The next day I woke up to a shrill blast. Groggy, I woke up and threw on some clothes. I went over to the window and pulled open the curtains. I was greeted by a parade, there were horns and people walking and celebrating. On a large float, there was Amber, clad in nice clothes and waving to everyone.
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She rounded a corner and disappeared from view. I went downstairs to find Traya dressed and by the door. “What’s the commotion?” I asked her.
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“No idea, but I suppose that girl of yours is at the center of it.” She replied.
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“She’s not my girl,” I protested. Speaking of which, Amber never came back here yesterday. What was she up to? “Let’s find Amber.”
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“Gotcha Silvi.” She opened the door. “Let’s go.”
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I followed her outside. Greeted by the watchers of the parade, we followed the float to the town center, where Amber jumped down from her perch and came to shake people’s hands. The tribe looked incredibly happy, their faces shining with pure joy. “Amber!” I called out.
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Hearing me, she looked up. “Master!” She shouted, and started making her way to me. Upon reaching me, she hugged me. “What are you doing?” I asked.
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“The tribesmen asked me to do this last night. I hope it was alright.”
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I grinned. “Alright? I guess it is. I’m just surprised.”
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“Thank you, master!”
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Traya sighed behind me as Amber moved to greet more people. “Don’t let it get to her head…”
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“I won’t.”
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We waited until the commotion died down. But while waiting, Elzi came and approached us.
“Your Majesty, the Head Priest, and the chieftain will come and see you now.”
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“Right now?”
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“Right now.”
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“Um, okay. C’mon Traya.”
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We followed Elzi to a large building behind the cathedral. The architecture of the demonkin was a lot more advanced than the humans. The buildings resembled late medieval to early renaissance buildings.
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We went inside and were led to a room in the back. It had a large round table that was surrounded by many demonkin. They all were part of the Mahillia tribe. Elzi beckoned to a man in a priest robe that was gaudier than others. “This is the head priest, Valentine.”
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The man bowed, she then went on to introduce the 9 other archpriests of the tribe. Finally, a man in more practical clothing introduced himself as the chieftain. The chieftain was named Akram, and very young looking.
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I smiled at everybody and greeted them with a positive attitude. The priests and the chieftain looked at me with keen interest. “I am Valentine, head priest of the church of Mahillia.” Valentine said, “The Mahillia have waited for the arrival of our god for a long time. Thank you for summoning Lord Amber, not only that but you did it so easily. As the hero of magic, you really know how to use your powers.”
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“Thank you,”447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQa9m2o07P6
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“Might I ask one thing,” He said.
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“Sure,”
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“As Lord Amber’s master, what do you plan on doing with her?”
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“Oh, well I guess I just want her to teach me magic and the like. She’s a pretty reliable companion and a nice person. Although she drives me crazy, she’s pretty useful.”
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“Perhaps I shall phrase my question better. I am glad you value our lord, but as her superior, you have access to her power. Will you abuse it?”
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“I see,” I said, getting what he said. “I don’t plan on abusing it, I seek only the security and prosperity of my nation. If anything threatens that, then I will use Amber’s power.”
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“I see, well we better not make you our enemy,” Said Akram, “As the chieftain of my tribe, I officially welcome you as one of our own.”
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The head priest bowed his head, “I as well, it is an honor to see you as a member.”
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I raised my eyebrows. “Wait, what do you mean? Do I have obligations or something like that? I’m all for joining your tribe, it's amazing, but what does that entail?”
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“Oh ho ho,” The chieftain chuckled, “Nothing much, we just recognize you as demonkin, hopefully that’s alright with you.”
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“I mean, yes it's fine. It would be weird to be Amber’s master and not be part of her tribe I guess.”
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“Very well, now everything is taken care of, there is only one thing that I am worried about.” Akram said.
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“What’s that?” I asked.
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“The other tribes, it has been centuries since the patron gods of our tribes have been called to earth. The tribes all agreed that summoning the aboriginals was supposed to be a collective decision. Due to the high cost of summoning and the power of the aboriginal demons, as much as we love them, the chieftains of the tribes agreed that the demons must be summoned sparingly.”
“It is beyond our control for humans or other species to summon demons so we also agreed that if that were to happen, then the demon summoning would be valid, and the tribe may meet their patron.”
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“The problem with you is that… You look like one of us, which is a good thing. But the other tribes may think we carried out the summoning ritual without their consent, and with no sacrifice. This might change the balance of power. If the other tribes learn that the aboriginals can be summoned without sacrifice, they’ll do it despite the risks. They will claim and justify anything. It might turn out to be a terrible calamity.”
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“I see…” I said again, understanding.
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“We must take you to the next tribal gathering next week. Perhaps if we explain the situation we can avoid bad questions and steer clear of this mess.” The chieftain said.
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The head priest nodded, “Not a word must leave this room,” he said to the archpriests.
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One of the priests, a girl in her late twenties, looked a little pained. I was worried about her expression.
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“I am sorry, but we ask you to stay a little longer, is that okay?” the chieftain asked.
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“It's fine, as long as it doesn’t take too long.” I said.
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“Thank you, I know this is no way to treat royalty…”
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“Nonsense, I mean, I’m still getting used to being one.”
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“You are one interesting royal…” The chieftain said, “You don’t act like human royalty, you really are strange….”
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“Thanks I guess, I mean, I didn’t grow up around here. Maybe that’s why I didn’t get the same mindset as other humans.”
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“Hmm,” The chieftain said, his intelligent eyes looking thoughtful.
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I smiled warily, “Is that all?”
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“Oh yes,” The head priest said, “I'm sorry to keep you here so long.”
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“No it's okay…” I wouldn’t have cut it short if it weren’t for the chieftain’s gaze. He looked scary. I had to keep an eye on him.
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I left the chamber with Traya following behind me. “Whew,” I said, “That chieftain freaked me out.”
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“Hmmm?” Traya remarked, “Oh right, I mean, sure. By the way, you said you didn't grow up here a lot. If you didn't grow up in the mass of man or demonkin, where did you?”
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“Uh,” I said. I knew not to reveal the fact that I was from another world, I knew that might attract the world god’s attention. But the people here would also not believe me. “I’m from a distant land. I received an unexpected patron and got his blessing to come here.”
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“Patron? Like what?”
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“A deity of sorts…”
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“Hmmmm,” I could tell Traya wasn’t satisfied, but she decided to leave it for now.
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“Let’s find Amber and tell her the news. Then we should send a letter to Razana.”
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Traya nodded. We did that, then went around exploring and introducing ourselves.
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The priests had given us identification, so our introductions went smoothly. Most everybody greeted us with kindness. Many of them saw that I had only unlocked Kinetic hair as my sole demonification derivative skill and taught me how to use a few others.
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I learned a skill called monster sentience. Demonkin could control monsters, this skill made humans wary of them and they often discriminated against demonkin for this reason. Monster sentience was the ability to give intelligence to a monster and recruit it as a familiar. The orc lord I fought earlier was an example of a familiar gone rogue due to either the master releasing it, or dying.
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I asked who would have released a beast like that, and got one answer. “Stygia Tribe.”
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The Stygia tribe worshiped the Black Demon. The black demon was dark and powerful. Although Amber had given me the idea that he wasn’t as bad as the stories say, at least, not as bad as a demon can get, the tribe that followed them exhibited signs of being heretics, or irrational thinking?
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The Sygia tribe had apparently mastered the art of collecting monsters. As practice, many younger Stygians tamed monsters and then released them. As a result, many rogue familiars existed. These rogue familiars were intelligent enough to either stow away on ships to the other continents or recruit marine animals to go to other continents.
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“That seems like a huge problem…” I said, the shopkeeper I was talking to was a young demonkin girl. Demonkin lived a long time, averaging about 400 years, but some of the others could live till 500 years. However, they matured at the same rate as humans, demi-humans, and other species. So the demonkin I was talking to must have been young.
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“Of course it is, while we can all control monsters, rogue familiars still cause problems when set loose. They can mess up supply chains and drive out other monsters and animals from the area. But the tribes can’t do anything about it, the Stygians hold too much power.”
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“Hmm” The conversation led me to try to study a bit more about the tribal power structures.
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My studies at the tribal library led me to understand the different tribes. First of all, while we say the 16 demonkin tribes, there were only 12 that held territory. The Pink, Beige, Brown, and Violet tribes had all lost territories or been absorbed into another tribe at one point or another.
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They were represented in the tribal convention, but those who were now part of other tribes were represented by the tribes they were now part of. The ones without territory were allowed to observe, but were given no vote. At the very least, they would be heard.
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The tribes without territory usually wandered the land, and were nomadic The Beige tribe had actually never held land and were originally nomadic. The Brown tribe were the developed nomads, as most of the Pink tribe was part of the Red tribe and the Violet tribe had mostly incorporated into the Purple tribe.
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Therefore, there were only 12 votes for the tribes. The tribes were given autonomy to handle internal and external affairs to the extent that the affairs had to with themselves. The affairs that were about all the tribes and affected the future of the tribes were to be decided in a council of chiefs from all the tribes. Each tribe was given one vote, and that would be respected.
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The Mahillia tribe, or the Yellow tribe was one of the 5 primaries. These were the tribes of Red, Blue, Green, Yellow, and Orange. These tribes traditionally had similar views and aligned themselves with each other. Chieftain Akram said that they’d most certainly support Amber being here without fuss and my incorporation into the Mahillia tribe. The other tribes included the Purple tribe, which was the largest tribe that allied itself with the Grey tribe. Finally there were the Gold and Silver tribes who aligned in opposition of the White and Black tribes.
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The metal tribes (Gold and Silver) had a long history of fighting with the Polar tribes (White and Black). The demons of those respective tribes have long since fought with each other for dominance for eons. Amber said that the demonic realm was often thrown into chaos from their constant fighting. The golden demon was rumored to be the strongest, but since every demon only had so much mana, meaning they could only compile and expend a finite amount, with no hopes of growth, the Gold demon was simply the most experienced. The other demons (Silver, White, and Black) were more than capable of giving him a challenge.
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The house we were staying at was provided for by the tribe, so we had no living expenses. The only difference was currency. The entire mass of man followed the Gold Cafonat standard. Cafonats were the coins minted by the dwarves, they were often just referred to by their metals (Gold, Silver, etc.). The demonkin used something called the Tribal Coin, or Tribals for short. They were minted by the Grey tribe, or Ferrous tribe. The Ferrous tribe was capable of handling metals the best and had the leading smiths and craftsmen among the demonkin.
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The Ferrous Demonkin were said to rival dwarves in skill. I had only Cafonats on me, so I humbly asked the Chieftain to exchange them for Tribals. Tribals were made of a metal called Trenorite. Trenorite could only be mined in the Ferrous Tribe’s land and only the Ferrous tribe knew of the secret to handling it.
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I bought several souvenirs for Razana, Herbert, and Jana back home. It was quite nice immersing myself in the culture of the Mahillia tribe. Amber had settled down and started joining me and Traya on our daily adventures. “So, what’s up with the tribe?” I asked her one night.
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“Hmmm? Oh nothing much.” She said quickly.
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With Amber around me, I noticed people acted a lot differently. At first I thought it was because Amber was their patron deity but then I noticed them eyeing me. I knew I looked like them and was unfamiliar, and Traya’s human- like looks were not often seen around these parts, but I had already introduced myself.
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Amber had come back to me three days after my visit. Since my meeting with the Chieftain and the Head Priest, I had not seen Elzi or the other leaders of the tribe at all. I noticed people whispering to each other and being secretive I had no idea what was going on.
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It was only until the Tribal Gathering where my questions would be answered. 447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡleIJ6z1H9j
