A New World, an immersive game experience

"This is why the original plan was for us, Chosen, to handle the situation. We would not stay dead after dying. We won\'t leave others with a hole in their hearts."

"If you truly wish to enact your revenge, I ask you to not be blinded by the fire inside you. I understand how easy it is to simply follow the inferno in your heart, and I know how it feels waking from that same inferno. Not knowing who you are anymore."

The pain in Eldrian\'s voice shocked everyone but the few who knew him well and understood where it was coming from.

"The undead wanted us to become the same as them, they wanted to bring ruin to this kingdom, to our kingdom! I understand that it feels like the only way you can get your revenge is by going out to kill them, to kill until you die. But that is not the only way!"

"Since the siege has ended, the city has slowly started to recover. However, not all cities are as fortunate, and the villages and towns are even less fortunate."

"We are not just fighting the undead, we are fighting the monsters behind them, the devils amongst us and the demons between us." Eldrian paused, giving time for his words to sink in.

"What would be the best revenge? Would it be taking one of them down with you?" He paused again, "Or would it be building up the city, building up the kingdom to be a beacon of hope to all? Building something that they can\'t take down! That stands in their way. Constantly reminding them of their failure!"

"Would that not be such a great feeling? Knowing that you were part of this, part of what allowed the kingdom to survive, and more importantly allowing the kingdom to strive!"

Seeing that many had started to become moved, Eldrian knew it was time for him to end his speech before he lost track of what he was even saying.

"How shall we do this?" Eldrian paused again, giving everyone time to consider this for themselves. "The first step was with the cannons, all of you saw the power that they brought. Allowing us to change the very tides of war!"

"Imagine if every village had a cannon to defend themselves with. If every town could have a dozen, and every city a hundred."

"But a kingdom, a city, a village... We can\'t survive without something to eat. While a deal has been struck with the dwarves to help us in gathering materials for more weapons, for more cannons. We need to eat while we fight."

"We\'ve found a solution to this problem too. A solution that would allow a city to grow enough food within its own walls to sustain itself."

Turning to Therdul, the poor dwarf was completely caught off guard. Moving forward, he prayed that Eldrian wasn\'t going to ask him to also give a speech.

"My dwarven friend here has experience in this field back in our own world. I\'ve asked him to take charge of the vertical farming initiative. The solution truly is as simple as it sounds, instead of growing food in the soil, we will build large structures which can replace entire fields but take up half, or even just a quarter of the land!"

Eldrian knew that it could do much more, but he didn\'t want to make it sound too implausible.

"While not everyone can help with directly fighting or constructing weapons, everyone can be of use in helping us stay fed."

"I won\'t force anyone to do anything, I am simply asking you to think of what would be best for you and those you hold dear. Think of not what will happen tomorrow but what you want to have happen in a year."

"Remember, the fire of hatred blinds and spreads. We must not let it blind us, we should let it bubble, let it be our source of energy. Let it be our source of innovation, our reason to strive for a better life!"

Moving back, Eldrian hoped that his speech would at least dissuade those below Tier 3 from joining.

"Did you plan that speech?" Elizabeth asked as Eldrian joined the group of Phoenix\'s core players.

"No," Eldrian replied, a little shaken from actually giving a speech to thousands of people.

"It was bloody amazing!" Judith said, "It nearly made me question my own reasons and for me this isn\'t even reality..."

Smiling awkwardly, Eldrian nodded in thanks while heading to Evale.

The centaurette looked at him with curiosity, the source of his words seemed to be from experience. Understanding that everyone has been through a lot, she decided to not comment.

After a moment of silence, Eldrian decided to finally ask the question that had been burning within him ever since he got pushed into the position of mayor. "Why didn\'t you stand up to become mayor?"

She thought about this for a while before answering. "Anger blinds-- as you so eloquently explained. I\'m still blinded by it most of the time. I would not have been able to think of the citizens if I was the mayor; my first act would have been a counterattack..."

"I\'m glad I at least managed to see past my anger, that I was able to not be completely blinded. Giving you the position was certainly for the best."

Eldrian nodded, finally understanding her reason too. Turning back to the crowd, it had grown substantially smaller. Now only a hundred or so centaurs and demi-humans were left.

"Have you heard of runic magic?"

"Sofiera mentioned it to me." Evale answered, "It sounds amazing, but for now I haven\'t been able to focus on much anything..."

Understanding that she was still processing her loss, Eldrian left it at that. The two talked no more. Instead, they watched as the crowd continued to grow smaller as Jannet moved to each person individually and talked with them.

While there certainly was a rush to get to ending the threat of these hordes, especially since some of them have started merging. It was far more important to give people time.

The human element was too large a component of a city to ignore. If it crumbled; then no matter the preparation, everything would fall apart.

Vivian and Ceph had long since been here. Eldrian moved to them after making sure that everything would move smoothly going forward.

"Are you going to ask me to stay behind?" Vivian asked, defensive in tone and glare.

"No, but I do want to remind you that you still have your mom. Waiting and praying for your safe return. I\'m not sure if she knows about your dad, she\'s going to need you to stay alive." Eldrian felt slightly guilty bringing this up, especially after disappearing and now leaving his own family behind.

But he had to make sure she would not be completely blinded.

"If things go south, remember that. And don\'t die."

AN: I hope everyone is safe with all the chaos going on in the world, now, again.... It seems to never end.