The Pix walked around with caution. They had no idea what to expect when the army came to their small village and offered to have negotiations. Jandy was the leader of the tribe, and he, along with three bodyguards, came here to discuss the offer.

At first, the capital looked like a regular village, but that idea was quickly discarded. The outer walls were made of solid bricks and stone, ready for any invasion or attacks from beasts or other tribes. Hundreds of pix walking around going about their regular life. The trees and the ground were filled with houses of all shapes and sizes. stone roads to walk on that traveled from one district to another.

"District, what is that?" one of the bodyguards asked.

"The districts are the zones of the capital divided by shops and professions. There are living districts for the civilians and shopping districts for the stores and all kinds of businesses. You are going to the council district. That is the heart of the capital and the Alliance." The guard took them there.

As they went inside a big building, it was obvious it was made with another race in mind; the ceiling was too high for regular pix. Jandy took a seat in front of the tall table and, along with his bodyguards, waited while drinking some tea that the servant poured into some cups for them.

"Boss, this is too weird. How can any tribe have this size or technology? It doesn’t make any sense."

"You’re thinking too small. They have a massive army, and the level of their weapons could keep most animals away. Look at this table. It is obvious they are following orders from some other race. That is the only way to explain all this."

Yes, it was impossible for the weak Pix to reach this level of prosperity. The world was a cruel place. Jandy grew up listening to the stories of the past. There were pix who could wield great power, but that was a legend. Even his bodyguards, the most powerful warriors of his tribe, would be killed easily by a dozen species in this forest.

The doors on the other side opened and only two entered. An old pix and another tall creature wearing a hat. Jandy had never seen that species before, but he could understand its language.

"Good morning, gentlemen." By the tone of his voice, he assumed he was the leader of this alliance. "I heard you traveled a long way from the west of the Old Lands. Let me introduce myself. My name is Jacob, and my companion at my side is Cink. Both of us represent the leaders of the Pix-Dawn alliance."

"Nice to meet you younglings. Take the tea; it's very good." Cink took a seat without a care in the world. He was used to dealing with this type of talk and negotiations.

"My name is Jandy. I’m the leader of the tribe. When I heard the offer from your army, I was curious to see what you could offer, but I have some questions."

"Please fire at me, partner. Our objective is to get you to join the alliance." Jacob wasn’t worried or focused on hiding information. It was more like a friendly chat than a negotiation.

Jandy knew exactly the reason. He’s underestimating us; they have more power and land. We don’t have anything to offer, so why would they take the risk of offering to join us? I need to find out his true motive.

"What is this Pix-Dawn alliance? I understand the Pix part, our species and, as I can see, you made him your second in command, but what does Dawn mean?"

"Second in command, you got the wrong impression Cink is not my servant; we’re allies. He represents the pix and leads the rest of the council members. He’s our direct contact and a leader just as much as me or my guild."

"Guild?"

"To answer your question, Dawn is the name of my guild, which is a group consisting of others like me. We joined forces and, along with Cink, formed this alliance. Have you ever heard of the System? I need to know to see how much I need to explain to you."

"You mean you have powers? I heard about it from my ancestors, but I have never seen it with my own eyes. Only legends."

"Correct, partner. All Dawn members, including me, have this power. I can’t go into detail, but I don’t think I need to demonstrate our military power."

Jandy understood it after entering the capital. But he still had no idea what they were gaining. He had no option. The only card he could play in this situation was to ask directly. Jacob was definitely going to lie, but he could discover something by analyzing the lie.

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"Why do you go through all this trouble? You could have sent your army to make us surrender, even if it meant losing some of the land."

"Fighting is a last resort. I don’t want to sacrifice the lives of our soldiers unless it is 100% necessary. Besides, we don’t want to force you. That would be effective, but all of you would keep your resentment hidden."

Cink drank the tea and talked. "The best way to get you to understand that this is for your benefit is to see with your own eyes. That’s why we invited you here. Come on, Jacob, let’s show 'em what they have to gain."

Cink led them to a hallway and then to a storage room. It was big, just like the house, with tall ceilings. Jandy couldn’t hold back his surprise; two enormous boxes filled with food, two others with weapons and armor, and a third box smaller but full of potions and elixirs, including antidotes for poison.

He walked among the boxes and confirmed they were all real. "Are you saying if we join you, we can have all this?"

"That is only the beginning. You will receive food you don’t have access to, and soldiers trained by the army to protect your territory. If you need anything else, you can ask directly the member of the council who will be in charge of managing your land."

"But what is the price? What do you want from us?"

"We want everything. You will form part of our alliance. That means you’ll have to cultivate food according to our orders and send your soldiers to join our army. accepting and giving refuge to explorers who are making paths through the land, installing stores if given permission, and many more things that could arise."

Jacob took a step up in front and finished Cink’s proposition. "If you join us, you’ll gain a lot of resources, but you'll all have a lot of responsibility. You won’t be able to act on your own anymore. Every important decision will pass first through the council, and they’ll decide the best thing to do. But you all gain our protection. If you have low food or need more people to fend off the beasts of the forest, we can give it to you."

"We won’t force you. Join a new civilization or stay as outsiders. Do what you think is best for your people, Jandy."

Jacob and Cink were full of confidence. He could see it in their eyes. There were no lies or deception. They won the argument with pure honesty. That was the proof he needed. There was no need to think more about it; the difference was too big. He remembered the legends of the Valein empire.

In the past, the pix joined that empire to secure their future. He couldn’t speak about how it was, but the pix were still alive right now. There had to be some truth to it.

"I don’t need to see anything else. As the leader of my tribe, I want to join the Pix-Dawn alliance." He kneeled and his men followed his example.

***

"Well, that should do everything for today." Jacob cracked his neck by stretching as he and Cink sent Jandy and his people away back to their village with some soldiers.

"Another village joined us. It's been a while since we saw another tribe. I thought I was getting rusty, but my mind is still sharp as ever. Or maybe they’re too easy to read." Cink said while offering him a cup of fruit juice.

"Thanks, They’re our new western frontier. The more we expand, the fewer pix we find in the wild. I guess I shouldn't be surprised. This forest is still a dangerous place to live for people without powers. Still, it's better to deal with humble guys than the council. I swear those guys always complain about anything and everything. It is like they forgot how it was before we made the alliance."

"Yeah, you will get used to it. They are going to complain about everything. Once their standard of living rises, they find another excuse. By the time they get satisfied and happy, they will die of old age after a few years."

"And then it is back to square one, right?"

"That depends on how smart the successor is. Sometimes you find a good kid with a good head on his shoulders who knows how to do his work. Like Valks, as commander, he was born for the position, but it took some mentoring and training."

"Hahaha, he’s definitely perfect for that position. I’m tired. I’m going to rest. Remember I’m busy tomorrow, so you’ll have to entertain the council alone."

"What? Did I forget something? Why are you taking the day free?"

"Mmm, the party. Remember how Silas asked you to find a day for everyone to get together?"

"Oh, yes, what are you guys celebrating again?"

"The foundation of the guild, one year since we defeated Gloom Scent. It was supposed to be last week, but everyone has been busy with work all over the land. But everyone agreed to come. It has been months since we were all together."

Jacob reminisced about that day. It was over a year ago when they all fought together in the cave where they took refuge when they first arrived in this world. Yeah, a whole year in this world. Man is crazy, these past few months have gone by too fast.

"Sorry, Cink. I would like to ask you to come but."

"I know we need to at least leave one person in charge, or the council is going to do whatever they want with the excuse that we weren’t present. Enjoy a free day and tell the others I sent my greetings."

"I’ll do that. Good night, Cink."

Jacob strolled down the stone road as the pix around him were going back home after a long day of work. As usual, they were looking at him with gleaming eyes and respectful expressions. He hadn’t gotten used to it, but at least there were some who talked more causally.

"Oh, Jacob. Our teacher said, You’re having a party tomorrow!" A little pix came running from one of the houses. "Can I go?"

"Hahaha, sorry little Vary, but you have to study. This is a party only for adults."

"Buuuu,"

He sent the kid back home and walked to the Dawn building. A party for adults, huh. I don’t care what it is. I just want to see all of them again.

He had a smile throughout the whole night. Tomorrow they were going to party like the day they killed Gloom Scent.