[ WP ] Tell the story of an adventure in a fantasy world has advanced to become an interstellar civilization , using magic , not technology .

It had been a routine patrol in a remote sector of Alliance territory. Captain Talvik was not a military officer, but at the frequent behest of the Tarkhen government, she was paid to keep an eye out for suspicious activity while passing through. It was n't long after she arrived before Captain Talvik caught rumors of suspicious ships at a local outpost. The Captain reported her findings to her government contacts. The suspicious vessels were rumored to be well armed, and adorned with emblems of the Holy Empire. That the Empire risked trespassing into Alliance territory was of huge concern to her contacts. The Tarkhen government had implored her to look into it further. 
 
 After several days of searching, an echoing wail screeched across the emptiness of space. They located the source in a nebula cloud 30 shifts from the outpost. Even from this distance, the creatures moans shook the ship to its very core. It had only just become visible in the seer pool, but a glance was enough to unnerve the crew. 
 
 “ That is—That ’ s absolutely b-barbaric! ” 
 
 Lenther ’ s hands shook as he spoke. Tears streamed down the mage ’ s snout. His breath became labored. The cracks underneath his plated skin began to erupt with an emberous glow. The crystalline spines on his body sparked and flashed. 
 
 Zeneya walked up and gave the lanky Drakhon a hard shove. He was easily several feet taller than her. 
 
 “ Hey, Lenther! ” she jostled. 
 
 Lenther ’ s eyes seethed at her with fulgurous flames, but Zeneya held her steady gaze. “ C ’ mon, keep it together, big guy. ” 
 
 A tense moment passed before he breathed a smoky sigh and loosened his stance. Zeneya pat him on the arm and stole a glance at the seer pool. 
 
 She winced. “ Uck, that ’ s a nasty sight. Captain, shall we get closer? ” 
 
 Captain Talvik glanced at a nearby sensory orb. *This kind of cruelty was supposed to have stopped decades ago. * She gave her pilot a terse nod. 
 
 Zeneya spoke softly, “ *Azurauk. Zeg ehjha un ehjha ihrg ul. * ” 
 
 Sigils radiated upon her body, thrumming with the beat of her pulse. Tendrils of light pulsated from the floor and walls around her, connecting her to the ship ’ s heart. 
 
 Zeneya steered the ship Azurauk closer to the forsaken creature. It was easily the size of an asteroid. The creature ’ s piscene form evoked memories of the whales Captain Talvik once saw in the oceans of her homeworld. Its plated skin and glowing wings, however, belied its true nature as an Asterian starfaring dragon—a powerful one too. Wings were a signifier of a dragon ’ s power and this one had seven. Of the seven, only one, while battered, remained intact. The rest had been sliced clean off. 
 
 It cries of distress raised to deafening levels before Lenther grimly placed a heavy tome upon his altar, and whispered, “ *Felogh haramet. Ghiven. * ” 
 
 The Drakhon ’ s horns flickered as the spell wove its circle, etching glyphs upon the floor beneath his feet. He gestured with his hands, lowering them slowly. The reverberant wail noticeably deafened. 
 
 The captain leaned forward in her seat, “ Zeneya, do you have a read on the Azurauk ’ s senses? Can you lock them on the other dragon? ” 
 
 Zeneya ’ s now opalescent eyes gazed into the distance. “ Yeah I have a lock now. Wow, this is illegal in so many ways. ” 
 
 She turned to the Captain, her eyes still unfocused. “ They have taken its ebreynian ore, most vital organs, the gastrolith and... of course they took the Asteria core. ” 
 
 She continued, “ Well isn ’ t this horrible. They even bled it dry. Could n't even be bothered to take it ’ s actual heart, which is why it's still alive somehow. ” 
 
 Zeneya ’ s breathing suddenly became labored. She doubled over in pain. “ Shit! ” 
 
 The pulses of light between her and the ship became rapidly arrhythmic; Zeneya was falling out of sync. 
 
 “ Captain, ” She gasped, “ The ship is more upset than I thought. This is not going to be a very pleasant ride for me. Yep, we ’ re overheating too—Oh and one more thing, ” she drew in a raspy breath and grinned, “ expect an engineering complaint in: Three, Two— ” 
 
 An urgent chime rang from within the Captain ’ s nearby sensory orb. The *echostone ’ s* vibrations rippled the surface of the water. Charts and seals flashed on its surface and a voice drawled from the stone floating within the orb. 
 
 “ Uh. Captain? This is, uh Hollock? We ’ re buildin ’ up a gnarly amount of flux in the Leyconic conduit nodes... The ship, I don ’ t think she ’ s feelin ’ so hot. I think she ’ s gon na be sick. Either we vent it, or she ’ ll discharge it out the main cannon. That, or we explode... I don ’ t think I like that one. ” 
 
 “ Dragons. Always so temperamental, ” Zeneya muttered between struggled breaths. 
 
 Lenther gasped; his focus on his spell now broken, “ Gah! Racist! Did you guys just hear what she said? ” 
 
 She rolled her eyes, “ Hollock! I ’ m going to open the side cannons so we can disperse the flux more slowly. Captain, you might want to talk to her directly at the altar, she ’ s bonded to you after all. ” 
 
 Captain Talvik had already made several strides before Zeneya finished her suggestion. She approached the sanctum door grasping the stone that hung from her necklace. 
 
 The sanctum was an open hall. Littered about the sanctum were jagged crystalline spires. A large shrine sat in the center of the hall on a raised dais. It housed the ship's *tutelary spirit. * Deep in the center of this ship beat the heart from a dragon not unlike the one who had called out to them in distress. 
 
 Kneeling before the altar, Captain Talvik called to the ship in her mind. She whispered the dragon ’ s *true name* to herself. 
 
 *Nilamanya, my friend, I call you. Nilamanya of the starry seas, daughter of Roxashaell, wanderer the Celestial Traverse. Nilamanya, keeper of my home, grant me your audience. * 
 
 The surrounding pillars of crystal burst into light and a great eye of burning violet opened upon the altar. Upon recognizing Captain Talvik, it closed. The flames formed themselves into another more humanoid shape. 
 
 “ Captain Vienzei Talvik, you have called and I have come. ” 
 
 The figure of Nilamanya bowed, her eyes still aflame. Her voice dripped with rage, “ It is good you are here, for I am about to ask you for a favor most insistent... ” 
 

