
Demi Adair sat at her table near the ‘House of Mason’ balcony, and did her best not to look like she was staring. The bright green eyes of the 'Western Warlord' looked out over the promenade like a conqueror surveying his domain. He'd been talking to some handsome blonde for at least an hour as he shoved down enough meat to feed a tiger.
She'd seen his fights, of course, especially when he beat this eastern 'emperor'. The emperor's attacks had been basically blurs on the screen, hitting with so much force Demi had winced at half the blows. She wasn't sure if that or the fact that 'Baron' Mason had withstood them had been more terrifying.
It had only made her decision harder.
So she stared and pretended not to. She turned her eyes away and kept eating, still trying desperately to put on as much weight in the week of free food as she could.
Only two days left in the Neutral Zone, then back to her hidden cabin and her 'swamp', as she liked to call it. There was quite a bit of food for someone with her powers and survival skills, but winter was coming, and she had no idea what things would be like.
Her gut told her it would be bad. If the water all froze and most of the plant-life stopped producing, what exactly was she going to eat?
Back before the world blew up, she'd eaten vegetarian as much as not. That wasn't possible anymore, but she wasn't sure there'd be enough game near her safe little cave. She would have to move. But the problem remained: where?
She knew now her home was relatively south in this new continent, but it was also still definitely to the north of the equator.
Not that the world seemed to really worry much about physics. She'd seen terrain change so fast it was like some creator drew a literal line in the sand. And in a world like that, what the hell else might she be taking for granted that would bite her in the ass?
After a few more struggling nibbles at her food, she again looked up at the hulking warrior above and winced in her seat. He was like fucking Conan the Barbarian from Texas.
‘Crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and hear the lamentation of their women, y’all!’
She supposed it was probably good he was American, and from a state just five or six hours from her native Oklahoma. They were bound to have at least have a few things in common. Probably.
Except it was yet another white man in charge of her fate.
But he seemed better than the alternative. These weird eastern people scared the crap out of her and lived in a giant city on purpose, which she hated. ‘Baron’ Mason at least offered his opponents mercy, she'd seen it with her own eyes.
He had a diverse group of loyal people who all seemed free to do or say what they wanted. He wasn't wearing crazy religious robes and decreeing himself the master of the world. At least not yet.
And he's young and handsome, practically shouted the sex-crazed piece of Demi's brain that just wouldn't shut the fuck up.
Nights were…long in her little cabin. And the days were pretty long, too. She was alone in a way she'd never been in her entire life, not even back camping or fishing near the reserve. She'd always had a phone. Or books. Or the ability to drive or canoe a few miles to a friend or at least some trace of civilization to talk to another human being.
But she'd lost the few people she trusted in this new world, then hidden herself away hoping to ride out whatever madness this was. She was stubborn, she knew that.
She'd resisted the obvious signs that this thing wasn't just going to 'end'. That she couldn't hide forever and that this alien thing was coming for her one way or another.
And then the Neutral Zone happened, and she'd been slapped in the face hard with just how screwed she was if she didn't make a change.
Sooner or later, if she didn't keep up to the rest of the world, she'd be found and destroyed like her ancestors. The thought made her feel so angry and helpless she had no idea what to do, who to blame, who to talk to.
The answer was no one, of course, except maybe the god-like alien that wouldn't give a shit. Little flowers were blooming out of her broccoli and she fought down her Primal Growth power. It often sprouted when she was emotional.
And this time the power was right. It was time to do something. To take a chance before it was too late.
Demi took a deep breath and summoned a Floating Bloom. She knew this Baron of Nassau was nature affinity like her. He'd notice her magic. Maybe even be able to understand it.
The thought sent a little thrill down her body and pretty soon re-activated that asshole horn-dog inside her gut.
"You can do this," she whispered. "You have to do this."
She held out her hand and blew, watching the Floating Bloom’s seeds drift up towards the balcony. The baron’s head snapped up like some animal that sensed food, or danger.
Demi felt herself flush with panic and success and oh who even knew what it was. She could tell instantly she'd been right, that whatever natural affinity gave her the control over her bloom was strong as hell in him. The magic was drawing itself towards him like a fucking magnet.
"Shit shit shit."
She turned and stared at her food again. She couldn’t control the message in the bloom. All it did was communicate desire, emotion. She was just hoping it would make the man trust her. And maybe bring him over. But it was so honest she could have died.
He was going to feel the magic and probably get the messages, whatever they exactly were. It was all so embarrassing and terrifying and she could only hope she didn't come across like the desperate, lonely, probably horny idiot she was.
Not to mention she'd knocked at least one of his house members out of the tournament. And, oh shit, he was probably angry about that...
Demi forced herself to sit still. There was no going back now. But she desperately wanted to get up from the table and run.
* * *
Mason stared out over the promenade without really seeing it, just doing his best not to puke.
"Why didn't you stop me," he said. "And why did I eat like half the pie?"
"Brother, the days of my being able to start or stop you from doing anything are past. Like everyone else I'm but a helpless observer of your descent into a feral state. You're like a wild animal that broke into a pantry."
"So many words." Mason groaned and felt himself sweating. "Why so many words."
"Also, I've been thinking, we can probably smoke now." Blake looked like he was trying to produce a cigarette in his fingers. "Our generation practically outlawed it, but I always thought smoking was cool. I don't imagine we'll get lung cancer anymore, would you? Not a dramatic enough death. Maybe I should wait until I find immortality. How did you do that, anyway? We need to talk about this again. You'll be a miserable immortal but I'd be fantastic."
Mason let out a breath and thought back to the dungeon and the cave where he met Gaia. It was a good point. actually, and they really ought to figure out if they could find ways to get something similar to...
Mason's nostrils flared as a scent like the nymph caves hit him. His bloated stomach was temporarily forgotten as the scent seemed to blow straight into him and overwhelm his senses.
There were…words in it somehow, whispering without sound, a quiet but feminine and beautiful voice like the great trees calling to him in the fey.
It sounded sad. Afraid. Lonely. It reached out to him like the white stag that had needed his help, but this time feminine and urgent and…true. He was standing before he really thought about it.
"Oh please don’t actually throw up," Blake said, leaping away. "If you do I’m next. You know that. I have a weak stomach."
"I smell something. I'll be back."
"Are you serious?" Blake gave him a horrified look. "You can't possibly eat more."
Mason groaned as he forced himself across the balcony and swiftly down the steps. The system servant bowed as it always did and he ignored it as he always did, almost frantic as he searched for the source of the voice. He sniffed and followed the scent like a dog, doing his best not to accidentally run over anyone as he followed to a secluded spot just under the balcony.
He found a young woman at a table, half sitting as if ready to run. She had long, dark, and somewhat disheveled hair, wearing green and brown shirt and pants that looked home-made. The scent was obviously coming from her. It was so good and powerful Mason damn near walked up and grabbed her just to take a sniff.
"Hi," he said, realizing with a bit of embarrassment he had no idea what he was doing here or how he'd explain himself.
So. You smelled like you needed me?
"It was me," the girl said, her voice cracking. She cleared her throat and slowly sat properly in her chair. "I called you. It’s a spell."
Things were starting to make at least a little sense now. But Mason was feeling a bit awkward at just how fast and thoughtlessly he’d come running when he heard (smelt?) a woman in need.
He wanted to tell himself it was some kind of mind control, but not only was that off limits in the Neutral Zone, Apex Predator was damningly silent. So this was all him.
"Should I…sit?" He gestured at the seat, and the girl almost jumped to gesture towards it like she was going to pull it back, then flushed a little and just kept still.
"Yes, ah, please."
Mason really wished he hadn't eaten most of a pig. He sat with as much decorum as possible, keeping a polite but neutral smile on his face. It took him several long seconds of sitting in totally wordless, awkward silence to recognize her. He snapped his fingers.
"Mushroom girl."
She stared, then her pretty face crinkled and she lowered her voice, like somewhat might overhear.
"Excuse me?"
Mason began to realize a stomach full of meat and a comfortable hour with his brother had left him about as close to drunk as he now got. He pulled himself up and tried blink his brain back to reality.
"Sorry. You, uh, beat one of my people with exploding mushrooms, or something. They've been talking about you. They call you mushroom girl." He decided even this explanation was quite stupid, and took a breath and held out his hand. "Let's try this again. Hello. My name's Mason."
The girl smiled and took it awkwardly, mostly by the fingers, then pulled back like she'd grabbed a snake.
"I'm Demi. From the west. I mean the western continent. Which you know obviously, since you are too. And I guess..."
Mason decided Demi looked and sounded like someone who hadn't actually talked to anyone in awhile. He waited patiently, silently cheering her on, no stranger to the feeling himself. She took a breath and finally looked him properly in the eyes.
"I guess I'm wondering if I can come live with you. I mean your settlement. When this is over. But it's OK if I can't. I mean I understand. We aren't friends, I realize that. I mean you just learned my name so obviously we aren’t. But I..." she swallowed and forced out another breath. "I'm pretty strong. I think. And I have some knowledge. I…I could be an asset."
Mason smiled, thinking he probably shouldn’t sound too relieved or eager before just giving up. He would especially be happy to have someone else who had nature affinity. Though for a moment he kind of wished she was a middle-aged dude, and not another attractive young woman…
"Demi, we would love to have you."
I’d like to hear her story about tutorial and afterwards.
Thanks for the chapter
aaaah~ moment! TFTC.
Weird racist vegetarian hippie girl, get?
i dont think shes racist, shes indigineous and has good reasons to be wary of white warlords. probably creek or cherokee.
@lawtonaaj White warlords? I'm gonna need you to explain that one to me.
The indigenous peoples of North America had a persistent warlord problem sure, but that was mostly their own warlords doing warlord things to other tribes. European warlords were more of a thing with the Spanish in Central and South America. White people in NA were mostly settlers and traders. Heavily armed settlers, but not warlords by any conventional definition of the word.
Even if that weren't the case, mushroom girl clearly grew up in the 21st century. She's never seen a warlord of any European descent pre-Great Game guaranteed, and probably never seen a warlord period.
@Atramede Sure, and here is a white warlord (because Mason could be described as such, even if it's not quite accurate) who is descended from the people who slaughtered Native Americans and forced them onto reservations. I'd be willing to say that, while not entirely accurate, many military leaders during the US's expansion west could be called 'warlords,' no conquistadors or inter-tribal conflict needed. So, how's she to know that Mason won't be similar? After all, the only things she really would know about him are what he shows in public, which tends to be the... less cuddly side of himself. The side that kills other players with his bare hands without hesitation and usually a pissed-off expression.
And let's be honest, bias and preconceptions can be really, really hard to put aside, even in dire situations, or when you intellectually know better. If she was raised (or came to the conclusion herself) that white people are not to be trusted, that their history of exploitation, murder, and oppression in the Americas is the most stand-out thing about them, then her hesitance to trust Mason (and reluctance to see him as something other than a (descendant of) white invader) is understandable. People tend to have generational trauma over (repeated) attempted genocide, and ongoing systemic oppression.
@TwilitDesires That's a long rambly way of saying she's just racist. Raised to be racist is still racist.
Also, you might want to check your history. Literally nothing you just said was even remotely true.
@Atramede
Trail of Tears
The Potawatomi Trail of Death
The Long Walk of the Navajo
Dakota War
Great Sioux War
Comanche campaign
Snake War
Colorado War
Sand Creek Massacre
I'm sure I could find more, but you get the point.
Did you know that any children of Native American descent have to be very carefully managed in the foster system, because white people like to adopt and 'save them from their primitive culture,' therefore erasing what little remains of Native American culture? Take a gander at the Indian Child Welfare Act sometime.
Or how about the fact that there are only about 25,000 people who speak Sioux? Seems like a pretty good indicator of a dying culture to me.
Genocide and ethnic/cultural cleansing is an uncomfortable topic, for sure, but saying that I'm making sh*t up is a bit of an overreaction. I'm not saying that Native tribes were living in perfect harmony and singing Kumbaya and everything - they did war amongst themselves and there's a lot of bloody history before Europeans showed up. But it's irrefutable that the colonial era and the United States' 'Manifest Destiny' period were pretty obscenely genocidal/ethnocidal periods of time.
Also, given Mason is, essentially, the sole governing entity in his region of the world, and could, if he wanted, execute whoever with no recourse (i.e. a legal system in place to hold him accountable), he basically is a warlord. Nassu is his town. He commands the players. He chooses who gets to stay and go. He has some degree of control over the economy, especially what facilities get built and when. Sure, he's generally a nice guy and listens when people protest and takes their advice, so he doesn't fit the general depiction of a bloodthirsty, murder-happy, cruel tyrant. But there's not really any other authority aside from him that his players and civilians can turn to if they don't like what he's doing. I'd argue that fits the denotative definition of a warlord.
@TwilitDesires 1. You didn't address my core point. Racist girl is racist. The fact you didn't even try to address that is telling.
2. Wars do not denote genocide. Genocide is the deliberate attempt to exterminate a genome and/or culture. You can argue that the assimilation efforts fall under that definition (personally I wouldn't agree, but a discussion could at least be had) but a list of conflicts does not constitute a genocide. Nor does one side losing constitute such.
3. Native American culture dying isn't because of any deliberate attempt to kill it. Integration efforts were made, but none of that was the decisive blow and it all would have died out regardless. That's because stone age civilizations (which is what the native american peoples were, by definition) can't survive in any kind of post-industrial era, and neither can the cultures associated with those civilizations. The same thing happened in Europe, east Asia, and literally everywhere else on Earth. Natural progression, not genocide.
4. This idea you and lawtonaaj have of mushroom girl having some historical justification for her racism makes literally no sense. Like I said, she's clearly born and raised in the 21st century. She's never seen a warlord before, much less one of European heritage (and I would argue her ancestors never did either). You don't inherit the experiences of your ancestors. That's not how that works. She's just an American with a chip on her shoulder.
5. Literally nobody disagrees that Mason is a warlord. He's even called a warlord in the story itself (mostly by his adversaries, but the label is correctly used) and even Mason himself would probably agree with the label at this point. What's the point of your last paragraph?
@Atramede
1. I never said she wasn't; I was only supporting the idea of @lawtonaaj that she has good reason to be wary of white men in power. Her view (white Texan = potential issue re colonialism and 'Manifest Destiny') is pretty obviously racist. While we're here, Mason is exllicitly racist too, seeing as to him, orcs and golbins (and probably centaurs) are a threat, end story.
2. If the point of the war is to further genocide or ethnic/cultural cleansing, then yes, it does. Pretty much all of these events, to some extent, were goals to either eradicate (genocide) the NAs, or to remove them from their ancestral lands, put them somewhere that they weren't adapted to and (often) wasn't large enough to support them. Sure, there wasn't a singular, explicit campaign of 'lets kill them all' (like the Holocaust) but the results speak for themselves pretty well.
3. That's funny, I could've sworn I'd seen a lot of examples of antiquated culture from Japan popping up all over the place... including modern Japan. Bowing is a rather old, culturally significant act, and onw that is used to this day in Japan. Assimilation (not integration, because that involves merging two things to make a new whole - that's not what's been happening here, the expectation is that NAs learn English and follow European/Christian laws, morals, and culture; if they keep their own culture, sure, but do it away from 'civilized' folk) is a tool of ethnic cleansing in this case, which is part of why the ICWA exists at all.
4. Hooo boy, there's a lot to unpack here. We're dealing with a population that was slaughtered, relocated, disenfranchised, and more; and they are still discriminated against, systemically (much like black people, specifically, and nearly all non-whites generally), in almost every way in the United States. We're not specifically saying 'she has generational trauma because of a white warlord centuries ago.' We're saying, 'there is a long, ongoing, historic precedent that white people will exploit and discriminate against her, and her caution is understandable, given that she and many of her ancestors, friends, and family going back centuries have likely experienced such events and acts.'
As for "You don't inherit the experiences of your ancestors," you're correct that she isn't directly traumatized by, for example, a personal memory of those events from way back when. And I'm not talking about that sort of thing. Rather, I'm talking about the compounding history, stories, warnings, and experiences across generations. "(Trans)Generational Trauma" is an actual psychology term, and while I'm probably not using it perfectly, the base concept still applies, re: something that caused trauma in one member of a family causing that person to raise their children (which then carries on down the generations) in a specific way, often maladaptively (e.g., someone who was assaulted by a person of a specific ethnicity/culture/profession teaching their kids that they can't trust anyone from that group, which is then repeated down the family tree each generation). This, amusingly, is the premis of a lot of modern Disney movies (Encanto and Coco come to mind).
And sure, she's technically a United States citizen (I forget if we know explicitly that she's from the US, so possibly she's Canadian, Mexican, or from somewhere else in the Americas), but I don't think, 'I'm upset because my people have to live on reservations to try and preserve our culture; we're mostly known for caricatures in media of (noble) savages and for running casinos; we're discriminated against in many ways (housing, employment, etc.); and I'm wary of white people because they were the main cause of all these issues,' counts as having a "chip on her shoulder." She has legitimate grievances that very little has been done (or, IRL, is being done) to solve. I'm not saying all white people owe restitution, but something should change (or rather, a lot of things, and not just in regards to Native Americans in the United States).
5. Because I was responding to "Literally nothing you just said was even remotely true." Especially given the context (American colonization, the expansion of the United States, and modern history of thr US, especially in the context of Native Americans), I double-checked the meaning, since 'warlord' would fall under 'history:' I think the only modern pla es that anyone would call someone a 'warlord' would be in Africa, the Middle-East, and maybe a few other places. So, I checked my history.
@TwilitDesires I'm not reading that mass of garbage text. What little I did read of it suggests to me that you aren't exactly arguing in good faith though. Bowing and tribal culture aren't comparable, and you likening them is arguing in bad faith. Goblins and Native Americans aren't comparable, and you likening them is bad faith. And no, her heritage doesn't give her a good reason to 'fear da white man'. I'm not sure if you've ever actually interacted with NA people, but I have. They're just normal people, and most of them interact daily with 'da white man' to no issue. You're just a racism apologist.
There's clearly no point in continuing this discussion with you, so I'm calling it here. Good day.
@Atramede i never said she had seen a warlord. mason and the emperor are currently both warlords. leaders of armies expanding upon the lands. especially mason as he doesn't try to mask it with civility. there is a big history of white hegemonic power treating both black people and indigenous people of Oklahoma poorly. its origin is as "Indian territory" because the us both didn't want to bother finishing off the local Cherokee population because the cost in life/resources wasn't worth what was available in the area. later tribes from all over the us were led there at gunpoint with only the possessions they could carry (and that weren't looted from them.) The creek i mentioned which are one of the most populous tribes in the area are originally from the Georgia/northern Florida region. As for black folk many escaped slaves married into the creek and cherokee people because oklohoma wasn't a slave state.
@Atramede 1.She isn't racist as far as we know. she has no problem with the other white members of the cast that aren't known as bloodthirsty warlords.
2. Genocide is often caused by the dominant hegimonic group, they get to decide whats called a war.
3. no native american culture is definetly dying due to a deliberate attempt to kill it. first you had widespread bio-warfare through disease and famine. then you had cultural warfare through things like canada's "reservation schools" and things the iwca were created to defend against where indiginous kids were taken from their parents and forced to grow up in boarding schools divorced from their roots culture and family. And its been continued onto today. Blood quantum, or the idea that someone's 1/2 or 1/4 or whatever native is a requirement for the tribes to receive their federal funding. The concept of blood quantum is designed to ensure that no one is native enough to qualify within 6 or so generations. someone half Cherokee half Potawatomi is just considered half by the system. its why creek are so prosperous because they don't follow blood quantum and thus don't have to worry about being slowly drained of its peoples. (they don't get federal funding though which is shit)
4. While again she definitely has never met a warlord, she has had to deal with american government bureaucracy and has little reason to trust "in her mind" a dog of the state. you also definitely can inherit generational trama. things like black families teaching their kids not to be too obvious about their academic capabilities because of habits passed down from their families dating back to when getting found being able to read was a death sentence.
5. The fact you seem really focused on the idea of mason as a warlord. ilike your first two posts went off about how important that part was.