Mission 08 - Visitors

## 08 - Visitors

From desperation, the Azrati Order prepares to open a box of sorrows not really knowing what they'll actually unleash...

## Battle Information

### Aftermath

Strategic Children of the Izlar victory.* Karak's deception successful, Children of the Izlar 'chosen' by the Azrati Order.

## Belligerents

* Children of the Izlar

* Dominated Zhogarn pack.
* Azrati Order (observant).

## Commanders

* Karak

* Zeraphim

## Forces

* Guard and Ventator warrior breeds.
* Mind interchangeable breed.
* Rictus bombard breed.
* Pack Alpha breed.
* Mind Fungi and Symbions for Arguses.
* Evulatory for Rictii and Warren for Alphas.
* Fonia defensive colonies.
* Karak
* Mondor

* Guard and Ventator warrior breeds.
* Mind interchangeable breed.
* Rictus bombard breed.
* Pack Alpha breed.
* Mind Fungi and Symbions for Arguses.
* Evulatories for Rictii and Warrens for Alphas.
* Fonia defensive colonies.
* Azrati Order observants.

## Objectives

* Eliminate enemy Zhogarn colony to deceive the Azrati Order.
* Deceive the Azrati Order into taking the Children of the Izlar to the Sedra System.

* Test the capabilities of the Psychic Dome in controlling Zhogarn creatures.
* Use the dominated tribe to eliminate it's opposition.

## Casualties and losses

Minimal
Extensive (Zhogarn)Inexistent (Athrael)

## Involved Characters

* Karak
* Mondor
* The Source
* Zeraphim

*Visitors* is the eighth mission of Chapter 03 - Cataclysm in the Five Nations campaign.

## Setting

While the Athrael facilities in the Krion System were indeed reclaimed and reactivated, in spite of Nephral and the whole Annaki Order's fall from grace, Zeraphim and the Azrati Order had gathered what remained of their forces and made their return to the Izlar, as was foreshadowed by the Transcendent Source.

Aware that the 'Visitors' would seek to dominate the Children of the Izlar with a maleficent device, the Source had called upon her favoured one, Karak, and performed a mutation on him which would have him resist the powers the Athraels would bring to bear, asking for a strong faith in return.

## Pretenders

> "Zeraphim hopes to turn you against the others to ensure his success. You must betray your kind and kill in the name of the Athraels. Remember, you can’t reveal yourself for now, you must listen and accept their orders."
>
> - The Transcendent Source

As the Azrati Order arrived at a particular section of the Izlar, Zeraphim ordered the activation of the Psychic Dome, taking control of most close-by packs, except for the one which Karak and Mondor commanded. The Source, however, dictated Karak that he was not to turn his pack against the Athraels, but instead play in the deceit and fight other Zhogarns so that the Athraels would take them into the fold and out of the Izlar. Zeraphim himself resolved to turn the packs against one another, as to test the success of his device.

While Karak's pack and colony were initially small, they eventually fought off the initial attacks of the larger, dominant pack and grew in size and power, which impressed Zeraphim, fully unaware this was the product of Karak's deceptive foresight. Eventually, the Children of the Izlar did accomplish in destroying the entire dominated Zhogarn pack, stem and root, Zeraphim admitting he misjudged them by size, as the Children did adapt extremely well to their disadvantage and overcame it.

Declaring the experiment a huge success, Zeraphim selected Karak's pack to be summoned out of the Izlar, to unleash them against the occupying Thorun Empire forces. Evidently, Zeraphim and the rest of the Athrael Theocracy was oblivious to what he would *actually* unleash...

## Walkthrough

Following the brief cutscene, the player will start close to the southwestern corner with Karak, Mondor, an Alpha, a Ventator and a small colony with three Workers and some Spawns. As the player is expected to destroy the enemy dominated Zhogarns (blue), the Azrati Order (red) should be left untouched, as destroying the Psychic Dome will fail the mission.

Initial base development, including a modest energy income (+16) will be slow, given the Metal asteroid fields at the starting point will only accomodate 8 Workers maximum. Another Metal asteroid field can be found west of the starting point *(image)*, but will be guarded by some feral Guards and Impalers, which Karak and Mondor can clear up on their own. Because of this delay, some early attacks against the worker lines, especially at the southwestern metal asteroid field, are to be expected until the player can spawn a second Argus and a couple of Agarics, thus Mondor and Karak will also constitute most of the defense efforts.

The player will have access to the Evulatory, which will grant access to Rictii, an artillery breed that will be needed for this mission, as well as the Warren which will allow Alphas that can provide temporary boost or protection to Zhogarn forces through it's Adrenalin or Protective Cloud abilities, respectively. As both have as much Helium-3 cost as the Mind, the player might want to establish a Digestivator at the Helium-3 field north of the player's starting position to ensure a sufficient, fast income. The player should also gather Tachyon, although the costs are not as demanding as Helium-3 are, since the player will be using the resource for upgrades.

The dominated Zhogarns will have about the same tech access as the player, hence attacks of both Guards, Ventators, Minds and Rictii are to be expected. A good number of Guards (about 20, with Funnel Glands researched at a Pond) should assist in neutralizing the attacking Rictii as other defenses handle the other enemy breeds. These Guards should also help neutralize some map hazards in the form of a single Ruptor and a Charybdis with a couple of Ventators spread about - as the Charybdis and Ruptor pose more of a threat to larger units, the Guards can finish them off easily. There is also a lone enemy Digestivator close to the player's position that can and should be destroyed as it counts towards the main objective.

Attacking the dominated Zhogarns' colony will require a good number of Rictii and Ventators as well as some Minds, while also requiring a small amount of bait strategy and positioning for such. An optimal attack route is the northern part of the map *(image)*, as it is close to one of the two Arguses the dominated Zhogarns possess. With a modest wing of Guards (20 or 30), the player should attack one of the distant Helias and destroy it, which should draw the defenders out for the main group to bombard and destroy before moving in. Apart from the defenses, the only actual threat are a pair of Overseers but by the time both Arguses are destroyed, the player should have little trouble in neutralizing any structures or the Helias nurturing them.

By the time all of the dominated Zhogarns' structures are destroyed, the mission is won.

## History and Background

This supposed success would mark the very origins of the Zhogarn Onslaught phase of the First Galactic War, on which the Zhogarns would indeed fulfill Zeraphim's promised purpose of destroying the Thorun forces occupying the Sedra System, but would also turn on them before eventually launching an attack at the Sol System.