Assimilate All Talents-Chapter 397 - 396: Wise Words

For a brief moment, Jendar could sympathize with Solwyn. But as quickly as it came, he shook his head, as if trying to dislodge the feeling before it could root itself.

"How can I trust anything you say, human?" he snapped, trying to shake away his doubts. "You humans are nothing if not deceitful."

He didn't say it like a simple insult, but as if it truly applied to all humans. Solwyn could tell Jendar truly believed it.

'This is more than just baggage. This is trauma.'

Solwyn exhaled slowly and stepped forward, not in aggression, but in understanding.

"I'm not sure who hurt you to make you think this way... but just because some humans are bad doesn't make all of us bad." Solwyn said. "I won't lie to you. There are a lot of rotten humans out there. People who lie, steal, destroy, and only look out for themselves. But there are even more good ones, people who fight against that kind of evil. This isn't about race. I'm sure there have been bad elves in the past as well, but that doesn't mean all elves are evil. Does it?"

Jendar didn't respond. He didn't need to. The way his eyes narrowed, the way his hands trembled slightly at his sides, it was enough. This wasn't the first time he'd heard words like these.

In fact, another had told him something similar once. A human traveler, a curious merchant, who had snuck into Sylmasera's borders to learn more about the elves he'd only read about in stories. Jendar had eventually tracked him down and heard a speech much like this one. The man's goal was simple: to understand elven culture and share it with his family when he returned.

But sadly, he never got the chance.

Jendar had shot him through the heart.

Still, the merchant's words had stuck, like glue. And in a lapse of judgement, or perhaps clarity, Jendar had taken the book the man risked his life to write and brought it home.

Now, unable to fight and forced to listen, Jendar couldn't simply make the words go away. This time, they hit differently. The towering wolfkin standing before him was not only infinitely more powerful than him but had chosen not to crush him with force. He had chosen words.

Jendar's expression grew conflicted, his jaw clenched as if weighing each syllable.

"And what?" he finally muttered, voice tight as he searched for something, anything, to justify the path he had taken. "I'm just supposed to trust you on that and let you go on your way?"

Solwyn gently shook their head.

"No." They said, "I'm not asking you to trust me at face value. I know it'll take time for you to even begin to let go of that hatred. But let me tell you something someone once told me, words that saved me from losing myself: Violence always begets more violence."

Jendar furrowed his brow.

"It sounds simple, I know." Solwyn let out a light chuckle before continuing. "But when you're in pain, when you're full of anger, it's easy to forget. I almost did, if not for that reminder."

They paused, their gaze turning distant, as a memory rose to the surface.

"We were on a mission to retrieve a legendary fruit. Problem was, it was in the Orna Mountains, Frostaxe Clan territory. We got the fruit, but we were spotted doing so. That led to an A-Ranker chasing us down. Neither I nor anyone on my team was A-Rank at the time, but we did our best to escape. One of us, Lapis, died just before we made it to safety."

Solwyn let out a deep breath as he recalled the emotions he felt at the time.

"I wanted revenge. And I had the opportunity to get it right afterward. The orc who killed her was at my mercy. I could've ended him. I wanted to. But Duncan stopped me. At the time he told me that violence always begets more violence. That it would only lead to more death if I went down that path." Solwyn let out a small laugh. "Good thing he did. Apparently, if I had, it would've led to a full on war with the orcs."

The silence that followed was heavy, and it lingered.

Jendar looked away, eyes shadowed. No matter how hard he tried to doubt Solwyn's story, he knew, deep within him, that it was the truth.

"I still don't know if I believe you." He said finally. "But... I can at least tell you're not lying about this."

He turned back to face Solwyn fully, slowly lowering his guard as he loosened his grip on his bow.

"You just need to cross the forest, right?"

Solwyn nodded. "That's all. I'm not here to hurt anyone. I just need to reach the other side before the trail goes cold."

Jendar took a deep breath, every muscle in his body resisting what he was about to do. But he exhaled, and with it, something old and bitter seemed to loosen its grip on his chest.

"Alright." He said in a low voice. "But I'll be accompanying you the whole time, just to make sure you're not up to anything."

Solwyn blinked, surprised, but quickly offered a nod of gratitude. "Thank you."

Jendar turned away, embarrassed at receiving a human's thanks. "Don't thank me yet. I still need the Speaker's approval before anything is set in stone."

"The Speaker?" Solwyn wasn't sure who that was, but nodded regardless. "Sure. Let's heal your friends before we go."

Jendar nodded in agreement as he watched Solwyn make their way to the nearest unconscious elf. As he did, Jendar couldn't help but shake his head.

"To think I'd believe a human's words... I should call Reena to take us to Yggmasera. Wait—Reena!"

Suddenly remembering what he had set in motion, he pulled out his communication gem and tried to contact her. But as the gem vibrated, no one responded.

"Shit! Hey, human—!"

Jendar called out to Solwyn, who was only a few feet away from Kinrel to warn him. But as Solwyn turned to face him, space warped, and Reena appeared directly behind them.

'The space magic elf?!' Sol was startled by her sudden appearance. He had assumed she had stayed back, given she hadn't shown up during the battle. They tried to step away but realized the space around them had become rigid, so dense they couldn't take a single step.

Before Solwyn could break free from the spatial suppression, Reena acted.

"Take this! [Dimensional Banishment]!"