The doors of the 'spider' shuttle with its 4 stabilisers and 4 plasma thrusters opened at night, still surrounded by smoke and dust from the landing.

Together with the bright interior lighting, it created a fairytale or downright alien atmosphere.

For the people of Alpha, they were extraterrestrials, or rather extralphaics.

The first feeling to fill the crowd was fear. Fear of the unknown.

Then a humanoid figure emerged, which reassured everyone. They weren't new monsters.

The figure slung a bag over his shoulder and stepped down from the staircase door, and Maxime ran to give Kim a hug. Kim threw him his bag and he caught it with a smile, then dropped it and jumped into his friend's arms.

Sacha did the same and the 3 friends hugged, then Sacha cried for joy but also to get everything off her chest.

Kroa was sad that she was sad and he approached the trio.

Kim was overcome with terror as the jawbone of a white shark approached.

Then Kroa stuck out his tongue like a whip and licked Kim and then Sacha, who started laughing!

That's how Wyverns greet. "They taste the feelings of those they love. Well, whoever he loves, Kroa is a male Wyvern!

Kim pulled herself together and stroked Kroa's muzzle.

"So it's you, Kroa!!!"

Kroa: "Kroa doesn't like Sacha to cry. Kroa wants to make Sacha happy!

Kim : "Sasha's my best friend, but I suppose you're her friend too!"

Kroa: "My friend's friends are my friends too!

Kim: "Kroa, will you show me around?"

Kroa bent down "Climb on me, we're going to fly!"

Kim: "Erm... is that reasonable?"

Sacha : "He's dying to play with you... trust him. Kroa is a real pal!"

Kim was reassured and told herself that Kroa could defend him if there was any danger.

Then Commander Taller came down, escorted by 4 armed guards. He was in his best uniform, which he kept for special occasions.

They were greeted by Sacha, Maxime and Zalar.

It was late and the shuttle doors closed. 2 technicians went round to inspect for any damage.

After inspection, Imperial guards arrived and surrounded the shuttle. They were armed with rifles and a motorised cart with a machine gun mounted on it was guarding the area with a few extra guards.

Taller: "What are those guards?"

Sacha: "Oh, they're to protect the shuttle against saboteurs and spies. you can never be too sure. They're under my orders too, Mir has given me full powers for this mission."

"Mir trusts you that much?"

"Mir is... how shall I put it... special, but he loves us and trusts us, so he said it would be best if we were in charge of the meeting."

Commander: "And where is he? "

"Mir is exhausted from the war and all the building work. He wants to regain his strength in case things get out of hand. It's for our protection and it's for the best.

Mir is...frightening! But his logic is different from ours. He's a real dragon!

And he doesn't bend to anyone!"

Taller: "I think he's right. When you're tired you don't act normally and when can we meet him?"

Sasha: "Tomorrow afternoon", but we'll go by "auto", a motorised carriage, to the palace where there are rooms and a wing reserved for you. You'll be able to move around the palace and the inner garden, but not outside, not until certain rules have been explained to you. Let's just say that the situation is special. Outside, until the introductions have been made, you're in real danger."

Taller: "I don't understand... what dangers are we talking about?"

Zalar interrupted Sacha: "She's embarrassed. She didn't tell you, for fear that you wouldn't come, but there are other races here in the empire and some of them are very, very hostile towards humans. You come from heaven... and they might think you're angels or celestials. Mir has to explain to their generals that you're not celestials but humans like Sacha and Maxime."

Taller "What races are you talking about?"

Zalar: "Goblins, orcs, harpies, lizard men, snake men (lamias), the living dead... and all sorts of monsters and demons..."

The world zoomed and contracted around the commander.

He was ... no, he realised he was in ... in Hell!

Seeing the commander turn pale and look towards the shuttle to flee, Zalar reassured him.

"Commander... we are free and our free will is respected. The people are suffering less now and the humans, at least those of the Empire, are protected, or at least spared.

Tomorrow's meeting is to introduce you and also to inform you of the rules to be respected in the company of demons.

The commander calmed down. And his head was nothing but chaos.

His secret mission was to have a foothold on Alpha for future generations, but if Alpha turned out to be a danger to Earth, it was also his duty to take appropriate measures.

Then, not seeing Kim, the commander asked. "Kim? Have you seen Kim?

Sacha: She turned round and against the backdrop of the moonlight, they could see Kim shouting at Kroa's back "They're going crazy!

Commander:" !!!!! He's going to get killed!

"Oh, no, Kroa's wild but he's got a good heart! He's bonding with Kim... don't worry, we've been there".

Then the team climbed into the horse-drawn carriage with its steam turbine and heated mana stone.

"What a strange contraption. I've only seen ones like this in museums. Suspension with blades. It's like floating".

What was striking was the darkness, interrupted by a few mana lamps and incandescent bulbs.

"Sacha, the mission now rests on your shoulders... I should make objections and I understand that you haven't said everything but the situation is really serious!"

"Here too, Commander, we don't know when the next attack will take place but we are now assembling a capable army and mir has some weapons prepared."

Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

"What weapons?" asked the Commander.

"They've just tested a kind of V3, 2-stage missiles capable of launching 10 tons of explosives and other smaller ones, like V1s with 1 ton of explosives."

Commander: "Do you think mir is capable of sending anything into space?"

Sasha: "Definitely, but you need resources and technologies that don't exist here on Alpha.

"As long as we're alone... Sasha... how does Mir know all this science? You tell me. From what I've been able to see, you're in the Middle Ages and here, I'm in 1945!!! And in the middle of a war! "

"There is magic and Mir is a powerful Magician. He's been secretly studying with Chlorophylle and... Mir is...Professor Brilliant!"

Taller: "What!!!! ???? It's impossible, he should have been dead 75 years ago!"

Sasha: "To tell you the truth, he's not exactly the professor... Mir is a dragon. He was born here and he's still a child wyvern... even if he can change his size magically... He has Brilliant's memories but he's not... he's not anymore... Mir is an animal... not a human if you see..."

Taller: "You're telling me that Mir is the reincarnation of Brilliant as an animal?"

"Yes, Commander."

"Do others know this? "

"Zalar, Maxime and I, and probably Blanche and the Empress... otherwise it's a secret."

The commander remained thoughtful... "Maybe the mission wasn't a failure after all... If it's the Professor, all may not be lost".

The château was luxurious, a veritable palace that had nothing to envy the Palace of Versailles. But they came to a smaller wing.

"Sasha, what's this huge glass roof and palace?"

"Oh, that's the old imperial palace. We're going to the small palace, the empress's. The big one has been converted into an academy. The big one has been converted into an academy and orphanage.

Mir imposed schooling for all and all orphans shouldn't be on the streets, but should have the right to an education and a foster family. Mir achieved a lot in just a few days.

That's why some of the nobles revolted, led by the Grand Duke, and joined the democratic faction. Mir massacred them and razed the town to the ground as an example and all the nobles complied. But Mir warned them and the more sensible ones fled. Those who died were mostly fanatics. Now the other nations have calmed down. They are afraid of Mir and airships. He flew 3 of them around the cities and also put on a show of power. We hope peace will return now."

Commander "Why didn't he surrender with the empire to the republicans?"

"Mir is a dragon...he'll never bow to anyone! And they wanted to kill him and the Empress to make an example. He turned around and slaughtered them! Don't be fooled... Mir is much more powerful than he looks. In the space of a few seconds, he slaughtered another dragoness who is trapped in the dungeons."

"A dragoness?"

"Yes, Mir is debating whether or not to make her his concubine... Let's just say his aims aren't political but harem-style..." He even offered me to sleep with him!!!"

the commander was a little offended...

Culture and species showed their difference

"You know, Commander, there are hybrids, creatures that are half dragon, half human, that look like lizard men, a bit like velociraptors.

They're hunted and killed on sight by the empire, the humans and especially the dragons, who reject them.

Mir has given them sanctuary here and decreed that it would be a crime to kill a creature for its appearance. That's why there are so many monsters here. The most frightening being the Drows, half elf, half spider."

Gnomes in servant costumes greeted the guests and the commander was surprised to see fantastic creatures dressed in this way.

Even more terrifying, at the sides of the stone steps, there were 2 soldiers in armour and you could see their faces under their helmets: skeletons with red lights in their eye sockets.

"Commander, don't go near them, your strength will be drained... a bit..and besides they're not talkative!"

It was impossible.

How could something dead stand up and come to life? It was a mystery.

"Sasha... what is this horror!??"

"Yes, I know, Commander, you get used to it."

They arrived in a room with a cold buffet, bread and local specialities. It was humble but as complete as a suite in a good hotel.

There was tea, a kind of chicory, fruit juice and fruit cups,

Clean glasses, plates, luxurious cutlery and everything you need to welcome honoured guests.

There were also ice cubes, warm sausages and hard-boiled and soft-boiled eggs.

It was a treat.

Then a lady with long hair and a maid's top arrived...to say hello. The problem was the bottom... It was a huge snake. a Lamia!

In bad English, she greeted like a houseguest.

The commander was fascinated by the beauty of the creature. The most beautiful drawings on the animal's colourful scales and the bust of the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.

This world was truly astonishing from every point of view. Alpha was marvellous compared to Earth. There were so many things to discover that the Commander became excited and like a second youth invaded him. He was like a child discovering the wonders of a magical Disney park.

The room was comfortable, with a carved wardrobe, moth-proof runes and a hotplate on demand for smoothing clothes.

There was a bell by the bed to summon a maid and another by the door with the same function.

There was a small cast-iron stove with mica panes and a bucket of coal.

There were finely carved bedside tables, all in an azure-blue style, like the rest of the palace.

There were candles on the candlesticks and all you had to do was call a maid to turn them on or off and warm the room.

The beds were canopied and a mosquito net protected the guest.

Folding shutters were fitted near the window overlooking the front square.

There was always the possibility of assassination.

Guards were stationed at the end of each corridor, with a table and cupboard dedicated to them.

Mir was much more lax on etiquette but uncompromising on cleanliness.

Hygiene was more important than anything else, which is why there was a whiff of bleach everywhere in the palace.

There was also a desk with a quill, paper and ink, as well as envelopes and wax.

In the sanitary area, there was a sewage system, an overhead flush and running water, but also a cold, carved marble cabinet and a huge ceramic basin with a jug. This was used for washing. The water emptied into the toilet.

It was rustic but ingenious for its time.

And next to the bed, the famous chamber pot with its wide rim, lid, jug and clean linen, as well as another pot for soiled linen.

The commander remembered the old people when he was young and how some of them lived.

He remembered the chamber pots in antique shops.

He then lay down on the bed with the spring mattress.

Average comfort for them, but extraordinary for ordinary mortals.

He quickly closed his eyes, exhausted from being woken early in the morning by the birds and the crowing of the cockerel.

Something rare on earth, something he had experienced in his youth.

With the light of day, everything took on colour and it was another world before him.

Annexes, stone staircases everywhere, well-kept gardens and the rhythmic march of the patrols. The changing of the guard shift and...

He saw humans in armour, accompanied by dog-men? Kobolds?

Mir made no distinction between the races.

In fact... he couldn't care less...

[https://img.wattpad.com/3acfa56973beca463eb500be0f3e831d702f5fac/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f62314d716150775a4c53534649773d3d2d313335343231393132362e313736613162373263343138646265373736333130313531393936302e6a7067]

Then there was a knock on the door and a butler arrived to announce that breakfast had been served and that the emperor would be honouring them with his presence.

Another shock! The creature spoke impeccable English, was clean but had its bare paws on the ground, and its long green tail.

The commander stopped, staring at the butler.

"Mr Taller? Can I help you?"

"Sorry... it's this... in the world I come from, there are only humans... Sorry to offend you."

The Kobold smiled and pointed with his clawed hand to the door, inviting her to follow him.

"You're ready, if not, I can come back in a few minutes".

The commander was fascinated by the beauty of such a creature, but also by its claws, its talons sharp as those of a velociraptor. Its gait was inhuman in the sense that its knees were inverted like a dinosaur's and the index finger on each of its limbs was pointing outwards.

It was an anthropomorphic dragon.

"My name is Sébas and I serve The Empress but also our race deifies dragons whether they are Wyvernus or Draconis. The Empress has suffered greatly from the household staff and she no longer wants humans near her. She only wants hybrids or races like myself."

Taller: "Thank you Sébas... and I admire your perfect English! and I can't understand how"

Our people came to Mir to ask for asylum and she welcomed us like her own children. Her siblings are very kind to us.

We serve the dragons, unlike the lizard men, who are more independent.

Guards cleared the room to make room for the guests, and the meals served were on a par with modern hotels.

[https://img.wattpad.com/16aec63af86b404a96f9dba01ed36c3122fc3d8c/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f45545a513879466258464b3358673d3d2d313335343231393132362e313736613162376564346431653662373336363033303536323433372e6a7067]

Quickly, everyone found their place and then, before taking their seats, a constable struck his staff

"The Empress, Her Excellency Chlorophylle Ist of the Name and Enchantress of the Central Continent, Wife of the Demon Lord, His Excellency Dracosire Mirmoelnir the First".

She entered the room, dressed in a blue cloche-style gown with jewels set in the gilding.

She took a seat at the end of the table, so she could see everyone.

Then the double doors opened and Mir entered, his height reduced to that of a large horse and at least 3 times the length.

He sat behind the Empress.

Everyone was scared.

It was as if death had invited itself to the table.

Then the Empress raised her cup.

"Alpha welcomes you, people of the Earth. Mir and I are delighted that you have managed such an adventure to get here.

We are aware of the sacrifices such a journey has demanded and we will do our utmost to make your stay here as pleasant as possible.

My front paw had a 'finger' resting on the empress's left hand.

The Empress asked questions and the Commander answered. It was not customary to question an emperor. And that applied to both Earth and Alpha.

The Commander explained the latest historical events on Earth and the development of orbital greenhouses and how they had managed to reverse global warming.

The solution was unprecedented: whales were real carbon sinks. A whale stored 10,000 times more carbon than trees.

Mir was very interested and the commander noticed that Mir knew the earth, even very well.

This confirmed his doubts. Mir was indeed Professor Brilliant, or so he led them to believe.