Orbiting around a large white star was one of the oddest of habitable planets. It was the closest planet to the sun, in this small solar system of only three planets. While most planets this close to a star would quickly have their atmospheres stripped away, this little blue and green planet thrived.

Even on the dark side of the planet, multicolored lights randomly dances across the atmosphere. Boasting a massive magnetic field, this was not due to some rare element that made up its core, but the planet’s dual rings. These rings not only rotated independently of each other around the planets axis but flipped around like an imbalanced gyroscope. Energy could be seen jumping through the rings as they slowly made their way across the planet’s sky.

In the shadow of this world a massive creature appeared. There was no flash of light, no wormhole that it floated out of, it just came to be in that location. It quickly moved into geosynchronous orbit around the odd world, making sure to keep itself in the perpetual darkness.

Inside this creature something vaguely resembling a human stood looking out a side viewing window. This “human” was over three meters tall and his flesh seemed composed of a clear glasslike material. This creature was Potentate Erresuma, the ruler of over 30 billion stars and 9 billion planets. He alone controlled the largest percentage of the Milky Way of the Quarum of Potentates.

His people had traveled from their home planet, called Earth, to explore the galaxy. Only to find it had already been explored and every star, every rock, every stray cluster or gas had been claimed by some other species. They were shown how their world, like countless others, was seeded with life.

Now that humans had advanced enough to leave their home world they were eligible to participate for galactic advancement. All sentient beings could win the favor of a local lord or potentate and be given the chance to join them.

That is what brought Potentate Erresuma to this odd world out on the fringe of the small portion of the galaxy he controlled. A candidate for lordship had been chosen by the Keepers of Izar. The Keepers were from an ancient planet in orbit around the supermassive black hole found in the center of the galaxy. The ancient planet of Haurtza was where the Izar were first discovered. Created by the same extinct species that seeded the galaxy with life, the Izar were a microscopic symbiotic species that gave their host unlimited potential for growth.

This growth was obtained from collecting the genetic material of other species and grafting it to their host. The Izar did not spread outside their chosen host but would allow the host to expand their influence to other creatures. In fact, every being on board, including the space fairing creature they were traveling in, could be considered an extension of the Potentate. That is except for two beings.

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Erresuma turned as the two walked into the observation room. The Potentate bowed to the Keeper who nodded in his direction, while the candidate bowed low to the Potentate.

A millennia of experience allowed Erresuma to keep his true feelings off his face. The keeper was from grotesque species that reminded him of a robbed hunchback. The only difference was that the Keeper was currently not wearing any clothes. A quirk of their kind. He wasn't even sure if this was a male or female, grateful the term Keeper was gender neutral.

The candidate, on the other hand, had earned the Potentate’s malice. He had defeated one of Erresuma’s most favored lords. The candidate had risen from a slave world under the lord’s control and defeated the lord in the height of battle. How this pathetic insignificant human offshoot could kill one of his best men, dumbfounded the man.

Forced to keep the rules of the Izar, the Potentate would bow and smile and send this worthless candidate to the one world no one had survived. Even Erresuma wasn't foolish enough to attempt visiting this world.

The first scout ships to explore this system barely had time to transmit a distress signal before the stars violent energies ripped it apart. Even now his own ship, attempting to shield itself with the planet, had little time left before they would have to leave. This ship would more than likely die shortly after. A worthy sacrifice to get rid of this upstart worm.

This would be the forty second candidate to be disposed of on this world. The Keepers had questioned whether it was possible to survive this world, but like the others, Erresuma had goaded them into choosing his harshest world to prove themselves a galactic lord. Plus, all he had to do was to show the advanced sensors displaying whole cities and communities of peoples living down there.

The Keeper pulled a lump of flesh from under one of the many voluminous folds of its skin. The lump was pressed into the candidate’s chest, right over his heart. The Izar had been passed on and would begin assimilating itself with its host, one cell at a time.

The Potentate couldn't help but regret being part of wasting such a priceless creature.

Pleasantries out of the way, the candidate moved to a nearby opening and sat down in the chair found inside. The opening in the wall sealed itself shut and the Potentate and Keeper turned to watch the drop pod separate and descend to the planet below.

Erresuma turned to find the Keeper watching him. Then without another word the creature turned and left the room. That was probably as much warning as the Potentate was going to get.

A chill ran down the great leader’s spine as he remembered the rumors he heard ever since the first meeting of the Quorum he attended. Rumors of entire galaxy sectors going dark as their potentate or lord was suddenly no more. Rumors that the planet Haurtza held not just the Keepers of Izar but the true ruler of this galaxy. One who secretly controlled all of the Izar and directed the constantly shifting power struggle between the potentates.

Erresuma knew that his own Izar could communicate with those under his influence regardless of distance. He once found it comforting that there was nowhere could his people hide from his ever watching presence.

Turning to the world below him, he couldn't wonder if there was one place even the Izar’s limitless sight might not be able to reach.