SOL

## Personality

Sol is accurate when he speaks, but he also can do a joke even in hardest fights. But that doesnt mean, hes thoughtless. He can be a real protector for his friends.

## Background

""Pulling the trigger means you’re alive. Releasing it means you’re dead..."
Those were the words of a man who is not alive anymore.
Did he release the trigger? Nobody knows... All I know is
that this man gave all he could to his friend, brother, and soldier.
But everything has its limit.
The other man was holding that trigger for too long...he released it forever.
I saw his burial...it was my burial.
This is the story of a man who doesn’t exist anymore...

I was born in a small city in the Czech Republic.
Although we were poor, my parents took
care to give me a nice childhood. They got me everything I needed,
but the thing I wanted the
most was to spend more time with my dad.
He did his best to ensure there was money for us...for me.
And so, until my teenage years, I didn’t even know my father well.
With my father gone for most of the time,
I meant everything to my mother. She usually called me
"Sluníčko mého života"...that means "sun of my life."

But, as a kid, I was different.
Other children were dreaming about being doctors, firemen...or
fucking Batmen. I wanted to be a war hero.
Other kids didn’t mind that, but adults were...well...I would say "scared."
They saw some sort of psychopath in me. Damn hippies...

To be honest, I don't have many friends in my life. Mostly,
I wanted to be a friend with adults.
And because of this, my dream was even closer to be a real thing.
I met my mentor. The man who taught me everything I needed to know.
He was a man I wanted to be one day. A soldier.
Sadly, he died after two years of teaching me. I never found out how he died.

Both of my parents died in an early age.
My father died when I was 17 and my mother died
when I was 22 years old. I was completely alone.
There was no one to be afraid of me.
It is weird to say it, but that was kinda the thing I always wished for,
because of her. I always wanted to know her name.
She was beautiful and mysterious. Most of the boys wanted to
know her. There were even songs about her...sung with love and hate.

Her name is War. And I’m one of her lovers.

I joined the United States Marine Corps when I was 24 years old.
Boring stuff happening like boot camp and all that shit.
But it was actually fun for me. I got new friends, I got my dream
job. I got everything... I was deployed two years later in Afghanistan.
I was still with my broth-...eh...I mean, with my unit.

I was a machine gunner in our unit. I had to carry that heavy-as-fuck M240.
On the other hand, I got the most fun job.
I was usually that first fucker the enemy could see. I was the one
who pulled the trigger first and the last to release it.

Afghanistan was a beautiful place.
We enjoyed rides in our Cougar (MRAP) during sunsets.
Except for that one day...we rode on a landmine. Nothing special,
except it was a planned ambush. Few seconds after an explosion,
our second Cougar got hit by an RPG. Our Cougar
got hit too. Driver died. Radio was dead, so we couldn’t call for any backup.
It was just us and those fucking rats. Several guys got hit.
I knew what to do. I jumped behind that .50 and
started to shoot. Another RPG on its way. Missed.
But they had plenty of them for sure. I remember three more flying around.
I tried my best to draw attention on MRAP, but there
were just too many of them. Only half of my unit remained.
Another brother died when he tried to carry more ammunition for me.
My M32 was empty and I got last ammo belt in my
M2 Browning. "RPG!" yelled our commander.
This one was finally meant for me.

It was nearly night. I was heavily wounded, lying on the ground...
all I could see were flashes of tracer rounds.
Last brother remaining released the trigger...So did I.

I don’t remember for how long I was lying there. It was probably Sunday morning.
I saw the Grim Reaper himself in front of me...
but he wasn’t there to take my life. It was my rebirth.
The birth of Sol.

All I could remember was voices. I can’t really say what they were saying,
except for one word...one name – Phantom.
And there he was. In the corner of that empty room, hiding in a
shadow, playing with his knife.

The sun was setting and I felt it again. I felt the pain, heard my brothers dying.
Full of emotions I never knew before I rushed toward him.
He stopped my attack and said "Calm down, I saved your life..."

No, you didn’t save my life. I died back there. This is just the afterlife."