--2:31 AM, June 26th, 20XX--
--Zamindawar, Empire of Zun--
"Zaranj has gone dark. That's the fifth base that's ghosted us in the last half hour."
Defense Minister Golchin said nothing, continuing to puff on his odious cigar as he pondered the situation. Surrounding him in his office at the Shah's palace were all of the Zun government officials he could muster, all in various states of distress as they assessed the situation. He had everyone he could home for under the circumstances, but there was one conspicuous absence among the group.
"General Zaman has also remained silent," the Intelligence Director announced, confirming the elephant in the room. "Given our suspicions about the General's ambitions on the throne of Zun, I assume I am not the only one suspecting treachery."
"They certainly know where to strike. Look at where our silent bases are located," Golchin replied, gesturing at the map sprawled along the desk. "All within striking distance of border checkpoints, airports, docks..."
"They're cutting off our escape."
The gathered ministers were hushed as the cool and confident voice of Shah Farzad Darvishi, leader of the Republic of Zun, suddenly broke into the conversation, dressed in resplendent white and leaning on his walking stick. Some of the lesser ranked members of government present bowed their heads at his approach.
"No need for the formality, time is of the essence," Shah Darvishi declared.
"Shah," Golchin said reverently. "I am glad you are safe. If you'll look at the plans we've drafted, we think we can stop General Zaman from-"
"Zaman will be dealt with in time, Golchin. Right now the priority is escorting the rest of you to safety," the Shah explained as members of his royal guard entered into the room around him. "There's an emergency tunnel that will take you out of the royal palace and to the nearest military airfield. A flight is waiting for you there."
"Shah, if anything the priority is escorting you to safety," one of Golchin's more eager assistants declared. "I am proud to give my life for Zun in your stead!"
"Zun smiles on you, my son, but now is not the time for heroics," Shah Darvishi said, encouraging him with a pat on the shoulder. "I need you all to abscond from the palace, quickly. Before they arrive."
The other officials did not need convincing; many had already started to gather important documents as they filtered from the room, flanked by palace guards. Golchin, calm as always, was one of the last to leave, pausing before he left the room.
"I take it the day we feared come has arrived, sir?" he asked, quietly. In response, the Shah retrieved from inside his chest pocket a slip of paper, one he was handed fifteen minutes before the first bases began to go dark, and showed Golchin the familiar symbol printed on it.
The moon eclipsing the blood red sun."I see..." Golchin said, frowning at the symbol. "Then all arrangements have been made?"
"They have. Take care, my friend."
Golchin nodded once more, and departed without another word, leaving the Shah alone in the office at last. Hobbling over to the desk, he perched himself on the end and began to wait, steeling himself for what was to come. As the footsteps of his government ministers and guards faded, heavy footfalls began to echo from outside the room, methodical and oppressive sounding. Shah Darvashi looked up as the doors to the room burst open, and a collection of black armored men stormed in, their faces concealed by seemingly featureless helmets.
"I had expected you to arrive sooner," the Shah told the soldiers, who all raised their assault rifles upon recognizing him. Getting to his feet, he dusted off his lapel and tossed the cane aside, a bemused smile crossing his face.
"Hands behind your head!" the lead soldier barked threateningly. The Shah, nonplussed, stepped towards them effortlessly as he rolled his neck in preparation.
"Perhaps you should have been warned," Shah Darvashi said. "No darkness can withstand the radiance of Zun."
A blinding flash of light filled the room, shocking the other goons waiting outside to reinforce the men taking point. There was a burst of gunfire and the sound of frantic hand to hand combat, followed by one of the guards flying out of the room headfirst and collapsing in a heap nearby.
"Damn it!" the leader of the goons swore as the Shah himself leapt from the doorway after him, his fists raised. "Take the Shah down, now!"
Smirking but still determined, the Shah weaved around the soldier's fire, belying his mature age as he charged with frightening speed towards his assailants, launching them with heavy blows of his fists that cracked their smooth helmets. Some of the soldiers tried to engage with retractable blades, but the Shah deflected them away just as easily, producing bursts of light from his hands to stun the soldiers before blasting them away with another powerful kick. More soldiers rushed in to replace their fallen brethren, and the Shah unleashed a burst of brilliant sunlight, flinging the oncoming soldiers through the air like a bomb blast.
"Is this the best that the dark can manage?" the Shah declared triumphantly. "PENUMBRA shall not win this-"
But the Shah was cut short as the nearby window burst open, and the warm summer air suddenly became colder. Turning around to engage the new enemy, the Shah prepared another beam of light but was knocked off his feet by something cold and heavy slamming into his chest. Momentarily stunned, he looked up at his new opponent, dressed in black as the other soldiers were but much taller, in spite of what appeared to be a feminine build, and instead of a helmet she seemed to be wearing a hood, obscuring her features outside of a pair of brilliant blue lights where her eyes were.
Steeling himself, the Shah charged forward and aimed a powerful blow, only for the woman to slide out of his range, leaving a trail of frigid ice behind her as she glided along the ground. The Shah launched more beams of light in her direction, but she spun out of their way and fired back with projectiles of ice. The Shah weaved around the icy missiles before one struck his arm and impacted the wall behind him, holding him fast. He fired off flashes of light defensively as the ice woman approached, but she simply launched more projectiles and attached his other arm to the wall as well. Approaching him at last, the woman raised both hands in the air and ripped the Shah from his restraints, tossing him about in a miniature snowstorm before slamming him violently into the ground. Winded, the Shah felt his body picked up by forces beyond his control as ice materialized around him, encasing him in a standing position up to his neck. Trying in vain to free himself, he stopped struggling as the black armored goons swarmed back around him, surrounding his exposed face with the barrels of rifles.
"Good try, Shah Darvashi," echoed a voice from behind the Shah. "But ultimately, a failure."
The woman with the ice powers shifted her stance slightly and spun the block of ice around so the Shah could face
the newcomer. Adorned in the same shade of black with added highlights of red, and seemingly unarmed, the man paced forward, looking around the richly decorated foyer now scarred with the debris of combat like a curious tourist.
"You truly have resplendent tastes, Darvashi," the man said with mock admiration. "But that is only natural isn't it? This palace, these halls...they are truly a testament to Zun's prosperity, Zun's piety...perhaps even, Zun's power?"
The Shah couldn't help but chuckle at this, despite being encased in the ice. "So...you must be after the-"
"Naturally! The destabilization of a regional power is simply an added bonus," the man said, barely restraining a laugh. "This is but the first step towards the domination of the light, and I'm afraid all you've served as is a momentary distraction."
"Are you going to torture me until I tell you where it is, then?"
"Don't be so foolish. We've been scouring your armory since we arrived, all we need you to do is behave," the man said, slowly approaching the Shah. "If you're lucky, maybe you'll still be alive to see your dearest Yasmina again."
"Kraus, sir!"
The man, evidently named Kraus, turned his attention away from the murderous glare of the Shah to the two soldiers sprinting down the hall. "Ah, you found it then!" he said expectantly.
"Ah, not quite, sir," the soldier said nervously. "You see, we found where it's SUPPOSED to be..."
"And...uh...it's clearly been moved."
Kraus' expression was unreadable under the mask, but there was a definite anger in the way he looked at the Shah again, who couldn't help but laugh.
"Did you seriously think we did not know you were coming, Kraus?" the Shah taunted. "What you're looking for is long gone, in the hands of trusted allies that even I do not know the name of. The darkness will have to wait a little longer, it seems!"
Wordlessly, Kraus stepped forward and backhanded the Shah's face, knocking him out in a single strike and shattering the frozen block restraining him.
"Someone grab this useless sun worshiper!" Kraus bellowed as he stormed out of the foyer. "If he's not lying through his damned teeth, he'll know someone who does know where that thing was taken!"
"Kraus," the woman with the ice powers said at last, her voice tinged with a nordic accent. "Are you certain kidnapping the Shah is wise? This may prompt open conflict if we're not careful."
"The time to be careful is long past. We've never been closer to our goals then we are now, even if the key to our goals has eluded us," Kraus replied, watching the unconscious body of the Shah being carried along by his men. "The time to escalate is now, and after all, where does the dark thrive best if not in chaos?"
