Bernard was an average citizen of the Empire.

He was in his 30's, married his wife at 20, and they had two wonderful sons- one of them being 4 and the other 6.

For all human nations, 15 was the age of adulthood, and so marrying at 20 was slightly late but not excessively so.

He worked a regular job as a baker day in and day out.

He was not a bad man, but he had his prejudices here and there. It was rare that he met elves, but most of the elves he had met were usually mercenaries who were on the run from their own countries as criminals... needless to say, he didn't exactly like elves.

All the elves he ever met had only caused him trouble... and perhaps those views had seeped into his children subconsciously.

He understood deep in his heart that he shouldn't judge all elves based only on the ones he met, but he couldn't exactly find it in his heart to change his beliefs.

'I should probably try to break the cycle... if my children are saying things like that to elves then it could cause them a lot of problems later in their lives...'

Bernard was concerned as to the way his children had acted when he was trying to make a sale to a group of elven mercenaries.

They hadn't stole anything, but they made off with a small fortune in what was basically theft. For just a small bit of information they charged him a ridiculous fee.

Even so, he tried to forget about those elves. They hadn't officially done anything wrong or criminal, and he needed the information otherwise he would have been in a pinch, so perhaps Bernard should put those prejudiced thoughts aside. For now, he had a job to do.

After selling out the rest of the fresh bread in the shop, he and his family would head on a short trip to find this farmer that those elves had mentioned.

'They better not have been lying... if they were, I'll have them hunted... they had pins which suggested that they were of corporal rank, so if I give my story to the guild I might be able to have them tried for such a lie.... then it will actually have been theft.'

The bell of the bakery rang a few times and a few people stepped in. They were regular customers at Bernard's Bakery.

"Welcome, everyone! Were having a sale today! 75% off!", Bernard shouted as he flipped the price signs back to their original values. Those who already knew the market price well would not take well to being cheated.

'Well... just call it a little tariff for the foreigners... I'm not cheating anyone...'

-----

After the sales had completed and all the bread was sold out, Bernard gathered his wife and sons.

"Pack up the carriage and gather the money. Were going to head over to that farm to see if there's any wheat to purchase. You two better help me load it up when we get there, alright?"

"Ok dad!"

"Yes, dad!"

'Those are my good little boys...'

Malicia immediately headed to gather the things for a quick trip, and Bernard grabbed both of his sons in either arm and headed out to the carriage.

He loaded his sons into the back. It was a wagon with an overhanging cover, and Bernard mounted in the drivers seat while waiting for his wife to arrive. His two boys sat side by side twiddling their feet in excitement for the adventure.

"Where are we going, dad?"

"Were going to a farm to buy some wheat. I just said that."

"When are we gonna get there?"

"We haven't even left yet."

"Is it gonna be fun?"

"Those elves said that the farmer was a nice lady and that she had two sons who you both can play with. I'm sure you'll have lots of fun."

"Yay!"

"Yay!"

Bernard simply smiled on seeing his two sons anticipating the journey to a new place.

'I should try to be a better father for them... I should try to be a better role model... perhaps I should stop discriminating and thinking bad things about the elves... those ones were a little sneaky, but they weren't bad... it's true, they took me for surprise when they charged me so much for that information, however... it was indeed information that I needed. Maybe I would have done the same if it was for the sake of business...'

Bernard started reconsidering his own methods.

'Maybe I shouldn't have charged double on them just because they were elves... perhaps... perhaps I will do fair business from now onward. Yeah. From now on, I won't charge anyone different prices just based off of race alone... I should try to overcome my own prejudices. After seeing my children take on after them... I don't want to see that again.'

Bernard vowed to change his ways and stop negatively influencing his children to hate the elven race.

His wife mounted into the passenger seat, and Bernard slapped the reins of the horses. The carriage was off.

'But if this tip proves to be a lie, then I will never again trust an elf.'

----

After traveling for about 20 minutes by carriage, Bernard and his family began to see the small wooden hut in the distance.

'Well I'll be... those elves weren't lying. I suppose I owe them an apology... not that it will ever make it to them. I probably won't ever see them again'

Bernard was right. He indeed would never see them again.

"Malicia."

"Yes, Bernard?"

"Let's stop charging elves double rates."

"Hm? Why is that?"

"I don't think we should be raising our children with prejudice in our actions. They will take after us. We are there role models. We shouldn't be charging people double the rate just because of our burdened past."

Bernard and Malicia had been robbed 10 years prior. They were born and raised in the same village that they were currently living in. It was a small town, one where everyone knew each other for the most part, however it was larger than the average small town. There were about 400 inhabitants total.

The marketplace was a hub for trade, and it attracted many visitors... some of them being not so welcome.

It was not excessively common, but once in a while elven mercenaries would show up.

The elven mercenaries were known for their deception.

The Alliance was an isolated country, and they were very distrusting of humans. The elves and dwarves had- hesitantly at first- formed a single country and worked together, however even now the country was split between the eastern dwarven side and the western elven side.

The Alliance was located on the southern end of the west half of the sideways hourglass. On the east side of the Alliance to the north of it was the border with the empire, on the west side of the Alliance to the north was the border with the Kingdom, and in the middle to the north was the border with the Sultinate.

Most elves were known for their prestige. Typically, they lived in forests, however there were different types of elves. Wood elves such as Trevor lived in the forests, however high elves lived in cities, whereas dark elves lived underground.

The issue lied in the prestige of the elves. The Alliance was a group of extremely distrusting groups towards other countries and peoples, and often they would banish their criminals to other countries- leaving it as the problem of someone else to take care of.

A band of wood elves who were caught in a robbery were banished from the Alliance, and sentenced to leave the country. They decided to leave for the Empire in the hopes of becoming mercenaries and living out their lives as they pleased.

Bernard and his wife had just set up their own bakery after working hard for years to save up the investment. It was a small little hut in a corner of town, however they had become very popular among the locals as they were well known.

The band of wood elves- the 'Skinners', as they were called, raided the bakery on the outskirts of town.

Along with many homes, all valuables were stolen and the buildings in the area were burned down by the Skinners.

Bernard watched in horror as the building was put to the torch by those elves. His wife held him back from running out there and beating the shit out of the elves- because she didn't want her husband to lose his life. They wielded weapons, and smiled as they torched the buildings.

Bernard and Malicia's eyes were filled with tears, and their heads ached in pain as they cursed the elves who burned down everything that they had worked for.

Fortunately, he and his wife had kept their lives. They had a major setback, and it was a devastating loss that invoked hatred towards the elves in the hearts of the two.

From that day on, Bernard always had a glare in his eye every time an elven customer came up to make a purchase. The townspeople had taken pity on the family and helped him and his wife to rebuild, but the psychological scars remained.

The hatred remained.

But it was now time for Bernard to get over his grudge.

Perhaps it was unreasonable to hate every single elf for the deeds of a few, however...

His hatred was continuously fueled.

Every time he heard about the deeds of the Skinners, or any other similar groups for that matter, he spit in disgust and cursed.

"Damn elves..."

Even after the Skinners were approached and defeated by one of the Captains in the military, the hatred had been so clogged and built up that it never dissipated.

Even after that, he would still hear of elven criminals performing petty thievery and other heinous acts, and every time someone spoke of one of these things, Bernard was reminded all over again of his tragic past.

"Why would we need to charge elven scum the same rate as decent folk?", Malicia asked in resoonse to Bernards sudden change of heart.

"I think it's about time we moved on. We've rebuilt, and we now have two children to think about. Who knows. Perhaps there are some decent elves out there."

"I highly doubt that. Lets talk about this later."

"Alright."

The carriage had arrived at the wooden hut. Bernard parked it on the side of the road and hopped off, and went over to help his wife down before getting the two boys out of the back.

The four headed for the front door. Bernard took a look at the field that spanned the horizon.

'Without a doubt, whoever is managing this farm knows what they're doing. For just a single family to be able to tend to such a large parcel of land is amazing...'

Bernard knocked on the door, and it opened so quickly that it was a bit creepy. Before his hand had even hit the second tap, the door was already on its way opening. There was a certain smell which entered his nose as soon as the door was opened, however Bernard couldn't exactly make out what it was. It was... salty?

In front of him stood a young braided girl- only around 20 years old. She had a toothy smile and looked at him and his family with popped out eyes that rapidly flashed back and forth from person to person with energy.

"My oh my... so many visitors today... first the elves, and now an entire family... please, come in! Come in! Allow us to make you all something to eat! We would love to accommodate you!"

"Ah... I see... I am Bernard. I was sent here by a group of elves who said that there was a farm here. Actually... I'm a baker, and I'm in a bit of a pinch... my regular wheat supplier is unable to provide his usual crop, so I am currently looking for another place to purchase wheat from."

"Oh! I see I see! Please, come in! Make ya'llselves at home! I reckon ya'll are starvin' from the journey here! Please, sit down! Let me get ya'll something to eat, we can talk bout that later."

The woman urged the family to take a seat, and the four did. The two sons sat on the lap of their father and mother respectively, and the woman soon brought out a potato like dish for the family to eat. The potatoes had chunks of meat spread throughout them, and when Bernard tasted it he couldn't help but eat more.

'Mmm! This is delicious! What type of meat is this? I've never had anything like this before... its so juicy and tender... and to mix it in mashed potatoes... what an odd yet delicious recipe..."

The two ate the potatoes from their own plates, and fed some to their own sons. When they finished, the woman collected the dishes.

"I hope you liked the food. My name is Bella, and I live here with my two sons, Durst and Faux. Pleased to meet ya'll."

The woman then placed her hands as if they were on the shoulders of two children standing on each side of her- however there were no such children.

"Don't be shy, boys. Say hello to the nice family. Go on."