I promised BloodShadow I would do this.
The former war had been a disgrace. And I? I had disgraced it. When war first erupted, our forests burst with flame and our meager defenses were overwhelmed. I accused my men of being deserters, but the fact remained, they earned our only win. And as I walked the woods that day, I realized none of them, not one of them, was there. I was angry, I was usurped, I was but an old man, old as perhaps Sha'kar, but I was toothless and pathetic. I was a disgrace.
And when the graboids invaded the woods, the earth came up around me, I summoned forth the old ways, I brought the creatures of the woods around me, brought forth it's healing, and sent them forward in one valiant charge. But I was defeated, for I was an old, meager man. And as the shriekers rushed past me into our humble woods I didn't know, couldn't know, what was about to happen.
I first ran into the new chieftain the next morning. He spoke, eyes wide, about war on the horizon. The great Antagon was dead, the elements were raging, the underworld was rising, and the forests were under fire yet again. And as the graboids rushed forth once more, he showed me a new way. He taught me the power of fire as the great Antagon had taught the world, and wielding this new flame, I faced the Earth elemental sure to come. But it wasn't earth. It was entropy. As I had the quanta drained from me, scrambled by his mighty blade, I lay down on the ground coughing up blood. As I rolled over and stared at the sky, gasping for breath, I saw our great new chieftain fighting three at once. He destroyed a being from time, demolished the Water Master's prodigal sun, only to be shot from afar by a death elemental's poisoned arrows. He fell to his knees in defeat as the death elemental went on, he gritted his teeth and popped a heal, hopping me to my feet. "I need a lieutenant," he said. "I am no leader, you are the best I've ever seen. Surely there are others in the forest who should fight for me." And our great leader shook his head. "It will be you." I doubted his wisdom then, but I do no longer.
He showed me the rest of his team. KillzDaZombies, slayer of death. He was a warrior like none before him, and when all else failed, his strength could be counted on. Willing3, the brave. Sometimes I wondered if he knew more about our enemies than he knew of ourselves. When I was lost in the chaos of the war, he reminded me what was going on, and what I was fighting for. It is to him I owe what sanity I have retained. Hrmm, the bold. While he was no KDZ, he was smarter in battle than any life fighter before him. Summoning the right spells at the right time, I would have thought him a time elemental if I didn't know otherwise. I would have bet my life I knew how to fight until I met him and he showed me just how wrong I was. Daxx, the wise, who's knowledge of the forest was unsurpassed. He would bend the trees to form a path that none others could see. When invaders split and fractured our forces, he reunited us once more. RatchetSpyro, the defender. The woods are a place of peace, a place of rest, a place of life. I couldn't get this image out of my head. But he... he turned the woods into a proper warzone. Bunkers, trenches, he knew exactly how to protect what we held dear. Wizelsnarf, the healer. When we fell, it was who was there with the healing needed to raise us once more. And when we conquered our enemies, it was he who spared their lives and made our forces grow. Nadrin, the swift, who ran to the aid of anyone who could not help himself. When there was a hole in our lines, he was there to keep us safe. And lastly, YeliYaYue, the younger, who reminded me oh so much of myself when I was younger. And, like myself, I expected his dreams to be crushed. But it was he who taught me to dream again.
These were new troops, new men practicing new ways. I provided the knowledge of an old man every once and a while, but they... they could do things I had never dreamed. As the saying goes, they ate the seed of a new tree. And as I learned to trust them, and they mocked me, calling me "old man", I felt the companionship of war once more. Or I thought I did. For soon the the feeling of graboids was upon me for the third time, as more shriekers came up and knocked me on the ground. And KDZ lifted me up again with a smile. "Did I make a mistake old man?"
War does not wait for pleasantries. For as I was being lifted, a fire bolt blasted me in the back. KDZ's eyes went wide, if they were here this fast, our forest defenses had worn off. Daxx was in trouble, the woods no longer assisted us, and as he went careening off into the woods, his post went unfilled. No matter how swift the great Nadrin was, he couldn't assist with our lines collapsed. It was time we face the facts. We were losing. Three men died that day. YeliYaYue, the younger, Wizel, the healer, and Nadrin the swift. And Ratchet was on the brink of death.
The old rage returned. Losing wars was not new to me. And as I, an old man, watched my captain fall in battle, I was overcome with a fury. Out came the firefly queens. These were the old ways. These were MY ways. I do not remember much of that battle, but I feel sorry for the man I fought against. I was so angry I flew. And I struck them down. In fact, no one from life lost that day. And finally, FINALLY, the woods were silent. Those who had came left with what they came for, and no more entered. And, one last blessing, Ratchet awoke once more.
Our offensive began off on a rocky start. My victories continued as I attempted to tame the flame once more, and our great leader struck true again. As we entered the center of the fight, seeing for the first time the extent of the enemies wrath. Not all of us remained unscathed. Two more died that day. Ratchet could not hold on after that defeat.
As we joined center stage of the battle, we saw many had face the same losses we had. No one had arrived unscathed. Sans one. The great entropy had proven it's strength. And as I fought one of theirs, he fought with honor. But just as I was about to win, I saw he had a limp. There was something wrong with his leg. And I mended it, and we began the fight anew. Again, it was a close fight, but I was defeated. In fact, despite fighting two at once, only the brave KDZ won. But he only had one heal left. The brilliant Willing lay wounded, the brave Daxx fell down defeated without his home the woods, but, inexplicably, despite their strength, KDZ revived me.
Together we turned toward the land of entropy, making one last suicide run. I was locked in the heat of battle with an old enemy, the master of earth, but as I turned around, KDZ was standing triumphant. But something was wrong. A chaos seed, thrown from elsewhere, struck him. I screamed fowl play, but my god did not answer. Perhaps the chaos seed was planned from the start. Perhaps all was as intended. But it did not matter. My leader fell.
He had given me our last heal.
And I gave it back.
He charged into the Entropy master's thrown room, defeated his guards, and with his last breath, he stared down the face of our enemy's captain. He saw the plans Zeru had for us, the tests he planned to use us for. And he fought to the last breath.
The former war had been a disgrace. But this time? I died with honor. We, fought with honor. It is all I could ask.
Congratulations team Entropy. As much as it pains me to admit it, you earned this.
