The lands of Omani were once so much forest and jungle, blended together in an amazing ecosystem of green background woven with eruptions of color and fragrance. Hills of beautiful fields surrounded the cities and towns in the land. Of all the countries and areas in Kymera, Omani was considered to consist of the most beautiful and alluring combinations of nature, wildlife and intelligent being.

But now these combinations were under attack.

Homes smoldered.

People ran screaming.

Buildings exploded in green fire.

As the sounds, sights and smells of devastation rose up high, Blackstone and Haze stood on a hill overlooking the battle-torn Omani.

Marching through the land were dark green assault craft which marched through the towns on three mechanical legs. Each craft fired beams of death into the buildings before them. Occasionally, tentacles would reach down from beneath a ship and snatch up escaping persons.

In the middle of the besieged town, there was a crowd of alien soldiers clad in dark metallic suits and transparent helmets. They were marching inward with luminescent green blades and hand pistols humming with light. Their heads were covered in semi-transparent globes filled with otherworldly gas.

In the middle of the crowd, standing atop a pile of dead alien soldiers was Cassia, the Spice Queen. She had large almond eyes and with a beautiful face that was angular and flawless. Her partially dusky skin was covered in red and green, her blood and those of her attackers. The queen had a mane of straight black hair that was dark as the night. She snarled as she swung a sword in one hand and struck back with magic in her other.

Next to her was a large black cat-creature, the size of a lion. It hissed and slashed large claws across the chests of the oncoming attackers. The two continued to fight against the silent, inhuman invaders. Battered and broken, the queen's royal guard fought on as well along their matriarch.

An alien died, the last soldier in the wave threatening the queen. Then, as if in unison, the dead soldiers melted one after the other as if self-destructing from beyond the grave.

From over the horizon, a space craft moved forward on three mechanical legs.

It fired a bolt of green power which Cassia managed to dodge but was still caught in the explosion. Several of her soldiers screamed in their death. Hex hissed as it was blown across the field.

Cassia looked up into the eye of the powering green cannon. Her death was imminent. Before the ship could fire again, it was sliced in half. The cut was followed by a hiss of the extraterrestrial atmosphere inside.

The craft then exploded.

Cassia looked up to see Blackstone and Haze standing before her.

She smiled with eyes of simmering appreciation.

Blackstone spun his blades. "Fairy," he said without facing Haze, "Get your queen to safety."

The winged man nodded and scooped up Cassia.

"What about you?" Haze asked.

A wave of aliens ran to overtake Blackstone. He quickly slew a squad of space warriors that threatened to overtake them.

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Two were decapitated by Retribution. Their helmets spun in mid-air before the bodies self-destructed.

Four were disemboweled by Vengeance. Green blood and intestines covered the armored man in a geyser of gore. More soldiers melted away.

One had its head snapped off its body.

Another was head-butted and its helmet smashed. Both of these and others disintegrated after they fell before Blackstone's might.

A wave of additional foot soldiers began charging the horned man.

He stepped back, sheathing his Retribution and Vengeance.

With both hands reaching down to the holsters at his side, Blackstone spun Trial and Tribulation into his hands and began rapidly firing with speed and precision that was unparalleled. Waves of aliens fell dead from the shots to the head and body. Helmets shattered and green atmosphere poured from their heads.

When his single shots proved insufficient to halt the wave, Blackstone combined the two weapons with a pattern that transformed them into a riot gun. The weapon cocked and began decimating the enemy forces.

This pugnacious pattern of combat continued as the enigmatic warrior cut through the remaining extraterrestrial forces.

With blast after blast and slice after slice shattering waves of the oncoming troops, it was not too much longer before the invaders had been decimated sufficiently to retreat.

Even those beyond the stars could only taste so much slaughter.

A horn sounded from the Omani royal guard. A cheer followed. The day, temporarily, had been won.

Blackstone stood covered in death.

He breathed heavily, even Blackstone was not limitless and such a fury had taxed him for the moment. He looked around, his glowing eyes taking in the soul-shattering damage inflicted by the invaders. The cries of the wounded and the terrified reached up to the smoke-filled sky. The smell of burning and blood filled the air. The darkened destruction of the once beautiful land was enough to move even as stoic a soul as the horned man who stood in witness.

"Blackstone..."

He turned to see the Spice Queen standing behind him. Haze was behind her.

She stood and the armored man was reminded of the woman's allure. Where the Gray Lady was curvaceous and buxom, Cassia was built sleeker with bountiful breasts but not as tremendous as Iana's. However, Cassia's backside was pronounced and when she turned it was hard not to stare at her peach-shaped rear.

Cassia's hair crowned her face like a lion's mane. She had large almond eyes, a small nose and full lips.

With a large wound on her side along with several other injuries, the Spice Queen lost consciousness and collapsed. Haze fluttered quickly to catch her before she touched the charnel battlefield.

Blackstone looked on with burning eyes.

#

Cassia the Spice Queen was under the care of Omani physicians. They used a blend of nanotechnology and crystal magic to repair her internal injuries. Her large black cat-creature, Hex, had not left her side.

Outside in a waiting area, Blackstone stood watching out an observation window.

The blue dome force field of Omani, the fabled defense of the Spice Queen's land flickered with fiery impacts. They were rhythmic and each carried a shrieking noise with each eruption.

The fae guard walked up behind Blackstone.

"What are those flashes?" Haze asked.

"Phoenixes," the warrior answered. "Earlier it was a collection of giants. Each struck with fervor but the force fields blunted each attack."

"Why are they coming?"

"A good question," Blackstone answered further. "The giants did nothing but roar. The phoenixes, before they crash to a fiery death, are shrieking out about "the Call."'

Haze went to speak and then stopped with a raised eyebrow. "You speak phoenix?"

"When I need to."

Haze turned and paced. His wings fluttered with each anxious thought. He had run several inspections on the Spice Queen's army. They were battered and their number of wounded nearly outweighed the amount that could still fight; not to mention the dead.

Haze stopped and looked at the horned man.

"You are familiar with these beings? These creatures from beyond the stars?"

Blackstone nodded. "Yes. Their name is unimportant to me so I have never learned it. They are invaders, intergalactic locust that move from planet to planet pillaging and thieving. I know they function in a near hive-mind capacity and carry much of their battle data within their suits of armor. Unfortunately, their armor and instruments self-destruct quickly after death."

The fairy paced and hovered.

"The giant Clobag," Blackstone continued, "He spoke of answering a call for reinforcements. Yet from your reaction, you did not call him."

"I did not."

"That is...odd. I also do not see how the fabled shields of Omani fell. From my times in Kymera, I have seen Omani withstand the barrage of the Gray Lady's clone army and Elizabeth Night's vibro-cannons. Yet still, the shields held. But today, they did not."

The fae took a near defiant stance. "They did not fall."

Blackstone shifted his footing so he towered over the winged guard. "If that were the case, your invasion would never have happened."

A guard entered the waiting area where the fairy and the warrior conversed.

"The lady will see you now."