Iron Elf - A Race Reborn (Book 2)

by Klay Testamark

  “We are proud that we dealt with our centaur progenitors. But it seems elves have forced more than one race into the darkness. And I would not have us be the next victims.” He refilled his glass. “You impressed them, you know. You even scared Bedvir. I’m sorry I misled you, but it’s worked out nicely.”

  He left to find his wife and go to bed. That made me poop a little. I dozed off to uneasy dreams of being chased by hunters and dogs. I was naked and Arawn was brandishing a pair of scissors.

  “I’ll snip ‘em! I’ll snip ‘em good!”

  The nurses were finishing up my sponge bath when Vitus knocked. “Good t’see you, prince. You had me worried back there.”

  “Could you open that icebox? I think there’s another bottle.”

  He’d brought chocolates. Manly chocolates. This was candy that would put hair on your chest.

  “Aaah! Aaah! Aaah!”

  “They’re a little spicy…”

  Something was bothering him. “You’re not still guilty about Arawn’s ruse, are you?” I asked. “Or are you upset the invasion’s cancelled?”

  He shook his head. “I am proud to do my liege’s work. And we did secure the peace. As for the invasion, there are other ways. No, I am embarrassed for a smaller deception. You see, Prince Angrod—”

  “Hi Vitus!”

  “Madame Ambassador! I was on my way out!”

  He left. Tamril grinned. “I see we’re alone.”

  The woman had never learned subtlety. She’d never needed to.

  “Oh, my king, such pain! Such heroism! I cried so hard when they carried you away. I thought I’d die. I am so glad you survived, and in one piece too.”

  I was still wearing the disguise ring. “Uh, Tamril, there’s something—”

  “Something you want me to take care of? Naughty! But it has been a few days. The doctors assured me you wouldn’t tear anything if you just… lay there…”

  “Tamril, what—what… aah! Stop that!” But she was already climbing into bed and slipping under the covers.

  “Hee hee! Guess what I didn’t bring?” She was wearing a skirt. And underneath? Maybe she’d given another good-luck charm. “Ooh, did it miss me? Why don’t you lie back and let your wife take care of this?” She giggled. “It did miss me!”

  “I… ah… oooh…”

  “Glurp! And if you should feel like giving me a little kiss, well…” She spread herself before me.

  So naturally Arawn walked in. “Good morning, Angrod! I, er, hmm. Am I interrupting?”

  Tamril stuck her head from under the covers. “Hi, Your Highness!”

  I groaned. That’s it, I was dead. “Arawn, you see, er, your wife—”

  “My wife?”

  “Breakfast!” Nanette bustled in with a trolley. “I made coffee, dear. Coffee and orange juice. And some nice potato pancakes. Hello dear,” the last she said to the king.

  “Here’s my wife!” Arawn said, sweeping the halfling into a bear hug. She giggled. “Not now, you beast!”

  “I…”

  “Has Tamril been telling tales?” he asked. “Probably why she’s never found a man.”

  “Hee hee! I found something.”

  “Aaah!”

  “Aren’t we a nice girl?” Nanette said. “But the boy needs his breakfast now.” She patted Tamril on the head.

  It was an eventful breakfast, to say the least. I was glad to be left alone so I could rest, digest, and catch up on my news. Arawn had been considerate enough to bring a pre-inked feybook. I was flipping through, looking for my name when—

  “ARE THEY GONE?”

  “Aaugh!”

  It was the silver dragon! Peering through the skylight!

  “Indoor voice. What did I say about indoor voice?!”

  “BUT I’M OUTSIDE.”

  “I don’t care! You shouldn’t exist. I asked Stennik and guess what? There are no dragons in the Silver World!”

  CHAPTER 28

  The temple collapsed on itself. It sank into the leaping fire and the flames closed over the wreckage. The ringing stopped. Conrad and his crew watched from a distance.

  “It will be a small volcano, and quite safe,” Borlog said. “Elves are nothing if not masters of destruction.”

  “I resemble that remark,” Yang said. “But it’s not half-wrong.”

  “Don’t be ashamed of where ye come from, boy,” Zukaldi said. “I don’t hold it against ye.”

  “You’ve got other things to be angry about,” Borlog said. “There used to be dwarves in the Northlands but my people drove them away.”

  The dwarf shouldered his hammer. “Let them try and oppress me.”

  “Gentlemen!” Conrad said.

  “—and lady—” Sandy said.

  “And lady. A new world stretches before us! We have only begun our life’s work. We have seen what towering injustice abides here. I mean to strike at it, to scour it from the land. Are you with me? For justice!”

  Yang said, “For mayhem!”

  Sandy said, “For adventure!”

  Borlog said, “Honour, fame, and a noble death!”

  “Er—for adventure!” Zukaldi said.

  They ran into the setting sun.

  The City Quarters of Brandish

  Halflings from Earth have commented on the size and complexity of elven cities. In contrast to the medieval backwardness of Brandish’s countryside, its metropolitan areas are clean, orderly, and heavily populated. Most are home to tens of millions, making them as large and as well-developed as any city from the other world.

  Elves like to have four of everything, so it’s no surprise that their settlements are made up of four distinct areas, each a city in itself.

  The Old Quarter is the oldest part of the city, of course. Since many elven cities originally belonged to the dwarves, the buildings here may be considerably different, with early elven architecture resting on dwarven foundations. The city guard is based here, and much of the common folk live here as well. Cheap lodging can usually be found among the tenements and apartment buildings. The Old Quarter is usually encircled by walls and towers.

  The Palace Quarter is generally the second-oldest part of the city. Standing prominently apart from the Old Quarter, it is established when a city becomes large enough to make the nobility uncomfortable about living among the common folk. First a citadel for the royal guard is built, then a palace for the king or city governor. The homes of the rich soon follow and the rest of the space is taken by parks and cemeteries. As the Palace Quarter is the local seat of government, it is often fortified as well.

  The Merchant Quarter grows out of the interaction between the Old Quarter and the Palace Quarter. As the city becomes more specialized people find it convenient for various businesses to have their own districts. The Merchant Quarter is home to middle-class tradesmen, who reside in the same buildings where they have their livelihood. Much of the city’s entertainment can also be found here. During the day there are streets lined with restaurants and shops and during the night there are bars, dance halls, and other establishments that never close. Most mage’s citadels are here for those reasons.

  The Manufacturing Quarter is the last part of the city to take shape. Set as close as possible to the trade routes, this section is full of warehouses and stockyards. There are also slaughterhouses, tanneries, and alchemical workshops. Any industry too noisy or smelly for the other areas will find itself in the Manufacturing Quarter.

  Races of Brandish

  Humans

  If halflings are only the most recent wave of humanoids, then humans must be the second most recent. Apart from their greater size and robustness, the only thing that sets them apart from us is their gift of regeneration. This allows them to recover from wounds that would kill or cripple others, and is what makes their society so violent.

  Experiments confirm that a human can survive massive amounts of trauma. Their healing factor extends to broken bones and severed limbs. Maim them, gut them, flay them al
ive, and they will recover if allowed. Missing parts will grow back. Their limbs can be reattached, even swapped among individuals. They feel pain, but do not go into shock. About the only things that will hinder regeneration are fire and starvation. About the only things that will kill a human are decapitation and exsanguination.

  All humans have this healing factor. What’s more, because casual violence is largely consequence-free, their sports are extremely rough. Even their kiddie games are more like brawls. As a result, each human is a formidable combatant and can be expected to participate in any defensive action. Every man, woman, and child is to be considered a legitimate military target.

  While humans exist in every land, the heart of their civilization (such as it is) can be found in the Northlands. Your Imperial Highness knows this, of course, since our capital is in the same continent, in territory you took from them. Humans and halflings now coexist in an uneasy and unjust state of truce.

  Humans are farmers, fishermen, and traders, but above all they are rovers, raiders, and reavers—their history is a tapestry of piracy and war. Our savage neighbors have never managed to develop beyond chiefdoms and tribes. Their economic theories are, frankly, barbaric. While we believe in honest labor and fair trade, they believe in accumulating treasure—and chattel. Their towns and cities run on slave labor. Halfling slave labor.

  Your Imperial Majesty, while we are currently not at war with the humans, we recommend finding an excuse as soon as our armies are trained. The humans would band together if they ever realized the threat we represent. Though we outnumber them, we cannot ignore their own numbers. What’s more, their individual battle prowess is considerable. A united human species would be a terrible force.

  Elves

  Elves are beautiful and cruel. Elves are powerful and eternal. We have heard this before, mostly from the elves themselves. Perhaps not the cruel part, but that much is easy to infer from their history. Elves are very possibly the oldest humanoid species in Brandish. When dealing with other races, they are not known for tolerance or restraint.

  Physically, elves are not much different from halflings. To our eyes, the men are more pretty than handsome and the women are universally beautiful, if hard to tell apart. Elves are a little shorter and lighter, their features are a bit more angular, and their eyes are somewhat bigger. Nevertheless, were it not for the pointy ears, elves and halflings could pass for each other.

  Of course, elves do not simply look different. Their facility with magic is their chief advantage over other races. What does an elf care if an opponent is bigger than he is, when internalized magic can make him faster and stronger? For that matter, what is to stop him from simply incinerating his enemy?

  All elves know magic. While the common folk are never apprenticed to wizards, they know enough to get by. Artisans use trade-specific spells, women know cleaning and cooking spells, and even unskilled laborers have internal magic. (It should be noted that few elves are so poor as to grow up without a trade.)

  Every single adult elf knows defensive spells, but only a select few are taught combat magic. This is ostensibly to keep dangerous criminals from becoming even more dangerous, but it mainly serves to keep power in the hands of the right people… the right people here being the landed aristocracy.

  It would be possible to train many more combat mages if the elves extended their candidate pool to include everyone who could learn magic.

  That is not to say the combat mages are not formidable as they are now. No data yet exists with regard to battles involving elves and halflings, but judging from our common enemy the humans, we can say that a gray wizard is a match for an entire platoon of halfling riflemen. A black wizard, meanwhile, is worth an army.

  Under no circumstances are red wizards to be engaged directly. Not even with all our legions. We simply cannot concentrate the necessary firepower on a small enough area.

  Aside from spellcasters, elves also have the Royal Guard, a small but powerful military. Well-drilled and well-equipped, each soldier is a master martial artist as well as a minor magician. Confident in their innate superiority as elves and warriors, royal guardsmen will face overwhelming numbers. They usually win.

  Massive magical superiority, fast and hard-hitting troops, and the ability to teleport around the battlefield—it’s easy to see why elves dominated the world. Nevertheless, all signs indicate that they have been in decline for generations now. Their numbers dwindle. Their society has turned inward. While we currently have no plans to move against them, the fact remains that their territories have the best climate and the most resources. It seems inevitable that halflings and elves will clash.

  Halflings

  Halflings, as the other races call us, are a people untouched by magic. Unlike elves, dwarves, and humans, we are unable to manipulate the arcane energies that saturate every part of Brandish. Magic might as well not exist for us, were it not for the species that use it and even rely on it.

  Physically we are unremarkable among the humanoid races. We are taller than dwarves but shorter than humans, stronger than elves but weaker than humans, and so on. We have no major weaknesses and can be found in each major landmass.

  From the perspective of the other races, we mature fast, breed explosively, and die much too young. However, consensus among our Earth refugees is that this is normal for our species.

  At this point, we must discuss the refugees, each of whom claims to be from a world where magic does not exist—where halflings are not only the dominant species, but also the only species. If elven theories are correct, most of our world’s life forms originated from this place. This includes the common ancestors of all the humanoid races. Since these ancestors are apparently identical to halflings, we must be the original form for our species, untouched by Brandish.

  On Earth, our ancestors remained a single race and eventually built a civilization that encompassed the entire planet. On Brandish, while we are the most populous species, we remain a minority beyond our borders. Halfling settlements are found virtually everywhere, and halflings are abundant in every city, even the elven capital.

  Nevertheless, we remain a marginalized race for several reasons. Before the dawn of empire, we were a scattered and disunited people. We lacked any sort of political identity or culture, and were second-class citizens wherever we lived.

  Your Imperial Highness, if we are to survive against the vast forces arrayed against us, it is by capitalizing on our strengths. The refugees prove that we are not intellectually inferior, that given the chance can grow into a mighty power. We absorb new ideas faster than any other, and while we lack magic, have no trouble using artifacts. Then there’s the sheer weight of our numbers, which can be wielded like a hammer against the enemies of halflingkind.

  Dwarves

  Dwarves are short, squat, and bearded, or at least the men are. To outsiders they present a serious face, seemingly as solid and stolid as the mountains they call home. Once you get to know them, though, you find they have as much emotional range as anyone. Dwarves do have a sense of humor—it just tends toward the grim.

  Pound for pound, they are the strongest of the humanoids and their thick, heavy bodies are capable of great endurance. Their outsized hands are amazing for delicate work as well. Coupled with the ability to “see” magical and effects, this makes them master artificers. Other races are able to imbue things with power, but only dwarves can create artifacts that work constantly, consistently, and at a high level.

  Note: Dwarves can sense magic and use tools to manipulate it, but they cannot actually cast spells the way elves do. Like halflings, dwarves are limited to using magical gear, which places them at a disadvantage in terms of power and precision. Given enough time, it is possible for a dwarf to replicate any spell, but their goods usually carry low-to-mid-level enchantments. This is for reasons of safety, as anyone can use them. The enchantments are normally impossible to adjust as well. For example, a spellgun will always fire, no matter who pulls the trigger.
Given the same ammo, its muzzle velocity will remain unchanged.

  My emperor, the ability to produce (even mass-produce) magical weaponry would be a great boon for us. As per your orders, however, we have done nothing to endanger our relationship with the dwarven clans. Instead of enhanced interrogation and vivisection, we have gathered information through softer methods such as seduction. While we do not know exactly how they imbue items, the consensus is that it takes dwarves for the most important bits. They may be able to outsource some parts, but the most important mechanisms must still be dwarf-made.

  This does not present a problem, as dwarves are always ready to trade. They prefer to stay in their mountain cities and underground towns. Thus they cannot mine or make plenty of things. Dwarves will accept fish, fruit, grain, and other foodstuffs. They will also take raw fabric, unprocessed ore, and rough lumber. Their forges hunger for charcoal and their palates thirst for beer. Really, it isn’t hard to find something for which they would gladly pay.