In the unknown territories of the north, a voice like stones grinding in the deep earth boomed.
"These damned insects from another world. What is their endgame?"
The speaker was Mokka, an Abyssal Devil Ray, whose words resonated from deep within his gut with a thick, benthic tremor. In this form, his body was perhaps only thirty feet long, a far cry from the colossal beast Alexander had described. Clearly, Mokka possessed the power to alter his size.
"They are shifting their forces south," came a rich, throaty reply. "Towards the coast. They seek defensible ground."
A pause, laden with contemptuous amusement. "Or perhaps they have dealings with the creatures of the deep and seek the protection of the Sea Folk."
The speaker was Sphinx, a Dark Sphinx and, more remarkably, a she-lion among Archlords. She was a vision of wild regality. Her powerful torso was crisscrossed by a harness of black leather and dull gold, leaving her muscled shoulders and midriff bare.
