Have you ever thought why Tanki doesn't just have a DeathMatch mode? Why does Tanki have a mode that relies not only on sheer mass destruction? Why capture flags in particular? The story goes back to the time of when the tanks were at war with each other...
~ There was a time when the tanks were at war with each other. The kingdom loyalists were fighting against the rebellion
over the rule of the kingdom of Tanki Online... ~
A loud bang broke the silence of the night. A stir rose inside one of the worn-down houses of Masaker. Hex groaned. “Always when I'm sleeping, isn't it...” he muttered under his breath. Stumbling out of bed, he dressed into his black outfit, ready to meet up outside the state hall. Emergencies were very rare, so Hex was intrigued. It was not a happy time in the kingdom of Tanki Online. Since Hex and his twin brother Pent had discovered the new island, Silence, just a year ago – there had been a massive rebellion in the outer states of the kingdom. Feeling the kingdom was unfairly giving the mass majority of supplies to the upper-class citizens from such high states as Kongarr and Suporhev, this rebellion sprung only particularly when Silence was discovered. Practically the day after the discovery by Hex, Pent and Aggroda, there were signs of a problem. Now, this rebellion had just upped in volume, and they were raiding the inner states, of which Masaker was one. Hex just wondered what was going on, as the emergency gong only rang for necessary circumstances. The moment Hex got out of his room, he saw immediately there were problems. The front door had been torn off its hinges in his house, and the lights were all on. His heart racing, Hex cautiously made his way into the family room, where his family generally would be in emergencies. His heart lifted as he saw his mother, peeking out behind the door. “Hex!” His mother was clearly relieved he was up, but before she could get another word out, Hex picked off the question at the top of his mind. “What happened?” His mother paused, which was definitely a bad sign. “Oh Hex...” she said, obviously close to tears, trembled, before regaining her composure, “It's your Dad. He was - “ “Oh no...” Hex trailed off, his heart dropping. “Why?” “They – t-they, those rebels, they came early this morning and knocked down the door and dragged him away. They were threatening him with their weapons and all, oh Hex it was horrible....” His mother trailed off again, and this time tears were visible on her face. “Oh Lunga, what shall we do...” “Don't worry” Hex said. He hated to see his mother cry, though his own feelings contradicted his statement. He tried to change the subject. “Where's Pent – where's Quad?" “They're sleeping, son. The emergency claxon didn't wake them as it did you.” “Was anyone else taken?” “I don't know, but I expect so. Oh Hex, I didn't know they could be so evil! Tanks fighting tanks...” his mother broke down again. Hex nodded, and then after a long silence, told his Mum he was going to see what was going on outside. After his Mum's quiet consent, the disheartened Hex walked out and over to the state hall. He was late. The mayor of Masaker had already begun. Hex hurried over, with a quick Nitro boost – not wanting to miss the mayor's speech. It was a rare thing for the mayor to talk publicly to the state. As he got into hearing distance, he heard the faint words of the mayor. “-will need to do something about this. Sir Ostencius has summoned us over to decide our plan of attack. As you know very well, kidnapping twenty of our most valued males in this state needs (the rising mutters in the crowd were quite audible at this point) to be sorted out.” The mayor paused, acknowledging Hex's arrival to the scene. Masaker was only a small state – the inhabitants were about 100, and losing 20 of their males from not only the war effort, but the state was a huge blow to such a close-knit state family. “All members of the army still remaining here will leave with me in two hours for Kongarr. Please make sure you all have your weapons equipped, and are full on supplies.” At this, the mayor dismissed the audience, and Hex was able to walk up to him, questions lying heavily on his mind. “Hi there, Mr. Angular.” “Hello Hex.” the mayor looked troubled, and Hex wasn't surprised. Hex couldn't hold back the question. “Why did it happen?” There was a short silence as the mayor considered the question before carefully answering: “I don't know son... I guess its because the rebellion want to state their claim to power. But trust me Hex, we'll get your father back if even if it means losing our lives.” Such commitment was used to in the kingdom, but Hex still was glad that the loyalty of the state was still strong. Leaving the mayor to his thoughts, he thoughtfully walked back to his house. ****** “I think it's time.” Hex sighed. He was glad they were off. After coming to Kongarr in the afternoon, the plan had been to set off quickly – but delays had occurred and Sir Ostencius had to explain what the plan of attack would be. Finally, they were going to set off, and Hex was glad. For all he knew, his father could be in extreme danger right now – and the quicker they rescued him, the better. Doubts lay in his mind, however, about the plan of attack. It seemed incredibly risky - but Hex couldn't think of anything better. Their journey was across from the centre of the kingdom in Kongarr to the outskirts, where the Rebellion was based – the state of Forusst. Taking supplies allowed them to travel across in speed, but there was no doubt in the army's mind that the 20 males taken from Masaker were at least under hostage. This was doubtless. The question was, were they in trouble at the moment? As the sun dimmed, a full army of 300 made their way over the border of Tempal into Forusst. Cautiously, they made their way into the outskirts of Forusst. Fortunately for them, much of Forusst was forest (!), and there was much unused land round the outskirts; their risky plan depended on the fact that they were not sighted. The army then put in a camp, before the action was set off. No time was to be wasted, so Lord Ostencius summoned fifteen of the young aspiring soldiers to him. They had the big role in this - a failure on their part meant a failed mission. Calling them out he started: “Incise, Mist, Warment, Hex...” Hex was both shocked and delighted that he was chosen. The buzz of awe built up inside him - something he hadn't felt since the moment on top of Silence a year ago. No time to consider this awesome role, however - Ostencius gave his orders, and immediately the fifteen tanks cautiously set off, knowing the burden upon them. The lives of the twenty captured males were basically upon them, and messing up this mission would be absolutely a killer blow to the kingdom loyals. The fifteen tanks drove carefully through the forest, as they entered the inhabited parts of the state. The plan did not, luckily for them, need to have the fact of being hidden but obscurity was best at this time so they split up a bit. Avoiding unnecessary attention, Hex drove towards the fortress in the middle of Forusst. This was the massive home of the rebellion – and there was no doubt that the hostages were inside. As they neared the fortress, one of them, a more experienced tank by the name of Mist, purposely got into sight of the guards of the fortress. This was the risky part of the plan. They needed to be seen running in haste, but they needed to be caught too. Pretending to run in fright, the fifteen of them broke off towards the danger-zone of the fortress – the main entrance. Sure to be seen, the fifteen surrendered themselves with distraught looks painted all over their faces. All they hoped was that the rebellion would lap it in. Hex and the other tanks were hauled inside, recognised as other members of the Kingdom Loyals. Strangely, the rebellion seemed very pleased in finding them – more so than Hex had expected, which he took as a good sign – things were just going as the plan needed. He guessed the rebellion were glad to take more hostage – the more they had, the bigger the advantage. They were brought immediately up to the room at the top of the fortress always set apart for prisoners. There were many guards with them – and there was no doubt the whole fortress had been alerted of their arrival and were busy helping with getting them in and locked up without any problems. Perfect thought Hex, satisfied. As they reached the top room, still struggling and distraught looks painted on their faces, the guard in front of them opened the door and they saw the twenty Masaker hostages there. In lightning quick time, the leader of the group, named Incise, discreetly took out a white "kingdom loyal" flag inside his hidden supply box. Throwing it out of the open window with incredible precision, the flag landed in the flagpole, just by the window. The flag gloriously waved in the wind as it hung at the top of the fortress. It must have been a sight to see it - hanging clearly on the top of the rebellion base, the Loyals' flag. All that was needed now was the immediate sighting of the flag from below. Please let them have seen it thought Hex. If tanks had fingers, his would have been crossed. The sound he heard was like a gush of water into a barren stream, except it was more explosive. Sounds of explosions rang out as he knew the signal had worked. The army had struck out, all 285 guns blazing, whilst the rebellion were concentrated on their new captives. The impossible had happened. The guards panicked, some rushing down in fright, others shooting wildly. The fifteen tanks at the top of the building whooped, and full of supplies, they shot out at the guards, sending them on the dizzying long respawn and clearing the way for their entrance to free the hostages. As quickly as he could, Hex embraced his father, before, with the others, helping freeing all of them with a sharp shot from their guns. All thirty-five the tanks, within a minute were rushing down to help do as much damage as they could on the inside of the Rebellion before a triumphant escape. I think its needless to say that the mission was a massive success. Not only did they manage to recover the twenty hostages, the army were able to blow a massive dent in the Rebellion's fortress, as well as dishearten a mass of the rebels. The plan had worked and the hostages were returned to their family. Hex was delighted, unsurprisingly. Through the generations, the story has been passed down - now known in Tanki folklore as “The Attack of the White Flag”, the mission was a changing point in the war against the rebellion. So you still wondering, why Capture the flag? That white flag, though not incredible in itself, played a massive role in this mission, and is now remembered by the game mode we all play every day: Capture the flag. So just remember, every time you return that flag in delight, just before the potential enemy capture, think of the kingdom Loyals, as they returned the ultimate flag as the danger of the capture loomed. ~Thanks for reading. Avatar credits to BLASTOISE-T12 | Cover Picture Credits to FOG-LIGHT | Font in Cover Picture Credits to hogree
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