13 – The Six Great Knights: Dan

36 seasons ago; BeetleField City

It was that time again… the time of Ozara’s attack…

I, just like all of the other ‘Great Knights’ of your era were still just children. This meant that there were others who stood in that place…

‘The Great Knights’ of my era. There were five of them – and all of them were from BeetleField…

One of them was my father…

My family was in the ranks of ‘Great Knights’ for generations… My father, my grandfather and my grand grandfather were all Great Knights in their time…

I remember my father telling me the stories about my predecessors and their grand achievements. It inspired me… I wanted to be like them! I wanted to be like my father!

I wanted to become a Great Knight, too…

I wanted the glory and fame that came with that incredible title!

But that wish soon changed, as I’ve seen the terrors and destruction Ozara, the Grand Menace brought with him…

The day when Ozara struck…

The entire City was filled with bugs of all kinds! Bugs from all of Castanea came here to witness the fall of Ozara!

They came to see The Great Knights – the hope of Castanea – defeat the eternal evil, bringing another 12 seasons of peace to the Castanean Kingdom!

But what they’ve seen instead was the unparalleled power Ozara possessed, and the terrifying scenes that came with being underprepared.

The Great Knights were falling, one by one…

Instead of going for the Great Knights, as usual, this time Ozara went down… to the centre of BeetleField, where a thousand observing bugs resided.

This went agains any plans The Great Knights may have had, and so chaos occurred.

Dozens of innocent spectators died that day by Ozara’s cruel wings.

Two of The Great Knighs – a giant weta named Gigantii and a tiger beetle named Tigrrah – died in the chaos, but managed to hurt one of Ozara’s wings.

Even two of Staggeron’s sons, two stag beetles, who were Great Knights themselves, died trying to save civilians and strike down The Grand Menace.

This left only one Great Knight left… my father…

When Ozara was approaching the Castanean Tree, I remember my father, right before he left for the grand battle, saying to me:

“Dan… Son… I may end up dead today… But my life is nothing compared to the life of thousands of bugs who live in Castanea! I won’t tell you how to live your life… But I will tell you that you should always help others whenever you can… You were born a dung beetle. The mightiest of all bugs!!

Use your gift – your incredible strength and endurance – for a good cause, son…

You don’t have to become a Great Knight, but…

I won’t lie to you…

Nothing would make your old man prouder than if his own son continued the legacy of his family.

See you later, son…

And if not… farewell. And take care.”

Those words flashed through my mind, as I saw my father going one on one against the mighty Ozara.

A thousand spectators stood in silence, watching the astonishing brawl that was taking place right in front of them.

The brawl that would decide their fate.

My father was wearing a powerful Castanean black armour, along with a gigantic Ozara’s feather trident.

The Grand Menace Ozara, whose left wing was wounded due to his prior encounter with Tigrrah and Giganti, menacingly stood before my father with his wings widened, his evil eyes shining and his beak wide open.

The battle did not last long, but it was an astounding sight to witness.

Ozara’s sharp beak pecked my father a dozen times.

But my father stood there, enduring it.

The armour he was wearing was falling apart, and some of Ozara’s attacks pierced through it, wounding my father.

But he stood… he endured…

He was awaiting for the moment… the right moment to strike…

To strike Ozara once.

A single attack.

He knew that, if he endured for long enough, eventually Ozara would slip…

He would think he had already won…

And my father was right, as Ozara, seeing my father in the state that he was in – wounded and barely standing – he paused his continuous attack. He paused for just a few moments, to enjoy the sight of the last Great Knight, who – he probably thought – was about to join the other four of his fallen comrades…

And those few moments were just enough.

They were exactly what my father was hoping for.

And so my father did it.

He attacked with all the strength he had left in him…

He pierced Ozara’s neck with his mighty trident. He stabbed through the demon’s soul with the power of a thousand beetles!!

And even with dozens of civilians gone, and four of the Great Knights being dead, everyone cheered as Ozara has once again fallen by the hands of Castanea’s greatest warriors!

Everyone cheered, because those who have fallen have given their lives for the future of Castanea!

Dozens died, so that thousands could live…

And just as Ozara let out his last breath, my father fell on his knees, for he, too, was mortally wounded in the brawl.

The cheering has died down as more and more bugs realized that even my father – even the very hero who took The Grand Menace’s life – was about to join the rest of the Fallen Knights.

The crowd gathered around him, but they could do nothing except observe… The wounds were too severe, and the bleeding could not be stopped.

Before he died, my father had given me one final look.

The last memory I have of him alive was that moment… The moment when he found me in the crowd – when he found me, looked me directly in the eyes and… smiled.

He smiled.

He smiled because he did it…

He won.

He had saved Castanea…

He had saved me…

The next few days were… weird…

I remember crying. A lot…

I remember the Kingdom celebrating.

Dabir, the MasterKing, had held a party to celebrate the defeat of The Grand Menace; to celebrate another 12 seasons of peace; but also to commemorate those who have died…

Staggeron, who, at the time, I looked at with nothing but respect, had personally visited me. He had given me his condolences for my loss… and he had promised that he will always be there for me… That he will do all he can to protect and support me…

A promise that has kept me alive even to this day…

As much as I hate Staggeron’s guts now… I have to admit…

He keeps his promises… No. Matter. What.

In those days I spent a lot of time thinking about everything that had happened… about Ozara… about the Fallen Knights… about my father… about the Castanean Kingdom…

And I came to a conclusion…

My father was a hero.

The Great Knights were all heros.

Noble and brave bugs who sought nothing but justice and bringing peace to our world – at least that’s how I; how many young bugs perceived The Great Knights at that age – a perception that I later found out was nothing near the true nature of Great Knights…

But at that point I had made a decision…

I will continue my family legacy…

I will make my father proud.

And I will do everything I can to avenge him… Avenge him by killing Ozara… As many times. As I can.

I spent the next season or two in solitary training…

I trained every day… all day… until I fell down, unable to move due to exhaustion.

I lifted rocks; trained with spears, swords and other weapons Staggeron was so kind to lend me; I was climbing up and down the Castanean Tree; and when water or white dust fell from the sky, I stayed outside, enduring the coldness and the freezing winds.

I think that Staggeron knew… knew that I was going to follow my father’s – no – my family’s path of chasing the title of a Great Knight! He knew it, and he did all he could to make that come true – things like supporting me with the weapons and equipment I needed for my training, as well as giving me advices from time to time…

And… I am still grateful to him for that…

Even after everything that had happened between us…

Between me and Lucana…

So I trained, and trained and kept on training until it was that time again… The time of The Ultimate Showdown.

And this time it was special…

Because all Five Great Knights have died fighting Ozara, MasterKing Dabir had decided that in this period between the Ozara’s attacks, not one, but TWO Ultimate Showdowns will be held…

This was done in order to choose the next generation…

The next Great Knights…

The first one would be held now, and the next one would be held six seasons from now, and the strongest bugs would be awarded the title of Great Knights!

So I decided to participate… to prove that I was ready! That I was ready to continue my family’s legacy!!

I was so young and foolish…

I arrived very early – about eight hours before the first day of the Showdown… I wanted to meet others… The truth is – besides Staggeron – I did not know anyone… I haven’t really had any friends, and my mother passed away before I was even conscious enough to understand it. So my goal was to meet some bugs here… try to make some friends before we take it all out on one another in the arena.

There were many different types of bugs – many of whom I have seen for the first time! It was truly a unique experience…

I walked up to a few fellow beetles to try and start a conversation, but most of them just ignored me or stared at me threateningly in silence.

I was about to give up on trying to meet a friend there, when a big bug approached me: “Hey, kid. I would advice you not to draw much attention on yourself…”

It was a big, beautiful atlas moth.

“H-Hello!”, I was excited and nervous to finally talk with someone new.

“Hi. I’m Motheas. What do you go by?”, Motheas asked me.

“I’m Dan. Soon-to-be Great Knight Dan!”, I said with confidence and a little bit of delusion.

“Hahaha!”, Motheas laughed, “I assume it’s your first time here, kid, correct?”

“It is.”, I admit.

“Well… I love your enthusiasm. Do you even know how things work here, Dan?”, he asked me.

“O-Of course I do! But… in case I’m wrong… could you elaborate what you mean?”, I tried to play it off like I knew what I was doing, but it was obvious I was trying to act smart.

“Hahah. You’re funny, Dan.”, Motheas said with a smile, but then made a serious face and got closer to me, saying: “But if you truly want to succeed. You’ll have to change. You’ll have to learn to adapt. But also learn when is the right time to act tough and when is the right time to admit your lack of knowledge.

The truth is, Dan… You’re just an uneducated child. You came here with the right mindset: you want to win. But you came here unprepared… You don’t even know how the Showdown functions, let alone how to act around here!

Which is pretty disappointing considering who your father was…”, Motheas’s words made me feel something new… they… they hurt… like nothing I have experienced before! They hurt, but I knew that Motheas spoke the truth…

I knew he was right.

“Y-You know who my father was?”, I stupidly asked.

“Hahaha! Of course! Everyone does! Your father is one of Castanea’s biggest heros!!”

“No, I mean – you knew that I was his son??”

“Yes. And so do the others you’ve spoken to. And they all think the same thing… ‘Dan, son of a Great Knight, is just a childish little dung beetle… trying to make friends and chit-chat here, like it’s a kindergarten...’”, Motheas was honest.

“…”, this has left me speechless for a few moments, “So… Motheas, sir… can you… can you p-please tell me how things work here?”, I asked Motheas for help.

He smiled and answered: “Gladly! You see… the Showdown works in a unique way… you gotta challenge another bug for a brawl – or you need to be challenged by another bug! You can challenge anyone, and if you win – you advance to the next round! Cool concept, right?”

“Yes… I see…”

“But that’s not all, Dan… listen: you can challenge anyone… but it doesn’t mean you should…

You should always challenge someone who’s at your own level of power – not someone who you know you can certainly beat, but also not someone that is clearly waaaay above your league.

Never challenge a bug who’s a dozen times weaker than you – you’ll be seen as a coward if you do so.

But also never refuse a challenge – or else the same applies.”

Motheas has given me the precious info… info on how this place worked. “Thank you, Motheas…”, I was really grateful for that.

“No problem, Dan! I’m glad I could help! And good luck with finding your opponent!”, he said, and was about to leave before I stopped him.

“Wait! What about you? You’ve already found an opponent??”, I was curious.

“Nope! I was about to go and look around – see who would be the most suited for me to brawl with! I advice you do the same… See ya around, Da-”, he tried to fly away, but I caught one of his legs.

My grip was strong. He couldn’t move.

“What the h-”, he was confused.

“Motheas. I challenge you.”, I said. I could barely contain my excitement when I did so.

Seeing Motheas’s eyes was priceless… “Dan… Think this through… I don’t want you to misunderstand me, but… you have no chance against me.”

“You’ve just given me the advice of never refusing a challenge, right? So…”, I looked at him with credence that I will defeat him.

“… you are correct.”, he said in a bit of a disappointed tone, and I let go of his leg. “But I warn you, Dan… You’re going to regret this. Trust me.”, he added, then left.

And as Motheas left, I smiled. I was so happy to have met him, and I was even more joyous to have challenged him out of all the bugs here! ‘If I cannot beat him… I do not deserve the title of a Great Knight!’, I remember telling myself.

And so, I awaited my upcoming brawl…