HAVEN STORIES

War

Cassis Mars was his name. The first of that name and will forever be the last.

He is no Hero, nor Royal, yet he was there when the Heros and Royals fought in the mythical Hero Wars. He was there in the distant past, when the insects of the Master City rose up against the nesting Ravens perched atop their Palace. He saw history unfold, but more than that, he was a part of it.

For he is Cassis Mars, the High Lord of the Central Realm, High General of the Mortis Armies, Crowned Sire of the Reach Empire.

In his exile, he lived among the people of the "Unknown Lands" as they were called. He saw how the Hero Wars ravaged their homes and fields. Sacked their crops and harvests. The back and forth of Heros verses Royals.

Those lands were just a stepping stone, a route of battle, a line on a map, another nameless battlefield for their wars.

With his learned cunning and veteran political experience, he focused their loss, their anguish, but most importantly, their anger.

"They chop up your lands, trample your food and burn the fields all in the name of their wars. Wars you did not choose. The 'Unknown Lands' they called you, not even bothering to learn your culture, your history, your very names. No more. NO MORE!

NOW, this is a war you CHOOSE. This is a fight YOU fight. We will no longer be UNKNOWN. The world of Haven will scream our names at the sound of our liberating engines. And our enemies will scream in terror at the thunder of our armies!"

His rise was swift, voted in democratically, of course, in a "fair" and "honest" election. All factions, families and political ties all folded under his name, his vision, for they were one in the same, he said. All financial holdings liquidated into the war machine the likes of which Haven had never seen. Mass production of advanced armored battle tanks, aircraft, shielding devices, steel plating, multi-piston engines, automatic cannons, body armor, a distinguished style, a look, a symbol. Thousands signed up, then hundreds of thousands, then millions. The regions that history forgot were recruited in droves. Regiments, divisions, armies. The billets grew, the rosters lengthened, new systems were devised just to organize and keep track of the dizzying numbers.

Jod, what numbers...

His speeches were lined with the most people gathered in human history. Their marching registered for hundreds of miles on measuring scales made to record earthquakes. He was real to them. A real belief that they would rise from the scorched pit of history and make their mark upon the world. Life would be better.

How could you not love his cause? For was he not there when the incompetent Royal Armies failed in their invasions? Their chain-of-command stagnate and their strategies archaic. Was he not there to witness the arrogance and pride of the Baron topple his own regime? The ignorance and self-delusion of the Ravens and their fat nobility. He had learned from them all.

He was living history, proof of survival. A survivor of war. Now they will fight a war they believed in.

For he is Cassis Mars, Raven of the East, Savior of the Land, emperor, Commander of the Swift...

And Master of the Sphere.

LIGHTNING CALLS, AND THUNDER ANSWERS!
HAIL IMPERATOR CASSIS MARS!