A week had passed and, armed with ovular, one-and-a-half-meter tall shields which were lined with the large scales of an adult Pangolin, Mlezi, Imani and Maini gathered around a certain rock which sat atop the eastward hill that was a few hundred meters away from the Crystal Lands.

Laying in the distance was Heri’s corpse and although their primary objective was to gather Glass, Mlezi would try his best to retrieve the corpse.

But first, he needed to test his new shield.

They were nigh impervious to strikes from a spear.

Their durability was so high, Ua found no natural way of fashioning a shield with them and so she chose to instead fuse them together using Fire Magic. She then gave each shield a sturdy leather handle which Mlezi tightly gripped while making his way down the hill.

His steps were cautious but his pace was steady.

The area ahead seemed clear of rabbits but he kept his shield raised regardless.

He eventually reached Heri’s corpse to find that, although slightly decomposed, it was mostly untouched and so he stuck his spear into the ground and dragged Heri’s body while pouring a bit of Life Energy into it to rid it of some of its rotted stench.

Imani and Maini took Heri’s body from Mlezi who returned to his spear and slowly made his way to the nearest Glass shard.

He then suddenly stopped upon seeing a rabbit siphoning energy from the crystal using its needle-like teeth.

The rabbit was so focused on eating that it didn’t notice Mlezi was steadily approaching.

Mlezi then took a loud break before beating on his shield with his spear once, making the rabbit jump with fear.

It quickly turned to him and rapidly began glowing purple.

Mlezi raised his shield just as it began floating.

It then shot towards him, striking his shield with its feet and although it didn’t break through the shield, I saw that Mlezi’s shield-holding arm, his left one, was fractured in a few places.

Mlezi must have realized this as well because his hair and beard started glowing green as his arm healed.

As it did, he walked up to the dazed rabbit and promptly stabbed it in the chest, piercing through its ribs and skewering it.

He had no moment to celebrate victory, however, as a few rabbits from further in the Crystal Fields noticed the death of one of their own.

Mlezi raised his spear again just as the first of them shot towards him, it missed him and struck the ground, leaving it dazed but, even though it was open for attack, Mlezi focused on those that had him in their sights.

Another shot towards him and it struck his shield violently, cracking one of the many overlapping scales slightly.

It fell to the ground but just as Mlezi raised his spear to stab it, Maini stabbed it instead while keeping his shield raised. Imani joined the two shortly after and he promptly stabbed the rabbit which had first missed Mlezi.

“Keep your eyes ahead, sir!” He said as more rabbits gathered in front of them.

Mlezi’s face twisted but just as the faintest hint of terror appeared in his eyes he took a single step forward.

“None of us get to die today! Remember that!” He barked as the air filled countless purple sparks.

“Yes, sir!” His men yelled and just as they did, several rabbits came blasting towards them with one striking Imani who tumbled backwards but just as he did, Mlezi and Maini took a defensive stance in front of him allowing him to recover and kill the rabbit which knocked him down.

Mlezi saw that the young man’s arm was fine but kept Life Energy flowing through his hair just in case.

“Imani! Stay behind us and kill the dazed ones!” Mlezi yelled as several loud explosions filled the air.

The top of Mlezi’s shield was then broken off by a rabbit but the piece it broke also got lodged into its abdomen, pulling out its guts in the process.

These entrails splattered onto Mlezi who kept his head low since his shield was decreasing in integrity with each impact.

The same went for Maini who was struck by a rabbit, breaking his arm in the process but Mlezi promptly healed him making the older man bite his teeth and continue charging forward.

Mlezi glanced behind him and watched as Maini ruthlessly stabbed every rabbit in his path but the idiot stepped out of cover just as the last rabbit charged itself up.

“NO!” Mlezi cried just as the rabbit shot through the air but, to his surprise and dismay, it struck Maini with so much force that his own shield struck him in the face, shattering his nose and jaw.

Both Mlezi and Imani stabbed the rabbit before turning their attention to Imani who stumbled from side to side as he profusely bled.

Mlezi promptly healed him and Imani watched with a horrified expression as the older man’s teeth regrew along with his nose and other damaged tissue.

“Shields up!” Mlezi barked and his men did as instructed.

They stood back to back with their eyes sharply scanning their surroundings.

Mlezi then glared at the shard of Glass from before.

He also looked at the several rabbit carcasses on the floor.

“Do you think we can fit one of them into one of our bags?”

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“Do you really want to eat one of them, sir?” Maini asked with a concerned expression but Mlezi didn’t respond making Maini sigh curtly.

“I don’t think we’ll be able to fit any of them, sir, but if someone carries our spears and shields, then you and I can carry two each,” Maini said before turning to Imani along with Mlezi.

The young man’s eyes widened as he realized what their looks meant.

He sighed out a nod before accompanying his seniors to the shard where they filled their bags.

I noticed that Imani was staring at Mlezi with a peculiar look and this made him look at him as well.

He was squatted over a bunch of shards of Glass, half his body covered in blood and his eyes narrowed to the point that their whites weren’t visible making them seem dark.

Mlezi noticed Imani’s staring and raised his brows.

“Oh- it's nothing, sir.”

Mlezi nodded before returning to the gathering.

“Will this be enough for your plans?” Maini asked.

“More than enough. This divine essence will carry us to heights we cannot even imagine as we are now but I must remain vigilant. We must remain vigilant because we were the ones ordained.” Mlezi smiled.

“To do what?”

“To be the ushers of a new age.”

.

..

Six months had passed since Mlezi and his men had found a counter against the rabbits.

Since then, his compound had grown and he now had fifty people under his care. Each of them had come to him in search of help but Mlezi operated by trade and when they had nothing to offer, he asked that they work for him.

Farmers, hunters, and cooks, all skills that Mlezi and Ua used efficiently.

Speaking of, a slightly taller Mlezi sat in his hut with Ua by his side.

The two were going over a written version of what Ua was teaching the women, a group she called the Blessed Sisters, named so by Ua because she thought the knowledge I gave them was divine.

They also documented things by etching them in stone.

I felt a little silly after thinking back and realizing that I should have just found a way to make paper because eventually they would run out of room for all their stone tablets and that’s not even mentioning how cumbersome they were.

Heziyn brought Mlezi and Ua two clay cups of water but the two barely acknowledged her.

She stood in front of them for a moment before faking a cough.

“Yes?” Ua asked with a cold expression.

“The Chofumah chief will be here shortly.” She said softly.

“Alright. Make sure they are accommodated on the porch.” Ua said and after gently bowing, Heziyn left the house where she was energetically greeted by Jua who, unlike other boys who wore leather clothes, wore a woollen gown. That said, his hands were rough and calloused.

“What are you doing outside your study?” She asked but the boy rolled his eyes.

“I’ve read everything in there countless times. I wanna see what the chief and my father are gonna talk about.” Jua said only for Heziyn to gently place her hands on his small shoulders.

She then guided him back to a certain hut which was filled with stone tablets.

“Aww! Come on, aunty. I’ll go insane if I have to read another word.” Jua cried as Heziyn pointed at the mat on which he spent most of his days.

“No, Jua. You know how your mother is about your studies. Now stay put and… if you behave, I’ll tell you everything that happened at the meeting.” Heziyn said with comically narrowed eyes.

“Promise?” Jua asked with trembling lips.

“I promise.” Heziyn smiled.

Jua nodded before grabbing a stone tablet and staring at it with widened eyes.

“Go now, lest you disturb my work!” He scoffed making Heziyn giggle as she left the hut.

She then made her way to the southern exit of Mlezi’s compound walking past several tall men who were twice as muscular than was normal.

My observations on Life Energy back then were correct in that it was like a really powerful hormone.

Mlezi’s men often got injured when they went out into the wilderness and so they often needed healing.

And since no one had precise ways of measuring how much Life Energy was needed, with a lot of healing being done in the heat of the moment, many of the men had excess Life Energy and thus grew taller, darker and more muscular.

And although it had since become common knowledge that Mlezi and Ua could use magic, they had gone from being feared and avoided to being silently admired with Mlezi’s men being known as Giants.

Mlezi and Ua had noticed all of this, of course, and as a precaution, they made it a rule that, outside of warriors and emergencies, Life Magic was not to be used.

This was an easy rule for them to enforce since all Glass was stored beneath the hut next to theirs which was Maini’s.

And to be extra safe, Mlezi and Ua had only taught advanced magical techniques to the Blessed Sisters and even they had gaps in their knowledge.

Heziyn eventually reached the southern gate of the tall wooden wall which encircled Mlezi’s compound where she walked up to Imani who was still mostly small or normal-sized.

After his encounter with the rabbits, he avoided going out unnecessarily and this meant he didn’t get injured often and thus didn’t need any additional Life Energy.

“Good morning.” Heziyn greeted.

“Oh, morning.” He yawned.

“The time has come.” Heziyn sighed.

“Yep. Things are about to change and I can’t help but feel… helpless. A feeling I fear will only grow stronger as this river’s current grows stronger.”

Heziyn let out an understanding hum before noticing an approaching group of ten. Six of them were armed, two held baskets and the last two were empty-handed.

Heziyn walked up to the group and greeted them with a gentle bow.

“Hello, chief Mashouah.”

The chief, a middle-aged man whose skin was lined with burn scars, scoffed in response.

Heziyn weakly smiled before leading the group into the compound and up to Mlezi’s hut where he and his wife waited.

Mashouah stopped about five meters from Mlezi and looked him over.

“Greetings. Please, come sit.” Mlezi said before taking one of four seats on the porch.

The chief accepted Mlezi’s invitation along with an elderly woman and the two men who held baskets in their hands.

Mlezi gestured that they place the baskets on the table between him, his wife and the Chofumah duo.

In the baskets were fresh fruits, various but small gems and a few small shards of Glass.

Mlezi’s eyes narrowed.

He then turned his sharp gaze to the chief who replied with an equally intense gaze.

“What brings you here, to the home of an exile?” He asked.

“I want you to protect my people,” Mashouah said frankly before leaning backwards.

“I’ve seen you and your men out there. Battling those fire-breathing fuckers-“

“Mashouah.” The elderly woman chastised making the chief sigh.

“I’ve seen you and your men kill several Pangolins, sometimes even on the same day. I’ve also seen the shields you make using them- a few of my men even use some-“ The chief stopped upon seeing that as he spoke, Mlezi and Ua’s faces hadn’t changed once. They remained expressionless and their eyes were unmoving, almost as if they were silently observing the Chofumah Chief and analysing every single thing he did.

“Ahem. So, I want you to protect and even teach my men how to thrive out there.”

Mlezi placed his right hand on the wooden table and tapped it twice with his index finger.

“Err… what would you want for such a service?” Mashouah asked making Mlezi’s eyes narrow.

“Your men.”

“Mmm?” The chief sounded as confusion riddled his face.

“If I am going to teach them anything, they will become my men and will obey my instructions,” Mlezi said while Ua yawned.

“B-but that’s unreasonable!” Mashouah yelled making his men move towards Mlezi’s hut but just as they did, the entire compound became still and Mlezi’s warriors all turned to face the hut.

“Is it? Who is to say that you won't take what we teach you and survive on your own? That will only create competition and we all know how hard things can get when everyone wants the same thing. Even if it’s something as necessary as food.”

“So… you want us to depend on you.” The elderly woman said with a furrowed brow.

“Yes. We will inevitably become the source of strength and food for many so why would we willingly create a thorn in our own side?” Mlezi asked with crossed arms.

Mashouah clenched his jaws.

He turned to the woman at his side but she kept her eyes on Mlezi.

“You said that you would only take in those you trained, right?” She asked.

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Will those men be obligated to come and live here?”

“Yes,” Mlezi said making the woman’s left eyelid twitch a little.

“Will they be able to hunt and feed their families back in our encampment?”

Mlezi turned to Ua.

“You asked for protection, so any food your men find under the protection of ours will be yours.” She said.

The woman turned to Mashouah who finally sighed.

“Fine.”