Giving In

Faerûn had never been a fair world. Here, the differences between races were widely acknowledged. In Faerûn, not even the most radical paladin would entertain the notion that all people were born equal. "Freedom" and "equality" had never appeared in Faerûn's history.

It made sense when one thought about it. Talking about freedom and equality in Faerûn, with its medieval-like level of productivity, was simply laughable. What right did an ordinary farmer have to be mentioned in the same breath as a professional?

A professional in this world could protect a group of ordinary people. What could a farmer do? Any random monster in the wilderness could kill a farmer. Without the protection of nobles and professionals, commoners had no ability to survive in this dangerous world.

Under such circumstances, asking a farmer to be equal to a noble, or even a professional—had anyone considered how the professionals would feel?

It was the same among humans, and it was the same between other races. Some creatures were simply born stronger than humans. That was a fact no one could deny. So even Saililefu, a rookie paladin fresh out of the gate, felt that Groot had completely brought this upon himself with his reckless behavior.

(Here, it must be emphasized again that paladins were fundamentally different from the human rights champions many people imagined them to be. Their foremost faith was always order! Not equality. The fairness they pursued also existed within the established order. No paladin would demand that a noble pay with his life for killing a commoner. That was unrealistic and did not conform to the laws of most nations on the continent. They would only ensure that the noble received punishment within the law. Of course, if the noble was utterly deranged, that would be another matter.