Probably one of the crazier things you've done and its entirely possible you're either trying to prove something to yourself or you just want this battle to be over with win or lose because you're getting very tired. Probably a little bit of both.

"Okay, you fucking overgrown flying lizard, it's either going to be me or you today." You say and expend more energy to reinforce your barrier.

For a brief moment you see the dragon's face get closer and closer and then…

There's a great smashing force that causes you to fly off the battlements.

You don't actually fall straight to the ground, but instead you actually sail backwards in the air for a moment and into one of the many decimated tree trunks of the nearby jungle. You feel a cracking sound as your back and head slams hard into the solid wood of the tree and then you begin to fall straight down. Even if you weren't completely knocked senseless by this terrific force you don't have anything that could slow your decent. The best you can do is shield your face with your forearms as you crash to the ground.

Another cracking sound is heard when you hit the ground and you're in more physical pain than you've been in awhile. You're not dead, but when you try to move, you find that you're unable. At least not your legs, which are completely numb. You've broken your back and the bones in your arms are probably broken too, though you're definitely feeling the pain from that injury.

While you're lying half paralyzed away from the fort, you can hear the audible sounds of battle coming from it. You aren't sure what happened to the dragon, but apparently it didn't manage to ram straight through you and keep going. It's in the fort thrashing about and roaring in pain. Pieces of stone from the fort go flying in different directions; you just hope one of those stone blocks doesn't hit you since you're in no position to move right now.

There's nothing you can do save for one thing. Heal yourself with magic. You focus all the magic you got on mending your spine first and then your other wounds next. The dragon, gunfire, clanging of weapons and shouting can all be heard while you do this.

By the time you're finished, you can barely stand up. You don't know if it's due to your drained state or if the magic still needs time to take affect completely. In any case you start to limp back to the fort, which has started to become much quieter.

When you enter, the fort is practically destroyed, several Eternals lie dead (or in pieces) and right in the center lays the dragon with severe wounds all over its body, exposed bones, torn wings and bleeding profusely.

"Emperor! You're alive!" one of the eternals shouts when he sees you.
"Glory to the Empire! We feared the worst when we saw you fall from the battlements. It was a great show of bravery on your part to face down the dragon in the way you did! Never before have I seen something so inspiring! It also caused the creature to crash to the ground where upon all of us took advantage of the situation. As you can see we have brought honor in your name by finishing off the beast!" another boasts.

"Oh really? Is that why it's still breathing?" you point out causing the eternals standing around to back off suddenly.

The dragon is indeed still breathing, but it's very weak. It's dying. Your eternals go to strike, but you tell them to hold and shake your head at them not being observant enough to see that the dragon is still alive in the first place. You walk towards the dragon's head and grab a nearby axe on the ground.

The beast manages to look at you with one eye and does nothing. You wonder if it still actually has some strength left in it, but is just too tired and old to continue fighting. Maybe it's ready for it all to end. To join its fellows.

You have no idea what dragon's think or even if they do think in such complex terms, but when you take a look at this creature you can't help but think how old it probably is. What has it seen? Did it once have its own civilization of sorts? What was it like at its peak? What caused it to ally with the Iznac? Was the arrangement some sort of compromise to avoid possible extinction?

Extinction that has come anyway at your hands.

You get closer to the dragon and ready your axe. The dragon still makes no move. It just closes its one good eye.

"Y'know… sometimes I feel like you. Old and broken down, just wanting to lie down and let the sleep take me. Perhaps, I'll even find myself in the same position one day…(sigh) anyway, on your way dragon. Looks like it was you today." You say and swing the axe at the dragon's neck.

You have to hack away several times before you manage to sever its head. A cheer goes up from the eternals who survived the battle.

"No cheering yet. This was barely a victory given all of our casualties and the condition of this fort. We also still have no word on Flevas' company or how my wife is doing at Fort Tangle. Now let's get organized and find out." You say.

The next few days still see a lot of combat. Decena was a lot more successful at Fort Tangle, but then she didn't have a dragon attacking it. She congratulates you on your victory though and is glad to see you're still alive from your ordeal.

Eventually her and Snilkez'ka's troops push forward and attack Iznac cities. Without their dragons anymore, it's a lot easier to go faster on the attack.

Unfortunately Flevas' suffered an ignoble fate. He was killed fighting off a mixture of Glip and Iznac troops in the jungles and he was unlucky to be felled by several poisonous darts that the Glip love to use. His company fought on and won, but you've lost a good commander. Such are the ways of war. You and those who served under him will at least remember Flevas' deeds. He certainly proved that elves could be an asset to the Empire rather than just whine all the time.

It is truly the beginning of the end for the Iznac civilization and it is now in sight. You predict perhaps at least one more year of heavy fighting maximum, then maybe three more years of random raiding from the hold outs and survivors.

After that? The Iznac will either be hiding in the farthest reaches of wilderness, will have completely submitted to your rule (Unlikely) or completely exterminated. You're betting on that last one, as it seems to be the way of things.

In any case you'll soon be ruler of two continents. What comes next is unknown, but you know that you're going to have some downtime to think about it. In fact you have somewhat of an idea of what to pursue next.

Its something Brenda and Decena mentioned the day you got married. The Eternals and their inability to reproduce. You're thinking that will be your next goal. You nearly died in your battle with the dragon and by healing yourself in the way you did, you probably just shortened your life span anyway. It's time to start thinking about your potential legacy and future of the Empire.

The current eternals have proven their worth and then some, but they could still be better. The next generation that Brenda is training will undoubtedly be better still, but the fifth…that's the group you want to break the mold with.

There's got to be a way. Maybe you, Elam and possibly Galen can figure it out if you put your heads together. Hell, maybe even the gnomes might have some insight on the science side of things.

The time for simple conquest of territory is coming to an end at least perhaps for now.

You test Subjects (Year 63)

Year 63

"And you're sure this is the only way?" you ask.
"My Emperor if I thought there was another, I wouldn't even be bothering you with this. I'm going to need these test subjects if I am going to pursue these theories." Elam remarks.

Elam's request really isn't unreasonable and it is for a good cause, its just one part of it isn't exactly going to be nice for Brenda to hear.

"Alright, I'll talk to Brenda and I'll get some of the Eternals that she's been training. She's probably not going to be happy about it though." You say.
"I do not understand my Emperor, does she not see some of them die in training?"
"Surprisingly not as many as you think. It's not like the old days back when I was an Eternal and only a few us survived the process. These kids today have several natural advantages along with accelerated healing abilities. They're hard to kill even when they're shooting each other in vital organs." You say.
"I didn't realize this new group was so resilient. That's good to hear though. I need them to survive this process, at least until they reach the age of puberty when I can see if they can reproduce."
"Hrm. Well in any case, Brenda's also gotten a bit too attached to our younger Eternal generations in her years of training. Sort of sees them as her children in a way. It won't be a problem of course because ultimately she doesn't have a choice in the matter and she'll see that this is best for the Empire anyway."

Just before you leave to break the news to Brenda, Elam asks another question.

"Before you leave my Emperor. What about the other test subject?"
"Oh, right. The magic source you need. Well despite Galen's whining, he's been a valuable asset to the Empire many times. This time shall be no different. So if you need him incapacitated, I'll see to that business as well."
"I thank you my Emperor."
"Don't thank me, just get me positive results." You remark before leaving.