The Imperial Palace of Vulpes rose from the surface of a jewel-blue world, its spires of silverstone piercing through the clouds. From her throne chamber, Empress Vulferia Vulpes gazed down at the galaxy maps stretched across the holographic floor. Each glowing star system represented a frontier of power, a theater of opportunity or of danger.
Her vulpine eyes, sharp and amber, narrowed as she studied the shifting borders of her rivals. One in particular drew her attention: the Imperial Woltein Empire. For centuries, the wolves and the foxes had been adversaries, locked in a cold war of intrigue and shadow rather than outright war. Truces held only as long as necessity demanded. Expansion was inevitable, and Vulferia wondered if the wolves had already begun their push.
She leaned back, her long tails curling restlessly across the cushions of her throne. "The wolves," she murmured to herself, "They are moving. If they are not expanding, they are preparing to. And if they are not preparing, they are watching us."
Her thoughts turned to strategy. If Woltein moved, the Vulpes Empire would need chaos to counterbalance it. She could not allow their rivals to unify their borders uncontested. Chaos was a weapon as sharp as any blade.
Vulferia turned her gaze toward her generals. At her gesture, the great bronze doors opened and Grand Supreme General Uri Alu entered the chamber. His armor was heavy crimson plate, decorated with the fox-sigil of the Empire. He bowed low, ears pressed back in respect.
"Your command, Empress?"
"Release the orc hosts," Vulferia ordered. Her voice was calm, yet the command rippled through the chamber like a shockwave. "Scatter them into the next galaxy, the one neighboring the fairy civilization. Those stubborn sprites hide and scurry, refusing to submit. They gnaw at the edges of our influence, vanishing into shadows when we move against them. Their stealth technology is… inconvenient. Desirable, yes, but inconvenient. Let the orcs run wild against them. Let chaos devour their hiding places."
The general's eyes gleamed. "It shall be done, Majesty. The orcs will relish the hunt. They will not rest until the fairies burn."
Vulferia allowed herself a small smile. She imagined the confusion, the panic, as the orc hordes descended like fire. The fairies were elusive, but against such unrelenting brutality they would be forced to act, forced into the open. And when they did, the foxes would be waiting.
But the fairies were not the only thorn in her paw. Her mind shifted to another rival: the Giants.
The so-called Gigantic Empire controlled seven galaxies fewer than Vulpes, fewer even than Woltein yet their reach was disproportionate. They commanded the Golem Civilization as their vanguard, stone and metal warriors unleashed as expendable shields. A wall of bodies to break an enemy's charge.
Vulferia's tails lashed at the thought. "Mob against mob," she muttered. "Send one, they send one. Send an Absolute, they will send theirs. And their Absolutes…" She exhaled slowly. "Each of theirs can stand against ten, perhaps twenty of ours. If the Giants press us, I will have no choice but to send two legions just to break their front."
The chamber grew tense as her words hung in the air.
Before more could be spoken, a sudden stir at the doors drew attention. A messenger hurried in, robes fluttering, his voice tight with urgency.
"Empress," he cried, bowing deeply, "an envoy has arrived from the Imperial Woltein Empire!"
The court erupted in whispers. An envoy, here? Now?
"Send him in," Vulferia commanded.
The envoy entered, a tall wolf draped in black and silver. His eyes glowed with the cold light of his kind, and his steps echoed with the weight of his Empire. He stood before the throne, staring up at the Empress with controlled pride.
"Empress Vulferia," he said, his voice even. "Did your empire send scouts into our territory?"
The chamber fell silent. The accusation rang sharp. Everyone expected denial, perhaps a dance of words. But Vulferia's eyes widened, and her tails stilled.
For a long moment, she studied him then spoke the truth.
"There are scouts within your borders," she admitted, her tone measured, "but they are not mine. I, too, received word of unfamiliar eyes watching my own Empire. I thought it was Woltein moving to expand once more… yet here you stand, accusing me. It seems we are both mistaken."
The envoy's ears twitched. He studied her carefully, expecting deception. But what he saw in her amber eyes was not falsehood. It was genuine surprise.
He frowned. For a long moment he weighed silence, then spoke, lowering his voice.
"Then there is another power," he said. "A hand we do not yet see. A Type IV Civilization."
The chamber stirred with unease. Vulferia leaned forward, her gaze sharp as a blade. "And what power would dare? The records list only three beyond us the Gigantic Empire, the Human Trade Union, and the Rabbitsu Imperial Dynasty. None others are known."
"The Rabbits," the envoy muttered darkly.
At the mention of the Rabbitsu Empire, even Vulferia's tails stiffened. The Rabbits were… alarming. Their empire grew with frightening speed. Their ability to raise Absolutes and Eternals surpassed all others.
"They may already number five hundred thousand Absolutes," the envoy continued grimly. "In decades perhaps centuries that number will rise into the millions. No one knows their true strength. Only that their rate of ascension is… unnatural."
Vulferia's gaze turned cold. She had heard whispers of it before, but hearing it from the mouth of a wolf envoy only deepened her unease. The Rabbitsu were the reason the foxes and wolves held their truce, why their claws were sheathed even when they longed to tear at one another. Neither empire dared provoke a force that might one day sweep them all aside.
The envoy seemed to realize he had spoken too freely. Straightening his posture, he gave a curt bow. "If it was not your scouts, then I have learned what I needed. My Emperor must be informed at once."
Without waiting for dismissal, he turned and strode from the chamber, his cloak whipping behind him like a shadow fleeing the light.
The fox courtiers whispered as the doors closed. The envoy's haste betrayed more fear than confidence.
Empress Vulferia sat in silence for a long time. Her tails curled tight around her throne, her claws tapping lightly against the armrest. She had not expected such a revelation, nor such naked concern from a wolf.
If there truly was another Type IV Civilization moving in the dark, it threatened them all.
At last, Vulferia spoke, her voice sharp.
"Double our sentry fleets. Send watchers to the outer galaxies. Sweep every border. If there is a new power among the stars, I will know of it before the wolves do. If they mean to expand into our space, we will be ready. If they mean to unsettle us, we will unsettle them first."
Her generals bowed low. The chamber echoed with the sound of her will set into motion.
As the Empress rose from her throne, the galaxy map still glowed beneath her feet. Yet where once she saw rivals she knew the wolves, giants, fairies, golems and now she saw shadows moving beyond her vision.
A new player had entered the game.
And Vulferia Vulpes intended to find them.