed toward an empty portion of the library, “Let me know if you need any help!”

The man smiled. Outwardly, it appeared genuine and friendly, but internally, the man couldn’t help but smirk at the Americans’ freedoms. Through their excessive liberties, he and many other operatives had managed to glean countless details on modern technology. Although they couldn’t do much to replicate American technologies, they were able to learn enough to push along the development of their own technologies at a much faster rate. With knowledge from American books and the Internet, they made valuable strides in the fields of electronics and propulsion, even gaining some intelligence on American tactics. While he couldn’t determine the credibility of tactics shown in fanfictions about a certain modern-meets-fantasy story, he couldn’t deny the usefulness of official military field manuals.

Of course, after reading so much about the Americans, the man had no doubt that they completely dwarfed the Gra Valkas Empire in all aspects, from technology to economy. If faced with war, the Gra Valkas Empire would have no hope of winning. Although mostly useless against the Americans themselves, the details have proven helpful in aiding the war effort against the EDI. Understanding the limits of American gear – like MANPADs and artillery pieces – have allowed the Gra Valkan military to adapt and work around Muan positions armed with these weapons.

Although such thoughts interested him, the disguised student had a different task: the analysis of American science and how it can be used to improve Gra Valkan technology. It was currently impossible to accomplish this mission by infiltrating American companies, considering they have little knowledge of American technology to begin with, but one tool allowed them to achieve more than anything else in their history: Google. It was the first thing that graced the screens of the computers, and the best thing that the Gra Valkans used to their advantage.

The disguised student sat down, ready to study American attempts at integrating magic into their civilization. He typed ‘magic’ into the search bar and immediately navigated to the news tab. There, he found something interesting: a series of articles from major news providers about Eimor’s Plasma Dragons. Curious to learn more, he clicked on the article on the official MNN website.

His eyes widened in shock as he read on and saw a video from an MNN news crew that captured the splendor of the Plasma Dragon. It was about the same size as their current Hercules-class battleships, putting the puny wyverns and biplanes in the Mu continent to shame. Too engrossed in the article, the man didn’t even realize that two men in black suits had approached him.

“Whatcha lookin’ at there buddy?”

The Gra Valkan spy looked around, caught off guard. By the looks of their outfits, it was clear they belonged to an American intelligence agency. And by the looks of their faces, it seems that they too had their attention caught by the article. Taking this chance to escape, the spy jumped out of his seat, but soon tripped over one of the agent’s legs.

“You got somewhere you need to be, bud?” An agent asked as he positioned himself between the spy and the exit.

As an information technician from the Gra Valkan Bureau of Intelligence, the spy wasn’t trained extensively on counterespionage, instead relying on his disguise and subtlety to evade detection. Seeing no way out of his predicament, he shook his head in defeat.

“Hm, that’s what I thought,” the agent said. “You’re gonna have to come with us. We’ve got a few questions for you.”