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[https://imgur.com/N1L1Q61]General Grahol just watched as the village burned down in flames. He immediately knew that those damn kramstuk saboteurs were behind this. Grahol was one of the best generals of Veer, the emperor of the Fnar Empire. The fnars were humanoid creatures with red or sometimes blue skin; they were easily recognizable because of their horn that was grown out of their chin. Grahol was a red-skinned fnar. He was in heavy armor and carried a two-handed sword with him.

They were proud people and had the largest empire on planet Yagrott. About 50 years before, they conquered the big Kramstuk Kingdom and used the kramstuks as their slaves. Kramstuks, big cats walking on two legs, and they only cause trouble, thought Grahol. He knew that a rebellion was unavoidable by the kramstuks because they wanted freedom.

More and more kramstuks sabotaged the fnars in the last few months. This village was important for the region, the fnars used it to grow and harvest grain, but now it was all on fire along with the grain fields. It was populated by fnar peasants living in small houses made of wood.

Commander Alhen walked beside Grahol. He was a young fnar with much less experience than the general. He was most famous because of his dueling skills rather than his battle strategies.

“We’ve already found hundreds of dead bodies,” Alhen reported. “What a barbaric action from those kramstuks. Do they want a full-scale civil war?”

“They are greedy and unorganized,” responded Grahol in a completely calm tone, like he was talking about his daily routine. “If our information is correct, they don’t have a leader. There won’t be any rebellion as long as our great emperor Veer is on the throne.”

“Wise words, general, but what are we going to do now? We can’t let that happen again. If we don’t do anything, they will burn all our villages and cities to the ground.”

“You severely overestimate the skills of a few kramstuk rebels. But you’re right; we will show them who rules this empire. You’re going to Nello.”

“Nello?” Alhen asked. “The city that was the capital of the former Kramstuk Kingdom?”

“Exactly. They will be going to pay higher taxes from now on. If somebody says a bad word about us, you will execute them immediately, understood?”

“Yes, general!”

“Good,” nodded Grahol. “I’m going back to Kresan to report to the emperor.”

Grahol slowly walked towards his sohol, a large green lizard used by all of Yagrott to travel long distances. As he sat on the sohol’s back, he looked back at the burning village one more time. It was a nice place, especially in summer, with tall trees and green fields, but now it’s all burned to the ground. Fnar soldiers worked all day long to put the fire out, but it was still spreading. The kramstuks will pay for the lives of the hundreds of fnars, Grahol thought.

That evening, emperor Veer Rekhal was on the castle’s balcony at Kresan, the capital of the glorious Fnar Empire. He was proud of himself and was truly a special kind of fnar. He had blue skin, of course he was special, as he had royal blood in him, he thought.

He watched the large city below him, then he looked at the night sky with its two moons. One of the moons was just a big white rock. They called it Alcon. The second moon was a lot more interesting; the Moon of Gods, as they called it. It was completely covered in strange, green mist. Most people on Yagrott believed that every dead living being’s soul traveled to that moon after death, and the green fog was just millions of souls. They also believed that the Gods were watching them from that moon.

Empress Thala approached Veer. She was the older sister of general Grahol. Many believed that she was the reason Grahol was promoted to general.

“Is everything alright, my lord?” she asked.

“We are preparing to attack the kingdom of Cha’rion,” emperor Veer responded. “Those stupid snake people are pathetic. We’ll start our invasion in a few weeks, our army is already on the border.”

“Are you sure you want to go to war?” Thala seemed worried. “The Union of Three Kingdoms is already hostile towards us, they may intervene in the war on the side of Cha’rion. And then there are the kramstuks, they might start a rebellion if we’re occupied with another war.”

“The war will be over in a few months. Cha’rions haven’t got any legs; they can’t fight, even the Union knows that. They won’t intervene. My father conquered the Kramstuk Kingdom, and I will defeat Cha’rion.“

Veer was ambitious, and Thala knew that, but it still bothered her. The empire could collapse if they start a war at the wrong time. There was no country on the continent that liked the Fnar Empire. If they form a coalition against Veer, it’s over. The Union of Three Kingdoms swore to protect any nation against the fnars.

The Union became a state almost a hundred years before, when the human, rohand, and runirr kingdoms allied and unified into one single state, which was led by three kings simultaneously.

The Fnar empire had the largest army on Yagrott, but Thala worried they couldn’t defend against a united army of the Union, Cha’rion, and the kramstuks.

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“The Gods will guide us to victory,” she responded, then left the balcony.

Veer stayed there, and saw the city gates opening as general Grahol arrived, riding on his fast sohol. The gates closed behind him, then the general went straight to the castle.

“Tell Grahol to meet me in the council room!” Veer ordered one of the guards.

When general Grahol arrived at the council room, the emperor was already there.

“My lord,” he greeted him. “I came back from that village. There’s still fire everywhere. I promise that I’ll find the kramstuks who did that!”

“Maybe you will, but not now,” Veer told him calmly. “I need you to lead our army against Cha’rion. You are a general, not some kind of detective.”

“As you wish, my lord,” Grahol responded but wasn’t a fan of this idea. The kramstuks were dangerous; they could attack at any moment. Cha’rion, however, was a peaceful kingdom. They can conquer it after they handled the kramstuk situation. “When will we attack?”

“As soon as you reached the border, general. We need to hurry. If they found out that we are preparing an invasion, they will attack first, and we can’t let that happen.”

“Yes, my lord!”

“You can go now, general. The sooner you arrive at the border, the better. The Gods may guide you!”

Grahol bowed before the emperor, then went out of the room. He hurried back to his sohol. He was angry that he couldn’t even greet his sister because that incompetent emperor wanted to attack another nation, even though they had far more significant problems, like the kramstuk rebels.

He looked back at the castle with anger. Veer can’t lead an empire. His father was a genius who easily conquered the Kramstuk Kingdom, and Veer wanted to be just like him, but he wasn’t. He was just an egomaniac fool, who could cause the end of the Fnar Empire, thought Grahol.

“Is everything okay, general?” someone asked. Grahol looked at him. It was Marc, a great fnar swordfighter, champion of multiple royal tournaments. Grahol didn’t quite like him. Marc defeated him in a tournament last year. He was a great fighter, Grahol knew that and respected him for that, but that loss damaged his reputation.

“I’m going to Cha’rion, Marc,” Grahol responded with pride as he jumped to his sohol’s back.

“Well, good luck, general!” Marc said with a little smile. “I wanted to participate in the invasion as well, but emperor Veer wanted me to take care of the kramstuks.”

“Veer wanted you to take care of the kramstuks?”

“Yes, general!”

Veer is a fool. Marc couldn’t even lead a group of five fnars. The kramstuks will think that we’re weak, thought Grahol.

“Well, good luck then, Marc!” the General nodded, then kicked his sohol.

“What a fucking idiot,” Marc said to himself as he watched general Grahol disappearing in the distance on the back of his sohol. Grahol was weaker than him, and he knew that. After all, he beat the general in the tournament finals.

He walked towards the gigantic castle of Kresan, the capital of the glorious Fnar Empire. As the castle doors opened before him, he thought about taking the place of Grahol. He saw himself as a better leader than him. Grahol was old; he could die in any battle by the hands of the cha’rions. Marc just had to prove his worth to the emperor, so he could replace Grahol when he dies.

He was surprised to see a little blue fnar running around the castle.

“Prince Rolan, nice to see you here,” Marc greeted Veer’s only son, who was eight years old.

“Sir Marc!” the kid smiled. “Do you want to see my paintings?”

“Maybe another time. I was looking for your father.”

“He’s in the council room; he was talking with general Grahol before he left.”

“Thank you, and have a nice day!” Marc smiled at the kid.

He hurried to the council chamber, hoping the emperor was still there. Luckily, when he opened the doors, he found Veer sitting at the council table.

“Marc, you arrived,” the emperor greeted him.

“My lord, I’m ready to kill those rebels once and for all!” Marc said.

“I know you are, Marc. But before you go, I want to show you something. Come with me!”

Veer stood up and walked out of the council room; Marc followed him. The emperor didn’t say any word, so Marc just watched the paintings on the corridor by different famous fnar artists. There were paintings of former emperors, paintings of the castle, and paintings of great battles.

They slowly arrived at the prison cells, which were dark and loud. Some prisoners were screaming like they were crazy. They probably were, thought Marc. He saw only one kramstuk there. He was always amazed by kramstuks; they were large and powerful, with yellowish-brown fur and large hair. They were like lions.

“We captured this one yesterday,” Veer stopped at the kramstuk’s cell. “He sabotaged our armory. I want you to interrogate him. I want to know where are the other rebels hiding.”

“Yes, my lord!” Marc nodded. Two prison guards opened the cell, and Marc went inside. He stood face to face with the angry-looking kramstuk. He wanted to grab his sword, but the kramstuk jumped at him, punching him in the face, then throwing him into the wall. Marc was on the ground looking up at the huge kramstuk.

“Fucking fnar,” the kramstuk said looking down at Marc.

“I thought you were our best swordfighter,” Veer laughed from outside the cell.

Marc jumped up and tried to kick the kramstuk in the face, but he missed, and the kramstuk bit his leg. His teeth went through his armor. Marc screamed and fell again, feeling the pain in his leg.

The kramstuk kneeled beside Marc and punched him in the face multiple times. Marc started to lose consciousness, but then he managed to grab his knife from his belt and stabbed the kramstuk prisoner in the neck.

The kramstuk bled from his mouth and neck, then fell to the floor. He never moved again. Marc stood up with a bloody face. He still felt the pain in his leg but tried to stand straight. As he looked down at the dead kramstuk, he realized that he severely underestimated them.

“So you can kill a kramstuk; that’s something,” emperor Veer said. Marc looked at him, hoping that he impressed him, but instead Veer looked disappointed.

“Is there something wrong, my lord?” he asked.

“I told you to interrogate him. Instead, you killed that fucking slave! If you have a hard time understanding orders, I won’t hesitate to find someone instead of you!”