The Weeping Spear

The tournament was running its course and this time there was a different army encamped on the other side of the battlefield. Their castles seemed to stretch for miles and melded with the horizon. I was expecting them, of course, rumors had preceded their arrival. Rumors of how they evolved in a distant realm and how they are linked into a hive mind. They now had some of our friends among their ranks and they have already leveled BwF and SIU. 

They were The Borg Collective.

We did manage to defeat them once before so it meant it was going to be a challenging yet exciting battle, right? 

But something was different, I could taste it in the air. Was it fear or excitement maybe? I remembered my Old Nan’s words then, “Oh my sweet summer child, what do you know about fear? Fear is for the winter when the snows fall a hundred feet deep.” 

I was all aware of the dangers in the world, and I’d been raised to fight every manner of a soldier but no training could have prepared me for what was going to happen.

The battle horn blared and the sound was deafening. With clenched teeth and a drumming heart, I charged toward my first target, the Temple of The Mother. The air changed suddenly and I already knew I wasn’t going to make it in time.

I twisted then and took a look around. We managed to get the Tower of The Warrior and our Outpost but that was alright, we didn’t need to get all targets from the start and I wasn’t going to be discouraged by it. 

I turned on my heels and headed back to camp to wait for our leader’s orders when I heard someone shout that they changed their defenders on the two buildings they occupied. That meant it was going to be even more difficult to get those buildings from them.

The order was for the infantry and cavalry to prepare for the siege of their Outpost so my spears weren’t needed for the moment. I waited and prepared for the next race, the Ports.

As I was staying focused on my target, I heard the shouting coming from the Outpost. Our troops got through their defense and AlbertON along with his soldiers managed to occupy it. 

A sense of content filled me then and I knew I had to get to their Port first, I couldn’t fail.

Blood was pumping in my ears, my heart was racing, and I could barely hear a sound as I charged. I ran faster than I ever had before and I felt my comrades’ eyes on me filled with hope to succeed. It wasn’t until the last moment that I realized the building was already occupied, GRAIN FARM got there first.

I couldn’t believe my eyes and I replayed the run over and over in my head on my way back to the camp. What did I do wrong? How could I fail my comrades? 

But that wasn’t the moment to lose my composure and I couldn’t let my failures and fear of losing rule me. I kept my head high, took a deep breath, and ran back to our camp. 

As if things weren’t bad already, I saw the racers coming back from our Port with hunched shoulders and grim faces. They didn’t need to tell me they didn’t succeed either.

The leader’s new order was for the spears and infantry to start the attacks on the Temple of The Mother so I started preparing while repeating to myself “fear won't be the death of me” like a mantra.

With the spears at the ready and a cleared head, I felt that fire in my bones that makes you burn with anticipation and readies you for whatever is to come. 

And we charged…

The Temple of The Mother was nothing but a madhouse of disorder and violence. Deafening, the sound of steel striking steel was barely enough to cover the screams of men and the cries of injured dragons. Limbs were everywhere and the smell of blood was nauseating. My soldiers were falling one by one and I found myself kneeling beside them, a spear protruding from my thigh, tyranic got me good.

I gathered then the wounded and the remaining troops and headed back to the camp. I couldn’t afford to be disabled if I wanted to get one of the Mines.

While my troops were recovering and I had my injury taken care of, GRAIN FARM occupied Casterly Rock. I felt helpless and unuseful but I also knew I had to recover if we were going to make it to the Mines. 

They changed their defender on Casterly Rock to UltiMayhem, I remembered him from our last fight and how we lost so many soldiers trying to defeat him. 

We would later discover that he had Casterly Rock defended by the more advanced troops, the Ancients, which were known for having higher battle skills, strengthened armor, and stamina that surpassed our well-trained Royals. But hope was not lost. AlbertON’s spears managed to cut through them.

The air felt heavy and there was no turning back now. Our leader was giving orders, the generals kept asking their soldiers to move forward, pressing The Borgs and hammering at them so they would break. The fervor was palpable.  “Hold the line!” “Don’t back down!” was repeated over and over. 

I took a look at myself and realized all the scars I’ve collected over the years got me where I was. I couldn’t remember all the times I bled and never told myself that greatness would come easy. This was yet another of those moments when I’ll have to numb the pain and move forward while tasting blood but knowing that nothing ever hurts when you feel no pain. 

So I got up once again, the cavalry at the ready, most of them still injured by The Borgs’ constant attacks but eager for me to lead them to our last run for this battle, the Lannister Mine. 

I was waiting for the call to charge when I felt it. A feeling of terror takes you over when you know something terrible is going to happen and makes your hair stand on end. The Borgs were coming for me and not just any Borgs but diver and Crazy Horse.

I rushed then to gather my cavalry and head toward the mine but it was too late, diver was upon me. Outnumbered and outpowered, I didn’t have any troops left to run for the Mine.

The Borgs realized the threat I could pose and did everything in their power to stop me and they succeeded. 

They didn’t stop at that but took over everything and secured a bloody and complete victory.

Everyone fell silent, our winning streak was over and the morale was down. Our leader perceived the gloomy atmosphere, gathered us all, and said: “Anyone can deal with victory but only the mighty can bear defeat. It doesn’t have to deter you as it will only add to your strength. We didn’t win this time but we live to fight another day”.

*And here is a highlights video of what was described in the story + some tips for racing*