Eothai returns home

The rest of the day passed by in a blur. The academic lessons failed to arouse Eothai's interest, though he nevertheless participated whenever the teacher asked him to. When he took a tour of the various clubs, he gravitated more towards the athletic clubs and excelled in whatever he did; he outran the fastest runners; he deftly outmaneuvered his opponents in soccer, basketball and volleyball; his keen aim dominated the archery club.

And it was the archery club he joined.

The whole club - a scarce four people - seemed to weep tears of joy at his joining, for their club membership was below the minimum threshold mandated by the school and was on the brink of dissolution, and while the Club President Koide Misao was a highly talented archer, he was not that charismatic of a person to draw in the necessary talent.

And as he learned, an even worse rival.

The moment Misao saw Eothai's talent, he promptly challenged him to an archery contest and refused to let the High Elf back out, and Eothai, being the chivalrous and gregarious man he was, gladly obliged.

In thirty seconds flat, Misao was left crumpling onto the floor with a deathly aura of gloom about him, his confidence in tatters; where most of his shots were decently close to the second ring, all of Eothai's shots landed a bullseye.

He had to admit, it was fun putting down that egotistical brat down a peg.

Now he was on his way home, sighing happily as he trotted down the streets. Though dressed in his normal-looking school uniform rather than his traditional Elven robes, he instantly drew the eyes of countless bystanders and passersby wherever he went, some even taking photos of him with their smartphones. While the constant attention did annoy him greatly, he shrugged it off and paid them no heed.

Eventually he reached home and opened the door, and immediately went to change out of his uniform and take a shower. The moment the warm water touched his skin, he breathed a heavy sigh of relief.

"Wondrous, to think Humans could create such convenient showering facilities," Eothai muttered, "...And our proud Kingdom remained stuck in its ways even until the bitter end..."

The High Elven Kingdom of Maidhor [1] was once a proud and powerful Kingdom, situated on a large island-continent that housed 80 million Elves on its fertile soil, its historic and cultural legacy spanning ten millennia since its founding. Its magical might was unparalleled and unmatched by all save the dragons, and its mighty naval fortifications ensured that any and all who wished to conquer the Kingdom would pay a steep price in blood. Combined with its mighty fleets - armed with the finest sailors, ballistae and magi - its power was terrible to behold.

And yet, in the past three centuries, other nations had rapidly overtaken them; technology was advancing at a meteoric pace among both Human and Dwarven nations, and even the Dark Elven Empire of Edioha [2] took part in the industrial revolution despite its late entry into the latest stages of modernisation.

And it was Edioha who participated in the Conquest of Maidhor, as an ally of the Empire of Hokaimaq [3] - descendants of a union between High Elven exiles and the native tribes. Due to the high-profile **** of Huntmaster Ron'tamil - Commander-in-Chief of the Maidhor Imperial Army.

Eothai did not know who was the fool who did the deed, nor did he particularly care at the time, but the **** sparked the war that sealed the Kingdom's fate. It was only late into the war, when the foolish Royal Family and the Convocation cowered in their fancy palace that the traitor within revealed his cards.

Maladaer, Chief Archmage of the Magisters Conclave, raised Elven corpses from their graves with foul magics [4] and slaughtered millions of innocent lives, and butchered both the King and the entire Convocation, along with virtually nine-tenths of the remaining nobility.

20 million Elves died in that war, and he barely survived with his own life. He was present during the surrender of the Kingdom to Hokaimaq, and he saw millions of Elves carried off to slavery.

And he saw an impassive-looking Elwür drink in the sight of massive trains of dispirited captive Elves with nary an emotion.

"Rragh!"

He punched the wall hard, breaking concrete and tile and leaving a sizeable dent in it. Looking upon his hand, he saw that he drew blood.

Using his magic, he reversed the damage and his injury and stepped out of the toilet, dressed in his robes and refreshed for the night. He took a sachet of instant coffee - the 3-in-1 packet kind - and poured himself a piping hot cup, before reheating the takeout oyakodon in the oven and digging into his meal.

He sighed heavily, seeing the empty apartment he lived in.

"Elwür's so fortunate; he gets to come home to a house filled with a lovestruck mother and her son," Eothai breathed, "Meanwhile I have to live in this apartment all by myself..."

He could not stop his heart from feeling jealousy and dreadful loneliness, and him being the sole occupant at a table for four was but the cherry on top.

[1] Maidhor was annexed as a colonial dominion under the Empire of Hokaimaq after its conquest, and in the century since, its people have lived a troubled life under its tyrannical iron fist; criminals and political dissidents are executed or sold as breeding/pleasure slaves abroad. Furthermore, Hokaimaq has adopted an intentionally malicious policy of constant class discrimination, where those who are loyal to the empire and its government and talented are promoted through meritocracy to higher positions, while those who refuse or cannot make it are harshly discriminated against.

Its nobility have been virtually annihilated, though there are no news on the fate of the Queen and her four daughters after they mysteriously vanished from Maidhor.

[2] Having suffered devastating civil wars and internal corruption, the current ruling Empress of Edioha, Yîgkel Yarele, launched the Maksunat Revolution, aimed at permanently deposing the nobility and the corrupt Masafint Dynasty and launching the Empire into the modern age. Entire houses were exterminated root and stem, and any surviving dissidents guilty of less severe crimes were put to work for the Empire's betterment as cheap labour or sold into slavery elsewhere with her tacit approval.

Through the Maksunat Revolution and the subsequent reforms implemented, Edioha was rapidly reclaiming its splintered lands and ushering in a new era of prosperity for its people. In the global arms race, it was coming close to matching the technological prowess of the West.

[3] Hokaimaq was founded from a union between the native tribes of the northern hemisphere of the New World and the High Elven exiles who escaped there eight centuries ago, comprised primarily of political exiles who feared for their lives under the highly corrupt regime of King Wendasil I.

They are the most heavily populated nation of the New World and the most technologically advanced and are comprised of countless half-blooded Beastmen and Half-Elves, due to the numerous tribes they absorbed into their domain. Countless High Elven slaves serve the purpose of breeding and sexual pleasure.