LES: Finally! The actual start of the war! Yes, there is a battle scene in this chapter. This is the first battle of many of this “New War”. But, first, we’ll start things off with an interesting little tid-bit: a, for lack of a better word, ‘flash-forward’.

Chapter XXVI: The First Battle

(Excerpt from one of Jak Mar’s many post-war biographies written by a respected Spargain scholar.)

It is information about the years during the “Final War” that is most coveted during Jak Mar’s life. There were very few people close to him at the time, and those who were became reluctant to speak of him in the aftermath of the final battle.

What even I do not know is whether or not my work has finished. In this alone, none of his friends or family have confided in me: perhaps Jak Mar’s greatest secret.

As to the Final War, to the Warriors serving him, the Commander seemed ready to pay any price, no matter how great, to see the end of the War.

But his closest friends tell a different story.

“Despite what some may tell you,” Daxter, Jak Mar’s closest friend through the years, stated. “Jak wasn’t excited about this ‘Final War’. I think he knew one way or another, that this war would be his last. With every war, he knew that his luck was running out. Even I can’t say what really happened during the last few hours of the war, but Jak certainly ended things with a bang. So like him.”

I then proceeded to ask Daxter about the rumors that surfaced shortly after the war’s end. To be honest, I was surprised about the light-hearted nature with which he treated the topic.

“Sorry, buddy. I’m not talking about that.” Daxter said. “You just be glad that he did what he did, cause we’re all better off for it.”

Perhaps one day, we’ll discover what really happened during the last few hours after Jak Mar marched into the Wasteland alone. Some have speculated that he left because of some trouble within his family, and still others say it’s because he learned some horrible truth about himself. Whatever the reason, you can be sure that we may never discover the truth.

However, this person will eagerly await the day when all the mysteries surrounding Jak Mar, and the entire Mar family, will clear and reveal the truth.

It was early morning in Spargus, but Jak was already up, fully dressed, and staring out the winder. Or, rather, it was a glass door that led out onto a balcony.

All of Spargus spread out before him; bordered on two sides by the mountain range, one side by the ocean, and the other side by the Plains of Spargus.

Spargus was certainly much larger than it had been when Jak had first seen it. At the time, Spargus could maybe boast a thousand citizens. Now, that number was closer to ten thousand, with half that number being either in the lower ranking Spargain army, and the other being the elite Wastelanders.

He glanced back at his wife, who was still asleep, and had her arm curled up against her face in an undeniably cute way.

The elf smiled absentmindedly, thinking for the millionth time that he was the luckiest elf on the planet. He moved over to her, and gently brushed some stray hair out of her face, causing Keira to stir slightly.

Having no wish to wake her up yet, he moved away from her and back to the balcony. Naturally, he began to think about the upcoming war. So… this is to be my last great task. At the age of 36, he knew it wouldn’t be long before he was out of his prime. It was a hard truth to face, but it was still the truth. He was getting old.

No mortal, no matter how great, can escape the ravages of Cronos, Father Time.

Jak suddenly snorted to himself. And, to think, I was once offered immortality! But the elf still stood by his decision to turn Icarath down. What is the use of everlasting life if it is spent alone? Maybe if he had his wife at his side, but never without her. To be honest, he would rather die, old and spent, at Keira’s side than to live forever without her. Besides, he realized, even if I had accepted Icarath’s offer, my life would have only been as long as Keira’s anyway.

The sun started to rise, and Jak transformed into his Light form, his massive wings folded peacefully behind him. He closed his brilliant eyes as if to meditate.

Several minutes later, there was movement in the room, which the Light Eco angel did not notice. Keira was now stirring awake, opening her eyes slowly, and she was met with a glorious sight.

Her husband, in his Light form, was standing on the balcony, framed by the newly-risen sun which made him glow even more if that were at all possible. At the moment, he looked truly majestic and, though Jak himself would be embarrassed if she said it out loud… he was beautiful.

He was partially turned away from her, his eyes closed in peaceful thought.

Slowly and quietly, hoping not to disturb him, she got up and pulled on an over-sized night-shirt.

She glanced at him, half-expecting that he heard her because of his sensitive hearing. But he didn’t appear to have noticed her. He was so absorbed in his own thoughts that he wasn’t aware of the outside world. It had been a long time since she had been able to do anything by her husband’s side without him knowing about it.

Well… she thought. It must be hard to be on High Alert all the time, so it must be nice to be oblivious every once in a while.

She waited another minute before she couldn’t ignore the craving for her husband’s attention any longer. “Jak?” She asked softly.

Light Jak jumped slightly as he became aware of himself again. He looked around at his wife. “Keira! I didn’t know you were up.”

“Well, you were so absorbed in your thoughts that a Desert Beast could have stomped through and you wouldn’t have noticed.” Keira laughed.

Light Jak turned away slightly, gazing at the sun as he changed back to normal. “I was just… thinking…”

“About the war?” Keira asked.

Jak nodded. “What else? It seems my destiny to fight in wars. Except this time, I’m not fighting for the world, but the safety of my family.”

“And we will be safe with the greatest warrior in the world to protect us.” Keira said.

Jak smiled, a little half-heartedly. “Sure, I can handle Metal-Heads and Marauders by the dozen. But what able the Dark Makers? I may be the greatest warrior on the planet, but they are the greatest warriors in the universe. How can I possibly match them?”

“By knowing their weakness.” Keira said.

“What weakness?”

“All that a Dark Maker is… is a Precursor. All Precursors share the same weakness… a weakness that we share with them.” Keira said.

“Their Soul-Mates.” Jak said, understanding. “But they probably wouldn’t bring their Soul-Mates into battle, just as I wouldn’t bring you into a battle.”

“Then Light Eco.” Keira said. “It may not be deadly to them, but it would be more harmful than any other weapon that we could conceive.”

“Still, I would prefer that they stay in the background where they belong; and just leave the Metal-Heads and Marauders to do their dirty work.” Jak said.

“I hope that too.” Keira breathed, moving up behind Jak and pulling him into an embrace.

Jak closed his eyes, letting the peace that his Soul-Mate’s closeness brought him overcome his senses. For just a moment, they were both much younger and carefree, just like they had been in Sandover.

Unfortunately, the small moment was fated to end when Jak opened his eyes. He noticed a thin trail of smoke coming from the direction of the Marauder fort. “The Marauders are getting their war-machines ready for a possible march on Spargus.” He commented out loud.

“How do you know that?” Keira asked, pulling away and staring at her husband.

“The smoke.” Jak nodded in the direction of the smoke. “It is coming from the Marauder fort, and is always a precursor to war.” He swiftly moved away from the balcony to the door. “Guard!” He yelled as he opened the door.

A near-by guard rushed forward. “Yes, Commander?”

“Gather the Wastelanders and the best of the army. Tell them that the Marauders are on the war-path.” Jak said.

“How long do we have?” The guard asked.

“A few hours, perhaps.” Jak said. “Spread the word.” The guard nodded and rushed away. He turned back to Keira. “I’ll have to go tell Sig why I’m rousing the warriors. Then I’ll go join the front-lines myself.”

“But what if you get hurt or…” At this, Keira trailed off.

“I won’t.” Jak answered simply. “I’ve fought in wars for a long time. I know what I’m doing.”

“Of course.” Keira said, pulling him into a kiss. “I love you, Jak.”

“I love you, too.” Jak said. “Oh, and I was supposed to take Teran to the arena for more training today. Just tell him I’ll take him when I get back.”

“Don’t take this battle lightly, Jak.” Keira said warningly.

“I never take a battle lightly.” Jak said. “There’s a difference between confidence and arrogance, Love.”

Keira smiled. “And you have a little bit of both.”

Later, Jak walked into the Spargus Throne Room, and found Sig in his usual spot.

“Well, Jak,” Sig spoke from the throne. “Quite a morning. I wake up to find that all of Spargus is in an uproar on your orders. What’s going on? One of your drills?”

“This is no drill, Sig.” Jak said, sounding a lot calmer than he actually felt. “Look out the window.”

Sig did as Jak said and spotted the pillar of smoke. “Smoke. You think it’s the Marauders?”

“Better safe than sorry.” Jak commented. “Even if it is something innocent, at least we would have been prepared for an attack.”

“You are my Commander.” Sig said, basically giving Jak permission to do whatever he thought necessary.

“Thank you.” Jak said, sensing that Sig just handed over a little of his power. Normally, the King (in this case: Steward) held absolute power and could over-ride any of his advisors. But Sig had just denied that he had that power over Jak.

Maybe it was because Sig knew Jak’s cunning in battle, or maybe it was because of Jak’s Royal Blood. (More likely.) Whatever the reason, Sig had just put Jak in a powerful position.

“Have the Warriors gather on the Plains of Spargus. I’ll go scout the area personally.” Jak said as he began to walk out.

“That’s a lot of ground to cover.” Sig commented. “How can you do that alone?”

Jak glanced back at Sig with a grin. “As only an Eco Freak can.”

Sig shook his head and laughed. “I forgot who I was talking to. Go.” Jak obliged.

Once he was outside the Palace lift, Jak glanced up at the clear blue sky. Perfect for flying.

He relaxed as he felt the familiar transformation overcome him. Light Eco spread out across his body until every inch of his skin had an unearthly glow. His eyes began to glow with a brilliant white light. Vast, feather wings sprouted painlessly from each shoulder blade and new muscles developed to control the wings.

With a flap of his great wings, which sent up a flurry of dust in their wake, Light Jak took to the sky.

He rose up into the sky as quickly as possible. He sighted the pillar of smoke and began to fly towards it.

As he drew closer, he made sure to hide in the sun, so that his glow was masked by the sun’s brilliance. This would lower the chance of him being spotted, even if they happened to look into the sky.

As he neared, he saw the full extent of the army.

Hundreds of Marauders from many different tribes across the Wasteland were gathered against Spargus. This surprised Jak. Only local Marauders ever attacked Spargus, and as far as Jak knew, the Marauders had very bad inter-tribe relations. Why had the enemy tribes suddenly banded together?

“They are getting smarter.” Light said. “Alone, each tribe is barely a threat. But together…”

A force to be reckoned with. Jak finished.

Look out! Dark suddenly yelled, and Jak instantly pulled off a complicated aerial maneuver to avoid whatever was coming his way.

Several Eco bullets missed by only a few inches, and he swiftly glanced around.

The Marauders had posted several snipers on the mountain-side, and they were firing at him.

Snipers. Dark growled. Smarter, indeed. You can’t hide in the sun from them and the main force at the same time.

“I suggest that we retreat.” Light suggested as the Marauders reloaded.

Jak growled. “You will all die!” He roared before following Light’s advice. He had to dodge several more bullets before he was out of the Marauder’s aiming range. An Eco gun had no range, because it could shoot in a straight line forever. But it was limited by an Elf’s ability.

He flew straight back to Spargus. Above the Plains, he could see most of his Warriors had gathered. He swooped into a controlled dive and landed in front of his troops. Only the newer, non-elite members jumped in shock at Jak’s entrance. Some of his abilities were common knowledge.

“Commander!” The Elites saluted him instantly.

Jak remained in his Light form for one simple reason… it kept the soldier’s attention on him. Nothing could hold someone’s attention quite like a glowing angel with an eighteen-foot wingspan.

“What did you see, Commander?” One of his Captains asked.

“A large Marauder force, a couple hundred strong.” Jak answered.

“A short battle, then?” The Captain asked.

Jak shook his head slowly. “They’re using snipers. Marauders never use Snipers. The average Marauder will rush into battle, swinging his sword wildly until either he or everyone else is dead. If they are using battle tactics now, who knows what else they may do.”

“But, sir, we have experience in battle tactics too. And we have a thousand Warriors.” The Captain said.

“Don’t underestimate the opponent, Captain.” Jak said.

“And we have you! The greatest Warrior alive!”

“But I’m only one man.” Jak said. “And just as susceptible to death and error as the next man.”

This sobered the Elites up instantly. From the start, Jak had made sure his elite Warriors knew his flaws. They were small flaws, but still flaws. Like his tendency to get high on bloodlust and become something of a berserker, helped along by his Dark Side.

“We must march. Keep the battle away from Spargus.” Jak ordered. He changed back to normal as one of his Captains brought forward a Leaper Lizard. Jak mounted it, along with his Captains on their individual Leapers and the Captains ordered the march.

They followed the curve of the mountain range. Jak kept a careful eye out for snipers, but saw none yet.

As they got closer, however, Jak began to signal the gunners to shoot down the snipers as they saw them. The best way to counter sniper fire was even faster sniper fire.

Within twenty minutes, they came to the chosen battlefield.

The Marauders were still, waiting for them. And this should have been a warning for Jak. Never let the enemy pick the site of the battle whenever possible. But he felt nothing unusual about this spot.

Behind the Marauder army was a portion of the mountain range and a pass that ran through the mountains. It could be a retreat route, but every Wastelander knew that ravine was dangerous even at the best of times. There were several hundred tones of rock on the top, just waiting to crash down on anyone foolish enough to try to cross it. The Marauders called the canyon Shitak Tavar, for that meant ‘Death from Above’ in their language. Jak saw no place to hide reinforcements, and most of the snipers had been destroyed.

Then he looked at the army itself and nearly gasped out loud in shock. From a hundred feet up, it had been hard to tell one Warrior from the other. But now at this closer range, he could tell that most of these so-called ‘Warriors’ were only children! He saw some that could possibly be only twelve years old! There were few men in their number!

But, in a shocking way, it made sense. They only had fifteen or sixteen years to build up their numbers. So most of their Warriors would be young teenagers.

It was a practice that Jak himself would never resort to. Children should never lift a sword in battle.

His anger for the Marauders only grew, and several of the Warriors shared his feelings.

“Those are only children!” One gasped.

Thankfully, the Captain was level-headed enough to balance Jak’s hot-headedness, for the elf was more than inclined to agree with the speaker. “No talking! Maintain your silence!” The Captain growled. “Sir, do we… fight?”

Jak was filled with doubt. Most normal men would not fight in the current situation. Children were innocent in war. Jak growled, angry at himself for having to give the order. “The Marauders should not have dragged their children into this. We fight!”

The Wastelanders glanced at each other, but did not argue with their Commander. One: Because he was the Commander. Two: Because Jak wasn’t the only one who left behind a family in Spargus. The same thing was on the mind of every husband and father in the group. Protect Spargus. Protect our families.

Jak conjured a large Katana and held it at the ready. The rest of the Wastelanders followed suit, as did the Marauders across the way.

Jak kept a trained eye on them. But he didn’t know how children would react to war-situations. So he glared at the opposite Commander who was one of the few who looked like he could recall the Metal-Head War.

The Marauder glared back at him, and then gave out a battle-cry. Jak’s eyes narrowed, for he knew that the battle was about to start.

The Marauders leapt forward at a run, charging the Spargain Warriors.

At the slightest signal, the Spargains leapt forward. Jak hung back for a second, before he kicked his own Leaper Lizard forward and quickly over-took the infantry.

To be honest, Jak would have preferred to be on foot, but he knew that he had to be visible, in case he needed to give a visual command.

The two opposing armies clashed, with Spargus gaining the most ground.

In this, Jak was not surprised. His Warriors were older and more experienced. The Marauders came out of the first clash badly.

Jak descended on the Marauders with the controlled fury of Dark Eco in his body. He did not stop to contemplate the youth of his victims. They were all cut down without mercy. He fought as a husband and father, with no mercy for ones who might hurt his family.

All around him the battle raged. Screams and curses filled the air as the Spargains overpowered the Marauder’s forces.

The sounds of the dying and the thick smell of blood started to fuel the elf’s bloodlust, but he internally fought against it. He couldn’t lose his head.

The Marauder’s best fighters were, of course, the grown elves. They could take down any Warrior who wasn’t prepared down with a swing of their massive spiked swords.

So the elite Wastelanders concentrated on the experienced Warriors, leaving the children to be dealt with by the infantry.

“Captain!” Jak yelled in the midst of the fight.

“Sir!” The Captain yelled back, dispatching a Marauder Warrior with a telling blow.

“How goes the battle?” Jak yelled.

“They are pushed towards the ravine! There is no retreat for them! We have won!” The Captain yelled.

Jak grinned madly. The battle was won. All that was left was to kill the Marauders. Jak’s internal battle against his own bloodlust ended, and the bloodlust won. He went berserk.

He leapt off his Leaper Lizard with a single smooth motion and the animal quickly got out of harm’s way. The elf conjured a secondary sword and rushed into his enemies head-on.

Nothing could stand up to Jak once he had gone berserk. Even the Marauders knew that. But they also knew his flaw. He had lost his mind. He could not think or plan. He could not recognize danger.

The Marauder Commander gave a signal of retreat, and as one, the few remaining Marauders began to flee into the ravine.

The Wastelanders watched in shock as the Marauders began to retreat through the deadly ravine. As one, they turned to their Commander, most unaware that he had lost his cunning mind with bloodlust.

Without thinking, Jak charged after them, only thinking of spilling their blood and the others followed suit.

As they reached the entrance of the ravine, a low ominous chant filled the air, but the words had no meaning for Jak.

Suddenly, someone threw their arm across Jak’s chest, stopping him in his tracks. “Commander! Stop!” It was the Captain.

Jak rounded on him, in a rage over being denied his blood. “What?!?”

“The chant, sir!” The Captain spoke quickly.

Jak listened to the chant and finally comprehended it. “Shitak Tavar! Shitak Tavar! Shitak Tavar!” Over and over. Death from above! Death from above! Death from above!

Horror seized Jak’s heart as he looked up at the top of the ravine. The Marauders… the real Warriors, were posted up there, trying to dislodge a rock slide.

The children… decoys… a trap! Jak’s mind screamed.

One look revealed that well over a hundred of his Warriors were a good way into the ravine.

“Stop!” Jak yelled at them desperately. “Fall back now!”

He would never know if his words reached them. The precarious rocks gave away and came down on the Warriors in a deadly rock slide, burying them under several hundred tons of dirt and rock.

A large rock almost crushed Jak, for he had been a short way into the ravine himself, but he jumped backwards and saved his own life. The same could not be said of the Warriors in the ravine. None were alive. The rock slide had crushed the life out of them instantly.

For several seconds, Jak and the other survivors could only look on in horror as the dust settled.

Then, worst of all, laughter floated over the ravine. It was the Marauders. “Well done, ‘Commander’!” One said sarcastically in the standard language. “Walked right into our trap perfectly! Isn’t it glorious?”

Jak was deeply stung by the deaths of his soldiers and the insults. But it was true, all of it. He was responsible. He had led them right into that death trap.

“Commander…” The Captain began. “It wasn’t your…”

Jak couldn’t hear it. He just couldn’t! He turned and ran, jumped onto his Leaper Lizard’s saddle, and rode to Spargus with all speed.

His first true test as a Commander in real battle… and hundreds had died, and he had lost the battle…

LES: It had to happen once. I’m sorry for not updating sooner. I had lost this chapter, and found it just this morning. Man, what is it with me and losing chapters? Oh well. Here it is, anyway.