Megenth

Megenth are reptilian forces that emerge from a long period of quiescence into sudden expansion, becoming a direct military threat to Jon Westerley and Ocpetis Mam. Their approach across a green-and-purple moss sward, armed with the feared raftii, makes the danger immediate; elsewhere, their resurgence forms part of a wider crisis that draws Westerley back from a secret mission.

Identity and Resurgence

The reptilian forces of Megenth had been quiescent for a long time before a serum precipitated their sudden expansion. This abrupt change gives the threat a striking shape: a force that had been dormant becomes active on a scale that demands Westerley's recall from his secret mission to Angos II. The evidence identifies the serum as the cause of their expansion, but does not describe its effects on individual Megenth or explain their society.

The Advance and the Fight

In the battlefield encounter, the Megenth bucks approach slowly and implacably over a green-and-purple moss sward. They draw their raftii, long, curved dirks with two points, weapons described as having struck terror in the innermost reaches of the civilized galaxy. The advance is deliberate; Westerley and Ocpetis wait for the attackers rather than retreating.

When the first blade crosses Westerley's, he parries and thrusts, striking one of the attackers in the throat. He prepares for another opponent, but two Megenth come at him together. At his side, Ocpetis fights with his sword, hacking and hewing as Westerley hears his sharp intake of breath. The pair stand back-to-back, yet Westerley judges their situation utterly hopeless. The account therefore presents Megenth not only as a resurgent force but as a close and overwhelming danger to individual opponents.

Place in the Wider Crisis

The expansion of Megenth is connected to the chain of events that recalls Westerley from Angos II. The account also links his disastrous materialization within a ring of Black Force to the unwitting betrayal of his faithful Mnerian companion, Ocpetis Mam, who has been trapped in the Hall of Floating Mirrors and had his mind taken over by the renegade Santhis. That episode does not establish that Megenth caused Westerley's predicament; it places their resurgence within the larger crisis surrounding his return.

The combat scene narrows that broad emergency to a few concrete details: the advancing bucks, the distinctive raftii, and two allies braced together against more than one attacker. Westerley's successful first thrust offers only a momentary reprieve before the next pair closes in. The encounter ends on the recognition that courage and skill have not made the odds survivable.