by Cheek, Jason
“Sub-Leader Pevnuth, I was sent by the Head of Midnight to relieve you!”
As soon as the words left my lips, three shadowy blurs appeared ten feet before me as a group of Dark Elves popped out of Shadow Step. The Dark-Elf Assassins were all women with the obvious leader being the bald-headed Dark Elf that stood at the head of the trio. One glance at the woman’s battle-hardened face and I knew I was facing a capable leader. Besides being strikingly beautiful, there was none of the typical haughtiness that I’d started to associate with Elves in general. A quick cast of identify confirmed this was Sub-Leader Sardren Pevnuth, level 42.
For a long moment, we studied each other in silence. Sub-Leader Pevnuth’s black leathers were well-worn and had signs of field repairs from recent combat. Her two cohorts had a similar worn appearance to them, but unlike their leader, they had short tight braids that ran down the back of their necks. The uniformed look between them gave the appearance of twins, but upon closer inspection, I could see that they were actually quite different once you took the time to study their features. I found myself instantly impressed by their professional demeanor.
“The Head of Midnight informed us that you’d be arriving this morning,” Sub-Leader Pevnuth said in a cultured voice devoid of emotion. As she spoke, the woman’s eyes looked each of us over as if to evaluate our threat levels. She didn’t seem overly impressed with any one of us newfar. It wasn’t until her eyes came to Assault Leader Dell that she showed the slightest bit of interest. “We will leave our post in your hands-“ The Dark Elf began to say, when a disturbance at the edge of the woods to either side of the graveyard pulled away the Sub-Leader’s silvery-blue eyes.
“The area is clear,” Fylreh’s hard voice professionally reported, as she stamped her front hoof impatiently.
‘Clear except for Dark Elves,’ Helgath and Neysa’s mental voice resounded in my head, as they eyed the shocked trio looking back and forth between them and the Centauride.
“You have demi-humans in your raid!” Sub-Leader Pevnuth demanded as her face screwed up in pure revulsion. Any thoughts of the Dark Elf being exotically beautiful instantly disappeared in my mind as her true personality was revealed in the blink of an eye. The only thing uglier to me than that was someone who was cruel for cruelty’s sake alone. As the woman’s subordinates automatically reached for their weapons, the rest of the raid ignored the question as they continued about their business.
“I’ll scout the valley from the treeline,” Fylreh said, giving the trio a look of disdain as she galloped off without looking back.
‘We’ll scout the mouth of the gauntlet,’ Helgath explained, as Neysa disappeared into the forest with a flick of her tail.
“Assault Leader Dell,” I said, striding past the shocked trio who wanted to attack, but couldn’t without going against their orders while calling out over my shoulder. “Have the assigned troops take possession of the graveyard, while the main force advances to the edge of the treeline to the valley.”
“As you command, milord,” Assault Leader Dell crisply replied, as Blink immediately flapped away- with the required orders.
I’d just about reached the opposite side of the graveyard, when forty-one shadowy blurs appeared ten yards in front of me in an arc. A part of my mind registered that the Dark Elves’ coordination was impressive, since I hadn’t heard any orders being given. As the Assassins appeared in front of me, the majority with their bows drawn, I heard Phoenix mutter out loud next to me.
“Are Dark Elves just pompous assholes or what?”
“How dare a halfling sully the Head of Midnight’s name by openly consorting with demi-humans!” Sub-Leader Pevnuth shouted in outrage, once she completed her Shadow Step. The look of absolute disgust was clear on her face as the rest of us continued striding toward the group unfazed.
“Nope, they’re all about the same,” I said from experience, thinking back to when I’d first entered Delonshire. The Light Elves’ initial reaction to me had been one of aggression and hatred. If not for Sarka and Yun interceding on my behalf and the quests I’d completed, their attitudes would never have changed towards me.
Hell, I wouldn’t be surprised if my acceptance by the Light Elves was only good in Delonshire. It was hard to say since the Myathlune Light Elves had openly hated me from the beginning for being a practitioner of Dark magic. If that hadn’t been their focus, would my mix blood have been the next issue on the list? Probably, I thought with a smirk. Not that the prejudiced reaction to my mixed blood was a surprise by now. I was starting to realize the general hatred for mix-bloods and demi-humans within The World went far deeper than I’d ever thought. I wondered how this would play a future role in my interactions with the various humanoid races. Only time would tell, but I had a feeling, these issues were only the beginning.
In regards to my reaction to the members of Mike’s House of Tuin’Dyrr, I’m sure a number of my Twitch viewers might think that I might be less than ready to deal with them directly, especially after how everything went down with Domenic. While that might be true to a point, that had never been my way when faced with outright stupidity of this nature. The best I could do was not slaughter them all and move on. Beyond that, anyone who wanted to bash me for the color of my skin or, in this case, the heritage of my blood could suck a bag full of dicks, doubly so if I hadn’t personally perpetrated any crime against them.
Before I could address Sub-Leader Pevnuth’s loathsome attitude, a chorus of animalistic roars rang out from behind me as the Uten Syn Druids reacted to the Dark Elves’ open hostility. The sudden appearance of the mass of enraged Werebears and Werewolves rising up to tower above my back silenced the line of Dark Elves as Assault Leader Dell ordered half of the Kayden Troopers to surround the graveyard in spaced out, concentric rings to combat the Assassins’ Shadow Step ability. It was an impressive move and obviously designed to nullify the Assassins’ unique ability, which, once again, reminded me that I needed to sit down and pick Dell’s mind once things settled down. For now though, my focus was on the issue before me.
“Thomas, you take the left side, while Yun takes the center!” As the words left my mouth, I dropped a Light Word of Censor on the right flank of the Dark Elves’ formation. It hit nearly simultaneously with Thomas’ just as Yun stepped forward and released a Frost Nova that locked down Sub-Leader Pevnuth and the Assassins to either side of her in a barrier of ice. In the blink of an eye, the non-stunned Dark Elves Shadow Stepped, breaking the crowd control spell’s lockdown. It’s not like we didn’t know where they’re going. Waiting for a half-second, I call out to Thomas. “Now!”
Immediately, our combined Frost Nova spells froze all of the Dark Elves around us in a twenty yard radius as we caught the eighteen Assassins that blinked in behind our backs in blocks of solid ice. As I turned around to see Sub-Leader Pevnuth’s pissed off face glaring back at me as she waited for her Shadow Step cooldown to reset, a massive bear claw plucked her out of the air and slammed her to the ground. Lyeneru’s pissed off golden eyes glanced up at me and winked, before she stuffed her massive barrel-shaped head into the other woman’s face and bellowed.
It wasn’t just Sub-Leader Pevnuth that was taken down. The entire force that had Shadow Stepped with her was taken down in seconds by groups of Werebeasts, my friends, and companions. At the same time, teams of Kayden Troopers rushed to the stunned Assassins and held them down by the points of their blades. It all happened smoothly in the blink of an eye as Sub-Leader Pevnuth’s mouth fell open in shock at how easily her raid of Shadow Assassins had been disabled. Twisting away from Lyeneru’s salivating fangs just inches from her face, the Dark Elf’s hate-filled eyes met mine as a twisted smile came to her lips.
“You ignorant halfling scum,” Sub-Leader Pevnuth spat at my feet as if she’d won. “By attacking first, you’ve broken your word and turned the entire House of Tuin’Dyrr against you. We might die now, but when our brothers and sisters destroy everything you’ve ever loved, we’ll hav
e the last laugh.”
“Is that what you think?” I asked, throwing my head back and laughing as the Dark Elves looked at me in obvious confusion. Getting control of my mirth, I looked around making sure every Dark Elves’ eyes were upon me before continuing. “The Head of Midnight already warned me that you’d try to get payback for what happened to Sub-Leader Zisebil last night at the graveyard,” my voice echoed around the clearing. “He’s given me leave to do whatever I deem necessary to resolve the issue for the sake of the missions.”
This was a topic that Mike, Domenic, and I had hammered out over the phone. While we might not be happy with each other at times inside the game, we promised to not let stupid fights from it boil over into real life. Privately, I thought that was much easier said than done, but I kept that to myself and took that as a win. Besides, we all agreed there was simply too much money at stake to be at each other’s throats. On top of that, Mike had understood his own people’s reaction to me better than I did. He’d known we’d run into severe resistance to my leadership due to my mixed heritage and prepared for it ahead of time by giving me cart blanch in dealing with his Assassins. Silently thanking him for thinking ahead and trusting my judgment, I let an ugly look come to my face as I turned around stare at back at Sub-Leader Pevnuth, playing the part of a scummy halfling.
“You’ve already brought dishonor upon the House of Tuin’Dyrr,” I said with a sneer, ignoring the seething look of revulsion that reflected the hate in her heart. “Even more, you compounded your disgrace by being unable to get off even a simple attack on a target six levels below your own level and against a halfling lordling at that.” My eyes swept the Uten Syn Druids that were effortlessly holding the group of Dark Elves down with open contempt. “Make that twelve to fourteen levels lower than your own.”
The realization of the truth hit the raid of Assassins like a sucker punch to the throat as I paused to let my words sink in. They’d been planning to play with us like Mike and Chuzedros had done to the stealth raid that we’d caught in Domenic’s fortress. Unfortunately for them, knowing how the Assassins used their Shadow Step to pounce on their targets was half the battle in neutralizing their special attack. It didn’t matter that the Uten Syn guild were all nightmare players. The Dark Elves wouldn’t have understood what that meant. The level difference was the demeaning factor in all of this and the key to bending them to my will. Even the people of The World knew that anything more than ten levels lower than your own was typically out of your league. Hence, their helplessness was a completely different kind of embarrassment. I was counting on that simple demoralizing fact to not have to kill the lot of them if I could help it.
“The only chance you have of redeeming the little bit of honor you have left is by serving the House of Tuin’Dyrr by carrying out your mission as stated by the Head of Midnight,” I said, ignoring the scowls coming from Sarka and Unalia as my voice coldly resounded across the graveyard. While I knew the two of them didn’t like the idea of killing a group of allies in cold blood, now wasn’t the time to explain that I was playing a role to my friends. If the Dark Elves didn’t truly believe I’d carry out my intent, than I really would have to slaughter them all. “That, or I’ll solve this problem by killing the lot of you now and be done with it.”
Sub-Leader Pevnuth’s eyes bored into mine as we stared at each other in a contest of wills. Her natural Dark Elf arrogance was in conflict with the thought of an ignoble death for her and her people at the hands of a filthy halfling. Playing up the part, I strode towards the downed woman while casually drawing the Vicious Executioner's Axe of Cruelty from my belt. Meeting Lyeneru’s green eyes, I called out. “Just hold her still and I’ll take care of this problem easily enough!”
“What do you mean you can take care of this easily enough?” Sarka demanded, shocked at my obvious intent as Unalia looked up at me in horror.
“You’re not just going to slaughter them in cold blood are you?”
“Of course I am,” I said, giving them a nonchalant shrug as I hefted the oversized axe-head over my shoulder with two hands. “One chop and the problem’s over.” Yes, I knew I was going to pay for this later with my friends, but again, it wasn’t like I could explain my intent to them in front of our audience.
“Such an ignoble death.” I offhandedly muttered, as I swung the blade down with all of my might.
“Wait!” The shout came from three different throats. I ignored everyone but Sub-Leader Pevnuth. “I yield … I yield!” It looked like the Dark Elf was struggling to swallow a mouthful of sand as she ground out her next words. “I give my personal oath that my people and I will adhere to the terms of the House of Kayden alliance!”
“Just so we’re clear on this point,” I snarled, with the axe blade stopped inches from her throat as spittle flew from my lips. “If you ever disrespect Helgath or Fylreh like that again, I’ll take your head!” My gaze was unflinching as I held the Dark Elf’s silvery-blue eyes. “Is that understood?”
“My people will abide by my word,” Sub-Leader Pevnuth snarled between tight lips. Obviously, the thought of having an agreement with a house of halflings and demi-humans was almost too much for her to take. “Halfling Lord.”
“The worth of your word is yet to be seen,” I dismissively said to the woman, as I let the Vicious Executioner's Axe of Cruelty drop loosely to my side. “Release them.”
Lyeneru gave me a knowing wink, obviously understanding exactly what I’d been going for, before nodding to her guildmates to release the Dark Elves. As they jumped away at the same time, the Sub-Commander instantly rolled to her feet with her blades appearing in her hands as if by magic. I didn’t even blink an eye at the implied threat as the woman gave me a look of pure loathing. Though, to my surprise, not everyone was as ready to follow my lead as Kenzie spoke up.
“Is this the smart thing to do?” Kenzie asked, still holding down her target as Sarka and Unalia gave her a disbelieving look. A quick glance around the graveyard showed me that none of the Devil Dogs had released their prisoners. To my further surprise, even Assault Leader Dell had not automatically followed my lead and was clearly wanting to discuss this further.
“We have the chance to take out an enemy, that would rather die to put us at odds with their own house,” Thomas called out from where he stood with his two-handed blade held over his own target. “Wouldn’t it be better to remove that sickness from our alliance now rather than let it fester?”
“I’ve sworn upon my personal honor that I’d abide by the terms of the alliance with the House of Kayden,” Sub-Leader Pevnuth tried to say, when Thomas’ face screwed up in outrage as he overrode her words.
“Your honor,” the Devil Dog guild leader pronounced the word like a curse, “has been shown to be less than worthless.”
The accusation coming from Thomas seemed to upset the woman far worse than anything I’d said up to this point. Hell, as I watched her obstinately look around the graveyard for support, it took me a moment to understand the reason why. She obviously gave more credence to a Light Elf’s opinion than mine. More than that, I could see the agitation growing on her face as she saw the same looks of revulsion reflected on the Light Elves and Human faces looking back at her. It finally dawned on her that her actions might have truly lacked honor.
“While that might be true,” I agreed, briefly sweeping my gaze over the faces looking back at me. “My good friend needs as many of his people alive as possible for his fight against the newfar working to complete the Nightmare Master Thief quest. One hundred and eighty-five Assassins is hardly enough for what he needs to accomplish. Slaughtering forty-one of his Assassins because they were dumbasses without honor would be a major blow to the House of Tuin’Dyrr’s ability to combat this enemy.” Sub-Leader Pevnuth could only bow her head in shame at my accurate analysis.
“While Sub-Leader Pevnuth will never be considered a friend to the House of Kayden,” I said, watching her reactions closely. “I believe we can agree to ke
ep out of each other’s way while supporting our individual houses and the alliance.” Feeling my intent through our mental connection, Tengsly popped up to hover next to my head awaiting my message.
“Even though Lord Eyedol will know of everything that transpired here,” I said, meaningfully nodding to the flying squirrel. “You will be given a chance to earn back your honor within the House of Tuin’Dyrr if you hold true to your word.”
I was unsurprised to see the suspicious look that came into the Dark Elf’s silvery-blue eyes as they bored into mine. She was doing her best to comprehend my angle in all of this. Unfortunately for her, my intent was beyond the purview of her understanding of the dynamics between us. She was stuck looking at prejudice from her own societal perspective and was expecting the same from me. While I was looking at the benefit that her raid brought to my second best friend’s in-game house, the alliance, and today’s fight in general. I could care less what the ignorant bitch thought of me personally. Her dishonorable actions hadn’t earned her any respect as far as I was concerned, meaning she now meant less than nothing to me beyond that.
In The World, prejudice was simple to figure out. You were either another race or you were not. If you were the same race, prejudices fell within the lines of if you were a peasant farmer, town commoner, soldier, or a noble. If you were of another race, the discriminating views held against you were based on the stereotypes of known racial differences. Of course, those differences were many times crude caricatures of the truth, but were nonetheless popular due to the small truths within those exaggerated characteristics. Things such as Gnomes were annoying children that were easily excitable and talked fast, Elves were considered cold and arrogant, Dwarves stank like dirt and were known to be boisterous alcoholics, and Humans were considered to be ignorant backstabbers without honor.
