Role

Chapter 8

Some of the other Villagers and I decided wed go slay a dragon. While
that might be an exciting tale, Im more interested in something that
happened as we planned to go. One of the members in the group was Dol, an
Azure of the Azure Fields, an otherworldly being. The other was
Thelathelao, a duergar. Both are berserkers of the Village, both hate
magic.

But as we prepared to go, Dol refused to allow Thelathelao to come. Said
it was either him or the Duergar, and not both. I objected to this line
of thought, since I think that goes against the spirit of the village.
Dol proceeded to, predictably, get offended. He told me about how hell
never work alongside dark souls.

That brings me to this journal. I want to write about unity. I want to
write about what I think is part of the spirit and history of the
village, something that we all have to deal with when we join.

In the histories, there is a description of the village at its prime,
stated as: Every race could be seen among the village huts. Angelic
beings took flight <...> tending to the village arms. Gray-skinned
duergars grumbled, hammering alongside the dwarven blacksmith while
aiding Grime with his wares. An ivory colored felar danced through a
number of battle stances with dark-elves and young high elves alike."

What a portrait that paints! It should be obvious though. We call our
home a Village. We dont call it Duergar Station or Azure Field #2,
and a village is made from all different kinds. When joining the Village,
you surrender your previous identity, and eliminate all those standard
vices that we might hold within us to unify under a singular purpose: the
war. The everlasting war against magic.

So I have a problem with the way Dol thinks. Part of the village is its
familial nature. Thror worked alongside Duergar, high elves and dark
elves fought the same enemy, and all of these people were villagers.
These, I think, are the ideal relationships for the Village, and the
histories show us that. We are not interested in squabbles between
dwarves and duergar, between the light and dark, or between order and
chaos we have our one concern, the Magi.

My father once told me that when you admire someone, you should try to
find those traits that make them admirable and attempt to replicate them.
Thror is idyllic for many of us villagers, we were raised on tales of his
exploits, and on his words of our history. To emulate him, to emulate
BoltThrower, to emulate the grand Battleragers of old, we have to
eliminate that loathing between us and unify, as a village, against our
foe. It is not truly a Village if we refuse to associate with each other,
and I do sincerely think that those like Dol who refuse their brothers
hand are missing the true spirit of the village.

But what do I know, Im just a minstrel.