How quickly we forget. Ackar may have been the first Glatorian in history, but he was never one of the greatest, nor the most influential. The Element Lords, during their reign, paid much attention to the actions and accomplishments of their lieutenants, the highest among the warrior class. The strongest, hardest-working, most righteous were promoted in a secret ceremony attended by a single Great Being, transforming them into titans. Within the jurisdiction of the Element Lord of Fire, Valtys was the first and only of these titans.
Valtys was strong of mind, body, and will, not one to be crossed. At the same time, he was unshakably pious and just, always looking out for the best interests of his people before all other things. When the Core War broke out, Valtys initially wanted no part in it other than to protect the Agori of his land from a secondary invasion by the overzealous forces of other tribes. However, as the fighting intensified and broadened across the entire planet, it was Valtys who formulated the plan to assault the northern region and claim the energized protodermis, and it was he who led the successful charge.
Why such a dramatic change of desires? Why from shunning the war would he dive directly into it? His plan was to secure the energized protodermis, extract it, and deliver it directly to the Great Beings to transport if off the planet. With the object of the war removed from play, the war would surely end.
Well, end, the war did, didn't it?! Not the way Ackar had planned, obviously. Rapid extraction of energized protodermis enhanced the pressure differentials in the planet's core, ultimate leading to the Shattering.
Valtys was thought by some to have been destroyed by that horrific event, but this is not so. He survived, battered and ashamed, swearing to dedicate the remainder of his years to the protection of the remaining Fire Agori, and to never forgive himself for his horrific mistake. He died many, many years later, standing his ground against a marauding horde of Bone Hunters, allowing a band of Agori and Glatorian, Ackar among them, to safely escape.
Some Agori are said to have seen Valtys's spirit in the form of a nearly transparent silhouette roaming the desert in the last moments of light after the sun sets.
Fantastic! I made a guy with a story like this once, but he was of the rock tribe.
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