There's a common saying among kobolds, "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few''. They didn't create it (rather, it was borrowed from an old play), but nevertheless it's an efficient way to summarize the kobold mindset. They are, after all, a people whose continued survival is based on their ability to work as a team. It was expected that any "true kobold" would be willing to lay down their life if it meant the survival of their clan, and such martyrs were given the highest honors. Eikka had heard this saying her whole life (though often from kobolds trying to pass off the worst chores to others), but as she laid restlessly on the wooden pew of the Allfaiths Shrine, it was the only thing that kept her sane. The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. Five lives. Five sons, wives, and siblings who were no longer here. But their sacrifice was necessary, right? Five lives to potentially save hundreds? Of course, Eikka thought, they didn't make that sacrifice. She had chosen for them. But that wasn't her choice to make. What right had she to decide who should live and who should die? If they had known, would they have made the same choice? What if they hadn't? And what if she- No. Eikka clenched her eyes shut, trying to stop thinking. She couldn't let herself spiral. She did what had to be done. For Sear-Saha. For the world. For Stonehome. The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.
Eikka was never terribly religious. She went to the weekly services in Stonehome like everyone else, of course, but she'd never felt much of a connection to the gods. But it seemed strange to accept the hospitality of the Allfaiths Shrine without doing something. So, she slipped off the pew and made her way to the altar in the center. She carefully placed her hands on the altar, as if afraid it would burn her, and began a somewhat awkward prayer. She first reached out to Wee Jas, the goddess of the dead, and asked that those five souls be given safe passage to the afterlife. She regretted that she didn't even know their names. Next, she made a plea to Istus, the goddess of fate, that their sacrifice wouldn't be in vain. And finally, one for herself. A prayer to Bahamut, the greatest of all dragonkind and the final judge of every dragon's fate. A request for forgiveness and… guidance. The road ahead was still long, and she needed to know that when the time came, her path would be clear. And then… nothing. There was no ray of light from the heavens, or choir of angels. Nothing telling her that her prayers had been answered, much less heard. She sighed. Just her luck. As she laid back against the cold wood of the pew and drifted out of consciousness, she had one final thought. I wish I was home.
Unfortunately, somebody else heard that.
Eikka had never seen her home in such a state. Hundreds of kobolds, fighting for their lives. Several tunnels were tactically collapsed into chokepoints, and her family was using every tool at their disposal to fend off waves of elemental invaders. It gave her a grim sense of pride, in a way. They had spent hundreds of years setting up traps just in case they were attacked, but nobody had actually expected to use them. They were certainly holding their own, but for every opponent they slayed, another one reformed. It was only a matter of time before they were completely overrun. It was agonizing, to be so close to them and yet so far. She reached out and tried to touch her brother's shoulder, just to let him know she was there, but her hands simply phased through him. She fired her crossbow at a water elemental that was sweeping some of her friends from school down the tunnels, but her bolt collided with nothing and silently vanished. All she could do was watch. A year and a half earlier, she had given up hope of ever seeing them again at all. After all, none of the other fifty-one scouts had come back. Why would she? Then, from beside her, a voice. It was him. For once, she didn't immediately draw her weapon on him. She knew why he was here, why he was showing her this. He spoke, and she listened. He gave observations, warnings. And as usual, an offer. Safety, for her family. All she had to do was… well, it was a secret. He promised to be in contact soon, once they reached the Castle. Then, as quickly as he had appeared, he was gone. As Eikka looked out on her family, fighting and dying, she wished she knew what to do.
And then Eikka woke up.
Sourceless sunlight streamed in through the windows, illuminating the altar at the front of the shrine. Listlessly, she gathered her equipment and thanked the priest for his hospitality. She would have preferred to stay there all day, of course. How do you just get back to work after something like _that_? But her team needed her, and the world needed her team. And the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.
She kept replaying the scene in her mind as she ran to the skydock, desperately searching her mind for some piece of old wisdom that would help her make the right choice. As she turned a corner and the racing ships came into view, she was struck with a horrible, sickening thought.
What would she do if Stonehome was "the few"?