Despite the initial trouble, the talk went smoothly. To the surprise of the ambassadors, this human child was almost nothing like almost any other human that had ever been encountered. Rather than having a superiority complex and despising the other races, he seemed to view humans, or at least the current human regimes and policies with scorn and distain. He seemed to have a very favorable impression of the Alliance once he learned of its government style and policies, with the one exception being how they treated humans. To the ambassadors, he was a child with the mind of an adult and his oly child-like parts were his physical form and his desire that humans and non-humans should live together as equals.

“Humans have oppressed our races for ages! Even a child like you should know that coexistence is impossible!” Princess Leona yelled. She was the only diplomat here who was actively against any kind of alliance with the Arcadian Commonwealth.

“It is impossible for anything to be impossible. Given enough time and effort, it is statistically possible for even something impossible under normal means to be possible. Also, need I remind you that the village I came from had humans and non-humans living together as equals?” Arkhan retorted.

“Yeah, but your village got destroyed!”

“Indeed. But had it not been destroyed by bigots and fools who came from outside then it would have continued to serve as an example of what could be possible on a much larger scale. Besides, your policy towards humans is simply a mirror of the policy held by the human lands towards non-humans. If you truly wished to show your moral high ground then you would treat you aggressors as equals rather than slaves just to spite them.”

“What do you mean?!”

Arkhan sighed.

“Think of it this way. If a human nation held your races as slaves, your race would hate them, right?”

“Of course!” Leona stated.

“Then if you held humans as slaves, would they not hate you?”

“Yeah, and?”

“Then would they still be able to use the excuse that you have wrongfully enslaved their people for war if their people were not enslaved?”

“No…”

“Would you, therefore, have the moral high ground and purity of purpose that they did not, thus allowing any war they forced upon you to be used as an excuse to liberate your people rather than to conquer?”

“Ehh….”

Leona had been backed into a corner.

“A truly just, noble and good nation does not engage war for the reasons of revenge, conquest or enslavement but rather for liberation, defense and protection of others. Likewise, such a nation will not assist another nation in the acts of revenge, conquest or enslavement for the reason that assisting in such acts is the same as engaging in such dishonorable and disreputable acts yourself. From what I have learned from you of your nation, yours is a nation that prides itself on honor and justice. If you view the enslavement of non-humans as dishonorable and unjust, can you honestly say that your treatment of humans is not the same? The truly honorable and just thing to do would be to defy the despots and tyrants in the lands to the east by eradicating the very concept of slavery from you lands. The Kingdoms of Men thrive on the exploitation of those who are forced into servitude, thus to truly be the better beings you must become a nation that casts aside the archaic and barbaric practice that has hurt so many of your kin. Being a nation that has the privilege of being a nation where all are equal and no one is a slave makes you vastly superior to the Human Lands where only a small portion of the populace is free and the rest are either wearing physical shackles or the shackles of poverty. You want to be superior to the humans, right? Then by being a land of the free you can prove your superiority, or at least, that’s how I see it.”

Evelyn butted in.

“Do you truly believe such a thing would work?”

“Yes, yes I do. I believe in the potential of all the races and feel that by creating a place where all the races are equal and unified the weaknesses of any of the races will be compensated by the strengths of the others. I cannot say that one race is superior to any other. I remember a certain phrase that describes my perspective; a wall made only of bricks with no mortar will be easily toppled, but a wall made of various stone types, gravel, sand and mortar will be sturdier than a wall made of any of the separate pieces individually.”

Both Myrd’yn and Evelyn looked at each other; their age relative to Leona’s gave them more knowledge than the young beastman. They both knew that what this child said was true; in fact it was the reason for the United Non-Human Alliance in the first place. Eventually, as silence reigned, the young Lion Beastman saw the wisdom that came from this odd child. Leona was no longer advocating against the potential alliance with Arkhan and Arcadia, but now wondered how such a small human was so skilled in dialogue.

Arkhan then spoke up, revealing something troubling.

“I just received word from my subordinates that a few scout parties from the Human Lands have reached the outermost layer of my eastern fortifications. While I never intended to allow them to pass or utilize my lands, I am sure they will send their forces against my defenses. We directly border the Grellekian Kingdom, thus it is likely that they will be the first to make a move. While it is more likely that they will dispatch military forces, the possibility remains that they could send diplomats. While I fully intend not to align myself or my nation with them, such an action would be easily used by the nobles, royalty and clergy as an excuse for war. If and when they attack, it would be a massacre on their side, thus prompting the rest of the human kingdoms and possibly even the theocracy to attack. A ‘crusade’ would likely be called, and such a war would be a useful reason for us, if allied, to start a counter war. Rather than being one of destruction as theirs would be, it would instead be a war of liberation. While my forces would easily crush the ‘crusade’, a joint taskforce of your soldiers and mine could sneak into the Kingdoms and the Theocracy and liberate any slaves there. This would be a double blow, as not only would a massive amount of their military might be erased from the equation, but at the same time a large piece of their disposable workforce would be removed from their possession. Knowing my plan, does that help sway your decision?”

Leona slammed her fist down on the table and stood up in her seat.

“Kid, you have more guts than I expected! You actually want to take on the entirety of a united human assault and you think it would be a cakewalk! I’ll tell you what, the Beastmen will support you. It isn’t every day that you get the chance to curbstomp an entire Crusade! I advise we have your nation join the United Non-Human Alliance!”

Myrd’yn spoke up next.

“You have machines and structures we dwarves could never make. Having you as an ally would not only get these things on our side, it would also open up many new possibilities for both of our nations to learn from each other and become even stronger! Well, boy, we support the alliance. Its two to one now, are you going to join in?”

Evelyn spoke.

“I advocate for the alliance as well. The spirits have told me that you are being honest and that you hold no malice towards either us or nature. In fact, they tell me that you are helping the environment by farming and ranching in self-contained environments that do not affect the planet. For this, we thank you. Ranching of cattle has a negative impact on nature under normal conditions, but these flying, enclosed ranches, plantations and farms do not leak their damage into the air, soil or water. You have created fisheries that fly in the sky and those fish you do catch on the planet itself are not taken to excess. You are loved by the spirits despite your inability to use normal magic and your care for the planet is admirable. For these reasons and more, I too ask that you accept our invitation to the Alliance.”

Arkhan was the last to speak.

“I humbly accept my nation’s inclusion into the United Non-Human Alliance, on one condition.”

“???” (Leona, Myrd’yn and Evelyn)

“Can we please change the name of the Alliance to something different? After all, I am human and thus being a part of a group called the ‘United Non-Human Alliance’ seems a bit… odd.” (Arkhan)

Various chuckles were heard in the conference room.

After this conference, and the signing of a new member into the alliance, the laws regarding the treatment of humans were slowly altered to give humans equal rights and citizenship.

It was roughly a week after the signing of the alliance that the name of the now four-nation alliance was changed to the ‘Gaian Alliance’.

…

Over time, many humans in the Dwarven, Elvish and Beastman lands began to move across the border into the welcoming embrace of the Arcadian Commonwealth. Over time, members of the other three races moved in as well; all the citizens now living in massive floating cities protected by innumerable metal constructs. Without anyone being any the wiser, those who had moved began to change, not physically, but mentally and emotionally. A ‘New Type’ of life was being created without anyone knowing….