Bonsoir, mon little lambs. Allow me to make my acquaintance.
My name is Gaston Dupont, and I wish to share with you ze reflection upon ze path zat has led me to zis moment.
To Pandemonium itself.
I stand before you today not merely as a soldier. I am a bastion of honour, a paragon of valour, and a beacon of respect amidst a tumultuous sea of ambition and deceit zat is ze life of a musketeer.
From ze tender age when I first donned ze blue uniform, I knew zat I was destined for greatness. My heart pulsed with ze rhythm of duty, my soul, aflame, with ze pledge of virtue. As ze years passed, my reputation grew like a mighty oak weathering ze fiercest of storms.
Upon ze battlefield, I watched as she claimed ze lives of ze brave and foolish alike. I saw ze horrors zat loitered beyond ze safety of ze palace walls.
Where men were reduced to mere ashes in ze art of war.
Like lambs to ze slaughter, zey charged forth with reckless abandon – zheir dreams dashed upon ze cold, unforgiving earth beneath my boots.
And yet amidst ze chaos and cacophony of clashing steel and desperate cries of ze condemned, I remained unscathed. For I am not just a survivor, but a leader amongst men.
A captain whose name strikes fear into ze hearts of my enemies.
As I would gaze upon ze faces of my fallen comrades, I could not help but wonder why lady luck would continue to smile upon me while so many others met zeir untimely ends.
Zat, is, until now.
As whispers of a fresh battle known as Pandemonium reaches my ears, my resolve yields steelier than ever. Within it, I see a reflection of my own journey, for I have watched as countless aspiring musketeers have tried in earnest to follow in my footsteps, only to be cut down in their prime.
Now, twenty more shall step upon ze field of battle like lambs to ze slaughter, eager to prove themselves.
Vying for zat very same glory.
But, just as before, my resilience in ze face of adversity will remain steadfast. My enemies will all fall prey to ze merciless hand of fate.
Lambs to ze slaughter.
Yet I, Gaston Dupont, am no lamb to be led to slaughter. I am a warrior, a survivor, a legend, whose name shall echo through ze annals of history long after I am gone.
As Pandemonium approaches, I know zat nineteen other valiant men and women will try in vain to claim my mantle, only to meet ze same end as those who preceded zem in zis flight.
For it is I who knows ze sincerity behind ze facade of bravery and bravado. In ze end, only one can stand triumphant, while ze rest shall fade into obscurity – zheir names forgotten throughout ze sands of time.
But amidst ze bloodshed, your Captain shall stand tall – a testament to ze indomitable spirit of ze king’s Royal Guard.
For we are one…
And one for all