Phantos stood quietly at the castle towers east side. Solemly looking over
an endless, barren empire in it's final days of decay, Phantos wanted
to slay the men who had caused this. Calmly realizing it was impossible
for himself, a mortal, to fight his enemy, he returned to the steady
scanning of his countryside.

Castle Shurak was one of the three main outposts of Phalia, a bustling
collection of interdependant townships. No communication was had with
outside peoples, as the early adventure seekers had never returned. For
three hundred years, this policy was never questioned. Then three short
months ago, oddities started appearing in the normal trade routes. Caravans
would dissapear, search parties would not come back, and whole grazing
fields of animals would be mutilated. Within a week, there was no
word from Shurak's two sister outposts, and the worst was feared. Shurak's
army was split up and sent to both outposts, albeit unwillingly. They
never returned.

Phantos stood watch over the fields, waiting for his immortal foe to appear in
the moonlight. His castle was reduced to the resident peasents, a small armed
guard, and what was left of Phalia's government. Sharp cracks were coming from
the sky rapidly now, as the light blue lightning scorched the sky. The next
bolt brought his horrifying dreams to reality. A few hundred yards from the
castle stood four human like figures, completely clad in armor. Unknown
to him was the superior weaponry and technology these warriors were holding.

The screams of the armed guard could be heard, charging out in a vain
attempt to stop the mettalic men from reaching their king. Phantos sadly
watched his comrades bodies explode with dull thuds before they ever reached
their targets. The warriors entered the castle, and many screams pierced
the stale night air. Each scream was silenced in turn, and Phantos could
hear his four enemies moving up the stairs.

The door to the castle tower opened, and he looked eye to eye with the
metallic monsters. All the circuitry and armor, Phantos thought, these men
from the darkness surely weren't out for a fair battle.

"You are the king of the empire we have crushed." the first warrior
asked, not looking for a reply.

"I am Phantos, king of Phalia, and you are my enemy."

In a split second, Phantos reached behind him and grabbed a dark orb. As
it started to swirl at a sickening rate in his hand, he smiled at his
once invincible visitors screams.

"There will be more of us! One man can not stop a superior race!" the leader
screamed.

"You are my enemy, and I have destroyed you." was the last phrase that would
be uttered by Phantos, or any other Phalian again.

The explosion was of epic scale. The castle was left a streak of black rubble
on the charred plains, and the force of the destruction shook the ground.

The metallic men never returned to the holy land again.

Dreadnought [CHAOS] '93