History is not measured by peace, though peace is what we strive for. People do not mark time by treaties signed, good deeds done, the small day-to-day triumphs that keep our lives warm and safe and free.

History is measured by wars.

Because of this, there are those of us who are forced to fight to keep those we love safe. We never start a war, but we always finish it. I have flown, ridden, even ran into various battles over the Ages. My past is long, intertwining into all of history. Many know me as something worse, something else than what I am now. Despite all that, nothing I have known could compare to this.

The hordes flock to join the Shadow, and soon there will be no place left to hide. Even now nowhere is safe, no one is to be trusted, and there is nothing left for it.

But to fight.

Over the years and wars I have known, my body and my mind have been marred, changed beyond all recognition. Now I am shunned, feared, driven out by those I once broke my body to protect. I must hide from the Light as surely as the Shadow, though there is no doubt as to which side I will fight for.

I no longer wear my battle scars with pride, but I do wear them openly. Both myself and all others must remember that war is not fun, is not noble. Wars are remembered above all else, but their meanings are often forgotten.

My message must be heard, before it is too late. The consequences of failure are huge, the risks even larger, but the possibilities of winning are small. I am one of the last who really understands what it is that must be done – I walk in the Light, now. It must be known.

Still I am strong, and I can not, will not, falter and certainly not fail. When it begins, I am the first He will hunt down. I will not be killed – worse. I am too important for that, to him. Instead I will simply be turned, and used. The world must now listen, or it will die. I will not be here, soon. But I will not give up until then.

And I will fight.

A fighter is one who fights because he can.

A warrior is one who fights because he must.