Euphoria. 

This was the first time I had felt it since the day the Lessaenite Empire won the final Galactic War. I was in a remarkably good mood- I was on cloud nine! In fact, I was so absorbed in my little bubble of glee that I hadn't even killed any filthy peasants in a few days. 

"Erm...Your Majesty?" Armetorius nudged me quite uncomfortably in the ribs. 

"What?" I snapped. 

"The Governor of the Province of Greater Pylea just asked for a budget increase." 

"How much do you want?" I raised an eyebrow, looking down at the short, burly man who knelt before my throne. 

"Five million duvats per quarter for the next four years, Your Majesty," he replied. "I understand that it looks like a ridiculous amount, but it is meant to fund an ambitious social service project of the Keeper clan. I can assure you that I do not plan to take a single decce for myself. Proof of the improvements made can be provided by my staff, if you desire it." 

"So, if my math is correct, that's eighty million duvats..." I mused. "Go ahead, take it. We get four times that in tax revenue every year." 

"That's...all?" The Governor tilted his head to the side as he rose, confused. He had clearly been expecting a harsh interrogation. 

"Yes, that's all. You'll receive the money in a few weeks. Happy Festival of Lumys!" I chirped cheerily. The Governor blinked twice in disbelief before slowly backing out of the Council chamber. 

"What is wrong with you?" Selaeyah hissed as soon as he was out of earshot. 

"We found the Flame base! We found it! We won!" I spun around in a whirlwind of Aura. 

"You're acting like a seven year old who had too much candy," Armetorius sighed. 

"Well, I don't care, because we found the base and everyone's going to die and we're all going to live happily ever after!" 

"I understand that you're excited, but you just gave away eighty million duvats of the Imperial budget for free," Selaeyah raised an eyebrow. 

"Who cares? We're-" 

I was cut off by a deep, inhuman groan and the sound of something extremely heavy hitting the ground. The impact sent vibrations through the floor and into our feet. 

"What's going on?" I frowned, looking around. My question was soon answered by an Ice Guard running into the chamber. His helmet was cracked, and half of his uniform had been burned off. 

"Your Majesty, there's..." He paused, out of breath, and clutched his side in pain. 

"There's what?" I placed my hands on my hips. 

"There's a crater in your garden!" The Ice Guard said quickly, fearing my reaction. 

"What? A crater? How..."

"I swear, if those freaking rebels bombed us..." Armetorius snarled. 

"No, sir, it most definitely wasn't the White Hot Flame." 

"Who else would want to bomb Icicle Hall?" 

"I don't believe it was a bomb at all. You'll have to see for yourselves." 

Curious, I stretched my arms out, allowing my glittering dress to be Aurally replaced by thin, blue armor. I descended the steps away from my throne toward the Ice Guard.

"You aren't actually going out there, are you?" Armetorius asked. 

"Yes, I am. Do you have a problem with that?" 

"Um...no." 

I followed the Ice Guard out of the chamber and through the exquisitely decorated, blue-hued hallways of Icicle Hall. As usual, servants and Assembly members alike veered out of my way, determined to keep their heads attached to their necks. Lucky for them, I wasn't in the mood to murder. 

Finally, we reached the tall, glass door that led out into the Royal Garden. The meticulously maintained stone pathways were spotless, and expensive, exotic plants filled every corner. Everything was as it always was...except for the meadow in the center of the garden. At least, what once was the meadow in the center of the garden. 

It had been replaced by a huge hole, at years twenty yards in diameter. However, there was no evidence of fire. The Ice Guard was right- this hadn't been caused by a bomb. 

"Would you like us to fill it with fresh dirt?" He asked. 

"Wait!" I gasped, noticing a flash of silver from within the pit. "There's something in there." I ran to the edge of the chasm and looked down into it. My piercing, violet eyes were almost immediately met by a pair of gigantic jade ones. 

"No way..." I stepped back, awed, as a colossal creature rose from the hole, stretching its brilliant ruby wings. But something about it was asymmetrical- its right wing hung useless at its side, caught in a hunter's trap. 

"A Mountain Nyvus," I shook my head. "Rarest animal in the Empire. This calls for a specialist. Go tell Nyrrel Wahtvane that he has been summoned by the Queen," I instructed the Ice Guard. He immediately hurried off to fulfill his orders. 

"You're a real beauty," I smiled at the massive, twenty foot tall Nyvus as it attempted to climb out of the pit that it had created. Nyvae almost never left their settlements in the Syke Mountains, so they were unused to creations of man such as hooks and rope. Despite being some of the most intelligent animals in the universe, there was no way a Nyvus could've escaped even a simple trap laid for birds. 

Approaching the creature, I tentatively laid a hand on its deep, crimson scales. When it didn't react, I reached up, slowly unentangling its wing from the strings that bound it. It instantly let out a pleased grunt and began to wave its newly freed appendage around, as if testing it. As it moved its wing away, I was surprised to see that it had been shielding three smaller Nyvae underneath it! The two larger ones, about six feet tall, were a lovely shade of forest green, and the smallest, standing at barely four feet, was deep blue with silver starlike markings. 

"I'm here! I'm here! Nyrrel is here!" Selaeyah's dorky, extremely unfit husband panted as he jogged into the clearing, adjusting his thick glasses.

"I found some Nyvae," I gestured to the adult Nyvus, the two adolescents, and the baby. 

"Indeed, you did," Nyrrel grinned, looking up at the creatures. "Magnificent creatures, aren't they? I've always wanted to see one in real life. Now, Nyvae are really smart animals. They've even got social classes, just like us. You can tell how important they are by the tree sap markings on their forehead. Let's see, these ones've got ten lines...they're royalty! You're lookin' at the Queen of the Nyvae, two Princes, and a wee little Princess! Doubt we can keep 'em here for long, though." 

As if on cue, the Queen and her two male cubs took to the air, rising gracefully into the sky with almost no preparation. However, the tiny female stayed behind, cowering behind a bush. 

"What happened to her?" I asked, kneeling down. She whimpered, covering her eyes with her forelegs. 

"Look at her wings," Nyrrel pointed to the shriveled flaps of skin that hung from her back. "The poor thing's crippled. She can't fly. Her mother must've forgotten her." 

"Under normal circumstances, I'd kill her," I said. "But I don't want to kill today. It's the Festival of Lumys. I guess we can keep her here until we figure out what to do with her." 

I quickly fashioned a collar out of Aura and slipped it around her neck, tying her to the nearest tree. "I'll name her Camia, after the Old Lessaenite word for star," I smiled. 

"Bye, Camia," I whispered as I walked away, leaving the baby Nyvus alone. 

A/N: To picture a Nyvus, imagine a cross between a pegasus and a dragon.