The Rise of Altador

      A day came, a day like no other. A day that could not have been foreseen, not even by the most talented oracles that have been forgotten deep within the lost desert. Neopia was no longer a place of joy or adventure. Twas no longer a place where the innocent could roam freely and do as they please. The invaders had taken all of that away.

      No other moment had united Neopia in the way that the invaders did. The danger undeniable, the solution was clear: unite or die.

      And so it was that all of Neopia stood united, united against the invaders.

      It was the Grundos that first warned the rest of the lands. Above the atmosphere, working within the Virtupets Space Station, the advanced Grundo technology detected the invaders long before they arrived. No one knew before then just how brave the Grundos truly are. That noble species evacuated every non-Grundo from the station, sending only the Grundo children back down to the surface. After warning every nook and cranny of Neopia’s surface of the coming catastrophe, the Grundos sprang into action.

      It was known that the Grundos were smart, that could never be denied. But it was known by few how prepared they were, how selfless. With a few buttons pushed and switches switched, the Space Station transformed. Within moments the seemingly harmless satellite had become a weapon. A battle ship of the cosmos. Flashing lights of every color, producing guns and cannons, loaded and ready to fire in each and every direction.

      And there in the captain’s chair, barking out commands was none other than Dr.Sloth. Though evil he may be, even he became brave when Neopia was most in need. Dr.Sloth became Captain Sloth, a relentless commander of the Virtupets Battle Cruiser, and the fleet of Grundo-manned battle rockets.

      Sweat dripped from his face as he yelled “FIRE!” again and again, destroying dozens upon dozens of invader ships with every command.

      Many Grundos lost their lives that day. Too many. Not long into the invasion, all communication to the Virtupets battle cruiser was cut off, no one even knew if Captain Sloth was still alive. But the Cruiser continued to sail above the skies of Neopia, blasting enemy ships every second.

      But even with the space army of Grundos, the first line of defense, it was not hard for the invaders to reach the surface, and invade Neopia. But the Neopians were not submissive. They vowed to honor the sacrifice of their brother and sister Grundos. “Their deaths would not be in vain!” They declared. And all of Neopia acted as one.

      To the surprise of all, King Roo quickly took action. He clumsily grabbed his sword and yelled some nonsense about victory and honor. It was feeble, but it was enough. The Blumaroos pulled out their maces and swords and shields and charged into battle to meet the invaders. While King Roo took charge and kept his island safe, Advisor Broo hid himself in the broom closet.

      Nobody witnessed him come out of the closet, and no one went in to check on him, for it was locked from the inside, and no one had the heart to break down so beautiful a door. But it wasn’t long before a foul smell began wafting from that closet. No one has gone near it since.

      The Kikos were not fighters, they had not the heart to take up arms, but they were the next to act. Mayor Fuff gathered all his resources from across the lands and stocked them in the lake. He used the surrounding mountains as a barrier of sorts, and the lake quickly became a safe house of sorts for Neopets in need.

      King Kelpbeard wasted no time; he was always prepared for battle, given Maraqua’s history. He took up arms and charged (or rather, swam) into battle, leading Swordmaster Talek and the Maraquan armies against the invaders.

      Jetsams and Flotsams worked together to make quick work of the invader’s sea vessels, while schools of armed Koi beat back the invader swimmers. Peophins rode the waves into battles, for the water was theirs to command, with the help of the mystic powers of the Lutari, of course. The Tuskaninny helped the wounded and carried supplies, arming themselves with shields rather than swords when they battles; their skin was tough but their swing with a weapon was poor.

      The Krawks and pirate Neopets fired cannonball after cannonball at the invaders, and, fighting alongside the Maraquan armies, they kept the invaders at bay on the seas of Neopia.

      The invaders were fools to think they could ever take the lost desert. Princess Amira commanded great armies and powerful magic, given unto her by her late father, King Coltzan III. With a few words from a forgotten language and a wave of her fair hand, a savage sandstorm would take the desert, a sandstorm that allowed no living creature to escape its dry, grainy clutches.

      King Hagan knew at once what needed to be done. While sending his small but talented army to shoot the invaders with magical exploding arrows, he convened a summit of the rulers of Neopia, acting as a mediator between them so that they might put aside their differences and work together so that Neopia might survive the catastrophe.

      King Skarl grumpily ordered his entire kingdom into battle. The fieldwork and stubborn nature of the citizens of Meridell made them strong in muscle and in willpower; each of them would defend Meridell, and indeed all of Neopia, down to their last breath, and they would slay many invaders before that last breath would be taken.

      Not long after Skarl ordered everyone off to war, he realized that he accidentally ordered the kitchen staff to join the army as well. To add to his misfortune, he had forgotten to keep some soldiers at the castle, which stood unguarded. A small army of invaders broke down the doors of the castle, which turned out to be most unfortunate for them. Skarl was so hungry and so grumpy that he yelled furiously at the invaders to clean his castle and make him a thirty-four-course meal for supper. The invaders were so startled and scared that they thought it best to do what the frightening king told them to.

      The invaders also woke Turmaculus from his deep slumber, and with a might roar, he called to all the petpets of Neopia and they charged, flew, swam, crawled (and whatever it is that slorgs do) into battle behind him.

      The invaders tried to attack Mystery Island, but Mumbo Pango would not have it. He swatted the invader’s ships from the sky and erected a powerful force field around the island, allowing no one to leave or enter.

      The invaders dared not to strike Jelly World. They feared jelly above all else.

      All thought and feared that the fire of the invaders would melt Terror Mountain into a puddle, but they were gravely mistaken.

      The Snowager rose, and after covering her treasure in a thick layer of ice, she emerged from her lair, revealing her true and impossibly large length. She wrapped herself around Terror Mountain, protecting her home. She blew blizzards with every breath, defending her mountain and its inhabitants. The Snow Faerie kept the mountain dwellers fed, and she enchanted the ice of the mountain so it would not melt.

      While the Snowager fought, defending Terror Mountain with her body and her breath, the mountain-dwelling Neopets tended her wounds, helping how they could.

      Without the aide of the faeries, Neopia would surely have fallen. Queen Fyora defended Faerieland single-handedly, while sending her winged brethren to aide the various armies of Neopia. Fyora was so strong in her home, none could oppose her. From her throne, all she had to do was speak a spell and wave her staff to burn an entire fleet of invader ships to mere crisps.

      The faeries did as their queen commanded, and travelled across Neopia. They blessed the Neopet soldiers until their magic wore thin, increasing strength and resilience and endurance while gifting them with spells as good as any weapon or healing potion.

      The Water Faerie brought her water to every corner of the world to heal and cure so that the soldiers would be strong. The Dark Faeries worked with the inhabitants of the Haunted Woods and made mischief for the invaders, laying curse after curse upon the invaders and their machines.

      But it was not enough. Not enough to defeat the invaders.

      But on the day that the faeries were out of magic, the day that the Snowager was out of breath. On the day that the resilience of Meridell wore thin, and the archers of Brighvale ran out of arrows. On the day that the springs of the Water Faerie ran dry, and Mumbo Pango’s mystic shield began to falter. On the day that the fins of the Koi armies of Maraqua grew sore, and the Virtupets Battle Cruiser was using the last of its ammunition.

      It was on that day that the forgotten twelve rose, rose from stone, rose from a forgotten kingdom. Altador.

      The Sleeper, the Dreamer, the First to Rise, the Farmer, the Dancer, the Waver, the Gladiator, the Collector, the Thief, the Gatherer, the Protector, and the glorious Hunter.

      It was on that day that the council woke from stone and quested for glory one last time. It was on that day that Altador raised his sword one last time. Each battle the council fought brought more hope, strength, magic and inspiration to the Neopian armies.

      But even the council of twelve did not know if they could turn the tides entirely. But one thing was for sure: A new Book of Ages would have to be made, once the war was over.

      The End.