JVMenjivar

Astashica: Eternal Starborn Dominion

"Listen well, child of the twin suns. The land speaks, the winds whisper, and the rivers carry old songs. But there is one voice that does not sing, one truth that sleeps beneath your feet. The world you stand upon is not what you believe it to be."

The Xothek Galaxy is gone, consumed by its own hunger for power. The Asemeri once shaped the stars, bending light and void to their will. Their greatest creation, the Formicrons, built empires that stood for millennia.  

But Xothek fell—not to time, nor to gods, but to its own arrogance.  

The Azurevat fire erased them. Cities vanished. Kingdoms dissolved into the abyss. And the last Asemeri fled aboard the Defiance Vanguard, a warship of lost power, its runes still pulsing with ancient knowledge. They sought refuge. They found Astashica.  

A world of twin suns. A world veiled in Light. A world that does not belong to them.  

For three hundred cycles, the Asemeri ruled. They carved their names into the mountains, built their towers over rivers, but Astashica is awake. It watches. It remembers.  

Now, the shadow returns.  

Cosmus has returned. The exile. The usurper. The last remnant of a dead empire. His fleet blackens the sky. His armies rise from the abyss. And in his grasp? The final Azurevat missile—the fire that once shattered the heavens.  

And in the path of destruction, one man stands.  

Tlandar. Son of two worlds. A man of soil and harvest. A man who should have lived his days in peace.  

But war does not ask who you wish to be. It demands who you must become.  

Flee, and the twin suns will set forever.  
Stand, and awaken the Light once more.  

He takes the blade. He spills the blood. He walks the path of no return.  

The Defiance Vanguard looms overhead.  
The Azurevat fire waits in silence.  
The Formicrons stir beneath the sands.  
The ancient Asemeri cores pulse in the dark.  

But beneath it all—beneath the ruins, beneath the rivers, beneath the very bones of this world—there is something older than the Asemeri.  

Something forgotten.  
Something that was never meant to wake.  

This is not a war for land. This is not a war for power.  

This is a war for the right to exist.  

And so I ask, child of the twin suns—will you fight for the Light, or will you let the darkness take it?"

ASTASHICA: Eternal Starborn Dominion

A Leader's First Steps

Tlandar stepped onto Boulderkeep's eastern platform, where his 200 Salgaran warriors and pilots had already gathered. Their Formicrons stood like silent sentinels behind them, towering symbols of discipline and strength.

He had trained alongside them. He had fought and survived. But now, for the first time, he stood before a force that looked to him for leadership.

And yet, as he saw their unyielding stances, their unwavering focus, he felt something new—not fear, but pride.

These were not just soldiers following orders.

These were warriors who had chosen to stand beside him.

The Warriors Without Rest

Even before his arrival, his warriors had been preparing—not with aimless drills, but with precision, efficiency, and intelligence.

✔ Pilots and engineers calibrated their Formicrons, ensuring perfect synchronization between man and machine.

✔ Tacticians huddled around holographic war tables, adjusting formation patterns and planning for split-second battlefield decisions.

✔ Elite warriors practiced long-range combat, launching knives, projectiles, and precision attacks at rapidly moving holographic targets.

✔ Hand-to-hand combatants honed their techniques, using circular redirection and deflection, emphasizing fluidity and speed over brute strength.

This was not an army waiting for battle.

This was a force sculpting itself for victory.

And for that, Tlandar felt grateful.

A Leader's Gratitude

The moment Tlandar stepped forward, the warriors immediately fell into formation—without command, without hesitation.

Because they respected the purpose they all shared.

For a moment, he let the silence hold.

"I have trained, I have fought, but I have never led warriors before," he admitted. "This is my first time standing in command."

He looked at them, at the discipline in their eyes, at the strength in their silence.

"And I am grateful," he continued. "To have you beside me. To have warriors who know war, who know discipline, who know what is needed to win."

He placed a hand over his chest.

"For this, I thank Chieftain Salgar. She entrusted me with you, and I will not waste what I have been given."

Some warriors nodded, their eyes glinting with quiet approval.

Tlandar let out a breath, feeling his own resolve strengthen.

"I may be new to this," he said. "But I promise you this—I will fight alongside you. I will lead you with everything I have. And together, we will make history."

The Trial Before Val'katl

He turned, activating a holographic projection of the battlefield. The Plains of Leipira, the River Delta, and Ixtiel's fortifications flickered into view.

Tlandar pointed to the heart of Ixtiel's encampment, where the enemy had dug in, believing themselves secure.

"This is where we will fight," he said. "But before we face Ixtiel, there is one more person we must prove ourselves to."

The warriors stood still, waiting.

"Chieftain Val'katl needs to see our worth," he said. "He needs to know that we are warriors worthy of this fight."

"So we will not fight for ourselves. We will not fight just to win. We will fight because Val'katl must see that we belong here. That we are the force that will break Ixtiel."

"Let's give him something to believe in."

The warriors nodded.

And for the first time, Tlandar knew what it felt like to be a leader.

The Dawn of Command