The Metal Head Wars.

Major battle sites of the Metal Head Wars.

The Metal Head Wars were a 300-year-long conflict during Daxter and Jak II. The two contending factions were the inhabitants of Haven City and the Metal Heads.

Why did it happen?

Thousands of years before the Haven Era, a mysterious race of beings known as Precursors began travelling throughout the universe to create planets and life. Using their giant robots powered by Light Eco hearts and shielded from Dark Eco, they channelled eco from their arms to form hills, valleys and continents, while their shoulder bolts emitted eco to form oceans and atmospheres. When they were done, the Precursors and their robots would depart, leaving no trace of their existence. The one exception to this was on the planet where the saga of Jak and Daxter took place.

Over time, some Precursors were exposed to Dark Eco and became the Dark Makers, who began to fight the Precursors for different planets. In the following wars, the Dark Makers began twisting worlds, conquering life and instigating dark ages. By 3000 BHE, the Dark Makers had allied themselves with the Metal Heads, a techno-organic alien race that the Precursors called the Hora-Quan and could have been created by the Dark Makers. The Precursors’ civilisation was destroyed in this war, and the Precursors stopped building the planet at the Brink, leaving many ruins and technologies throughout the landscape. Over the next three millennia, the legend and mystery of the Precursors grew as people began to wonder who they were and why they vanished.

While the Metal Heads continued to evolve and seek out the last relic of the Precursors' power, by the first century BHE, humans typically lived in small, isolated villages throughout the planet overseen by Eco Sages. In 12 BHE, Samos Hagai and a five-year-old Jak arrived in Sandover Village from the future to help him grow into the hero needed to defeat the Metal Heads. In 2 BHE, Jak began his journey by defeating Gol and Maia Acheron, who had created an army of creatures known as Lurkers to terrorise the local population and recover artifacts necessary to flood the world with Dark Eco. Upon defeating the Dark Sages at their citadel, Jak, Daxter, Samos and Keira discovered the Rift Rider and Rift Gate, which they dragged back to Sandover Village over the following several months. Little did they know that their actions would put in place events that would decide the planet's history for the next 300 years.

Who was involved?

Haven City: Founded in 1 HE by Mar I, Haven City was created to protect the Precursor Stone and Catacombs from the Metal Heads. For most of its history, Haven City was ruled by the House of Mar, which relied upon the Shield Wall to deter Metal Head attacks on the city. When the House of Mar was overthrown in 297 HE, Baron Praxis formed the Krimzon Guard to enforce his rule over Haven City and act as frontline soldiers in his war against the Metal Heads.

Strength: 250,000 Citizens.

Metal Heads: Founded in 3000 BHE by Metal Kor, the Metal Heads were the ancient enemy of the Precursors. There were more than 30 species in different shapes and sizes, ranging from Stingers to Ele-Beasts. The Metal Heads sought to gain control of Haven City so that Metal Kor could feed upon the Precursor Stone and extinguish the Precursor race. There was also a subgroup called Metal Bugs, which acted as infiltrators inside Haven City until the death of Metal Kaedan in 300 HE.

Strength: 525,000 Creatures.

What happened?

In 2 BHE, Jak unintentionally released Metal Kor and his Metal Head legions into Sandover Village via the Rift Gate. As Jak, Daxter, Keira and Samos Hagai passed through the Rift Gate into the future, Metal Kor began scouring the planet for the Precursor Stone. In 1 BHE, the Precursors sent the great warrior Mar to protect the inhabitants of Sandover Village from the Metal Heads. Mar began mining for Eco within the caves and mountains surrounding Sandover Village, and in 1 HE, founded Haven City to protect the Precursor Stone and population of the planet. In addition, Mar became the first member of a dynasty called the House of Mar and built the Shield Wall to repulse any Metal Head attack on the city. Indeed, Mar would fight numerous battles against the Metal Heads throughout his reign, notably in the Wasteland, where artifact hunters would uncover his armour during the third and fourth centuries HE.

Towards the end of his reign in 13 HE, Mar constructed a massive gun outside the Metal Head Nest to break it open and eliminate the Metal Head leader once and for all. However, during that year, Mar was killed in battle before he could use the gun. He was subsequently buried in a secret tomb inside Haven City with the Precursor Stone to safeguard its powers until a future leader of the House of Mar came and fulfilled his legacy. In the absence of Mar, Metal Kor besieged Haven City, which would last for the next 287 years. Unable to penetrate the Shield Wall with conventional military forces, Kor's lieutenant, Kaedan, created the Metal Bugs to infiltrate Haven City. Under Kaedan, Metal Bugs infested hotels, subways and other buildings inside Haven City while conducting scouting and sabotage roles. In response, several extermination companies were established, most notably the Kridder Ridder Extermination Company, which Ozmar Itchy Drawers III founded in 165 HE. Under his grandson, Osmo Drawers, the Kridder Ridder Extermination Company exterminated the infamous Curley Crab Infestation of 267 HE with an old Zoomer called Betsy.

In 277 HE, Damas became the last leader of the House of Mar to rule Haven City. By this time, the House of Mar was in decline and found itself under attack by new Metal Head species, such as the Grunt and Spyder Gunner, which first evolved in 280 HE. In 295 HE, Damas’ wife (whose name is unknown) gave birth to a son who would become known as Jak, although Damas referred to him as Mar II. In 297 HE, Damas was betrayed by his advisor, Baron Praxis, and banished to the Wasteland, where he would ultimately become king of Spargus City. Upon coming to power, Baron Praxis created a new military force known as the Krimzon Guard to fight the Metal Heads and enforce his rule over Haven’s citizens. During that year, Baron Praxis led Krimzon Guard forces at the Battle of the Metal Head Nest, where he was repulsed with heavy casualties. The following year, Praxis was defeated again at the Battle of Dead Town, after which he negotiated a deal with Metal Kor. In exchange for monthly supplies of eco, Praxis agreed that the Metal Heads could attack Haven City sporadically to maintain the illusion of wartime and justify his rule over Haven City.

While this agreement was in place, Baron Praxis focused his attention on two experimental military programs: the Dark Warrior Program and the KG Robots. When Jak, Daxter, Samos and Keira arrived in Haven City in 298 HE, Jak was captured by Erol and subjected to two years of Dark Eco experiments. Out of the five individuals involved in the Dark Warrior Program, only Jak survived due to his eco-channelling abilities. At the same time, Praxis began the construction of prototypes for the KG Robots, notably the Blast Bot, Death Bot and Spy Bot, at the Fortress and Weapons Factory. When both programs failed to achieve adequate results, Praxis and Erol sought to find Mar’s Tomb, which housed the Precursor Stone. Subsequently, Krimzon Guard patrols in Hellcat Cruisers were conducted outside Haven City to locate artifacts from the reign of Mar I. At the same time, Kaedan sought to shut down every extermination company in the city in preparation for Metal Kor’s eventual invasion. While he was successful, Kaedan failed to stop Daxter from rescuing Jak in the Fortress, and Kor decided to meet Jak and Daxter outside the prison in human form.

By 300 HE, the Metal Head Wars had reached a turning point. Many of the city’s mining operations at the Strip Mine and Drill Platform came under attack by the Metal Heads. At the same time, Kor, in human form, convinced Jak to join the Underground: a rebel movement founded by Samos Hagai in 297 HE to overthrow Baron Praxis and restore the House of Mar. Under Torn, a former Krimzon Guard commander who had grown disillusioned with Praxis’s cruel tactics and unjust laws, Jak conducted various missions designed to undermine the Baron’s rule over Haven City. After rescuing Vin at the Strip Mine and assisting Ashelin at the Battle of the Pumping Station, Jak decided to infiltrate Haven Palace, where he overheard Praxis and Erol talking to Metal Kor via a communicator. In this meeting, Kor expressed his impatience at Praxis and Erol for not supplying enough eco to the Metal Head Nest. Subsequently, Kor ordered the Metal Head armies in the Wasteland to establish positions at Dead Town and Haven Forest.

Upon halting the Metal Head advance towards the Sacred Site at Dead Town, Jak then used Keira's Jet Board to catch five Metal Head Scouts in Haven Forest. In the aftermath of these victories, Jak assisted Ashelin in intercepting an Eco Tanker coming in from the Wasteland. At the Battle of East Bazaar, Jak and Ashelin were successful in repelling a small Metal Head assault, which saved countless civilian lives. Later, Jak hunted 24 Cloakers and 6 Spyder Gunners in Haven Forest, which were the vanguard of the main Metal Head army. However, after Jak disrupted a Krimzon Guard excavation at the Dig north of Haven City, Metal Heads occupied the site and attacked the Lurker villages there. Baron Praxis used Lurkers as slave labour, and when Jak successfully freed nine of them, their leader, Brutter, promised to assist Jak in his war with the Metal Heads.

Upon discovering Mar’s Tomb, Baron Praxis finally acquired what he had been searching for: the Precursor Stone. The Precursor Stone contained vast eco energies that could be used for both good and evil purposes. Praxis planned to crack open the Precursor Stone and destroy the Metal Heads once and for all. Unfortunately, this would also destroy the entire world. Upon realising this, Ashelin and Jak decide to stop Praxis at the Weapons Factory, who planned to meet Krew there with the Precursor Stone and attach it to a Piercer Bomb before delivering it to the Metal Head Nest in a shipment of eco. After fighting his way through the Weapons Factory, Jak defeated Krew, who revealed that he had betrayed Haven City by getting Sig to open the Underport and allow the Metal Head army into the city. After being rescued by Ashelin in her Hellcat Cruiser, Jak learnt that Kor had sabotaged the Shield Wall at the Power Station, thus beginning the Siege of Haven City.

As the Krimzon Guards engaged the Metal Head army in close-quarter battles on the streets of Haven City, Jak escorted Sig through the Underport before meeting up with Samos and Keira at Mar Memorial Stadium. With the assistance of Brutter and his Lurkers, Jak defended Samos from a large force of Metal Heads while the Green Sage transported the Rift Rider to a Lurker balloon. Afterwards, Jak received a message from Vin telling him that Kor was meeting Baron Praxis at the Construction Site. Upon arriving, Jak witnessed Kor transform into his Metal Head form and demand the Precursor Stone from Baron Praxis. When he refused, Kor blasted Praxis and his Guards before returning to the Metal Head Nest. Before dying, Praxis told Jak that he was the supreme weapon and gave him the Precursor Stone. Ashelin and Torn then informed Jak that because the Metal Heads were so focused on besieging Haven City, they had left their nest vulnerable. Jak subsequently travelled to the Metal Head Nest and fought Kor, and in a climactic battle, defeated him. With their leader dead, the Metal Head army retreated, giving victory to the people of Haven City.

What changed as a result?

The Metal Head Wars resulted in victory for the inhabitants of Haven City. In the aftermath of Baron Praxis’ death, his daughter Ashelin became the new governor of Haven City and reformed the Krimzon Guard into the New Krimzon Guard with Torn and Brutter as its leaders. Despite the repulse of the Metal Heads, however, Haven City’s inhabitants began to grow suspicious of Jak due to his associations with Krew and Kor, thanks in part to Count Veger, the leader of the Grand Council of Haven City, who was also suspicious of Jak’s Dark Eco powers. To make matters worse, Haven City soon came under attack by an alliance of surviving Metal Heads and KG Robots led by Cyber Errol, which plunged the city into a civil war known as the War for Haven City. By the time the war ended in 301 HE, tens of thousands of lives had been lost, and whole districts of Haven City lay in ruins. Under Ashelin’s leadership, the city was rebuilt in 302 HE to accommodate the new sport of combat racing, which originated in Kras City. Ultimately, the true victors of the Metal Head Wars were the Precursors, who had defeated their ancient adversary, Metal Kor, and saved their race from extinction.

Bibliography

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