Chapter 74: We have no need for slaves

It was Verin who had come to get Kanan, Selin, and Jol at Anuwat’s request. No one said a word as they marched through the rough soil toward the entrance of the village, or at least what would be the entrance if there were fences.

The guards’ dirty looks did not go unnoticed by the Nemean tribesmen, but they let it slide. After all, they were in enemy territory, and they had just defeated them in a war.

"Nemean scum." A woman muttered under her breath.

"Bastards."

"Go back to your own tribe."

"Don’t get cocky just because you beat us in combat."

Jol started to get offended; his fuse was short, but Kanan shook his head. They needed to get this out of their systems. Lives were lost, their battle was lost, and their home would be lost.

The Typhon Tribe also had the right to be angry, aggressors or not.

"Silence!" Anuwat bellowed. "Where is your pride? You should be thankful that they are not here to finish us off."

"They might as well be! If we decline their offer, we’ll die anyway!"

"Yeah, I’d rather die now! This way, we can kill their shaman and their blood of Nemean!"

"Yeah!"

"Who’s with me!"

"ENOUGH!" Telah’s power made everyone present look like children in comparison. The spirit energy that radiated off her body was so intense that even Kanan had to protect himself with a layer of spirit energy.

"Shaman Kanan is here not to gloat, not to kill us, and not to take the little that we have. Instead, he’s offering us a hand, so listen to his words before you open your mouths again. Think of our young! Would you want them to grow up in constant fear of monsters? Because I don’t! Now, shut up!"

Telah motioned to Kanan, giving him the floor.

’Shit, I hate speeches. Welp, here it goes.’

"People of the Typhon Tribe, I know that I am the person you wish to see the least, and I do not blame you for that. In fact, I was against sparing your people and wanted to get rid of you all. Instead, our god had a different choice."

Everyone shifted uncomfortably at his words.

"I was told to spare you, and so I shall. Never have I thought of taking the lives of your elderly, young, and the other innocents in your tribe, only the ones who attacked us. Because of this, I won’t treat you all with prejudice or horribly due to my own personal experiences."

That was a relief in their eyes, yet that didn’t mean their treatment in the village would be the same if they accepted the offer.

"And how will you treat us? Sure you can take us in, but you could have us be slaves. Do you think we don’t know how this works? We lost, and our lives are in your hands! We aren’t fools!"

"I’m not the one in control of your thoughts, so I can only prove myself to you through actions. However, I promise you that we will not treat you as slaves. You’ll work, yes, but just like another person in my village. You’ll get compensated, you’ll have homes, and your lives, while it will be an adjustment, will be the same."

"And for those who won’t accept us?" A woman asked

"That’s not something I can control either. Your tribe started this fight with us, cost the lives of both of our peoples, so their anger is justified. I will say this, however: if you get into a scuffle with one of my tribesmen, both of you will be punished. I won’t be biased to my own people, and I will treat you fairly."

"How can we trust you? I mean, you said it yourself; we started this war. What reason would you have to treat us fairly?"

Kanan liked that question. It was a valid one, and one that he would ask if he were in that position.

"As I said before, I can only prove to you my intentions through my actions. If you feel as if you are being treated less than, then you are free to revolt. I don’t know how that would turn out for your tribe, though. But I will do everything in my power to treat you well and include you all in my people’s cultures. I’ll also make sure to let your people express themselves so your culture doesn’t die out."

People still didn’t trust or believe Kanan, which was expected. It would be wishful thinking if they agreed with ease like some fairy tale.

"W-Will my daughter be able to eat well?" A man asked, holding his malnourished child.

"Not only will she be able to eat well, but she will be able to grow up strong without having to worry about monster attacks," Kanan replied.

A woman stepped up this time with her brother close by. "Does your people have healers who can cure sicknesses?"

"While I can’t guarantee that we can cure every sickness, I do know that our healers and herbalists are great at what they do, and our people haven’t gotten sick in a while."

More and more people asked Kanan questions related to their friends, family, and living situations if they joined his tribe, all of which he answered truthfully by him.

After an hour of answering the questions of the curious, Kanan said that it was time to make their decision. Truthfully, his throat was hurting from speaking too much. The throbbing was so intense that he didn’t even feel like making a joke about it.

"T-Then, I’ll join you. We’ll die if we don’t anyway, and if you’re telling the truth, then I’d rather argue with your people than watch my children suffer at the hands of monsters."

"Y-Yeah, I’ll join you as well. I’m scared, honestly, and if you’re offering protection, then I will work hard to prove my worth."

"Me too!"

"Same here!"

"I don’t like you Nemean bastards, but I can’t raise my children in this environment, so I’ll join you as well."

More and more people agreed to join the Nemean Tribe; some were still reluctant, but by the time everyone had voiced their opinions, the majority vote was in favor of joining the Nemean Tribe.