There was a point, a few years ago, when I was slightly worried that I may lose the war to Mianite and his army of mortals once again. They certainly weren't a weak bunch, seeing as all of them were capable and mentally prepared for a fight. I was especially worried about the young girl, who was talented beyond her years, not to mention her determination and selflessness. You didn't see that a lot, especially not in children of that age. She possessed one of the few swords that could kill me, and I didn't doubt that she would slay me upon sight, despite the words of the adults. She was insanely stubborn, and that was a problem for me. I say that it was a problem, because it no longer is.

There came a point where I had had enough. After months of pacing the nether, worrying that this may be my permanent downfall, I decided that I needed to act. Mianite was foolish, after all, in having an army of mortals. Mortals were weak, and could be easily manipulated. They could brag about their strength all they wanted, but their minds could bend to my will with little effort on my part.

You see, the reason I lost the last war was because I wanted to take the offense. I was impatient, and decided to jump straight into the realms where I am weakest, in a desperate attempt to make every realm mine. The mortals actions were, unfortunately, unpredictable to me. I believed that Firefoxx and Jericho were weaklings, unable to put up a good fight. It showed pretty clearly in their purge scores. I thought I had Tom under my full control, and that he would choose to be loyal to me over his friends. I thought that Sparklez would be a minor problem, easy to brush out of the way. I was an idiot. But no matter, I have recovered from my past mistakes.

I needed to manipulate the four alternates, but I didn't know them well enough. So, as one would guess, I followed them around and spoke to them in an attempt to gain a little bit more of their trust and to learn about the strengths and weaknesses they kept hidden. I struck success first with the man by the name of Sir Jeriah. It was obvious that he was much more weak-willed than the others, since he had less motivation. He was the outcast of the four, and didn't feel any connection with a god. In other words, he was lonely. He chose to hide it when we first spoke, asking me to leave in exchange for something he wouldn't normally do. As he realized how much fun pranking could be, he began to open up more and more. He doesn't trust me, of course, but he no longer despises my presence. I believe that by weakening him like this, he will have a more difficult time fighting against me in the war. He won't want to slay someone who he is on decent terms with, whereas I have no mercy. The weak-minded fool.

I scored my next victory with the little girl, much to my surprise. I had believed her to be stronger than the others, but I had forgotten that she was becoming a teenager. She felt much more isolated, lonely, and desperate than she had when I first began to fear her. She opened up to me right away, perhaps mistaking the kind tone I used around her for the voice of the Dianite she knew. She poured her sadness and feelings to me, and I realized the gap growing between her and her loved ones. I could use this to my advantage, and persuade her to turn on her family and friends, effectively tearing apart my enemy and making it much easier for me to destroy them. So far, she continues to be stubborn and strong-willed, but it doesn't take long for even the strongest-minded humans to bend and break.

Spark, on the other hand, wouldn't even listen to me. He had no reason to, after all. He had a special connection with a god already, so he didn't feel nearly as lonely and desperate as the other two. He was quick to shut out my suggestions from his mind, making it near impossible to control him. That was no matter, though. The only physical ability I possessed while in spirit form was the ability to weaken Ianite and haunt her nightmares. By driving her insane, I easily drove Spark insane. He knew it was me, making his resentment towards me grow and grow. I tried to be welcoming and gentle to the other two to make them feel calm in my presence, but I cackled and teased Spark to expand his hatred for me. He was losing it, that was for sure. Everyone could sense it. By having him act like that around the others, he was continuing to split the team apart. Even the strongest have a weakness.

Mot on the other hand? I couldn't get through to Mot. He still associated me with the Dianite he used to know, which seemed to be a troubling topic for him. If you mix the feelings he had for other Dianite with the knowledge of my destructive past, it won't leave me with a very good image in his mind. I couldn't manipulate him like I could Jeriah and Alyssa, and he wasn't attached to anything I could control like Spark was. However, by driving the others insane, I was driving Mot insane. He became angry quite easily, and he would be quick to get upset once he saw the states of the others. And the best part? The others would believe that he was the one being weird.

Now I could just sit back and watch my plan unfold for about a year or two. And then? I attack.