"Elven Wizards"?

[Erts]

Why does Jirix say "wizards" here? (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0704.html) Is it because of the Soul Splice? Or because wizards implies to the goblins that no one elf could have done as much destruction as V did on the tower? Does it means that the goblins think V's attack was coordinated with Team Peregrine?

Questions questions questions...

[Gift Jeraff]

They did not know of Team Peregrine or any other elves in their city at that point. :redcloak: "I can't believe we actually HAVE elven insurgents in the city! (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0708.html)"

So, Jirix either believed the spliced souls were elven, or it was a fabrication to not make Gobbotopia seem like it is weak enough to receive that much trouble from a single person.

[JoseB]

I always thought that it was a propaganda thing: It looks better if you say that you have been attacked and hit badly (and have an important "azurite insurgent" sprung from prison) by an enemy that comes in numbers, than if you say that the attacker was a *lone* elf... You don't want to acknowledge any potential weakness to your adoring multitudes!

So, to sum up: I felt that it was a propaganda move --let's not say that there was only one elf who came and screwed us; better to imply that there were a bunch of enemies who overwhelmed us with their initial attack.

[Carduus]

It's totally PR spin. You don't want to scare the populous into thinking that a single man can (almost) take out your dictator, so you lie and say it was an army.

[mucat]

Exactly; he was addressing a crowd of his citizens and soldiers. What's he going to say -- "So, there was this one dude who damn near kicked all our asses"?

[Violet Octopus]

Also, one person attacking your dictator is a lone vigilante. An organised group or army is a Threat to the Nation and can be used to whip up fear and aggression among the populace.

[slayerx]

Propaganda...
All in all, they had no way of knowing if V was working alone, or if he was working with others... so they chose to spin the attack as an attack by the elves

Saying you were attacked by "elven insurgents" carries A LOT more weight than saying you were attacked by a random adventurer. The goblins will be able to make it sound like they were attacked by the elven lands and use that as an arm in international politics... The goblins can paint the attack as if they are now being victimized by someone who they never harmed and gain sympathy while making the elves look bad. They can also attract the attention of those who hate the elves and start building relationships with them; such as cliffport who is one of the elves big rivals in trading. Its also a good way to distract the goblins, making them focus more on outside threats as oppose to their own issues...

[Nimrod's Son]

:redcloak: "I can't believe we actually HAVE elven insurgents in the city! (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0708.html)"
Yep. If there was any doubt beforehand, that quote clears it up. Getting attacked by "an elf" and almost losing makes them look pretty lame. Getting attacked by "elven insurgents" is a bit more of a credible threat.

[dps]

I always thought that it was a propaganda thing: It looks better if you say that you have been attacked and hit badly (and have an important "azurite insurgent" sprung from prison) by an enemy that comes in numbers, than if you say that the attacker was a *lone* elf... You don't want to acknowledge any potential weakness to your adoring multitudes!

So, to sum up: I felt that it was a propaganda move --let's not say that there was only one elf who came and screwed us; better to imply that there were a bunch of enemies who overwhelmed us with their initial attack.

That's how I took it.

[Bogardan_Mage]

Yep. If there was any doubt beforehand, that quote clears it up. Getting attacked by "an elf" and almost losing makes them look pretty lame. Getting attacked by "elven insurgents" is a bit more of a credible threat.
More importantly, getting attacked by "elven insurgents" brings in Cliffport as a trading partner/ally. There was a little bit about how that was the deal maker in the negotiations with Cliffport.