Chapter 51: Guess I'm a Crossplayer Now?
Preparations are necessary.
The first act of violence committed against Tumble is just one of many such acts to come. Snide has amplified negative sentiment toward the gnomes to a point where open attacks like the one from yesterday can happen relatively easily.
What would be truly frightening is if Snide manages to goad them into a full-on proto-crusade aimed at extinction… but I don’t think things will go that far at all.
For something like that to happen, the town would have to descend into a kind of collective psychosis—the resentment toward the gnomes that has built up over time simply isn’t enough to produce that level of violence on its own.
What’s most likely is an organized attack on the Gnomewood settlement to drive them out of the crater region. Even with Nova’k’s own involvement in the matter, as he tries to win back the loyalty of the youth, Snide won’t let this growing opportunity pass.
This is something I’m willing to bet on—and something that must occur for the plan to be effective. After all, scolding someone after the act and scolding someone before it carry different degrees of emotional investment. They must act first.
“You say we need to prepare, but prepare what exactly?”
“What else? A mythical scene that could teach future generations right from wrong.”
“A… what?”
The goal here is the establishment of a moral framework within the religion through a mythic-tier presentation.
Consider this mankind’s first major sin in Elynthys: a betrayal of their Espherite brethren—a most grievous sin.
If we are to establish a moral framework for the religion, it will be important to distinguish actions born of pragmatism from those driven by malice and judge them accordingly. A god—or, in this case, a goddess—must not judge mortals so easily for acts done for the betterment of their people.
At least, not in a black-and-white sense of things.
The key here is to weigh the action itself, its results, and its consequences. This is Esphera’s birthright—as the goddess of this world who governs the afterlife. After all, the afterlife is traditionally the place where sins are judged.
Pragmatism has the merit of aiming toward the greater benefit, even when it comes at the cost of a few. It is often detached from emotion and therefore not inherently malicious—though malice can still be grafted onto it.
There are actions, however, that are inherently malicious. Acts that actively seek to harm others. More black-and-white than grey, but seek to appear beneficial to others anyway.
To clarify, this is a matter of ultimate intent versus framing for benefit. The best examples for these two would be the two faces of Starfell: Nova’k and Snide.
Nova’k’s decision to push the gnomes out of Starfell was a choice made out of good intentions for the majority of the population. Unlike Snide, who detested the gnomes, Nova’k did so solely to prevent similar situations from occurring in the future.
By choosing to do so, he separated the communities. The gnomes weren’t excommunicated, but simply made into their own faction.
He would no longer be responsible for this group, but he would not let it die out either, as shown by his willingness to trade with them to sustain their population.
Snide, on the other hand, acts out of hatred for the gnomes. His ultimate goal is likely their removal, but no matter the religious propaganda he spills, he likely won’t be able to go that far.
So the most optimal action he could take, considering the limits to his manipulation, would be to push the gnomes out of the crater region. Out of sight, out of mind. It may not be the most ideal revenge for him, but it would be the best he could manage.
Following Nova’k’s logic, he could twist things to portray the gnomes as a harmful element to Starfell’s society. He could frame this as the ultimate decision to make for the betterment of Starfell.
“... You’ve really thought this through, haven’t you?”
“Yeah.”
“Are you sure you weren’t a theology major? Maybe social sciences or something?”
“What are you suddenly on about?”
“Ugh… It’s nothing. It’s just so weird to hear you talk in so much detail about all this society stuff.”
“Do you want me to put on some clown makeup before I do?”
“Fuck off… Wait, what do you plan to do about the gnomes then?”
“Mhm. I was hoping for a dramatic exit out of history as we phase in dwarf builds, but I’m going to need their thoughts on the matter first.”
Of course, I’m not just going to ask them outright, “Do you want to be reborn into dwarves?” That’d be stupid. We’ll have to collect that data another way.
The design for the dwarf build is already done. It’s a lot more balanced than the gnome build ever was. It’ll redistribute stats from stamina all the way to other aspects, like general strength and resilience.
I was originally planning to hyper-specialize them for life in the mountains, caves, and that whole deal. But after giving it some thought, I realized that might end up hurting them in the long run.
Adaptability is what helped humanity thrive under natural selection, so why strip that away from the dwarves just to fit a fantasy cliché? No… I still want to make the cliché work somehow.
Maybe I can figure out a way to make it work later?
“Ugh…”
“Vell, looks like the sleeping dwa–No, is it gnome? Wait, how did the fairy tale go again?”
“Huh?”
“Don’t look at me like that. My parents didn’t read me stories to bed, alright?”
I wasn’t trying to judge.
“Benefactor…?”
“Morning, Tumble. Glad to see you haven’t passed into the afterlife.”
“Where am I…?”
“Camp. You’ve been here a few times now, haven’t you?”
Guess we can start our dwarf build conversion survey with you, diaper gnome.
“So, how’re you feeling?”
“Awful…”
“I think I can see that. I meant, are you hurting anywhere you shouldn’t?”
“Huh…?”
I’ve often found that people have the misconception that punches and kicks aren’t very effective killing moves. Maybe because they’ve seen one too many martial arts films and watched as martial artists exchange a hundred moves a minute to no injury on either side.
The truth of the matter is, though, that any blunt force trauma can be deadly. Even a swift punch with the right amount of force can end a person’s life at the wrong spot or through internal bleeding.
“No… I do not think so… Are these herbs…?”
“Yeah. We had a few of us fetch some from Gnomewood and tend to you real nicely.”
“Thank you… Thank you so much… I… Uuu… Ugh…”
He’s… crying.
I suppose that’s to be expected after what he went through. But it doesn’t feel right to see the usually cheerful Tumble fall into this pitiful state. No. In fact, it feels like dogshit.
And it looks like I’m not the only one who feels that way.
“Do not cry, my friend. You are no longer in danger, and we will see to it that your health is restored, as it should be.”
“T-Thank you, small benefactor…”
“Small?!”
Uh, I don’t think you should be calling your own goddess that, Tumble. That’s blasphemy, you know?
Whatever the case, it was time to question our little friend here. Learn more about what led to such a violent act against this tiny diaper-wearing gnome.
I could guess from what we’ve learned from Nova’k, but the victim’s account often carries the most weight in such circumstances.
“Tumble, if you have the strength to talk to us at length, please tell us. What were you doing there in Starfell?”
Tumble took a moment to wipe away his tears before clearing his throat to speak.
“Trade, benefactor. I went there to trade. After sharing some of the fish we caught together at the lake with my fellow gnomes, some of the younger ones said they were still hungry. So I was hoping to trade a couple of spell stones with some of the folk up in Starfell…”
“You did this despite being chased around by them before?”
When we first met Tumble, he was already being chased—likely for the same reasons. Though I doubt that, had we not saved him then, his pursuers would have gone as far as those who recently knocked him out.
“It was a risk I was willing to take. If the children are hungry, then it is the adults who must risk danger to feed their young.”
That’s an admirable mindset. I definitely know a few people who could learn from you. Still, I’d think a more measured approach—one that doesn’t involve walking straight through the front door of people who want to punch your teeth in—would be more appropriate.
“It must have been terrifying to be ganged up on like that and be unable to resist.”
“You are correct, benefactor… I felt powerless before the mighty. To feel their firm fists and strong kicks ram against my small body one after another… I think I might have broken a bone or two.”
Wait, holy shit, really? I hadn’t even thought about his tiny bones breaking. We might need to get that checked.
[Esphera.]
[Yes… I know.]
At least she’s holding herself back well. She looks to be on the verge of tears, but it seems she’ll still be ready for divine business. We’ll need to do a little healing (body rebuilding via divine power) once he goes back to sleep.
For now, we focus on the task at hand.
“Would you have fought back if you could?”
“Me? Fight? Now that is a silly question, benefactor.”
“Is it because you’re a weak gnome that you’re saying that? Are you fine with things the way they are now?”
“Vell…?”
Tumble bit his lips in frustration.
“Of course not… But what good would it do to fight back? Pain only begets more pain. Such actions would only perpetuate the cycle of resentment.”
“Do you truly believe that?”
“What?”
As violent and disturbing as this might sound, a group’s safety ultimately comes down to its capacity for violence. Many predators quickly learn not to mess with horses unless they want a hoof to the face, or with bulls unless they want skewered by their horns.
Lots of animals evolved ways to protect themselves and retaliate against their predators. The key here isn’t necessarily to use violence to oppress, but instead, to use it as a deterrent for further violence.
While this may not be the same thing, something similar could be applied to groups of humans, or, in this case, the gnomes as well. In their case, they’ll just have to swap to a dwarven build.
“You call it a cycle, but I see it more as an inevitability. As interests clash and diplomacy fails, violence ultimately becomes the answer. Would you still stand by those words even then?”
“What other option would my gnomish brethren or I have? It is ultimately the strong who decide the fate of the weak. And I am not strong. I am not…”
“Does it have to always be that way?”
“Excuse me?”
I look Tumble in the eyes before continuing.
“You can afford to dream a little more, you know.”
Naturally, we couldn’t just let Tumble go on his way after that. So, Esphera and Ramube decided to accompany him to Gnomewood while the rest of us remained at camp.
Graille was caring for baby Sylvie while the three of us, Ori included, discussed our plans.
“The concept of an apostle seems rather intriguing. May I perhaps adopt a similar system into my own religion?”
“You might have to ask Esphera about that Graille. She is the first adopter of that system in Elynthys after all. It would be highly respectful to do so, lest there be more conflict between you two over… plagiarism? Would this count as plagiarism?”
“Fuck if I know. Do I look like a constellation to you?”
Graille visibly recoiled while she was feeding a bottle of mashed potatoes into Sylvariel’s small mouth.
“Ugh…”
“Do not look so disgusted by the prospect. Were you not close friends not too long ago?”
“We were, but…”
Friendships really are hard to mend once they’re broken, huh?
While I do believe that the two will eventually learn to get along once more, just as they have before, it’ll probably take a while. As for how long that will take, I have no idea. Time works differently for constellations, after all.
“Say, Vell, if you’re planning to do that apostle thing all over again, then who’s going to do it this time? You said you didn’t want the apostle role to go back to you, so Esphera wouldn’t have to rely on you every time she needed an apostle, right?”
“What do you mean, Ori? Are you volunteering for the job?”
“Fuck no. But we can’t just have you do it again just for this instance, either, right? Though generations have passed, it’s not like the people here have forgotten the descriptions of what you look like. The moment you put on an outfit for the job, they’ll probably recognize you right away.”
Wait, fuck. Really?
Is passing down stories through word of mouth really such a powerful medium that they can endure through the eras? What do we do then?
“Um… I might have an idea.”
“Mhm? Then please do share your idea, Graille.”
“What about… that… what did Ori call it again? ‘Crossplayer’?”
Huh?
“Oh~ Looks like our green goddess over here has quite the mind, coming up with such a brilliant idea!”
“T-Thank you, Ori. I think we can make great use of your talents like this!”
“You’d be right, girl~”
Hold the fuck on.
“Chotto fucking matte. How did we get back to this?”
“How do you mean, femboy-to-be?”
“The crossplay talk. Can’t we just have somebody else pull off the apostle role this time? Someone like you, maybe?”
“Huuuuuh?~ Vell, you know I can’t act for shit. And I don’t think our constellation friend over here can do the job well either, right?”
“I am not confident in my own skills either, Sir Yvell…”
“See? So wouldn’t dressing you up as a female apostle be the better pick?”
No, no, no. How does that even make sense?
“What are you going to do about my voice, then? It may be a little more high-pitched than the average man my age, but it’s not enough to be easy to mistake for a woman, is it? I have never been mistaken for a woman before, so there’s no way to fool them once I open my mouth.”
“We have a friend who could help with that, remember?”
“Huh?”
“Kenja. Did you forget that he’s a VTuber?”
“No, wait… You’re not saying…”
“He’s playing out the role of a cute girl VTuber online with that AI voice-changing software he cooked up, isn’t he? Why don’t we ask him about borrowing the software?”
