Valkyrie's Shadow

Chapter 10

They didn’t stay long with the clerk from the Merchant Guild, not wanting to take up what was likely limited time for him and his staff. What they learned, however, was invaluable in developing their picture of the Human country. After leaving the office, Xoc breathed a quiet sigh as she stole glances at the Humans peeking at them from the second and third-floor windows around the plaza.

“I don’t get it,” Xoc said. “How could he treat you as guests just like that? We’re their enemies.”

“You’re wrong about that,” Saraca said. “Neither I nor any of my entourage is one of the Draconic Kingdom’s enemies, nor are we enemies of that clerk. The world is not simply divided by race, and individual members of any given race aren’t all the same. Humans are considered a prey species by many, but that doesn’t mean they’re stupid. They can differentiate between individuals of other races just like you and I.”

“But can they really change their attitude that quickly? They’ve been invaded and eaten for over half a year by people who look just like us.”

“Humans are not a race gifted with psionics, so they need tangible ways to differentiate us from other Beastmen. Devi provided them.”

“The Merchants from Rol’en’gorek do not conduct themselves as I do,” Devi explained. “Rol’en’gorek doesn’t have a Merchant Guild, so they also wouldn’t know Merchant Guild procedures or even use it in the first place. I have physical proof of my identity as a member of the Merchant Guild. The difference between myself and the Beastmen invading their country is as clear as night is from day, and it’s more than enough to have them reframe me from a dangerous threat to a member of their organisation.”

Overall, the Draconic Kingdom fell far out of line with their expectations of a Human nation whose lands had supposedly been ruined two centuries previous. The clerk’s overview of the Draconic Kingdom’s economy and industry didn’t place them anywhere close to the same level of sophistication as the central powers, but they were still closer to Stormport than they were to Rol’en’gorek.

Not only did they have a Merchant Guild, but it had branched out into dozens of smaller, specialised guilds. That could only happen if the situation warranted it, so the Draconic Kingdom was evidently a country that had been firmly on its way to developing more advanced industries. The cultural, economic and political realities that came with such development had already started to transform them from their tribal roots.

The expansive land and water infrastructure showed that they had a robust transportation network. They were about halfway transitioned from tribal governance to a centralised bureaucracy and endeavoured to maintain rule of law. Its diverse religious representation suggested a high degree of tolerance and they had hundreds of longstanding economic treaties with the Demihuman populations off of their coast.

When visiting countries on the fringes of civilisation, those who were informed of his coming often put on airs or even set up entire towns and villages to create a false impression of their suitability as affiliates of the Beastman Confederacy. What the Draconic Kingdom had, however, was impossible to fabricate so broadly.

Unfortunately, none of their progress made up for the fact that they lacked the martial strength to fend off the colossus on their eastern border. Saraca mused over the irony that the country being conquered by a potential candidate for Confederacy affiliation was a better candidate than the candidate. Confederacy policy required that such a distant candidate be independently strong, however, as an economically-sound military alliance was not feasible.

“Are you going to help them?” Xoc asked, “That thing he gave you…are you really going to bring it to Stormport?”

“As a member of the Merchant Guild,” Devi replied, “it is my responsibility to do so.”

“But…”

The young Ocelo fell silent. Saraca suppressed a chuckle as she stole glances at the pouch where Devi had put away the letter.

“This is another important lesson that you must learn,” he said. “One that tribal societies like Rol’en’gorek often learn too late.”

“That the Merchant Guild is powerful?”

“They are, in a way, but that wasn’t the lesson I had in mind. What you need to understand is that the fate of a people may be decided without their knowing. Two parties sitting across a table from one another may divide a land between them without the consent or awareness of the millions of people residing in that land. Deals can be made to turn eyes away from abuse and exploitation. Countries may refrain from intervening in a blatant injustice simply because it is politically inconvenient or uneconomical. All that is needed to justify an atrocity against those ‘outside’ of the greater fabric of society is a shallow excuse or the most minor of incidents. Truth is unnecessary.”

“But…but that’s unfair!” Xoc sniffed, “It’s unfair and it’s terrible! You’re basically saying that people can say whatever they want to do anything that they want. How can we even fight that?”

“Fundamentally,” Saraca said, “it’s not much different from what you’re familiar with. When push comes to shove, people do this sort of thing because they believe that they can get away with it.”

“So we need to become so strong that no one will mess with us.”

“Martial strength is what many attempt to resort to, yes. But I believe that is a result of limited development or ignorance of their other options. Take the Merchant Guild, for instance. You were surprised and disturbed by the idea that Merchants could be a threat because your assessment of Merchants only factors in their physical strength as individuals. However, you should already know that those with resources can use those resources to purchase the time and skills of others. That’s essentially what the civilian castes do when they pay tribute to the warrior castes, yes?”

“I guess…” Xoc looked over her shoulder at the Merchant Guild office, “So they’re going to pay other people to attack us? Do those people even exist?”

“They do,” Saraca replied, “though employing those people is a calculation in itself. The Merchant Guild is, hm…that guild branch that we visited could be considered a tribe, and each sub-guild is a caste within that tribe. They have a regional headquarters – probably in the Draconic Kingdom’s capital – and each guild branch in the Draconic Kingdom answers to it as tribes do a clan. The organisation can be found around the world, making it a sort of ‘super-clan’, for simplicity’s sake.”

“So like a tribe or clan,” Xoc said, “they have to figure out how to keep it from happening again.”

“Exactly. Just like how your clans may retaliate against raids or challenges to their territorial dominance. What the Merchant Guild defends is not territory, however, but commerce. If there are disruptions to commerce, they will finance the appropriate measures to resolve that disruption. Thief-catchers will be hired to deal with thieves; mercenaries contracted to eliminate bandits; armies and navies dispatched to punish pirates, tribes, and even whole countries. They hire Assassins to kill those who break their regulations – even if the breach was committed by one of their own members.”

“But we conquered a country!” Xoc swallowed, “H-how many of these Merchant tribes did we attack?”

Mitra produced the map that Girika had procured.

“Let’s see…one, two…eight cities…plus the ninth one that they talked about in the south. There are dozens of major towns that probably have minor branches, too.”

“That clerk said that they’ve left the Merchants themselves alone,” Devi noted. “So any punitive measures would be in response to the sacking of their branch offices and eating the clerical staff.”

“That means it won’t be as bad, right?” Xoc wrung her paws nervously.

“Perhaps,” the Merchant was nonchalant. “I believe that they are more likely to level sanctions against your country. Armies are expensive, after all.”

The young Ocelo breathed a sigh of relief.

“‘Sanctions’ isn’t a cue to breathe easy,” Saraca told her. “Do you know what they are?”

“No, but it’s better than getting attacked, right?”

“It is getting attacked. Economically. For example, they could triple the prices of salt from the Tears of Lut or cut off the supply altogether.”

“…didn’t you say that our Nug need salt to live?”

“Yes.”

Xoc started sputtering incoherently, cradling her head in her paws.

“We’re going to die,” her eyes swirled. “Everyone is going to starve! I don’t want to eat other people! No, wait, we can raid for salt, right? ‘Sanctions’ isn’t an army, so we can still get it like that.”

“It would be a good way to get your people killed before they turn on one another in desperation,” Saraca replied. “The Blue Dragons of the Great Lut would annihilate any attempted raid on their domain. Either way, whether you die from botched raids or starvation wouldn’t matter to the Merchant Guild: their objective would be to cut Rol’en’gorek’s population down to a more manageable size.”

“That’s cowardly. They’re hiding behind other people while attacking us with ‘sanctions’! Using Dragons, no less.”

That reminds me…

They still hadn’t figured out why the Draconic Kingdom was called the Draconic Kingdom. It can’t have just been the Humans hiding behind the idea that Dragons were protecting them.

“That’s the way the world works,” Devi told Xoc. “Everything is interconnected. Not only would those raids be a hostile incursion, but the Merchant Guild facilitates the flow of trade, which generates revenues for the Great Lut. It is in the best interests of the Storm Dragon Lord to cooperate with the Merchant Guild.”

“But Rol’en’gorek buys salt from them, right?”

“You have no choice but to buy salt from them,” Devi corrected her. “Blue Dragons are orderly and patient. In a broad sense, society is putting upstarts in their place, which is to everyone’s long-term benefit. From their perspective, they are disciplining an unruly child.”

Xoc let out a helpless moan. She reached out and shook Saraca’s arm.

“I have to fix this. How do I fix this? There must be a way to fix this, right?”

“What’s done is done,” Saraca said. “You can only face the consequences.”

“I don’t like these consequences! I didn’t even do this! My people live in a city a thousand kilometres away! They don’t even know what Humans look like! Argh, this is Rana Dratha’s fault…”

Ah–she demoted him.

“That’s another thing to note,” Saraca said. “Associations matter. Even though you may not have personally done anything wrong, others are more than willing to judge you according to your connections. You are not considered an individual – you are a member of a group. Anything that others in your group do or become known for will become attributed to you, for better or worse.”

“Is this what you meant by war coming to my clan?” Xoc asked, “Did you already know about this all the way back in Ghrkhor’storof’hekheralhr?”

“We didn’t know what was going on in the Draconic Kingdom back then,” Saraca said. “But the problem facing your clan is fundamentally the same. You will have resources that other people need, and if force is the easiest way to obtain it, one must assume that someone will make the attempt.”

“So we need to be strong enough to fight them off…but that only goes so far, doesn’t it? Starving people stop caring about the rules. They’ll do whatever they can to survive. We’d be overrun by our hungry neighbours.”

“Very good,” Saraca nodded. “I’m glad you understand that. Unless one is so powerful that they are impossible to challenge, the attention and energy of the masses need to be managed in some way. In your case, it can’t just be ‘no, you can’t steal our food’. It has to be ‘no, you can’t steal our food, but here’s something else that you can do to obtain it’. The alternatives need to be understandable, achievable and more attractive than employing force.

“Though they may not consciously understand what’s going on, Ghrkhor’storof’hekheralhr’s citizens already live according to sets of rules that employ these principles. That makes it easy for your clan to integrate what they’re doing into the workings of the city. This, in turn, builds up power for your clan: economic and political power. The strength of those whom you become interdependent with becomes your strength, as maintaining what you have is in the best interests of all who benefit from it.”

“I can see how that will help us with our own people,” Xoc said, “but how will that save us from the Merchant Guild?”

“In the same way that I got through to that clerk,” Devi told her. “Most races gauge others by comparing them with what they are familiar with. In this situation, the Draconic Kingdom is not only the victim in the literal sense, but also an ideological sense. Civilised nations who are aware of what’s going on here will identify with and favour the Draconic Kingdom because it has more similarities with them than Rol’en’gorek does. Rol’en’gorek, on the other hand, will be seen as nothing more than a ravening horde of feral savages. By showing you’ve adopted systems that they’re familiar with, you become less a threat that requires forceful taming and more a potential market to add to their trade network.”

“Stop!”

Saraca’s entourage assumed a defensive formation and peered warily at their surroundings. The few Humans watching them fearfully from their homes vanished from their windows.

“What’s wrong, Karuvaki?” Saraca asked.

“Erm, there’s no threat. That intersection we just passed…”

Karuvaki’s voice trailed off as she backtracked and went north up a side street. She stopped in front of a small, but familiar-looking temple. A trace of incense filtered into Saraca’s nostrils as they walked in through the front gate.

“I couldn’t tell since the temples in the other cities were thoroughly pillaged, but this leaves no room for doubt, does it?”

“What is it?” Xoc asked.

“A Buddhist temple,” Karuvaki answered. “Well, more of a shrine. The important part is that the Path of Enlightenment has a following in the Draconic Kingdom.”

Xoc stared blankly at the explanation. Saraca cleared his throat.

“It’s closely related to our own practices,” he told the young Ocelo.

“You mean you worship the same gods?”

“Buddhists don’t worship a god,” Saraca said. “They are disciples of a Buddha: an awakened one. A samyaksambuddha – one who independently obtained perfect enlightenment and has chosen to make others aware of the dharma – founded Buddhism hundreds of years ago. Dharma is the cosmic order that governs all things in the universe. Buddhists seek to achieve enlightenment just as the various Buddhas have.”

“Er…that sounds powerful, I guess?”

Saraca furrowed his brow at Xoc’s only takeaway. There were stories about Buddhas flattening cities with a palm slap and all manner of other supreme feats, but that was far from the point of enlightenment.

A shaven Soryo appeared at the entrance to the shrine, adorned in a black kasaya. He shook his iron-headed khakkhara and slammed its base on the ground. In response, Kasturi and her fellow priests pressed their paws together and offered a respectful bow of greeting. The stern-faced monk’s features faltered slightly.

“Greetings, good monk,” Karuvaki said. “My name is Karuvaki, a priestess. We are travellers from the distant southeast. Though we are not Buddhists, we, too, observe the dharma in all of its aspects.”

The Soryo looked at them for a long moment before returning the greeting.

“You are welcome here, Karuvaki. My name is Ilaan: a Zagen of this shrine.”

“A Zagen?” Karuvaki said, “Are any of the senior staff present?”

“The Osho rejoined the river of souls when Rivergarden fell. He was a righteous man, so I’m sure some interesting reincarnation awaits him.”

“I see. I was surprised to find a Buddhist temple here. What school is this?”

“The Zen school of the south,” Ilaan replied. “The missionary who built this temple arrived in the Draconic Kingdom nearly sixty years ago.”

“Does that mean Buddhism is widespread in this region?”

A tight smile creased the Soryo’s face.

“No,” he shook his head. “The locals don’t care much for our ways here. They are too…superficial. The Draconic Kingdom aside, two faiths dominate the Human countries of this region: that of The Four and The Six.”

“I believe we’ve seen their temples on the way here,” Karuvaki said. “Worship of the elements is common in Rol’en’gorek, so they’ve been repurposed to serve the Beastmen’s spiritual needs. The gods of death and life from the temples of The Six have been removed to create more elemental temples.”

Ilaan let out an amused grunt.

“I’m sure the Theocracy will be thrilled when they hear about that. You probably don’t want to be here when they come around.”

“The Slane Theocracy is the Human-centric nation across the lake, if I’m not mistaken?”

“You are not,” the monk replied.

“What is the Theocracy’s relationship to the Draconic Kingdom? Unlike this country, they don’t seem like the tolerant sort.”

“They’re not,” Ilaan agreed. “The Temple of the Six isn’t as…aggressive about its teachings in the Draconic Kingdom as they are in the Theocracy, but the Draconic Kingdom’s relationship with its Beastman neighbours means that a not-insubstantial portion of the population worships The Six. When major raids occur, they usually dispatch military assistance to beat the invaders back.”

“Did they not do that this time?”

“Not yet, at any rate. They have an ongoing war with the Elves of the Great Forest of Evasha to the southwest, so that may be what’s causing the delay.”

So the powerful forces that Clan Torokgha was waiting for didn’t belong to the Draconic Kingdom in the first place?

Did Rana Dratha know what was going on? It would certainly make Khhschlr’s reckless certainty far more sensible. In war, quickly seizing advantage of good luck and timing could easily overturn careful planning and solid logistics.

“In the event that they finally appear,” Saraca asked, “will they be able to turn the current invasion?”

“Oh, of that I have no doubt,” Ilaan said. “While I find the tenets of their faith reprehensible, their Human-centric views cause them to react with extreme prejudice to events like this. They are by far the strongest country in the region, and the reprisal for this invasion will be absolutely deadly.”

“What is it that makes them so strong?”

“They’ve existed for nearly six centuries, with all that entails.”

“Six centuries?” His tail twitched, “We heard that some calamitous event referred to as the ‘Demon Gods’ brought ruin to this region two centuries ago.”

“You know about them?” The Soryo arched an eyebrow, “The Slane Theocracy is the only country that survived intact from that time. They played a crucial role in rebuilding the Human countries in the region. The wake of that calamity was also a prime opportunity to spread their religion, of course.”

Was that possible? According to the Merchant map, the Slane Theocracy wasn’t a particularly large country. Statistically speaking, such a small population of Humans wouldn’t be able to muster the force to resist multiple Atirathi-class entities. Unless…

“These ‘Six Great Gods’ that they worship: do you know anything about them?”

“They’re treated as the saviours of humanity,” Ilaan replied. “They descended to live with the Humans that eventually founded the Slane Theocracy six hundred years ago. That’s what they say, at any rate.”

They have demigods of an unknown legacy…

The Slane Theocracy had divine bloodlines. It was one of the only ways to explain how they had survived, and they were possibly the reason that the Demon Gods were defeated. Since they had a decidedly belligerent, Human-centric mandate, they could have even bided their time while all of the non-Human countries around them were destroyed. It was a neat little package.

At the same time, it didn’t bode well for everyone else in the present day. Not only did they have a divine bloodline circulating in their population, but they also potentially had astra. The Minos League had several of them, which were enough to tide them over against their enemies when a demigod wasn’t born in a generation. An overambitious Confederacy venture in the past had found that out the hard way.

“Wait,” Saraca furrowed his brow. “You said they were at war with an Elven country of some sort as well?”

“I don’t think it can be considered a country in the sense that you imply, but yes. They are one of many humanoid and Demihuman ‘kingdoms’ in the Great Forest of Evasha. Wood Elves, I think?”

What ridiculous calamities there are out here.

Saraca suppressed a shudder. To counterbalance the power of a demigod, one needed a demigod of their own. If they were fighting Elves, then there was a significant chance that it was a scion of the Eight. It was not a conflict that anyone in their right mind would want to get close to.

“What about the other countries in the region?” Saraca asked, “We have a trade map, but those things don’t go into much detail about anything. I assume that they’re all Human…”

“In the north,” Ilaan said, “the Baharuth Empire and the Kingdom of Re-Estize are governed and populated entirely by Humans. The Holy Kingdom of Roble is majority Human, but they have friendly relations with the aquatic Demihumans off their shores. Unfortunately, they’re on bad terms with the Demihumans in the Abelion Hills on their eastern border.”

“What about the City State Alliance and the Argland Confederation?”

“The City State Alliance was once a single large country called Karnassus, but I believe it shattered when the Demon Gods appeared. Each city and its constituent territories has a mixed population of humanoids, Demihumans and Heteromorphs.”

“Is it a harmonious society?”

“I’ve never been there, but that should mostly be the case, yes. Horror stories about people being eaten by other people tend to circulate readily in the region, and I’ve not heard of any from there. The same can be said for the Argland Confederation.”

“Do you have any idea of the other races that reside there? Minotaurs, for instance?”

“Not that I know of. In terms of notable races, the Argland Confederation is renowned in the region for having Dragons in their ruling council – one of them being the Platinum Dragon Lord.”

“Hoh…”

It made sense that one of the world’s Keepers would have a base of operations in the area. The generally benevolent Platinum Dragon Lord was well-known for founding countries around the world for various purposes – one of them being to keep countries with a history of producing demigods in check. If he had founded a country nearby, then Saraca’s speculations about Slane and Evasha were likely correct.

“Despite being so far from the centre of the continent,” Saraca said. “This region of the world has some interesting things going on. Since the Draconic Kingdom appears to be a relatively progressive state, can I expect the other Human nations to be safe to travel in? Barring the Slane Theocracy, of course.”

“I fear not,” Ilaan said. “The Draconic Kingdom is probably the most ‘civilised’ country in the region by your standards.”

“Why is that?”

“The society that you see in the Draconic Kingdom was cultivated through the wisdom of its timeless Queen, Draudillon Oriculus.”

“Is the name of this country a part of that ‘timeless wisdom’?”

“What do you mean?”

“I’ve heard it said that the Draconic Kingdom doesn’t have any Dragons in it.”

The Soryo frowned slightly.

“Is that not the case?” Saraca asked.

“Not at all,” Ilaan answered, “Draudillon Oriculus is also known as the Black Scale Dragon Lord.”

“…so she’s a Dragon who rules over Humans.”

“She is a Human descended from Dragons. Draudillon Oriculus is the great-granddaughter of the Brightness Dragon Lord.”

Eh…

Saraca’s entire entourage gaped at the monk, who took an involuntary step backwards.

『It’s time to run away, ji.』

『What, you don’t want to say hello to your cousin?』

『Nope. She has a Dragon Lord title. That means she has something crazy up her sleeve. I don’t want to be anywhere near this country when that crazy happens.』

“Do you have any sigils or banners of the Draconic Kingdom, for reference’s sake?” Saraca asked Ilaan, “The Beastmen here were very thorough about claiming trophies of their conquest and anything they thought of value. We haven’t seen a single banner of this country yet.”

“Just a moment.”

The Soryo disappeared into a back door, reappearing a minute later with a document that had an official seal on the bottom. Saraca and his wives stared at it for a good, long time.

This is bad…

Only a certain type of Dragon Lord was permitted to use the sigil displayed on the document. Mitra’s continued urging grew ten times more insistent, urging him straight out of the shrine.

“We’re going back to the boat,” Saraca said.

“I thought that official from back then said we shouldn’t take a boat any further,” Xoc said.

“We’re not going any further,” Saraca replied, “we’re returning to Rol’en’gorek.”

“Huh? Why?”

“Because there’s a Dragon Lord here,” Mitra told her. “Not just any Dragon Lord: a descendant of one of the most powerful Dragon Lords in the world. That variety of Dragon Lord tends to be extremely patient, but when they decide to act, even one’s soul is not safe from their wrath.”

“I’m sorry, Xoc,” Saraca placed a paw on the young Ocelo’s head. “I wanted for you to see more of the world, but it’s not safe here. We’ll have to continue your lessons back in the jungle.”

Saraca slowed down as they backtracked through the main plaza and crossed the Merchant Guild office again. The men and women working in the office seemed resigned to their fates, but they might serve some purpose yet. The Buddhist would probably be good to bring along as well.

“Xoc,” he asked, “how do you feel about picking up a few slaves? I’m certain they’ll be useful.”

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