A Different Battlefield - Part 1

"I do not look far enough away that I could ever see an endpoint," Oliver said. "I can only see weaknesses that need solving, and I don't think anything else can take my attention until they are done. This game of Generals, when I spoke to Blackwell years ago, I said I wanted to try its path on a whim. Both he and Karstly say I am better suited as a Sword. That could well be… Perhaps I could try and fly to the same heights that Dominus once did, as foolish as it might be to aim that high… But in the end, Verdant, I think I simply hate to lose. Years of victory have given me pride. I can feel it growing more strongly by the day. Those merchants in the Guild of Ernest… Blackwell, and Karstly… My pride dares to compare me to them. Something in me tells me that I ought not lose, no matter the distance between myself and my opponent."