A great power is massing in the North. At first it operated secretly, gathering its strength and nurturing alliances under the cover of gossip and legend. Now it works openly in defiance of the Word. We heard these strange tales of magic and enchantment in the woods of Khandoore for years, but we paid them no heed. It is only months ago we sent our first missionaries to investigate. Our first mistake was not to recognise our enemy till it was too late. Of course, it was only expected that our representatives engaged with the chieftain living there, for that is the natural order of things. Why would we pay attention to his lowly concubine observing our meetings from the shadows? Even as we outlined our ultimatum to the Chieftain and the tributes we expected from him, this woman, this sorceress, who served drinks and smiled, was secretly spying on us. If we had sent more senior representatives, they might have recognised this enchantress for what she was. The stories of this woman stretch years into the past. Only a fool would not have realised that as the Chieftains lived and died, it was the same woman at their side, ever youthful, and ever beautiful. Such longevity is unnatural in humans, but very natural in the race of White Witches, a people that were once called the Lazloi. For years, perhaps even centuries, this White Witch has been living amongst us. Appearing in legends from time to time, she weaves her schemes and politics, supporting or undermining warlords and kings to serve a greater purpose. If we had left her alone, perhaps there would have been a truce, but in our arrogance and sense of entitlement to power, we attacked her realm again. That was our second mistake. Now she works actively against us. Armies of men that were loyal to us through fear flock to her side. Who would not heed the call of a woman immortal, clothed in lines of invisible force, light, and ancient power? Our only hope is that for all her dominance, this White Witch relies on technology, albeit a force many tens of thousands of years in advance of our own. We must learn the source of that technology and take it from her. If possible, we might twist that power to serve us instead. We have the beginnings of such a plan because finally, we have a spy in that distant place. We will learn more of this White Witch, so we can find a weakness or chink in her armour. For now, we only have a name. The White Witch is called Sylenia. -- Brother Juka Lahm of the Order of the Word. -- Khandoore, centuries after the fall of civilisation Probably the closest representation of what the Lazloi look like so far. One of those stars and planets in alignment moments, with volumetric lights, pose and textures all coming together at the right time. Stellar textures for the Space Dweller outfit, Orion Hair and V4 figure using MRL Riley character pack. Poser 9 and Cinema 4D R15 Visualise. All lighting effects created in C4D, no post processing. Thanks for looking, comments appreciated.