Iron Elf - A Race Reborn (Book 2) (35 page)

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 alive, 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.