“I am Ashlani, chieftain of my swarm, the fahvalo of Bloodpriestess Ana of the Moonchildren and the Disciple of Nievtala. I have come to speak with you, and see if our tribes can work in peace and friendship or must take up the iklabhu to protect ourselves and defeat our foes. Please, counsel with me, break bread with me, and let my askari be yours.” With Sybil’s command, the askari she had tamed fluttered to settle on my shoulder. It pecked curiously at the base of my skull, but I didn’t react. Instead, I stood tall, my spear in hand as I watched the gently flowing grass.

There was no immediate response, but Sybil whispered in my ear, “They are attempting to figure out how to respond to your request for parley. The one in charge is screaming for his people to slaughter us, but they hesitate. You’ve followed their traditions enough that they aren’t willing to begin hostilities.”

I waited as patiently as I could, but my pride demanded I receive some response. Seconds passed, but with Sybil’s steadying presence, I managed to keep myself from screeching a challenge of war to the Linqata. Instead, I stood tall and let my askari hop around and peck errantly at my fingers. Another minute or two passed, and a mountain of an indlovu stood out of his camouflage, maybe a dozen paces into the grass. His tusks were pure white, and his shoulders unbowed, while his maul was held high and threatening. He was several feet taller than Qaqambi, though he lacked any of the ornamentation or decorative carving that his apparent senior was decked in.

“I am Allatsu, chieftain of the Linqata tribe, the Shepherd of the South and the Sound of Freedom. I have come to speak with you, and accept your offer of hospitality.” His voice rumbled as he grumpily stepped forward. Something about his titles rang hollow to me, compared to Qaqambi’s stately self-reference.

Unsure of what exactly was meant to be next, I said the first thing I could remember as I sent my little red bird to the hostile chief. “May your beds be firm, your meals full, and your skin unblemished.”

“... May your stewardship prosper and your children be wise.” He mumbled while I didn’t need to look at Sybil to ensure she had taken note of the correct response. Our little askari pecked at the base of Allatsu’s ears and between his thick fingers, and he habitually moved to let it pick wherever he thought it most important. His own askari only pecked halfheartedly at me before flitting back to the chieftain and assisting Sybil’s little pet in cleaning the large, wrinkled indlovu.

“I guess you did speak with the codger.” The indlovu’s voice allowed, though his body language still threatened violence. “Why do you call on me?”

“Because you were going to raise your iklabhu to kill me and mine. I would prefer not to kill any more of yours, since I’ve been told that any fight is only over once enough have been slain to feed the entirety of the victor’s tribe. I don’t know how many of your people would have to die to satiate my swarm, but it would be too many.”

“You DARE–” Shouted the chieftain, “presume that you could find victory over my people? That you could slay a single one of my elites? And what of my soldiers?”

“I haven’t said what the Bloodpriestess declared me fahvalo of, have I?” I didn’t answer his question, instead asking my own. “I presume you know what a Moonchild Bloodpriestess is.”

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His grinding molars grated on my ears, but Allatsu’s trunk bobbed curtly in assent. “Of course. I’m not a sheltered fool.”

“Then you truly understand what it takes to become a fahvalo of a Bloodpriestess. I am told I vohinanatrar desperation.” I grinned up at the chieftain, and though he towered over me, at least 16 feet tall, his trunk recoiled in recognition of what I said. “Don’t doubt that I will do whatever it takes to gain victory. If there is only a single swarm member left, then I will lead them to slaughter your young, your weak, and your injured. I will hunt you in the night, and I will show no hesitation nor mercy in my slaughter of every one of yours. I will never be sated, and I will not stop until the last drop of blood from your last tribesman is wetting the sand below my feet.

“Do you want to test my willingness to live up to my word? As a Disciple of Nievtala, I will lead my people to victory, slaughter, and conquest. If you refuse to allow us this victory in peaceful passing, then we will seek victory in the total eradication of the Linqata.”

Though I never raised my voice, I’d unintentionally drawn on my sonilphon and let my words echo out over the indlovu cowering in the grasses. The chieftain trembled in rage, fear, or a mixture of any number of emotions. Regardless, I let him attempt to calm himself. His breaths thundered through his trunk and, if I’d had hair, it would have blown it back. As it were, my scales shuddered in the nearly gale-force winds his rage created. Nearly a full minute later, the indlovu still hadn’t calmed himself, but he roared at me, “You will not threaten me! The only possibility you have to flee with a single living keelish is by surrendering all your flocks to us and escaping without another word!” His trumpeting cry fought to rally his indlovu, but I gave him no time to work them into a frenzy.

I drew deep on [Nemesis], [Imperial Bearing], and [Disastrous Discourse] as I retorted, “Then face me in individual combat! Sacrifice your life for those of your people, or subjugate me! Are you too cowardly to put your own life on the line? Only willing to sacrifice your people for your own safety and ego?”

Something in the chieftain fought to argue with me, but under the influence of my multiple [Skills], that small, reckless portion broke and quailed before me. Too weak-willed to attempt to fight back against my fearful aura, the chieftain stood up and fell back one, then two steps. His trunk quivered and his mouth opened, some retort dying on his lips. The huge creature fell back into the grass, where he nearly immediately faded into invisibility. Vague sounds of complaint, confusion, and something else echoed from the rest of the indlovu, but when I roared another challenge to them, I felt their nearly indistinguishable steps fade away to the background.

“They are leaving, as they have lost all faith in the chieftain. There is some conversation about a matriarch, but I cannot say what exactly that means. Even so, I believe that we will be able to leave their territory without further incident or contact. They are now more worried about the results of the next stewardship evaluation, something to happen in three years. At least, that is what I have been able to glean from their conversations. The indlovu are now too far away to hear anything more.”

I flared my frills, acknowledging her. Maybe, I’d overdone the challenge. Even so, who would have expected a tribe’s chieftain to be so weak willed as to lose his leadership over his people? Though I didn’t understand the indlovu’s method of governance, I couldn’t imagine that fleeing from such an overt challenge would weaken, if not destroy the entirety of Allatsu’s support.

“Then, onward we go. Perhaps we should see if we can do the same in each territory we pass? I can’t say I know what we’ll find, but if we can find keelish and more creatures this entire trek, we’ll arrive at Nievtra with tens of thousands under my command.”

“Let us see.” Sybil smiled. “We cannot determine anything yet.”

With a howl, I set the keelish back into motion, and we continued our journey eastward.