The tomboy elf, always so selfless and shy, was in full sass mode right now.
"Your guilds lobbied for the crafting exclusivity laws. Your merchant lords pressured the Elvardian crown to ban elven smithing. Every elf who's been punished for picking up a hammer has your people's fingerprints on their sentence."
Murmuring rippled through the dwarven ranks. Hands tightened on weapons. A sergeant near the front spat on the ground.
Kaelira looked him dead in the eye.
"Björn, the Father of Stone, forged for anyone with the will to learn."
She then looked over the whole dwarven line, spending long seconds staring into their eyes before declaring, "He would find your insecurity laughable."
The murmuring became a roar.
"Seize her!" A dwarven captain surged forward. "She's a deserter and a traitor! She invokes the Father's name to insult us?!"
"String her up!" another voice bellowed. "Elvardian military law is clear!"
Kaelira hadn't moved.
