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LEGACY OF KELKET
You walk a brick-laid path and stop to stand before a massive sandstone castle sitting on the edge of a cliff. A silver portcullis bars the gate. An ocean spreads out at the base of the cliff outward to the horizon. The path itself comes all the way up to the edge of the cliff, ending in a perilously steep drop. The castle itself consists of endless ramparts, curtain walls, and spires set about in a way that instilled a sense of barely-ordered chaos. The stone itself seemed fragile upon sight, having been eroded in many places from the rain and sea wind, but was harder than diamond. You stride forward up to the portcullis, which had somehow raised itself up while you were examining your surroundings. You tentatively step forward and walk down a massive corridor, its ceiling, once passing the mouth of the gate, vanishes to darkness and its walls so far to either side of you that you could make out no detail. You then pass through a doorway that had not been there before, changing the darkness of the passage to the pure white of nothingness. A darkness-filled archway is behind you, and a white marble pedestal before you, with a massive obsidian tablet resting on the pedestal. All else around you falls away to the white nothingness. There were no walls, no ceiling, no floor, just the white space around you, the doorway back to the corridor, and the pedestal ahead. Strangely, you still feel as though a solid floor is beneath you, with a shadow at you feet just as normal. You walk up to the pedestal and see that, while made of obsidian and seeming small from the doorway, the tablet is actually quite large, etched with strange runes of gold light. The runes are in a language you cannot understand, but they squirm beneath your gaze and form into your first-learned language. You look up to the start of the arcane writings and begin to read… The BeginningShow Kelket first learned of the Coalition after being trapped in Vodalis Town, home of the Vodalis Rangers, during a Phyrexian assault sometime after the start of the 5th War. In the chaos of the battle, Kelket took command of the Vodalis Rangers and led them to a solid victory in both the ocean below and the surface city of Vodalis Town. So impressive was his strategy that Empress Galina herself of the Vodalis Rangers gifted to him a mighty blade named Windcleaver. A wide-bladed broadsword icy-cold to the touch, it was enchanted to deal tremendous ice damage to one cut by it, along with leaving the victim numbed and fatigued as though enduring an intense blizzard. It was also at Vodalis Town that he met Mol42, a member of the Coalition of Dominaria. Mol brought Kelket before the General of the Coalition, The_Great_Lord, who graciously accepted him into the ranks of the Coalition as a Lieutenant. Under The_Great_Lord's tutelage, he went on to claim many victories over the Phyrexian invaders, as well as suffer defeats from which he could learn, along with a promotion to Lt. Commander. It was then that he won his first major victory using a well-detailed plan, commanding the army Gaea's Anthem against Agony. Making an educated guess as to the enemy's general direction of attack, he ordered trenches dug and filled with arrow-built spikes around the allied formation. As it happened, this was all that saved Gaea's Anthem when the enemy began burning the forest battlefield to the ground. In the smoke and fire filled air, Kelket ordered his forces to rain arrows in the direction of the enemy, which his archers promptly complied with. Xantid Swarms darted out among Agony's forces causing a distraction and, combined with the terrible cover of the now-burning trees, played havoc among the enemy forces. With the enemy now in disarray, Kelket ordered his Thornlings to gather the surrounding green mana to harden their bodies and speed their feet, then ordered a charge. With the battle deteriorating, Agony was forced to a retreat. The Fifth Great WarShow The Dark Depths of Round 5Show It was not long afterwards that The_Great_Lord retired as General, promoting Kelket's friend Mol to take his place, allowing The_Great_Lord to ascend to become the almighty Dice God. But this was not before destroying Phyrexia’s forest portal, Biohazard, at the head of the mighty army of Defender of Chaos. After commanding one more battle against the Phyrexians, Mol promoted Kelket to Captain of the Red Faction of the Coalition. To cement his promotion, the great Mannichi, the Fevered Dream gave Kelket the short sword Spitefang, which burned like a thousand fires when bit by its golden blade. Not long after the promotion, Mol ordered Kelket to travel to Spithra, the Coalition’s Green Base, which was even now under siege by the army of Tevish Szat. On the way, he consulted a newer but extremely creative Coalitioner named Drraken, who came up with a brilliant plan to save Spithra. Upon arriving at Spithra, Kelket had to infiltrate the enemy encampment to reach the city, which was inside a massive wood-and-spiderweb sphere mounted on the back of the great spider Sheila. There, Kelket took command of the army Chaos Moon, ordering them to detach the bearing at the bottom of the city that keeps the city parallel to the ground regardless of Sheila’s orientation. It was a race against time, as while that was taking place another contingent of Chaos Moon was detaching Spithra from its mount on Sheila’s back. As the city was finally detached, Chaos Moon’s forces strapped themselves in for a rough ride as the Phyrexian forces (which had knocked Sheila’s legs from beneath her and severely wounded her) fired flaming arrows at the city sphere, setting it alight. Then Spithra went tumbling straight into Phyrexian forces, causing much panic and confusion. When the burning city finally came to a rest, Kelket and his forces crawled from the wreckage and forced the Phyrexians back. It was a mixed victory: Spithra had been saved, but now lie in ruins. In the battle, Kelket himself was severely wounded and trapped inside Spithra's burnt shell by burning wreckage that had come loose in the tumble. On the brink of death, Kelket's planeswalker spark was ignited, granting him the strength to lift the fallen timber from his body and crawl from the burning city. Kelket managed to get outside the shattered husk of Spithra in time to collapse to the ground during the battle's conclusion, as it happened, right next to an Anavolver carrying medical supplies to the wounded. The battle was so outstanding, it earned the Captain a promotion to the rank of Admiral: ranked below General Mol himself. Kelket was granted a new suit of heavy plate mail crafted of darksteel, which was found and forged into the suit by an artificer of Naideia, and gifted to Kelket for his valor at Spithra. Weighing almost 200 pounds alone, it was enchanted to be no heavier than leather and imbued with added magical shielding to protect him from considerable damage. Now he would have to learn of his newly awakened powers in the war ahead. It was immediately after that Kelket was called to take command of Rising Waters in the defense of the Coalition’s Blue Base of Naideia. This was to be the first a long winning streak in the defense against Phyrexia’s merciless assault on Naideia. It took much planning and thought, but a defense was made that protected Naideia’s outposts, the entrance to the city itself, the lake below, and the river above the waterfall in which Naideia was situated. With the help of Quicksilver Dragons and Mahamoti Djinns, the skies above were well-secured as well. A solid victory was won without the destruction of the base. -------------------------------------------------- Having performed exceptionally in the defense of Naideia, Kelket was ordered to defend his new home, Karesta, the Red Base of the Coalition. Attempting to apply a similar strategy as he did in Naideia, the Phyrexian forces of TTD overwhelmed him and he and the army Grip of Chaos was forced to withdraw. After many more battles across Dominaria, Kelket returned to Karesta at the head of Grip of Chaos, eager for the blood-oil of the Phyrexians that now infested Karesta. After a long-drawn out siege in which much of Karesta was destroyed or otherwise reduced to rubble and a narrow victory, Kelket managed to force TTD away, unaware of the wrath the Phyrexian army would later display. Having succeeded at Karesta, he left his forces to repair the damage done and moved on to reclaim Tovarna, the Coalition’s Artifact Base, from the Phyrexians occupying it. Approaching Tovarna full of hope after Karesta’s reclamation, Kelket ordered the advance. Not anticipating the enemy’s strategy of remaining outside the base while filling it with noxious flammable gasses, Kelket marched into a deathtrap, where his forces of the army Purging Scythe were soundly defeated, and the Phyrexians completely destroyed Tovarna, leaving nothing but a gaping wound in the land. Returning to Karesta in defeat, Kelket learned of Tarakhe’s destruction. The Coalition’s 5-Color Mana base was now gone. Angered at the loss of two of Coalition bases in one fell swoop, Kelket viciously commanded assaults the length and breadth of Jamuura. He commanded a failed assault on Phyrexia’s plains portal, the Crater. But he also, with General Mol’s help, crafted an army after his name, the Blades of Kelket. It was an army of Skyknight Legionnaires, Rakavolvers, Predator Dragons, and Hellkite Charges, commanded by the almighty Rhammidarigaaz, known to some as Darigaaz the Igniter. Kelket successfully defended Karesta from the lesser army Yaou, but was quickly brought down by TTD’s vastly superior power and strategy. Railing at the defeat he had yet again suffered at TTD’s hand, Kelket led many more battles against the Phyrexian armies now surrounding Karesta, all but destroying Phage the Untouchable’s army Dreadwing with the help of Blades of Kelket and Echoing Ruin. But the honor of reclaiming Karesta was not to be his that day. General Mol himself led the army Agent of Chaos down onto Karesta, coming close to a victory, but, as with Kelket, being pushed back by superior Phyrexian strategy. While Mol led that attack, Kelket launched an assault on Phyrexia’s island portal, Abis. With the army Overwhelming Intellect, Kelket brilliantly used the rain and terrible weather to move Blizzard Elementals in to neutralize the portal’s long-range turret defenses, allowing the rest of his army to swoop in and force the enemy forces of Pacone back into the Portal Chamber, forcing a siege. Finally, Kelket ordered an advance, but was unprepared for the Phyrexian ferocity, and was forced to withdraw. Blades of Kelket’s first battle had come now in the form of a joint engagement against Dreadwing, which was proving to be a scourge to Coalition armies attempting to defend Karesta. The namesake’s first solo battle was against an army two ranks more powerful, Forerunner. In this battle, the Phyrexians had considerably more powerful troops, with only slightly less troops. Facing off, Kelket used a complex set of tactics he created specifically for his army, utilizing his troops’ speed and mobility. Though the battle was not nearly as bloody as it could have been, Kelket flawlessly won the day. -------------------------------------------------- After several more battles, Kelket worked his way back to Karesta, learning that General Mol had gone missing. As next in command, Kelket took command of the remaining Coalition leaders, Oolam and Aboleth11. Aboleth did not stay with the Coalition long, and Oolam fought valiantly, but ultimately Phyrexia’s superior numbers were taking their toll. Also to Kelket’s great misfortune, a large host of Coalition armies had taken a good bit of damage upon his ascent to General. It was then that the older warriors of the Coalition had returned: KingofDominaria and AlexandrTheGreat. Reinstating them as Captains of factions of their choosing, the new General welcomed them into the ranks. Shortly afterwards, Oolam too disappeared, leaving the rest of the Coalition to handle the battles themselves. By now, many Coalition armies had met their end at the hand of the Phyrexian war machines: Cinder Storm, Virtue’s Ruin, Savage Hunter, Sword of the Ages, and Endless Onslaught. But that was not without Phyrexian casualties as well: Gluttony and Hellsbells. Kelket himself destroyed Hellsbells at Spithra. Mol even returned to the fight, allowing Kelket to maintain his Generalship, while he himself returned to Captain of Black Faction. But Kelket was not to waste such talent that The_Great_Lord had clearly seen, and promoted him to Admiral. Kelket arrayed armies along southern Jamuura in a massive wall, intent on launching a full-scale offensive on the Crater, Abis, and Urza’s Guilt, Phyrexia’s swamp portal. At the same time, Coalition armies gathered around Naideia would assault Phyrexia’s mountain portal, a God’s Throne. Once all were in position, the attack was launched, and battle was met. Phyrexian armies sustained great casualties and were forced to retreat to the areas surrounding their portal bases, which consequently forced a brief stalemate. But then came Tevish Szat’s impressive victory on the islands northeast of Karesta. With the army Pride, an army Kelket himself had fought with at the head of Grip of Chaos, Tevish Szat sacrificed all of his remaining Havoc Demons to score a victory over the general-rank army of Defender of Chaos. The victory was so momentous that the Phyrexians even built a monument on those very islands to honor Tevish Szat. It was a dark day for the Coalition that was later fixed when Kelket sunk Pride to the bottom of the ocean just south of Naideia, as it was retreating. It was sometime just before Pride was destroyed that Mol again disappeared. -------------------------------------------------- After more battles still, the strong Coalition assault faltering into defense, Coalition forces took massive damage all across Dominaria, the defense faltering still. Kelket then learned that Alexandr had business of his own to attend to, and so Kelket granted leave. It was then that KingofDominaria truly shined, winning many battles of his own to further Kelket’s plan. It was around this time that the Phyrexian Chief Praetor TTD left the field, bringing Praetor Murica up to the exalted ranks of leader of Phyrexia. Through all of the battles Kelket and King together managed to capture the Crater and Urza’s Guilt respectively, even though Phyrexia still held Karesta and now controlled the Coalition’s White Base, the only unnamed base. At the head of Nature’s Wrath, Kelket led a frontal assault on the Crater, systematically forcing the enemy back and pushing ever closer to the portal. Kelket himself then led another assault on Karesta with Grip of Chaos, which by now was more his personal army than Blades of Kelket was. At the last moment, the brilliant Phyrexian Chief Praetor Murica exchanged the army TTD with their equivalent of Defender of Chaos: Repax. Already weakened by previous assaults, and fighting a fresh army, Kelket put up an admirable fight. By sending Lightning Angels ahead of his forces, he was able to force Repax out of its dash to the city of Karesta itself. A massive battle was then fought as the two armies clashed. So great was the battle that it continued on into the night. It was a close victory, but ultimately it came down to stamina. Kelket’s living troops were no match for the tireless machines employed by Phyrexia, and after a vicious, brutal battle, Kelket reluctantly ordered Mannichi, the Fevered Dream to withdraw. Discouraged but not out of the game yet, Kelket was overjoyed when a new warrior joined the Coalition: AnubisDread. With a new member to take up the cause Kelket’s morale grew. But Mol was still missing, and he needed a new Admiral. He had put this off for too long, but King’s skill and involvement in the recent months had proved to be vital, and so Kelket named him Admiral. It was not long after that that the experienced and crafty Phyrexian leaders were able to reclaim Urza’s Guilt, though King also reclaimed White Base, which was thereafter named Sacred’s Vigil. Kelket himself managed to keep hold of the Crater after a massive Phyrexian assault. Then the Phyrexians become even more ferocious… Having severely weakened over a dozen Coalition armies with repeated skirmishes and after a string of Coalition defeats, several armies were utterly destroyed. One particularly devastating set of battles occurred when all of Kelket allies failed to send strategies out to their assigned armies, causing a full host of stratless battles which crippled any chance Kelket had of taking Mountain Portal and Island Portal. This also led to the eventual death of three Coalition armies shortly thereafter and absolute failure to overwhelm the forces occupying the terrain around Karesta. Dismayed but holding onto the faith that the Coalition would persevere, Kelket recalled several armies to base defense for the remaining Coalition strongholds while ordering others to press the assault. -------------------------------------------------- Satisfied that his orders would reach his field commanders, Kelket traveled back to the mountain ridge that Grip of Chaos was camped at, recovering from several failed assaults on Karesta. He planeswalked directly to the camp and strode confidently into Mannichi’s command tent. There, he laid out a cunning plan to reclaim Mannichi’s lost home, Red Base, from the army Repax. Advancing on the mountain of Maroa, Kelket ordered the final assault on Karesta, unaware that it would indeed be Grip of Chaos’ last assault. After ordering the construction of siege engines and a full day of bombardment, the already crumbling city was damaged further still. Kelket ordered a charge and led the assault on the mountaintop city with his friend Mannichi at his side. After several raids, Kelket’s main army reached the ramp winding around the city and began the slow ascent up its slopes, even forced to stop and repair unstable sections of the ramp on their way up. Upon reaching the top of the ramp, Kelket and Mannichi fought side by side, pushing ever-deeper into the shattered city. Forcing their way towards the temple and arena districts, Grip of Chaos came under heavy assault in key bottle-neck positions, and after many hours of struggle, a siege was forced. After several days, the long siege finally came to an end. After several days’ wait, dawn broke on the mountaintop, and the Phyrexians charged from the arena, meeting a strong Coalition siege wall. But Kelket had divided his forces as he had a contingent of troops to set traps throughout the ruined city and to construct a simple contraption that would pump lava from the broken lava cannon emplacements up into the arena itself. Traps were set, but the contraption was nowhere near completed, and the forces of Grip of Chaos were forced to set aside their tasks to join the fight. While encountering traps and Mannichi’s troops, the Phyrexian forces still managed to push through the Coalition ranks. With the appearance of a tropical storm that descended upon the countryside, the chaotic battle devolved into an all-out brawl. Mannichi saw his defenses were weakening and found Kelket fighting inside a ruined building. After explaining the situation to the Coalition General, Mannichi asked that his forces be allowed to withdraw. But Kelket would have none of it, his heart filled with fire and his eyes full of conviction. Grip of Chaos would fight on, he told Mannichi, and Karesta would be theirs again! Mannichi reluctantly agreed, realizing that, with his army so reduced from past assaults, that this may very well be the only way. The pair of warriors rejoined the battle and fought valiantly in the storm and the chaos. The streets of Karesta soon ran slick with blood, Coalition and Phyrexian alike. In the end though, Repax’s superior number of troops overwhelmed the Coalition attackers. With a heavy heart and a deep regret at his failure to his General, Mannichi called a retreat, which was echoed by the General himself. In the madness that quickly followed, Mannichi and Kelket became separated. It was then that a group of Dracoplasms the Phyrexians had held in reserve chose to strike. Kelket saw them, saw the Phyrexians forcing a path through the battle for them, and called out to Mannichi as he rushed to save his friend, who was busy marshalling the retreat. Over the storm and the battle, his shouts went unheard, and a trio or Empyrial Archangels blocked his way. Raising Windcleaver high, he hewed through the angels with the fury of an erupting volcano, and charged towards the Fevered Dream. It was then that he saw Mannichi turn towards the rapidly approaching Phyrexians, only to fall under a tide of Dracoplasms. Kelket rushed to his friend’s aid only to find a headless corpse and the Dracoplasms nowhere to be found. A pair of Defilers of Souls ran past him and he ordered them to help him carry his fallen comrade out of the city, shouting orders at allies to cover their retreat. On that day, Kelket and the tattered remains of Mannichi’s army marched away from the mountains of Karesta in defeat. Without looking back, Kelket knew that the Mistform Ultimus, commander of the army Repax, was making the final preparations to annihilate Karesta and the mountain on which it stood. Filled with regret, Kelket knew that Red Base was lost forever. Kelket buried the remains of his friend Mannichi on the slopes of the mountain Rotorua, north of Maroa, and used his new planeswalker powers to magically seal the gravesite from all who would defile or disturb it, and to withstand the test of time. Kelket then ordered the remaining forces of Grip of Chaos to travel to a secret location and to go into hiding, vowing that he would come find them and they would have their revenge… Fall of the CraterShow After his defeat at Karesta and knowing that, not only were there no Coalition armies nearby with the strength to challenge Repax, but that the Phyrexians would soon destroy the base, Kelket Began the long, lonely march south to Avenant Town. Upon arriving at the Coalition-occupied mercenary base, Kelket learned that the Coalition armies fighting across Dominaria were faltering and falling as the Phyrexian war machine continued its onslaught. He also learned that Nature’s Wrath to the south was under siege at the Crater, the Phyrexian’s plains portal. Calling upon his planeswalking powers, Kelket left for the Crater.
Standing on the edge of the crater’s edge, Kelket could feel the heat rising from the barren landscape around him, and saw an all-too familiar scene unfolding below him. Nature’s Wrath, led by Mayael the Anima, had been pushed back inside what was left of the portal dome, which now lay in ruins from constant bombardment by Phyrexian siege machines. Planeswalking right inside the lower half of the dome, Kelket appeared among the trapped Coalition troops. Kelket held a quick audience with Mayael and her command and learned that the Phyrexians had been draining mana from the surrounding countryside to power their portal, killing the flora and fauna for miles around. Dismissing Mayael’s command, Kelket reveals a daring plan to retake the Crater. Finished, Kelket and a handful of Anavolvers altered the Phyrexian portal’s settings, feeding an overflow of mana to the machine. The Coalition forces woke to a cold day on the next morning, along with the constant thunder of bombardment. Conjuring a booming thunderclap, Kelket ordered the attack to commence. Immediately, every Anavolver spread its wings and flew directly upwards from the rubble of the dome, launching a volley of flaming arrows in all directions, attempting to bring the siege weapons to heel. Right behind them flew Canopy Dragons, which immediately engaged the enemy forces around the siege weapons. Apparently outnumbering the Canopy Dragons, the Phyrexians foolishly engaged, only to be met by the Nantuko Phantoms hiding inside the very flesh of the Dragons, along with the Dragons themselves. Suddenly, Thornlings burst from the rubble of the dome and charged the siege weapons, smashing them and their crews into oblivion. Kelket saw the Phyrexian forces faltering as he watched from the base of a twisted slab of metal that was once part of the dome wall. Several bodies of Phyrexians unfortunate enough to try and kill him were scattered around him in a dead pile. Summoning another thunderclap, Mayael’s Venomspout Brackus’ rose from hiding. Once their support-fire began, the Phyrexian lines broke and began a retreat. Having secured a momentous victory, Kelket ordered a perimeter to be set up and planeswalked back to Avenant Town. He returned a few minutes later with his most trusted advisor: Darigaaz, the Igniter. During the battle, the surrounding landscape had withered even further, turning from wasteland to lifeless desert as the surrounding mana fed the Phyrexian portal. Kelket arranged all the creatures of Mayael’s army on one side of the Crater’s edge, himself standing closest to the edge with Mayael to his left and the mighty Igniter to his right. A massive hole had been carved into the floor of the dome’s upper level during Kelket’s brief absence, which had not been hard to do with the destruction the base had seen. With the lower level of the dome exposed the glowing portal was laid bare for all to see, its generator now going critical. Kelket drew his sword, Windcleaver, high over his head. As he did, the mighty Darigaaz drew his head back, flames licking from his open jaws. Kelket brought his sword down in a shopping motion, and Darigaaz belched roiling flame down towards the portal. With a tremendous roar and a searing white light, the entire dome erupted upwards, disintegrating in the blink of an eye. What was left was a molten crater deep inside the Crater. Kelket turned around facing his assembled army, Darigaaz and Mayael turning with him. Raising his blade above his head in triumph, he addressed the warriors before him. “Let this day be remembered! Let this victory mark the day when, against all odds, the Coalition stood defiant against the Phyrexian scourge. They have felt our wrath, and know we shall not give in without a fight. Let us fight valiantly and without fear! Let us send these foul beasts back to the pits from whence they came!” The Coalition soldiers raised their voices in shouts of victory. Round 5 Continues…Show From the ruins of the Phyrexian plains portal, Kelket spent three full days forging a sword from the mana-charged ruins. A slim-bladed long sword, its green-colored hilt holds an egg-sized diamond of the purest quality taken from the molten rock of the New Crater, and glows with an inner lightning. Its hilt is slender like the blade it holds and is wrapped in silver wire. The blade itself, considerably sleeker than the hilt, becomes encased in a blade of lightning upon speaking the word ‘thrum,’ which pours directly from the diamond in the hilt. With its lightning coating, Thunderthrum has the shape of a normal sword. Thunderthrum has the unique ability to launch bolts of lightning from its blade when shrouded in thunder. Adding this to his swords Windcleaver and Spitefang, Kelket readies himself for the days to come. After many more battles, most of which seemed to blur together to Kelket, the General received word of more armies destroyed by the ruthless Phyrexian hordes. To prevent this, Kelket began to cycle armies through Avenant Town, which had for so long sat unused under Coalition control. He began to resupply armies there in full force, ever watchful as the Phyrexian war machine drew ever closer. A few scattered victories were had, but the Coalition was steadily being pushed back. Kelket received word that Phyrexia had slipped through the Coalition defenses and were even now attacking Frank, the Coalition’s Black Base. Kelket also heard that King was in that area, and so he was not overly worried. -------------------------------------------------- Kelket returned to Naideia in an attempt to enhance its defenses, as well as those of Rising Waters, the army defending it. Instead, he arrived just in time to prepare for another assault, as Agent of the Dragon, led by Memnarch, returned to do battle with him once more. Kelket fought well, and planned for almost everything in his battle. Standing atop an outpost mounted with mana cannons, Kelket watched the vicious aerial battle rage around him. All was going according to plan, though Memnarch had managed to draw all of his forces into battle across the lake’s skies. Still, Kelket knew he would stand victorious over this battle, until he caught movement out of the corner of his eye. Looking towards the surface of the lake, he saw Phyrexians subtly releasing explosive-laden boats towards the geysers holding up the other outposts like the one he stood upon. Kelket desperately looked around for any soldiers that he could draw to destroy the boats, but as he looked on, he could see that Memnarch would not let up. Kelket leapt from the roof of the outpost and landed next to a mana cannon. Kelket commandeered the mana cannon and aimed it down into the lake. He began unleashing a torrent of blue mana down on the ships below. One exploded under the barrage, then another. The he was thrown back from the cannon as the outpost itself shook violently. A boat must have reached a geyser to be propelled upward into the underside of the outpost. His fears were confirmed when another explosion rocked the outpost and it started to lurch sideways. He stood, and planeswalked away, arriving at the top of the waterfall overlooking the lake of Naideia. All across the lake, through the haze of countless flying warriors, Kelket saw that other outposts were falling from their perches amid a shower of debris, just as his had. Kelket looked up to observe the battle as the mana cannons began to cease their fire. Memnarch’s forces, though relentless, had been conservative. But with the cessation of mana blasts, they unleashed their true fury, and the Coaliton forces faltered amid this renewed assault. Kelket could not fly, so he knew he could do very little. He looked on for what seemed like years, but could only have been minutes, watching more and more of his loyal soldiers die. He planeswalked and found Jhoira of the Ghitu, leader of Rising Waters. Together, they sounded the retreat and Rising Waters withdrew from the battle. Jhoira looked over her shoulder at the once-fair base, to see Kelket standing on the shore of the lake unmoving. Then he vanished, planeswalking away. -------------------------------------------------- Kelket later assaulted the Phyrexian controlled Naideia with a considerably weaker army, Pale Moon. This was to be a suicidal charge to pave the way for Rising Water’s return. Kelket himself led the charge. It ended simply being suicidal. Pale Moon was all but destroyed and was force to retreat, and later destroyed, and the Phyrexian forces closed around the base, cutting the now heavily weakened Rising Waters off. Kelket knew that there would be no second chance for Naideia, and did not have to wait long to witness its destruction. Disgusted with himself for his failure to reclaim Naideia, Kelket left with Rising Waters on a long, cold ocean voyage to Frank. Kelket arrived at Frank to learn that the Phyrexians had captured it, but King had valiantly reclaimed it from their grip. That was when Kelket first began to doubt himself in the face of King’s greater experience. But he pressed on, having left Rising Waters behind on the voyage in his desire to see what was going on in the south. He traveled from Frank down to Spithra and learned that the Phyrexians had caught on to his little trick and had assaulted Avenant Town during an army transfer. The defense had been valiant but both Coalition and Phyrexian had attempted to launch a siege on the city, assuming the other would occupy Avenant Town. In the end, superior numbers and siege weaponry carried the day for the Phyrexians and Avenant Town was lost. Kelket began preparations to retake it when he received even darker news. The Phyrexians had, during Kelket’s campaign at Naideia, surrounded Defender of Chaos, the Coalition’s most powerful army led by Ulasht the Hate Seed, and had been whittling it away. Ulasht had survived several battles and even an attempt on his life. Kelket had left orders for Defender of Chaos to return to Spithra, Green Base, for reinforcements, and had only returned to Ulasht each week to learn if it was under attack or not, whereupon he would command Ulasht's forces in the battle. Kelket immediately planeswalked towards the battle, as he had done so many times before, but by the time he arrived it was too late, the battle was over. Hundreds of Coalition soldiers littered the ground, outnumbering those of their enemies. Enraged, Kelket captured an enemy Havoc Demon as the enemy army, Council of Shadows, left the field. Kelket brutally interrogated the demon and learned that the Phyrexian forces had struck Ulasht’s forces early on. The Phyrexians had forced Ulasht’s troops further and further into mountainside caves, forcing Ulasht to collapse several. The Phyrexians then waited a few days and then dug out the Coalition leader’s remaining forces. Ulasht and his warriors had suffocated as their air supply ran out in what was supposed to be their salvation. It seemed that Kelket's orders had not been enough. Knowing all he needed to, Kelket slew the demon and left. He vowed to make Phyrexia pay for what they had done and left to plan a course of action with his most trusted advisor, KingofDominaria. -------------------------------------------------- The weeks brought only more battles to the Coalition forces. Kelket returned to his namesake army, Blades of Kelket, which was part of the siege force of Avenant Town. Summoning the great dragon Darigaaz to his command tent on the plains to the south of Avenant Town, Kelket asked of the news of Nature’s Wrath, which had destroyed the Plains Portal. The Igniter informed him that now word had come ahead from the army yet. Kelket decided that he would find Mayael’s army himself. He had spoken in great length with KingofDominaria over the previous days, having utilized his developing powers of planeswalking. He ordered Darigaaz to organize an assault force from the defenders of Green and White bases as well as the siege force of Avenant Town. The dragon asked where they would be assaulting. Kelket brought him over to a large table with maps and papers scattered about it and pointed to a large fortress to the east, which all of the Coalition knew of all too well: Urza’s Guilt. Darigaaz turned to the general, shocked. A large force had already assaulted Urza’s Guilt several times, with all forays leading to failure. Kelket’s response was simple: “We’ll take it or we won’t, but we gain nothing by not trying.” Having received his, the two began making preparations for troop positioning. Darigaaz pointed out that a large contingent of armies was spaced around the Swamp Portal of Urza’s Guilt, while others were clustered between it and Green Base, Spithra. Kelket nodded, as this was one of the issues he had spoken with King about. He told the dragon not to worry, that all forces north of Spithra save only two were now under King’s control, and would fortify Black Base against possible attack. Darigaaz accepted this explanation as enough and preparations were finalized. The next day, Kelket, at the head of seven armies, made their way towards Swamp Portal. -------------------------------------------------- That was when he placed command of the assault on Urza’s Guilt on Kaldra, commander of the army Nuissance Engine. Instead of Kelket or Darigaaz leading the assault, she would command the forces to break through the Phyrexian defense line. Kelket steered Blades of Kelket away from Urza’s Guilt, further south to Nature’s Wrath’s last known location. Having set the heading, Kelket left Darigaaz’s company and planeswalked ahead. Among the ocean, he found Mayael’s forces separated from land by Phyrexian forces. He slipped through the blockade to meet up with Mayael’s forces. Apparently, when the general had left Nature’s Wrath to coordinate the Naideia defensive forces, the Phyrexians had forced Nature’s Wrath further and further east. Eventually, they had entered the ocean and lost sight of land. Kelket came up with a daring solution, and ordered Mayael’s forces to attack the nearest Phyrexian army, intent on driving past them. After a brief but costly battle in the wind and rain, Kelket’s strategy had paid off; they had forced the Phyrexians out of their path… Only to find more waiting. Kelket was dismayed to find that he had, in forcing their way past one army, had placed Nature’s Wrath squarely in a position that had enabled the Phyrexians to completely surround the army. Again, Kelket felt doubt in his ability, wondered if perhaps he was up to the task of leadership, when he decided that he would prevail no matter what. Kelket was content to leave his army stationary, afloat on the ocean waves, planning. It was another week before Nature’s Wrath saw any action, and the army’s supplies were running out. They would have to escape soon, or they wouldn’t at all. They didn’t have long to wait though, as Phyrexia was not done with Nature’s Wrath yet. This time Nature’s Wrath would not be fighting one army, but two. According to Kelket’s scouts, the enemy armies (Fall From Grace and Wrath) would most likely attempt an assassination of Mayael. The general looked around at the ships that his forces would most likely be confined to in the battle ahead. His tired and dwindling forces would be slaughtered. Unless… As the day of the battle came, all the Phyrexian forces found were undermanned ships carrying Anavolvers disguised as Mayael the Anima. The weather that day weak was terrible, with storms and cyclones a constant. Both forces were roughed up by the storm, but that didn’t concern Kelket in the least, as he and Mayael were underwater. With a small defense force, Kelket commanded his elemental rhinos to swallow small defense forces of Venomspout Brackus and Phantom Nantukos. He and Mayael then found their way inside of one. The Thornlings then sucked in large amounts of air and leapt overboard the ships, using the air as ballasts to become submarines. Since the Thornlings didn’t need to breathe, this arrangement was perfect and as it turned out, was completely undetected by the Phyrexian forces. Still, the Coalitioners on the surface were pushed back, so Kelket’s living submarines had to follow. Mayael’s forces were badly damaged now, as Kelket once more took stock of the situation from the deck of a battered ship. Between the cyclones and the enemy joint engagement, the Coalition morale was beginning to fall, if it hadn’t already. Kelket sat down on a railing. He needed to think of something he could do to get Nature’s Wrath and Mayael back to Spithra for rest, reinforcements, and resupply. But the Phyrexians would have none of that, as they intercepted his forces. A cry came from the crow’s nest from a Phantom Nantuko. Kelket looked to Mayael who translated for him: they had found the Coalition forces. Dismayed and frustrated, Kelket ordered the strategy from the last battle to be repeated here, though on a considerably smaller scale due to the heavily diminished forces. Aboard a Thornling deep beneath the surface, all Mayael and Kelket could do was wait, the general having called for an immediate retreat. Kelket had ordered ten Phantom Nantukos to stand guard inside Mayael’s Thornling and, looking around, he could tell that even the spirits were nervous. In each other’s company, the small group waited for what seemed like days, but could only have been a few hours. Finally, for the sake of breathable air, the Thornling had to surface. As soon as its head broke the surface, it was struck by some kind of explosive and sent rolling about. Kelket held tight to Mayael even as the Thornling around him was torn apart by the Phyrexian Havoc Demons being used as living depth charges. Water was flooding inside the creature as Kelket and Mayael were again tossed about as another explosion rocked the elemental. Kelket blacked out when his head struck something hard. When he came to, Kelket found himself still holding Mayael. He looked around and found that the planeswalker’s armor had caught on a piece of a Coalition ship which was floating calmly along the water’s surface. Everywhere he looked, Kelket saw shattered ships, small boat wreckage, and bodies all floating on the water-stained-red. The Coalition forces had been utterly overpowered. Kelket looked Mayael, laying peacefully on the edge of timber. Then he saw that she had a large gash in her forehead, which looked to have bled quite a bit. Calling upon his new powers, he tried to detect any life within the elf. He found none, and knew she was dead. He floated there for a long time, trying to accept what had just happened. He had lost another army commander, another friend. Still holding Mayael’s body, he planeswalked away, to a place he himself had made. Traveling to the slopes of Rotorua, where he had buried the remains of Mannichi and, more recently, Ulasht, he magically crafted another grave. Magically sealing the tomb against the ravages of time and any that were not him, he walked back down the warm mountain slopes for a third time. This time, he headed not for rest at Spithra or Sacred’s Vigil, which had been the name only recently given to White Base, but to the frontlines. He would travel to Urza’s Guilt, link up with Kaldra’s forces, and make the Phyrexians pay. Upon reaching the base of the mountain, as he had made his ritual, he planeswalked away to arrive on Darigaaz’s back. The dragon still taking his forces to Nature’s Wrath’s location and had never made it in time, were still not even close. “Turn around, we have a portal to close.” -------------------------------------------------- Kelket directed Blades of Kelket towards Urza’s Guilt, the location of the Phyrexian Swamp Portal. The army had just passed into Phyrexian territory when Kelket caught sight of an army he knew all too well: the Ultimus. Eager to seek revenge on the Phyrexians, Kelket ordered an attack on the approaching Phyrexians. His army responded eagerly. His assault was swift and fast, using a complex grouping of formations and a reliance on the speed and maneuverability of his troops. The Blades of Kelket rained arrows on the Ultimus’ troops, hurled dragonfire their way, and even hacked and slashed with tooth and claw, despite the Ultimus’ more powerful army. This went on for many hours, the whole while the Ultimus had entered one massive turtle formation. Despite Kelket’s best efforts, he and his forces could not break through the Phyrexian defense. Though very little damage was done on both sides, Kelket knew that time was of the essence, and so he ordered his troops to withdraw. As Kelket rode on Darigaaz’s back, he realized that he needed to try a different approach. He thought back to the last battles he had fought: battles with Mannichi, Ulasht, and Mayael. Though he had had some scattered moments of brilliance such as the breaking of the siege of Spithra by Tevish_Szat, or a long defense of Naideia, or the destruction of the Crater, he realized that he was still fighting like an angry pyromancer. Never before had so simple a defense as the Ultimus’ bested his fast attack style. He realized that he was still fighting like he commanded the Coalition’s Red Faction. Now he was General and had to harness all five colors of magic, the grouping of those five colors, and colorless magic, rather than rely on the speed and aggression associated with red mana. He had, on occasion, recently heard soldiers from several armies he had worked multiple times with refer to him as the Fireknight, a description he felt was apt. Kelket resolved to do this as his campaign bore down on Urza’s Guilt. Unfortunately, Kelket’s scouts continually reported Phyrexian armies maneuvering around Urza’s Guilt. Afraid of getting cut off and slaughtered like Nature’s Wrath, Kelket ordered Blades of Kelket to go around. He knew this would take some time, so he left orders with Darigaaz to be careful and planeswalked ahead, appearing in the midst of Kaldra’s forces: Nuisance Engine. Assault on Urza’s GuiltShow During Kelket’s absence from the frontlines, Kaldra’s forces had begun the arduous task of breaking through the Phyrexian defense line, hitting it from the west, northwest, and southwest. The Phyrexian defense was strong, and only Nuisance Engine had managed to break through the lines. Even now, Kaldra’s forces sat on the edge of the battlefield far out of sight of Urza’s Guilt. For an entire night, Kelket spent much time planning different attack routes with Kaldra and his command staff. Kelket’s initial response was to barrel right into the enemy, but he gave no voice to that thought, remembering with no small amount of guilt the fate of Mannichi. Instead, he voiced a warning of caution, and everyone in the command tent looked at him with expressions of shock or disbelief. He couldn’t blame them, as caution was probably not what the stories told of the Fireknight. Before any could speak, he quickly laid out his plan. It was agreed that on the morrow, the Phyrexians would know fear. After hours of construction during the early hours of the morning, Kaldra’s contingent of Teeka’s Dragons were lashed to sled-drawn catapults, for easier going in the mire around the portal. As Kaldra’s forces advanced on Urza’s Guilt, Kelket ordered the first volley of catapult ammunition to be readied. The shots were set aflame, loosed, and struck the ramparts of the enemy fortress. Simultaneously, Kelket knew, five squads of Platinum Angels would be assaulting the base from separate directions. The gouts of flame and rubble from one of the base’s towers told Kelket his plot had worked. Based on earlier intelligence from General Mol before he vanished, Kelket had learned that the Phyrexians stored plaguebombs, or at least explosives of some sort, inside the towers. He had planned for this, and watched with pride as Darksteel Gargoyles all around him climbed into the catapult baskets, folding themselves into balls. He planeswalked ahead as the volley was loosed and arrived on the enemy ramparts, surprising a pair of Mistform Dreamers, which he quickly dispatched. Looking to the sky, he saw the incoming volley, and looked back to the fortress. The Phyrexians were bracing for the incoming projectiles, but were caught completely by surprise when, with smooth grace, the incoming projectiles unfolded, spread wings, and flew with precision to shred many shocked Phyrexians. To keep up the pressure, Kelket raised his sword Thunderthrum and fired a bolt of lightning straight into the air. Almost immediately, Platinum Angels surged over the walls of the keep and laid into the Phyrexians. All of this was done under constant bombardment from the catapults. In only a short while, Kaldra’s forces controlled the upper portions of the fortress. The Phyrexians fled deep into their fortress, repelling any attempt by the Coalition troops to go after them. Kelket was also not willing to risk his troops going through the booby-trapped tunnels beneath the complex, and so two days of continuous bombardment commenced. Finally, the fortress had been weakened so much that its roof began to split. Another bolt of lightning from Kelket’s blade was all the sign the mechanical dragons needed. As the last volley ended and sunlight finally shone on very surprised Phyrexians, Kelket watched with fierce satisfaction as burning catapults plummeted down on Phyrexian heads. The General watched through the haze of flames as the Coalition forces swarmed erratically about the massed Phyrexians, and it was not long before they were sent running from Urza’s Guilt with Coalition arrows not far behind. Kelket smiled beneath his helmet. Perhaps Fireknight was a good name indeed. Kelket knew that Mannichi would be proud of him this day. A thought formed in the General’s mind, and he decided that when this was all over, he would visit Mannichi’s home of Kamigawa. For now though, he thought as he sheathed his weapons, there was a war to win. -------------------------------------------------- For a time, Nuisance Engine held Urza’s Guilt, fighting off the hordes of Phyrexians. Then the next major assault came. Kelket set to work on having the Platinum Angels under Kaldra’s command attempt to repair the Phyrexian black mana cannons. The effort came to no avail as the next Phyrexian offensive struck before Kelket’s forces had substantial time to work. Ultimately, repairing Phyrexianised structures in such a short time was beyond Kaldra’s best technicians and Kelket was forced to revert to more direct methods. Ordering Kaldra’s mechanical dragons to put the surrounding swamps to torch, Kelket ordered his troops to gather the remaining stores of black mana bombs inside the base. He then ordered ambush positions be taken. As the Phyrexian forces broke through the Coalition defenses and entered the base, a small contingent of Teeka’s Dragons fell back inside the base, fighting tooth and nail. Then as the dark hordes descended, the dragons made the ultimate sacrifice and poured fire on the bombs. With the base horribly ruptured and patches of damp swampland ablaze, chaos ensued before Kelket called for a ‘retreat.’ Withdrawing to the battlefields edges, he ordered his tireless mechanical troops to immediately begin construction of siege weapons. After many hours of laboring, the army advanced again on Urza’s Guilt, blasting away at range as they closed the distance. Finally, at Kaldra’s insistent call for glory, Kelket remained behind with the siege force while Kaldra himself led a desperate assault on the fortress. It ultimately came to nothing though, as the Coalition forces had difficulty distinguishing between illusions and true Phyrexians. Finally, with many days having passed Kelket realized that his forces were running low on supplies and called a retreat. As the general sent Kaldra’s forces to the fringes of the fighting around the Phyrexian portal, he took command of Martyr’s Cause, leading another immediate assault on Urza’s Guilt, which ultimately proved disastrous. Having been forced to retreat again and again, Kelket ordered his forces to attempt to regroup, taking the time to show a new recruit, Drraken by name, the ropes on commanding an army. Eventually, Kelket learned that his northern forces, under Drraken’s command, as well as the defenders of Vodalis Town, had fallen. His northern flanks falling, Kelket also received word that his southern forces had been utterly wiped out by Phyrexian forces, their commanders having been methodically assassinated. With only his rapidly dwindling main force left, Kelket called for all forces to withdraw to any safety they could. Immediately, he learned that Kaldra had perished in the retreat. Enraged at this continual slaughter, he planeswalked to the battle, retrieved Kaldra’s broken form after many hours of searching, and returned to his small burial grounds near the ruins of Karesta. After laying the avatar’s headless body to rest, Kelket swore he would make the Phyrexians pay. Round 5 Rages OnShow For a brief time, Kelket returned to Spithra to find word of the other warzones. What he discovered was grim. On two fronts, King was fighting admirably. To the north, the battle for Frank, the Coalition’s Black Base, had come to a stalemate, with King sending away any armies too damaged to continue the fight. Ultimately, this lead to the surrounding of the base by Phyrexian armies though King was still wiping the floor with the Phyrexian scourge. To the south, the Phyrexians were close to destroying Sacred’s Vigil, White Base. Kelket knew that this was the last bastion of many armies to resupply at and so was heavily important to the Coalition offensive. So far, the battle was back and forth, leading up to the current Phyrexian occupation. Kelket was about to travel south to offer assistance when Spithra came under assault by the right hand of Phyrexia: the army Repax. With a personal vendetta against the army commanded by the Ultimus for the ravages of Coalition forces in the assault on the Crater, Kelket eagerly engaged. The Phyrexian assault was steady and relentless, though Coalition forces carried out multiple ambushes and hit-and-run attacks, they failed to turn the enemy away. Standing atop the round city mounted on the back of the brood-spider Sheila, Kelket was not overly concerned with this. One of his men, an Anavolver scout approached him with word from Arashi, the Sky Asunder, who was safely hiding inside the city. The scout asked him what his orders were in response to the unwavering Phyrexian advance. Kelket’s response was three words long as he folded his arms in impatience: let them come. He did not have long to wait long before the Phyrexians broke through the trees surrounding Sheila’s clearing. Leaping from the top of the city, Kelket expertly cut down a Sphinx of the Steel Wind, using it to break his fall. With a wave of his sword, his trap was sprung and all of his forces burst from their hiding spot. A brief but bloody battle ensued, with Kelket fighting in the thick of it. His time at Naideia had served him well, the mages having taught him flight magic. As he speared a Windreaver with lightning, Kelket heard a monumental crash and the ground shook with the force of a wrathful earthquake. Kelket turned around in mid-air to see Sheila fall wounded as the Phyrexians swarmed around her Phantom Nantuko defenders. A tree twice the brood-spider’s size had been cut down by the devious Phyrexians to fall and crush all of her legs on one side. Shaken both literally and morally, it was all the distraction the Phyrexians needed to ravage the forces of Chaos Moon, Spithra’s traditional defense. Eager for blood, and angered at again being outsmarted by theses unfeeling abominations, Kelket was about to charge when Arashi appeared before him, calling for a withdrawal. Looking around, Kelket was forced to concede. Kelket was brooding over these dire circumstances in a hastily constructed camp outside Spithra’s borders when a warrior came to him. The Anavolver brought news from the east. Forces under the command of Darigaaz were still fighting to the east, though they could no longer penetrate the Phyrexian defenses as thoroughly as before. Kelket smiled beneath his visor and stood. He left orders about how to soften up the Phyrexian defense until his return and then ‘walked from the camp. Kelket planeswalked back to the frontlines of eastern Jamuura, near Urza’s Guilt, and gathered together his tattered armies, renewing the assault. At the head of his namesake, his Blades, he launched back at Urza’s Guilt for one last try, only to be intercepted by another Phyrexian army: Demonfire. With hate in his heart and rage in his eyes, Kelket himself led the charge at the enemy army. Strangely, the armies clashed only briefly and, without much real bloodshed, the enemy army continued its flight right past his army, which has struck air-to-air at the enemy army from all angles. Kelket was furious at the failed offensive he had led, Spithra’s capture, and was finally ready to ride at the vanguard of his namesake and here the enemy was running! Any other time, Kelket would have stopped to consider if the Phyrexians truly feared him or did not consider his favoured army a threat. But right now he only wanted to take the fight to the Phyrexians. War’s EndShow With few armies left fighting around Urza’s Guilt, Kelket was cut off from the portal. In frustration, he led his Blades against the nearest enemy he could find. Calling Fiery Justice to his aid, led by Kresh the Bloodbraided, Kelket launched an assault on Agent of the Dragon. Led by Memnarch, Kelket had fought this enemy before at Naideia several times. Blades of Kelket and Fiery Justice quickly linked up and launched a massive assault. With speed and numbers on their side, Agent of the Dragon was quickly forced into a retreat. Kelket was not satisfied, but realized that he could no longer linger in this region. With less than a handful of almost destroyed armies left, he ordered all forces to fall back and regroup at Spithra. Planeswalking ahead of the armies, Kelket arrived in an even direr situation. Spithra was on its last legs, having been ravaged by the Phyrexians. The very forest smelled of death now, and Kelket found what was left of Chaos Moon on the outskirts of the forest. The battle that ensued was fierce, with both sides fighting through the rain and mud for every inch of ground. Kelket was by the side of the army commander Arashi, the Sky Asunder, the entire time. Many Phyrexians fell that day, but to Kelket’s dismay even more Coalition warriors fell. Kelket took the field then, hacking down the foul hordes in scores. His forces rallying, the tides of the battle were turning, the Coalitioners pushing the Phyrexians back. Then a shadow loomed over the battlefield and Kelket looked skyward. A hulking monstrosity of chitin and metal loomed over the Coalition forces in the form of Sheila, the giant spider that had borne Spithra atop her back. The spider began to smash its legs down atop Kelket’s forces, gouging great furrows in the ground. Kelket looked to Arashi and the General’s own feelings were written plain on the spirit’s smoky features. As Kelket lost warriors in droves, Chaos Moon began a retreat. When Kelket would recount this tale to others he would describe it not as an orderly withdrawal or a tactical retreat. The Phyrexians had won without doubt: this was a rout. Battered and beaten from months in the fires of battle, Kelket was weary of the losses, for he knew that Spithra was indeed now lost. From a distance, as he stared at the woods he had spent so long successfully defending, he could almost see the trees withering in front of him. He turned away from the lost forest and the distant moans of a giant monster hungry for Coalition blood and planeswalked to the Coalition’s last bastion: the Black Base Frank, to the north. Kelket arrived just in time to watch the last moments of a battle that would decide the fate of Dominaria. A Phyrexian army was forcing Tokwana, Frank’s current defender, from its walls. As Tokwana’s forces retreated through the swamps and the Phyrexian army Kelket identified as Dark Magistrate ravaged the fortress, Kelket knew this war was lost. Kelket had seen the battle reports, had heard that there were now no armies close enough to retake the base before the Phyrexians destroyed it. Briefly, Kelket wondered about King, of what he would do now. But Kelket dismissed those thoughts in the face of his duty. He now had to bring what was left of the battered Coalition and go into hiding. With a last sorrowful glance at a base he had never set foot in, Kelket planeswalked away… AftermathShow As Phyrexians swarmed the land of Dominaria, he and the remnants of several armies under his control went into hiding. Instructing Darigaaz, Kelket’s favored commander, to stay hidden until his return, the General left Dominaria to search the planes for reinforcements. His first trip was to the plane of Kamigawa, home of Mannichi the Fevered Dream. Remembering his fallen commander, Kelket traveled the lands for some time. Finally, he came upon a spirit called Skyfire Kirin. At first Kelket thought that is was some strange beast of the land until he discovered that it was clearly intelligent. Communication was difficult, but through magic, Kelket and the Kirin came to an agreement on aiding Dominaria. Taking the Skyfire Kirin with him, Kelket left for another plane. The General’s next stop brought him to the plane of Alara, newly reunited from five shards. Kelket arrived in a city somewhere in the land of Bant. After travelling to many other cities, Kelket learned of the other four shards which had recently been reunited with Bant. Briefly, Kelket and the Skyfire Kirin traveled to Grixis. Observing the creatures of Grixis, Kelket was reminded of the incompleat Phyrexians he had fought before; more zombie than metal. Shortly, Kelket traveled to the other lands before finally arriving in Jund. Having favored dragons in the past, Kelket decided to search for the mightiest dragon of Jund. Kelket heard briefly of Nicol Bolas, whom he had fought and defeated in the last war. Eventually, Kelket and the Skyfire Kirin were attacked by a monstrously huge dragon. The battle was brief, as Kelket had the strength of a planeswalker. Kelket subdued the dragon and learned that the dragon was named Karrthus, Tyrant of Jund. It took a bit of work, but Kelket got Karrthus to agree to come with him back to Dominaria. Knowing that he could only planeswalk so many companions, Kelket decided to return to Dominaria before setting out for a new plane. He returned to find the makings of a war before him. In Kelket’s absence, a new leader arose: capashen_dawn, once a Phyrexian and then a dice god, returned to fight in the name of the Coalition. As capashen_dawn, also called CD, had assumed mantle of General, Kelket returned to his role as Admiral and leader of Red Faction. Gathering together veterans of the last war, Darigaaz, warriors who served in the army of Mannichi: a minotaur named Rokkesh Shar’orn and a demon named Elith-Dral, and Tarox Bladewing, commander of the army Dragonstorm; Kelket formed the leadership of the new Red Faction of the Coalition with his new companions. It was then that CD told Kelket to gather another army to fill out his lower ranks. Kelket and his armies began the march to a new fortress called Hispalis, located in Shiv. Established in Kelket’s absence by Darigaaz, the steward of Hispalis was a goblin by the name of Ib Halfheart, who led in Hispalis’ construction. Initially, Kelket thought this was a mockery made of him by his old friend Darigaaz, until he realized just how defensible Hispalis really was. Kelket had his final commander. Returning to General capashen_dawn, Kelket announced that his forces were ready for war. Darigaaz was to lead the Blades of Kelket, Rokkesh was to lead Dreams of Yore (the resurrection of Grip of Chaos), Elith-Dral was to lead Nova Breakers, Tarox Bladewing would lead Towering Inferno, Karrthus would lead Fire Tyrants, Skyfire Kirin was to lead Breath of Dawn, and Ib would command Ib's Strike Team. The Sixth Great WarShow Kelket learned that not only had the Phyrexians maintained a foothold on Dominaria, they were pressing upon a plane known as Mirrodin, created by the silver golem Karn. It occurred to Kelket that Karn himself had fought in the last war and was defeated by the Phyrexians. Kelket vowed that he would fight for Mirrodin just as hard as Dominaria. With CD and a host of new players among the Coalition, the forces of Dominaria would push the Phyrexians straight back to their own monstrous world! Knowing that this war would be fiercer than the last, Kelket sheathed his weapons for the last time. Traveling to a hidden fortress on Dominaria, Kelket left behind his battered war gear and returned to Hispalis. Putting the best artificers of Red Faction to work, Kelket designed shining new armor forged of etherium and crafted a vicious new blade to replace his old weapons. Nicknamed Soulthorn, this new blade could scour the souls of the living and still the restless souls of the undead alike. Now he had only to test his new equipment… -------------------------------------------------- With the dawn of a new war as well as a handful of new commanders rising the ranks of the Coalition leadership, as well as a veteran from old wars named Myril, Kelket was content to step back, let General Capashen lead the way to victory, and show the new arrivals how it was done. Kelket paid little attention to what was going on in the rest of the war, concerned only with striking a decisive blows in battles that CD assigned him. With the exception of a couple of scattered battles, he was successful. Then an opportunity appeared. Among the ruins of Kelket's old home of Karesta, a great temple was raised to honor the fallen Coalition warriors of the Fifth War, constructed around the mountain on which Kelket had constructed buried his past commanders that fell in battle. He also learned from Darigaaz, who had ordered the Sepulchre's construction, that the small cemetery containing those graves was hidden deep in the heart of the monument, whose halls were guarded by monks who tended to the grounds. He also learned that the location was very near to the Monument to Tevish_Szat, CD wanted this region captured for the Coalition. Kelket gladly led the charge, but his forces were pushed back. Kelket was frustrated by this defeat, but it would not last long. Kelket was given new orders that Red Faction was to lead the charge to Mirrodin. With Kelket's personal army at the vanguard, Kelket led Red Faction south across Dominanaria, leaving Shiv behind and entering the portal to Mirrodin. Leaving only the army Breath of Dawn behind, Kelket's forces found themselves on the plane of Mirrodin within easy reach of Phyrexia's only stronghold on Mirrodin, Gehenna. Fortune, as well as the Dice Gods, smiled on Kelket, as resistance was minimal around Gehenna. The army named after Tevish_Szat was preoccupied with assaulting the nearby town, Ish Sah. Kelket vowed that he would leave his mark on the dawn of this war, and his mark would be the destruction of Gehenna. The Blades of Kelket drove straight for Gehenna, climbing through up the mountain path to the stronghold and swiftly and brutally dislodging its defenders. Kelket himself led the attack, determined to bring this base to ruin. At the start of this war, his attention was drawn between the war as well as other projects. Now though, he recalled memories of the last war, his drawn-out and crushing defeat, and his ire was brought forth. With careful planning and coordination with CD, Red Faction maintained a hold on Gehenna as well as its forward perimeter, with CD's forces guarding its flanks. Phyrexian forces breached the defense forces, but Kelket poured everything he had into holding destroying Gehenna, and the attack was repelled. Kelket called on First Captain Rokkesh to send reinforcements from Dreams of Yore. As troops from the First Captain's army filed up the mountain path, Kelket looked on in satisfaction that he would make his General proud. Though his attention was drawn to other battles around Gehenna as well as back on Dominaria, Kelket's focus inevitably returned to Gehenna. Another week passed and Kelket received word from CD that Tevish's namesake was moving in to attempt to take Gehenna back. Kelket called Tarox Bladewing, commander of Towering Inferno, to his side, and asked him to make a sacrifice for the greater gain of the Coalition. Tarox's forces were to attack Tevish and keep the army preoccupied long enough for Gehenna to be destroyed. The great dragon was not about to disappoint Kelket, and battle was met. Though Tarox's forces were soundly defeated, he managed to drag the battle on long enough for Gehenna's destruction to be complete. Fall of GehennaShow Kelket stood atop a ruined wall of the Grand Fortress of Gehenna, staring down at the battered mountainside. His forces had finished salvaging whatever supplies they could from the Phyrexian stores, and had already rendezvoused at a camp set up among the steppes well away from the three mountains that made up the stronghold of Gehenna. The Dice Gods only knew, this war was far from over and the Coalition would need everything they could get. While the armies surrounding Gehenna had held off the Phyrexian forces attempting to take back the base, Kelket had ordered Deathbringer Thoctars to topple the walls of the Grand Fortress, which had inevitably led to its ceiling falling in. As very little of the structure surrounding the Altar of Black Flames, which created the endless smog around the mountains, and the Portal to Phyrexia remained. Kelket took one last look around at the destruction constant battle and purposeful damage had wrought. Though the enemy had not had time to bring their stronger armies to bear, the forces they had sent at the base had fought just as viciously. But Kelket's wrath would not be held back, and he had done what was necessary to ensure that Gehenna would fall. Forces from both the Blades of Kelket and reinforcements sent from Dreams of Yore had just finished sealing Gehenna's forges shut less than an hour ago, activating the lava flow controls and setting it to flow beyond safety limits set by the operating equipment. The Grand Admiral looked to the smog-filled sky, knowing soon that this damaged land would soon be cleansed, and saw Darigaaz the Igniter fly just below the cloud cover towards the camp. Kelket planeswalked down to the edge of the camp, his back facing the mountains that Gehenna was built upon. All those among his Blades had gathered here to see the destruction of the enemy's foothold on Mirrodin, and he would not disappoint them. The Igniter swooped down to take his place among the leadership of Red Faction, which Kelket had called to this place for just this occasion. Gathered on either side of him was the commander from each army of Red Faction: Darigaaz, Tarox Bladewing, Karrthus, and Skyfire Kirin to his right and Rokkesh, Elith-Dral, and Ib Halfheart to his left. This would be a day to remember. "Warriors of the Coalition, you have all served well in the brief time of this Sixth Great War against the forces of Phyrexia. And today, you have done Red Faction proud! On this moment, we make it clear to all Phyrexians that we intend to win this war. We'll march right into the depths of Phyrexia and show them what we're made of! Glory to the Coalition!" As Kelket finished speaking, he turned around to face Gehenna and all those gathered turned to look as well. Already, a bright red glow could be seen at the tops of the mountains even from this distance. In only a few more moments, the ground began to shake. Then, the forges having been forced to overflow against sealed outlets now glowing red-hot, and with the earth coming to life beneath them, lava erupted in a great gout above the Second Mount that could be seen for miles around. The blast obliterated the forges and annihilated the mountaintop, sending huge chunks of molten rock into the sky. The lava then came crashing down, blanketing the rest of the mountains as well as some of the surrounding terrain. The First Mount was completely coated, with a portion of it that was closest to the Second Mount blasted apart, the outpost set up to resupply passing warriors now gone forever in the face of such destruction. The Third Mount was not spared either. Lava, rock, and ash tumbled down onto the ruins of the Grand Fortress, smashing the Portal and completely obliterating the Altar of Black Flames. Munitions for the Phyrexian cannons that were left behind ignited, going off like exploding fireworks, helping the eruption tear apart whatever was left of the Grand Fortress. The earth calmed and what was once a defensible Phyrexian stronghold was now a glowing mass blanketing the mountains. The Second Mount was all but gone, its upper half having exploded outward and upward; the remaining mountains had taken the punishment such a volcanic eruption could give. Gehenna had fallen, and with it, Phyrexia's main source of opposition on Mirrodin. As those gathered looked on at the fiery destruction of Gehenna, the clouds of smog covering the landscape began to fade as the magic supporting them died. The sun broke across the landscape, signaling that Phyrexia's time on Mirrodin would soon be at an end. The Ravages of WarShow As the weeks carried on and the war on Mirrodin was raged, many of the bases scattered across the metal land were battered and beaten, falling into disrepair. As a sight on continued battle and of the most strategic importance, the once majestic Seat of the Synod was the greatest victim. Kelket himself led to its ravaging as it continuously changed hands from Phyrexian to Coalition. As more of the Coalition leadership vanished for various reasons though, it came down to just Myril and Kelket fighting for the Coalition. Although Dominaria had been all but secured, a few towns remained under Phyrexian control. Pressed into service across Mirrodin and Phyrexia, Kelket kept up his vicious fighting style. Kelket remembered what a prolonged war had done to the Coalition front in the last Great War and even if he had stepped down in leadership, he was determined to bring the enemy to their knees as swiftly as possible. Across the planes, Kelket was tasked with various battles to oversee, but he was determined to do more than just win. As Myril reduced the Phyrexian stronghold count down to two, Kelket personally observed the deaths of three enemy commanders. Kelket was also pleased to hear that Myril had given Sheila a much needed rest, putting an end to the Phyrexianized spider queen and sending her brood scattering. Reining in his aggressive tactics, he orchestrated the deaths of Gwendlyn Di Corci, the Patron of the Moon, and Vorinclex, Voice of Hunger. Of those three, Kelket was most proud of his near flawless victory over Vorinclex. Among the Ruins of Karesta, Kelket stood at the head of Demonsedge, commanded by Bruna, Light of Alabaster. Making his stand inside the Sepulchre of Karesta, Kelket ordered his forces to barricade themselves inside the enormous mausoleum. As the work progressed, Kelket instructed Bruna to lead a group of 500 Sturmgeists outside of the Sepulchre and lie in wait for the enemy whilst he took direct command of her forces. The enemy arrived and battle was fought furiously, with bunkers having been constructed at key locations throughout the Sepulchre. As volleys of arrows filled the great hallways, Vorinclex's huge beasts forced their way forward, falling in countless numbers. Still, it had only been a matter of time before Kelket's forces were steadily forced back into the fortress as Phyrexians poured through the openings in the barricades. Though the enemy fought relentlessly and with great valor, for which Kelket admired him for, the knight knew that sheer size would grind the push to a halt as Vorinclex was forced into tight hallways. Though Vorinclex's forces were steadily pushing deeper into the Sepulchre, Bruna's Sturmgeists swarmed into the fortress behind the enemy. Taken by compete surprise, it was only a matter of time before the two leaders came face to face, Vorinclex having been left crushed and barely alive against a wall. As the Voice of Hunger was ended, the enemy troops fell into disarray. At the day's end, only 50 Thundering Tanadons had been allowed to escape to tell the Phyrexians what had been done here this day. As Bruna took stock of her forces, Kelket ventured to a secret passage in the Sepulchre that he alone in all the planes knew of. In a small mausoleum chamber, Kelket found himself facing the resting places of Coalition leaders from the last Great War. His eyes met the metal plates etched with the names of several friends: Mannichi, Ulasht, and Mayael. With a whisper of magic, Kelket forged a new nameplate in midstride. Approaching an empty grave, Kelket fastened the plate to it. Though her remains were lost to the fires of war, Kelket made sure that Sheila, the once-guardian of Spithra would be remembered. -------------------------------------------------- Leaving the Ruins of Karesta behind, Kelket found himself on Phyrexia commanding both Nova Breakers and Ib's Strike Team. Engaging the army Wrath, Kelket's orders were to put them through the gauntlet, a strategy that ended with Wrath being thoroughly pounded and sent running. Receiving word that Blades of Kelket had engaged Sheoldred's Fist on Mirrodin, Kelket planeswalked away. On an uneventful day on unimportant fields of razorgrass and metal-plated ground, the two armies met. With Kelket riding on the back of the Igniter, this was to be like any other battle, with victory assured for the Blades of Kelket. But it was not to be. The Blades arrived in time to find the Phyrexians fiddling with metal plates pulled from the ground, bladed weapons, and blades of razorgrass. For what purpose these were to be used, Kelket could not fathom and he ignored their presence ordering a full charge. Defilers of Souls surged forward, flinging arrows down into the enemy. But Kelket watched as the Phyrexians drew up metal plates from Mirrodin's plains and the projectiles bounced harmlessly off. Beneath his helmet, the knight frowned as he realized the Phyrexians had prepared for this. Behind the Defilers came Blood Tyrants and Deathbringer Thoctars, their momentum smashing into the enemy lines. However, the Phyrexian leadership seemed to have been growing desperate for a win, as they fought on. As Kelket flew in at the head of his dragons, victory seemed assured. Hitting the enemy with Shock blasts, Disfigure spells, and even a Rain of Blades, the enemy continued to fight on. Explosive devices went off, but in the heat of battle they seemed to have little impact. As arrows and fireballs continued to fall on the enemy, and with ground troops tearing into them, they finally withdrew. Darigaaz landed among the troops and watched as they patched up the wounded. Kelket dismounted and looked around. This battle didn't make any sense. Why would the enemy fight through such a mess only to leave empty-handed? Kelket approached one of the strange devices on the ground and lifted away a Defiler body that had fallen atop it. Reaching down and wiping blood from the device, his curiosity turned to horror as he recognized what it was. Turning around he shouted for everyone to flee as fast as they could and so Darigaaz and a few of the other dragons that had just landed took off, taking in only trace amounts of what was now in the air. The strange contraption had been a field-made plague bomb, and Kelket had just come into direct contact with it, already feeling its effects. Kelket watched as soldiers that had thought they were now safe and had stopped to rest coughed and wheezed. Kelket himself coughed multiple times as he yelled an alert for plague bombs into the air. Planeswalking away, Kelket arrived on a low hill overlooking the campsite that his Blades had set up to ready for the battle. Kelket was furious with himself: he had been predicted right down to the core of his strategy. The enemy knew of his aggressive tendencies and had planned for them all too well, expecting a frontal charge. With their lives, they had bought time for the Phyrexian plague to take full effect. As Kelket stumbled into camp hacking and coughing, he realized that those on the tail end of the assault were just arriving back. Darigaaz landed in front of him and Kelket looked up at the mighty dragon. Kelket knew that the winds now carried the plague and would be reach here in no time at all. Giving the order to break camp with all haste, Kelket knew he would have to reevaluate his future tactics. The Phyrexians had played on his strengths and had turned them into his weaknesses. As he made his way to a field medic's tent, he knew that although the Coalition was winning this war, it wasn't over yet. -------------------------------------------------- The war continued with full fury. Although the Phyrexians were steadily being pushed back into Phyrexia, there were still small skirmish forces present on Dominaria and the battle for Mirrodin's key features continued unabated. Kelket traveled wherever he was needed, but made sure that Darigaaz was leading his Blades back to Hispalis for some much needed recuperation. Although the fighting on Mirrodin had not let up, the Phyrexians only made one more run for Mirrodin's Core, which under Kelket's direct supervision was easily repelled. Once Darigaaz's forces had left Mirrodin, Kelket turned his attention to Phyrexia. As the weeks wore on and the battle on Phyrexia intensified, Kelket destroyed led the assassination of more army commanders, boosting the morale of Coalition troops even as Myril led assaults on Phyrexian Strongholds. For the most part, Kelket participated in very few key battles, instead more focused on picking off weaker armies and engaging the enemy with multiple armies of his own. As the war drew on, it was clear that the Coalition was winning. The Phyrexians were running out of ground and their presence had all but vanished on Dominaria, with the Caves of Koilos being their singular base of operations which they stubbornly held on to. The fighting continued, with the Phyrexians refusing to yield even in the face of impossible odds. Kelket knew that the Coalition would win here on Phyrexia, as he had received word that Myril had reclaimed almost all of Mirrodin's key structures, with Kuldotha and the Seat of the Synod being sites of the heaviest fighting. Content with the knowledge that things could be handled on Phyrexia, Kelket finally left the frontlines to survey other warzones. Upon arriving on Mirrodin, he saw that it had its own battle scars now. Kuldotha was almost unrecognizable, the once proud mountain a lava filled ruin. The Seat itself had become little more than a shattered pillar jutting out of oil-stained ocean surrounded by many broken spires. It was then that Kelket received word that Shiv was under attack by the Phyrexians. Worried about his favoured faction's new home, he made haste back to Dominaria. The Grand Admiral returned to find Phyrexian forces already approaching Hispalis. Sneaking past them on their march across the shattered mountains and broken terrain surrounding Hispalis, Kelket met up with his forces and began the process of fortifying Hispalis. Ambushes and barricades were set up throughout the floating fortress and zeppelins were left in the village below to bait the enemy in close. Extensive scouting formations were deployed in the area immediately around the base, careful not to stray too far. The destructive crystal atop Hispalis was powered up and all that was left was to wait. For days there was no sign of the Phyrexians, and as a cold spell was setting in on the land Kelket wondered if the enemy would even show itself. He was just discussing such a possibility in the crystal's control room with Darigaaz when the ceiling grew bright red with heat and exploded inward. A vicious battle ensued inside Hispalis, with defenders now being focused inward instead of out. Were it not for the defenses and traps that had been set up throughout the entirety of the fortress, Kelket's forces would have been overrun completely. As it was, his Blades were forced ever closer to the bottom of the fortress, towards the hangar. It was then that the troops patrolling the perimeter of the base came under attack by the rest of the Phyrexian army. Without the support from Hispalis' defense laser, they moved to engage to keep the enemy away from the zeppelins. Overpowered by the sheer numbers of the Phyrexians, the Blood Tyrants were forced to fall back inside the hangar. Fighting continued this way for some time, with the forces inside the hangar fending off anything that entered through the outer door while the forces that had been stationed inside the complex were doing everything they could to hold their ground just above the hangar. Kelket and Darigaaz fought side by side throughout all of it, sometimes becoming completely separated from their forces before being forced to regroup. They were both prepared for this to be a last stand, a fight to the death in the face of the Phyrexian advance. Fortunately, this was not to be. Kelket realized that at some point, Darigaaz's troops had been forced to close the hangar door against the relentless waves of Phyrexians. Darigaaz knew that this could not be a last stand, that those remaining had to survive this to fight through this war another day. Speaking this to Kelket, the Grand Admiral agreed. Climbing on the Igniter's back, he ordered the hangar door open and what was left of the Blades of Kelket fled Hispalis as Phyrexians swarmed the hangar in their wake. As the battered army set up camp on a mountain ridge overlooking the shattered ground around Hispalis, a runner from a nearby Coalition army, a Rakavolver from Breath of Dawn, landed next to Kelket and Darigaaz as they were discussing ways of recapturing their home. The runner approached Kelket and told him words he had not expected to hear anytime soon: the war was over, the Phyrexians were retreating from Dominaria back to their home plane. Although there would still be scattered fighting for some time as the Coalition and Mirran forces fought to purge any trace of Phyrexia from their worlds, Kelket knew that this was the end of this chapter of the war, but that the story would not end while the Phyrexians lived. Still, this meant that the land could heal and the Coalition and Mirran forces could rebuild. That in itself was a victory. As Kelket looked back at the floating citadel of Hispalis, he thought he could faintly make out Phyrexians pulling back from the structure, but realized that it didn't matter, because this was a scene most likely playing out across many sites of conflict. Kelket was hopeful now and, with instructions to Darigaaz to rally all of Red Faction to reclaim their home, he planeswalked away. Looking away from the giant obsidian tablet, you see other pedestals decorating the white expanse of this strange room. To your right, you see another marble pedestal closest to the door. Upon this rests a weather-beaten tome bound in worn leather. The cover and spine of the book are blank and, upon opening its worn pages, you find that the words on the pages are written in a language you do not recognize. As you attempt to read it, a voice whispers in your mind the translation of the obscure text. You notice that the pedestal glows a faint golden color as this occurs, and conclude that it must be magic. You learn that you are reading an exact replica of a journal from the 5th War written by one Sergeant Rokkesh Shar’orn, a minotaur charged with command of a herd of Deathbringer Thoctars of the Coalition army Grip of Chaos. You close the book and open it back up to the beginning, and read the table of contents. You can choose to view Chapter 1 , Chapter 2 , Chapter 3 , Chapter 4 , Chapter 5 , or Chapter 6 . |
