Harbinger did take the time to show me the alphabet. Specifically how to properly draw each symbol and memorize its sound. Then I was sent out to teach Saito and Mai Fah. The problem with Saito was that the man was constantly working, from dawn till dusk he was doing something physically demanding and he never freaking stopped. Which made Mai Fah the most approachable. I'd be lying if I said the woman didn't disturb me though. The missing arm I could get over, but the way her left side was so shriveled and damaged, it just crept me out. I know that's not fair. I tried to get her attention first as she would sit for long hours writing. I'm not sure if she just didn't want to deal with me or if more writing exercises interrupting her current writing was just too much, but she always shooed me away. Not sure how Harbinger will take my failure to teach her, but I can't say I'm not happy to avoid the woman.

Saito was of course far more open to learning. It took some effort to get him to understand what we were doing, but he quickly set aside about an hour at breakfast everyday to work on the writing and memorization part. It helped that his language could be written with our characters and he was quickly making notes with the new system. Then came the long process of filling out his vocabulary. We started with wood, but I had to seek help from Harbinger because I didn't know the words for pretty much any of the tools Saito used. I do like the guy. He addresses me as Ate (ah-teh) same as Raiah or Akumajin, same as Harbinger oddly enough. He's generally cheerful and gives me wise grandpa vibes.

Harbinger gave me a history book, well, lent me a history book. It was… interesting. The first page had no words, only an image that spanned the full two pages. High up on the right next to the centerline was a Tel’ani woman flying through the air, tail trailing behind her. She was nude save for a loincloth and pulled back into a position that implied she intended to bring down the axe in her hands with as much force as possible. Her face was twisted in rage and hate. She looked utterly terrifying. Below her and back a bit, were two Tel'ani holding a shield between them. Clearly the platform she had launched herself from. Among them were a collection of other Tel'ani with various weapons and armor sets.

The left side depicted lines of male Tel’ani with spear and shield in organized ranks. Amongst the group was a tall Hornless in metal armor holding an odd shaped stick against his shoulder and pointing the end at the flying Tel’ani woman. The message of the illustration was clear. On the left were the civilized Tel’ani under Hornless leadership. On the right were unorganized Horned barbarians. I spent a lot of time staring at that woman's face.

The book was written from the view of the Hornless. The Ironborn specifically. It started with a cataclysm of some sort. The accounts are disjointed and no two were the same except for the description of all the fire. They came through a portal to a pristine, lush world. My world and now I know why the Hornless are often called invaders.

The Ironborn were welcomed in and began to rule the Caster. Not the Tel’ani. Turns out we all had different names and languages and societies. Tel’ani pops up later, I'll get to that. The Hornless ruled over the Caster and led them to countless victories over rival tribes. They brought tactics and steel. The Caster gave them a home. Oddly enough the writer at this time droned on and on about how barbaric the Caster were due to their use of slavery. Fucking Ironic. I'll admit that the cannibalism is definitely barbaric. Shit broke down though. The Caster had been learning to create steel and once they were confident they had the secrets of the metalcraft they turned on the Hornless, who in turn led a slave revolt that inevitably wiped the Caster out. Realy weird to have the Hornless be the anti-slavery people.

Shortly, very shortly after the defeat of the Caster, the Horned and Hornless were attacked by an enemy I actually knew. The Anorians. Apparently the Anorians were some type of unstoppable army that wiped through the territory. The Hornless led a mass exodus that left them at a sea where they built boats and sailed east following the Traveler. The Ironborn eventually ran into the Freeborn, the Litchdom, and the Triad Exilarchy. The Narzgog Pact was signed. And that's about as far as I got. It's also the point where my people become a complete footnote.

Oh and the word Tel’ani. According to some researchers, nearly every Horned language has two words in common. Narzgog and Tel'ani. It's believed that Narzgog was their word for themselves, and Tel’ani was the Narzgog word for everyone else. And of course, it was interchangeable with slave. Sometimes history sucks.

Harbinger had me hook up the horse and we set out for Kyne's Port to buy slaves for his experiment. Along the way he taught me archery, likely with the expectation that I would be a better shot with a bow than a sling. He was right, only in that the arrow can only go in the direction the bow is pointed. Annoyed with my perpetual inaccuracy, he showed me how to throw a short spear. He has this neat trick of snapping his fingers and causing his spear to disappear and pop back into his hand. We then downgraded throwing rocks. And then he tested my eyesight, extensively. Harbinger's conclusion was that my eyesight is excellent, but I have a spatial awareness defect. So yeah. I'm defective.

We made it to Kyne's Port in the early morning and after putting away the horse and eating a meal of fish, vegetables, and bread, no bread for me, we wandered the pre exhibit Dog Show. Which was a punch to the gut. Basically we walked around and looked at the Tel’ani that was going to be auctioned off later that day. Harbinger took a look through the Anorian contracts too, but apparently didn't find anyone he thought was useful.

***

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

"Papers?" Asked the merchant.

"Papers? What papers?"

The man sighed. He poked my pelts as he spoke as if trying to make a point. "You require written permission from your master to sell these."

I stared at him until the silence made him uncomfortable and forced him to say more. Of course I needed papers, Lydia was the odd place out where I didn't.

"Do you understand?"

"You want me to bother my owner for written permission to sell animal hides."

"Yes." He glared at me.

"No."

He looked surprised and unsure what to do next. "Fine, then get lost."

He turned to Harbinger, noted the horns and literally rolled his eyes in front of him. Harbinger cocked an eyebrow, looking somewhat bemused.

"And how can I help you?"

"Me?" Harbinger asked. "I'm just waiting for the asshole who runs this place to buy my girl's pelts."

"Are you fucking kidding me?"

"Afraid not."

"This is yours?" The merchant asked, pointing at me.

"Yeah. Problem?"

"Why the fuck aren't you selling the pelts." The guy sounded kind of angry.

"What?" Harbinger asked as he shrugged. "Am I supposed to do everything? Are you going to buy them or not? We have shit to do."

The man's face was red and I had to look away. In the end, we didn't sell him the pelts. Harbinger could be a dick and I was loving it.

***

The Dog Show started. We found seats after Harbinger got a wooden paddle with a number on it. I found the whole thing annoying. Hornless lined up a group of Horned females, completely naked, up on a covered stage. The auctioneer started by pulling one of the women up, spinning her around, and announcing her approximate age, whether or not she had borne children, and her general disposition. Apparently this first group was destined for brothels and private curators. All the women were considerably more attractive and thinner than I had been. Pleasing faces and shapes. The bidding started and I listened to the numbers quickly rise until the woman was sold to number sixty-three for one point two gold. Holy gods in hell I had been cheap. Harbinger watched with apparent disinterest. My understanding is that we were here for the cheaper ones.

"Hey devil blood. She yours?" Asked a rather well dressed man seated on Harbinger's other side. "I'd pay double for her."

Wait, he'd pay double for me?

"Yeah, not for sale, fuck off."

"Hells man, don't have to be rude about it."

"You started the conversation by insulting me."

"Devil blood? Oh shit I'm sorry."

"In that case I withdraw my vulgarity, but not the answer."

"Charles Tomberlin." He offered his hand to shake, but withdrew it with a wince when he realized it would be awkward for Harbinger to actually perform the action. "Sorry. I run a brothel in Colinton

"Alek Harbinger."

"The Harbinger?"

"Yeah, don't make it a scene."

"Wow, okay. Nice to make your acquaintance." He leaned around Harbinger and ogled my pants covered legs. "How'd you get her to look like that?"

"Fish."

"Fish?"

"Yeah, a lot of fish."

"Isn't that illegal?" The man asked.

"Is it? I'll have to look into that tomorrow."

Charles the brothel owner left Harbinger alone for a while as he participated in the auction. It was weird to have him looking me up and down and comparing the women on display to me of all people. Next up were Horned with trade skills. This peeked Harbinger's attention enough to make a few bids, but not enough to chase the price up very high.

The last group were the cheap people. The ones Harbinger was looking for. Mostly males. Unlike humans, there wasn't much difference in strength between male and female Horned. The only real advantage was that males didn't go into heat twice a year. Which was a thing I was going to have to deal with in a month or so. That wasn't always considered a bad thing by slave owners though as we could be rented out to brothels. And that's the point where I realize there were some fucked up things in my life that I've never really considered.

We spent the rest of the day loading up spears, shields, and a random assortment of gear. Ate a dinner of stew and bread, no bread for me again. Harbinger got another comment about my illegal diet and an offer to rent me for a night. Kind of miss Lydia where I'm pretty much allowed to do whatever and nobody bothered me. After dinner we went up to the room and I wondered who was sleeping on the floor. Obviously it was going to be me.

"What are you doing?" Harbinger asked.

"Laying out my bedroll." Which was obvious.

"I paid for the large bed. It's big enough. I used to share them with Lothar and you are nowhere near his size. You'll need to take the wall side."

"O-kay." I repacked my bedroll and pulled off my pants and belt. After crawling under the covers and scooting over to the wall, I was a bit surprised when Harbinger adjusted the covers and laid on top of the bed, clothes and all. A moment of shifting and it looked like he was out. I stared at the side of his head in the fading summer light. His coarse hair was tangled in his horns.

"Harbinger?"

"Hmm." Was his only response.

"Thank you for not calling me Dog anymore."

Harbinger opened his eyes and attempted to turn his head towards me, but his large ram horns didn't allow it. He closed his eyes. "You don't act like a Dog anymore."

I couldn't tell if he was asleep, but he didn't move again.

***

I stared back at Kyne's Port marveling at how close it was. By that I mean, how not far at all I got last time when I had to be put in the cart because I couldn’t walk anymore. I was expecting to walk for several hours today before taking a break. Mallika was already in the cart. Tor, Seig, and Tarik were as well. Kark and Brent were walking. Yeah, Brent. That's not a Horned name at all. Five men and one woman. I was a bit surprised to end up with a female. Apparently she was a problem causer. Harbinger didn't seem concerned. Likely because everything he wanted to do with them was illegal anyway. One of the first things we did when we let the horse take his break was line all the Horned up and have them throw rocks at a tree. Everyone except me, which was a relief because apparently the only person with spatial awareness defects was me. And it's my job to teach them to fish and trap. Yay me.