Chapter 8: Their Finest Hour
Author's Note: My first attempt at cobbling together an epic speech to encourage the heroes of a story ever onwards. I thought about it by combining bits and pieces of other epic speeches, both fictional and real, with some of my own dialogue for characters. Really fitting for a DND campaign where the protagonists come together and set the stage for an adventure, regardless of the setting.
Drizzt Do'Urden knew what his audience expected of him. This was a time of ghastly peril and turmoil, where heroes were sorely needed. Luckily, there was no shortage of people willing to join the Adventurer's Guild and bring the fight to the hordes of tyranny, especially the Imperium of Man.
And Drizzt had the mojo and charisma to bring everybody together. The dark elf ranger put a big, frost-giant sized emphasis on brotherhood, fellowship, respect and camaraderie.
"Men, women, and whoever else is joining us today, I have come to tell you that we are the first, last, and often the onlyline of defense against what nameless, incomprehensible evil is out there. That fine piece of magical weaponry in your hands is all that is keeping democracy alive. Most of you will not live to see your second year in the Guild, and most of you will probably never see your families again."
"Such is the price one pays for being a hero... since heroes are forged by tragedy, and the tales of the valiant are fraught with harrowing hardships. You must keep moving forward though, no matter what comes your way- or the suffering will all be for nothing. Either you get up, or you give in."
"Your enemy, on the other hand, the manifestations of tyranny itself, will not be defeated easily. They have crossed an ocean of stars to get here, and have nigh-unlimited ways of bringing death and destruction. A thousand generations of warfare have hardened them, given them almost everything they need to conquer the multiverse. Our purpose and sole mission is to make sure they never become truly invincible."
"Prepare for your finest hour, prepare for the gathering storm. Let the Imperium and its fellow evils know, that we will not go quietly into the night, that we will not vanish without a fight! We're going to live on, we're going to survive. Though there have always been tyrants and despots... the one truth is that in the end, they will always fall."
"You are the hope of the realm, go forth and take a stand!"
The crowd of soldiers, a company of heroes, an alliance of adventurers, cheered and applauded with wild enthusiasm, and even though their lives were going to be filled with hardships, as Drizzt said, they would have the opportunity to save countless lives, and challenge a tyrant's rule, while committing everything to a cause they believed in.
As Thianna Frostborn observed, the famous Drow ranger never disappointed when it came to fostering solidarity and teamwork, something that was crucial for many different organizations, including the military, law enforcement, first responders, professional athletes, and geographical exploration- applying to both reality and fiction.
"We can't be consumed by our petty differences anymore."
-Independence Day, 1996 alien invasion blockbuster. The President of the United States in that movie had some inspiring lines... which I chose to put in this DND fanfic, of course.
Also: What enemy faction from Warhammer 40k do you want the Adventurer's Guild to fight against first? Leave a review, please!