He stopped, waiting for the impact of his words.
But it did nothing. The deeply ingrained pride of the first human nation ran too deep, and the fear of losing their identity outweighed their fear of death. To them, a short, mortal life as a human was worth more than an eternity as something else.
When the final deliberation was over, the division was stark and devastating. Out of the hundreds of thousands of citizens living beneath the shattered dome, Erik was only able to convince a meager few ten-thousands to step forward and stand by his side. The vast majority remained where they were, tightly grouped together, rejecting his offer with quiet, hardened eyes.
