CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

On one side of Wa'suria, an errant comet hurtled towards the world. On the other side, a chain of asteroids rocketed towards the unsuspecting planet. Two cataclysmic forces raced each other to be the first to complete the deathblow of the universe. And just behind each, the edges of the cosmos crumbled into raw nothingness, which swept inward, eagerly consuming everything in its way.

Meanwhile, on Desaphanus's world, the unthinkable was happening. Wa'suria had ever been a world of abundant conflict. Desaphanus had not intended his world as a haven for high ideals. Its purpose was to occupy and amuse him over the course of eternity, and a planet of peace would have gotten boring very quickly.

And so, by divine design, Wa'suria was filled with squabbling inhabitants who were given to war and conflict. Men against ogres. Ogres against elves. Elves against dwarves. Dwarves against goblins.

Goblins against trolls. Trolls against every other living thing. This was the way it had been. The way it had ever been intended.

But even an elder god's designs have ways of changing over the course of time. For as the Tenalpian war eggs ravaged the planet, Wa'suria's many children came to realize that ancient hatred amongst themselves paled next to this new foe.

Men stopped killing ogres. And ogres (reluctantly) stopped killing elves. Elves laid down their arms against dwarves. Dwarves set aside their disgust for goblins. Goblins decided trolls weren't that bad after all. And trolls, well trolls continued being trolls and killing whatever they felt like killing, which was pretty much anything.

Ignoring this exception, the unthinkable happened. Not only did enemies stop being enemies. They became allies. Even the dragons, always a snooty, arrogant race, laid aside their superiority (temporarily of course) and lowered themselves to join the battle alongside the lesser creatures of Wa'suria. Angels and demons rallied to the same call. As one, Desaphanus's children rose up and fought back against the Tenalpian war eggs.

For the most part, this resulted in their wholesale slaughter. Even the greatest army of men, goblins, elves, dwarves, and ogres was little more than a distraction to the Tenalpians. The dragons proved a more substantial irritation, but even they fell eventually. The angels and demons were the only real threat to the fleet, but their numbers were small and, in the end, their chances of driving off the Tenalpians were even smaller. Still, the Wa'surians complete lack of cooperation irked the Tenalpians to no end.