The Legend of Tim

The story of Tim has been passed down from Stormdragon cats to their kittens since the Anarchist Cats attack of 1918. Tim was saved by Uther Stormdragon from a fierce beating he was receiving from a much larger tomcat in a Hamburg alley in 1916. Uther observed after he chased off the much larger cat that Tim should have chosen to run rather than fight. Tim replied that only courage in the face of great odds is truly courage. With that response, Tim found himself as a member of the Imperial Guard of the Imperial Council of Cats. Tim was never the strongest cat there, or the fastest or the smartest. In 1918 on the day of the surprise attack by the Anarchist Cats, Tim was not the leader of the patrol in the underground passage that was guarding the vaults of the Council. Tim was second in command and not in the lead when the Anarchists Cats exploded their dynamite charges and swarmed into the passage way. The blast killed the lead element of the patrol which included the commander and wounded those cats the next group including Tim. As second in command that day, Tim was now the commander of the group. Ignoring the fact that he was bleeding in several places, Tim immediately gave orders. He told two cats to "Get more cats here" and to the rest of the shaken survivors he said " We will hold this passage way." Out of the dim and smokey tunnel in their front they could see vague images of numerous cats preparing to attack. A voice came to them through the smoke and darkness that said "We have come to take everything from you". Tim replied "Good. I have a sample now of what you will receive from us." With that,

Tim hurled himself forward in the narrow tunnel into the Anarchists Cats. Hissing, biting and clawing, Tim threw the opponents into a brief disarray. However, Tim was no match for the intruders in size and number. Tim died in that narrow tunnel screaming defiance at his enemies until his last breath left his body. The rest of the patrol fell back in a delaying action and soon the Anarchist Cats disappeared down a corridor as they sought treasure. When the cats returned with reinforcements, they soon found Tim where he had fallen and they began to howl the Stormdragon battle cry " Always Lions". It echoed through the chambers and brought other Imperial Guard cats to them. Cats from other clans began to chant their battle cries as well. They found the Anarchist Cats in the underground chambers and attacked pushing them back towards the surface. On the surface cats loyal to the Council said that the sounds of all the Imperial Counsel cats coming up from the tunnels sounded as if hell had unleashed its demons. The cats rushed to the streets where Uther and Athelstane Stormdragon were leading the resistance and helped defeat their opponents who disappeared into the night. Tim was buried in the mound of heroes and was allowed on his stele to have the Stormdragon battle cry, a rare honor seldom given to those not a member of the clan. When asked why Tim was so important to remember, Uther said " Inside every cat there is greatness. It might be greatness for just a fleeting moment, for a day, years or even a lifetime. It is up to every cat to summon that greatness as often as he can. We are not all great, but we can all do great things.Tim was great for the moment that greatness was needed. Live your life to be as great as you can be."

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