"Before we get onto the relation between me and Murdan, it would be for the best for you to know just a little bit about my life before the Humanity War began. Let me start with my life at the very beginning of the Humanity War," said Bear.
"I may not look it, but I came from what many demi-humans consider a prominent demi-human family," said Bear, with a proud smile, leaning back in his chair and resting his hands behind his head. Bear then continued his story, saying, "Despite living in a quiet village named Islesbury, we were a well-known family among the demi-humans. My father was the general of the Demi-Human Federation at the time, and my mother was the daughter of the village chief, which I guess would make her a princess in the village. Once the Humanity War began, my father was sent to the front lines of the war to fight the humans. I was forced to stay behind with my mother due to not being the proper age to serve in the Demi-Human Federation. I wanted to help out with the war by serving, but despite being trained by my father from a very young age, even the general had to enforce the rules with me, the son of the general." Bear sighed in disappointment, then continued. "My father was a well-respected person and a damn good fighter. He was so good, he earned the nickname 'The Red Bear' for how ferocious of a fighter he was during the war, usually ending all of his battles covered in blood from the enemies he faced," explained Bear, who then grinned. "He was a badass, to put it in other words," said Bear. "Now we get to where Murdan comes in. The dwarves were not directly involved in the war, as they were only used for their blacksmithing services by both sides. Both sides wanted access to good armor and weapons that would be better than their enemies, and both sides were willing to pay the dwarves a pretty penny for their work. You could even say that the Humanity War benefitted the dwarves the most," said Bear. "Since this was a war, after all, some of the dwarves felt like they had to take sides in order to provide equipment to the side that they personally supported. Murdan just happened to be one of the dwarves that took the side of the demi-humans, and after working his way up the ladder during the war, he was chosen to be the personal blacksmith of my father," said Bear. "Due to this, Murdan and my father became close friends, bonded by the struggles of war and how they both relied on one another during that time. Based on what Murdan told me, my father seemingly 'had a vision' about his own demise on the battlefield. My father then made a promise with Murdan, in which Murdan would look after me and my mother if my father was ever killed," said Bear. Bear's face then grew dark, as if recalling a bad memory. Bear then said, "It appeared that the vision my father had about his own death seemed to pass, as he was struck down by the one called 'The Armless Ghost' on the battlefield the next day, or at least, that's the rumor that spread around. Due to this, demi-human morale sank into the ground, and the humans had the upper hand in the war, despite the demi-humans controlling some of the major human cities. The Demi-Human Federation, without their main general to lead them, was practically in shambles." Bear was silent for a moment, still keeping a dark expression on his face. "The humans made quick work of the remaining demi-human soldiers, but they didn't stop there. Since victory was basically assured for the humans, they decided to start ransacking demi-human villages, taking all that they had and kidnapping some demi-humans to use as slaves. My village was one of the many villages that they burned to the ground, leaving practically no survivors behind", said Bear. "I was one of the lucky ones since Murdan was able to get me away from the village right as the humans invaded it. He was unable to save my mother due to her having an illness that made her condition so bad that it was impossible for her to walk. Her last request was to take care of me," said Bear, visibly hurt at recalling the painful memories and stopping for a moment to collect himself before continuing his story. "From that point on, Murdan took care of me, and I considered him to be like a grandfather to me. We moved from town to town, and in each town we went to, we saw the long-lasting effects of the Humanity War: demi-humans being treated as less than human beings, demi-humans being enslaved by humans, and I even witnessed a public execution of a demi-human for a petty crime," said Bear. "I felt so angry at the fact that prejudice against demi-humans was now a common occurrence in broad daylight. I wanted to do something about the situation, but what the hell could a demi-human my age do at the time? I felt so frustrated with myself in the fact that I couldn't do anything. Murdan was the one that kept me on the straight and narrow, and he was the one who helped me get to the point where I can easily defend myself when I felt I needed to," said Bear. "Once I became of age to venture out into the world on my own, we decided that Wolfwater would be the city where we can settle down in peace for the most part. Since then, I've lived in Wolfwater for about 5 years, working as a lumberjack while doing some carpenter work on the side. Murdan, as you saw today, is now working as the head of the blacksmithing camp in Wolfwater," said Bear. "And that's how I know Murdan," said Bear, ending his story.
Ezekiel, Zoey, and Aqua stayed silent for a bit, absorbing what Bear had just told them, and considered what they should say next. Bear then said, "Don't feel bad for me, either. If the events that happened never played out, I would probably be a completely different person today, and I'm happy with who I am. I also would've never met good friends such as you all!" Bear then smiled, which eased the tension out among everyone a little bit. Everyone was silent for a little bit longer, then Zoey said, "I've liked the Bear that I've had since the day I met you, and I like the Bear I have now, so don't change, okay?" Bear then gave her a reassuring smile, then said, "I don't plan on it anytime soon!" Zoey laughed, then Bear followed suit. Ezekiel and Aqua looked at each other, then started laughing since they just couldn't seem to help themselves. All four of them were now laughing, enjoying themselves while doing it.
After the laughing finally died down among everyone, Ezekiel still had one question to ask, asking, "What exactly is the Humanity War?" Bear, Zoey, and Aqua looked at Ezekiel in surprise. Bear then said, "Only one of the most important wars that happened 10 years ago. How do you not know about it?" Ezekiel then said, "Would you believe me if I said that I came from another world?" Bear shook his head, then said, "Hell no," and just laughed. But I'm actually telling the truth though, thought Ezekiel with a visible frown on his face. Zoey then said, "Well, allow me to explain. The Humanity War, as you could have probably guessed from Bear's story, was a war between humans and demi-humans. Tensions between humans and demi-humans were high, due to the arrogance of humans thinking that they were above demi-humans." Zoey looked at Ezekiel and Aqua, then said, "No offense." Ezekiel shrugged, saying, "None taken." Aqua silently nodded in agreement with Ezekiel. Zoey continued, saying, "There was a particular order of events that occurred to begin the Humanity War. First, laws were being passed in human-ruled cities that were not in favor of the demi-humans, such as forcing demi-humans to pay higher taxes, making it legal to ban demi-humans from certain places within the city, and many more laws were passed that demi-humans saw as unfair. Due to this, tensions became higher among humans and demi-humans. Second, demi-humans began to protest, and when the humans didn't revoke the laws, the demi-humans began revolting against the governments in the human-ruled cities. The revolts were ultimately put down, usually in violent ways, and tensions became even higher between humans and demi-humans. The last straw was when one of the human elders on the Council of the Races was assassinated by putting a special poison that was known to be made specifically by demi-humans inside of his wine. Attempting to use the poison as proof, the humans instantly accused the demi-humans of the assassination of the human elder, and with both sides not being able to take much more of each other, both sides declared war on one another." Zoey then paused, attempting to remember more about the history of the war. Aqua then shyly spoke up, saying, "T-T-The war then lasted for, um, I-I think 2 years. D-During this time, t-the war appeared as if t-the demi-humans had the u-upper hand." Aqua nervously looked at Bear, then said, "T-That was until the g-g-general of the Demi-Human F-Federation was k-killed in battle." Aqua stopped to nervously look at Bear once more, making sure that she didn't offend him, but Bear didn't seem to mind too much. Aqua continued, "W-With no one to lead the demi-humans l-like the general could, t-the order of the Demi-Human F-Federation collapsed, ultimately deciding the o-outcome of the Humanity War." Bear then picked up the story from there, saying, "At that point, the war was pretty much decided and over with. But, as I stated before, the humans didn't stop there. They continued their rampage, and this war caused long-lasting effects and naturally high tensions among demi-humans and humans, which you can see to this day." Bear then smiled, saying, "Of course, there are exceptions like us, who get along rather nicely!" "True," said Ezekiel.
Ezekiel thought about it, and to him, the last straw to start the Humanity War sounded oddly similar to World War I, where the Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary was assassinated, and then Austria declared war on Serbia directly after that. Seems like history is truly doomed to repeat itself, thought Ezekiel. Ezekiel thought about it even more, and it seemed likely that the demi-humans might eventually grow tired of their treatment and begin another Humanity War. However, that was only if the demi-humans felt like how the Germans felt when they had unfair conditions pushed onto them when signing the Treaty of Versailles, then someone rose to power to lead the Germans into World War II. Maybe Ezekiel was overthinking it, but he could potentially see it happening. Ezekiel then asked, "Have there been any resistances formed to counteract the humans?" Bear then quickly covered up Ezekiel's mouth, looked around to see if anyone heard the question, then whispered, "Not here. Let's go outside." With that, Bear took his hand off of Ezekiel's mouth, and Bear, Ezekiel, Aqua, and Zoey stepped outside. The four of them walked to the side of The Crimson Tankard Inn, and since it was so dark outside, no one would be able to see them from the street. Bear, barely visible to Ezekiel, sat down, looked at Ezekiel, then said, "To answer your question, there is one resistance that's been more active recently and is slowly gaining traction. They're called the Freedom Legion, and they're a resistance that goes around doing what they can in opposition against the human government and their army." Ezekiel asked, "Is this common knowledge?" Bear replied, "It's not exactly common knowledge, but to the humans that do know about them, they're nothing more than just some hooligans causing trouble. They're treated more as an annoyance instead of an actual problem. However, people like me who aren't exactly a part of this resistance group but support it, just happen to know more about it than most people." Ezekiel then asked, "Does this group plan on building an army anytime soon?" Bear then said, "As far as I'm aware, they aren't at this point in time since they're still quite small. However, if their influence becomes big enough, they might just be able to put together an army and possibly rebuild the Demi-Human Federation." So there truly is a possibility for another Humanity War, thought Ezekiel. Zoey and Aqua stayed silent, absorbing this information. Bear then said, "The information I just told you is confidential. I need you all to keep it a secret from everyone. If any humans find out about it, they might report you for associating with the Freedom Legion, and only the gods know what'll happen to you then." Ezekiel said, "Not a problem for me, Bear." Zoey, being a demi-human herself, said, "If they're our hope to stopping the prejudice against demi-humans, then I can definitely keep a secret like this one." Aqua shyly said, "I-I-I'll keep this secret too!" Bear smiled, then said, "Good to know that I can count on all of you." Bear then stood up, saying, "Well, I think it's about time we call it for the night. Zoey, I'll take you home." Bear then mischievously grinned at Ezekiel, then said, "Little bro, since it's your fault for keeping her out so late, take responsibility for it and walk her home like a man." Ezekiel simply replied, "Okay." Aqua felt her face become hot upon hearing Ezekiel agreeing with Bear so suddenly, and her blushing only got worse when Ezekiel grabbed her hand and started leading her in the direction of where the magic shop was. They all quickly said goodnight to one another and went their separate ways, with Ezekiel holding onto Aqua's hand, and Bear walking side by side with Zoey.
After a few minutes of walking, Ezekiel and Aqua reached the magic shop. Ezekiel then said, "Thank you for coming along with me today, Aqua. You were a big help with the ice chest!" Aqua blushed, looked at the ground, then stammered, "I-I didn't help all t-that much." Ezekiel simply laughed, then said, "Also, thank you for teaching me mana control! That's gonna help my magic out a lot if I can get that concept down." Aqua, still blushing intensely, quietly said, "O-Of course!" Ezekiel then said, "Well, I think I'm gonna head back to The Crimson Tankard Inn. Goodnight, Aqua!" As Ezekiel turned to leave, Ezekiel felt a light tug at his shirt, turning to find that Aqua was holding onto his shirt. Aqua, still looking at the ground, timidly asked, "U-U-Um, Ezekiel? C-Could we d-d-do something t-tomorrow? L-L-Like go around t-town maybe?" Ezekiel said, "Of course! I can also show you the soap that I made at some point tomorrow!" Aqua, pretty much ignoring what Ezekiel said about soap, looked up at Ezekiel and smiled brightly at him, saying, "G-Great!" Then, Aqua looked back down, asking, "I-Is tomorrow around lunchtime okay?" Ezekiel considered the thought, then said, "That's fine. I can probably work in the morning and get paid for a full day's worth of work since I worked tonight." Aqua smiled happily, then quietly said, "Goodnight!" With that, Aqua walked into the magic shop, and Ezekiel walked back over to The Crimson Tankard Inn.
Ezekiel finally made it back to The Crimson Tankard Inn. To his surprise, he saw Bear standing to the side of the front door to The Crimson Tankard Inn. When Bear saw him, he motioned for Ezekiel to follow him, and they went to the side of The Crimson Tankard Inn once more. Once out of sight, Bear then said, "I have an offer to make you, and feel free to refuse." Ezekiel, confused about what Bear meant, but interested in what Bear had to say, said, "I'm listening." Bear then said, "I feel like you're the most reliable person I know out of you, Zoey and Aqua. Therefore, I want your help with something." Bear took a deep breath, then said, "I know the location of a demi-human slave trader, and I wanna bust out the slaves from there. Do you wanna help me with that or not?" Ezekiel thought for a moment before giving his answer to Bear. "I'll help you on one condition. The slaves that we free, I want to give them the opportunity to work for me." Bear asked, "Why would you need their help?" Ezekiel then said, "In time, I'll need a reliable workforce in order for me to conduct my experiments and make better things than soap. There's no way in hell I'm gonna be able to do everything on my own, like running around and collecting things for experiments. Therefore, I need a small team that can help me out with it. I'll pay them accordingly as well, and I don't intend on treating them as slaves." Bear thought for a minute, then replied, "Fine. Offering them work is better than having them run around without an idea as to what they can do now that they're free." Bear and Ezekiel then shook hands to seal the deal. Bear then said, "I still need to gather information, so I'll need a couple more days at the most before I'm ready to proceed with the plan." Ezekiel said, "Sounds good to me. Just let me know when you're ready." With that, Bear and Ezekiel went their separate ways, and Ezekiel went inside of The Crimson Tankard Inn.
Ezekiel immediately made his way upstairs to his room. The front desk girl gave him a smile and a wave, to which Ezekiel replied with a smile and a wave of his own. The front desk girl seemed very happy about this. Ezekiel unlocked the door to his room, entered, and fell straight onto his bed. He looked at the iron pan that he set to the side, noticing that the soap batter was still somewhat wet. That should hopefully be ready to use by tomorrow, thought Ezekiel. With that thought in mind, Ezekiel slowly drifted to sleep.
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