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I have watched with great sadness as the streets that are these forums turned ever more viciously inward. I thought I could work with you, speak with you kindly, and we could make peace with ourselves. Time and again I reached out to you on your voicechat, your forums, your message boxes. We admitted mistakes when we saw validity, and we again attempted to move forward. Still you spat at me, vilified me, and tore me apart. I thought you needed a friend, for the times ahead will be dark. I thought you needed an ally, to fight back the darkness as it creeps ever closer to swallow us whole.
I was wrong, and in this regard I have failed you.
You do not need allies, for you have grown to have many. Friends can buy you dinner, but they can not buy you scars. I know the true evil that lives in the deepest recesses of the River Kingdoms. I know not when they come, but I know that should there be success, they will be here. You are not prepared for them, for they will speak in places you can not see. They will hide in your bright cities, and when the time is right they will devour you with not glee, but a dispassionate satisfaction. A few of these vile villains are likely already here, biding their time to reap your success.
You do not need a hero.
There is no room for a protector in the night. I can not be the protector of your hearth, or the vigil in your streets. You need a tough skin, a sharp mind, and a strong sword arm. I wish only peace for my people, but giving you that now only leaves you unprepared for the war to come. It is a disservice to you to offer it. It leaves you with a plow in hand when the shields of legions throw themselves on your walls. I can not protect you from this, and it breaks my heart.
You need a villain.
It has become clear. You need an enemy to point at as a boogie man under your bed. It keeps your arm strong and your blade sharp. It prepares you for what is to come. I need to be that villain, for there is no one else strong enough to do so. You can not destroy me, because I am more than a man. You can not shackle me, as there is no chain long enough to capture legion. You can not defeat me, because I am more than a hero, more than a villain, and more than a community.
I am an ideal.
I am solidarity, and I am strength. I bring peace to you from the edge of my sword. I bring order to you through sheer unadulterated force. I bring stability with the fear I spread. You can burn my flesh, and three more of me will rise from the ashes. You can tear my skin, and it will only reveal the steel underneath. If you starve me, I will only grow fatter. I can be your target, for you can not defeat me.
I will endure. and rise for the next fray. You will try to defeat me, because you must. I will try to subvert you, because that is what you need.
The darkness cannot win. You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain. I can do those things, because I'm not a hero, not like you. I did this to you, that's what I can be. I'm whatever the River Kingdoms needs me to be.
You'll hunt me. You'll condemn me, set the dogs on me. Because that's what needs to happen. Because sometimes... the truth isn't good enough. Sometimes people deserve more. Sometimes people deserve to have their faith rewarded.
You must chase me.
Because I am the friend all of you deserve, but not the one it needs right now. So, hunt me because I can take it. Because I am not your hero. I am a bringer of peace. A bastion of might. A terror in the night.