Perspective of the Sereg'wethrin, Volume 5

Perspective of the Sereg'Wethrin, Vol 5 By Earar Di'Mana

5. M'Chek War and Post War Eras

Even well versed long-lived Elves have difficulty in knowing the dates of the events mentioned thus far. I can only tell you for certain the things that have I've seen myself. Most books I've read conflict with other books, if not at times even within themselves. I've even read an account that the Sereg'Wethrin stopped the super conditioning when they were first Exiled, which defies logic in that the super conditioning was the very reason for the exile, so if they were willing to stop it, there would be no need for the exile itself. I've also read that the super conditioning wears off with time, and I've seen that first hand. However, I've also read that it stays with the conditioned Sereg'Wethrin for life. Given the amount of conflicting and mistaken information about the Sereg'Wethrin, it is no wonder that surface people fear and distrust them. This chapter here however is a reflection of what I know to be true of the Sereg'Wethrin, not because I read it in a book, but because I've experienced it first hand.

Regardless of the exact dates, when I joined the army, let's say 100 years ago, the war against M'Chek had been going on longer than anyone could remember, and in all that time, in addition to surviving in the Underdark, the Sereg'Wethrin maintained their fight against humans and M'Chek. Little had changed in hundreds of years with the war, and with the Sereg'Wethrin. One thing I did notice as a young recruit, even though we were trained in word to attack Sereg'Wethrin we saw, few did when they were fighting M'Chek in the war zone. It was a sort of unspoken logic of a lesser of two evils so to speak. I, more than most I think, learned to understand the Sereg'Wethrin during that time. With my interactions against M'Chek I grew to hate M'Chek as well. The atrocities they committed against T'Nanshi, that we were forced to endure and witness, were far worse than any I've written above that the Sereg'Wethrin have done. M'Chek sent drug enhanced crazed madmen against us, poisoned our people, allied with the worse creatures imaginable, slaughtered the innocent by the thousands, and the worst of all, spread a disease that killed a fifth of all T'Nanshi's people. With all of this, if the Sereg'Wethrin were still a military unit of T'Nanshi, I would have been first in line to volunteer to join them. I could have easily been a member, and undergone their experimental conditioning based on a trust I would have had. In fighting to defend T'Nanshi I saw so many parallels with what I was going through and the origins of Sereg'Wethrin, and had we not had the example of the Sereg'Wethrin, I'm sure we would have gone down that path ourselves.

In reading through historical notes and letters from the time during the war, you see many stories of what the Sereg'Wethrin did against M'Chek, from the use of the spite, and attacks on Mikona, etc. I tend to treat those stories now as a reflection of what it is like during a war. Yes, those stories are true, and some are terrible, but that is war. All sides in the conflict crossed lines, or in the least took actions that the other side twisted to be an atrocity. In that perspective, those things done in that war pale when compared to the slavery system in Drotid that powers their war machine, or the release of a disease that ends up killing so very many of a small population to begin with. However, it is not the intention of this book to rehash stories we all know about, but instead to provide truthful perspective on the creation, and existence of the Sereg'Wethrin.

As the war ended, and most army members returned to their towns and homes, I found I had no home to which to return. My home had become the army, the barracks, and the front line, so I ended up traveling and seeing Negaria. My travels in search of knowledge of the Sereg'Wethrin, took me to a city in the Underdark called Verloghokbol. It is a small trade city of many races, including Sereg'Wethrin. Interestingly enough, they live in relative peace there, abiding the laws of the city. This idea was strange to me, as all elves are taught that Sereg'Wethrin are like goblins and kobolds, something to be killed as soon as you see one. Yet, here I found large numbers of them existing side by side with many races. In time I grew familiar with several Sereg'Wethrin, and as knowledge of each other was shared, a trust built between us. For years I learned what I could, tried to understand everything I could, and did my very best to see the Sereg'Wethrin for who they truly are.

Many times when people think of the strict adherence to orders that the Sereg'Wethrin follow, then quickly assume it is like a hive mind, or that the Sereg'Wethrin are without thought and feelings even. It is quite the opposite in reality. They follow orders without hesitation because of trust, not blindness or lack of thought. In fact, many orders they are given have wiggle room so to speak, that allows for interpretation, and deviation within context. What that means is that if a cell leader does in fact disagree with orders, they often can shape the orders to a point where they follow them, but also achieve what they believe is right. Feelings are also strong with the Sereg'Wethrin. I often had conversations with those I knew about what it was like to live in the forests of the Spiritland. I definitely felt a sense that many, if not most, know they were not meant to live in the caves of the Underdark, and even without knowing the forests they were drawn to them. Their trust of me would only go so far, as I am not Sereg'Wethrin. I've never seen their fortresses, any females at all, or their high command, but they did answer many of my questions through the years, of which I am grateful.

The past 50 to 60 years have seen monumental changes in the Sereg'Wethin society, and along with what I learnt of them and their culture, these changes have brought hope that the Sereg'Wethrin could one day be welcome in the Spritland again, for their benefit and ours. The first significant change is their abandonment of super-conditioning their forces, which reverses the very cause of their exile to begin with. At some point after the M'Chek war ended, they felt it was no longer in their interests to make their forces uncontrollably attack humans. This allows Sereg'Wethrin to exists with humans and all races for that matter, because even if there is still a hatred there, it is just a feeling, not a reaction. What impresses me the most of this is that the Sereg'Wethrin command and membership did this on their own, not through being forced to, nor through some negotiation. On their own they took this step, which takes great bravery, strength and courage.

The next change was mentioned in the previous chapter, in that the Sereg'Wethrin have stopped abducting elven males and females altogether. Again, they did this on their own, once they felt they had a sustainable number of females. Now, I don't mean to sound cold, or non-empathetic. I of course would wish that no elves were taken for this purpose, but at least it is a step in the right direction that this has stopped. It is something to build upon in the future. Another change is that they stopped using the Spite as a weapon. Again, this shows a willingness to make changes to better work with surface society.

Lastly, and most importantly in my opinion, the Sereg'Wethrin have repeatedly reached out to assist the people of the Spritland over the past 20-30 years. Not long ago, there was a hive of Thri-Kreen that moved just outside of Elysia. There, Sereg'Wethrin assisted the T'Nanshi army in discovering the location of this hive. Also more recently, during the anti-slavery effort in the T'Nanshi Northeast, more than a handful of Sereg'Wethrin participated in helping the enslaved. Of note in this is there were humans in the group assisting as well. And finally, even in the defense of Elysia, Sereg'Wethrin came to aid in defending the city.

So, in current day, there appears to be a Sereg'Wethrin high command that is reasonable and willing to change to better fit with other races, and a real verifiable effort to reach out to help.